The Stand: Amber Heard Says the Series’ Vegas Scenes are “Epic”

With the most recent episode of CBS All Access‘s The Stand, “The Walk”, the adaptation of the iconic Stephen King novel sees its story shift to Randall Flagg’s New Vegas, bringing Mother Abagail’s faction face to face with the Dark Man in what will be the ultimate showdown between good and evil. And for series star Amber Heard, it’s the scenes in Vegas that are some of her favorites because of their “epic” feel.

Speaking with ComicBook.com, the Nadine Cross actress said that the final scenes in Vegas felt epic even in just shooting them, but that they also make for a really interesting end to various character journeys.

“The final scenes in Vegas are some of the most rich and you know, they’re epic,” Heard said. “They feel epic even shooting them, they felt like bigger than anything else. It was very, I don’t want to give anything away and one of my favorite scenes would involve that, but I will say towards the end of our journeys, things get really interesting.”

Her co-star Jovan Adepo, who plays Larry Underwood in the series, also cited Vegas scenes among his favorites, even the ones that he wasn’t especially involved in.

“I have to say Vegas,” Adepo said when asked about his favorite moments and scenes from the series. “Vegas looks awesome. I mean, that wasn’t Larry’s natural destination, but I remember filming a lot of the scenes and like they would call cut and I’d be like ‘Man, this place looks pretty badass.’”

He continued, “You know, it was cool to witness and again, it’s another testament to the work the crew did in building these grand sets that just help you kind of just jump into this world and just believe it. Like, you can lose yourself in the character because you’re in it. So, it was really cool to see. I have to say, it’s one of my favorite scenes to witness that I wasn’t necessarily super a part of.”

As for Heard’s Nadine, the most recent episode saw the character fulfill her destiny by going to and consummating her relationship with Flagg (Alexander Skarsgard), something that viewers saw had horrific consequences for her that differ just a bit from the books. While fans will have to watch to see what Nadine’s ultimate fate is, Heard did say that the complexity of her character makes her one of the best female roles she’s ever read.

“What I think is so interesting about Nadine is you don’t know how to define her. No one knows how to define her, probably least of all herself,” Heard said. “She is struggling with a dark past, a lot of secrets, and a very very complicated dynamic with a supernatural force. And while she is presented with for the first time perhaps love and humanity in the form of the relationship she’s been able to form since meeting Larry and coming into the Boulder Free Zone, she’s ultimately a tragic character in that you realize she’s being presented with this reality almost too late. She’s almost discovering this on the last step of a very long path and there’s something tragic and I don’t know, heartbreaking about that because we see that, despite her complications, she ultimately is a lonely person who is reaching out for connections and love and for a character that’s only motivated by that love.’

Heard continued, “And it’s kind of heartbreaking when she meets the end she does and I don’t want to give anything away, but Nadine is my favorite character in this, certainly one of the best female roles I have read or met, and that I know of in that she is not easy to define as a bad guy or a good guy. She’s complicated and she’s ultimately a tragic character.”

The first seven episodes of The Stand are now streaming on CBS All Access. New episodes arrive every Thursday.