[Episode Update] #4.38: Before Dawn

[kira]

Hello, everyone! After a too-long break, we're back with a tension-filled episode that represents the climax -- and the beginning of the end -- for one of our major story arcs.

Revelations abound as individual after individual makes some astonishing discoveries in Episode #4.38, "Before Dawn," where...

• Greg and Jem use all their wits as they desperately race to decipher Rena's cry for help on Jem's answering machine;
• Del Gabriel (remember him?) ponders whether to reveal corruption at his latest job;
• Alex realizes his deviant actions towards Martina have sucked him into a trap;
• As death looms, kidnapping victims Rena and Chelsea struggle for escape while facing some regrets: Rena of a sheltered life and Chelsea of a dishonest one;
• A sleepless Martina can't believe her eyes as she witnesses a horrifying sex scene;
• ... and Jem makes a potentially fatal decision in a last-ditch effort to save Chelsea & Rena's lives -- and maybe his own misguided soul.

Many thanks for reading! And if you get a chance, tell everyone what you think of the episode via our Viewers Voice poll form or our message board.

[patrice]

Hi Kira and Skyfalls gang. Happy to see you back.

HOLY CRAP. Jem!! Greg!! Rena!! Chelsea!! They're all in there!

OK sorry let's be coherent. So you really weren't kidding about tension and action, were you? Every scene I could feel the clock ticking away for poor Chelsea and Rena. This was a real nailbiter, the type of episode that Skyfalls does so well albeit infrequently. Not that tthat's a bad thing. You don't want to pull this kind of stunt into every other episode. The time element reminded me fo the first season when Tristan was being surrounded by cops and ended up in a bloodbath.

So anyway by the end few scenes I seriously had no idea whether the building would really blow up or whether the boys would find some last minute way to stop things. But you did it! All four of the quad are trapped in there! Now that's what I call a cliffhanger!

What I loved about this episode was that everyone shone in it. Everyone a moment where they figured out some piece of the puzzle or did some actiony heroics, so it wasn't like Rena & Chelsea were weak victims while Greg saved the day and Jem was being his usual selfish self. The effort was distributed to all characters and that made everybody a hero. Even Jem. Not that this makes up for his actions AT ALL, but I have to give him respect for figuring things out and risking his life like that. (also great irony in Chelsea thinking she owes Jem a kiss! Loved that.)

Finally the Alex/Marty scenes were hard to read. I mean, in a good way. Poor Marty! I can't imagine watching yourself...... well you know.... with a guy you hate. She HAS to know this wasn't just drunkeness, I hope! Then worst of all, Mike walks in?? How much did he see? This cannot be good. For anyone. Another brutal cliffie.

As far as Alex goes it's interesting that he actually seemed disturbed by what went down. I never ever EVER thought I'd feel a trace of sympathy for him, especially for essentially raping Martina. I guess I don't really sympathize persay, but I appreciated the insight into him feeling dirty and, if I'm not mistakaen, used by Danielle. Of course since he's a scumbag he still went back to bed with Martina. That was a very well written scene from his POV, which we don't see very often. If anything it made me hate Danielle even more. That is one sick puppy. Alex is better than her. Now that's a sentence I never thought I'd type!

Seeing Frank's brother again surprised me but considering his background in construction was mentioned before, this was a clever way IMHO to ease him back into the series and remind us of his presence, completely separate from the Frank revenge thing. Which we haven't seen since the series returned, if I remember correctly? I don't trust Del but, it's good to see he had a moment of doubt there.

Well that's typical Skyfalls, isn't it? 99% of the characters has multiple facets, good and bad, and can surprise us. It's why it's my favorite. I love this story SO MUCH and hope you will continue to post episodes for a long time coming. Excellent episode, one of the best since the return. Thank you and I can't wait for the next one!!!

[kira]

Hiya Patrice! Thank you for reading the episode so quickly and sharing your thoughts!

Whoa, good memory about the Tristan/Frank/Mike countdown element back in the first season. Yeah, I try not to pull gimmicks like this too often lest it lose the impact. Plus, this was pretty much a natural for such a situation; what's more countdown-esque than a planned explosion?

