In 2018, the world was introduced to the movie Blindspotting, one of the most creative movies about freedom of expression, gentrification, the prison system, parenthood and navigating the world that’s constantly evolving for the better and at times the worst. One of the more important themes was self-discovery.
Blindspotting, the film, centered on Collin (played by Hamilton star Daveed Diggs) who had recently been released from prison, and how he made it through his parole alongside his best friend Miles (played by Rafael Casal). Then, in June 2022, the Blindspotting universe officially expanded with the premiere of the television adaptation on Starz, now focusing on Miles’ wife Ashley (Hamilton costar Jasmine Cephas Jones) after he goes to prison.
With Casal serving as showrunner and Diggs onboard to co-write episodes, Blindspotting followed Ashley’s home life with Miles’ family —especially his mother Rainey (Helen Hunt) and sister Trish (Jaylen Barron) — as she seeks to raise her son right while his father is in prison. Candace Nicholas-Lippman belongs to Collin’s family, straddling the line as his sister and Ashley’s best friend. After having returned from her extended stay in Bali with no explanation, last season’s finale revealed she had left her husband and stepchild in Bali. But even as the past seems to be behind her, season 2 proves that to not quite be the case.
The Koalition spoke to Nicholas-Lippman to shed light on what viewers can expect from Janelle’s mysterious and guarded secrets in Blindspotting season 2, Janelle and Ashley’s friendship, and more.
“When I finally did find out what happened to Janelle, it helped me a lot to play more on her being mysterious and guarded. [Since] she’s been so guarded the whole season, we don’t know what’s going on with her and I remember, I’m the queen of questions. I kept badgering Raphael [with] ‘what happened? Was her heart broken? Was she stood up? What happened out there that made this woman just be so overly protective of her experience?’ She was gone for five years and the fact that happened in Bali, but also, she kept this whole other life a secret. She didn’t even tell Ashley her best friend, she didn’t tell her mama, or Colin her brother. She literally kept Oakland completely separate [from] this whole other life she created in Bali.”
“For me, it just really helped when I finally found out [more information] about her development [and] why she’s being so secretive about it. There is a particular episode I’m really excited for all y’all to see where we do finally get a little bit more insight [into what happened]. [There will be a] ‘Oh my gosh, okay, this is what it really was [like] in Bali.'”
With even more layers to Janelle set to be revealed, one has to wonder if she’s been living her authentic self, and if so, when. Was she always longing to be a wife and mother? Is her guarded nature just proof she was always hiding something, even when living in Oakland? While she technically didn’t lie, she decided not to reveal even the most important aspects of her life. She loved someone so much she decided to marry them and raise their child as her own.
“Janelle is always her authentic self. Her life in Bali was a whole different culture and custom that she became accustomed to after being out there for five years. I just think what she did was discover another side of herself she didn’t know possibly existed. All she knew before she left was the town, the Bay, Oakland and oftentimes when we do that, whether it’s going to live in another country or if it’s just like me moving from Sacramento to live in Los Angeles, there’s always that cultural shock aspect when you’re leaving something where you’re comfortable and you’re familiar to now go explore this whole other side of yourself. In terms of authenticity, she’s always 100% unapologetically herself, but I think her experience in Bali [allowed her to] discover things about herself I don’t think she would have ever discovered had she stayed in Oakland.”
“[Oakland is a place of healing for her] because after her heart being broken in the situation which y’all will find out more this season [regarding what] transpired [and] all that went down out there, she did return to Oakland. She returned to her roots. Yes, [Oakland] is her safe haven because this is what she knows and she’s returning to her healing place, but it is also what played into her being so guarded. She was like, ‘I don’t really think I’m ready to open up about what happened out there because I’m still trying to process what happened and also processing the fact I am now back home.'”
Nicholas-Lippman also believes whatever happened with Janelle’s failed (?) marriage, she wouldn’t have returned home to Oakland. Oakland is not only her home but her solitude, where she feels comfort and gets comfort from Ashley. “I don’t think if what transpired in Bali hadn’t happened [she would still be living there]. I can’t say 100 that Janelle would have moved back to Oakland. She probably visited and, but I don’t think she would have moved back just yet had the life that she had created in Bali still remained.”
“Ashley’s a part of Oakland. [She’s] been her best friend since sixth grade. You know how it is when we have our best friends, or we have our favorite cousin or our favorite auntie or whoever. Janelle knows Ashley, Ashley knows Janelle. They’ve been through the trenches together. It’s like when you have someone that’s outside of your blood family that can relate to you and who knows the inner [depths] of yourself. Of course, you are going back to [that] safe haven. It’s a place where it’s okay to breathe because I’m someplace that is familiar. I’m someplace where there’s a safe space and a place where I know I’m loved.”
