Station Eleven Post Finale Additional Info, Trivia, & Interview Highlights.
I've been listening to a bunch of interviews with the showrunner, producer and cast, notably a Twitter Spaces recording and an ATX Zoom interview with the cast.
Some highlights, from memory, are under the cut, including stuff about scenes that were deleted, some Word of God rulings on some debated stuff, and a few details about the significance of one thing or another. I've also thrown some random observations at the end.
I want to flag here separately though that they mentioned there are a decent number of cut scenes they may make available some day if there is an appetite, so go make noise if you want 'em
You can listen to both the interviews mentioned above here:
This is a bit of a mish mash of stuff I found interesting from interviews generally though - so it won't all be in those two but if anyone asks I can probably dig up where I heard it.
Spoilers everywhere!
- Frank’s kid Key is named indirectly in Kirsten's honor, he's named after the literal key she didn't have the night of the play. Patrick Somerville saw Himesh and Mackenzie shoot the last scene and was fascinated by how Jeevan seemed hung up on Kirsten's key as a little detail that everything hinged on.
- Somerville says Tyler remains morally culpable for the things he has done, and that the Undersea are likely to remain dangerous for good, just by their nature as a group. The scene of Tyler and the mass of children is not intended to be a redemption, he should not be considered "clean" or harmless now, and he doesn't get a pass just because he's made peace with his mom. Somerville believes the Undersea are likely to become some kind of corrupt formal church over time, not ease into harmlessness.
So the point of these shots is not to depict the Undersea as anything positive, but to show the sheer scale of the disaster Kirsten has managed to avert. By figuring out how to engage with both Tyler and Haley and defuse them, Kirsten prevented the order the Undersea were waiting on from coming, turned back an army that could not have repelled by force, and stopped a catastrophe for both sides. And like a great beast deciding not to strike after all, the Undersea moves on.
There were additional deleted scenes with Haley (the kid who instigated the suicide bombings) which would have outlined this plot a little more clearly, but the takeaway is intended to be that Kirsten probably saved thousands of lives that night and at least bought everyone a *chance* to put themselves back together personally.
I have to admit this didn't really come across fully to me in how the show portrays it, but I find it really interesting because it means Kirsten has once again unknowingly followed in Miranda's footsteps, saving Severn City by figuring out how to reach someone, or at least some part of them that will respond.
- An early version of the reunion had Jeevan see Kirsten onstage performing, but they came to prefer the idea that Kirsten and Jeevan had that moment only between themselves, and she would be Director by then anyway. It also makes the yellow poster fakeout and then "distraction" of Deborah Cox's performance work; they wanted the audience to notice Jeevan just as incidentally as Kirsten does (notice too though that if she'd chased the book out of habit she'd have missed him - instead she's able to let it go with somebody who might benefit from it now in turn)
- In the scene where Kirsten tells Jeevan he walked her home, she makes a point to look to the Travelling Symphony; they are her home, and Jeevan got to her to them. This was Davis' idea on set and Somerville only realized the point she was making later and loved it. Kirsten's last little extra "Bye!" was also improvised in one of the takes, and he kept it because it felt like it showed that Kirsten has an innocence now that she’s never really been able to afford before. We are to infer that they both stayed up the whole night talking and catching up, and that they do fully expect to see each other again.
- They were asked about stuff that didn't make it in but that they kinda consider canon in their heads, and they mentioned there are a decent number of cut scenes they may make available some day if there is an appetite, so go make noise if you want 'em.
* There are a bunch of deleted Miranda scenes in particular, including a whole subplot about being sent to live with her aunt after Hurricane Hugo, and seeing Doctor Eleven for the first time.
