Here's a weird question. Did Sashi realize that she has feelings for Penn before the finale, or during the finale's montage? Because in Rootilda and Mr. Rippen, it seems too me that she was acting a bit like an overprotective girlfriend.
Sashi and Penn were friends/co-workers who both acted jealously when the other was crushing on other people/plants/dragonsâthis was established in both seasons 1 and 2, if you lookâ though romance and crushes was never the focus of the show â not even close.
Iâm not gonna talk about this beyond this post, because Iâm happy with the statement we made in the show itself. It speaks clearly for me and Iâm satisfied. While many have said they saw it coming, hoped it would happen and are happy, or didnât see it coming and liked the surprise of this final moment, others have said they didnât see it coming (wether they liked it or not) and others have asked me if we planned it from the startâ some implying it came out of nowhere. One or two even implying that it was a stunt or added just for Penashi fans.
Needless to say, Iâve gotten lots of questions and comments about it, and I get more every day. So I thought I would comment just this one time about it - to answer all those who have been asking.
Any romantic relationship or overt crush was never what the show was about. Certainly there were some very overt crushesâ Sashi/Blaze, Rippen/LSB⌠But that was one small aspect of this series, and I like it that way. Crushes were no greater than competitiveness, overcoming fears, self doubt, learning to trust, etc. The series was about overcoming external and internal conflicts through the power of friendship, tolerance, mutual understanding, learning and growth âsomething I truly believe in. And it was about comedy and creative worlds, and insane and crazy fun action and adventure.
We developed the series creatively and organically, as we wrote it, storyboarded it and animated it âseasons 1 and 2. In both Season 1 and especially in season 2, I knew Penn and Sashi had mutual affection. Was it just friendly? Or was there more? Maybe? Maybe not? Thatâs how it can be in life, especially high school. And often, as in life, these things never get verbalized or acted upon. Certainly in Season 2 it became a bit more overt, but again, it was never the focus of the series. These internal feelings did certainly bubble up to the surface here and there. It was part of the episodes in Season 1, and more so in Season 2. Especially in our Pirates season 2 premiere, and in The Last Mountain Beast⌠and most notably, in our series finale.
As we moved towards the finale with âMr. Rippenâ and especially in the adventure and battle of âAt The End Of The Worldsâ these feelings got heightened, as many feelings do⌠You can see it in more than a few moments, if you look. Even Rippen and Boone talk about what they observe⌠And once the battle is over, and the mission is over, when they return to normal life, and start a new year at High School⌠Sashi has new hair, because I wanted to emphasize change and time passing⌠and something new⌠Not trying to overstate it, so forgive this analogy, but itâs like these kids are home from 'the warâ, and getting back to normal life as teens. (not serious PTSD or anything, but still itâs something to adjust from) And in some ways you can never go back to normal life. (Not analogous, and not at all a literal inspiration, but I always liked how JRR Tolkien and Peter Jackson showed the hobbits returning to life at The Shire After the war of the ringâ in Lord of The Rings âthat was directly inspired by Tolkien himself, returning after WW1, and never being the same afterâŚ) Our battle for the multiverse was big for our young teenage characters. Especially Penn, but also Sashi- and all that led up to it. Being back home with no more zapping and no more fighting, life is different back in Middleburg.
As we show time passing (one of the purposes of the last Epilogue song that I wrote and rough storyboarded), Penn Looks at Sashi a bit differently now. She has different hair, sheâs a bit different, maybe even cuter? (You be the judge) Penn smiles at her goofily. She smiles back. That moment is almost like they are seeing each other in a new way, building on their past⌠In the battle just before, we pushed them physically closer and pushed them each closer to death quite a few times â Penn especially âand we also tested their friendship back in 'Last Mountain Beastâ. All of this was done intentionally, as part of creating this entire story.
At the very end of the series, Sashi takes things into her own hands and acts. Itâs impulsive and it builds on all she was feeling before, and more importantly, what she feels in that moment. Penn is surprised- as maybe some of you wereâ but he is also instantly on board, in that moment. Thatâs how it is. And thatâs storytelling I like. Surprise is good. But itâs also based on what we established earlier. Itâs up to you guys to see it however you want. I canât tell you how you should feel about it, and I donât want to. To me itâs one action. One moment. And who knows where it goes? Itâs 14-year olds and one moment. It certainly advanced things beyond where things were, now that some time has passed, now that theyâre back from 'the warâ.
Iâm only giving my perspective on this because itâs a commonly asked question. Iâm glad that so many of you are happy with the series and the finale. Iâm happy with our creative expression of these characters and our story. Iâm happy with the episodes, and I feel they stand on their own. And you guys can take them however you like.
I wasnât going to answer any of these questions, but there have been quite a lot, and the above question seemed ok as a jumping off pointâŚ
I donât think Iâll speak about it any more than this, so you can save time and stop asking me about this issue. I donât want to discuss it in any more detail. I prefer to let the series stand by itself.
Iâm proud of the many stories and the overarching story we toldâ the Penn and Sashi thing is just one aspect of it. The series is so much more, and Iâm happy with where we took all of our characters. Obviously Penn and Rippen had the biggest and most consequential choices and actions in this story.
Thanks to all who watched and enjoyed the show; your questions and comments mean a lot.
Peace & thanks âď¸đŤâ¨â¨đŚâ¨â¨đŤđ
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