You make such a good point about all four having a major role to play in the attempted escape/rescue, and I'm thrilled that you noticed it. This was a very purposeful choice and something I considered vital for both the interaction among the pairings (to show a give-and-take) as well as for the individuals to have personal moments of triumph (even if they're short-lived). Swan songs should end on high notes.

The Martina/Alex stuff is touchy, and I hope it's not so disturbing that it crosses the line from general ickiness to being in bad taste. That's why the description of the actual sex is relatively objective and not particularly detailed, and it's also why the Alex part of the flashback began after the event. I like angst and misery as much as the next sadistic author, but there are limits. Also as you mention, Alex's reaction to what he'd done was the more important aspect of his scene. He's been one of the least nuanced people on ASF, a one-note sleaze. Hopefully throughout this arc he'll seem a bit less cardboard. I wouldn't expect him to seem sympathetic. His mild reluctance beforehand and ex post facto disgust are hardly enough to excuse an act of nonconsensual sex! He is a human being, though, and for all his manipulative, elitist, scheming, selfish, power-hungry ways, Alex can still feel a touch of regret when he actually gets his hands this bloody. (Man I just can't stay away from the Lady Macbeth references, can I?)

But as you say, Danielle isn't even able to show that much of a conscience, so yeah, she's the worse monster of the two. Kinda enjoying writing her evilness, I must say. Right now I think she's more awful than Vanessa, and that's saying something. Danielle's pretty much a sociopath, and they're seriously scary to me.

And on a different note, Del was included for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, his background gave us the ability to have a 'known' entity involved in the backstage demolition scenes, rather than a bunch of nobodies. Second, after so many years' absence, I needed to introduce him again soon because his connections with Frank/Olivia and Tristan/Boondoggles are about to be addressed yet again.

Well that's typical Skyfalls, isn't it? 99% of the characters has multiple facets, good and bad, and can surprise us. It's why it's my favorite. I love this story SO MUCH and hope you will continue to post episodes for a long time coming. Excellent episode, one of the best since the return. Thank you and I can't wait for the next one!!!

I can't express how much it means to me, especially at this point, to have people who still follow the series and are enjoying it to such a degree. Understandably many have lost touch with ASF over the years, and I can't blame them, but this means feedback is all the more precious. I'm very grateful to hear from those who continue to join me and these characters on their journey. Many many thanks for reading and writing, as always.

[tom_k5]

Are you freaking kidding me?! I thought things couldn't get any more dire or intense for the quad, and you prove me wrong yet again! I love that the park is about to be demolished and the way you tied in Del, who I'd all but forgotten about. The demolition really raises the stakes, in terms of setting a finite time frame on the entire operation. And I'm glad you've picked up the pace and had the explosion at the end of this episode. Damn! I really didn't think anything would be able to steal the spotlight from the Beth storyline in Season 4, but with these newest developments in the Chelsea kidnapping and the Martina story too, everything is just top notch and exhilarating at the moment. Great work! I know you've been teasing, but I really can't imagine you'd kill off Greg, Chelsea, Jem, or Rena. There's too much potential to be explored in the aftermath of this story. Maybe some more minor people will die?

You're doing an awesome job handling the Martina storyline, as disturbing as it is. I haven't really cared this much about her and Mike in a good while. I never expected things to take this dark of a turn, but some good things have come out of it. I like the layering of Alex as a character, though I could never condone what he's done. Danielle is a freak and needs some serious help. I think Mike "catching" her watching the videotape might be a bit of a fakeout, but still, a very interesting dilemma for this couple. There's definitely no easy way for them to fix their relationship if and when this information comes to light.

Great writing, Kira!

P.S. I loved the part where Chelsea said it felt like it had been years since she drove to PlayCity in the first place. Funny inside joke there!

[kira]

Heya Tom! Thanks for commenting, I really appreciate it!

I sure did pick up the pace ... why, I actually got through six hours of time in a single episode! Practically one of those speeded-up Keystone Kops silent movies, where everyone's going at double- or triple-speed!

