Jennifer Cheon Garcia on Ivory’s continued rise in Van Helsing season 4

Van Helsing is continuing to cut a bloody good swath through TV, and Jennifer Cheon Garcia talked to Hidden Remote about Van Helsing season 4.

Van Helsing season 4 reaches its halfway point tonight on SyFy, and the fourth season has been just as action-packed and crazy as TV fans have come to expect from the series.

It’s also been a great season for Jennifer Cheon Garcia, who portrays Ivory, the fearless leader of The Sisterhood. Hidden Remote connected with Jennifer to talk about how Ivory has evolved since she was first introduced in season 2, and why Van Helsing has become a show that TV viewers love to sink their teeth into.

Learn more in our interview with Jennifer below, then don’t miss the next Van Helsing season 4 episode at 10 p.m. ET/PT tonight on SyFy. If you’ve missed any of the season so far, you can also catch up on the SyFy app and on demand.

Hidden Remote: How would you describe Van Helsing season 4?

More from Syfy

• Chucky season 3 episode 5 release date predictions
• SurrealEstate Season 2 sneak peek: August revisits his old workplace
• 7 Child’s Play movies to watch before the Chucky TV series
• Chucky season 3 release updates, strike delay, cast and more
• Is a new episode of The Ark on tonight? (April 26)

Jennifer Cheon Garcia: What I can tell you is that the writers have put together a really electric story and I’m really excited for fans [to see it].

We took what they really love about the show and amped it up–more fighting, more blood, guts and glory. The new cast is really adding to the dynamic and I really hope you guys like what we’ve done with it.

HR: There’s so much talent on this show, from the core cast to new arrivals like Tricia Helfer and Neal McDonough. What’s it like to work with the Van Helsing ensemble, especially when you may not even interact with some of them?

JCG: It’s crazy with all the different storylines going across. How the writers keep everything in order blows my mind. They have a board of where [the characters] connect and where they are and all those things. It’s definitely hard to keep track for sure. Now they’re starting to blur together a little bit, but it’s going to be really awesome. The new members of the cast come in and they’re just so talented and such badasses, and it’s going to be more fun for sure.

HR: There’s great growth behind the scenes as well, with your co-star Jonathan Scarfe getting to direct, and your new showrunner Jonathan Lloyd Walker working his way up to the top post. Is that interesting to be a part of?

JCG: It was really awesome. Speaking of stepping into different roles, this year I got to shadow one of our directors named Jacquie Gould, and hopefully next year I’ll be able to step into the director’s seat myself. It’s really great that we’re part of a show that does encourage growth and wants you to evolve and be a family.

[Jonathan Scarfe] directed a huge episode for me. It [included] one of my favorite fight scenes I’ve ever done, when I went head to head with Missy [Peregrym]’s character Scarlett. The great thing about Jonathan is he’s been on both sides of the camera, so he kind of has that hidden trick up his sleeve where he’s able to see the language of the actor and the language of the technicality of the shot.

He’s so multi-talented and he was in the block that I was shadowing, so I got to sit and watch the man work and he’s incredible. The journey that Axel has taken since we first see him till now—I can’t wait to see what he does.

HR: You’re pretty badass yourself. How would you say Ivory has changed or grown since you first played her back in the second season?

JCG: It’s not so much how she’s changed, I feel it’s how she’s actually found her voice. At the beginning of season 2, she was a follower. She was a right-hand man. But then she played her cards right, and saw what Dimitri was about and saw what was going on outside the Church of the Sisterhood. So now that she’s kind of stepped out and seen a little bit more, she’s speaking up and taking charge.

That’s something that I really love to watch and do. Now she has a purpose and knows exactly what that is. I feel it’s kind of how it is to be a woman, and be a human. Do you follow what people tell you [that you] should and should not do? And then later it just clicks, and you know who you are and you’re not afraid to voice it, and you don’t care what other people think about it.

HR: The Van Helsing cast and crew make a concerted effort to involve themselves with the fans. Can we discuss that amazing fan community?

JCG: That’s the good part of social media and having different ways of being able to reach different people in different parts of the world. The fact that people have seen it, it’s all over the place, you’re overwhelmed by this sense of love you get worldwide and I’m so thankful. We get to go to work every day and do what we love to do, and we’re very aware of that.

The grind is real, the hustle’s real and there are real problems out there. The fact we get to distract people from their daily lives and bring some joy and laughter and help you release some of that anger, all that stuff, that’s a blessing. When anyone says they love the show or can relate to our characters in some sort of way, it just makes us know we’re doing our jobs.

Van Helsing season 4 airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on SyFy.