Interview with Pat Shand - Charmed Season 10 #15 (SPOILERS)

Under the cut you can read my interview with Pat Shand talking about the events of #15!

The interview contains spoilers.

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CHARMED COMIC FAN: Following what she did to Patience, is Prue killing Tyler to get rid of Heremus out of the realm of possibility?

PAT SHAND: I have to let the opening scene of the issue speak for itself here. Was Prue’s blast of magical energy really going to leave Tyler alive, or was she just saying that to calm her sisters down? The intention there was to keep readers guessing after the scene is done.

 

CCF: There are moments that I fully trust Prue and others I kind of don’t. It is a confusion about her that I actually enjoy. Is this something you want the readers to feel when you are writing her?

PS: Yep, that’s the exact feeling that I want readers to have, because that’s what the characters are feeling too. Prue is their sister, but she’s also taken on the full force of this unknowably powerful and strange magical burden with the All. Right now, they’re wondering how much is Prue and how much is the All, or if that’s really an appropriate question at all.

 

CCF: At first, Tyler had no recollection of when he was taken over by a vanquished Demon but he has started having memories now. Is there any significance in this change or a sign that he could fight it off?

PS: Yeah, that started last issue when Heremus spoke directly to Tyler. It’s a form of fighting back, as Tyler’s magic becomes aware of the parasite within, but I can safely say he can’t beat Heremus alone.

 

CCF: Ben has both his and Cole’s memories and feelings inside him. Let’s say somehow Ben’s memories and feelings are removed (which I’m sure there has to be a spell for that, it’s Charmed). Does this hypothetically, in a weird way, bring back Cole? (I just had to bring my own “How could Cole come back” theory into the table, everyone has)

PS: Yeah, definitely. If Ben’s memories were to be erased but Cole’s were retained, you’d be left with a person who thinks he’s Cole but misses that essential spark that makes a person who they are. I’m not sure what’s sadder, that idea, or the way it is now, with Ben essentially living the life that his dead son left behind.

 

CCF: Prue is outright lying when answering to Ben on why she put him in Cole’s body, right? She says she did it because Cole was supernatural but she didn’t give Ben any powers.

PS: You’ll know by season’s end.

 

CCF: Aidel and his “reveal your true self” spell are hilarious. Just for fun. What would some of the other main characters turn into if they used the spell?

PS: Hah, I don’t want to get in trouble here and compare the characters to an animal that their actors might not love. It’s safe to say that Leo would be a snuggly koala though, that’s pretty obvious. I’ll leave it there. (Henry’s a meerkat.)

 

CCF: Last interview I told you I felt like Kyra was falling for Ben. Well, I would make an awful Empath (or Cupid), I was wrong. Kyra has an ulterior motive helping Ben, doesn’t she?

PS: No, you were right – the look she gives Ben in this issue is pretty much meant to confirm that she’s catching feelings for him. Though honestly, you saw him shirtless in #13, how could she not? Giorgia draws a hell of a guy.

 

CCF: It’s the return of Tuatha! It really is a treat to see past enemies appear through Tyler. How did you decide to bring her back?

PS: Brigid Brannagh was a terrific actor who always played great roles in supernatural shows, and I think still does to this day, and she was, I feel, completely under utilized in Charmed. There’s an interesting backstory there, and she was a threat that the Charmed Ones couldn’t beat. It’s funny, I tweeted that I was bringing a Season Two character back, and I thought it would be too obvious, but I don’t think anyone guessed Tuatha.

 

CCF: Tuatha can only be vanquished by Kyle and the wand. Do you have plans to bring Kyle back too?

PS: I think I’d bring back every character who has ever appeared on the show before Kyle.

 

CCF: Ben and Kyra’s trip back to the day Cole died was nail-biting!! When Ben got into Cole’s body, was it something like in “Forever Charmed”, when future Piper and Billie were put into their past bodies after they time-travelled?

PS: Something like that, though I want to be careful talking about it. What happened to Ben and the fallout of his choice there is explained all in the next issue, and I think that fans are going to be really surprised by the route we took. It might take a really, really close re-read of the way #15 ends to understand why we showed what we showed, but no one is more attentive than Charmed fans, so I figured why not go for something really twisty and cool when I was figuring out Ben’s arc here.

 

CCF: After finding out that Tyler is an Archai, Tuatha claims she feels the fabric of reality in her hands. Can Archai manipulate reality?

PS: They can open different realities into each other, which I guess is a ‘yes,’ but a specific and limited ‘yes.’

 

CCF: Is Tuatha about to alter reality in her last panel? And if so, that means 2 reality shattering events are happening at the same time, which is huge. Is Tuatha’s attempt cancelled by Ben’s actions?

PS: Tuatha is opening a huge portal to somewhere nasty in that panel. I don’t want to comment on what Ben’s actions affect or don’t, though.

 

CCF: In the reality shattering double-spread, the glass also shows events that happened before the night Cole’s soul was erased. Will what Ben did affect the past even before the night at the cemetery?

PS: The glass is showing a lot. I suspect after reading the opening of #16, readers will go back and wonder about the significance of certain shards of glass there. It was meant to evoke the scene in #5 where Cole’s memories shatter to reveal the white expanse that is his dying mind, that’s for sure. The reveal behind what the rest means will come with next issue.

 

CCF: Is the baby that is shown in the double-spread Phoebe’s third daughter?

PS: Is it?

 

CCF: Next issue is titled “The Happy Ending”. If I didn’t know it isn’t, I would assume it could be the season/series finale. What made you pick this title?

PS: You know, part of it could function as a series finale, I suppose. Only thing is, what follows is my absolute favorite part of the season. It’s about to get crazy.

 

CCF: Surely one of my favorite issues and I can’t wait to see what is coming next! Thank you for your answers, Pat!

PS: Thanks!

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