'The Lowdown' Star Weighs in on Francis & Lee's Father-Daughter Bond
Ryan Kiera Armstrong discusses the relationship between Francis and Lee after the season finale. Warning: Major spoilers for The Lowdown Season 1 Episode 8, “The Sensitive Kind.”
Season Finale and Character Dynamics
The season ended with Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) in a somewhat unresolved position, leaving many aspects of his connection with his daughter, Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), unexplored. Both characters share a strong motivation to uncover the truth.
In the finale, Lee solves Dale Washberg’s (Tim Blake Nelson) death but is confronted with the harsh truth that his profession risks exposing Francis to danger, both physically and emotionally.
Francis's Awareness of Danger
Earlier in the season, Francis faces several close calls, though Armstrong reflects that her character may not have grasped the full extent of the threats. She explains,
“I don’t think that she realized how big it was.”
However, Armstrong also notes Francis’s intelligence, adding,
“I also think that she’s really intelligent for her age, and so I think that she knew something was up.”
Francis’s Open-Mic Poem
Francis performs a poem at an open-mic event, expressing the pain caused by her parents’ breakup and particularly her father’s absence after he missed a parent-teacher conference.
Armstrong shares her experience preparing for the scene:
“I read it, and at first I was really moved, and then the next thought was I have to make it really good. It was also my last day on set, so I was like, I can’t regret anything, it has to be perfect.”
Summary
The finale highlights the complex and evolving relationship between Francis and Lee, emphasizing the risks Lee’s career brings to his daughter and Francis’s emotional resilience.
Author’s summary: Despite the unresolved ending, the finale deepens Francis and Lee’s father-daughter bond, revealing the personal costs of Lee’s dangerous work.