Charlie Barnett Explains Jack’s Threat & Promises Answers Are Coming (Exclusive)

Almost the entire Hollingsworth family spends the Monday, October 26, episode of Line of Fire focused on Jane (Hope Davis) and the threat of her plane crashing. Meanwhile, Jack (Charlie Barnett), the son most of them think is dead, makes a move against Nia (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy). TV Insider spoke with Barnett about just that and more. Warning: Spoilers for Line of Fire Season 1 Episode 6 ahead!

Mike (Peter Krause) and Jane have this thing where they used to recap their days to determine who had the worst one for a bottle of bourbon. Well, while Jane wins that one with her flight troubles — it all turns out OK, with their kids Clare (Kat Cunning), Micah (Tommy O’Brien), and Russ (Taylor Bloom) all gathered together hoping — Mike makes a discovery that could challenge that. One of his fellow Secret Service agents set up the attempted assassination of former president Barnes (Sam Waterston) to help his poll numbers, and it worked. He confronts Daryl (Keith Nobbs), who defends his actions then leaves Mike with a decision to make: Does he want to burn it all down or live with the lie his country needs?

Meanwhile, Jack lures Nia in to his trap, ties her to a chair, and warns her that he can hurt the ones she loves, including her ailing mother. All he wants from her is silence and the assurance that no one will learn he’s alive, most of all his family. If so, he’ll let her go.

Below, Charlie Barnett explains Jack’s threat to Nia.

Jack is determined to make sure no one knows he’s alive, especially his family, as he warns Nia at the end. Is it because he wants to protect them?

Charlie Barnett: Yeah. I mean, the further and further we get into it, the further and further in any situation, the more connected you are and the more implicated you are…. As much as we maybe don’t know as an audience what line I fall onto, I still kind of don’t know the good and bad inevitable question. But look, in this field, good and bad is not [black and white], you know what I mean? One action is always going to have a reciprocation and it may mean that if you’re killing this person in order to protect this person, this person still has a family and they’re going to have a reaction to that. It is war. There is no winner at the end of it because it’s so damn gray.

Matt Infante/NBC

All that to be said, I think yes, he’s threatening Nia that I do not want you to engage my family because I can see how close you are getting or especially don’t engage anyone above yourself in order to engage my family because that would be way more complicated because I know that you’re just going to be implicating them further. And that is the one thing that I’m trying to push against.

Jack mentions to Nia how family is a burden. So does he feel that way about his own family because of what you just said?

Look, burdens can still be loved, of course. The irony is he literally told them that he was dying in order to remove himself from the family. I’m not denying that you can love them and still really appreciate them, but the burden is that you are a risk. You are a risk on my life and on yours, and I cannot be in Iraq fighting a war or performing these special op secret service missions thinking about how my parents are now in trouble because I did A, B, or C. Yeah, it is really like releasing the burden creates more protection in the long run. It’s not a question of people being a burden and you wanting to eliminate them, but he definitely is using that as a threat in that moment to Nia, 150%. There’s a burden that she does not want to have to take on or at least a burden that I can help eliminate for her if she wants.

Do you think Jack has given up on a family reunion at this point?

I don’t want to say he’s given up. I don’t know if he thinks it’s a possibility. Where we are and how difficult and how overlaid this is at this moment for him, it is too much of a risk. I will not put them in a position of danger in order to have tea and crumpets. I’m not British. In order to have turkey dinner.

He will watch them. That’s the thing. 

He will lurk. He will be behind every bush. He will be in every car lurking around at every corner. No, I mean, most of the time, in my mind, and maybe I’m giving a little too much away, but Jack is lurking in order to protect. So it’s not necessarily… But that’s where the line is — exactly the questions that you’re asking. It’s where the line gets a little blurred because getting to see his sister hanging out with her boyfriend, Logan, probably feels really nice and it’s super special, but then he knows at the end of the day, I have to kill Logan. I have to kill Logan. So you know what I mean? It’s that cross duality.

What can you tease about his next move?

I can tell you that the origami skills are just … they up the ante. He starts making all kinds of… I’m an origami master now. No, I’m kidding. I can tell you that some answers do get fulfilled. We’re on Episode 110 right now. We’re going into 111 and we just got the extension, so things may change, but things are starting to come out, which is really nice to at least acknowledge to the audience that you’re not going to be left with cliffhanger after cliffhanger after cliffhanger. There’s going to be some resolve. The resolve is going to open doors to a whole ‘nother world. [Laughs]

Line of Fire, Mondays, 10/9c, NBC