No, in all seriousness, I'm very glad things seem to be moving along apace. I could've drawn it out -- indeed, in the original outline this was a much longer sequence ending in an entirely different way -- but nine episodes devoted largely to a single arc are more than enough. In a story like this, everything needs to move rapidly or what starts out as delicious suspense devolves into, um, a word that rhymes with rock-seizing. Sometimes you just gotta get right to the climax.

It's extremely rewarding to hear that you're more invested in Mike and Marty thanks to the more recent events. Even with all they've been through in the fourth season (Adele's scheming, Martina's mugging, the burglary, the engagement, Mike's distraction due to his murder investigations) they've still suffered from BHCD -- Boring Happy Couple Disease, which as we all know is potentially fatal unless caught in time. Is this the cure? Well, I think it's fair to say that the ramifications of Marty's night on the yacht -- not to mention conflicts and events due to transpire in the season finale -- might be what the doctor ordered. (Way to beat an analogy into the ground, Kira!)

Long story short: Martina's got some serious soul-searching as a result of all this, and the vulnerabilities in her and Mike's personalities (and relationship) are about to be sorely tested.

It's funny you mention Danielle being a freak who needs help. Coincidentally I've recently complained that I didn't like writing for her, and didn't know who she was as a person. Yet the more I've been delving into this rather sick plot of hers, the more I've started to understand who she is. More than anyone else in ASF history, Danielle is a true sadist. We've had nutters before who performed particularly nasty acts: Roald, Vanessa, Nora, Christoforo (the lecherous priest back in S1), Jim Bonkovich (the bad cop, also from S1), Dean, Nick, Cameron, Adele. But Danielle is a whole 'nother breed of ick, because just about everyone else has some sorta practical reason for what they did/do, even if it's not something very rational. Danielle has a reason, but it's utterly venal and there's really no justification for it, unlike the others who could at least try to explain themselves away. Danielle is entirely new territory for me and I'm excited to explore her, now that she's more than a blank canvas to me. Anyway, I'll just say that it's a relief to have finally "met" a character I introduced so many years ago!

And thank you re: Chelsea's line about 'years' since she drove to PlayCity ... I love throwing stuff like that in when possible, as long as it doesn't pull people out of the story. Just a little wink to the audience if they see it. The Tootsie thing was also a bit of a meta reference to recent real life events, but again, it's not necessary to "get" it -- it works just as well to tell you more about Marty's taste in movies.

Sometimes I read online fiction (fanfic, webseries, serial novels, whatever) and there are bizarre quotes or obscure references that I just know are injokes for like two people who are probably giggling their socks off. But personally I don't understand 'em and so it kinda bugs me as a reader. Thus in ASF I try to keep stuff like this fairly generic. It's there to smile/nod at if you spot it, but otherwise it just sorta flows past you without making you feel left out.

Anyway, many thanks for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts on the ep, Tom! Your insight always means so very much to me.

[south beach]

Kira---

It has been quite some time since I stopped by...I suppose I could say, due to time constraints, that I haven't been able to catch up due to the size of the installments. However, I now take such a statement back and realize how fortunate I was to have the opportunity to delve into the series tonight.

Originally I had planned to read a few scenes today and a few the next- however, due to your uncanny ability to hook readers in and leave one on the edge of his seat, I must admit that I couldn't tear myself away.

After finishing the episode, I realized that I had not read a mere installment of a web series. In fact, it was more like an action-packed movie that I would certainly advise my friends to all see. Not being too familiar with the characters, I soon was transported into their world and could feel all too well what each was going through.

The scenes with the taping of the sex scene were so vivid and raw...I was covering my mouth at certain parts- and Kira, know that I am a quite open person and that rarely happens. In actuality, it wasn't because the scenes were too much too handle, it was because those kinds of scenes are so rare in serials I have read. I thank you for taking the time to not only represent a quite real danger that many can face- but doing it in the realistic manner that you did.

As far as the scenes with Jem and Greg and Chelsea and Rena go.....My hat goes off to you for portraying the raw emotion and desperation in the way you did. I felt like I was right there with the characters and each time I had to press the button for another page I truly felt like I was at my end...