The love Ashley and Janelle have for each other is obvious. They are more than just friends, they’re each other’s family. While Janelle hides her marriage from Ashley at first, she reveals to comfort Ashely when she’s unsure about marrying Miles. Ashley didn’t want to marry Miles just because; she wanted to be able to continue feeling and being a family. In addition, Ashley understands that this wedding is just a formality but that, in reality, they have been married a long time. Despite them planning that moment for so long, life always spoils the best laid plans.
“I believe firmly with Janelle, and this is something she and I have in common. It is when we’re so loyal and so protective of the people we love oftentimes, we set ourselves and our needs aside to show up for people. In that moment, I find it interesting throughout the entire series it was in that moment when Ashley was having doubts about marrying Miles. It was that moment Janelle chose to finally reveal her truth. It inferred to me she was again doing something selfless. She didn’t finally tell Ashley to be like, ‘Okay, this is the big secret I’ve been carrying. What are you gonna think about it? She told her to be like, ‘okay let me share a part of my testimony of what I went through to hopefully encourage you to still go through with what you’re doubting right now.'”
“I don’t think she was thinking of herself at that moment, she was thinking of her best friend, how to show up for her friend. I don’t really think she had an expectation of how Ashley would respond because her full intent was to encourage her. To give her the strength, she needed to know this was the man of her dreams. This is who you need to marry. This is the man you should marry because, say my relationship didn’t work out well, or this may not be the man that you married, because I had a life previously, where I had the husband and the kid, and it didn’t work out and now I’m hiding secrets because whatever happened could have been a huge embarrassment. I don’t want the same thing for you. There’s a line specifically she says. Ashley asked, ‘did you double down,’ and I said, ‘yes’ but he didn’t, right. I said, ‘but Miles will ask, he always will.'”
“I do believe there is so much more still to unpack, there is so much because the truth is Janelle was gone for five years and nothing was said. She visited home in those five years. She literally just left and stayed [away]. There’s a lot to unpack there when the person that is your best friend, your ride or die is not there now every day. And Ashley was still going through stuff too, which I’m sure she would have needed me for. I think about that stuff even with my mama, with my bro Colin, played by David Diggs, based off the movie. He was incarcerated, even my brother went to jail and Janelle still stayed in Bali. There’s so much impact there even for my selfish Janelle. ‘Did she ever see herself being married?’ Those are questions I asked. To be married and become a stepmom to someone else’s child is a lot to unpack. There’s so much of Janelle’s story and her backstory that is just not filled in yet.”
Just like the movie, Blindspotting is the limits of perception, the dualism that we can’t see, which also involves identity. Even though Janelle left to possibly find herself and break out of her comfort shell and home, she learned more about herself than possible if she had stayed. In order to understand why Janella left, she had to do her own deep dive into the character and her arc for this season.
“Sometimes, as actors, we have to create our own backstory, especially if it’s not given to us on paper. What I have created for her to make sense for me in developing Janelle in her arc and her story is that she literally just wanted to see the world. This is something she was running from. If anything, maybe she wanted to have a break from town life. In episode four of season one, she was going to all these dates, and it was just exhausting for her. She couldn’t connect with anyone that was on this level mentally and spiritually. Living in Bali was a disconnect [and now she’s back home]. I don’t think she’s running away from anything, I just think she’s a young woman who is just trying to discover life, herself and another side of herself outside of the town. That’s something we very much have in common.”
“I’m from the hood of Sacramento and I moved to Los Angeles by myself. I want to travel the world. I want to go to Bali because of Janelle. I want to go to Europe. I want to go to Hawaii. I believe there’s so much more to life than just what I was raised in in Sacramento and I believe that to be the same thing with Janelle. She believed there’s more to life than just Oakland. There’s more to life than this. I think that’s what happened. She just wanted to go on a trip and that trip ended up staying and that’s the part for me. We all want to know what would make someone stay someplace in a foreign country for five years. That’s really interesting to me as well as the actor.”
There’s so much to Janelle that Nicholas-Lippman would like to explore and understand about her. Hopefully, the next season will provide more answers for her and the fans. “I pray God willing if we get a season three, maybe then we can start to see more about Janelle. To me, Janelle is interesting because of all those unanswered questions. She’s interesting to me as an actress because I’m just like, ‘Why this? And when did she decide to do that? Why wouldn’t she tell her mama or her best friend?'”
“Janelle’s whole family dynamic is very interesting. [Her] dad gets painted nude. Janelle’s family are very interesting people. It would be exciting to explore them too. I would love to have more history with Ashley, with her best friend. I would love for us to have moments where the elephant in the room is really loud. We should be talking about the fact she was gone for five years and what impact that had on [her] best friend.”
To learn more about Candace Nicholas-Lippman portrayal of Janelle, check out the full interview above where Candace Nicholas Lippman provides even more surprises and insight into Blindspotting.
