Unlike the previous posts, this isn't a summary; rather, it's a continuation of the Q&A that was posted on Webtoons. There were a lot of good Q&A questions, and we couldn't get to many them; as such, I've included a number of those questions here.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
STORY QUESTIONS
WILL THERE BE A SEASON 5?
No. Webtoons didn't ask, and we didn't offer.
In truth, Witch Creek Road wasn't presented properly, and this unfortunately rests with me and how I originally chose to upload the series.
When I started publishing the episodes on Webtoons Canvas, I had no idea that being Featured was such a thing. I hadn't planned on Witch Creek Road ever being more than a single season, because it wasn't intended to be more than a single season. It was, instead, intended to be part one of a loosely connected series of stories set in the same world, which would have all slowly started to come together.
If I could go back in time, I would have launched the series with a different title - though I have no idea what that title would have been. And it would have looked something like this:
And there would have been a greater separation between the stories. For example, Webtoons requested that some characters from Season 1 made an appearance in the Skinned storyline. From a business standpoint, this makes perfect sense - you want readers to see familiar characters. But, from a story standpoint, this caused problems:
So, overall, it just seemed like a good time to end the series. At least for now.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR WITCH CREEK ROAD?
Kenan and I will work on “Remastered” versions of the main storylines. In some cases, this will be quite easy. "Skinned", for example, just needs to have some pages removed. For other storylines, such as "Infested", it will require a lot more work.
In 2022, we'll be running Kickstarters to print the Skinned storyline in its original “stand alone” format, and with its original ending.
WILL THERE BE MORE STORIES SET IN THIS WORLD?
Probably. There are many storylines that we haven't explored yet, and many "open" or unresolved storylines. The one I'd personally like to explore more is that of Hailey stepping into the role of the new Scarred Woman.
IS THIS AN EXPANSION OF LOVECRAFT LORE? OR ARE THE LOVECRAFT ELEMENTS JUST THERE FOR FLAVOR?
The Lovecraft elements have been present since the beginning – it was just a lot more obvious in the final season. The Wolves, for example, were inspired by, and related to, the Hounds of Tindalos. (Get it? Wolves? Hounds?)
The Wolves are counterparts to the Hounds. The Hounds hunt (and kill) people who attempt to manipulate time (such as time travelers). The Wolves, on the other hand, deal with abnormalities - that is, something that shouldn't be present within the Curves. Unfortunately, when Wolves are summoned by a person, they have no particular direction, and so they run amok - which is, essentially, the only time we've seen them.
Lovecraftian stories also deal pretty heavily with the idea that people aren't equipped to fight monsters, and that the best one can generally hope for is to survive and not go mad - and this has been a pretty standard theme throughout the seasons of Witch Creek Road.
So I'd say that, while some elements were added for flavor (such as the mention of Dunwich in Season 1, the fact that the high school was named Halsey High, etc), the story and ideas were definitely an expansion of Lovecraftian lore.
WHAT ENTERED THE WORLD THE FIRST TIME PANDORA OPENED THE DOOR? IS IT STILL HERE?
The first time Pandora opened the door, she released creatures from the Angles (ie. monsters) into the world.
The god she spoke to was the Unravelling Madness. It never came through at that time - it was mostly slumbering in the darkness (though it would eventually enter our world in Season 4).
Of the Angle creatures that entered our world when Pandora first opened the door, some eventually returned to the Angles. Many were killed throughout the centuries. A few remain.
WILL WE EVER FIND OUT HOW PANDORA GOT ALL OF HER SCARS?
Possibly! The first story I wrote was called, "The Living Finger", and can be purchased from Darby Pop. The eventual follow up was meant to be "Heart in a Jar", which became part of Witch Creek Road Season Three. But I always thought it would be fun to write different stories, showcasing the short (and often tragic) lives of the Scarred Woman's various body parts.
WILL WE EVER SEE ADAM FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN?
I'd put this more into the "Unlikely" category, simply because there are soooo many other storylines to build upon first. But, at the same time, you never know...
WHY IS AWESOME THE ONLY ONE TO SURVIVE EVERY TIME?
Awesome survives because she's unique. She possesses some level of compassion, and takes an interest in certain people. Case in point: Sara. Awesome could have easily killed Sara in Season One, but instead she let her live - albeit as a monster. But... did Awesome turn Sara into a monster to be mean? Or because she thought she was making Sara happy? Sara was obsessed with her weight and had a borderline eating disorder: Awesome removed her stomach. Sara was alone in her head all the time and obsessing over little things: Awesome added people into Sara's head so Sara would never be alone.
When the Wolves "die", they're essentially "reset". They don't remember what happened, and start again from a fresh slate. In Awesome's case, because she survives and has experienced more than the other two, she's a more well-rounded individual.
This becomes a sort of "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" situation. That is, did Awesome survive because she was unique? Or did she become unique because she was allowed to survive?
WHY DIDN'T LEGION KILL AWESOME?
At the end of Season One, Grace vows to seek revenge against the Wolves. At the time, she's trapped within a circle. After she's released - and especially after she has her "eyes opened" in Season Three - Grace sees and understands the "larger picture", and the Wolves no longer seem significant.
Had the Wolves stayed out of her way entirely, all three would have likely survived. It's only because they attack Grace that she asserts her dominance and, quite easily, dispatches Ruthless and Grumpy.
DID MEDIOCRE HAVE TO DIE?
No. Most characters will have a few possible outcomes, with the progression of the story determining which outcome actually occurs. In Shaleeta's case, she probably had the largest number of possible outcomes of any character. And she definitely survived in a few of those.
HOW CAN SARA AND HER MOM STILL COMMUNICATE WITHOUT HER MOM HAVING TO SUMMON HER?
Angles (such as a corner of a room) are areas where the Curves and the Angles overlap. Sara has mentioned on more than one occasion that "You can find me in the angles" - and, in these instances, she was referring to both the Angles as a location, and the angles of a room. It was a bit metaphorical, but someone with a strong emotional connection to Sara, such as her mom, can speak into the corner of a room, and Sara will hear. Dirk would have been able to do the same, had he tried. I like to think of this method of communication as being somewhat similar to a "tin can telephone". The reception is crap... but in a pinch, it'll do the job =)
HOW DID AMITY ROUND UP SO MANY PEOPLE? HOW DID SHE CONVINCE GRACE'S BROTHERS TO GO WITH HER?
This, along with a few other potential episodes, were all cut due to space constraints. Instead, we ended up focusing on what seemed more important at the time.
With regards to the brothers, Grace went to them herself. It was meant to be a touching moment between siblings.
As for everyone else, they're mostly people connected to the Old Man's Assistant. And, specifically, people who had worked with the Old Man and would understand the severity of what the Assistant told them, rather than laughing it off and assuming the Assistant was crazy. The problem with "end of world" proclamations is that most people won't believe you...
WILL WE SEE MORE OF THE DREAMLANDS
Eventually. Sara will want to check in with the Assistant, and Grace will want to check in with her brothers. Also, it might be nice to see if Amity and the creature continued any sort of friendship, or if they parted ways for good.
IS LEGION KILLABLE?
