Warning: Contains spoilers for Accused season 2, episode 7.
Accusedseason 2, episode 7, titled “Eugene’s Story” aired Tuesday, December 3 on FOX. The latest installment of the anthology series sees Ken Jeong play a jewelry store owner who is put on trial after “interfering with his wife’s dicey past.” As the hour unfolds, viewers learn that Grace had been involved in an armed robbery turned murder charge while she was struggling with a drug addiction. Her then-boyfriend, Rex, was sent to prison, but she was spared the same fate.
He returns to town and demands money in exchange for his silence, which ultimately ends in tragedy. Grace robs the jewelry store and attempts to leave town with Rex to protect her family, but is accidentally shot and killed by Eugene himself.Jamie Chung, who portrays Grace, agrees with the jury’s guilty verdict. However, Chung believes there was genuine love between the married couple, as Grace’s husband only meant to show she was worth fighting for.
Accused Season 2 Stars Cobie Smulders & Vella Lovell Talk Joining FOX’s Hit Courtroom Anthology Series
Screen Rant interviews Cobie Smulders and Vella Lovell about being in court with each other in Accused season 2 episode 6, “Val’s Story”.
ScreenRantinterviews Chung about understanding herAccusedcharacter, the final verdict in “Eugene’s Story,” and Mulan’s relationship with Aurora inOnce Upon a Time.
“[They] are two of my favorite people in the industry. And to be united with them, as a team, I knew was going to be a great experience.”
ScreenRant: What did you find most interesting about this particularAccusedcase?
Jamie Chung: I feel like there’s so much to love about this particular piece of work. First of all, I love that it’s the opportunity to work with Michael Chiklis and Ken Jeong—two of my favorite people in the industry. And to be united with them, as a team, I knew was going to be a great experience, especially having someone like Michael Chiklis lead the helm. He’ll tell you exactly how many, but with so many years of being in front of and behind the camera, working with music, on Broadway, on stage, all these medians—he’s a master in all mediums for storytelling.
He’s the kind of director that actors love, because as an actor himself, he understands our process, and he knows how to communicate with actors. He has so much empathy, and he really cares about this piece, and so he was really able to guide two very vulnerable actors through this whole experience. The script itself was fantastic, and I found it to be so refreshing to see something that was written specifically for a Korean American, a Korean American family, a Korean American family that has found Jesus and includes the church community, which is very big in Korean communities.
So I love the specificity of all of it. Most particular, what I loved about this and what drew me to Grace was that she was so nuanced. She was imperfect. She had such a dark past, and she was carrying around so much shame and guilt. She was hiding so many secrets in order to protect her family, her father, and her husband. And she really did have genuine love for them, but she never really loved herself. So I found the character to be extremely complicated, which I loved. I loved playing really complicated characters. There are a lot of things that drew me to this episode.
Like you said, Grace is such a layered character, but we only get a snapshot of her life. What kind of background work do you have to do to get into a headspace like that in such a short amount of time?
Jamie Chung: I feel like there’s a reason for anything. There’s a reason for drug abuse, there’s a reason for stealing, there’s a reason for continuing abuse. I’m not saying that any of it’s okay, but usually it’s what you know. It’s a coping mechanism, and it usually leads from trauma. What is her trauma? Understanding that her father left everything behind in Korea for them to have a great life and to have her mom be taken away, and it’s just the three of them in this new country, it just feels really unfair.
And I feel like understanding that trauma and the anger and the pain, and her father’s not really present, and she feels like she’ll never be as good as her mom, and she isn’t her mom, and now it’s all on her. The immense amount of stress, what it’s like to be addicted to crack cocaine or to speed—the drugs of choice for this character. What is that like? What’s it like to attempt to get out of it? A lot of intervention episodes, but just to understand the human behavior of what it’s like to try to get out of that. And then if you’re desperate for money, desperate for the next high, who are you going to be hanging out with?
You’re going to be hanging out with an enabler. It’s just really trying to understand her character from a place of without judgment because really she’s just trying to do her best at that moment. And unfortunately, that best got her in really deep trouble. And also the guilt of escaping the law and having Rex go down for the crime of accidentally killing this liquor store employee. She’s going to have to live with that. How does she cope? She turns to God, and she finds newfound faith, and she never really feels like she deserves the love, but she continues this facade to hide her shame, but also do as much as she can to give her father, this loving man, the life that he always deserves and his family that he always deserved.
Grace’s Actions In Accused Were An Attempt To Protect Eugene And Her Father
“She really just did it all out of love for them, not love for Rex.”
The show makes you think Grace is cheating on Eugene, and then you find out what’s actually going on alongside him. I would love to hear your thoughts on their relationship and the genuine love you said was there.
Jamie Chung: The reason why she loves Eugene so much is because he has quite the past as well, but he doesn’t come from a place of judgment either. I don’t think that she’s ever had anyone love her the way that he has and believe in her the way that he has and have someone that can essentially take care of her in a way. It really helped bring her out of a really dark place when they moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, and to restart their lives to run away from Grace’s dark shame and past of drug use.
I think they found each other in the most vulnerable time, and they really did lean on each other. You can tell he’s such a good person. He has such a good heart, and that’s really who he is. He embodies the characters. Ken embodies his character so well because he really is that person. He’s just such a good guy, and how can you not fall in love with that? And although she continued to give these little secrets, and you can see the horror on his face when she talks about Rex killing an employee, but it was by accident.
And it sounds like she’s defending him, but in actuality, she’s defending herself. And I think that’s why she’s so terrified to tell him the full truth. She just kind of gives him enough where it feels okay. But in essence, I think they were just really trying to protect each other. She was trying to protect him from her past, the tempest, Rex, because she knows that he’s never going to stop.