* There was also a scene written but unshot where Little Kirsten encountered a "family" who seemed like they'd take care of her like Jeevan did; but they turned out to be Red Bandanas and she had to kill them to get away. This meant she had to unlearn a lot of the instincts towards trust she had learned from Jeevan, and the showrunner's tone made it sound to me like he's trying to diplomatically suggest they were paedophiles. This encounter is still sort of canon because Kirsten has lines later that allude to it ("I used to be dangerous") and refers to killing Red Bandanas when talking to Gil, but they decided it wasn't necessary to show because all the important stuff is already clear. I kind of agree, but think it would have made it much easier for a lot of people to understand why Kirsten's instincts are so finely tuned to the fact "David" is a potential threat when everyone else seems oblivious.
* There were further scenes with Haley, as noted above.
* There is also a promo shot that seems to be taken from a scene of Kirsten and Jeevan apparently playing catch in the apartment that we never see -
- Kirsten has a stomach wound when Sarah first meets her in Year 2; she's been cut or stabbed, presumably from a different incident to the one above (she's pressing down on this wound to manage it in the photo below)
- Lori Petty's glasses are Lori Petty's real glasses. She has Macular Degeneration, so like Dieter says, they're a very specific prescription that's not really replaceable post apoc. Not wearing them will damage her eyes over time, but she offered to go without the whole shoot - Somerville said absolutely not and wrote them in instead. But this is an interesting implied dimension to the Conductor; that she is gradually going blind, and why it's such a big deal that her glasses break. Petty sent in an apparently amazing self tape and did a chemistry test with Davis.
- Tyler does not know Alex is Rose's Alexandria when they're talking on the dock, though he may have worked it out over the course of events.
- Kirsten's calling towards directing (and imho in a sense, a more positive and healthy form of storytelling than Tyler’s) was always there, the moment in the airport is just her recognition and stepping up to it. Her aptitude and inclination towards it is hinted at early on by the play in the apartment, and how she naturally coaches and leads the other actors throughout.
Some Of My Own Observations:
- Per the hair and wardrobe folks, Kirsten's post pan braid is meant to emulate the point of her knives. She keeps herself honed, wary, and ready to strike if she needs to. Her looser, freer hairstyle at the end comes hand in hand with being able to move beyond that. Her costuming, they also say, is associated with the colour red, the colour of danger, and they tried to reserve it for her to some extent. If you look very closely, you can see some elements of what adult Kirsten wears that she's had since she was a child, most obviously the white and red cap which she uses to try to disguise Tyler when they're found by Miles. By contrast, the Airport is associated with clinical light blues and greys, and muted tones. Characters associated or under the influence of one or the other take on aspects of these colours, including Tyler. The stage makeup the troupe use is actually based on what stuff they could conceivably make themselves from the resources they'd have available.
- Kirsten's final outfit appears to have a utility pouch either made from part of one of the Conductor's shirts where her knife harness used to be, or meant to resemble it:
- Similarly, Jeevan takes on Frank’s cane and Siya's profession. The people they've loved and lost become part of them for the rest of their lives.
- Claudius is the villain in Hamlet. He kills Hamlet's father and deceitfully takes the crown. Clark would fully understand the implications of taking this role, and what dynamic that will generate in the play - it seems to be his own way to start making amends. He accepts it, if you will.
- The Conductor's poor health is signposted early on. When she jokes she should be made a saint, like Saint Deborah, Kirsten replies she hasn't died like she did. Sarah replies that she dies every time. She also seems to be physically exhausted even at the start of the year’s Wheel, needs Alex' help taking off her costume, and complains she's struggling to score Hamlet - in retrospect, Hamlet may not be the issue.
- Sarah's death in a sense links all three of Kirsten's surrogate parents; Sarah dies of the same thing that killed Arthur, who loved her, and looked out for her in the theatre. Like him she could not have been saved - but this time, Jeevan, present for both heart attacks, knows what he needs to do regardless.
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My best friend, my only chid, Tofu has to have surgery in removing tumors in her upper intestines. I need to come up with at least $680 for the surgery, post op treatment, and care. If you are able, please help me get her better by donating whatever amount you can (even $1) to my paypal: paypal.me/shannsational.
At this moment I’ve got $266, need to reach 50% for downpayment if I want to admit her today.
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