I loved the ending...what a true cliffhanger that leaves you on the edge of your seat while your jaw is dropped to the floor...I look forward to reading more!

Thanks again for a wonderful experience,

Jay

[Michael]

I was so pleased to see a new episode last week, but I only now got around to reading it.

I've been a big fan of the way you've built tension throughout Chelsea and Rena's captivity, and this was no exception. It's just terrific writing. The story is suspenseful but in a completely organic way. All the little pieces work perfectly, and the discovery of the clues isn't forced or contrived. As was mentioned above, one of the best parts of this is that we get to see the pairs of Jem/Greg and Chelsea/Rena forced to collaborate in order to extricate themselves from this situation. It's a great use of action and intrigue to propel character drama. I was shocked that you had the place blow up and cannot wait to see what happens.

I, too, was pleasantly surprised by Alex's humanity in this one. As you said, remorse or human feeling can't redeem a rape, but... they certainly make him more interesting. Having his emotions tied up in this can't be good for him and Danielle in the long run. The scene of Martina watching the video was appropriately horrifying, as I can only imagine that bizarre experience must be. I hope she just tells Mike what's going on -- I can see why she might not, because she's ashamed or afraid of his response or a million other things -- but really, he loves her and should believe her.

I'm a bit skeptical of how Oblivion's effects are so specific to Danielle and Alex's plan. She won't remember, but she'll be totally enthralled in the moment, so much so that she'll call out Alex's name and be an active participant without remembering that she loves Mike and hates Alex. It's a bit of a leap for me, but the fallout seems to be working. One comment that confused me was the line about Danielle "just lying there like a log." That is not how I imagined her to be sexually -- not saying it's "wrong," but it's an interesting facet to explore. The woman just seems like she loves sex in all forms and would be a fully active participant. Or maybe I'm missing something.

[kira]

Hi Jay and Michael! Woohoo, a twofer.

Jay, it's very kind of you to check in on ASF! I'm very flattered by your almost excessively generous praise. Very good to hear that a newcomer (or someone who hasn't visited for a while) found the episode understandable and interesting. That's certainly what I strive for, but sometimes when you're in the thick of a plot arc (especially an episode with a lot of fast-moving action), you can't always accomodate new audience members. If you were drawn in and could feel for these folks, it's a big success.

I see what you mean about this feeling like a movie; this was definitely one of the more 'cinematic' ASF episodes -- kinda atypical, I must admit, so it's good that this is the one you read! Your perspective truly means a lot to me, thank you!

Originally Posted by Michael

I, too, was pleasantly surprised by Alex's humanity in this one. As you said, remorse or human feeling can't redeem a rape, but... they certainly make him more interesting. Having his emotions tied up in this can't be good for him and Danielle in the long run.

There ain't nothing 'good' when it comes to him and Danielle, or him and Martina, for that matter! Yeah it's a real mess and a half. Anyway I couldn't be happier with the response to Alex in this episode, because he's been a mustache-twirling villain for so long that I feared people would never accept any shadings of his character.

The scene of Martina watching the video was appropriately horrifying, as I can only imagine that bizarre experience must be. I hope she just tells Mike what's going on -- I can see why she might not, because she's ashamed or afraid of his response or a million other things -- but really, he loves her and should believe her.

Now honestly. What fun would it be if it were resolved that quickly?

I'm a bit skeptical of how Oblivion's effects are so specific to Danielle and Alex's plan. She won't remember, but she'll be totally enthralled in the moment, so much so that she'll call out Alex's name and be an active participant without remembering that she loves Mike and hates Alex. It's a bit of a leap for me, but the fallout seems to be working.

Oh Michael. Do you think so little of me? Sure, I'll happily create fake blood diseases to give a real basis for vampire mythology, I'll invent pseudo-derivatives of Ecstasy, I'll speed up courtroom proceedings for dramatic license purposes, I'll use writerly obfuscation to make people think Tristan's sleeping with an entirely different woman for nearly a year, and I'll delve into somewhat controversial psychological illnesses (DID) that may not really exist. But I will never cheat! I play scrupulously fair, it's kind of a mania for me.

