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- Spoilers and mentions of death!
if Major Arcana are suspended at the moment of death, does that mean if a Major Arcana has a really bad short haircut, they’re just stuck with it for the rest of time? Because the bodies do seem like they can be edited (ex. Olivier’s tats), but it’s not like your hair or nails are going to to grow out if your body is being kept the exact same as when you made your deal – SnarkyWallflower
Okay I’m not going to get super detailed on this because it’s one of those things that’s like, stepping in from outside of the plot, if that makes sense. So you’ve kind of answered your own question here; their bodies can be permanently changed, but like, there has to be choice and deliberate intent involved. That description, ‘suspended at the moment of death’, is like, it’s gesturing towards them not being necessarily living, if that makes sense. They’re on the threshold, stuck there, suspended, and for me it comes from a place of tapping back into the recurring visual motif of threads, like they’re suspended by a thread, they’re hanging there, if that makes sense. So yeah. If it’s funnier to you if they’re stuck with the same hairstyle for eternity a la Anne Rice vampires, so be it, it’s not something I’ve thought about at length. But they don’t age, so factor that into your calculations.
Why does Oliver call Sam magpie? Is there reasoning behind that, or did you just think it was cute? – Snarky Wallflower
It is cute, isn’t it? But that’s not why. One for sorrow. There’s this whole poem about magpies. Seeing one magpie alone is bad luck, specifically ‘one for sorrow’, like you see one magpie and it’s a sign of oncoming loss, an omen of death. It you go back you’ll notice that the pet name Sam uses most commonly for Oliver is ‘love’, too.
Do you have a current favourite podcasts? – SnarkyWallflower
No, but here’s some at the top of my list: The Silt Verses, The White Vault, Hello from the Hallowoods, and Monstrous Agonies.
How long did you know you wanted Kitty to be killed & come back as a major arcana? Was there any foreshadowing in S1 that we missed? – Isaac
As Jessie, who plays Kitty, can confirm, Kitty’s death has been the plan since the start of the show. There’s a lot to indicate that she’ll go on to be a Major Arcana in Season One, most notably, that Sam calls her ‘the Investigator’. But the thing with foreshadowing is that it often doesn’t mean anything until the reveal itself has happened! There’s a lot of foreshadowing for a lot of big plot points, but foreshadowing’s job is to be resonant and lay the ground work for plot beats, so don’t feel badly if you’re not someone who’s a conspiracy board-type listener taking notes and trying to figure it out as you go along!
What would you say you were most proud of in season 2? – Will, who plays Oliver
I think probably I’m most proud of the sound design in the later episodes of Season Two. I feel like I’ve come a long way on that front and I’m really proud of how much I’ve learned and how my skills as a sound designer have developed as I’ve continued to work on the show. Particular moments I’m proud of sound design-wise are 2.27’s big fight moment, the whole of 2.35, and the Spirit Box sound effects in the finale.
Oohh also, what was most difficult to not talk about while S2 aired? – Tal
Argh, Sam being death, the Oliver love/Sam death thing in general. Kitty dying and coming back as a Major Arcana. Those things were very hard to keep under wraps.
Which characters health do I need to be most worried for in s3? – Kal
That would be telling, wouldn’t it?
How long have you been planning the horseman storyline and how long did you know you wanted Sam to be death? – Billy (who plays Scourge)
Just like the ‘how long have you known you were killing Kitty’ question, the answer is rather boringly ‘since the beginning’. Scourge, Strife, Scarcity and Sam. Pestilence, Famine, War and Death. I drew on a lot of religious and mythological symbology when developing the concepts that underpin everything in SBR.
Where did the idea to use Gary as the voice of your in show dad come from? – Billy again
Working with my dad to record Clockwork Bird was great, my dad is a fabulous actor but rarely gets a chance to do it now, so it was really fun to give in the chance. I enjoyed him as Detective Dave in Clockwork Bird, but his specialty has always been ominous villains. I remember when he was a kid he played Sweeney Todd in a local theatre production. I wanted to give him a chance to do that in my shows, and so that’s why he plays the character that he does! It’s also a nice meta-textual reference.
If you could go for coffee with one SBR character, who would it be, and why? – Tal
Hmm. Right now probably Ingra. I reckon they’d be great to gossip with, you know?
What’s Rhytidia’s skin care routine? All that mud must make her glow. – rougelikesandrunning
I feel like you’ve answered your own question there. I think she probably just soaks and goes, you know? It’s probably difficult to know old she is. Also she almost definitely wouldn’t wash the mud of so she’s probably kind of crusty.
And finally!!
Will we see any of the cultists again? Asking for no particular reason – Nigel
Some of them, yes. But most of the ones we’ve heard from have now been eaten.
Okay so that’s all for this Q&A folks!!
Hanging Sloth Studios 