‘Sight Unseen’: Jarod Joseph Talks ‘Important Episode’ for Matt and the Aftermath with Him and Tess (Exclusive)

The new episode of The CW’s, “Matt,” saw Tess and Matt’s relationship go past the friendship stage, and Jarod Joseph spoke to PopCulture.com about what that means. In the episode, Tess investigates the murder of one of Matt’s colleagues at the pool she swims at. Matt ends up helping Tess with the investigation by giving her information, which brings them closer than ever.

Matt was as vulnerable as ever, and he was definitely struggling throughout the episode, but what really helped was having his best friend by his side. Joseph talked with PopCulture about the investigation, what’s next for Matt and Tess following their kiss, his thoughts on a career change for Matt, and much more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

PC: Matt seems to open up throughout the episode, especially about Sabrina. What has it been like exploring more of that side of him and digging deeper into his past?

Joseph: It was great because when I came on board, I wasn’t sure if we were going to get to know Matt that well. And when I read Episode 5 called “Matt,” I was excited. I was like, “Okay.” Because when I found out we were going to get to know a little bit more about Matt, and then I was going to get to know a little bit more about Matt, and there was more for me to do and to run with in future episodes. So it’s an important episode for my character, for sure.

PC: With this series really focusing on a character each episode, it really was only just a matter of time before one centered on Matt. Did that put any added pressure on you since, essentially, it was going to be centering around your character for the most part?

Joseph: No. It was exciting because I was reading these scripts that would come out, and every time they’d come out, I was like, “Is this mine?” And it wasn’t mine for five weeks, just out of curiosity for learning about Matt, like I said. But no, I was waiting for Matt’s turn. I was excited for it. Selfishly.

PC: In these first few episodes, I feel like they’ve been sort of building up to Tess and Matt’s relationship and maybe even their first kiss, which finally happened at the end of the episode. Why do you think now is the right time for them to finally admit their feelings in a way?

Joseph: Probably a little bit of the things going on with Tess and how life is more precious than ever for her. Things matter differently to her now. I think Matt has fallen deeper for this person that he thought was just the best friend through this experience. I got to say that a little inside baseball, we didn’t know if that direction was going to be the direction we went until pretty close to where we’re seeing it. And it was always talked about and everybody was on board for it. I thought it was a cool addition to the story, but when that kiss happened, it was kind of decided an episode or two before. But yeah. Yeah, I personally thought it was the right way to go.

PC: What can you tease about what that aftermath will be like? I mean, surely this will change their relationship moving forward.

Joseph: Well, the problem with friendships that kind of divulge into romantic relationships is that you risk losing the friendship if it goes sideways. So Matt plays this part in her professional life, her confidant emotionally. And if the romantic thing goes sideways and there’s a good chance that she loses Matt from her life entirely, then Matt loses her and vice versa. And that’s kind of the risk you run. So there’s new sensitivities now with their relationship that you see moving forward. When a character like Matt wouldn’t previously be jealous of certain things or wouldn’t feel insecure about certain things, that kind of thing has opened up now to the relationship. And anybody who’s been in that situation knows that changes things.

PC: Also in the episode, it was nice to see Matt be part of the investigation and really work with Tess. Would you ever want to see him go down the path of being a police officer or a detective in the future?

Joseph: I would love to see Scooby-Doo Matt. I would love to see this dude present his version of an investigative detective kind of guy. No, I love that. I was waiting for that, and I was like, “What would this professor look like in the setting of Tess and Jake in that world?” I was excited for that. I would love to see more of that.

New episodes of Sight Unseen air on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.