The actors of Knokke Off season 3 share their most embarrassing moments

Hello, or should we say hi? Just like Louise would do with her hair beautifully styled and a linen shorts fluttering in the coastal wind. The most drama-filled Netflix series is back. Knokke Off kicks off its third and final season today.

When we heard that the cast, including new faces, would be moving to the Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel we knew we had to be there. So, with our self-made schoolyard snack (just take a look at the video how amazing that was) firmly in hand, we set off. Because when Alexander, Daan, Juliette, Melissa, and Anton gather to talk, you know: everything is on the table. And even if they weren't naturally like that; no one escapes the relentless snack filled with burning questions. That was clear. Time to put everything in order, from new characters to where we left off.

The biggest manipulator of all Knokke

‘’Now don’t say forty-five’’ says Willem De Schryver (Alexander in the series) in his addictive accent to Eliyha Altena (he plays Daan). He is ready with the snack in his hand, waiting for his co-star. ‘’Just say six’’ is the answer. Just as exciting for us as for them: on which question will we land? With ‘’Who actually manipulates the most in the series but always gets away with it?’’ we dive straight into the good stuff. ‘’I think my mother, Ruth (Eleonore)’’ says Willem without hesitation. Eliyha nods along. ‘’The thing is, she can disappear so well into the background, but actually secretly she has, in my opinion, much more control than we all think,’’ Willem adds that this is definitely the case this season. Exciting.

Just a quarter of an hour ago, the snack posed that same question to Nola Elvis Kemper (Juliette), Anna Drijver (Melissa), and Daan Schuurmans (Anton) and something different came out. Anna, visibly enthusiastic: ‘’Yes, I mean Patrick. He is someone who is terrible, but he is just really genuinely terrible.’’ She laughs, but immediately explains why it’s her character. ‘’Melissa is completely opportunistic and really uses people for her own benefit.’’ Father and daughter on both sides next to her chime in. But who is now the biggest manipulator of Knokke? Mother Eleonore Vandael or mother Melissa van Nishout? When we relay Anna's answer back to Willem and Eliyha, their hands shoot to their chins. Thinking for a moment. But then Eliyha really defends their earlier choice: Melissa is manipulated by Eleonore. And that makes Eleonore the top manipulator. ‘’Our mothers are just a very good duo,’’ they conclude. There’s no lie in that.

Improvising with bare golden Romans and other set secrets

The series is full of big emotions and often not the most pleasant. All the more striking that the actors have been able to laugh so much on set. As soon as Nola Elvis reads the question ‘’What was a moment on set when you laughed so hard that you couldn’t stop?’’ she is already doubled over. So doubled that she wouldn’t be able to answer even if she wanted to. In true rich people fashion, Juliette organized an extravagant party. A party in Roman style. And of course, that includes gold-painted, bare men as waitstaff. ‘’I had to improvise. They said, just do whatever. So I told those guys; just do push-ups,’’ Nola Elvis recounts, still laughing. ‘’And those very handsome men had to do that.’’ She shakes her head. ‘’I said sorry ten times to the actors. Is it really okay that you’re here without T-shirts? I’ll let you do push-ups.’’ The actors said they were cast for this and let it slide off their golden shoulders.

Even among the men, the atmosphere is anything but heavy, despite the love triangle around Louise in the series. Eliyha talks about how he drove around in one of the thick cars of the Vandael family, with Willem in the back seat. ‘’He was sick in this scene,’’ he says. ‘’I usually drive manual, but this was an automatic. So I had to stop and I pressed really hard on what I thought was the clutch… but that was the brake.’’ Willem flew forward. This could have easily been in the series. But, they say, it was also a bit of karma. In season one, Willem accidentally gave Eliyha a real slap during a scene. ‘’The silence that followed…’’ Even though it was just a pinky against his nose: Eliyha got back at Willem well.

The youth with all the strings in hand

After some fiddling with the snack, it’s Nola Elvis who brings up the next question: ‘’What makes this season different from the previous one?” She immediately notes how this is the perfect question for Daan, Anton is after all a newcomer this season. But he knows how to handle it. “Well,” says Daan Schuurmans, “the beauty of this series is that all three seasons have been directed by a different director.” The third time it was Anthony Schatteman's turn to make something beautiful out of it, and according to Daan, he succeeded more than well.

Anna Drijver immediately picks up on that: this season also revolves around Anton, her Anton, who takes on businessman Patrick. The struggle shifts and becomes magically even more serious. At first, it was mainly about the loud, searching youth that had to be kept in check by their parents. “And that has been reversed in season three,” says Willem De Schryver. ‘’You feel that the youth is ready to take over the strings.’’ The only question is: are they actually ready for that?

Where did we leave off again?

Let’s go back, because before you binge-watch season 3 in one go, you need to know how the previous one ended. A lot has happened, but the most important thing is that a new villain joined. And it apparently runs in the genes, because she is the mother of Patrick Vandael: Bonmamie (Viviane De Muynck). And even though she knows how to handle everything and everyone, her weak spot lies with her much younger caregiver and lover Thomas (Aimé Claeys). And Thomas knows that. In the climax, he tries to kill her and run off with the money. That doesn’t go according to plan, to put it mildly. A fight breaks out with the family and Thomas loses his life. To avoid legal trouble, ‘’Daan and Alexander bury’’ the body. Under a load of concrete. Meanwhile, Louise is getting mentally worse. Eventually, she decides to have herself admitted to a psychiatric institution. And that’s where we are left behind.

This drama hangs in the air of season three

Season three picks up the thread again and mainly revolves around the aftermath. Because it is big and present. Daan's conscience continues to gnaw and nibble at what he did to Thomas and he sleeps poorly, the nightmares pile up. Alexander has experienced this whole murder thing before and prefers to push his feelings away. Or direct them at someone else: Juliette. An old friend of Louise, but by no means a calm addition to the group. Louise herself returns from the institution and seems to be feeling better, but in Knokke, nothing is ever really stable. Especially not when her friends are keeping secrets from her and she has to deal with bitchy Juliette. Like mother, like daughter, right? Anton is a rival of Patrick and plans to completely destroy the entire family, including Alexander.

The snack is put away again, the cast has gone home and we? We do exactly what you’re about to do: feet up, snack in hand, and completely disappear into Knokke's problems. We can’t miss Juliette having those golden Romans do push-ups. And certainly not the rest of the last season either.