So I promise Martina most certainly did not call out Alex's name, nor did she conveniently forget that she hates Alex / loves Mike. In her hallucinatory state, she believe she's making love to Mike. Alex even says this in his flashback w/Danielle: "She thinks I'm Fiore." Her dialogue and reactions bear this out; she says nothing that wouldn't be intended for Mike. That's why she mentions "you give good surprise" in the video ... before she took the Oblivion, she received flowers and a limo allegedly from Mike as a romantic surprise getaway. She started feeling aroused and called Mike on the phone; that's pretty much the last thing she remembers solidly. Alex then stepped in and to Marty's blurred, hazy mind, he's Mike.

(Helps greatly that both Mike and Alex are tall dark-haired guys. If I'd originally written Alex as a blond, this would've been much more difficult to pull off. Serendipity strikes again!)

I mean of course, the drug's utterly invented so it's got all the convenient side effects I need it to have: heightened arousal, hallucinations, somnolence, touchy-feeliness, and most importantly, amnesia. Actually most of these are real side effects of Ecstasy combined with GHB / roofie type drugs; I just amplified 'em to create Oblivion.

I'm wickedly delighted you were sucked into thinking Marty was aware that she was with Alex. After all, if someone reading an objective account of this situation can think Marty was willingly and knowingly screwing Alex ... what on earth will Mike think?

One comment that confused me was the line about Danielle "just lying there like a log." That is not how I imagined her to be sexually -- not saying it's "wrong," but it's an interesting facet to explore. The woman just seems like she loves sex in all forms and would be a fully active participant. Or maybe I'm missing something.

Oh man, I'm really glad you spotted this and commented on it, Michael! This aspect of her really interests me as a writer.

She's pretty much consistently been depicted as, er, sexually inexpressive, shall we say? For examples (warning: includes graphic stuff, natch), see this scene from #4.08, "Fork in the Road", or more recently ("recent" always being a relative term in ASF), this from #4.30, "On Second Thought". Both scenes show Alex's frustration and obsession with making Danielle show something, anything.

She uses sex, and she derives physical pleasure from it, but it's more about what she can make others do, rather than what sex does to her. More of her sociopathy.

Which I think, as you say, offers an interesting and hopefully less predictable aspect to her personality. Didn't want another slutty badgirl stereotype -- I hate the "liking lots of sex = evil ho0r" paradigm. It's too easy a shorthand. Especially since I already flirt with that stereotype with Becca and Vanessa, and to a lesser degree Olivia.

All this said? My initial reason for making Danielle not a virtual succubus in bed was to better differentiate her from Beth-pretending-to-be-Danielle. Beth -- or rather Amanda/Samantha -- was positively voracious with Tristan. Once the whole deception of Season Three was over with, the audience now needed to re-discover who the real Danielle is, since their impression of her from the Tristan affair had been Beth the whole time. So making Danielle very different from "Banny" was vital.

(That this difference ties into my belated discovery about her characterization as a near-sociopath is yet another serendipitous event courtesy of my subconscious. Honestly, my subconscious plans ASF much better than I do.)

What a great question, Michael. Awesome feedback, guys, thank you so much!

[Michael]

Originally Posted by kira

She's pretty much consistently been depicted as, er, sexually inexpressive, shall we say? For examples (warning: includes graphic stuff, natch), see this scene from #4.08, "Fork in the Road", or more recently ("recent" always being a relative term in ASF), this from #4.30, "On Second Thought". Both scenes show Alex's frustration and obsession with making Danielle show something, anything.

She uses sex, and she derives physical pleasure from it, but it's more about what she can make others do, rather than what sex does to her. More of her sociopathy.

Which I think, as you say, offers an interesting and hopefully less predictable aspect to her personality. Didn't want another slutty badgirl stereotype -- I hate the "liking lots of sex = evil ho0r" paradigm. It's too easy a shorthand. Especially since I already flirt with that stereotype with Becca and Vanessa, and to a lesser degree Olivia.

