How Jennifer Cheon Garcia Really Felt About Van Helsing's Ending - Exclusive
The ending of a long-running series is always a bittersweet moment for the people involved. On one hand, there's a feeling of a job well done, and the satisfaction of being able to put a bow on years of work and creative effort. On the other hand, you're bidding farewell to characters and stories that have been a part of your life for a long time. As Boyz II Men so eloquently pointed out, it's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.
Such was the mixture of emotions recently experienced by the cast and creative team of "Van Helsing," the post-apocalyptic vampire series from Syfy. The show went through a series of hurdles on the way to its fifth and final season, up to and including a global pandemic interrupting production. Likewise, many of the characters, and the actors playing them, experienced a convoluted journey. One of the broadest arcs was experienced by Ivy, played by actor Jennifer Cheon Garcia, who went from vampiric antagonist to heroic protagonist and fan-favorite character.
Now, with the series finale set to air, the actor behind Ivy is taking some time to reflect on bringing her time with the character, and with the show, to a close.
Wrapping up Van Helsing and the impact of COVID-19
Garcia told Looper in an exclusive interview that the typical mixed feelings were there, but things were made all the more complicated by the fact that the "Van Helsing" team had no idea if they'd even be able to finish what they'd started. "Oh man, it was bittersweet," she said. "Especially the episode when we were filming Julius' death. When Julius' character passes on and when we saw that on the day and we knew that was happening, that was when it actually really hit us, because you can't have 'Van Helsing' without Julius. So, that was a really emotional day for everybody."
"I think we were all just really excited that we got the chance to finish," she continued, "Because we were the first show, at least in Canada, to go back to shooting after lockdown. Back in March of 2020, we were an industry that didn't know if it was ever going to come back. Working on set is a very intimate thing. It's tons of people around, and you need all of those people to drive the ship so that we can deliver the show. So, we really, really had no idea how that was going to happen and if it was ever going to happen. So many times with shows you get canceled, and then you never really get to end it. So, we all felt really, really fortunate that we got that process to say goodbye, and that we got the chance to wrap it up and pay homage to how long we got to spend with those characters and each other. At the end of the day, all of us were just grateful."
The final episode of "Van Helsing" airs June 25 on Syfy.