Gabriel Mann and Justin Hartley as Nolan and Patrick. Is it love or lust?

We feel for you, Nolan Ross.

First, you fall for a psycho, then a (gasp!) woman and now you’re involved with dreamy Patrick, son of Queen Bee Victoria Grayson. This being Revenge, it's sure to be another bumpy romance!

Case in point, last week's episode, where Patrick clunks Nolan over the head in order to steal something. In this Sunday’s episode, entitled "Hatred," Patrick tries to make amends, but is Nolan in a forgiving mood?

TheBacklot was on the set for the shooting of Sunday’s “Hatred” episode and grabbed a few minutes with Gabriel Mann (Nolan) and Justin Hartley (Patrick) to break down what draws the men together and whether they’re really in love or just playing the Revenge game of manipulation.

TheBacklot: Talk to me about Nolan’s journey thus far. He’s not always lucky in love, is he?

Gabriel Mann: It’s been really great sort of exploring these characters and this relationship with Justin because I think it’s been a very different relationship dynamic than we’ve seen romantically from Nolan before whether it’s crazy Tyler in season one, sort of puppy love Padma in season two. This was nice because it feels like a little bit more of a grown up relationship for Nolan-- although, nothing ever kind of turns out quite as it seems! In fact it can be guaranteed not to on this show. So yeah, if there’s a Nolan love interest things are bound to go sideways.

Will Patrick's loyalty to Mama Victoria cost him his relationship with Nolan?

How are you feeling at this point about Patrick at this point and how well you’ve gotten to know him?

Justin Hartley: It’s interesting. When I first took this role, one of the things that I was drawn to was how different he was for me I me in every way. I mean I don’t know if it’s…it’s kind of interesting how things happen because now several months into I’m realizing that we’re not that different. He’s a little bit crazier than I am in certain ways. He’s a little more extreme. I’m not a measured guy, but I tend to be a little more measured than he is. I think he sort of flies off the handle a little more than I do. I picture the guy having a temper even though he’s worldly and he’s smart and he’s well read. He sort of has a temper I think, and I hate to use the term ‘dark side’ but I guess that’s what it would be. But no, I love this character. It’s interesting. Every time I read a new script, it’s a little bit more interesting.

Patrick was definitely more of the aggressor in the beginning with Nolan. Why is he drawn to Nolan?

JH: I think it’s sort of a common theme for all relationships to start that way, to start kind of hot and heavy. There was this instant attraction and then I think obviously that’s not what keeps you with someone. That’s what draws you to someone, but then it’s the intrigue. I mean he’s smart, funny, and fun and both just sort of have this sordid, I don’t want to say sordid past, but they do have demons in their closet. So they can respect each other’s privacy in that way and kind of be with each other and be honest with each other for the first time and offer acceptance. Patrick’s gone through his whole life where he’s never really been accepted.

He was given away and then he was sort of given away again. He wasn't taken care of as a child and then he became sort of a…would a "grifter" be the right word? I go back and forth on that. Now he’s back here in the Hampton’s and he meets this guy who’s sort of has the same kind of thing going on where he’s almost a loner type of situation, and it’s not that he’s socially inept, but it’s just he can’t find anyone to connect to. So I think they have that connection.

Nolan is always there for Emily (Emily VanCamp) but that jacket? Lose it, Gurl!

Do you think at this point or at any point that there is love between these two? Or too soon for that?

GM: Yeah. I mean I think it speaks to Nolan’s character that he’s kind of so desperate to find his way to that feeling that I think he’d be willing to project it on to something that other people would be screaming ‘Run for the hills.’ He’s an interesting character because he’s this sort of dichotomy of guarded and completely exposed at that same time. So I’d like to think of him emotionally as kind of like this raw nerve. So I feel like his knee jerk response would be like ‘Absolutely, Patrick’s the one.’ By the time we’re halfway through the season, I think we find ourselves in a really different place, but I think in his heart he would love this to work. He would love this to be a relationship to kind of stick with for a while.

JH: Absolutely. We’ve all been in these situations where you love someone and then you make an awful decision and then you regret it, and sometimes you’re lucky enough to be able to patch things up or live with it. You can never get rid of it. Sometimes you’re like ‘Okay’ and you figured out a way to deal with it, and then other times you just, even if you’re sorry, it’s like even if someone apologizes and you accept their apology, it’s just that there’s nothing you can do about it. So you’re at the point of no return ,and he definitely crosses a couple of lines that he probably shouldn’t have.

Justin, how has it been working with Gabe?

JH: He’s talented, he’s fun to work with, he’s a great guy but he’s also one of the most gracious human beings I’ve ever met. He knows what he’s got and he appreciates it and he appreciates those around him and he is thankful and all that kind of stuff. So he’s a really, really good human being. I mean everybody that I work with is like that. Madeleine is the same way. These people, they’re really good quality people here. Really, really, really amazing. I think I met some lifelong friends here to be honest with you.

Revenge airs Sundays at 9pm on ABC.