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Its additionally frustrating because the first season ofYgrows stronger as it goes on.
I spoke with her aboutthe details of the final episodebut also about her surprise at FXs decision.
Its about the coalescing of this trio, but in these side plots are these origin stories.
Theres something missing from her life, and she cant quite put her finger on it.
She walks in at the end of a long workday where shes been pushed aside by the president.
He uses her when he needs her, and when he doesnt, he dismisses her.
She comes home, and her house is a mess.
That character, for me, is about rage.
I dont think of myself as an angry person, and I think most women dont.
But theres a well of white-hot blinding rage that exists in many of us.
For Nora, she has no relief valve for it.
She has no female friends.
Shes not a feminist.
Roxanne and Nora are these mirrors of one another they come from totally different worlds.
Roxanne has a blunt instrument of her rage, but theyre both very lonely characters.
Rage without the release of talking about it is a very dangerous thing.
Like an angryQueens Gambit.Exactly, shesQueens Gambitwith one boob.
But I wanted to have a character who you think is Victoria, which was Roxanne.
Their life sucked before, and something breaks.
We see that in other stories in the series Kimberly, another villain, is that as well.
Theres an interesting trope in apocalyptic stories about people who have soft skills.
And then she finds a way to use that skill.
It was fascinating to look back at Nora as constructed, once you know this reveal.
Roxanne just wanted to be part of something.
She didnt believe there was a world where she could get into that as herself.
Nora is more strategic, more manipulative.
Shes also a mother, which I think is so interesting.
Im trying to think if Ive ever seen a villain whos a mother whose villainy isnt about her motherhood.
You see the evil stepmother or the bad mom.
I think Nora has actually proven herself to be a good mom.
Her villainy is not related to her daughter.
Noras daughter, Mackenzie, gets her period before that huge battle.
The purpose of menstruating is gone.
So what does it mean?
Does it mean anything?
I also love the way Quincy Kirkwood, who plays Mackenzie, plays that moment.
You dont have to raise her to be somebodys mother.
The reveal that Nora has been Victoria this whole time is obviously exciting for comic-book readers.
The Victoria reveal, that wont bethatexciting to a regular viewer.
In the writing of the season, that just didnt feel like the Hero we had built.
Shes not going to kill him, but shes not going to go with him.
In the book, its a far-flung story across the world, and people still find each other.
For me, as a viewer, I dont care to see all the steps that go into it.
Its crazy that they find one another!
In episode nine, you see the cop from episode four who saw Yorick at the marketplace.
Shes been following him, but we didnt have to see that, because who cares?
Who wants to see the Ive found his boot print or whatever?
To me, its also the promise of a season two.
The most satisfying version of an ensemble show is not one where none of the characters meet.
Now, in a season two, Kimberly knows Yorick is alive.
Christine knows Yorick is alive.
Beth knows Yorick is alive.
Nora and Hero know Yorick is alive.
I think it sets up a very exciting future for the show that may or may not exist!
Yeah, lets talk about that.
The stuff thats been reported is true.
I really love FX; theyve been good creative partners.
I think John Landgraf is one of the smartest people making television.
He has a lot of respect for creators.
And its not an inexpensive show.
Unfortunately, because of COVID, a decision had to be made.
Half of our actors signed on to a pilot I wasnt even part of.
Its been years for people.
I dont blame them.
Theres no bad guy.
The bad guy is COVID.
I was very excited about the idea of three episodes coming out and then one a week after that.
I thought that was an awesome idea.
In retrospect, I wonder if maybe this show is better as a bingeable show.
Listen, that part isnt the part that Im good at.
I also like a show that has that kind of storytelling!
I like longform storytelling.
But I dont know how people watch television now.
Thats part of why it was surprising.
Theres no article that comes out that says, Uh-oh,Yisnt doing well!
I dont have any indication, and thats really hard.
In some ways, its also good because its like,Why do I need to know that?
Thats not my job.
I guess I didnt see a world where I wasnt going to be making a second season.
And I still think theres a lot of hope that we will.
What I will say is that I pitched FX a second season that they loved.
They said to me that their decision was not based on concern about the show.
Its the stupidest thing Ive ever heard in my whole life.
There are lots of people who were saving them up.
Anecdotally, I feel like theres an audience out there that just hasnt had the time yet.
But I did hear from a lot of men that if you go woke, you stay broke.
Woooow.I am continually surprised but also not about the misogyny in the world.
This business is a boys club, and its always been that way.
We had an incredible group of men on this show, and nonbinary people, and women.
One of the great things about this show was watching these incredible men being led by all these women.
I love the photographs I have of our DPs with our two male camera operators.
Ive said in other interviews, and Ive said on Twitter, that the show is about identity.
People would say, No, its not its about how women can be just as bad as men!
And I was like, Thatssosimplistic!
You read that for 60 issues?
That is not what its about.
That is one part of the book.
That whole meme about red flags, my version of that is Im not a misogynist.
I think women are better than men!
Red flag, red flag, red flag!
Ive heard so many men say that women are better.
It was so upsetting to me to see that article Margaret Atwood retweeted.
We came up with a pitch for season two, and were very excited about it.
The get woke, go broke thing, or whatever the fucking slogan is, that doesnt bother me.
It fuels me, and I feel like Im on the right track.
I do interact, usually offline, with trans people who contact me about their concerns about the show.
Because I share them.
And just to tease season two, Kimberly believes God has given her a sign.
The sense that she makes is that Yorick is destined to give her a child.
Shes also with Christine, whos pregnant.
Theres an exciting birth of a new kind of religion: the Gospel of Yorick.
If Christines baby is a girl and that baby is Eve, then Eve needs an Adam.
The Amazons under Noras leadership have a different ethos.
Theres something exciting about the now, and the problem Yorick might create for that idea.
And you see the burgeoning seeds of a romance between 355 and Dr. Allison Mann.
Theyre on their way to the Culper Ring, 355s family … or maybe not?
And if they get there, will Yorick see Beth?
Weve talked in the writers room about how the first stage of the apocalypse is grief and scrambling.
The second stage is sex.
I think theres a way in which the second season would be expansive and queer and exciting.
And what will happen to Yorick when he finds out Allison and 355 have a thing going?
I think hes going to cope really, really well.Yeah, he seems really mature.
And what comes next is No Scrubs, by TLC.