I'm going to start this by saying that Legion can be a difficult concept to wrap one's head around. She exists in all moments, and each version of herself autonomous. So let's pretend that it's 12:00:00 on June 1st, 2022. And let's pretend you shoot Legion at 12:00:00, on June 1st, 2022. That particular Legion would be dead. But Legion would still exist at 11:59:59, and in every moment before. And Legion would exist at 12:00:01, and every moment after. You're only killing her in a particular moment in time, but she'll exist in all the other moments in time.
In her fight against the Unravelling Madness, many Legions died. But many, many more still exist.
COULD LEGION HAVE PREVENTED THE UNRAVELLING MADNESS FROM BEING SUMMONED? OR PREVENTED THE WOLVES FROM KILLING HER FRIENDS IN SEASON ONE?
The tricky thing about time is that some events need to happen. For example, if Legion had prevented the death of her friends in Season One, she would have also been preventing her own death. Which, in turn, would have prevented the creation of Legion. And, without Legion, the friends would have died.
There are certain events that can be changed or altered, but there are also "key" events that need to occur. Episode Four of the Disney+ series, "What If?", describes these as "absolute points" - it's actually a pretty interesting episode, and I'd recommend checking it out.
As for the Unravelling Madness, though it ends up "hijacking" the ritual, the primary factor in it waking is the death of Pandora. Had Pandora not died, and instead completed herself, it would have had a similar effect.
WHAT IS TENEBRIS? WHY IS HE BOUND TO THE SERPENT?
Tenebris is a smoke demon - and, in regards to power, he's on par with lesser gods.
Both Tenebris and the Serpent as bound together as punishment for past deeds. This binding also helps to limit Tenebris' true power, as he can never be too far from the Serpent (otherwise his powers will begin to fade).
It's likely their stories will be expanded upon in the future - though how much, I'm unsure.
WOULD A LARGER FIRE ALLOW TENEBRIS TO GET EVEN BIGGER?
The Tenebris we saw in Season 4 is about as big as he generally gets. If there was additional smoke available, Tenebris would instead use it to make himself more dense, or to replace some of the smoke that would be continually dissipating into the air. This is one of the reasons the Serpent puts a glass over Tenebris in Season 3 - so that the smoke can't go anywhere and Tenebris can more easily keep his form.
WILL NADINE SURVIVE?
That remains to be seen. But Faye has no intention of killing Nadine herself - rather, she wants to use Nadine as a sacrifice to her god. Which means Faye will need to get Nadine back to Innsmouth, and a lot can happen between now and then...
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SUMMARY: Hailey, who has been admitted once again to a psychiatric hospital, summons the same god her grandmother summoned thousands of years ago. She gains two new companions: sentient guns.
FULL CIRCLE: Pandora studied the stars and learned the language of the void. She used blood magic and summoned a god - who, in turn, made Pandora his avatar. Likewise, Hailey studied the stars and learned the language of the void. She uses blood magic and summons the same god - who, due to the death of Pandora, makes Hailey his new avatar.
THE NEW SCARRED WOMAN: Like Pandora, who eventually came to be known as "The Scarred Woman," Hailey has also begun to accumulate her own scars.
THE GUNS: Gun (left), which identified itself as "Gluttony", had a circle on its handle. This symbolized the Curves. In contrast, the new guns, which identify themselves as "Judgement", have triangles on their handles. These symbolize the Angles.
< S4 E24 Commentary | S4 Q&A >
]]>SUMMARY: Amity hosts a Q&A for the people who joined her on her journey into the Dreamlands.
Meanwhile, Sara's mother learns that Arkham has been destroyed and fears the worst. However, she's able to speak to Sara through the angles, and learns that Sara is no longer in Arkham. We see Sara, now fully embracing her role as a spider god.
THE DREAMLANDS: The town that Amity is leading everyone towards is the town of Hathek, which Keifer had described back in Season 4 Episode 12. It hasn't been discussed what will happen once they arrive there, though Amity intends to take the two boys with her to her farm. (The boys are the younger brothers of Grace - and while Amity is unsure if she'll ever see Grace again, she feels particularly responsible for these two).
"THAT WAS ALWAYS THE DREAM": Sara's mom is now in Seattle; when Sara learns this, she tells her mom that she's proud of her because "That was always the dream." In short, Sara and her mom used to talk about moving. Neither of them were particularly happy, and talking about some "far off place" where they could start a new life and be happy was always a comfort. Of course, they never did. They stayed in Arkham and continued to live their unhappy lives, afraid to go somewhere new in case it turned out to be just as bad.
Why Seattle? Why not? The first Starbucks. Fisherman's Wharf. Sleepless in Seattle. It seemed like as good a place as any...
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SUMMARY: The city has been destroyed. Grace, the Serpent (along with Tenebris), and the surviving Wolf, discuss how they've only prolonged the inevitable, and that the world is destined for destruction.
Meanwhile, Nadine (from the Innsmouth episodes) has been arrested, and is being questioned over the murder of the young man. Faye (the avatar of the demon shark) arrives to collect Faye.
THE AFTERMATH: Originally, this entire episode was meant to show the aftermath of all the death and destruction caused (both directly and indirectly) by the presence of the god. This was significantly reduced, due to it being a whole lot of exposition that didn't actually move the story forward. At the same time, there were some elements in these missing pages that I'd enjoyed, so if Kenan and I ever create a "Remastered" edition, you can expect to see these missing pages included!
KAIJU FIGHT: Some readers will, no doubt, be disappointed that the fight between the Unravelling Madness, Grace and Tenebris was never shown. The problem with a showdown of this magnitude is that it would be very difficult to do it justice - and no matter what happened, there would be people left unfulfilled. Instead, we'll let this battle live within the imagination of the readers...
(And that's not to say I wouldn't one day like to see the battle produced - but it would definitely be best suited for animation or live action.)
THERE ALWAYS NEEDS TO BE THREE: When the main Wolf arrives, she says to Grace, "There always needs to be three." Grace agrees, and mentions to the Wolf that the other two are waiting for her within the Angles. The Wolf asks if the other two will remember the events this time, and Grace tells her no.
This is somewhat significant, and it's meant to hint at the fact that the Wolves who were "killed" have been recreated within the angles. Which means that, while they may look similar to the previous Wolves, they're not quite the same. Furthermore, it's hinted at that Grace has some control over whether or not the recreated Wolves will remember what happened.
FAYE AND NADINE: Things don't look good for Nadine at the end of her epilogue. The one good thing is that Faye has no intention to kill Nadine - rather, she simply wants to return to the water and offer Nadine as a sacrifice to her god. And there's a lot that can happen between now and when they get back to Innsmouth...
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SUMMARY: Grace and Tenebris come face to face with the Unravelling Madness.
AMITY: We see Amity, along with a group of others, arrive at the cabin where this story began. Included in the group are Grace's two younger brothers, and the Assistant, who had previously been employed by the Richard Hellier (aka the Collector, aka the Old Man).
"There are places where the curtain between worlds is thin and frayed," and Amity uses the Book of Angles to open a doorway back to her own world (the Dreamlands). It's Grace's belief that the Dreamlands will be safe from the waking eldritch gods.
LEGION: We learn that Grace actually exists in every moment, from the beginning of time onward. "She exists in all of these moments simultaneously. Each version autonomous. Each version connected to the rest." We first saw this in Season 4 Episode 18, when Grace created a pocket of reality outside of time, but still within the curves. And within this pocket of timelessness, other versions of herself began to appear.
