Collider: How has Ava Crowder been evolving this season?

JOELLE CARTER: Last season was a growing period for Ava, especially after being shot. She’s really dedicating herself to her journey with Boyd (Walton Goggins). She’s in a different place. I believe she’s ready to stand up and be the best woman beside her man that she can be. I believe Boyd is her North now, so whatever vision he has, it’s her duty to try to see it come clear. She’s surprising herself, as I am being surprised by the writing and the development, in my own mind, of Ava and what actually is inside her and the strength that lies in there. What she’s capable of is going to surprise people, as it’s surprising me.

Collider: What do you think the repercussions will be from her going all in with Boyd, this season, as he gets deeper into the criminal element of Harlan?

CARTER: Hopefully, it will be successful and powerful for both of them. There’s been some really intimate scenes where you see that the only person he really will show his weakness or insecurity with is Ava, and that’s nice. And, it’s nice to see how she helps him with that. If the writers stay true to where I feel it’s going, they’re really a couple that will support each other. They’re soulmates. If they go out, I’d like to see them go out together, like Bonnie and Clyde, with all the guns. That would be fun.

Collider:  What do you think Ava’s goals are for herself now?

CARTER: It’s interesting. For me, because of the respect she receives from this man, who is probably the first man that she’s gotten this type of respect from, her mission is Boyd’s mission, but it’s also to prove to him that she’s the strong woman that he needs beside him. Within that, I think she’s proving a lot to herself, with what she can handle. She doesn’t think things through completely. She’s just like, “This is what needs to be done. Let’s figure out how to do it.” Later, there might be some consequences that she has to deal with.

Collider:  Has anything most surprised you about her and what you’re learned about who she is?

CARTER: Teaming up with Boyd. In the pilot, she couldn’t stand him. They did a great job of making that actually work because they let it build so slowly. They really got to know each other differently than how they had known each other. Even from Season 1 to 2, I was getting the scripts and was like, “How the fuck did Boyd end up living in Ava’s house?” I don’t think they even know what they were going to do with it. I was told by Graham [Yost] that it was a way to give Ava longevity on the show. Raylan with Winona (Natalie Zea) is a lot longer-lived than any relationship in any of Elmore Leonard’s books. He goes from woman to woman. So, I’m glad that they did that. It takes her to a much darker life, so that’s good, too.

(Source: collider.com)