“Motherland: Fort Salem” Exclusive: Tony Giroux on Adil Meeting Abi’s Family, Talks Abi/Adi Relationship & More
In the latest episode of Freeform’s Motherland: Fort Salem, the army cadets from war college head home for break. Raelle brings Tally home to Chippewa Cession, while Abigail brings Adil home to Annapolis, Maryland. The pair plan on reaching Charvel’s remains, which will help in their mission in vengeance against the Camarilla. Abigail assures her partner that the house should be empty except for her grandmother, but what they find inside throws them in a bit of a detour.
In an exclusive interview with PopWire, Tony Giroux, who plays Adil on the supernatural series, talks about the episode, titled “My 3 Dads.” He discusses the change of energy on set, Adil’s insecurity, and his character’s relationship with Abigail.
Throughout his time on Motherland: Fort Salem, nearly all of his scenes were with his female co-stars. Working on a female-led-and-driven series has been “really, really inspiring” for the Canadian actor. It’s something that he enjoys and is always happy to support. In “My 3 Dads,” Giroux, for the first time on the show, is surrounded by a whole bunch of men. That change in dynamic was also enjoyable for the actor.
“Having a lot of men [on the show] was also delightful to find that more masculine energy to share guy-to-guy,” Giroux tells us. “I found a lot of bro-mances, not just with Praneet [Akilla], who plays Gregorio, but also all the other guys at the table. The energy becomes different, and a different part of me gets expressed as well. And all the guys who were on the set were extremely respectful, very kind. I think it was a really good time on set.”
Upon entering the Bellweather home, Abigail (Ashley Nicole Williams) and her guest discover that there’s a lot of commotion going on. It is then that Adil discovers the huge scope of her family, whom Giroux describes as the “royalty of royalty.” And meeting Bellweather royalty brought up some “insecurity, for sure” for Adil.
“There’s a lot of insecurity as well coming up as to, ‘Oh, can I fit into this world? A world that he never really took into consideration because it’s been so chaotic?'” he says. “Being with Abigail has just been a place of refuge, of love, of connection, and all of a sudden, it’s whoa, this family — can I see myself with them. That puts things into perspective a lot, can the relationship fight through or go through that.”
At the Bellweathers, Adil got to meet Abi’s parents — specifically her 3 dads. Meeting and being grilled by her fathers gave Adil a mixture of different feelings. “Obviously, I want to make a good impression,” Giroux says. “It triggered insecurities in the sense of, do they like me, are they making inside jokes? It’s something that’s really hard in general. Even if you meet a family that’s very welcoming, it’s hard. If you meet a family that’s grilling you, it’s that much harder. He came out of it alive and I’m glad.”
Adil may have survived the grilling of Abigail’s parents, but he still had to face the other men in the room — the many suitors being considered for handfasting with the Bellweather cadet. Though Giroux shares that there wasn’t a ton of jealousy, there may have been a tiny bit of doubt.
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“The way Adil sees the relationship with Abigail, he understands that it’s quite solid, a very strong connection that he knows wouldn’t just be thrown out that easily,” he says. “I think being exposed to [the situation] makes him wonder a little bit, but he also knows what he has to offer. He’s coming into his own power as the season is unraveling and in that he’s discovering a new confidence that then gets brought into the relationship.”
At the end of it all, Abigal and Adil got what they came for. They have successfully managed to get a vial of Charvel’s blood. And with that, the duo can move forward with their mission. As Abigail Bellweather says: “I need to find the people who took [Charvel’s] voice and get it back… And bathe in their blood.” In doing so, however, she may come across some conflict with Adil.
“Abigail says it, it’s pretty clear, ‘It’s time to hunt,'” Tony Giroux says. “Going towards that direction, how do they go about it, because they’re two opposing perspectives. She’s very military and he’s still, in a lot of ways, diplomatic in wanting to be true to his heritage and honored tradition. So how do they find a way to meet together in that time of vengeance?” Looks like we’ll find out soon enough.
Motherland: Fort Salem airs Tuesdays at 10pm on Freeform.