Beauty and the Beast's Kristin Kreuk: Catherine and Vincent Are Fighting For Each Other

Just as Beauty and the Beast's Catherine and Vincent got their (short-lived) happy ending, so did the show with a last-minute renewal.

"[Our fans] were so happy and I'm happy for them," Kristin Kreuk tells TVGuide.com. "They're so excited; it's awesome."

When we last saw Catherine (Kreuk) and Vincent (Jay Ryan) in the March midseason finale, they had reunited and everything seemed perfect — until they awoke to cops at their door arresting Vincent for murder. Monday's summer premiere (9/8c, The CW) picks up immediately with Catherine springing into action to not only get Vincent released, but find out who was behind the set-up. Read on for more from the show's star about the upcoming episodes.

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Set the scene for when the show returns. 
Kristin Kreuk: Catherine goes into classic Catherine mode where, from the last moment you saw her, she takes action immediately. She doesn't even bother getting changed out of her pajamas and she just goes to deal with the situation. She's coming from a very emotional place so I don't think she's thinking the most logically or is coming up with the best solutions to problems, but she's doing everything in her power to make this end.

She meets up with Gabe (Sendhil Ramamurthy) early in the episode. Is there awkwardness after just breaking up?
Kreuk: I don't even know what to word to use. It's not just awkward, it's awful. He loved her and she gave him a chance and it all blew up for him. But he keeps doing stuff for her and she keeps accepting his help so there's a really strange dynamic between them where he wants to fight for her and to win her and she really has no desire to be with him. So it's difficult. 
Earlier in the season, showrunner Brad Kern told us he split Catherine and Vincent up because they needed to earn their relationship. Do you think they have yet?
Kreuk: I think they value each other more now and they both realize how they've messed things up and I think they will still fight for it. It's a different dynamic because they're working together and it's romantic, but they are also a funny couple. We saw it a little in the [last] episode where they bicker a lot and are pseudo fighting, but love each other. We have a lot of that in the last little stretch.

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Catherine always risks it all for Vincent. Is that her biggest weakness or do you see it as a strength?
Kreuk: Like anything in us, it can be used for good or bad. If someone's life is on the line, I feel like it is a strength that someone would sacrifice to help that person. If we're dealing with giving up yourself to your own detriment, then it's a bad thing. Catherine does both and it's a part of why she needed to step away from Vincent at the beginning of the season. She was giving up her identity for him versus now I feel like she's doing everything in her power to make sure his life is preserved, but the intention feels different. In the beginning, it was coming from weakness and in the end, it's coming from strength. 

What's the theme for them for the rest of the season?
Kreuk: Because they're in so much peril and Vincent is basically on the run, the whole arc is about them trying to find a way to be together and overcome the really messed up odds against them. It's about them as a team because they both have independent streaks where they feel an impulse and want to take care of things on their own and it's about them communicating and finding a way to merge their two very different ideologies, but achieve their goals together. He's violent, she's sometimes too emotional, but coming up with plans together is more effective for them and it takes a while for them to realize that.

How does Catherine's dad (Ted Whittal) factor in to the season?
Kreuk: He's always in the background, but there's an important knowledge he has about Catherine's past that he eventually begins to share and that is ultimately beneficial for Catherine. So he won't be a big, bad guy, although there are times when Catherine thinks he is.

What are you most excited about in the remaining episodes?
Kreuk: This last arc is pretty action-packed, but there is a lot of humor. We get to go back in time a little bit which is fun and beautiful to look at. And I think for the fans it'll be great to see Catherine and Vincent work together as a team which we haven't seen much of this season.

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Beauty and the Beast airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW.

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