Rowan Mayfair is the final "doorway" to help him enact his plan.

The Mayfair Witches saw the plan come to fruition, as Rowan gave literal birth to Lasher in human form. Now in season 2, her powers increase with his presence, but his supernaturally speedy growth and reticence to explain his motivations cause havoc for the family. Meanwhile, Talamasca agent and resident empath Ciprian Grieve (Tongayi Chirisa) continues his mission of watching over Rowan and securing Lasher, despite becoming estranged from both his ex-lover and his employer last season. He has a little unexpected help in the form of Rowan's cousin, Moira Mayfair (Alyssa Jirrels), who returns home to investigate the death of her sister and find out whether or not the new matriarch can be trusted.

ScreenRant interviewed Chirisa and Jirrels about their roles in Mayfair Witches season 2, including how Sip and Moira approach Rowan now that Lasher has been made flesh. The actors also shared their thoughts on possible Interview with the Vampire and The Talamasca crossovers.

Mayfair Witches Season 2 Finds Sip Looking At The Talamasca In A New Light

“We start to see Sip operating with independent thoughts for the first time.”

ScreenRant: Tongayi, having already been betrayed by the Talamasca in season 1, what keeps Ciprian working with them? Can you tease that tentative dynamic this season?

Tongayi Chirisa: It's his integrity to his mission. I think that's the only thing that's keeping him at the Talamasca because clearly they ain't trying to give him the scoop, but the mandate is what it is. He has the objective to take care of Rowan and this entity that's come to pretty much ruin their lives, which in some way has affected him. His mandate is still to bring Lasher in.

However, there is distrust because of how his relationship with the Talamasca and his immediate boss, Albert Escher, has been tainted. We start to see Sip operating with independent thoughts for the first time. The mandate is still the same, but he does not necessarily agree with the way the Talamasca goes about it. Simply because he doesn't know, number one, and because every time he tries to find out, they say, "Hey, just bring him in. It's above your pay grade."

That frustrates him because things are no longer the same with Rowan, so he doesn't have that connection to help him find out the truth of who Lasher is and why he is a part of this family. As he's navigating these two worlds, we start to see him bending a little and formulating his own rules as to how to get to the ultimate truth, which is obviously finding out why Lasher is on this Earth in his present form.

ScreenRant: Alyssa, welcome to the world of Mayfair Witches! What was your experience of stepping into this cast? How big of an Anne Rice fan are you, did you watch season 1 of this show, or had you seen Interview with the Vampire?

Alyssa Jirrels: No, I'd heard of Interview with the Vampire, but I didn't really know Anne Rice. The big thing I knew from this show was Alex [Daddario], honestly. I thought she was really great, but I was a total newbie to the rest of it. It was really fun to get acquainted with the insanity. And boy, is it insane! Pretty crazy stuff, and I was sort of finding my way in for the first time.

Rowan Remains At The Center Of All Things In Mayfair Witches Season 2

“There's maybe more humanity in Rowan than [Moira] originally thought…”

ScreenRant: Speaking of Alex, how does Moira sum up Rowan upon meeting her, and does that change as the season progresses?

Alyssa Jirrels: Yes, totally. I think Moira doesn't trust Rowan at all. She's kind of emblematic of everything that Moira doesn't like about the Mayfair family. She also had a hand in Tessa's death, which she's extremely upset about. She's still very angry, so I think they start off having a pretty contentious relationship. But Moira soon sees the motivation for people's actions, and she sees that there's maybe more humanity in Rowan than she originally thought. I think that she starts to eventually care about Rowan and maybe see herself in her as well. So, it definitely changes.

ScreenRant: Tongayi, it’s clear that Sip still has feelings for Rowan, but this season she’s pretty tied up with both Lasher and now Lark. Does he have any feelings about that? How would you describe his state of attempting to protect her from afar?

Tongayi Chirisa: I think what's interesting is that the decision that she made at the end of season 1 kind of snapped him into focus and brought him back to what his first mandate was.

In season 1, he's told, "Listen, don't get involved, observe from a distance." The, when he breaks protocol, we find ourselves down the spiral of what season 1 was. I think with all that happening at the end, it snaps him back into the protocol of, "I've got to put my feelings aside, regardless of how I feel about her. I still have this mandate to bring Lasher in." That allows Sip to just get into the work mode of doing what he needs to do.

