Kathryn Morris Previews a Red-Hot Cold Case Finale: "Lilly Is Fighting for Her Life"

This Sunday at 9 pm/ET, CBS' Cold Case wraps up its two-part Season 6 finale, in which the investigation of the 2005 murder of a female military-school cadet has dug up haunting memories for Detective Lilly Rush. On top of that, Part 1 ended with Lilly's car being forced off a bridge! Series star Kathryn Morris gave us a preview of Lilly's life-and-death crisis, and what other surprises are ahead as the season winds down. Also: Are Cold Case's chances for renewal heating up?

TVGuide.com: You must have been pretty excited to delve in this storyline, especially with the parallels to Lilly's own past.
Kathryn Morris: Yes, the case was woven so well into what has been the evolution for Lilly's rise to being the detective she is today — but not in a way that was heavy-handed. It was really about a girl who is driven and could hang with the boys and actually overcome the obstacles of being a cadet. The reason the men respect her is because she is great; she can do it. That's why Lilly Rush became a specialist at cold cases, because she could work alongside the boys in a very modern way.

TVGuide.com: Is further light shed on Lilly's past in Part 2?
Morris: Most definitely. When the writers told me what the lay of the land would be for Part 1 and Part 2, I was taken aback. It made my heart beat a little bit more. The audience gets their money's worth in the finale. [In Part 2] you are going to meet four Lilly Rushes, from the beginning up to today. It's very, very cool. In fact, a little girl close to my heart plays Lilly at age 6 — she's my boyfriend's daughter, in her acting debut. Her name is Makenna Barrett. Her dad is a producer-director, and we met on the show.

TVGuide.com: Are the other Lillys played by different actresses as well?
Morris: There is another actress ... and then there might be some surprises. [Laughs] I can't tell you everything! [Casting Makenna] was a natural idea, because the writer-producers have seen her on the set, and she has an intensity about her. She's an old soul and intense, very much like Lilly Rush.

TVGuide.com: Why was Pearl Jam chosen to provide the complete soundtrack for both episodes?
Morris: Over the years, artists have been coming to us to "please do an all-of-our-music episode." But the reason the producers chose this to be the moment was because it really was the perfect emotional anthem for Lilly's story. Also, it seemed perfect because Pearl Jam was one of my bands. Yeah, I went through a Nirvana phase — I had the Kurt Cobain haircut, I wore the flannel shirts, I rocked out to Eddie Vedder....

TVGuide.com: As Part 1 drew to a close, Lilly's car had just been forced off into the drink. What now?
Morris: At the beginning of Part 2, Lilly is truly fighting for her life — her car has submerged — and she has to save herself. And then she has to find out who this killer is.

TVGuide.com: I presume the bulk of these underwater scenes were done by a talented stuntwoman?
Morris: I have such respect for stuntpeople, but we did a lot of training and actually I did every single part of it. [My stuntwoman] was there and we got to know each other, and she helped me set myself up for the scenes. The very dangerous sequences were actually directed by my boyfriend, David Barrett, who's an Emmy-winning action director. He said, "The audience would really love it if they knew it was you," so I did everything.

TVGuide.com: Are we going to get any sort of cliff-hanger Sunday at 9:59 pm? A death, a reveal...?
Morris: We'll have a reveal. The content of a letter that Lilly's father gave her in a previous episode is going to have a profound effect on her. And while there are many questions that will be answered, a whole new set of questions are thrown out there.

TVGuide.com: Looking ahead to next season, what are the current odds of a renewal? Is CBS facing some horrible sort of "Sophie's choice" between Cold Case and Without a Trace?
Morris: [Laughs] Sophie's Choice is actually the reason I became an actress. I believe we will be the golden child. I wish the best for Without a Trace — I have several friends on that show — but our ratings have increased, we've grown over the season, we have loyal viewers and now we have added viewers. The producers have been on a roll, adding fresh blood to an old blueprint. So I really feel that will guarantee us a Season 7 — and I think we deserve it!

Get scoop on the next season of Cold Case in the May 12 Mitovich Mega Minute!

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