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AMBITIONS Preview!

AMBITIONS returns tonight on OWN, and Creator Jamey Giddens talked to Digest about the midseason premiere: Who died? Who was kidnapped? And who’s about to get a big dose of karma….

“It was always the plan to tell the story in two chapters, or tranches, as they call them,” says AMBITIONS Creator Jamey Giddens as the second half of season 1 kicks off on November 12. “We always knew that we needed to have a big, strong mid-season finale, so we wrote a beginning, middle and end for those first 11 episodes, and we ended on a whole slew of juicy cliffhangers to bring people back. That was always really the plan.”

Stephanie/Evan/The Death Of Senior: “Will Packer [co-creator/executive producer] actually pitched killing Senior early on,” reveals Giddens of the jaw-dropping mid-season finale close. “When I first heard the idea, the fan in me that loved the character was like, ‘No!’ But then I thought about it and what it would mean for Rondell and Evan and Stephanie, and I realized this is going to make Evan step up. His father is gone. He had a fun first 11 episodes, what with juggling two mistresses and a wife, but this is really going to change Evan. He is no longer going to be anyone’s puppet; not his wife’s, not his in-laws’ and most assuredly not his archnemesis, Greg Peters’s. We’re also going to see a side to Stephanie that we’ve never seen before. We’re going to see the human side of Stephanie. She did everything that she could to prevent this tragedy from happening, and Rondell is not going to take this lying down. She blames Stephanie for her father’s death. You’re really going to see some powerful family moments between these characters that really allow Robin Givens [Stephanie], Brely Evans [Rondell] and Brian White [Evan] the opportunity to shine.”

Stephanie/Titus/Amara: “Stephanie has waited 25 years for this payoff. From the moment her ex-boyfriend, Titus, rebounded with her best friend and sorority sister, Amara, Stephanie has been lying in wait to exact vengeance, and she finally has — but what that’s going to do is reveal a new motivation for Stephanie. You’re going to see what it was really about: Amara caught Stephanie in a hotel room half-dressed with her husband. Is it really about Stephanie loving Titus? Or, was it about sticking it to Amara? In turn, you’re going to see Amara become way more determined than you’ve ever seen her before to make Stephanie pay — not just for what she’s done to Amara’s marriage, but for what Amara believes is Stephanie’s role in all of the corruption that’s going on. Can our star-crossed lovers, Titus and Amara, find their way back to one another? Before they can even get to that, however, their daughter Deja is back, and she brings quite a bit of teen angst and drama into their lives.”

Rondell: “Happily, Rondell has Inez and Kent to lean on during this extremely difficult time, but she is out for payback. Amara has truly become a good friend to Stephanie’s sister-in-law, and she makes a promise to Rondell that she is going to get to the bottom of who killed Senior Lancaster. That’s going to really hold Amara under this umbrella storyline.”

The Purifoys: “Titus’s professional life is also in chaos, as the lawsuit with Stephanie suing Purifoy Pharmaceuticals for their role in causing the opioid epidemic heats up. We’re finally going to get to see Hunter Purifoy go head-to-head with his ancient nemesis and Stephanie’s father, Stephen Carlisle. It’s going to be a lot of Hatfields and McCoys-type drama between those two patriarchs, with Stephanie and Titus caught in the middle.”

Bella: “There is quite the mystery surrounding the much-talked-about Santos matriarch, Valentina, and up-and-coming designer Bella. We’ll also learn much more about Matt Cedeño’s character, Ignacio, and how he fits into this story.”

Stephen/Irene: “In these last seven episodes of season 1, you will be seeing a lot of Stephanie’s parents, Stephen and Irene Carlisle. It’s going to be fun. We saw a new, tough-as-nails side to Stephen in that last episode before the break, and let’s just say that Irene is also back with a vengeance.”

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