‘Ordinary Joe’: James Wolk on Latest Bombshell Reveals & What’s Next

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 1, Episode 10 of Ordinary Joe, “Snow Globe.”]

Ordinary Joe is officially back after signing off right before Thanksgiving, and the drama’s at an all-time high for Joe Kimbreau (James Wolk) and his many lives.

While the latest installment, “Snow Globe,” made way for new developments in Musician Joe’s life including progress with son Zeke (John Gluck) and a shocking announcement from Amy (Natalie Martinez). As for the rest of the Kimbreau family, Joe’s mom Gwen (Anne Ramsay) begins considering a second chance at love, and much more.

Below, Wolk answers some of the biggest questions posed by the midseason premiere. See what’s in store for Joe’s many timelines, and the rest of his family and friends.

(Credit: Eliza Morse/NBC)

Musician Joe finally gets to connect in person with his son Zeke in this episode. What do you think his initial reaction was and what can you tease about their storyline moving forward ?

James Wolk: I think that him seeing Zeke is kind of like him seeing a unicorn. He just cannot believe he’s looking at his own child. And I think it’s a really special moment for Joe and one that he has mixed feelings about because it’s so bizarre to be meeting the child that he and Jenny had 10 years ago. He’s in awe. And I also think that because Joe has been surrounded by a world where what he thinks and wants is the only thing that matters. He thinks that things are just his to access because of his fame, and he does not go about it in the healthiest way as we’ll see. And yet at the same time, he will grow from this experience.

On the flipside, Cop Joe has just learned he has a son (named Lucas in this timeline) that he never knew about. Joe expresses concerns about letting his mother in on the reveal or not. Are his concerns valid or are they more about his own fears?

I think that when Gwen finds out the news, she’s in shock, but like most moms, she’s like, “how is this affecting my son? What does this mean for my son?” So she’s trying to keep her composure in order to read him and what’s important.

(Credit: Eliza Morse/NBC)

Speaking of Gwen, she began pursuing a possible romance in this episode. How will that impact Joe?

It’s really exciting for Gwen. We have not seen her like this yet where she is having a big life outside of Joe. I think so far everything for her has been about Joe and everything for her has been how does this help Joe? And I think it’s nice to see her have this moment of, “no, this is for me. I get to have this moment.”

Kinsley (Lili Mirojnick) is also disrupting Joe’s life a bit with her orders for adaptable clothing. Is that a good distraction for Joe considering Jenny’s (Elizabeth Lail) still in Atlanta?

I think it’s perfect. I think it’s what he needs. He and Jenny need to figure themselves out. But he needs to figure himself out. And I think Kinsley’s a great catalyst for that. She’s pushing him and encouraging him in certain ways. It doesn’t replace Jenny, but I think it just is a nice personal journey for Joe to go on, in the show.

(Credit: Eliza Morse/NBC)

How do you think Joe would feel about the fact that Kinsley encouraged Gwen to pursue romance?

I feel like he would think that’s overstepping. But I think he’d also not be surprised at this point with Kinsley.

Right. She’s definitely of the overstepping kind of personality.

Yes, she is.

Jenny’s mother is also brought up in this episode, particularly her illness and how it impacted her life. Will we get a taste of that as the season continues?

Yeah, I think a lot of it just stems from Jenny’s experience that we hear about in the present. I don’t know that we’ll flashback that many times to Jenny and her mom. But I do love that mechanism of jumping back and forth through time in our show. And we will continue to utilize that as the show goes on.

(Credit: Eliza Morse/NBC)x

COVID is discussed once again as Kinsley revealed her efforts to help the first responders by making masks was something that drew her to the medical world. Will we see the true impact of COVID on Joe? Or not until potential future seasons?

Yeah. I love that moment that the writers wrote because we all lived through that time. And so I think it’s important that we touched on it, but I know that I don’t want to sit down and watch something that’s full-on having to do with that. I kind of want to escape from that since we’re still living through it. But I think it’s important for the show to seem real and grounded to acknowledge that that has happened.

Amy drops the bomb on Joe that she’s pregnant with Bobby’s baby. How will that situation proceed? Where is his state of mind?

I think he’s feeling really like, just like he got hit by a lightning bolt. It’s funny when we shot that scene, we definitely got the emotionality of it and the honesty of it. We got a couple of takes where I was able to have fun and be like, “yeah, it’s great. Let’s do it.” That’s the last thing you want to hear is that your spouse was unfaithful, but they’re having a child with that person. I think Joe’s going to be pissed, to be honest with you. I think he’s going to try and hold things together for his marriage, but I think he’s going to be upset, understandably. So we’ll see what happens.

Ordinary Joe, Mondays, 10/9c, NBC