‘Watson’: Rochelle Aytes Says Mary & Watson’s Relationship ‘Grows’ After Miscarriage Reveal

Ahead of Watson‘s series premiere, we knew that the titular doctor’s (Morris Chestnut) ex-wife, Mary (Rochelle Aytes), had a secret. It took until Episode 7 for that to be revealed, and it was that she had a miscarriage and lost their baby when he went off with Sherlock Holmes, which led to the end of their marriage. Aytes tells TV Insider she knew about that before beginning work on the season.

“I had a conversation with [executive producer] Craig Sweeny before we started filming, and that was one of the things he told me and made me aware of because it played a very important role in why she is the way she is. Why is she so walled off?” she explains. “It was just something that I thought was important to know. Now I, Rochelle, can internalize that as we go about these episodes and remember that, yeah, she’s got a lot of resentment towards him and she’s holding this secret. And so that kind of informs her story and the way she communicates with him.”

That tracks with what Sweeny shared with us as part of our Watson digital cover story: “There’s something that she knows that he doesn’t, that happens while he was over there, and if you rewatch the pilot really closely to Rochelle’s performance, there’s a moment where you can almost take a guess at what it is. There’s something that she does in her performance there that really hints at what’s to come in a way that I found really impressive as a viewer of her performing.”

Watson now knows, and for Mary, that’s “such a relief,” says Aytes, “that she was able to just let it go and stop holding that in. It now allows them to have a moment of grief together. She’s not alone in it, and then she’s able to find a new way of being with him.”

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That leads to what we’ll see in the April 13 episode. “Their relationship grows a little bit,” Aytes teases. “She even invites him to dinner on Valentine’s Day, which, I mean, two weeks before that she would never have done. It’s nice to see them communicating a little bit as Mary and Watson would probably have been back in the day, showing that softer side, that more vulnerable, playful side of her, which I think is going to be really nice to see.”

The fact that she did open up to him about the miscarriage as well as how she’s seeing that he’s changed since returning from his time with Sherlock (and his friend’s death) play a role in that dinner decision.

“That has affected her a great deal, making that decision to tell him, seeing how he’s changed over the course of the past year,” Aytes explains. “I think she’s seeing another side of him that she wished she had seen when they were together and she misses that. And I think that’s a part of the reason why she just wants to connect on a more personal level.”

What are you hoping to see with Watson and Mary as the first season — it’s been renewed! — continues? Let us know in the comments section below.

Watson, Sundays, 9/8c, CBS