‘All Her Fault’ Star Abby Elliott Breaks Down Lia’s Big Final Scene: “It Was Really Cathartic”

This interview contains spoilers for the finale of All Her Fault.

You probably know Abby Elliott for her comedy skills. Besides starring on four seasons of Saturday Night Live, on which she impersonated everyone from Zooey Deschanel to Meryl Streep, she’s also starred on sitcoms like Odd Mom Out and Indebted. It’s safe to say her major breakout, however, came on The Bear as Carmy’s kind and grounded sister Sugar, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. A true dramedy, The Bear allows Elliott to show off her more serious side, but All Her Fault takes things to the next level.

A drama that combines elements of crime and mystery, All Her Fault stars Sarah Snook and Jake Lacy as Marissa and Peter, the parents of a young boy named Milo (Duke McCloud) who is kidnapped after school one day. The situation leads to shocking revelations and long-buried secrets coming to light, including for Peter’s siblings, the dryly comedic Brian (Daniel Monks) and recovering wild child Lia (Elliot). Lia has lived her life racked with guilt due to a tragedy from her childhood for which she feels responsible, but everything she thought she knew about herself gets called into question over the course of the series’ twisty eight episodes.

Collider got the chance to speak to Elliott about her role in the show, which feels like a departure from much of her other work. Throughout the conversation, Elliot discusses the challenges and joys of acting in a drama, breaks down her shocking final scene, reveals whether she knows anything about The Bear Season 5, and more.

Abby Elliott Reveals Whether Her ‘The Bear’ or ‘All Her Fault’ Family Is More Dysfunctional

“There’s some redemption there in certain moments.”

Image via Peacock

COLLIDER: I really loved you on this show, and I obviously adore you on The Bear as well.

ABBY ELLIOTT: Aww, that’s so nice.

I mean, you’re so great in both. I do have to ask: Which family do you think is more dysfunctional? Is it the Irvines, or is it the Berzattos?

ELLIOTT: Oh, hard to say, honestly. I think the Irvines. Because I do think with the Berzattos, there’s some redemption there in certain moments. I think it’s the Irvines.

They are giving each other a run for their money for sure.

ELLIOTT: They really are! Yeah, yeah.

You’re such a gifted comedic actress, but I really enjoyed seeing you show off your more dramatic chops in this show. What was the more nerve-wracking part of that, and then the more fun part of doing something a little bit more gritty and serious like this?

ELLIOTT: Obviously, I’m working with these incredibly talented, real actors. It was pretty nerve-wracking to go in and do this dramatic scene. Episode 5, I would say, was the most challenging because, up until that point, we knew who our characters were because it was on the page that Megan Gallagher, our showrunner, wrote. But Episode 5 kind of takes a turn, and Lia has to reveal this other part of herself, and things unfold, and she kind of becomes a different person. I met Daniel Monks, who plays Brian, and Jake Lacy, who plays Peter, and we really got along, so we established that connection in the beginning. While we were shooting chronologically, when we got to Episode 5, things really took a turn — they changed and took a different direction — so that was the biggest challenge for me with that.

That is definitely the turning point for me, too. I was like, “Okay, this show is going somewhere I didn’t see it going!”

Abby Elliott Breaks Down Lia’s “Cathartic” Ending

“All she wants to do is scream at the top of her lungs.”

Image via Peacock

You have one of the last scenes in the show, and one of the scenes that I find the most interesting, when Lia is being questioned about Peter’s death. She says she’s not gonna blame Marissa, but then she ultimately says that she didn’t see her look at the labels. Can you unpack that moment and what you think she’s thinking? I found that so layered and juicy.

ELLIOTT: I really loved doing that. Lia has been so pushed down her entire life, and she’s been so silenced, and all she wants to do is scream at the top of her lungs, and that’s why she’s so impulsive — that’s why she’s kind of a loose cannon. At that moment, it’s just her being very thoughtful and smart about how she is getting her redemption. In a way, it’s passive, because it’s not all her, but she is complicit, and so to be able to have that weight kind of be lifted and to feel it was really cathartic.

Oh my gosh, I can only imagine. You mentioned that her life does really get turned upside down over the course of this show. What do you think her life looks like after the events of all of this?

ELLIOTT: I hope she’s still the great aunt that she was, and that she and Brian are as tight as ever, and that they’ve gotten even closer, and they trust each other, and he really trusts her now. I hope that she has a friendship with Marissa, and she’s still a part of it, and this is the thing that they move past. She’s the best.

I was sad that there’s obviously not gonna be a future with Colin, because I found myself rooting for them despite the circumstances maybe not being the most recommended. I felt like their chemistry was so sweet, and they had a really beautiful dynamic. I’m curious if you can talk about working with Jay to sort of develop that chemistry.

ELLIOTT: Working with Jay was amazing. He is so funny off-camera, so there was a lightness to when we had scenes together. She really didn’t explore the relationship in the way that she wanted to publicly, mostly because of her brother telling her that it’s not a good idea, and that’s how she kind of lived her life. It’s just her brother placing this label on her as, “You’re the fuck up. You’re not gonna do this,” but also blaming her for it, saying, “Well, why can’t you do that?” It’s just gaslighting. Working with Jay was so fun. He’s the best.

I love it. I love you two so much. We need a prequel spin-off or something where we can actually see them together a little bit more.

ELLIOTT: I love that.

Yeah, you’re welcome. We’ll pitch it. We’ll make it happen. We’ll manifest it.

Abby Elliott Reveals What She Knows About ‘The Bear’ Season 5

“I do want what’s best for her.”

Image via FX Networks

Like I said, I’m a huge fan of you on The Bear. I know you haven’t started filming the new season yet, but have you discussed with the showrunner anything about what could be next for Sugar? Where do you think we might find her in the next season of that?

ELLIOTT: I honestly have no idea what’s gonna happen. I haven’t seen anything. I haven’t really discussed anything, but I’m excited because, like Lia, I love Sugar as well. She’s very different from Lia, but I do want what’s best for her. They’re like my children.

The great thing about both shows is that there are so many shocking twists and turns — I never know what to expect with either one. For this show, what was the most shocking moment for you personally? Because I gasped a couple of times. What was the most jaw-dropping thing for you?

ELLIOTT: There are a ton. I guess, in Episode 5, that big reveal was unexpected. Just for an actor to be able to play that, it was such a gift. That was cool. And in that episode, so many other things kind of unfold after, so I would say that episode as a whole.

All Her Fault is streaming on Peacock.

Watch on Peacock