‘Motherland: Fort Salem’s Lyne Renée Defends Alder’s ‘Sacrifice’ & Teases Rising Tensions

Alder doesn’t have too many fans right now, to say the least. HL spoke with ‘Motherland’ star Lyne Renée about Alder’s fatal decision with the cadets, the ‘crack’ in the relationship between Alder and Anacostia, and more.

The distrust for Alder is growing after that jaw-dropping last episode. While facing off with the Spree, Alder made the shocking decision to put the cadets in danger to take down the Spree. Even though she knew civilians were being held hostage by the Spree, Alder went ahead and told Anacostia to sacrifice them. This decision led to the tragic death of Libba. When telling the public about what happened, Alder didn’t tell the whole truth. HollywoodLife talked with Motherland: Fort Salem star Lyne Renée, who explained Alder’s rationale for what happened.

“Alder has been faced with all of this before,” Lyne told HollywoodLife. “She’s done this for such a long time. She may come across as cold-hearted or making decisions that are taking lives, but when you’ve been doing this for such a long time there’s a disconnection. She just has a different way of approaching things. The people around her are still very young. So for Alder, I think it’s more of making the decisions that she’s been making for so long. For her, they are the right decisions to make, so she doesn’t doubt them. It’s everyone around her that is starting to doubt her leadership. But I don’t think this is the first time Alder has ever faced that. Her whole life has been one big fight for her. It’s just will she withstand the new way of thinking with this new generation.”

While Alder may regret what happened to Libba and the innocent civilians, you’ll never know it. “For Alder, there will be this sacrifice for the greater good,” Lyne continued. “For her, it’s a military decision and, yes, sometimes you will sacrifice life. But she just knew that was still the right decision to make at that moment, and she’ll back that up without question. Of course, there’s always regret, but as a leader, she chooses not to show that emotion. She’s been alive for so long that she’s disconnected in that way emotionally from certain things and doesn’t question them like the younger generation does.”

Lyne noted that Alder does genuinely care for the girls and “wouldn’t want to put them in danger on purpose.” However, she added that “this is not a place to be mothered.” You got that right.

Anacostia definitely didn’t agree with Alder’s call, and Lyne said this is the first crack in their relationship. That crack is only going to get bigger. “Anacostia and Alder, to me, have one of the most beautiful relationships that Alder has and
cherishes,” Lyne told HollywoodLife. “Anacostia is Alder’s right hand. I think with the decisions that Alder is making and the pressure that she’s getting from this Spree, she’s forced to make decisions that will seemingly go against protocol. Therefore Anacostia will question her. Anacostia is also a lot younger and hasn’t maybe seen that side of Alder where she becomes rudimental making decisions and almost upping her game knowing that the threat is getting bigger. I think you will see that change. It’s a beautiful storyline in which these women are so close to each other, but then when decisions are made, there’s that first crack. It was beautiful to see that first crack appear within two people. No matter how small it is, when the crack is there, it will grow.”

The season 1 finale is coming up on May 20. Lyne teased that the finale was “incredible” to make. “The storylines all came together and it was quite a magical journey,” she said. Motherland: Fort Salem airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Freeform.