In this latest episode, we see Grace call out to more versions of herself, and more and more begin to appear - though still only a small portion of what would almost be an infinite number of Graces.
The name Legion comes from the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament, as does the line, "My name is Legion, for we are many” - though in this case, Grace swaps out "we" for "I".
THE HEARTBEAT WITHIN THE EASTERN PINE: Though this is a story we may never explore, the heartbeat that Grace is listening to belongs to Connie. Don't remember Connie? That's okay, it's been a while. Connie was one of the final survivors from season 1. She and Edwin had been trying to escape from the Wolves, but Connie was captured. She begged Edwin to help, but Edwin instead ran away in an attempt to save himself.
Just as there are three Wolves, there are three "monsters" that were created and left behind: Sara, Edwin, and Connie. (Note that, while some people mistakenly believe that Grace was created by the Wolves, the Wolves played no role in Grace's creation).
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SUMMARY: When Cassie sees the Unravelling Madness, it drives her mad; now she believes her best friend has stolen her face. And Cassie will stop at nothing to get it back...
THE EXPLOSION: Ronnie and Cassie head to the rooftop to see if they can identify the cause the explosion. The explosion, of course, was the gas station that the Serpent lit on fire in Season 4 Episode 20.
WHY DIDN'T RONNIE GO MAD? Ronnie was taking video, and was therefore looking at everything on her phone. Because she was so focused, her view of the world, and what was happening around her, was limited to what was being displayed on her phone's screen. As such, while Cassie looked directly at the Unravelling Madness, Ronnie turned the other direction and only witnessed Tenebris. When Ronnie turned to face her friend, she was focused on Cassie. By ignoring the “wider picture” of what was happening around her, she managed to avoid going insane.
SIGNAL LOST: While some people might interpret the lost signal as Cassie betraying Ronnie and killing her, whatever murderous impulses Cassie was experiencing have since left. The lost signal actually signifies something much worse - the result of which can be seen in Season 4 Episode 23.
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SUMMARY: The Serpent lights a gas station on fire; the resulting smoke allows Tenebris to achieve his true form: that of a giant smoke demon.
TENEBRIS' TRUE FORM: The size and strength of Tenebris is directly related to the amount of smoke available to him. When we first met Tenebris, he was small and able to fit under a glass (due to having to rely on cigarette smoke). Now we're finally able to see Tenebris in all his awesome glory.
IN THE AIR: The Serpent mentions to Tenebris that he can feel it in the air, referring to the fact that something bad is coming. This is referring back to Garret's observation in Episode 19 that, "The air feels as though it lacks oxygen. Like he will, at any moment, start gasping for breath." This is also mentioned in the Grace section of Episode 19 with, "The air is bad."
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SUMMARY: A series of brief glimpses into the lives of those who witness the Unravelling Madness, and the madness that ensues as a result.
THE WORLD ISN'T RIGHT: The Unravelling Madness causes most people to go mad simply by looking at it. In short, their minds can't "translate" what they're seeing. The only person to make it out relatively okay was Mad Tom, who was already mad. Seeing the Unravelling Madness still affected him, but it was more like a hard reset in which he walked away feeling more or less okay.
In the Webtoons comment section, poolresurection observed: "Everyone suffering in pain and agony at its presence; meanwhile Mad Tom just becomes Regular Tom. And considering this series, that's probably the best ending anyone's had so far lol".
PANDORA'S FATE: With Pandora's passing, time finally catches up with her; the result is that she's now nothing but dust.
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SUMMARY: The Wolves go in search of "the Wolf that isn't a Wolf" and find Grace. Once the Wolves realize that Pandora is dead, they decide to attack Grace. This doesn't go well, and two of the three Wolves are killed.
SHE'S PRACTICALLY A GOD NOW: The episode begins to illustrate what Sara meant when she said, "After all, she's practically a god" way back in Season 2 Episode 15.
With regards to Grace, she's an angle version of a curve creature - meaning she both exists outside of time but also understands time. This allows her to manipulate time in ways that other angle creatures cannot (represented by the fact that, when she pulled the angles into the curves, everything became white, versus the pitch black that we usually see inside the angles).
FULL CIRCLE: This episode comes full circle to the first few episodes of season one. In season one, the three cheerleaders arrive and find the Wolves standing in the middle of a field. In this episode, the three Wolves arrive and find Grace standing in the middle of a parking lot. The one Wolf, full of confidence, attacks Grace and quickly dies, just as Abby, full of confidence, approached the Wolves and quickly died. In the end, only Sara survived the initial encounter, just as the main Wolf is the only one to survive this encounter.
The final image of Grace, her hand atop the Wolf's head, also parallels the Wolf placing her hand atop Sara's head.
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SUMMARY: Detective Thompson seeks revenge for what happened to Hailey (see Season 3 Episode 22) and attempts to kill Pandora. During their confrontation, Pandora realizes that Thompson is her son. While she hesitates, Thompson uses Gun to shoot her, and as Thompson kills her, the Eye smashes a cinder block over Thompson's head, killing Thompson as well. In the end, both Pandora and Thompson are dead, and the Eye is unconscious.
KNIVES: During their interaction, Pandora mentions, “I prefer guns, but one of my fingers gained an affinity toward knives.” This is a reference to Wendy, one of the main characters from “The Living Finger”.
PANDORA'S PAIN: When Thompson shoots Pandora, she feels pain for the first time since becoming "immortal". This enrages and confuses her, and causes her to ask Thompson what he's done. In truth, the pain is the result of being shot by Gun, which is a supernatural living weapon.
THE EYE: When Pandora dies, the Eye also dies. This causes the body the Eye had been using to fall unconscious. When the body eventually regains consciousness, the Eye will be gone, and the controlling personality will revert back to the original person.
THE RITUAL: While the ritual in Innsmouth was meant to summon Dagon, the death of Pandora attracts the attention of her god, and causes something far worse to enter this world.
ALTERNATE ENDINGS: There was one version of this episode in which Thompson and Pandora “killed” one another, but before dying, Pandora managed to prop herself up against the wall into a sitting position. Thompson, who understood that things were over, used the last of his strength to walk to Pandora and sit down beside her. Pandora turned to Thompson and said, “I'm sorry about your daughter,” to which Thompson replied, “I'm sorry about your son.” And the world ended with them sitting next to one another, never understanding what each one meant to the other.
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SUMMARY: Pandora and “The Eye” talk about life, love, and child Charlotte (aka “The Heart”) had with Richard. The Eye convinces Pandora that the son is likely still alive, and so Pandora sends the Wolves to go find the “Wolf that isn't a Wolf” (aka Grace) to find out where the son is now.
THE EYE: The Eye is Pandora's missing (and final) body part. The Eye being a man is meant to show that Pandora's body parts can use people of either gender as a host.
PANDORA vs EVE: During the conversation with the Eye, the Eye mentions that Eve was stuck with the blame for the loss of the garden (referring to Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden), but the Eye also concedes that “Eve only exists because we ate from the tree and introduced a new narrative into the world.” This is referring to the Pandora's “origin story”, which was told in Season 3, in which Pandora ate from the forbidden tree and introduced time into the world. When time was introduced, the past and the future suddenly came into being. Pandora, who had been the first woman up until that point, and who had been the wife of Adam, was cast out of the garden, and Eve was created to take her place.
