Ah, Episode 10. The episode I looked forward to the most, and the one that gave me the most headaches.When we were talking about the various episodes that weren't focused on the overall arc (we called them "monster of the week" episodes, harkening back to X-Files), the topic of giving Grace a day off came up, and I pounced. I loved the idea of taking our stern, cursed warrior out of the "office" and letting her have a day where she could do anything. Coming up with what she wanted to do was a lot of fun. I approached it as how someone who lives at the circus would want to live life if they ever wanted to get away from it all. All of the things that normal people take for granted would be considered rare treats.
It was a lot of fun to write, and I'm happy with the final draft, but the episode was a long journey down a rabbit hole of NOOOOOOOOOO, as Max called me late into production realizing that a key part of the story wasn't working. I had to rip out a good deal and try to put it back together, which was tough. But with the patient help of our editors, I finally got it done.At night, I still dream it might come back.Regarding inspirations for the story, the first one may be obvious to comic book fans, as they might see Neil Gaiman's character Death as a major influence to this episode: I was inspired by the idea of Death's day off. Since Death is always working, everywhere in the universe, she gets a day off once every hundred years where she lives as a human. While Grace is definitely long-lived, she's not as eternal as Death, so I figured she deserved a more frequent vacation.Secondly, Grace has a complicated relationship with the Church is really interesting to me, since she is both beholden but essentially a prisoner of the Church. The powers that be only allow her one day off a year, and they do that grudgingly. The connection Grace has to her team helps with the "prisoner" aspect, but I wonder what would happen if she were separated from her loved ones and it was only her and the Church.
