Ready, Beasties?

After what has felt like an eternity, Beauty and the Beast Season 2 roars back into action tonight on The CW with six new episodes.

The main thrust of the first installment, of course, is the fact that Vincent is thrown in jail and Catherine, Gabe, JT and Tess have to work together to try to get him out (or at least stop him from getting all ‘beasty’ while in the slammer).

Will there be time for more in the Cat/Vincent romance? Will Gabe let Catherine go that easily now that she’s broken up with him to be with Vincent? And what is everyone going to think when they find out JT and Tess have been hitting the sheets?

Who better to get all those questions answered but Kristin Kreuk, who talked to me last week about all the above and how she feels about one sexy scene we see in Beauty and the Beast Season 2 Episode 17...

TV Fanatic: I think the Beasties will be very happy with this first episode back.

Kristin Kreuk: I think so, too!

TVF: What’s the broad scope on these last episodes getting us to the season two finale?

KK: As you know, Vincent was arrested at the end of the last episode we saw so that’s how the entire arc is, which is essentially figure out who put Vincent in jail in the first place. So once we determine who didn’t put him in jail, it puts the characters on a path to figure out who or what that entity may be and also get Vincent exonerated of his crimes.

TVF: Is it safe to say a lot of what happens in these episodes will lead us to season 3 or is the chapter closing?

KK: No, this is going to lead us directly into season 3. It will give us some of Catherine’s historical family history and we’ll also get an understanding of who the people or person is who has been manipulating the situation behind the scenes. We’ll also have a big story around Gabe.

TVF: I like that Cat’s dear old Dad is still around even though he’s not very nice…

KK: No, Dad’s pivotal and he’s important to Catherine’s arc and some of the information he holds and nobody else.

TVF: Is there any redemption for him or any hope for a father-daughter relationship of some kind moving forward or is that all out the window?

KK: I think there’s hope because he is her father and it depends on what he decides to do, obviously. But I think every time Catherine is with him she hopes underneath it all that he’s good and he can be her father because she has no parent and she desperately wants one so that’s always there. Will he ever be forgiven for everything? I don’t know.

TVF: Is the love triangle with Gabe and Vincent over? As of now, we know Catherine has let Gabe go but I’m not sure Gabe is going to give up so easily.

KK: The triangle is over in the sense that there’s no reciprocity. Catherine doesn’t want to be with Gabe but Gabe’s feelings are not shallow. He wants to be with Catherine. I don’t know how much of it is love or possessiveness ultimately but he does love her.

TVF: How is Catherine going to feel when she finds out about JT and Tess?

KK: How she finds out is really so trivial and you’ll see how it unfolds. The stakes are so high that ‘Hey, I had sex with JT’ is so not important compared to Vincent is in jail for murder.

TVF: But there is time for some shower action in the episode…

KK: That was a fun scene. It was essentially me giggling the whole time…it ended up being a really sweet scene.

TVF: In general, since you’ve been playing Catherine for awhile, is the stunt work just second nature at this point?

KK: Honestly, it’s never been super difficult for me. I like it and I think it’s going to be a part of the show always. Some people love that adrenaline rush and I don’t love that feeling (laughs) so for myself I’m a little bit out of my head. My brain shuts off and it doesn’t work anymore and I feel out of control sometimes when I go into more primitive kicking people mode. But it’s a part of Catherine and it’s a part of the show. We have some good fights in the next episodes that people will enjoy.

TVF: I know you haven’t started shooting the new season yet but what is your hope for season 3 as far as Catherine’s journey?

KK: I would really like to see her understand her purpose and her mission. Like any hero character that we watch, I really want her to understand and feel her purpose in life and own that fully.

TVF: Any message for The Beasties? My Twitter feed may have blown up when I said I was talking to you.

KK: (laughs) I think The Beasties are going to be very happy with the next episodes that they get to see now. I know they’re excited for the show is back on the air. I think they’ll get their Vincent and Catherine moments and it will be all the sweeter because they’ve been apart for so long.

Beauty and the Beast airs Mondays at 9pm on the CW.

Jim Halterman is the West Coast Editor of TV Fanatic and the owner of JimHalterman.com. Follow him on Twitter.