THE LOCATION: Though perhaps not obvious, Pandora is in the same place we saw her summon the Wolves way back in Season 2 Episode 24. In fact, if you look at the background, you'll see the "door" Pandora drew to summon them.
GOOFS: The Eye starts referring to Pandora's child as her “son” without actually being told the child's gender. I believe there had been a line of dialogue originally where Pandora had specified the child was a boy, but somewhere in the editing process this line was lost and I never updated the subsequent dialogue.
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SUMMARY: Detective Thompson writes (and delivers) a heartfelt letter of apology to his ex-wife.
THE SERPENT: We see that Thompson and the Serpent have had some conversations, and that the Serpent has explained that Pandora is to blame for Hailey being injured rather than the Wolves. The Serpent describes the Wolves as a gun, but “it was Pandora's finger on the trigger.”
TRISH'S ABSENCE: In part of the letter, Thompson mentions, “I'm glad you've left town,” and he later alludes to the fact that Trish is staying with her sister. This may end up being a good thing, considering some of the characters believe that something bad is coming... Even Thompson feels this, mentioning, "There's something wrong with this city. It's like a tree with dead roots, just waiting for a big gust of wind to blow it over."
THIS ENDS TONIGHT: In Season 2, Thompson told Trish, "This ends tonight." At the time, he was being optimistic. That's not to say he believed there would be a happy ending, but he believed that, whatever was happening, he could end it. This time, however, it's the opposite: whatever happens, Thompson fully expects to die. After all, if he expected to live, then he could tell Trish everything to her face. Instead, he's puts everything into a letter. He's saying good-bye.
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SUMMARY: Sara and the Assistant are playing chess. After hearing a commotion coming from downstairs, they go to investigate and come face to face with Amity and the creature. After Sara learns that Amity plans to return to the Dreamlands, she tells the Assistant to go with Amity since there's nothing left for him in Arkham - and because the world might be ending anyway.
CHESS: This episode is a direct follow-up to Season 3 Episode 20, in which Sara asked the Assistant if he wanted to play checkers, and the Assistant suggested chess instead. At that time Sara was reluctant and commented that the Assistant always wins, and in this episode we see them playing chess, and we see the Assistant win.
THE SPIDER GOD: We learn that Sara went in search of the spider god connected to the mask the Assistant gave her in Season 3 Episode 20, and while Sara initially found nothing, upon the locals seeing her, they began to worship her and she, in fact, became the very god she was searching for.
THE KISS: After some friendly back-and-forth, Sara kisses the Assistant. The kiss isn't meant to signify the start of a romance; rather, it's a kiss of appreciation, and of farewell. The Assistant has always treated Sara as a person, rather than a monster or a demon, and while it's true Sara has a bit of a crush on him, she also knows that something bad is coming and that the assistant needs to leave town.
While Sara might have a bit of a crush on the Assistant, she's also pushing him to leave and follow Amity into the Dreamlands.
WITCH CREEK ROAD: Amity shows Sara a note that Grace left for Amity; it contains the location Amity needs to go: Witch Creek Road. This creates a sort of circle, in which the location of multiples murders in season 1 will become what potentially saves some people in season 4.
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SUMMARY: Amity returns to Arkham to collect the strange book from the old man's house. While there, the creature that had followed her through the window catches her scent and begins calling out to her. Amity investigates and finds the creature locked within a cage. After some discussion, Amity agrees to free the creature so it can return home with her; the creature promises to protect her in return.
THE CREATURE: It's been a while since we've seen the creature, and we only saw it in context of something that was attacking Amity. Here we learn that the creature possesses intelligence, and, through interactions with the old man, has actually learned to speak. We also learn that the creature understands the concept of “home” and desperately wants to return.
THE BOOK: Amity is shown holding the same book that Shaleeta had been using to gain power in seasons two and three. This is also the book that had originally been used to summon the Wolves in the first place.
TRUST: In this episode, Amity is faced with a similar dilemma to Nadine, in which Amity has to decide whether or not she can trust the creature, just as Nadine had to decide if she could trust the Local. Even the questions and answers were almost the same:
In this situation, we see how both girls react. Nadine, up to that point, had been helped by the Local. Amity, on the other hand, had been attacked by the creature (see Season 2 Episode 3). However, it's Nadine who chooses not to trust, instead stabbing the Local in the neck; Amity, on the other hand, puts aside the previous attack and releases the creature from its cage.
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SUMMARY: Amity is in the morgue and about the be the subject of an autopsy. Grace stops time and confronts Amity, telling Amity that she needs to stop pretending to be dead. Amity explains that she's tired, but Grace eventually convinces Amity to return to her home in the Dreamlands.
THE ANGLES: Just as Amity is about to be cut open, Grace pulls her into the angles. This is something we've seen Grace do previously (ie. with the old man in Season 3, Episodes 18 and 19). This removes Amity from time, so that even though the doctor is about to begin the autopsy, Grace and Amity can speak freely, and as long as they want, without worry of the autopsy actually being performed.
The movement into the angles is symbolized by the clock, and how the second hand stops ticking. When Grace returns Amity to the curves, we see the second hand on the clock start to move again.
THE DREAMLANDS: The Dreamlands is a location within Lovecraftian literature that exists as an alternate dimension. It's occasionally visited by people while they sleep - and in some ways it's similar to the "real" world, in that the real world and the Dreamlands both share the same planets, stars and constellations. However, the Dreamlands also contains many different races and creatures.
The Dreamlands within this story is very tame, in that it exists as a sort of alternate "Frontier America". It lacks technology, and possesses some strange (and dangerous) creatures, such as the one that followed Amity through the window.
GRACE'S REQUEST: It's not until Grace asks Amity to take her brothers into the Dreamlands that Amity opens her eyes and stops pretending to be dead. Grace's love for her brothers is what causes Amity to eventually agree to return home.
CENSORED: We've definitely been censored a few times in previous seasons, but the content team decided Grace's lack of obvious clothing needed to be addressed. This felt a bit odd because they didn't seem to mind her lack of clothing back in Season 3, Episodes 18 and 19 - but maybe they had been distracted by all the blood (which, in the Webtoons version, needed to be reduced). In the end, for any scene featuring Grace, we either needed to remove some of the linework or strategically place the word balloons.
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SUMMARY, EPILOGUE 1: Nadine and the Local escape town. Nadine's suspicion of the Local causes her to stab him through the neck and dump his body on the side of the road.
SUMMARY, EPILOGUE 2: Grant, Dave and Ashlee are sacrificed by the cultists in order to complete the ritual.
NADINE'S DECISION TO KILL THE LOCAL: Though perhaps a bit controversial, Nadine murders the very person who's been helping her all along: the Local.
To put this into context, Nadine has just experienced a very traumatic event. She's confused, scared and just trying to get away. The one person who's been straight with her is Faye, who is also trying to kill her. But Faye showed her what the people of Innsmouth become, and so Nadine is finally beginning to put two and two together. The Local stayed underwater for almost seven minutes. The Local was with the cultists when they came to the hotel. And yes, the Local has been helping her, but he's also being very vague in their conversations. For example:
Every answer the Local provides is very cryptic, and finally Nadine, after the Local admits to killing people, decides to kill the Local while his guard is down.
