Mayfair Witches: Harry Hamlin Breaks Down Cortland’s Fate (Exclusive)

The season finale of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches aired Sunday night on AMC and that the episode saw major changes for Rowan (Alexandra Daddario) will come as no surprise for fans as last week’s episode, “Tessa”, ended with Rowan taking back Lasher (Jack Huston) and claiming her power. But this week’s “What Rough Beast” revealed what stepping into that power really means and had some major consequences for not just Rowan but the rest of the Mayfair family — especially Cortland (Harry Hamlin). Fates were decided and secrets were revealed and now, Hamlin is breaking down how things went down for Cortland and how it could shake out for Season 2.

Warning: spoilers for the season finale of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, “What Rough Beast”, beyond this point.

The episode made clear that the feelings some fans had that Cortland Mayfair may have been a little on the suspicious side — something that was very strongly suggested in “Tessa” when it was revealed he was working with the Talamasca — were on the money. While the rest of the family was devastated to learn that Tessa was dead and Rowan missing, Cortland slipped out to the woods to find an unconscious and heavily pregnant Rowan, drag her body to his car, and then take her to the Mayfair family crypt so that she could give birth to Lasher and thus fulfill the prophecy. However, that’s not the only big reveal of Cortland’s meddling in the episode. It comes to light that Cortland has been playing a very long game. It’s revealed that Cortland is actually Rowan’s father, having raped Deirdre the night of the party so many years ago and is also responsible for Deirdre’s death all in the name of bringing the prophecy — Lasher being made flesh — to fruition.

Once the baby Lasher is born, It’s revealed that Rowan has to choose the child and if she does, it will give her immense power but she’s initially reluctant to do so. Cortland, who has been lurking in the crypt, steps forward to take the child, but Rowan stops him. It turns out that Cortland had made an agreement with Lasher to help him come forth in exchange for immortality and now, Cortland wants to take the baby Lasher and thus, the power, finally wresting control of the Mayfair family from the women. Rowan won’t allow it and when Cortland taunts her that she can’t kill him, she simply turns him to stone instead, menacingly telling him that she knows what he, Lasher, knows, and thus knows exactly what Cortland did to her mother.

For Hamlin, Cortland is accustomed to getting what he wants, but his ALS diagnosis was a curve ball that completely changed the game and his manipulations.

“I think that Cortland always gets what he wants,” Hamlin told ComicBook.com. “He has been playing the long game, but he gets a curveball when he is diagnosed with ALS. And ALS is a death sentence, and he knows that, so he’s got to make a deal with Lasher to somehow get Lasher to cure him of ALS. He’s a very manipulative dude, Cortland. And he has to somehow corral this family of females. But he has his ways and his means that he has learned over his lifetime how to manipulate them. And I think at some point he’s also terrified, even though he’s sort of cured at the end of the episode. He’s terrified that, apparently, I’m conscious as I’m frozen there, and I know what’s going on but I can’t move a muscle so I’m terrified I may stay in that same position for the rest of my days. I don’t know how that’s going to be resolved exactly, but I know it’s going to be cool.”

Hamlin also said that, while there’s a moment in the episode where it might seem like Cortland has some remorse for everything he’s done, the character is truly self-serving and narcissistic — but if fans want to read into any of Cortland’s behavior something more multi-dimensional, he’s all for it.

“I try not to define specifically any of the characters that I’ve played to allow them to evolve. I don’t want to put them in a box at all. And my decision to straighten my tie was narcissistic,” he said of Cortland cleaning himself in the car after dragging Rowan from the woods. “So, I like the way that you’re reading into it, which is kind of interesting. But mainly, it was that I hate having dirty. hands and I hate having my tie all messed up. He dresses impeccably. And for me, that moment was really just, ‘Oh, ick.’ But I love the Lady Macbeth scene so you’re reading something into it that I think a lot of people might read into it, which is great. Let’s make it multi-dimensional.”

Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches is now streaming on AMC+.