Just to be clear : The 4 seasons of The Chilling adventures of Sabrina are supposed to take place over the course of only 1 year and it doesn't make any sense
First of all : in one year, we see 3 weddings and 3 major appocalypses, and there isn't a single moment when Sabrina is on vacation. She's just continiously going to school, even on Christmas day
Moreover, we learn at the beginning of S3 (1 month after the end of S2) that Miss Wardwell has been possessed during 3 months. It means that the entierety of S1 and 2 has to take place in only 2 months
Bear with me because we are going to try to recreate the timeline so far
S1 starts at Halloween and ends at Christmas (1 month and 25 days)
S2 ep3 is the valentine's day episode (so at least 3 months 1/2 since the start of the show)
The only way we can pretent that the timeline makes sense is if S2 happens over the course of 5 days, and that everyone in Greenday celebrates Valentine's day in December
To add up to this mess, even if S3 ep1 was in February (like miss Wardwell suggested), 3 episodes later, the characters celebrate the Hare Moon, wich happens in May. So we skipped 3 months in 3 episodes.
The creators of this show don't know how to make a coherent timeline
How intentional was everything in Camille's room? the clothes on the floor and the general messy state of it (Also the dog cage that just inexplicably is there)
VERY intentional - generally speaking, all of the details in TFOTHOU are pretty meticulously planned. In this case Kate was adamant that Camille was an absolute slob behind closed doors, and I remember her running around before our first scene on that set throwing clothes on the floor.
As for the dog cage, she also pitched the idea that Camille was into puppy play with Toby and Tina, and requested a human-sized doggy cage (along with leashes and collars, which you can also see scattered around the room).
It wasn't a random sex thing, either - for Kate, it explained a lot about Camille's particular personality. The sex wasn't about sex for her - it was about intense adoration. She's incapable of emotional intimacy with another person, and of considering the emotions of a potential partner - what she needed was the uncomplicated attention and pampering, and the way she interacted with her subordinates cemented that idea. The puppy play was an immediate and visual way to communicate that power dynamic.
I initially said no. I resisted it because I thought it was about sex, the show was already full of kinks, the nature of her relationship with Toby and Tina was already pretty extreme and I was worried about overplaying those cards, but she was persistent and her explanation was very compelling.
When she explained that she wanted to feature it without any acknowledgement or explanation, the idea grew on me as a really fun and weird background element, so finally I asked art department to find the cage and the puppy play gear. And in the spirit of Kate's request, I didn't explain anything - just asked them to find it and have it ready on set. Their confused faces convinced me even more that this was a good idea, and I figured even if only a few people noticed it would be worth it.
i really like mike flanagan's work bc he's just like what if everyone's a bit deranged, a little gay and spooky stuff happened and we get masterpieces it's crazy
Imagine a tv show that was like this one character lives his life like he is in a musical, and this other is in an x files episode, and the other one is girl will graham, and the last one is in the godfather. And they are in a polycule together. Based on your posting themes you would want that, tumblr user. Well now think again because riverdale was all that and more and you didn't want it.
I'm very disappointed that Netflix has decided not to pursue a second season of THE MIDNIGHT CLUB.
My biggest disappointment is that we left so many story threads open, holding them back for the hypothetical second season, which is always a gamble.
So I'm writing this blog as our official second season, so you can know what might have been, learn the fates of your favorite characters, and know the answers to those dangling story threads from the first season.
So for those of you who want to know what we were planning to do, here's a look at what would have been season 2!
AMESH
Season 2 would open with Amesh, his glioblastoma advancing quickly. He would tell the first story of the season, but would be struggling to make it through. We'd focus on his love story with Natsuki for those first few episodes as it becomes clear that Amesh's death is imminent.
Meanwhile, Ilonka is trying to reconcile how she was fooled by Julia Jayne, all while falling further in love with Kevin, and she realizes he may be fading faster than he lets on.
Ilonka begins a serialized story in an effort to encourage him to "stay alive a little longer," like he did in season one. And the story she tells is...
REMEMBER ME.
This was the thing I was most excited about for this season.
REMEMBER ME is one of my all-time favorite Pike books - it tells the story of a teenage girl who is pushed off a balcony, and awakens as a ghost. She has to navigate being a spirit while trying to solve her own murder. We would have stretched this story out over 5 episodes.
