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1.04 | "The Crucible"

Episode 4 went down a treat as my morning read before work today. But I had no time to give you my thoughts then so here they are.

We start the episode with a flashforward which I am always a fan of. This structure worked unbelievably well for this episode as you had shown us something so unexpected to happen to our main characters, so I was all in when it came to finding out the events that transpired prior. Now, what the hell happened to Eve?!

This episode felt like a much slower burn than the previous instalments but I feel like it was much needed after the mayhem of episode 3. Eve and Diamond meet Aemilia and Reign with the news about the impending war supposedly being started by Azreal and that starts off our journey for all of our characters who all just want answers this episode. I think this is the first time so far we have seen each of our main characters go off on their own missions and it was a nice change.

Unsurprisingly Aemilia heads out looking for answers about Kylar and what he is. However, approaching Colbalt and her actually helping is surprising. Aemilia is like a dog with a bone when she needs to find out something and it definitely shows in these scenes, especially as she's unsure if she's going to be killed in the process. My only question is why not just go to Kylar directly? He is her best friend after all. Cobalt can't really give much information as she isn't fully aware of what he is, just that his birthmark means ascension. But I'm sure she will know soon enough, given that trade-off with Kylar at the end, whether she then shares that information with Aemilia, I'm not so sure.

Kylar has one of the most interesting journeys of the episode as he is just starting to discover the world around him, but no one comes out right and says anything and he still isn't asking the questions as if he's still trying to avoid the possibility any of its real. His journey starts with another conflicting conversation with his brother, Cyrus. You can tell that Kylar wants nothing more than to be normal but from recent events, he is starting to come around to the fact that his family may have been telling the truth, although he has certainly not forgiven them for what they did to him. He mentions being on the brink of death, so we know they done some messed up things, I'm just looking forward to delivering into that more and finding out more about the family dynamics. It's through this interaction we find out that Cyrus was the one who has stolen the Box of Echoes from Reign. He and Reign become a little closer to one another as Kylar just wants to help him with solving what happened the night Seth was killed. I absolutely loved the scene with the holographic images projecting showing the scenes (very visual) of that night and Kylar being exposed to this and not really asking wth went on?! But seeing the Box of Echos in that scene prompts him to track it down for Reign even if that means making an enemy of his brother in the meantime. It really shows how much he cares for Reign already.

Diamond is becoming a bit of a badass. Like he saved the almighty Azreal? Although Azreal claims he didn't need saving. (he did) Diamond is becoming the hero, and its nicely being built the more we move on. He but his life on the line for a man he doesn't trust. There was no need for Diamond to come to the rescue, he could have left it to the unbound army, but he did. His mission opens him up to a world of unbound other than Eve and Reign and allows him to play detective which was fun. His conversation with Azreal took me by surprise and Azreal sounded like he was trying to teach Diamond that not everything is black and white and that he's not this big bad he's painted out to be. I feel like there were nice moments between then but then he calls him Nephilim but uses it in a derogatory way. Not really sure what the dynamic is there, but it definitely showed a different side to Azreal and made me second guess what Parrish said in Ep3. There is a lot more going on here than meets the eye.

Mrs Cobalt certainly prepared for today's lesson. She was teaching everyone in this episode. From the birthmark to the tetramorph and who has the box of echos. She was the key piece in everyone puzzle this episode. I'm surprised she helped so willingly. I the horsemen of the apocalypse revelation was perfect, things are gonna get crazy!

So Eve finally meets Lilith in this episode and their whole interactions were just like talking in riddles. I'm just left with a ton of questions. The biggest revelation to this story arc was when she mentions Adam basically being the father of demons. This Adam and Eve storyline has been unravelling at a nice and steady pace and its hands down the most interesting arcs for me. It was the first time we see the serpent in person to and with just one touch he was turning people into murderous headcases by way of an infectious disease. I have been dying for him to come out from the shadows and with the reveal that it was Adam himself, I just hope you have one explosive reunion lined up.

At the end of the episode, I'm left with a more than a few burning thoughts so I'll leave some here. Who tf took Aemilia and why is she caged

I have eventually got around to reading the second instalment of Paradise Lost and I have to say your world is coming together nicely, Darrin. I wasn't able to find a copy of the pilot and my memory is a little hazy so I apologise if I bring up something that has already been touched on in the pilot. Let me know when you have fixed the link so I can have a once over to refresh my memory and put some of the pieces together. Its times like this you wish there was a "previously on" montage.

1.02 | Heart of Stone

I'm not going to lie, this was a beast of a script. Probably the longest VS script I've read on here. But all 62 pages were packed with story and action, which made it a dream to read.

Episode two continues from the events of the pilot while introducing new mythology and characters. You do a really good job of expanding this universe and explaining parts of the mythology without really giving anything away. I feel like after that episode I am left with even more questions, in a good way.

We are thrown straight into the mystery when we are met with Josephine in the teaser being led to a room by Mama, who we later find out is Kassia, a former follower of Lucifer. This was the perfect set up for introducing what was to come, is raised a lot of questions which were soon to be answered by the end of the episode. I loved your use of sound in the teaser it added to the suspense leading up to the death of Dr Thompson. Also killing someone off within the first 3 pages definitely had me hooked. Especially adding in the mysterious winged beast.