In season 2, we start to see certain things unfold that inform so much more of the object that he needs to capture. I want to say there's a shift, but there's also definitely a deeper understanding. Whatever then happens with Rowan, it is coming from a deeper place of understanding. Whether that might evolve back into a romantic relationship, I don't know. But as far as we are concerned, we now have an understanding of who Lasher is and what Sip's new mandate is in all of this.

ScreenRant: The question of whether Rowan cares more about her own power or the safety of her family looms large over the season. How do you personally feel about where her loyalties lie?

Tongayi Chirisa: Just as a spectator or an audience member, I feel like she has this genuine care for the family. But that power is so alluring, and the potential of what she could fully have if given full access sways her. What do they say? Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It might not be the case right now, but I think she dabbles in that long enough she could be a problem. The Talamasca might need to come and handle that.

Alyssa Jirrels: Yeah, I don't think she's a power-hungry monster, for sure. But at the same time, she's a pretty new witch. She's pretty new to the family, too, and there's so much that hasn't been explored for her. You can't really blame her if she's wanting to focus more on that than her sacred duties to the family. I get it.

Alyssa Jirrels & Tongayi Chirisa Tease How Their Characters Cross Paths In Mayfair Witches Season 2

The actors also hint at the possibility of Ciprian crossing over to Interview with the Vampire.

ScreenRant: Alyssa, we see a little of Moira and Sip teaming up. Can you talk about working with this fine gentleman, and why she might turn to a member of the Talamasca?

Alyssa Jirrels: Yes, Tongayi is great. He's so much fun. The first couple weeks of shooting, I think all of my scenes were with him. I had one scene with Alex, and the rest of them were with Tongayi. We did all of ours in one fail swoop from episodes 1, 2, and 3, and we messed up a lot of takes. I've tried to tell this story before, but it's really a "you had to be there" moment. There was one thing that happened where we could not stop laughing, and it was fully in the background of a very deep, serious scene. But we were just dying the whole time; it was really great.

I think Moira sees Sip as a fellow outsider. Even though he's part of the magic world, he also needs something from her and has let her into his mind, which gives her a bit more confidence in his actions and in his motivations. She can see everything that drives him, so they definitely have a commonality in what they both want from the family. He's the closest that she's going to get to an ally, I think, in her mind.

ScreenRant: AMC is building the Immortal Universe, first with Interview with the Vampire and Mayfair Witches, and next with The Talamasca. Is there a character from IWTV that you would each like to crossover with, and why?

Tongayi Chirisa: I think for Sip, it's not uncommon to encounter the supernatural. I think with what's happening in season 2, Sip was a certain level of Talamasca agent until certain things start to happen that will finally give him access to some of the deeper secrets of the Talamasca.

As we see in season 2, there are certain advances that he's now allocated, which are fantastic. Without saying too much, a lot of things go down in the season finale that definitely open Sip's world up in a way that he was not expecting. Certain events [from Interview with the Vampire] are mentioned in Mayfair Witches, one of which could be the next mission that Sip needs to go investigate. He may have to pop in and settle some issues with the vampires — I'm just saying. I don't know, but it seems like we're heading that way. And I'm here for it. I'm here for it.

Alyssa Jirrels: My God, Moira would be funny in Interview with the Vampire. So modern and different than that energy. I think Interview is a great show; I really do. It's so well done, and the actors are amazing. We got to talk to a lot of them at Comic-Con, which was really exciting.

I'm not sure exactly how she would fit in there, but I would never say no to that experience or to working with those people. They're all very talented and very cool.

More About Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches Season 2

Mayfair Witches’ new season continues the journey of Rowan Mayfair (Alexandra Daddario) after she has unwittingly given birth to the demon Lasher (Jack Huston). She is determined to understand what he has become – human or monster? – and to use him to fulfill her purpose as a healer, but when tragedy strikes, she must put aside her own desires and fight to protect her family.   

Check out our other Mayfair Witches season 2 interview here:

• Cast & EP at NYCC 2024
• Harry Hamlin & Ben Feldman

Mayfair Witches season 2 premieres January 5 at 9pm ET/PT on AMC, and it will also be streaming on AMC+.