‘The Paper’ Stars Domhnall Gleeson & Chelsea Frei Break Down Ned & Mare’s Season 2 Ending

The Paper‘s second season has arrived, bringing with it more romantic ups and downs for the Toledo Truth Teller‘s editor-in-chief, Ned (Domhnall Gleeson), and trusty reporter, Mare (Chelsea Frei).

As viewers recall, Season 1 saw their tensions turn into a steamy kiss after winning big at the Ohio Journalism Awards, but what came next for the pair? Warning: Spoilers for The Paper Season 2!

In Season 2’s premiere episode, Mare was left wondering if Ned’s feelings remained after he treated her coldly in the office, but a stairwell kiss after their shift revealed his intention to keep their relationship under wraps. Things went a little off the rails, though, when the pair attempted to get away for a weekend retreat amid lingering election results, which forced them to stay in contact with the Truth Teller team as they tried to keep their location off record.

That’s easier said than done when a camera crew is documenting your every move. When asking Gleeson and Frei if Ned and Mare were naive to think they could keep a lid on their romance, Gleeson says with a laugh, “I think it’s interesting that you blame them. I think we call that victim blaming. I think they get followed outside of work against their will, and you’re blaming them for being naive…. How dare you?”

John P. Fleenor / Peacock

Ultimately, “Once they feel that they’ve fooled the office people, and they’re so bad… That’s one of my favorite scenes in the whole season was with [Mare] lying to the people in the office and how bad they are at that. I wish we got to do more of that,” Gleeson says, acknowledging that Mare and Ned end up disclosing their romance to HR. “That is a naive thought,” he admits, for Ned and Mare to think they get away with fooling anyone about the nature of their relationship.

But despite the initial happy start to their romance, things took a bit of a turn when Mare stepped in and tried to kill a story that would make Ned look bad. In order to smooth things over, she decided to try out a position at the Cincinnati Chronicle, another paper that offered new opportunities, which put the couple at a bit of an impasse amid their separation.

“We’ve spent a lot of time talking about how fast we think things should move,” Frei says of the progression of Ned and Mare’s relationship. “I think it’s a balancing act of wanting to take swings, and even the kiss at the end of Season 1… It’s weird to be proud of a kiss, but I’m proud that we [went for it]. Who knows how long we’ll get to live in these characters, and why not give them what they both clearly want?”

The question is, do they want a relationship? Mare seemingly signed a lease to stay in Cincinnati, despite her initial intention to return to Toledo. “We’ve been debating that for sure, and how we ended it in the edit, we went back and forth about the kiss in the hospital bed,” cocreator Greg Daniels says of Mare and Ned’s final Season 2 moments. “What is she really feeling? Is she over it or is she not over it? I don’t know. It’s interesting.”

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Ned ended up in the hospital after he got sick from breathing in the moldy air caused by a muffin Mare left for him on his desk that he never opened. The revelation led to a tiff, making their future unclear. And fans got a taste of that tension earlier in the season when Ned was tasked with providing up-to-the-minute reporting on a local tornado, while he waited to hear back from Mare amid her first day at the Cincinnati Chronicle, where her phone was off limits.

“I think he just loves her so much and he’s just so lost and bereft, and it’s the only time he is a bad editor,” Gleeson calls out. “He’s bad at his job, and I think that’s frightening to him. The fact that he would allow himself to be bad at his job, that he liked somebody enough that he would kind of allow himself to do that because he cares about his job so much.”

Can they find a balance in a potential Season 3? We’ll keep our fingers crossed. Until then, watch the full video interview above, and let us know what you hope to see for Ned and Mare if The Paper continues at Peacock in the comments section below.

The Paper, Season 2, Streaming now, Peacock