Hiding the secrets didn’t protect them, and now she has to make the ultimate sacrifice, which is sacrificing herself to protect her father and her husband. But she really just did it all out of love for them, not love for Rex. And I think Eugene finding his backbone and really finding his ground to stand up for someone that he loves—he was essentially just doing that because he loved her and wanted to protect her as well. So sadly, although they wanted the same for each other, it just ended in a horrible way.
So would you say that what Eugene said about Grace on the stand is an accurate assessment of how she felt?
Jamie Chung: I think so. Yeah. Absolutely. I believed that he really was just trying to be my protector. And unfortunately, I was his grace, but he wasn’t mine. It was so beautiful, the way it ended.
Chung Feels The Jury’s Verdict Was Fair After Eugene’s Actions In Accused
“Hopefully his testimony will give him some leniency on his actual sentencing. But I do think that he was guilty, sadly.”
How do you feel about Eugene being found guilty by the jury?
Jamie Chung: I think it was fair. If you look at it from a factual point of view, who was holding the gun? Who was in possession of the gun? Who owned the gun? Who had access to the gun? Who brought the gun? Who shot the gun? And so even though it wasn’t his intention to use the gun, he still brought it loaded, safety off, ready to go. So he had every intention to use it to protect her, but unfortunately, it was an accident. So hopefully his testimony will give him some leniency on his actual sentencing. But I do think that he was guilty, sadly.
If Grace survived, how do you think she would have reacted to everything?
Jamie Chung: She lunged for the gun. She was doing it so that she would prevent him from killing Rex and going to jail. Had she survived, I think she would’ve felt a little better knowing that she would also be able to ask for sympathy or ask for a lenient sentence. But I don’t think that she ever wanted him to show up with a gun. I think she really wanted to be the sacrifice to avoid anyone going to jail.
Were there any major story changes that happened between the time you got the script and when you wrapped the episode?
Jamie Chung: No, not a lot of story changes. It just kind of fell into my lap. After two strikes and people being out of jobs, I just felt so grateful that Michael thought of me. Casting was like, “Is there anyone in particular that you’d like to see that can play this role? Because she has to be kind of rough around the edges, but then she can clean up well.” [Laughs]
So it was kind of perfect. It really came at a time when I was personally feeling a little hopeless. As a creative, you want to be able to tell such profound stories and stories with such depth, and it really came at a time when I was feeling low. What’s crazy is that these kind of stories really speak to me. I guess it’s my Korean side. We just love sad stories. It’s in our blood, our DNA, if you watch any Korean films, you know what I’m saying.
Chung Believes Mulan’s Once Upon A Time Ending May Have Been Different If She Was Honest With Aurora
“I think it really would’ve led Aurora to make a really tough decision. An interesting decision.”
I also adored your character, Mulan, back in the day. Reflecting onOnce Upon a Time, what do you think happened to her? She had a bit of an open ending.
Jamie Chung: Oh, she really did. I’d like to think that she found her person. She realized that Princess Aurora found her person, and she’s going to leave that where it is. I think she left heartbroken, but I think it kind of fueled her passion. It led her to be more vulnerable, because I think, had she been vulnerable with Princess Aurora, I think it would’ve had a different ending if she just spoke her truth. But I think she continued on with the broken heart, and she found joy and happiness after. That’s what I’d like to think. Or she died a warrior. So either or.
Now I’m curious. What do you think Mulan’s ending would’ve been if she was honest with Aurora?
Jamie Chung: I think it really would’ve led Aurora to make a really tough decision. An interesting decision.
I know fans loved that relationship.
Jamie Chung: I really did too. I don’t think it was written like that on the page, but that’s the choice that I made because it’s more interesting, is it not? I love that they allowed me to play that version of the character’s choice, because I found it to be far more interesting than just letting her go.
What’s next for you? Do you have any other upcoming projects?
Jamie Chung: Yes, I do. I have this incredible project that is going in the first quarter of 2025, and it’s called Seeing Red. It’s about three female Asian, Australian, and Asian American protagonists, and how they overcome their personal adversities. These three storylines somehow end up intertwined in a way. It’s so beautifully told, because it’s really telling the story of female Asian rage. And you rarely get to see that on screen. You rarely ever get to see that story being played out, aside from Beef.
But Asian women are usually expected to play along or be meek, and it’s really about their rage, what drives it, and how they overcome these adversities and their personal pain. It’s f*cking beautiful, and I can’t wait for people to see it. But that goes in the quarter, and I did this really cool revenge flick with Kiefer Sutherland, Krysten Ritter, and Kiernan Shipka. It’s directed and written by Sophie Tabet. We already shot that, so we’ll see what happens to that little indie next year. But there are a lot of incredible indie films that are being made at this moment. So I’m very proud. Seeing Red and Stone Cold Fox. There are the two films that you should be watching out for.
About Fox’s Anthology Accused
Created by Howard Gordon and Jimmy McGovern
Accusedis a collection of intense, topical, and exquisitely human stories of crime and punishment. Each episode is a fast-paced provocative thriller, exploring a different crime, in a different city, with an entirely original cast. Based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning crime anthology, each episode opens in a courtroom on the defendant, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial.
Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, the show holds a mirror up to current times with evocative and emotional stories. In the end, audiences will discover how an ordinary person gets caught up in extraordinary circumstances, and how one impulsive decision can impact the course of that life – and the lives of others – forever.
Accusedairs Tuesdays on FOX at 8pm ET/PT.
Accused
Accused is a legal drama series that delves into the complexities of criminal cases from the perspectives of both the accused and the accusers. Each standalone episode presents a new case, exploring the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by the characters involved. The series aims to offer a nuanced portrayal of the criminal justice system, highlighting the intricacies and challenges inherent in each case.
