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"Behind the Script of Where Shadows Fall" by Matt Asendorf and David Klein
It was clear to us very early on in the season that we were relying too heavily on mythology sub-plot episodes, which are episodes that do not further the mytharc but involve the Millennium Group. Dan and I encouraged our writers to brainstorm ideas for standalone episodes without religious motivated serial killers and/or fictitious secret socities.
I recalled Erin Maher and Kay Reindl's failed season three exorcism script (presumably under the working title "Fallen Angel") and suggested we do one of our own. The episode was originally intended to be very supernatural and high on fright. However, the focus and intent of the episode changed dramatically over time.
Since exorcisms are not as common as they were in decades past, I decided to set the episode mostly in the past. The ritual itself would be told from Eve's perspective, allowing me to be as unrealistic as I wanted. I didn't go overboard and show Eve turning her head 360 degrees or vomiting pea soup, but showing the scene as flashback gave me some leeway.
The mechanics of the script (frequent flashbacks and voice overs) gave it a real uniqueness as did the complete lack of supporting characters: Jordan, Emma, Ryan, etc. A number of things were working against the script: a heavy focus on character instead of plot, no discernible villian, and a lack of a satisfying conclusion. But I think something experimental was exactly what the Virtual Season needed.
Unfortunately, I have a tendancy to write very slowly -- especially with experimental pieces such as this -- and the episode missed its airdate numerous times. And when it finally did air, it was the fifth in a series of standalones. It would have been ideal to spread those standalones throughout the season (making "Where Shadows Fall" stand out in terms of style and content) but the scheduling problem, as mentioned above, wasn't spotted quickly enough.
David Klein offered to co-write the episode with me and he followed my outline for the third and fourth acts. It was a difficult partnership because he didn't know quite what I wanted but he still succeeded admirably. David strengthened the parallel between Frank and Eve by including flashbacks to Catherine and "Through a Glass, Darkly." As a result, the episode gave Frank some much needed character development.
The final version of "Where Shadows Fall" doesn't completely satisfy me but I think it succeeds by providing very real insight into the human condition with ominous, supernatural overtones.
-- Matt Asendorf
It's really a challenge to write something with someone you've never met or talked to face-to-face before, and a lot harder than I thought it would be. The reason for this is that with any two people, and especially two people who don't really know each other, they're going to come at Millennium with some different sensibilities, different ideas about what the show should be about, what works, what they look for in it, etc. When you're sitting at your computer bouncing this stuff off yourself, it all sounds really good, and then it's very surprising when you suggest it and the other person says, "Sorry, no. That's not going to work."
The difficult part is reconciling your own vision for what the episode should be like with someone else's. When I looked at that basic concept, "a woman in prison for the murder of her parents was subject to an exorcism when she was a child," what I saw was not quite the same as what Matt saw. Specifically, I looked at it and I wondered how Frank would react to it, something which was a part of the original synopsis but not really as prevalent as it became in the final draft.
Even before I was involved with "Where Shadows Fall," I had been playing with the idea of having Frank testifying in favor of a death row inmate appealing his conviction, and examining Frank's attitude towards the death penalty. So immediately when I saw this story, I made that connection and saw a really good chance to examine Frank's feelings towards redemption, something which intrigued me because Frank was obviously not the same kind of person in the third season as he was in the first season. I asked myself what would really be the driving force behind that change in character and also what Frank would think of that change if he were able to sort of pull back and look at himself from a distance, and I tried to put those things into the episode. Eve's story is still important in the final draft, but for me, the real drama comes from Frank's arc.
The one other thing which I really like is the light in which the evil in the story is shown. I thought that the implication of Legion's involvement was nicely subtle, and really necessary as a kind of red herring in order to say that it's not always this kind of supernatural evil which is to blame. In "Monster," Frank says how all these terrible things in the world are influenced by Legion, and what I wanted to convey here was that sometimes it really is just human evil coming out of their own interactions, and, really, what's scarier?
I think one thing that I did which Matt wasn't completely happy with but which he knew I wanted and so left in was the way in which Eve is shown not to be completely innocent. I didn't want a black-and-white story, because when you deal with human interactions, you don't usually get that. The real point I wanted to drive home was that Eve wasn't a great kid, but her parents needed to take responsibility for that and try to improve it, instead of saying, "This isn't our fault; it's the devil's work."
The whole episode really boils down to responsibility. In the case of Eve's parents, the fact that they wouldn't accept any for her just made things worse, and, ultimately, led to their deaths. For Frank, his whole question is about his responsibility to the world, and whether it involves believing in these people that others just give up on. And Eve, even though she reaches this catharsis, revealing all the stuff to Frank and putting her demons to rest, is kept in prison because she still won't take responsibility for her actions. Whether she should or not is up to the reader, but I think that that gray area causes the episode to end on a very strong and very human note.
-- David Klein
TRIVIA:
- The working title was "No Earthly Possession" but it was changed at Dan's behest. He didn't think the title was engaging enough. "Where Shadows Fall" is a metaphor for the memories and emotions that always affect our lives, sometimes painfully.
- The last names of the guest cast were taken from Stephen King's Dark Tower series for no particular reason other than I (Matt) liked them.
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