‘MobLand’: Joanne Froggatt on Why Jan Really Stabbed Harry, Alice’s Fate & More

The season finale of MobLand ended on a note of violence from a very unexpected source: Jan Da Souza (Joanne Froggatt) stabbed her husband Harry (Tom Hardy) in a moment of anger, leaving both of them instantly horrified … but also oddly well-humored about it.

The moment was a culmination of frustrations for Jan. Thanks to Harry’s loyal service to the Harrigans, she and their daughter Gina (Teddie Allen) become swept up in the Harrigan family’s war with the Stevensons and had to hide away with them at their country estate in the Cotswalds to avoid a retaliatory attack. It wasn’t just the danger that Harry’s occupation put her in that roiled her so well; being isolated with the Harrigans also resulted in Gina engaging in a romantic relationship with the often loathsome Eddie (Anson Boon). Jan’s only real outlet of repose was a budding friendship with Alice (Emily Barnes), but even that proved to be a let-down, since Alice was actually an undercover investigator squeezing Jan for details about Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and Maeve (Helen Mirren).

So, by the end, she’d had it with Harry and let him know as much with her words before accidentally stabbing him. Jan’s instant shock was palpable, but Harry had a calm an even comical response. Could that act of brutality have been the saving grace of the Da Souzas?

TV Insider caught up with actress Joanne Froggatt to break down the season, that jaw-dropping finale, and what might be next for MobLand.

Let’s start with the ending. When Jan stabbed Harry, was she truly horrified, or was it a little bit cathartic for her?

Joanne Froggatt: Good question. I think she’s truly horrified in the moment. I think she is truly horrified, absolutely, but she does get his attention. And it wasn’t purposeful. It was just a very extreme situation. They live very extreme lives. They’re very extreme people. But that is the language that Harry understands. And I guess there’s something about that. I think Jan’s just terrified by what she’s just done, but also slightly in shock.

Harry really looks at her for the first time in a while, and they have that sort of moment of, “What now?” And so it’s the start of something as well — I feel like it’s the start of something. I feel like, hopefully, it’s the start of a sort of reconciliation for them.

Before that, she had said, “I’m done,” and she wants to leave. But it did seem like maybe that action, as violent as it was, was a little bit healing for them.

Well, yeah, and also, it’s kind of like, Jan’s not as innocent as she makes out… She’s tough. She’s been complicit in this life for the last 20 years. And yes, she’s been feeling disillusioned. She’s in her early, mid-40s. She’s looking at their daughter, Gina, thinking, “She’s 16. She’s going to leave the nest. Now what? What’s my purpose in life when that happens?” She doesn’t have a career, she doesn’t work, she’s never had to, and Harry doing what he does, it’s very difficult for Jan to have a career or friends or anything because their life has to be so private. So Jan’s quite lonely, really, and she’s sort of wanting Harry’s attention all the way through. She’s like, “Okay, well, this is the man I love. Do you still love me? Are we still important?” … So it’s quite a journey for Jan, but I think she sort of sleeps at night by kind of going, “Okay, if I don’t know the details, it’s all okay.” But she’s been quite happy to take all the trappings that come with Harry’s life, and she does know what he does for a living. So I do think, yeah, maybe it’s a reminder to Jan that she’s not as innocent as she makes out as well.

Do you think part of the final straw was what happened with Gina and Eddie? Was that a fear for Jan, that something like that might happen?

Oh, yeah, of course, Jan absolutely does not want Gina to be with Eddie. And I think it’s been a build which has actually been really beautifully pinpointed over the series by Jez [Butterworth], our writer. It’s this gradual build for Jan where they’re in more and more dangerous situations…. Things become more and more heightened because the Harrigans are now at war with Stevensons, and that’s not happened before. And I think Jan was expecting at this time in her life for what Harry does for a living to sort of ease off, maybe an early retirement with all the money… and it’s absolutely not, it’s ramping up. And they’re sort of feeling that they’re in their most dangerous place, and Jan’s a bit like, “Oh, this isn’t what I signed up for at this age. I thought we would be in the lovely Villa somewhere by now.” So I think that’s a lot for Jan’s process.

And obviously, she’s worried about her daughter. She wants to do better for her daughter. She doesn’t want her daughter to live the life that she’s lived, and she wants her daughter to be educated so she can make her own decisions about her life and have a career and be financially independent. Jan’s quite old school, old-fashioned in a way that she’s always been quite dependent on Harry as the traditional in a very untraditional world. Harry’s been the one out at work. Jan has been the one at home with the child. Although Harry’s work is not above board, they’ve sort of fallen into those traditional roles. So, yeah, Jan absolutely wants better for Gina. As all parents do, don’t they?

A lot of this season saw Jan forming this friendship with Alice… She was a little naive. How was it like for you to play that where she’s having these conversations and doesn’t really realize what’s going on? 