We were going to use it as a vehicle for Ilonka to try to come to terms with the fact that she is going to die, and to begin to trying to wrap her head around being a ghost... but this is the coolest part... the lead character of Ilonka's story wouldn't be played by Ilonka. She'd be played by...
Anya.
Because this is how we live on, isn't it? In the minds of those we leave behind. And Ilonka would use REMEMBER ME as a way to imagine her dear friend Anya, waking up as a ghost, navigating the afterlife.
And this sets up one of the best mechanisms of the show - even if a character dies, as long as they're remembered by members of the club, they live on in their stories.
As the story starts to pick up steam, though, the group will have to deal with the death of Amesh, which he greets with grace and bravery.
In his final moments, he sees someone in his room - the Janitor from the first season, as played by Robert Longstreet, who says comforting things to Amesh even though he can't respond.
In his final, final moments, the SHADOW descends upon Amesh, and he is engulfed into it, which reinforces the idea that the Shadow is DEATH...
With Amesh's death comes something that upends the entire thing: a NEW PATIENT. We didn't work out too much about who this would be, but it would be a new roommate for Ilonka. Someone taking Anya's old bed.
Ilonka would find herself being initially cold to her - just as Anya was when Ilonka arrived. Even feeling like this new girl shouldn't necessarily be ushered into the Club. But of course they would develop a beautiful friendship over the course of the season.
The new girl joins the club, where something else exciting is happening - Cheri is telling a story. We hadn't decided which one, but I think it might have been MONSTER.
Natsuki would be the next to die, which would be heartbreaking. And again, she would talk to the janitor just before it happened... and again, the Shadow would come in the final moments.
For Spence, though, things would take a different turn.
The advancements in HIV treatment in the late 90's would come into play, and we'd see his prognosis change. The HIV cocktail came out in Dec 1995, and we really wanted to explore that.
Spence would ride the swell of antiviral advancements, and by the end of the season, he'd no longer be classified as terminal. In the finale of season 2, Spence would leave Brightcliffe just like Sandra did in Season 1, heading off to manage his disease and live the rest of his life.
But onto the BIG MYSTERIES of the season one... here are some answers:
What is up with Dr. Stanton's tattoo and bald head?
Well, a few things. First, Dr. Stanton is actually the daughter of the original Paragon cult leader, Aceso. Her nickname was Athena, she wrote the Paragon journal that Ilonka found in S1. She turned on her mother and helped the kids escape, but because she was part of the cult in her teenage years, she had the tattoo.
It was her initials that Ilonka found carved into the tree in season 1 (her maiden name was Georgina Ballard, hence the G.B. that Ilonka finds carved in the tree).
She hated what her mother became, and the atrocities of the cult. She reclaimed the property after her mom was gone, and wanted to change it into a place that celebrated life. She was trying to undo her mother's legacy and leave something behind that was beautiful.
She is wearing a wig at the end of S1 not because of a sinister reason, but because she is undergoing chemo. Dr. Stanton has cancer. Having helped so many people deal with disease, she now has to deal with it herself.
Her treatment would be successful, and she'd go into remission, but having to face that - while caring for the terminal kids at Brightcliffe - was going to be a very introspective arc for Stanton.
What about the Living Shadow? It's Death, right?
Well... no.
At the end of the season, Kevin will die... followed shortly by Ilonka. And as she is dying, two things will happen. First, she'll find herself talking to the Janitor, played by Robert Longstreet... and she'll make a discovery.
HE is Death.
And nothing to be afraid of. It turns out no one else ever saw this character. Stanton has a cleaning service, and the Nurse practitioners make up the rooms - the only people who ever saw this mysterious Janitor were the patients. He is Death, and offers them kind words before they die.
Then what was the Shadow?
This is an idea we take directly from the book REMEMBER ME, and we'll see it play out in the final moments of Ilona's final tale. In Pike's book, Shari is pursued by a dark entity called The Shadow. When it finally catches her, though, it turns out it is not a bad thing at all.
The Shadow is THEMSELVES. It's the Unknown. As it engulfs someone, in the last moment of their life, it takes them through a place of understanding and catharsis, preparing them for the next step.
THIS is what happened to Anya in S1 when the Shadow finally reached her - that's why she fantasized a life beyond Brightcliffe, which ultimately let her find acceptance of her death. It looks different for everybody, depending on their mind-set - because it is simply an extension of themselves.