Plus, there was nothing to say this all wasn't an act and just part of the ritual... (Side note: It wasn't. The Local legitimately wanted out of Innsmouth).
In the end, Nadine had to make a judgement call based on available information.
THE JEEP: In Season 4 Episode 2, the Local made a bet with Nadine and put his Jeep on the line. While Nadine didn't win the bet, she still ended up with the Jeep... And, to be fair, this was completely unintentional. It was actually angrybears1000000000 in the Webtoons comment section who, I believe, first made the connection. And while I would love to take credit for purposely structuring the story to come full circle like that, this was definitely a happy coincidence.
ASHLEE'S FINAL MOMENTS: This was my favorite scene to write in this particular storyline, simply because Ashlee is such a badass in her final moments. What begins as a touching moment, with Ashlee reaching out her hand to Dave, quickly downgrades to her blaming Dave for the entire trip. She also breaks up with him, and even causes the cultist priest to pause long enough that Ashlee is able to spit in his face.
Ashlee knows she's going to die, and rather than succumbing to fear, she goes out on her own terms.
OLI: Oli is absent from the final ritual. This ties back to what Faye said in Season 4 Episode 9: "At this point, they don't even need you." In short, neither Oli nor Nadine were required for the ritual, because the cultists already had three sacrifices. This was more about the cultists tying up loose ends, and also to prevent Faye from making a sacrifice to her own god (who the cultists believe to be beneath their god).
But make no mistake: the Deep Ones killed him.
THE RITUAL: Though we don't get to see the conclusion to the ritual, you'll see the end results in Season 4 Episode 17 onward.
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SUMMARY: Faye kills the cultists. Nadine appears out of options, but the local she met earlier hits Faye with his Jeep. With some reluctance, Nadine gets into the Jeep and the two of them drive away. Faye vows to find them.
NADINE'S PATH TO FREEDOM: When Nadine looks down the alley, she sees the Deep Ones watching the events unfold from afar. However, because one of them has already been killed by Faye, the others are keeping their distance. Unfortunately for Nadine, this means she can't escape the same way she came, due to the presence of the Deep Ones. Instead, her best chance is move past Faye while she's distracted. Nadine finds a knife, and while it's obvious the knife won't kill Faye, there's a chance Nadine might be able to hurt her enough that she can run away without Faye immediately catching her again. Unfortunately Faye sees Nadine approaching, so this is never put to the test.
THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY: After the local hits Faye with his Jeep, Nadine enters the vehicle with an obvious hesitation. Though the local has already helped Nadine escape the cultists once before, Faye has opened Nadine's eyes as to what this town is, and the fact that many of the townspeople are fish-human hybrids. Nadine is apprehensive to trust the local, but realizes that he's her best chance to get away.
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SUMMARY: Nadine, focused on the sacrifice of Oli, doesn't notice Faye approaching from behind. Faye easily captures her, intending to make her a sacrifice to her shark god. The get attacked by one of the Deep Ones, which Faye easily kills. The cultists arrive, who are enraged when they see that Faye has killed a Deep One. Faye and the cultists begin to fight, with Nadine caught in the middle.
"AT THIS POINT, THEY DON'T EVEN NEED YOU": Faye points out that the cultists don't even need Nadine at this point. This all comes back to the power of three. For example, there are three Wolves. In Christianity, God has three aspects (the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost). There are three Furies, three Morrigan, three Norns, etc.
In this case, the cultists worship three gods: Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and Cthulhu. They require three people for their sacrifice. Even if the Deep Ones outright kill Oli, they still have Dave, Ashlee and Grant.
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SUMMARY: Being unable to help Grant, Nadine and Oli run away. They make their way to the river, where they encounter some humanoid fish creatures (Deep Ones). Nadine and Oli run and find themselves trapped in an alley. Oli helps Nadine over the fence, and then turns to face the Deep Ones in order to buy Nadine some time to escape.
DEEP ONES: Deep Ones are an immortal race of ocean-dwelling humanoid fish creatures. They possess amphibian-like qualities and can survive on the surface for extended periods of time. The only thing that can kill Deep Ones is excessive physical injury.
Deep Ones are known to regularly mate with humans. These unions result in hybrids, which begin life looking human. However, as these hybrids age, they begin to physically change. The rate of change differs for everyone, but is usually complete around middle age, at which point they will return to the ocean to live.
OLI'S SACRIFICE: The episode begins with Oli expressing his disapproval of leaving Grant behind. "He was being nice!" he says. "Are you just going to up and abandon me too if I do something nice?" Nadine replies that, yes, if Oli being nice puts them in danger, she'll leave him, too.
At the end of the episode, Oli sacrifices himself so that Nadine can get away. He tells her, "It's okay. It's time for you to go. I'm about to do something nice," which is a callback to how the episode began.
RANDOM FACT: Nadine and Oli have been good friends for quite a while, and even attended Homecoming together:
The above image is one of the yearbook-related images that appear in the Witch Creek Road Yearbook Edition Hardcover.
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SUMMARY: The cultists tell Faye to step aside. She refuses, and they end up fighting. During the commotion, Nadine, Ollie and Grant escape out the back of the restaurant. Grant runs into (literally) the girl from the ice cream shop, knocking them both to the ground. When Grant tries to help her up, she stabs him and calls to the cultists. Knowing they can't save him, Nadine and Ollie abandon Grant and run away.
THE CULTISTS: During their interaction, we're given the impression that the townspeople of Innsmouth tolerate Faye's presence, as long as she stays out of their way. Unfortunately, both parties have their eyes set on the teens, which causes a confrontation between Faye and the cultists.
FAYE: Faye appears to have a high threshold of pain. For example, she's stabbed a few times and doesn't seem bothered by this in the slightest. She's also extremely strong, and is quick to anger. It's unknown if the anger always lived inside her, or if her relationship with the Shark brought this out.
Note that, when I imagine Faye, I view her as the closest thing this world has to a "superhuman". Not a superhero, because that would imply that she was good, but a superhuman. For example, while Pandora chose something akin to immortality from her god, Faye apparently chose strength.
THE CULTISTS vs FAYE: Unfortunately for the cultists, they're just human. Or, at best, fish-human hybrids. Faye is the avatar to a god. One on one, the cultists have no chance. And, as made clear in this chapter, the cultists still have a difficult time when it's three on one. The only way they might stop Faye is by overwhelming her with sheer numbers.
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SUMMARY: After being helped by the local they'd met earlier on the beach, Nadine, Grant and Oli lay low in their room until the coast is clear.
They leave the hotel through the back door, and duck into a nearby business where Nadine calls 9-1-1. Her phone gets taken away by a newcomer, who destroys the phone, telling Nadine that the police are in on it.
The newcomer is Faye, the "crazy chick who dropped out in Junior year after her boyfriend died." Just then the cultists arrive. Faye explains the cultists want to sacrifice Nadine, Grant and Oli to their god, but Faye won't let that happen. Instead, Faye will sacrifice them to her god.
