Exclusive Interview
‘North of North’ Star Anna Lambe Reveals Her Siaja & Kuuk Season 2 Hopes
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for North of North Season 1.]
Netflix‘s adorable comedy North of North introduced viewers to Siaja (Anna Lambe), an Inuk woman who decides she wants more out of her life, but following Season 1’s finale, there are plenty of questions that remain unanswered.
While the series has yet to be ordered for a second season, we can’t help but look ahead to the potential future, which star Lambe is weighing in on below. For those who have yet to tune in, North of North tracks Siaja’s story, which begins with a near-death experience influencing her to make a change by ditching her unobservant husband Ting (Kelly William) and expanding her horizons.
The catch? As she attempts to find her place working at her Arctic town, Ice Cove’s community center, she must also juggle being a single mother to daughter Bun (Keira Belle Cooper) and cope with the sudden reappearance of her long-lost father Alistair (Jay Ryan). Mix in her tense relationship with mom Neevee (Maika Harper), and you have all the ingredients for an engrossing eight-episode journey.
As viewers see in the season, Siaja grows to create a bond with Alistair, whom she never knew about as her mother Neevee lied to both of them about each other’s existence. But in the finale, Neevee’s reasoning makes a little more sense when she reveals she had another daughter before Siaja, but that the baby’s white father had stolen her away. Fearful that the same could happen with Siaja, Neevee never told Alistair of his daughter’s existence, and vice versa.
Netflix
Meanwhile, Siaja’s own personal life has its ups and downs in the romance department as she connects with Alistair’s colleague, Kuuk (Braeden Clarke), who seems like a strong potential love interest, even sharing a surprise kiss in Episode 6. But that dream is quickly dashed as Siaja discovers Kuuk has a girlfriend, Alexis (Taylor Hickson), who is visiting from out of town.
While hope still lingers for the duo, at the end of Season 1’s finale, Siaja learns Alexis is planning to stick around, making the path for romance with Kuuk next to impossible. Is there still hope? Lambe weighs in on the topic and other Season 2 potentials in the Q&A below.
Is there any hope for Siaja and Kuuk to find romance in a potential second season now that his girlfriend is sticking around?
Anna Lambe: In reading the scripts, because you are rooting for Siaja and Kuuk, you know, they have moments playing chess and how sweet that is… when she goes to find him after the musher, you’re like, “Oh my God, this is the moment, this is where it happens,” and here comes Alexis. So I mean, by the end of the season, it’s looking pretty [much] like it’s not happening, but who knows what the future holds.
Siaja’s dad, Alistair, is also planning to hang around Ice Cove. How did his presence help her journey this season?
Lambe: For Siaja to finally have a father figure is something [special]. He’s so supportive from the get-go. He’s like, “Oh, I have a family. All right, well, call me a family man because I’m committed to this family.” And the way he really tries to meet Neevee where she’s at and be supportive, I think Siaja has never had that kind of comfort and warmth from family before, and especially not from Neevee, so I think that support, she leans into it and here’s kind of that sense of stability and safety of now there’s someone that I can always talk to, and I’m not worried that they’re gonna snap at me with some snarky comment.
Netflix
Neevee reveals she had another daughter before Siaja, who was stolen. How does Siaja feel about this realization that she has a sister out in the world somewhere?
Lambe: It’s a big reveal and it’s a big turning point, especially with how rocky Siaja and Neevee’s relationship has been. But I think for Siaja to see her mom, who has always been stone-cold, rock solid, just an impenetrable force of a woman who never shows vulnerability, to see her mom break open like that was so devastating. All of the resentment that was built up from her childhood and the way that her mother treated her, and having to grow up to take care of her mother when she was dealing with alcoholism… I think in that moment, this feeling of grace blossomed. Not necessarily forgiveness, but understanding, and still loving her at an arm’s length.
What do you hope to see if the series returns for Season 2?
Lambe: There are so many hopes and dreams for Season 2. I would be lying if I said I didn’t stay up at night thinking about it sometimes, and what all the possibilities could be. More than anything, what I want is for some comfort for Neevee, that’s my dream is to see her as happy as she could be, all things considered. And whatever that looks like? I have no idea, but hopefully if the good thing happens, then we can explore that.
Do you ship Siaja with Kuuk?
Lambe: The people know. I’ve been tagged in the edits and stuff, and the shipping culture has taken off now. I want them to be happy, and I think they’re very sweet together, and the will-they-won’t-they tension just pulls you in, it just keeps you searching for more. I’m so curious to see what happens with that dynamic because I do think it’s so sweet, and I remember reading the scripts and getting to the end of Episode 6 and being like, “No, this was supposed to be the moment. This was supposed to be their moment!”
North of North, Streaming Now, Netflix
