Spoilers ahead for Seasons 1 and 2 of Halt and Catch Fire.

Season 2 of Halt and Catch Fire comes to a conclusion Sunday night. (You can catch up with our recaps here.) One of the most compelling characters this season has certainly been Donna, played by Kerry Bishé. Last year she was introduced as the wife of main character Gordon, but has clearly become an equal lead on the show as Cameron’s (Mackenzie Davis) business partner at the online gaming company Mutiny. Bishé gives her thoughts on Season 2 and insight into where Donna and Cameron fit in the history.

Lesley Coffin (TMS): When you were first approached about the character of Donna, did you have any idea how things were going to evolve for her and the way she would be integrated into more of the primary storylines about the business?

Kerry Bishé: I knew nothing about the plot. I don’t know how much the writers even knew. But it was really important to me that they deliver on the promise of the pilot, which was “this character will be more interesting that you initially think she is.” Even in the pilot episode, they tease a little bit about what she could be and obviously in Season 2, they’ve delivered in spades on that promise.

TMS: They mention early on, but almost brush over it, that Donna is Gordon’s equal in terms of what she knows about computers and technology. Do you ever feel that as Donna you are representing pioneering women in computer technology who have been kind of left out of the history books?

Bishé: There is a statistic, a really surprising one I like to talk about in connection to the show. In the 1980s, 37% of computer science and computer tech degrees, were earned by women. And now that number is 18%. It’s shocking! And yes, it was more common for men to be in positions of power, but the gender ratio was actually more equal than compared to what it is now. And that is interesting to consider and ask, what happened? That statistic really surprised me. And the other thing is, and I actually just read something in the New York Times about this, that 18 to 35 year old women today don’t expect to have a full family life and full work life. They now expect that they will have to make sacrifices and put their careers on hold if they want to have a family.

As opposed to the women born during the Baby Boom or Gen-X, who felt that they could have a whole family life, take care of all their responsibilities at home, and still have fulfilling careers. And that they could be equal to men who weren’t also doing all that work at home. And Donna is one of those women, tackling the career-mom thing, and doesn’t think she will have to compromise.

TMS: Do you feel the show has addressed those issues for Donna and really examined the fact that she is still a good mother even if she can’t do all the things for the family she was doing before taking on so much at Mutiny?

Bishé: I think that has been the crux of the problem for Donna this season. Facing the compromises which come along with now having a really satisfying, creative career, and balancing that with a home life which continues, even with Gordon taking on some of her responsibilities, which can sometimes feel like a burden.

TMS: One of the best scenes in the show, How did you feel about that storyline this season?

Bishé: That scene was an interesting and emotional process, in a way which really did surprise me. First of all, that scene when she sings to them on the phone was a real heartbreaker. I loved that you set up a situation with characters you know well enough and care about, so they don’t have to talk about their feelings to relate to them. The whole issue with Donna having to come to that decision, which I and the writers really wrestled with, was to not turn this into a messy, dramatic, tearful decision for Donna. They like the idea that Donna has a real backbone and is practical. But it was really important for me that the decision also felt like a sacrifice. It would be so easy if the decision seemed very clear cut. I didn’t want to put out into this world the idea that if women get to have career opportunities they have to make these enormous sacrifices in their family life. And the thing is, it might be true that they have to make sacrifices. If you are an ambitious woman, especially in the 1980s, maybe those are the choices you face. But it was a tough thing to wrestle my heart around.

TMS: Donna and Gordon seem like a couple that has really evolved, because unlike last season, when there was this constant fear of cheating, mistrust and jealousy, this year they seem to be working together more and be a little more stable?

Bishé: I don’t know if their marriage is stable. But it was a relief to go into this season feeling that Donna and Gordon are on the same team. They keep making mistakes, but this season, the mistakes come from a desire to protect each other. He wants to let her to have the opportunity he had, and she doesn’t want to ruin the chance they have of having an equitable relationship.They are trying to protect each other. Which was a nice change from last season when they were very antagonistic towards each other. But we’ll see how long that lasts.

TMS: Speaking of an antagonistic last season, you’ve got to do a lot more scenes with Mackenzie and we see the evolution of that relationship. What’s it been like to have so many of those scenes this year between just you and Mackenzie?

Bishé: It’s just been a pleasure to work with Mackenzie. But also the relationship between those two women is so unique. I’m so curious about the direction their relationship took, because you would have never guessed considering how they first met in the restroom. So it’s just been so fun to play. And what I love is that, the same way the business relationship between Gordon and Joe and Bosworth had all these secrets and manipulations, there feels like less of that with this relationship. They feel like two people making their best efforts to make this relationship work. And also two people who deeply respect each other. So when they butt heads, it’s to work through a problem and make something better. And that makes it very interesting business relationship to watch.

TMS: It was also interesting to see how different people, like Bos, act at the Mutiny house compared to the way the behaved at Cardiff Electric. The show’s tone has completely changed. Was it hard to adapt to that change?

Bishé: We were all really aware of it from the first episode of season 2. One of the directors actually told us they’ve never seen a show change so dramatically between seasons. And it really did transform us and the way we interacted. It’s been interesting that the characters had such an explosive 8 months or something which made up season 1, which completely changed who these characters were. For Donna, I think she felt that she really had to step up and take some professional chances. It changed her relationship with Gordon. I like to think about how the events we saw in season 1 have dramatically changed the characters we see in season 2.

TMS: Donna’s big creative input at Mutiny was Community, which is almost like an early version a chatroom or message board. Did you look at some of the early versions of that which existed on that early form of the internet?

Bishé: It was interesting, because messaging programs had been around for a long time, but what was really the thing to change everything in the 80s actually was when it was attached to 80s, as we see on the show. That became an illuminating thing about chatting. And then, the way I relate to these things, because I remember how revolutionary this was as a kid, was a sort of proto AOL, what instant messaging became. I lived without that as a kid, and then when we finally got it, it was revolutionary. It’s so interesting, because in my real life, I’m a diehard Luddite. I love to travel without a phone or computer or internet, not even just for maps. I have typewriters at home. So it’s really interesting to do the show and really try to believe in the positive qualities of all of this technology. And in the 80s, people were so positive about what this technology could do. And I wonder what it’s like for them to see what it has become.

TMS: I love your scenes between you and Joe this season, because we didn’t get many scenes in the first season and it is an opportunity to really see Donna in this tough, serious business mode. Especially when you kind of freaked out when he tried to push the price up. What are those scenes like to film?

Bishé: I love those scene between Joe and Donna too, and Lee is such a great guy to work with because he has such seriousness of purpose. I just think scenes between them are so funny because these two people are so different. So it kind of blows my mind when we’re in the same room together. She is someone who really leads with her heart and is easy to read. And he is the most enigmatic, cagey, withholding, manipulating, cool character. And yet they share this practicality that the other characters don’t have. So those scenes are always bizarre and fascinating to film.

TMS: How do you feel about the season finale?

Bishé: It really goes there. This season, I just want people to be hopeful for these characters and want good things for them. I don’t want people to be discouraged, because sometimes these characters just seem to get beaten down again and again, which is how capitalism in America works. And the admirable thing about these characters is their sense of perseverance when faced with intimidating personal and professional obstacles.

Lesley Coffin is a New York transplant from the midwest. She is the New York-based writer/podcast editor for Filmoria and film contributor at The Interrobang. When not doing that, she’s writing books on classic Hollywood, including Lew Ayres: Hollywood’s Conscientious Objector and her new book Hitchcock’s Stars: Alfred Hitchcock and the Hollywood Studio System.

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