Paul Adelstein and Lisa Edelestein in 'Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce' (Bravo)
It's time to sign the papers on "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce."
After watching Abby (Lisa Edelstein) and Jake (Paul Adelstein) split up, file for divorce and hash out what seemed like the next phase of their relationship, things ended up looking a lot less than settled between the two of them in the penultimate episode of Season 1.
Just before Will (Abby's hot young boyfriend played by Warren Christie) returned from Nepal, her ex, Jake decided to give her the necklace she coveted (from the silent auction at their kids' school), and as they talked, the parting spouses nearly kissed in the backyard. Saved by the (door) bell!
WATCH: Lisa Edelstein: How She Landed The Lead In ‘Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce’
As we head into the show's Season 1 finale, airing Tuesday at 10/9c on Bravo, Access Hollywood turned to Executive Producer Marti Noxon for more on what's going on between Abby and Jake, and Abby and Will. We also turned to Noxon for hints about Delia's (Necar Zadegan) feelings now that she's been proposed to, and what's going on with Phoebe (Beau Garrett).
AccessHollywood.com: At the end of the last episode, Jake looks like he's going to make a move on Abby when the doorbell rings. How strong are his feelings for her in that moment and at this point in time?
Marti Noxon: I think that they're both really confused (laughs). I think that both of them are finding the actual reality of undoing it, legally, more intimidating than they thought it was going to be.
PHOTOS: ‘Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce' -- Scenes From The Season 1 Finale
Access: And Jake bought Abby the necklace (from the silent auction). She made that comment to the other mom, 'I didn't get the 40th gift.' Do you think that hurt him a little bit, and as he's preparing to say goodbye [to their marriage and life together], that's one of the reasons he got the gift, or is there more?
Noxon: I think that yes... there's probably a little bit of both going on there. He's being sentimental about the relationship and what she said to him is true -- she isn't reaping the benefits of his finally finding himself. So, I think there is guilt behind it. But also, [he's] being very sentimental about what he wished he could've been for her.
Access: Warren and Lisa have a really great chemistry. I know they worked on 'Castle' together before and I'm curious if the arc for Will was always intended to go across many episodes, or if you saw that chemistry and you had to write to it?
Noxon: That's a good question. I always thought it would it would be interesting to explore the dynamics of a relationship of an older woman and a younger man, without making it just like a booty call situation, where for both of them, it takes on a lot more weight than they expected it to. I really hoped that there would be that intense chemistry between them, but we didn't really know until we got them together. And it was funny, at a certain point in the mid-season, we were kind of making up another paramour for Lisa, like somebody else who we might take [seriously], and we were really struggling… and part of the problem was we sharing Warren with 'Motive' and we didn't know if we could get him. … And so we were trying to come with somebody else and I remember finally, one day, I was just like, 'It has to be Will! ... What are we thinking? We know we've got this person with whom she just has this magnetic connection, why would we be screwing around?' So I went back to production and said, 'Please, can you talk to them and see if we can share?' and they made it work.
Access: Wow. So there's Will, but there are a lot of good things going for Jake. When you see Jake and Abby together, you really see that connection. Was it always your intention to bring it to kind of a head right before the season finale where, as viewers, we would be torn between who we wanted to see Abby with?
Noxon: That was actually something that was one of those lovely surprises that you go into any situation like this and you think you have the answers, and then, their chemistry was so evident when they were fighting, and we kept getting the note from the network, 'Can they fight more often?' And I was kind of like, 'No, because they can't have a big, incredibly tear-jerky fight every episode.' But I read into that like, if their chemistry's that good when they're fighting, it's gonna be pretty great when they're longing for each other too. … I will say, from the very beginning, casting Paul was obviously very intentional because I didn't want it to be easy to write Jake off. First, you have an impression of him, but I think as the season wears on, you start to realize he's a really good guy and those two [characters] – they have such history together and they make each other laugh in a way that only people who know each other that well can. So there was a kind of a romance between the two of them that nobody can take the place of you know?
Access: On another subject, I was really surprised to see over the season how much baggage Delia had and it made me think when she got the ring -- can you expect her to get rid of the baggage and get into this? Saying no is easy for her. It's easier for her than saying yes.
Noxon: Yeah, exactly. Way more easy. It's much more expected that a woman -- especially a woman who's not 25 -- is going to want marriage as a goal and I don't think we've explored many characters like her who would seem to have every reason in the world to get married, but who just don't believe in it, and I think that's more common now than it's ever been -- that younger people are questioning whether it works and whether it's a good idea, and so I just thought it would be interesting. But I do think that – yeah… I think everybody's torn between the idea of sharing your life with someone and not taking that risk.
READ: Q&A: Warren Christie On Will & That Manuscript Scene
Access: Phoebe is really raw right now as we head into the finale. What can you kind of hint at about what we're going to see with her because something's going on?
Noxon: Right. Yeah, and again, it was funny because early on we got, not a lot, but a little bit of criticism for her being such a stereotypical like, sex-driven character, but it was always our intention to dig into the 'why' of that. And also, I mean, I know a lot of just stunningly beautiful women who have relationship issues. … It was always our intention to have somebody who had this thing that we covet so much in our society, but guess what? She's still a real person, and really good and bad things have happened to her, just like anybody else, and we wanted to slowly unravel what we first thought about her, so that's what's happening now.
The Season 1 finale of "Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce" airs at 10/9c on Bravo.
-- Jolie Lash
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