Star Karen David Says The Irrational Season 2's Approach To Fan Culture & K-Pop Is Refreshing

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Irrational season 2, episode 7.

The Irrational returns to NBC on Tuesday, January 7 at 10 p.m. ET with season 2, episode 8. The winter premiere is titled “Lost Souls” and will see the characters fighting against the clock in order to save a life. The official synopsis states that “an acclaimed tennis player goes missing in a remote forest, and Alec is called to help find her and bring her to safety.” It continues on to warn that Alec may be sidelined by a medical emergency, leaving Marisa and Rose to “race against time and rescue the woman.”

The show’s fall finale, “Stan By Me,” puts Rose center stage when a former client asks for assistance. Yoonie Kang, a renowned K-pop artist, stumbles upon a superfan’s dead body after leaving her show. The performer immediately becomes a murder suspect, and Alec joins his girlfriend to help prove Yoonie’s innocence. When asked about the couple’s compatibility, Karen David says they share a desire to place others’ well-being over their own. However, the actor also shares that Rose and Alec are beginning to prioritize themselves in regard to their personal lives.

Related

5 Things To Remember Before The Irrational Season 2 Winter 2025 Return

The Irrational season 2 is returning in 2025 on NBC, but ahead of its much-anticipated comeback, there are a few things to remember about the series.

ScreenRant interviews David about addressing K-pop and fan culture in the fall finale, how she relates to Yoonie, and why Rose and Alec make such a good team in The Irrational season 2.

David Drew From Her Own Experience As A Recording Artist When Filming The Irrational Season 2, Episode 7

“I know that world very well because when I had my record deal in my early twenties, I had a taste of it, and it can be a very lonesome experience.”

Keong Sim as Jeon Ji-Ho, Kristin Leigh as Yoonie, and Scott Seol as Sung B in The Irrational season 2, episode 7

ScreenRant: I would love to talk about the fall finale since it’s one of my favorite episodes, and you played such a big role. How did you feel about the way the show approached fan culture and the world of K-pop?

Karen David: I was so excited. I’m very familiar with K-pop, being a singer and recording artist in the past. My husband is a songwriter-producer, and he does a lot of K-pop as well. So I was really excited. He was excited. I don’t think we’ve seen many K-pop episodes in procedurals on network television, so this was really exciting for all of us. I just thought it was such an interesting case to explore with that K-pop angle. It was really refreshing.

Yoonie obviously had a strong bond with Rose since she went to her before the police. Did you have more of a backstory in mind than what we heard in the show?

Karen David: In this case, she’s represented and looked after Yoonie as a client for many years. So I think there’s also this sisterly unspoken bond that Rose feels towards Yoonie because I think she sees her as a little sister, and she’s watched Yoonie grow over the past 5–10 years. In that world of K-pop, and when you’re that famous, you have so many people around you.

There are so many fingers in the pie, so that takes a mental toll on the recording artists. And I know that world very well because when I had my record deal in my early twenties, I had a taste of it, and it can be a very lonesome experience. You have so many people who tell you what you should and shouldn’t be, and that’s why for me, as Rose, I wanted to create this safe space for Yoonie.

That’s my job. Rose’s job is to protect her clients and their best interests. So Rose is always looking out for Yoonie, and there’s that sisterly protective bond that she has as well. So that was really important for me to develop—to take from my experiences from when I was a recording artist and infuse it in this storyline.

There is a moment when Rose says, “I do have to ask, were you involved in any way?” Do you think Rose ever actually believed Yoonie had something to do with the murder?

Karen David: Rose has been in enough cases and worked with enough clients to know that the unexpected can always happen. You just never know. So nothing shocks her too much. She’s been-there-done-it-all being ex-MI6, but I think it’s more of a question for Rose trying to find the right way to approach Yoonie because of this sisterly bond.

She’s seen Yoonie in a certain way and has gotten to know Yoonie so well that, in her mind, it does seem a bit far-fetched for Yoonie to have committed such a crime. A lot of MI6 work is about playing with your gut instinct. So in her mind, she can’t believe that Yoonie would’ve done such a thing, but you just never know, so she has to ask that question. And of course, she hates asking that question, but she has to.