All this said? My initial reason for making Danielle not a virtual succubus in bed was to better differentiate her from Beth-pretending-to-be-Danielle. Beth -- or rather Amanda/Samantha -- was positively voracious with Tristan. Once the whole deception of Season Three was over with, the audience now needed to re-discover who the real Danielle is, since their impression of her from the Tristan affair had been Beth the whole time. So making Danielle very different from "Banny" was vital.

That's an interesting switch-up. I didn't recall the earlier mentions of this trait, but it struck me as being an unexpected twist on the hypersexual bad girl. She's obsessed with sex but doesn't derive the "normal"/expected pleasure from it -- it's more about the scenario than it is about sexual fulfillment. Interesting. I hope you'll delve into this a bit more, because it deserves a bit of discussion in the story itself.

And I spaced on the bit about Marty calling out for Mike when she was with Alex. Whoops.

[Ira]

Fantastic episode, Kira.

The pacing in this episode was beautiful, and the vividness of each scene was trademark ASF. Rena and Chelsea struggling to escape through the air vent, Martina horrified as she watches herself being raped, Jem and Greg struggling to listen to the tape (then checking the Amtrak site, brilliant!) -- all of it was cleverly written and just a breeze to read through. I'm hoping you've got the groove after this episode, because I'm dying to know what happens next. The explosion! Nice work.

I will also say that Danielle's characterization is incredibly interesting to me, and I'm intrigued to see if she will feel any kind of remorse, the kind Alex feels. Probably not.

[kira]

Originally Posted by Michael

That's an interesting switch-up. I didn't recall the earlier mentions of this trait, but it struck me as being an unexpected twist on the hypersexual bad girl. She's obsessed with sex but doesn't derive the "normal"/expected pleasure from it -- it's more about the scenario than it is about sexual fulfillment. Interesting. I hope you'll delve into this a bit more, because it deserves a bit of discussion in the story itself.

That's a good point. I really haven't explored Danielle's character much at all, for the aforementioned reason that I didn't know who she was, either. One difficult aspect is that she doesn't have any 'talk-to' characters on the canvas -- no friends or confidantes, except Ian & Alex who are constantly being manipulated by her, and maybe Hannah. So, lacking the opportunity for many soul-baring conversations, readers will probably get to know her by what she does ... which, admittedly, is the better method anyway. However, she's not onstage that often. Which is another reason you probably didn't remember her reputation as an inactive sexual partner: most of her scenes were upwards of four years ago, for pete's sake.

And I spaced on the bit about Marty calling out for Mike when she was with Alex. Whoops

That's okay, I'll forgive the slur on my obsession with fair clue-planting. Actually she just calls out "honey," which is nicely ambiguous. Seriously, thank you very much for reading at all. I know you're swamped and slogging through an ASF episode takes way too much time. Someday I'll learn to write short. Maybe.

Hi Ira, thank you for reading!

Originally Posted by Ira

The pacing in this episode was beautiful, and the vividness of each scene was trademark ASF. Rena and Chelsea struggling to escape through the air vent, Martina horrified as she watches herself being raped, Jem and Greg struggling to listen to the tape (then checking the Amtrak site, brilliant!) -- all of it was cleverly written and just a breeze to read through. I'm hoping you've got the groove after this episode, because I'm dying to know what happens next. The explosion! Nice work

Thanks! And how awesome that you found it quick-paced! I know that's a specialty of your own, so the compliment means a lot coming from you. Also, action isn't really my metier so I'm relieved that it played as 'breezy' rather than 'ponderous' which is more my style.

I will also say that Danielle's characterization is incredibly interesting to me, and I'm intrigued to see if she will feel any kind of remorse, the kind Alex feels. Probably not.

I'd....... say that's a fairly good guess.

Thank you very much!

[Dana]

Hi Kira,

Great episode. Nothing new to add other than what's already been said by everybody before me, and much better . Just wanted to let you know I'm still around.

See you,
Dana

[kira]

Dana! So happy to see you! I've been dying to hear your thoughts on the recent twists, since I know how invested you've been in the Jem/Chelsea/Rena/Greg quad. I'm glad you read and enjoyed the episode.

Thanks for poking your head up and writing! You have no idea how much your engaging feedback and longstanding role in the ASF family mean to me. Hope all's well with you!