FAYE: We met Faye previously, in Season 4 Episode 1. Like the Scarred Woman, Faye is the avatar of a god. You'll get to see a bit of what Faye's capable of in the next episode...
THE TOWNSPEOPLE: Grant tells the others that, when he looked out the window earlier and saw the crowd below, the people looked "wrong". This is referring to the fact that, as the residents of the town get older, they become more fish-like. We've seen some examples of characters taking on fish-like features, like Mr. Gilman, but the people Grant would have seen would be much farther along in the process.
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FULL DISCLOSURE: This episode was posted with about a third of it missing. In the summary, I'll be discussing the episode in the way it was intended to appear - not in the way it was uploaded by Webtoons. (UPDATE: Webtoons has fixed the error; the entire episode is now posted and available to read.)
SUMMARY: After receiving a text from an unknown number, Nadine shows the very ominous texts to Grant and Oli. Before they can follow the instructions in the texts (which is to run), Nadine hears people coming up the stairs. Grant also looks out the window to see people on the street below. They lock the door, turn out the lights and hide. Unfortunately the strangers (which I'll refer to as "cultists" from this point onward) have a key to the rooms. Nadine, Oli and Grant here the cultists enter Dave's and Ashlee's room next door, and then enter their own room. The first cultist in the room is the local they met earlier at the beach. He sees the trio, but convinces the other cultists that the room is empty. Once the others have left, he tells Nadine, Grant and Oli that it's too late for Dave and Ashlee, and that they need to get out of town.
THE LOCAL: The local appears surprised to see Nadine, Grant and Oli. He was the one who had texted, and had hoped Nadine had followed his instructions.
Once he realizes they're in the room, he acts quickly. He opens the closet doors, making it seem like they might be hiding inside. In truth, he's opening the doors in an attempt to block the trio from view behind the now-open doors, in case the other cultists enter the room.
The local also creates a sense of urgency with the other cultists, telling them, "They're probably out there somewhere, and the longer we waste here, the harder it'll be to find them." This prevents the other cultists from hanging around too long, since they don't want the teens to escape.
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SUMMARY: Not wanting to sit around in their hotel room listening to Dave and Ashlee have sex in the next room, Nadine, Oli and Grant decide to explore the town. By the time they return to the hotel, it's night. Nadine hopes to be able to reclaim her room (which she's sharing with Ashlee), but gives up when she sees a bra hanging from the doorknob.
The episode ends with Nadine receiving a mysterious text telling her she's in danger and to run... NOW!
ICE CREAM: The ice cream parlor Nadine, Oli and Grant visit has some odd flavor choices. This is meant to provide a brief glimpse into the fact that this town isn't normal. And, for anyone wondering, all those flavors exist in the world. I actually spent an evening Googling seafood-inspired ice cream flavors, and narrowed things down to the following ice cream being present in the shop: Brandied Sardine, Squid Ink, Soy Octopus, Buttered Lobster, Fish Sauce Caramel, Strawberry Tuna, Wasabi Cuttlefish, Pineapple Shrimp, Unagi, Caviar, Scallops, Seaweed, Lemon Salmon and Chili Crab
In fact, I even provided screenshots of the ice cream so that Anna would know what colors to use.
INNSMOUTH LOOK: The girl working in the ice cream shop explains that people generally look down on Innsmouth and say that people from Innsmouth look funny. She does, however, acknowledge that the owner of the hotel looks funny, and that they call him "Mr. Fishman". For what she hopes are obvious reasons.
UNAGI: The scene of Grant trying unagi and enjoying it was "borrowed" from my own life. And no, I didn't eat unagi ice cream. But I spent six and a half years living and working in Japan, and I grew quite fond of unagi sushi. I had no idea what it was - only that it tasted good. I eventually learned that it was eel, which is something I would have ever knowingly tried - but by then it was too late. I liked it and wasn't about to stop eating it!
THE MYSTERIOUS TEXT: In case it's not immediately obvious, the text came from the handsome local Nadine met at the beach.
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SUMMARY: The group arrives in town; much to Ashlee's dismay, they're staying at the rather rundown Gilman House Hotel. Dave informs the group that there are only two hotels to choose from in Innsmouth, and the other option is even worse.
The sounds of Dave and Ashlee having sex in the next room causes Nadine to leave the hotel; Grant and Oli join her in exploring the town.
THE GILMAN HOUSE HOTEL: This is a prominently-featured location in the story, "The Shadow Over Innsmouth", and is one of the main landmarks in Innsmouth. It's located in the town square, and the bus that travels between Innsmouth and nearby cities leaves from outside the hotel. Not that many people travel to Innsmouth - most people have the good sense to stay away.
CHAD: At one point Oli, in response to the noise of Dave and Ashlee having sex in the next room, calls out, "Pace yourself, Chad! It's a marathon, not a sprint!"
Before I had settled on names, there were a few instances where placeholder names had been used in the script. This is an example where one of them was missed and made it through to the final episode. Oops.
BOYKO: One of my biggest pet peeves is coming up with names. Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes, I end up just "borrowing" names from friends. In season 1, for example, five of the characters who go into the woods are based on friends. Two other characters that get mentioned in passing are also based on friends. "Boyko" falls into this category, with me borrowing the name from my coworker.
SUMMARY: After hearing that Innsmouth is a great place to surf, a group of teens takes a weekend road trip to the nearby town to check things out. After arriving in Innsmouth, they stop at a beach to stretch their legs. They meet two locals who tell them the water around Innsmouth is good for the locals, but not necessarily good for tourists. Nadine also loses a bet and has to give one of the locals her phone number as a result.
The episode ends with a rather foreboding comment from one of the locals that the teens will “all be dead by morning.”
FULL CIRCLE: Season 1 began with a group of teens getting lost in the woods. Season 4 begins with another group of teens – but instead of the woods, they find themselves in the rundown town of Innsmouth.
ARCHETYPES and STEREOTYPES: When I first started sending Kenan the scripts for these episodes, I hadn't yet decided on names for the characters. Instead, I referred to them as their stereotypes: the Jock, the Hot Girl, the Comic Relief, the Girl Next Door, and the Nice Guy.
CHARACTER NAMES: Though not everyone is introduced in this episode, their names are as follows: Dave (the Jock), Ashlee (the Hot Girl), Oliver (the Comic Relief), Nadine (the Girl Next Door), and Grant (the Nice Guy). If you take the first letter of each of their names, you can arrange them to form the name of a deity heavily associated with Innsmouth. Yeah, I was being super pretentious when I chose their names =P
FAYE: Faye (introduced in the previous episode) is mentioned in this episode as the reason why the teens are going to Innsmouth. “[Faye] said the water around here is amazing.”
HOLDING ONE'S BREATH: People can generally hold their breath for 30-90 seconds – so it's perfectly reasonable for Nadine to be proud of being able to stay underwater for three and a half minutes. However, the record for holding one's breath is a whopping 24 minutes 37.36 seconds, set by Budimir Šobat from Croatia. In other words, while the seven minutes the local was attempting would be quite difficult, it's definitely attainable with the right training.
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SUMMARY: Faye recounts the story of the death of her best friend, Chris, in which she almost drowned and was “saved” by a demon shark. The shark offered Faye a chance to become strong in exchange for the occasional sacrifice. The story ends with Faye turning to her current companion and telling him, “The shark is hungry.”
