Cast Commentary #10

This week's Cast Commentary for Episode 10 took place via mini-interviews with the authors! Noel, Skye, and Neale each made time to answer a few questions posed by Kimbar. Here are the results:

Kimbar: What was your favorite part of this episode? Why?

Noel: As Season 1 drew to a close, I got to kick Arianna's discovers into overdrive. The turmoil in her life that led her to finally search for the truth about her own past. The details, like bread crumbs, that led her to Mariel Cove and that fuel her search. I also loved showing personal glimpses into Arianna's life -- like her condo, Pipi and Spot. But I also loved, in Episode 10, how the Grost family fully became my characters and exploring their past and dynamic -- something I hope to return to even more in Season 3 -- showed me that I truly love writing those three characters.

Skye: There were a lot of scenes I loved in this episode. I love any time Devi is with her dogs because it warms my heart. I loved the scene with Marley and her dad not only because I find their family powerful and interesting, but one thing I appreciate most about Mariel Cove is that it's a queer drama that still manages to have interesting, honest, and for the most part genuinely good male characters. Also I obviously loved writing Kennedy's scenes because any time I get to write an extended Kennedy sex scene that involves ego and role-playing it's like a surprise treat in the middle of my work week.

Skye: But I think the scene that stood out to me most and lingered with me longest was the scene where we find out what happened to Arianna in Egypt. I don't want to give away too many spoilers, but I found this scene dark, honest and powerful. I always appreciate when I see people go beyond western culture and examine everyday realities for people in other parts of the world, especially when it comes to queer issues. It gave me a lot more insight into Arianna as a character and, in my opinion, gave Arianna a bit more legitimacy as the "lesbian Anderson Cooper." Very strong scene.

Neale: There's a lot of the Kennedy/Kitty plot in this episode. I found myself really drawn into these scenes, because, to put it bluntly: The shit hit the fan. There's all this build up, Kennedy running around, fucking Lia senseless (which was *hot,* by the way, Skye. Loved it.) But what really brought it home, what made it real, was the scene where Kennedy comes home and Kitty has gone through Kennedy's locked files.

Neale: It brought up a question, that I've dealt with before in my own relationships: If you invade someone's privacy (breaking into a locked file cabinet, or drawer, or going through someone's cellphone) and you find incriminating evidence, who is at fault? I've heard it from both sides: "You never should have had those secrets in the first place." or "You never should have hidden that from me." It seems like such a straight-forward thing: Your secrets have been found out. I know the truth! You're in trouble. But, at least for me, that's never the case. It's so much more complex and complicated than that. I felt that honesty in this scene, the complexity of a multiple-year relationship.

Kimbar: Noel, you received the character Marley Grost rather late in the season -- how was it for you to suddenly add a teenage girl to the list of characters you were writing for? Was it a vast difference from Celeste the mechanic and Arianna the reporter?

Noel: Marley is so incredibly different from Celeste or Arianna. She doesn't really believe in labels for sexuality and despite an incredibly violent event in their recent family history -- the school shooting her father was caught in -- Marley is mentally a young teen. She's intensely focused on making EDM and that was my "in." With Celeste my in was she is a Black woman, from New York, who spent a few years as a bike messenger. I share all of that with her. With Arianna, I was a reporter and I was adopted in a closed adoption situation, just like Arianna. But for Marley, my connection to her was through music and my love of making electronic music. Marley is far, far better than I am -- LOL! -- but I can slide into that character's skin through EDM and dubstep.

Kimbar: You put a lot of research into this episode -- you always put a lot of research into your writing. How much time did you spend researching, would you say? Which took more time -- the researching or the writing?

Noel: Sadly, I don't think most authors research enough. If I read a book or a scene in a book that seems "thin" -- not engaging, surface conversations -- I immediately think: "The author had no heart for the scene." I try to find a heart for any scene -- something based in real life that I can read about, research, try out. Maybe this is something simple like cooking eggs. Maybe it's something more complex like tracking calls. I'll research a 2000-word scene anywhere from an hour to four hours. Then, I write about 1000 words an hour. After that, I'll spend an hour (for a 2000-word scene)  reading it aloud and tweaking and editing as I go.

Kimbar: Skye, this is a huge episode for the Kitty/Kennedy relationship. You got to write the scene where Kitty confronts Kennedy over her lies regarding their monetary situation. How did you get into the headspace to write Kitty's anger? What about Kennedy's response? How did you feel about writing this scene?

Skye: There was a lot of discussion about how Kitty and Kennedy would end up. As I watched Kennedy form as the season progressed, however, I knew there was only one responsible way to deal with this situation. Kitty had to see some of what was going on and Kennedy needed to be called out.