The Shadow is just the final catharsis, a return to our original form - it is a moment of true understanding, and once we experience it, we move on to the next place.
We see the Shadow in full effect when it finally comes for Kevin. KEVIN DIES with Ilonka at his side, and it leads to the biggest reveal of the season:
Who were the Mirror Man and the Cataract Woman?
They were Stanley Oscar Freelan and his wife, who built Brightcliffe (fun trivia, he is named after the real-life Freelan Oscar Stanley, who built my favorite hotel in America - the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley is also the inspiration for THE SHINING!).
But more than that... there's a reason that Ilonka only sees Stanley in the mirror, and sees the Cataract Woman whenever she looked at Kevin. This is something else we took from Pike's original book... these aren't ghosts, but glimpses of PAST LIVES.
Ilonka WAS Stanley Oscar Freelan, and Kevin WAS his wife. They've lived many lives this way, and are true SOUL MATES - they always find each other, and they always fall in love. In this life, they knew it would be a short one, so they agreed to find each other in the house they built.
They've been "remembering" who they are, and glimpsing their former selves in reflections, and sometimes when they look at each other. This is also why Ilonka's very first words to Kevin in S1 were "Do I know you?" and why Kevin thought she was familiar as well. They are two souls who always find each other, again and again.
The story is this:
Stanley was dying, and built this cliffside home hoping that the seaside air would help him. It did, and he far outlived his prognosis (this is also true of the real-life Freelan Stanley). However, his wife began to succumb to dementia.
She would wander the halls, looking for him ("Darling!") and would even forget to feed herself ("I'm starving...") and she eventually refused to leave the basement. Heartbroken for her, Stanley painted the walls to resemble the woodland view, and the ceiling to resemble the night sky, so that it would be a little more beautiful for her.
He also painted a labyrinth on the floor, which was a technique used to try to curb the effects of dementia. She'd walk the pattern of the maze and it was believed it could help her cognition. Eventually, she developed frightening cataracts, but Stanley loved her through it all.
They were soul mates.
So while they seemed scary in season 1, that was just how Ilonka and Kevin's mind were trying to remember their pasts. We even had their faces distorting in ways consistent with how memories degrade over time.
When the Shadow comes for Ilonka, and gives her this understanding - this "remembering" - she realizes she has nothing to fear. She and Kevin will shed these personas and be reborn, and have the joy of finding each other another way.
The Shadow comes for her, Death takes her gently, and Ilonka goes off with Kevin back into the cosmos, ready for their next incarnation.
The series would end with Cheri telling this story to a whole new table of patients, including our new series leads. Most of our original cast now would exist as stories, a story told to the next "class" of storytellers at the table, all of whom we will have met by the end of the season. A story called "The Midnight Club."
Well, that's it... that was what we had in mind. It's a shame we won't get to make it, but it would be a bigger shame if you guys simply had to live with the unanswered questions and the cliffhanger ending.
I loved making this show, and I am so proud of the cast and crew. Particularly our cast, who attacked this story with incredible spirit and bravery each and every day.
But for now, we'll put the fire out, and leave the library dark and quiet.
To those before, and to those after. To us now, and to those beyond.
Seen or unseen, here but not here.
I'll always be grateful that I got to be part of this Club.
riverdale s3 finale best episode of television ever. archie fights a man dressed as a bear as a callback to when he fled the united states & got attacked by a grizzly in the canadaian wilderness as a metaphor for suicide. jughead fights his evil brother in law for orchestrating the worst dnd campaign the world has ever seen. veronica homoerotically drinks poison in an evening dress. betty watches her dad die not even 24 hours after chad michael murray tried to lobotomize her. cheryl arms her lesbian girl gang with bows & arrows & leads them on a quest to kill her mother. archie fails his SAT. it's never even addressed that hiram poisoned the water supply & sent the county into economic ruin
in ten years time when you motherfuckers start actually watching riverdale and making "riverdale was good all along" video essays about the narrative parallels and cycles of generational trauma and camp commentary on american ideals I will be so fucking annoying about how I was a riverdale stan before it was cool. how I was fighting for my life in the trenches of the great football war while you all berated me for enjoying my silly little television show. how I saw what you were all too stubborn to see from the beginning!! and it will be my right to do that.
As a nonbinary lesbian, I'm used to people saying they "don't really get my whole deal" and that "it just doesn't make sense". That's why, this pride month, I'm partnering with Riverdale
