“It was tricky and involved many rewrites,” says Berry. “I think the scene was more difficult for Sam than it was for me. The audience needs to buy that Jamie would do anything to ensure the safety of his son, including sacrificing his dignity by allowing Grey to essentially rape him. Whereas the book has the benefit of several hundred pages to flesh out this conflict, in the show it’s condensed into only a couple of short scenes. It was important for both Sam and I to endow Jamie’s proposal with as much sincerity as possible so that we could then subvert the expectations of the audience when Grey rejects him. And for Grey it was important for the rejection not to seem cruel but come from a place of honor and compassion for Jamie. This helps the audience to understand the depth of their friendship. Grey loves Jamie but would never abuse or transgress his friendship with Jamie for his own selfish purposes.”