Act 1 opens up on Eve dreaming about the garden. This touches more on the flashbacks that Eve was having in the pilot episode, you do a good job in building this story but still not really giving much away. Which leaves me needing to find out more about "him." This is someone that Eve is deeply terrified of, so I can't help but wonder, who is he and what is his part in all of this? I really enjoy Eve and Reigns relationship, as I did the pilot, even though their scenes together in this episode are limited. Dialogue for both was on point again. Eve Later goes to see Azrael for help dealing with "him" but walks away finding out that Diamond is on Azrael's hit list and that he wants her to work for him alongside Lucifer? That was an unexpected turn of events and I really enjoyed the buddy cop like interactions between the girls. I'm interested to see how this pans out with Diamond, can Eve protect him? Eve surprisingly down for working with Azreal but mainly to keep an eye on him.

Lucifer surprised me most in the episode. She comes across almost soft at times, although straight talking. Her interactions with Eve and about the past does show that she has a ruthless side, but has that changed being on earth. She is definitely a character that I am keen to know more about and I'm sure I will. Her and Eve have a history and it was touched upon throughout this episode. You mention the great war and Eve admits to having a child in the garden, these are all plot points that I'm excited for you to dig deeper in to. And the sigil pendant? What's going on there? I just know it can't be good.

Aemilia is suffering after the events from the pilot, having visions of Isaiah's ghost and blurred out figures. Her father thinks she may be going crazy like her mother but this is cleared up by Reign who confirmed she is transcendent. You gave a nice description of this through Reigns dialogue. I absolutely love the dynamic between Aemilia and Reign, so much so it broke my heart slightly when Reign states shes "not his type." But I'll happily take them as friends. The two had some of my favourite scenes in the episode with their brief interaction with Josephine and being chased by a Gargoyle, these were both pivotal moments of building your world. We learned briefly about cleaners and Reign explains that the unbound are prisoners on earth. Btw I love that you are using Gargoyles. Granted the only thing I know about them is from a 90's cartoon, but the scene of it breaking from its shell was brilliant.

I believe this is the first time we meet Elliot? Aemilia and Diamonds father. From the first instance, you can tell he has a rocky relationship with his son and the reasons behind that surely come to light. The conversation Elliot has with Diamond in the kitchen ties in what Reign had told Aemilia, unbeknownst to him. I'm curious to see what part Elliot plays in all of this, I take it he will be showing up in future episodes or will he be heading back home? Same with their Mother, the ending alone brought up a ton of questions and just adds another layer to the complicated family.

Diamond took a back seat at the beginning of the episode and I wasn't expecting him to make much of a return but he sure made up for it in the end battle with the Gargoyle. In just two episodes you can see him come into his own, going from a lost soul to becoming quite ballsy the way he takes the Horn of Gabriel from Reign to attack the beast. Unlike the rest of the characters, Diamond isn't up there as a favourite quite yet, but I'm sure once we dive more into the Nephilim side of him things will change. His interactions with Reign were funny, an unlikely team which resulted in some great dialogue.

The central focus of this episode was on Josephine who we soon find out to be a Cambion and Mama - who btw is terrifying. From what I got these characters were for this episode alone? I am sad to see Mama/Kassia's demise so soon. She would have made for an epic foe. But as she's an angel am not entirely sure if that was really the end for her? Same goes with Josephine, a very interesting character. I understand that she is safer leaving but I feel like there was still much more to learn. I think the only thing that confused me about her was that she stabbed Tyson but was then heartbroken when Emerson died? Were they not brothers? You did a stellar job of setting up those scenes, especially the one with Josephine being drugged and strapped to a chair, very visual.

All in all, a fantastic episode. Almost faultless. If I were to nitpick at anything it would have been with the cuts between battle scenes at the end. I would have like to stay on them a bit longer rather than go back and forth so much. But it didn't make a whole lot of difference. I seriously can't wait to read episode 3.

Episode: S01E01, "F My Life" 
Airdate: 29/09/2020
Guest Star(s): Don Cheadle
The VPN's Official Description: It's Spring Break and straight-laced, Dylan (Joe Dinicol) and old friend Riff (Jeremy Allen White) decided to hit the strip of Miami Beach. Sun, sea, girls and alcohol await these bright-eyed youngsters. But when one prank and drunk dial ends a booze-fuelled weekend, Dylan is left in a bit of a predicament, and his scholarship at his dream college is now in jeopardy. Inbar Lavi does not appear in this episode.
Link: jaypaterson.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/4/3/12434521/1.01_f_my_life_dropouts.pdf
Written by: Jay Paterson

So I came across this website called, Masterclass. Maybe you guys already know of it but I thought it would be a good idea to post some links here. 

It's a site where industry professionals teach master classes via how to videos, workbooks and offer support through an online community. There are classes on filmmaking, screenwriting, dramatic writing, acting and even singing and performing which are thought by the likes of Shonda Rhimes, Aaron Sorkin, and James Patterson to name a few.

The classes can be pricey, but I thought a lot of you avid writers would be interested in taking a look. I'll post the links below and let me know your thoughts on this. 


SHONDA RHIMES TEACHES WRITING FOR TELEVISION. 
www.masterclass.com/classes/shonda-rhimes-teaches-writing-for-television



AARON SORKIN TEACHES SCREENWRITING
www.masterclass.com/classes/aaron-sorkin-teaches-screenwriting



You can view the many other classes here: www.masterclass.com/