‘Dickinson’: Hailee Steinfeld on Big EmiSue Moment & Taylor Swift Song Choice
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Dickinson, Season 3, Episode 9, “Grief is a Mouse.”]
Dickinson continues to deliver as the series heads into its final episodes and the penultimate installment, “Grief is a Mouse” is no exception.
The episode makes way for a sibling reunion as Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) makes amends with her brother Austin (Adrian Blake Enscoe) following a lengthy familial war this past season. But as ties are mended, the gravity of the Civil War they’re living through returns when their close pal George Gould (Samuel Farnsworth) is called to serve.
Instead of grieving too deeply though, Emily, Austin, their sister Lavinia (Anna Baryshnikov), Sue (Ella Hunt), and the rest of their Amherst friends celebrated George in a joyous farewell party. The day eventually culminated in one of the show’s steamiest moments for Emily and Sue to date.
(Credit: Apple TV+)
Below, Steinfeld opens up about this episode’s finale feel, Emily and Sue’s big moment, and use of a particular Taylor Swift tune.
This episode might be the penultimate installment, but there was a finality to it as well. Did it feel that way while filming and if so, what kind of emotions were you and your costars going through?
Hailee Steinfeld: I absolutely felt that way and we would block shoot our episodes so we shot nine and 10 together. I was going in and out of having a lot of time by myself and these moments with my incredible cast and crew at that party that we throw for George. I have had a lot of fun in the last four years making this show, but in that particular scene, I’ve never laughed harder. I’ve never felt more grateful and so lucky to be a part of something so special.
We’ve had conversations about how rare it is to feel this passionate about something. We were lucky enough to have the same crew and cast come back three seasons, and it’s just been such an amazing journey. Episode nine was truly one of my favorites and some of the most fun I’ve had making this whole show.
(Credit: Apple TV+)
The viewers are surely going wild over Emily and Sue’s steamy scene in this episode. Was there added pressure knowing that the fans are so invested in your characters, or was that the joy of giving them something that they’ve been waiting to see?
I think it’s somewhere in between. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt pressure. I think Ella and I both have this shared excitement over the fact that fans do love these characters so much and do feel so connected and love to see them in a certain light, and in certain moments, which is so exciting.
But I agree. I think this is one of the most, if not the most, intense scene that these two have shared, and yet it’s in ways probably the most simple. I’m so excited for everyone to see it. I know Ella is too. We all are. Any moment that we see these two characters together, it’s almost like this sigh of relief that these two people who love each other so deeply can have these intimate, quiet moments together, uninterrupted. There’s something just so, so incredible and special about that.
Last year, there was a big frenzy among Dickinson fans when Taylor Swift dropped her album evermore for its references to the poet. How did the use of the song “Ivy” from evermore in this episode come about?
Music, as I’m sure you know, plays such a huge role in this show. So it’s always been incredibly important to Alena [Smith] and I, and everyone involved, to have that perfect song for the perfect moment. It can be so powerful and it can make or break a moment. And I think that our music team on this show… they just do not disappoint. Devoe Yates, our musical director, just continues to bring us songs that we’ve either never heard before, or we’re obsessed with and in love with.
We get so lucky that we’re able to make them a part of our show but to have this song in this particular moment was crazy. When evermore came out and there was all of that talk around the fact that it felt very Dickinson-esque to then have this song not just as a part of our show, but a part of this moment that is so symbolic and so specific, it’s perfect.
Dickinson, New Episodes, Fridays, Apple TV+