FAYE: Throughout the conversation with the shark, we learn that Faye suffers from some sort of mental health condition – likely social anxiety disorder.
INNSMOUTH: This story takes place in the waters just off of Innsmouth. For anyone familiar with Lovecraft, this should be a familiar name, and features heavily in the Lovecraft novella, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”.
“The Shadow Over Innsmouth” is in the public domain, so finding a version online isn't too hard. There are also some good audio versions, such as the one by Mike Bennett, which you can find on Youtube:
LOVECRAFT: Lovecraft influences shouldn't come as a surprise by this point. Season 1 had a very brief mention of Dunwich (which Dirk refers to as DUMBwich) – another fictional town in the Lovecraft universe. The Wolves, as well, are also heavily influenced by the Hounds of Tindalos.
TRIVIA: This is the one and only episode of season 4 that features a guest artist – and the reason for this is because the episode was completed back in Season 2. Yup, we've been sitting on it for almost two years. The original intention was to introduce the Serpent and the Shark in Season 2, but due to the Serpent not appearing again until Season 3, and Faye not returning until Season 4, it was felt that introducing them later would be best.
< S3 Q&A Cont. | S4 E2 Commentary >
]]>It's very much an "if you blink, you'll miss it" kind of moment, but for those of you with eagle eyes, determination and a finger on the pause button, you may notice the retro cover of Witch Creek Road #4 hanging in Luke's locker in the current season of "Are You Afraid Of The Dark?"
]]>Unlike the previous "WCR Explained" posts, this isn't a summary; rather, it's a continuation. There were a lot of good Q&A questions, and we couldn't get to most of them, so I've included a number of those questions here.
Q: Is the old man really, truly dead?
A: I'm afraid so. He overplayed his hand. He hoped that, once Pandora was reunited with her heart, he'd be safe – but he made the mistake of telling Pandora that a previous relationship with her (or, at least, her heart) existed. Pandora made the strategic decision to “eliminate the unknown” and killed him as a result.
He was too confident, and paid the price.
Q: How did the Scarred Woman lose her heart?
A: She was cut into pieces and scattered across the globe. She's spent the past few hundred years trying to rebuild herself - and she's almost done. In season 4, you'll see her reclaim the final piece...
Q: Does the detective know the Scarred Woman is his mother?
A: The detective now knows the old man was his biological father, but has no idea about his biological mother. And the Scarred Woman is aware that there had been a son, but has no idea what happened to him. The only person who knows the connection between the Scarred Woman and Detective Thompson is Grace.
Q: Why did the Wolves let the Detective live?
A: They could sense the angles in him. When Awesome approached him in the bar, the first thing she commented on was, "You're different." She follows this up with, "I don't smell any fear." These two pieces of dialogue occur in two different panels, so there's a pause between them - as in, they're two separate thoughts. Most people probably read it as, "You're different because I don't smell any fear," but it should be read as, "You're different. Also, I don't smell any fear."
In short, Awesome could sense the angles within the detective and understood that he was different from the others in the bar.
Unfortunately the Wolves didn't extend this courtesy to Hailey, as she was in possession of Gun. Though Hailey was easily dealt with, Gun (in the right hands) could do some real damage to the Wolves.
Q: What happened to the group that was being tracked by Edwin? Did they get “turned”?
A: No, Kevin wasn't shy about shooting people in the head – and, unfortunately, bodies are pretty useless without the brain to control them.
Q: What happened to Amity (the girl from the window)?
A: There's one final storyline that features Amity, which you'll see in season 4. It begins in a morgue, so... don't expect too much.
Q: When someone is unable to follow simple instructions, can we refer to it as "Doing a Sara"?
A: Yes, that would be awesome.
Q: Is Gun good or bad?
A: I'd say he's good.
Q: Will we ever get some backstory on Gun?
A: Maybe - but likely not in Season 4. But I would like to show a previous incarnation of Gun, like when he was a sword. I feel like that would be a fun story to tell.
Q: How did the Serpent get a human body?
A: This was part of his deal with the old man. The old man provided the Serpent with a body, along with a place to live and money, in exchange for the Serpent keeping Hailey hidden.
Of course we all know how that ended...
Q: What protects the Serpent, and how is he so confident all the time?
A: The Serpent alluded to this in Season 3 Episode 1, but he's covered his body in protective wards. (If you were to see him naked, you would see that the majority of his body is covered in writing). The wards prevent the Wolves from touching him.
Q: Why isn't Grace going after the Wolves, now that she has her newfound powers?
A: Oh, it's coming. Don't you worry.
Q: It was mentioned before that humans experience time "page wise" (that is, forced to experience time in order), while demons comprehend it "book wise" (that is, being able to jump around and have access to all pages and all times). It feels that Mediocre being replaced by Ruthless wasn't noticed by the rest of the crew because an entire book was rewritten. And thus curve-wise Ruthless has always been there and Mediocre never existed. So was Tenebris, who experienced the whole Shaleeta event, affected? And is there a greater dimension than Angles - like a metaphorical "library"?
A: This is an interesting question, and one that could have us falling down a rabbit hole. To put it simply, Shaleeta was summoned to the old man's house by the book. When she arrived, she saw her Wolf version injured, and decided to help. In the “revised” version, she still arrived at the old man's house. The reason for her arrival hadn't changed – she had been summoned by the book.
This is where things change.
Shaleeta arrived and saw her nemesis, the blonde Wolf. Shaleeta grabbed the book and, because the Wolves were distracted by Tenebris, she saw this as her chance to seek revenge. Shaleeta used the book to try to “kill” the Wolf while its attention was focused on Tenebris. Shaleeta, however, wasn't strong enough at this point, and the Wolf slashed out at Shaleeta, striking her in the neck. The sprinklers still went off, and Tenebris, at the end of his power, disappeared. So, in this, the circle was broken – at least for Shaleeta. But the outcome was the same: Shaleeta died. (In the revised timeline, Tenebris was aware that Shaleeta was in the room, but not aware that he killed her originally).
In addition, Wolf Shaleeta “saving” Shaleeta from other world Grace in Season 2 didn't need to happen. Shaleeta was strong enough at that point to save herself. She also would have realized (after being confronted by an alternate Grace) that the world was broken and set about fixing it.
What this all boils down to is, when Wolf Shaleeta was erased, the timeline was rewritten. But very little changed.
Q: Do you have a set story planned out, or is it more "on the fly"? Because one moment I think a character is important and going to make it to the end, and the next moment they die (like Shaleeta, for example).
A: I would probably describe the stories as "60% planned, 40% unplanned". That is, I always know where the story (and season) is going, but there are definitely times when characters deviate from the plan.
It's the same with character outcomes. I generally have a few ideas as to what might happen to any given character, but as the story progresses and certain actions are taken, some of these ideas are closed off, until there's just one outcome left. And sometimes the outcome I'm left with isn't even my favorite one! But it's usually the one that makes the most sense, given the situation and the events that lead up to it.
Q: If Witch Creek Road were made into a movie or series, who would you want to adapt it?
A: Greg Nicotero. He's known more for being a special effects artist, but he's got some experience as a director. And the guy really seems to know his horror. In terms of scripting? I'd be happy with someone who enjoyed the story and wanted to capture the overall “feel”, rather than someone who wanted to put their own “spin” on it.