Rose And Alec Are Finally Putting Themselves First In The Irrational Season 2

“You have two people who both have their fair share of chaos, traumas, and life experience.”

The Irrational Alec facing Rose with his hands on her face like they're about to kiss

Rose’s past has continued to play a role in the present. Have you come up with any scenarios where something specific could come back and impact her?

Karen David: Oh, absolutely. Rose’s life was all-consumed by her work. That was her way of escapism from her childhood traumas. She never felt a sense of belonging. Her mother passed away when she was very young. Her father left the family, which we learned at the top of the season. I think for Rose, each case, each client that she works with, there’s always something to learn from. There’s always a lesson to be learned. Mid-season finale, there was a lot that she took away from it, and especially in this relationship with Alec.

Alec is very much a mirror that is much-needed for Rose. Alec keeps Rose humble and Alec keeps Rose on her toes in a good way. I think for Rose, it’s not in her comfort zone to be vulnerable. And this whole relationship that she embarks upon with Alec definitely is something exciting for her, something she’s never had before. But at the same time, it’s very uncomfortable because there are many moments where we will start to see a more vulnerable and naive Rose, which is so exciting as an actor because she’s so set in her ways.

And a lot of it has to do, like I said, with her childhood traumas and also being an ex-MI6 agent. It’s poker face all the time, and it’s about putting on different hats, different disguises for whatever’s needed for the job to protect the interest of a client. So there’s always something that she’s learning from each of her cases. And in this mid-season finale, it is the fact that sometimes she has to do things that might not be morally correct, but in the best interest as long as it doesn’t cause too much trouble, but also if it’s for the greater good. [Laughs]

See how I’m trying to even justify it for Rose? If it’s for the greater good and all things will be corrected in the right way, even if it means you might have to take a slight detour to the side, she’ll do it. But she also has to give Alec a heads-up that this is the line of work that she’s in, and sometimes it calls for making really difficult decisions like that.

You addressed this a bit already, but it’s incredible how well Alec and Rose work, not just as a couple, but also from an intellectual standpoint. Why do you think they’re so compatible in both aspects?

Karen David: You have two people who both have their fair share of chaos, traumas, and life experience. And not just like everyday normal life experience. We’re talking about surreal cases—things that no normal human being should see or ever go through. They have both had their fair share. And they’re also two people who are of service to others. They always put people first before themselves. So I think this is such a lovely dynamic between the two when it comes to their personal life. They’re finally putting themselves first in their personal lives, and that’s really exciting and scary for both of them.

And at the same time, they’re both passionate about their work. They love being of service to other people. They love helping people. That’s what I love about the two of them. And they also love a good case and the adventure. And let’s face it, I think they’re adrenaline junkies deep down inside. Car speed chases—they love it. I think they live for it, which is a good thing and maybe not such a good thing, but they share a lot in common, and when you see the two of them work together so seamlessly, it’s just magical.

It’s like they complete each other’s sentences, and I think we can all see that, “Hey, these two know how to work together,” and they also know how to disagree with each other too, which is really cute. Alec has more of a psychology background, a scientific background, whereas Rose being ex-MI6—her training is all about gut instinct and sometimes that can butt heads with factual science and psychology. But that makes for interesting banter and interesting television, I think.

About The Irrational Season 2

Created and executive produced by Arika Lisanne Mittman

The Irrational follows world-renowned professor of behavioral science Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin) as he lends his unique expertise to high-stakes cases and mysteries. His insight and unconventional approach to understanding human behavior lead him to work alongside varying clients ranging from the FBI to everyday people caught in perplexing situations desperate for answers. With the help of his trusted team and social-science experiments, Alec solves crimes and uncovers the truth to answer intriguing, and irrational, questions.

Check out our previous interviews with The Irrational cast and crew:

The Irrational season 2 returns Tuesday, January 7 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.