The Last Frontier’s Jason Clarke Breaks Down the Show’s ‘Horrific’ Shooting of 8-Year-Old Girl (Exclusive)

The Last Frontier finally revealed how Frank’s 8-year-old daughter died — in a brutal shooting that viewers watched unfold.

During the Friday, November 14, episode of the Apple TV+ series, a flashback showed Frank (Jason Clarke) driving up to an ice cream parlor with son Luke (Tait Blum) and daughter Ruby in Chicago. They were enjoying the dessert when Ruby needed to go back into the car to write something in her journal, which is when some men drove by and shot at the vehicle.

Ruby was fatally injured and Frank pulled her body out of the car. It was too late to save his daughter, so Frank held her in his arms as she died.

“[In that moment], you understand why they’ve truly moved from Chicago to Alaska,” Clarke, 56, exclusively told Us Weekly. “As an actor — on those days — you’re not looking forward to shooting a scene where you’re going to be lying on the ground with a little girl and I’m going through that loss.”

Clarke appreciated how the crew approached the challenging story line.

“Then you get a wonderful little girl [playing your daughter] and a very sensitive director,” the actor, who shares two kids with wife Cécile Breccia, noted. “You just find yourself holding her and I’m glad when it’s over because I’ve got children. You never want to use that stuff as just a cheap device, but it was laid in so beautifully and tied into the great shame that Frank has inside him.”

The reveal offered Clarke more insight into his character. “It forces him to confront how he treats his son,” he explained. “Frank is neglecting his son and you realize our hero has got some issues. So at the end of 10 episodes — whatever the journey is — it feels earned. It doesn’t feel like you’ve been cheated or you don’t feel like you haven’t earned it.”

Simone Kessell, who plays Frank’s wife, Sarah, also reflected on the gruesome scene.

“It’s such a gut punch. When I watched that episode, I burst into tears,” she revealed. “It really comes in. They did not pull their punches with episode 7 here. It opens the episode and it’s horrific. I can’t even understand what that would be like for anybody’s family. So just holding the truth in that and being respectful in that is vital. It’s not just for pure entertainment. It’s heartbreaking.”

The Last Frontier, which premiered in October, introduced fans to U.S. Marshal Frank, who must protect his town in Alaska while investigating the plane crash that set free multiple fugitives, now on the loose.

After reading the script, Kessell, 50, knew she wanted the role of Sarah, telling Us, “Also on the page, she was never written like [a concerned wife], which was why I was so intrigued to play Sarah. But it easily could have gone into that of, ‘Please don’t go to work, Frank. I’m worried about you.’ But it was never like that.”

Kessell went on to praise the show for exploring every aspect of a genuine marriage.

“You have seen so many phony relationships between husband and wife. But that’s not Sarah — and that’s what I love about her. I wanted to make sure that Sarah was real and I played her incredibly realistically,” she shared. “Obviously, I was in great hands with the wonderful director, writers and producers.”

She continued: “But also getting to work with Jason day in [and] day out was such a thrill. We are dear friends so much so that we can bicker, we can get pissed off with each other and we can correct each other. If he’s dropped a line or I’ve dropped a line in the scene, I correct him or he’ll correct me. It’s real and it plays on the screen. I think also the relationship is essential to the craziness of the world. Every time we see them, it’s the quiet and calm before the storm.”

New episodes of The Last Frontier air Fridays on Apple TV+.