And if we're talking about animation, then the team behind the “Castlevania” animated series would be amazing. If you haven't seen “Castlevania”, I highly recommend it.
Q: What is your process for creating episodes? Do you create storyboards, add dialogue, and then clean up / finalize the art? Do you work off of a storyline? Or plot points? Or is it all just random and somehow not?
A: If I were a one-man show, this answer would be different. But I can't draw, so the process is fairly simple: I have a general outline for the entire season. Using this outline, I create scripts for episodes, breaking the story down by page and panel. Because Kenan and I plan on printing Witch Creek Road eventually, the art is created as traditional comic pages. After Kenan completes the line art, I send these to Anna, who colors them. And, once colored, the pages get cut up and placed in Webtoons' vertical scroll. I then use the scripts that I originally sent to Kenan to add the dialogue. Then it all gets sent to Dayna (our editor at Webtoons) to approve.
Q: How long does it take to create one episode on average?
A: It depends on the episode's length - but let's say, on average, we manage two episodes a month.
Q: How much does Webtoons pay?
A: Ah, this is something I can't answer because it gets into contracts, which are confidential. But I will say this: for the Featured creators who both write and draw, there's potential to make this your fulltime job. For me, I can't draw, which means all of the money I earn goes back into the comic (paying for art and colors). I have a “normal” 40-hours-a-week job that actually pays my bills.
But let me stress that Webtoons is awesome, and they take good care of us. Financially, I couldn't have kept going after season 1 if not for Webtoons.
Q: Will you and Kenan work on another Webtoon together?
A: Probably not – and this isn't because I don't want to! It's more due to the fact that Witch Creek Road keeps us pretty busy. Also, financially, I don't think I could afford to create another Webtoon unless it was Featured as well. And then there's also the fact that I honestly believe it's only a matter of time until Marvel or DC Comics hires Kenan to start drawing Batman or Spider-Man.
But I will continue to work with Kenan for as long as I can!
Q (for Kenan): How do you get your drawings so accurate?
A (from Kenan): "I would not say my drawings are very "accurate", but I do try to stay accurate when it's required - for example, some exteriors or interiors, or likenesses of some characters. In those cases, I use as much reference as I can. If you want anything to look remotely lifelike, reference is a must."
Q (for Kenan): What tools do you use for art?
A (from Kenan): "Because of time restraints, I exclusively work digitally with a Wacom Cintiq 16 using Clip Studio Paint software. This way I can shorten the process as much as I can but still keep the quality. I do draw traditionally, as well, from time to time."
Q: Can you make a Discord server?
A: Okay, full disclosure here: I have no idea what the deal is with Discord. And I'm so busy that I just don't have the time to invest in figuring it all out. That's not to say I'll never make on - it's more that I'll need to figure out what it is, first, and then decide from there...
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The episode opens with a view of Sara's old house; Sara's mother is passed out at the kitchen table, a bottle of alcohol next to her.
Sara's mother awakens to the sound of Sara's voice. “Mom,” she says. “You need to stop. You need to sober up.”
Her mother, elated at hearing Sara's voice, begins to turn, saying, “I thought you were dead.” But Sara stops her mother and tells her to face forward. “Don't look at me," she warns. "Because... we may sound like Sara. And if you were to look at us, certain parts would look like Sara. But... we're not Sara. Sara died in the woods. We're something different.”
The conversation continues, and Sara explains that something is asleep, but that it's close to waking up, and that her mother needs to leave because, “It's going to wipe this town off the map.”
Her mother replies, “How can I leave? Knowing that you're alive?”
She asks Sara to come with her. Sara tells her mother that she can't leave, because she belongs to the angles now. And with that, Sara needs to leave. She tells her mother, “I'm going to let go, and if you love me, you won't turn around. Please.”
Her mother asks, “Will I ever see you again?” and Sara replies, “No. But you can talk to me, if you wish. Just find an angle. If you talk, I'll hear you. If you listen, I'll answer.”
Sara disappears with a final reminder - “Get out of town” - and a warning: “The old gods are waking.”
THE CLOSING OF SARA'S EYES: Midway through the conversation, Sara takes a moment to collect herself, and all but her main two eyes close. This is symbolic of the other personalities essentially "taking a step back" and giving Sara some privacy.
THE DISLOCATED SHOULDER: Sara compares being inside the angles to the time she dislocated her shoulder.
I've dislocated my shoulder twice. The first time they pumped me so full of painkillers that I remember nothing – one moment I was in the waiting room with my rugby coach, and the second I was “coming to” in another room, and my mom was standing at the door.
The second time, there were no painkillers. Just the words, “This is going to-” and me saying, “Hurt.” And the doctor smiled and shook his head and said, “No. It's going to feel strange.” And then he rotated my arm, and suddenly my shoulder was back in place. And it really was like a SHLOOP. I've thought about that moment a lot – can you tell?
"IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU WON'T TURN AROUND": This is a minor allusion to Orpheus leading Eurydice out of hell. In it, he was instructed to walk out of hell and Eurydice would be behind him - but he couldn't look back to confirm. He just had to trust that she was there. But near the end of the journey, and feeling that he'd been made a fool, he turned around - and in that moment he saw Eurydice one final time before she was pulled back into hell forever.
Sara is asking her mother not to look back. In this, Sara's returning to the Angles regardless, but wants to leave her mother with the memory of what she had been, rather than what she's become.
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The Serpent, carrying an unconscious Hailey and her various body parts, arrives at the hospital. "I could use a little help here," he says.
We then jump forward in time slightly: Detective Thompson is rushing toward the hospital. The Serpent, who has been waiting for him, calls out from the shadows. Thompson replies, "Not now." The Serpent persists, telling Thompson they need to talk. Thompson, however, is uninterested - he's there to see his daughter - and he replies, "I don't have time for this." The Serpent steps out from the shadows. “I'm covered in your daughter's blood," he says. "Make time.”
Thompson grabs the Serpent by the collar, demanding the Serpent tell him what he knows about Hailey. "I swear to God," Thompson says, pulling out his gun. "I will shoot you if I don't start getting some answers."
The Serpent, calm as always, simply asks, "Is this really the way you're going to thank someone for saving your daughter's life?"
Thompson begrudgingly lets the Serpent go and asks, "Who the fuck are you?!" The Serpent replies, "Me? I'm just the guy who was told to protect Hailey."
"Yeah?" Thompson tells him. "That can't be true. Otherwise she wouldn't be in fucking pieces".
The Serpent tells Thompson that he'd been doing a decent job, up until Hailey decided to take on the Wolves, and proceeds to tell Thompson who the Wolves are. He then hands Thompson Gun, which Thompson recognizes. "Apparently is can talk," the Serpent says.
Thompson takes the gun and looks at it.
"Hello, Frank," the gun says. "We have work to do."
THOMPSON'S SURVIVAL: When Thompson initially meets the Wolves (see Season 3 Episode 2), the main Wolf says, "You're different." While it's easy to attach this to her next statement - "I don't smell any fear" - she's actually referring to the fact that she can sense the angles within the detective. This prompts her to treat Thompson in a friendly manner.
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