‘Graceland’s’ Serinda Swan On Paige; Sneak Peek At Briggs’ Dangerous Situation

After everything she’s been through, and everything she’s done, Paige Arkin is making a change.

In the “Graceland” Season 3 premiere last week, she announced she’s moving out.

Since the middle of Season 2, when Serinda Swan’s character got involved in tackling the sex trafficking ring, the case took her further away from the team, and especially Mike Warren (Aaron Tveit), who was also working the case. Turning Mike’s hospital details over to Sid though, after she found out Mike lied about what happened to Lina (the young woman forced into the ring), changed everything. Mike luckily survived Sid’s murder attempt, but Paige is full of so many emotions, including guilt, and those feelings of betrayal by her ex that it’s pushed her further away from the housemates she’s relied on in the past. It all adds up to a very separate storyline and a very internal one too as the season continues for Paige, and the actress who plays her.

PHOTOS: ‘Graceland’: Scenes From Season 3

“There’s definitely a distance there [for Paige],” Serinda told Access Hollywood. “I think a line has been drawn for her and there is that, ‘What am I capable of?’ and watching herself and really becoming an introvert and trying to understand what mechanisms or belief systems are in her that she can kind of go this crazy… and so I think there’s sort of this inward pull to become calm and that translates on to the set as well. I mean, we’re a pretty light and fun set, but you know, I’ve probably read 18 books because I sit there and I read and I’ll kind of just get into my head and where I need to be… but there’s definitely a little bit of life imitating art for sure.”

Paige told her housemates that she can’t move out until the Sid situation is resolved, and living with Mike won’t be easy.

READ: ‘Graceland’s’ Serinda Swan & Daniel Sunjata Preview Season 3

“I think it’s a heightened reality and it’s interesting thing to watch how, you know, now we have to live in the same house and like how does redemption happen, if it can happen? How does the relationship get repaired, if it can get repaired?” Serinda said. “It’s an interesting season for sure.”

While Paige is wracked with emotions, Paul Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) is battling to keep his in check after being strong armed by his new FBI boss, Special Agent Sean Logan (“The Walking Dead” alum Lawrence Gilliard Jr.), into going undercover to take down an arms dealer. The very first situation Briggs was thrown into after going undercover and working with Ari, the nephew of a top boss in the Sarkissian arms family, saw him take part in a kidnapping that resulted in Briggs being tased, covered in blood, and having to help Ari destroy a body.

Access Hollywood has a sneak peek at Thursday’s all-new “Graceland,” where Briggs is involved in more questionable activities that will test how far he is willing to go. In the clip, Briggs is brought along as muscle as Ari tries to threaten a man he likes to call Chester Cheeto (the name of Thursday’s episode), into signing something over to the Sarkissians.

The situation for Briggs is a tough one, but he has no choice. Logan has the tape of him killing Agent Juan Badillo.

PHOTOS: ‘Graceland’ — Season 2’s Stylish Cast Shots

And a major them for Season 3 is “atonement,” Daniel told Access.

“For a living, we walk this tight rope of moral ambiguity… doing bad things in order to advance presumably good agendas, but regardless of the reasons why you do bad things, they’re still bad things and there is a comeuppance eventually,” Daniel said of the characters on the series.

“Graceland” continues Thursdays at 10/9c on USA.

— Jolie Lash