Under the cut you can read my interview with Pat Shand talking about the events of #16!
The interview contains spoilers.
Click "Read More" below to continue.
CCF10: Starting with the issue we find out that Ben is fine and reality didn’t shatter. I have to admit that while I for sure didn’t think something like Cole coming back was going to happen I was expecting some big ramifications to follow. Are there maybe any not yet revealed consequences from this? Last issue, what happened looked too major not to have any.
Pat Shand: You can almost say that it’s a twist that no one predicted, huh?
Yeah, the set-up was two-fold. It was a little mean, because it suggested that this big, reality-altering event was going to take place. But at this point in the season, that would’ve been such a cop out! The intention I have is that, on the first read, you believe reality will change… and then, after seeing what happens to Ben, and how that sequence of pages was actually his reality folding in on itself and sending his consciousness back to the present, it reads completely different. It was very difficult to get right. I think it works. Mostly thanks to Elisa, Valentina, and Christy, who made the scene gripping.
CCF10: What was ultimately your reason of the encantadas journey Ben and Kyra went through? Is it more about Cole and truly showing that nothing can be done to save him or more about Ben?
Pat Shand: It wasn’t more about either of them – it was about both. I think there’s this misconception that I’m trying to build this crazy plot that shocks at every turn. I’m writing from character here, and the choices they make because of the events in their lives at this point have sometimes yielded shocking results. I don’t want to manufacture drama, ever, so when I introduced Ben, I had to ask myself… Ben’s back, and that’s essentially Prue/Coop fulfilling Cole’s dying wish. Does Ben have a story to tell here, or is he just the bittersweet silver lining of Cole’s death, that Cole gets what he wants but isn’t there to enjoy it? The answer is yeah, Ben has a story, and it’s an exploration of both Ben himself and Cole through Ben. Which is why I’ve been saying, all along, how Cole-centric this season is.
CCF10: When Tuatha was talking about that “something that keeps the real Prue from showing” she really was provoking Prue thorough the whole fight. Was she talking about Prue’s soul that emerged right after that or the Prue we see at the end of the issue?
Pat Shand: I addressed this a little on Tumblr, but I’m going to continue to skirt around that. It could mean either, could mean both, and I just want that line to sit as is.
CCF10: Now that Tyler is seemingly free from Heremus it feels like this chapter of Tyler’s story is over. What is next for Tyler and also Kareem?
Pat Shand: Romance, heroics, and a world of trouble.
CCF10: This is part 3 of the trilogy of questions since #14 on if Kyra is falling for Ben. And it is clear that she is. The question now is, how is Ben going to react to her? He has a past with a demon he is probably not looking forward to repeat.
Pat Shand: There is a scene in the next issue that pretty definitively answers this, so I’ll hold off. Sorry, I’m being extra unresponsive to these questions, but at this point in the season, we’re kinda laying all our cards on the table.
CCF10: After the fight, Prue said she no longer has a connection with the All. The tattoos disappear and her sisters are no longer in pain. But, at the end of the issue Knox feels the Nexus inside Prue. Why isn’t it affecting the sisters now?
Pat Shand: The thing inside of Knox, which I’ll reveal here is a close relative of Gaxageal named Dominus, would have no reason to make that up. Because Prue outright lied to them. She is still the Nexus of the All. Whatever happened to her, though, has given her the power to control that.
CCF10: Prue seems very genuine right after the fight and when she is talking with Piper. Considering what she does at the end of the issue, is she faking being normal to her sisters or is she actually genuine at that moment, not knowing what is happening to her?
Pat Shand: Neither of those are correct.
CCF10: The big mystery here is what is Prue now and what is Heremus. Are they the same being, merged? Is Prue tainted by Heremus? There will be many scenarios, I am sure. Heremus saying he is Prue really made my mind race. How different is what is happening with Prue and Heremus to what was happening to Tyler? This has to be one of the biggest plots moving forward and I’m not asking for clear answers of course but what is the slightest you can say about it?
Pat Shand: It couldn’t be more different. Heremus was within Tyler, hijacking his body to send demons through to fuck around with the Charmed Ones. Prue’s situation is not that. We won’t be seeing any Wasteland demons surface through her. What Prue says is meant to be taken at face value: she’s Prue. What exactly that means… well, that’s coming later on.
CCF10: #16 felt like it closed one chapter and a new one is opening. But there is one more issue in this arc. What can we expect from “Effigy” and its role in closing arc No3?
Pat Shand: Prue is finally going to catch up with her father. You know, make up for lost time! Basically, we’re making a Lifetime movie here.
CCF10: Thank you very much, Pat. I really can’t wait to see what is coming next!
Pat Shand: Thanks!
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