THE EQUALIZER Post-Mortem: Tory Kittles on the Dante and Robyn Twist: ‘They’ve Evolved to This Point’

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Sunday, May 12 episode of THE EQUALIZER.]

Nearly a year after Dante (Tory Kittles) confessed his love to Robyn (Queen Latifah)—thanks to a dose of truth serum—on THE EQUALIZER, the duo took a big step forward.

“I think Dante and Robyn are both at a point in their relationship where it’s time to put up or shut up,” Kittles previously told Give Me My Remote. “With Dante’s truth serum confession, that’s been something that he has not forgotten about. There is no secret that she puts a smile on Dante’s face in a way that no woman ever has. And I think he knows that it’s time to make a move on that.”

On the Sunday, May 12 episode, “The Big Take,” Dante and Robyn were bickering over the return of Grayle (Berto Colon)—who killed a cop last go-round and endangered the team…and still got away—but things took a turn when he shot Dante (twice!) in the chest. A panicked Robyn thought Dante was gone…until she realized he had been wearing a bulletproof vest.

Later, the duo talked things out and Dante asked for forgiveness for their fight earlier.

“I appreciate all you did today,” he said. “Especially when I couldn’t listen. I guess I need you to know I’m grateful to have you in my life.”

“When I saw you, cuffed to that steering wheel, I thought you were dead,” Robyn admitted. “And I was so afraid that we would never get to have those dreams.”

“About that,” Dante replied. “What I said on that truth serum, if it made you uncomfortable—”

“It didn’t,” she interjected. “I just wasn’t sure we could make this work out. Until now.”

And then the duo—finally!—shared a kiss.

The will they/won’t they relationship has been a foundation of the series since nearly the start—and an element that has been constantly evolving.

“I think like all great storytelling, I’ve had lots of conversations with Joe Wilson, our showrunner, and the [other] producers Debra Martin Chase, Queen Latifah, our fearless leader—we talk about all of these things,” Kittles tells Give Me My Remote. “And then we shoot [the scenes] and then things take on a life of their own based on what Queen and I both are bringing into each scene. If you recall, how they started out, was not where we are now. And that was just Queen and I digging into the scenes together and building our trust and building this relationship, these relationships between these two characters. And they’ve evolved to this point.”

“The writing is influenced by what we’re doing and what we’re doing obviously is influenced by the writing,” he continues. “So it’s such a great alchemy. And we’re all a team and we approach it as such; there’s a great collaboration that’s happening. And so where we’re going forward will be based on what we’ve done. But we’re all going to always going to continue to take big swings. I think our audience loves to show for that reason, along with many other reasons. But we always want to keep you guessing and continue to surprise our audience.”

And it won’t exactly be smooth sailing for the duo now that they’ve taken this step forward: In the season finale (airing Sunday, May 19), Dante is offered a position with the NYPD’s Special Investigation Unit in Los Angeles.

When he gets the offer, “I think first and foremost on his mind is his relationship with McCall,” Kittles previews. He also cites the hour as favorite for him this year: “This season’s finale is so moving. And so beautiful.”

With the show renewed for season 5, Kittles has a new goal in mind, too. “My biggest hope for next season is we’re a Top 10 primetime show right now—we’re doing over 10 million viewers each episode and we are in I think 150 countries around the world,” he points out. Next season, “I want us to get to number one.”

THE EQUALIZER, Sundays, 8/7c, CBS

RELATED:

• THE EQUALIZER Post-Mortem: Tory Kittles Breaks Down Big Ben’s Family Bombshell—and Dante’s Reaction
• THE EQUALIZER: Tory Kittles Previews Dante’s Fight for His Life in ‘Condemned’
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Condemned’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Exclusive Clip: McCall Tries to Help Dee Find Her Missing Friend
• CBS Renews THE EQUALIZER
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Legendary’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘DOA’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘The Whistleblower’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: Tory Kittles Previews Trouble for Dante’s Former Training Partner
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘All Bets Are Off’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Full Throttle’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER First Look: Aunt Vi and Dee Help an Old Friend
• THE EQUALIZER Post-Mortem: Tory Kittles and Laya DeLeon Hayes on the Season 3 Finale Cliffhanger, Hero Moment, and Big Confession
• THE EQUALIZER Team Previews ‘The Most Intense Episode We’ve Ever Done’
• THE EQUALIZER Season 3 Finale: ‘Eye for an Eye’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Season 3 Finale Exclusive Clip: Robyn, Mel, and Harry Are Targeted—And They Fight Back
• THE EQUALIZER Exclusive Clip: Robyn Gets a Mysterious Clue
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Love Hurts’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Exclusive First Look: McCall Investigates Her Father’s Murder
• THE EQUALIZER Exclusive Clip: Aunt Vi and Robyn Discuss How to Help a Friend in an Dangerous Relationship
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘No Way Out’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘No Good Deed’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Exclusive First Look: Aunt Vi Asks McCall to Help Her Friend
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Patriot Game’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER’s Adam Glass on Robyn and Delilah’s Training and the Return of Fisk
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Lost and Found’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Post-Mortem: Adam Goldberg, Adam Glass, and Ora Yashar Break Down ‘Never Again’
• THE EQUALIZER Team on the Importance of Pushing Back Against Antisemitism in ‘Never Again’
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Never Again’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Do No Harm’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Second Chance’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Exclusive Clip: Robyn and Dante Negotiate How to Handle a Case
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘He Ain’t Heavy’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Exclusive First Look: POWER BOOK II’s Berto Colón Guest Stars as a Conman
• Liza Lapira on the Delightful New Film MUST LOVE CHRISTMAS and Mel’s Trouble Ahead on THE EQUALIZER
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Paradise Lost’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Post-Mortem: Laya DeLeon Hayes on Delilah’s Short-Lived Secret and What Comes Next
• THE EQUALIZER’s Laya DeLeon Hayes on Delilah’s Training: ‘She’s Ready to Have Control Over Her Life’
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘A Time to Kill’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Post-Mortem: Tory Kittles on Dante’s Complications with Big Ben, the Boundary Crossed with Robyn
• THE EQUALIZER: Tory Kittles Previews Dante’s Reunion with His Father
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Blowback’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER First Look: Harry and Aunt Vi Meet, as Robyn Hosts a Dinner Party
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘One Percenters’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Gaslight’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Where There’s Smoke’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER Post-Mortem: Joseph C. Wilson on Season 3’s ‘Bigger Bad,’ the Magic of Combining the Teams, and Familial Drama to Come
• THE EQUALIZER: What You Need to Know About the Season Premiere
• THE EQUALIZER: Joseph C. Wilson Teases a Kidnapped McCall is ‘Vulnerable and Exposed’ in Season 3 Premiere
• THE EQUALIZER Season 3 Premiere: ‘Boom.’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Exposed’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘What Dreams May Come’ Photos
• CBS Renews THE EQUALIZER Through Season 4
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Vox Populi’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Hard Money’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘Pulse’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: ‘D.W.B.’ Photos
• THE EQUALIZER: Tory Kittles Previews Conflict—and Collaboration—Between Dante and Robyn
• THE EQUALIZER Bosses on Bringing a Fresh Take to an ’80s Classic

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page or our Instagram.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.