‘Dickinson’s Finn Jones on That Twisty Reveal & Sam Bowles’ True Nature

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Dickinson, Season 2, Episode 8, “I’m Nobody! Who are You?”]

The 1850s are proving to be a wild time to be alive in Season 2 of Apple TV+’s clever comedy Dickinson, and in the show’s latest installment, “I’m Nobody! Who are You?” an interesting predicament for Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) leads to a shocking reveal.

After Emily’s first poem publishes in the Springfield Republican, she finds herself to be invisible to the people around her, giving the writer a chance to see what people really think of her work. As she roams around Amherst, she sees the ugly sides of fame, as well as the good. She even runs into her old friend, Death (Wiz Khalifa), and takes a ride in his carriage with a recently deceased Edgar Allen Poe (Nick Kroll).

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But it’s the encounter she has at Sue (Ella Hunt) and Austin’s (Adrian Blake Enscoe) house that leaves her and viewers reeling. Standing in the library, she comes face to face with Sue, but Emily’s invisibility makes her presence unknown. What happens next is quite revealing when it comes to Emily’s editor Sam Bowles (Finn Jones) and love Sue, who engage in an illicit affair.

Below, Jones, who has previously appeared in Game of Thrones and Iron Fist, breaks down the twist, and Sam’s true nature.

(Credit: Apple TV+)

Should fans have seen this Sue and Sam affair coming?

Finn Jones: It’s interesting. I’ve seen a couple of people online call it out, [but] I think there’s very slim hints, like in the opera and especially the way that Austin reacts to Sam. So I do think a lot of people will be very surprised, probably angry as well. It’s a shocking moment, for sure, and I think it really starts to reveal Sam’s true intent and his true nature.

Sam’s presence has had a direct correlation with Emily’s inability to write. Do you think that’s because subconsciously she knew something was going on between him and Sue, or because of her fear of fame?

Yeah, I do think that when she finds out about [Sam] and Sue it is a real shock. I don’t think that her head has been in that space at all. I think what restricts her from writing is probably the pressure and the enormity of what Sam offers her, this idea of success and fame and an expectation. In any creative process when there’s so much expectation on someone, it can often stifle their ability to be free to create, and I kind of feel like that’s what Emily is going through this season.

(Credit: Apple TV+)

Do you think Sam’s aware of the negative effect he’s having on Emily?

Yeah, of course he is. He knows exactly what he’s doing. And he’s probably doing it to a bunch of other women all over the place. You know what I mean? Emily is not special to him, but he makes her feel like she is special, and he’s probably doing it to a bunch of other people in different towns around the U.S. He’s building a media empire. He needs those talented voices to promote and sell his newspaper. That’s the only thing that Sam cares about, is the expansion of his empire and getting laid along the way.

Speaking of other women, do you think there’s an understanding between Sue and Sam in that respect? Is she aware that she’s probably not the only one?

I mean, Sue’s a whole other situation, right? She’s so conflicted in herself. She’s in this relationship with Austin and clearly, there’s not a lot of excitement there. Sam is very exciting, and she’s looking for excitement and looking for acceptance. I think Sam being the player that he is, he sees that in women. He sees their vulnerabilities, and he uses them for his own exploits.

Dickinson, Season 2, New Episodes, Fridays, Apple TV+