Yeah, it’s quite interesting to track because there was a few moments where she actually was going to give away more. And I was like, “Guys, no… I can’t say [that].” … She thinks she’s just talking to somebody, [and] you’re kind of as a viewer, going, “No, Jan, why? Why would you say that?! Surely, you know better.” But actually, she doesn’t give away that much. She knows they’re going to the Stevensons’ funeral, but she doesn’t really give anything that important away. Antwerp’s the most important. And, yeah, I think she’s just let her guard down because she is in this place, she’s obviously searching for something. She’s going for therapy… She’s developed a bit as a human being and is wanting more from life and wanting some emotional connection. And I think she’s so desperate for that that when she meets Alice, she’s a bit blind to the treacherous nature of what’s really underneath. Maybe Jan was a bit more savvy back in the day, but I think she’s probably been loaded with false security by this stage in her life, and yeah, she’s lonely and wants a friend.

We didn’t get to see the aftermath of Alice gathering the evidence and leaving the house. Do you think Jan will feel guilty about that? Or is she kind of like, “Maybe the Harrigans deserve this”?

I think once she finds out, she might feel bad, but I don’t think they live in a world where guilt is big in their lives. Even for Jan, I think she’s very complicit in the life, even though she doesn’t like to know the details. So I don’t think any of them are big on guilt. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing. But I think Jan will feel bad, but I also think she’ll feel bad for Alice, but then I also think she’ll be like, “Well, Alice tricked me, so therefore, she deserved everything she got.” I think Jan’s got quite a hard line as well. She’s quite tough, I think, in terms of loyalty, and I think she’d be very hurt that she really did think of Alice as a friend, and then she turned out to be just playing her.

Well, we don’t actually see Alice die. She gets kidnapped and kind of carted away, and the assumption is she does. But is there any part of you that kind of hopes that she’ll come back next season and you guys get to kind of hash it out?

I’d love that. Actually, I loved working with Emily. She’s such a great actress and such a loving person. We had such a great time working together. And I was kind of sad that Jan didn’t get her moment with Alice … I really want Jan to give it to her with two barrels — not literally, but, yeah, I’d love to see that scene between them. I’d love to, yeah. I mean, I think I’m presuming Alice is dead, but you’re right. We don’t actually know. I don’t know either. So I have no idea. So, yeah, there’s a chance… I’d love that scene.

The other women are also conniving in the show, particularly Maeve and Bella. What was that like for you to play off of their energies just being so hardcore all season long?

It was so fun. I mean, Lara Pulver, who plays Bella, we worked together years ago. We’re friends, and [I] hadn’t seen her for a few years. So it’s so lovely to work together again. And Dame Helen Mirren, I said in many interviews that she’s an actor whose career I’ve admired and aspired to my whole career, so to get to work with her… She is just the most fun, down-to-earth, professional, brilliant human being. So funny, just someone you just want to hang out with. She is great. So it was just gorgeous. It was gorgeous. I love these strong, flawed, evil in some way — in some cases, with Maeve — women. Maeve especially, really, is the puppeteer of everything that’s happening. The men are sort of playing the tough game out in the world, [but Maeve is] manipulating everything from the background. So Maeve’s the real kingpin, if you like, which I think is really interesting and really great. And, yeah, Jan, out of the women, is sort of the least manipulative, I would say, and she’s living a different life. She doesn’t want to be on the inside of it, whereas the other women in the show have already made their peace of being on the inside. So Jan’s still sort of trying to stick on the edges, on the periphery, but not really succeeding.

Well, she might have more trouble if the show continues to Season 2 with what’s developing between Harry and Kat. You mentioned her loyalty earlier. Do you think she’ll stick with him as this responsibility expands and this danger broadens?

I hope so. I think so. I feel like she will. Because, I mean, obviously, no, I don’t write the show, and who knows, but I really do feel like she will. I think Harry is the absolute love of her life. She just wants a bit more. She just wants him to notice her. That’s all she really wants. And if she gets that, she can put up with everything else. She’s happy. But I think that they’ve been together since they were sort of early 20s, very young, and he pulled her over, he swept her off her feet, and she’s never been with anyone else. So I think it’s Harry or no one for her.

As a fan of the show, who of the Harrigans do you hope emerges on top, and what else do you hope to see in a second season?

Oh, I don’t know who I’d like to end up becoming head of the family. I think what’s so brilliant is Season 1 has left the doors open story-wise, for so many more twists and turns and underhand play and manipulation between all the front runners for taking over the family business. But also Maeve and Conrad haven’t gone anywhere. They’re just in prison. So they’re going to come out of prison, and then, how does that all work? I just think whatever Jez Butterworth has in store for us, I’m sure it will be juicy and surprising and brilliant and shocking and so fun to play.

Looking back at the show, what was your favorite scene to watch, whether you were in it or not?

My favorite scene to watch was definitely the dinner party scene in Episode 9 because I didn’t have a lot to do in that scene. I just had to react, and at a certain point, Tom leaves the room —  you don’t see that on camera, because it’s the reveal for Harry finding Alice trying to take the DNA evidence… We filmed that [scene] for two days, but for one full day, it’s just me, Mandeep [Dhillon], Anson, Pierce, and Helen, and Mandeep were just having the best time. And so are Pierce and Helen. They’re friends as well, and they have so much fun working together. And you could tell just how much they enjoyed playing these crazy, crazy characters. And it was so fun to watch. We had such a giggle. And it was brilliant. It was just joyous. It was an absolutely joyous two days on set. Yeah, it was wonderful. We kept looking at each other, going, “Oh, this is the dream. This is why we do this for a living. What an amazing couple of days.”

MobLand, Paramount+