Skye: It wasn't hard for me to get into Kitty's headspace because I've been in Kitty's position before in various ways. Abusive relationships, especially emotionally abusive or controlling relationships that don't involve a physical element, are often overlooked or downplayed, especially in the queer community. There's a lot of pressure to make things work and prove that queer families and relationships are as "valid" and "good" as straight ones that it's hard to start a conversation about bad relationships without fear of having it smack the entire queer community in the face. There's also an assumption in society that women can't be abusive or as abusive as men, which isn't true.

Skye: Kennedy and Kitty's relationship makes for good drama, but I've always seen it as also having something to say about abuse, especially between two women. Nearly everything Kennedy does to Kitty is completely unacceptable in a caring relationship. She's demeaning, controlling, passive aggressive and is constantly lying about cheating and money. She's more about keeping Kitty and holding on to past memories than actually caring for Kitty as a person.

Skye: It was also important to me to show that Kitty was both aware of and feeling guilty about the fact that Kennedy was sick. There's a lot of pressure to stay with and give slack to abusive partners who are ill, mentally or physically, whether they're trying to get better or not. Illness is, however, not a pass to be cruel or abusive. Kennedy has made no attempt to get better or even acknowledge that she has a problem. Their relationship is leeching Kitty's energy and self esteem. She's not in a position to take care of Kennedy even if Kennedy wanted to change.

Skye: I wanted to let Kitty get angry about what's happened to her because she should be. I wanted her to see her life for what it is and realize that good memories, stability, a sense of responsibility and/or guilt about leaving a sick partner are never reasons to stay in an abusive situation or give up your own sense of self/personal health.

Skye: It's an important conversation to have and I hope this storyline and this scene can facilitate that to some degree.
 
Kimbar: Kennedy has been wooing Lia for a while now; we see her getting Rei's secret before she goes home to Kitty, and then we see her returning to Lia afterwards. What do you see as some of the main differences between the two times she visits Lia in this episode?

Skye: Kennedy is a complex character. When writing one of her scenes I have to take into account both her base personality and what her drug habits have done to her mind and instincts. Kennedy is naturally dominant, kinky, sharp, charismatic, an exhibitionist, and has a strong sex drive. Her pills, however, have added paranoia, dramatic mood swings and often an inability to see consequences to her actions.

Skye: The first time Kennedy is with Lia it's part of a bigger plot. She wants to hurt Rei and she sees a way to do that by manipulating Lia. Sure, she enjoys the sex and Lia turns out to be more fun than she expected, but in reality she really doesn't think much about Lia as a person. She's a tool.

Skye: The second time Kennedy comes back to Lia, however, Rei is the furthest thing from her mind. Kitty is the key to all of Kennedy's insecurities and desires. When Kitty stands up to her and makes it clear she's no longer willing to believe Kennedy's lies, it unhinges her. Kennedy is used to being adored and supported by Kitty unconditionally. Reality slaps Kennedy in the face and she's unable to deal. She returns to Lia like a drug. She's seeking relief and wants that admiration and adoration that was suddenly absent in her relationship with Kitty.

Skye: Looking back I feel like this is the moment in season 1 when Kennedy really starts to break. She's starting to realize Rei isn't the ultimate threat to her relationship and her relationship is already coming to an end. And she's just incapable of handling it.

Kimbar: Neale, there's a painful scene at the end of this episode involving Aidan, Mikayla, and some very bad people. How did it feel to write this particular scene? 

Neale: This scene (split between the last scene of the episode and the epilogue) was really hard to write... but at the same time, I had been looking forward to it all season. Because for me, this is the scene where Aidan changes. This is the scene where she goes from victim to protector. She finally finds her strength.

Neale: It was hard because that kind of quickly escalating violence is something that trans* and queer people experience far too fucking often. And if you haven't experienced it? No matter how confident or brave or sure of yourself... You've thought about it. You've worried about it, at least once.

Neale: There's ignorance everywhere. In schools. In the workplace. In the streets. Sometimes, even in your own home.

Kimbar: Do you feel like there was a turning point for Aidan in this scene? What do you see this scene doing for Aidan's narrative overall? 

Neale: Oops =( I think I already answered the first part of this question in the last answer. I should have read ahead =)

Neale: In terms of her narrative, absolutely. This turning point definitely changes Aidan. Until now, she's almost always by herself, stuck inside her own head. Even when she's with Arianna, she's a little bit somewhere else. This starts to pull her out. She's forced to think about someone other than herself and her own issues.

Kimbar: Wow, great answers, ladies! This has been wonderful and I really appreciate all your answers. See you next week!