(Spoilers, if you aren't caught up yet.)Sal may be back from the dead, but she's still possessed and could lose control of her mind at any time. Menchú is getting defrocked. Asanti was kicked out of the Archives. Liam is a bit tetchy over the team thinking that he betrayed Sal to Team Two. Grace doesn't have access to her candle. And then Aaron shows up.As I think I mentioned in my back of the box entry for episode 3, introducing Aaron was one of the few things that I knew was going to happen in that story. In fact, the only episode I wrote this season where Aaron didn't figure at all was "Ancient Wonders." And maybe because of that, I've always had a soft spot for the guy that Max has been known to refer to as, "that smarmy bastard." Yeah, he's not always helpful, but he does his best.
When you have a world where your characters constantly deal with evil entities called demons, it kind of begs the question of whether angels exist as well. And if they do, are they any better for humans than demons are? In "Things Lost," I tried to play with the idea that while Aaron isn't evil, he also isn't human. His priorities and ours aren't necessarily the same. The Team isn't sure if they can trust him, but they also don't have much of a choice. And when your characters' backs are up against the proverbial wall, well, that's when things get interesting.There is something really compelling to me about taking the place where your main characters are most comfortable and turning it into actively hostile territory. Bad enough to have to break into your enemy's base, but how much worse is it to have to break into your own? That was something I was looking forward to writing even before I came up with the idea of Grace fighting with her lit candle in one hand like Michelle Yeoh defending a slab of tofu.(If you haven't seen Wing Chun, Google: "Michelle Yeoh tofu fight" and watch the clip. You're welcome.Also, if you listened to our podcast, that's the fight scene I was talking about.)Finally, on a personal note: It's been a little more than a year since we had our first Bookburners story summit, and it's kind of remarkable to look back now on everything that's happened since. Working with Max, Mur, and Brian, along with Julian, Marco, Noa and everyone at Serial Box has been amazing, and led to 2015 being a big year for me in many ways. And while this is my last episode for now, you all still get to enjoy the exciting conclusion of season one next week. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Max nails it.But you guys? I can't wait to show you what we're cooking up for season two. JSee you all in 2016.
