EXCLUSIVE | 'NOS4A2' creator Jami O'Brien asks fans to look out for Millie Manx, hopes there will be Season 3
Spoilers for 'NOS4A2'
AMC's hit horror fantasy 'NOS4A2' aired its season finale this weekend leaving many fans wanting for a Season 3. The series, based on a 2013 novel by author Joe Hill, chronicles drama in the world of thought involving strong creatives such as Charlie Manx and Vic McQueen. In Season 2, Manx, a vile immortal had one goal which was to kidnap his nemesis' son Wayne McQueen and bring him to Christmasland, Manx's Inscape. It was a season filled with brutal revenge and mental agony for the characters, giving fans one of the best series seasons to air on the network.
In an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), showrunner and executive producer of the series, Jami O'Brien, gave us insight on character growth and affect this season. Her name may ring familiar as she has written for 'Fear the Walking Dead', 'Hell on Wheels', 'Big Love' and 'Flesh and Bone'.
The fast-paced season was a "consequence of following the story and staying true to where the story led", said O'Brien, explaining how this season's plot seemed to move much quicker than the debut season. She revealed that though the mystery of the series world, its characters, their vulnerabilities and their abilities were unraveled in Season 1. In Season 2, she said: "Vic and Manx know one another's powers, their strengths, and weaknesses, and the stakes are much higher for both of them. So naturally, we found we hit the ground running."
Manx returning to Christmasland was something most fans saw coming - some still think he's alive - but with his resurrection fans were given a treat of understanding Manx as a monster and as a father using his Inscape as a plotline crutch. In the process of Christmasland being explained, we understood who Charlie Manx really was. O'Brien said, "Christmasland is Charlie's Inscape and therefore a reflection of his mind. My hope is that we come to understand more about Charlie over the course of the season, especially in our two flashback episodes, and that the dark, twisted nature of Christmasland supports and reflects what we know about him."
Manx's death on The Shorter Way bridge, Vic's Inscape was what the whole season had been gearing towards. But what we didn't see coming was the death of Vic's father, Chris McQueen. His relationship with his daughter was problematic to say in the least, but this season we saw that bond being nurtured. Vic was able to understand herself as a mother and forgive herself by forgiving her father - their scenes called for many tears. We asked O'Brien how it was exploring the duo's parallel characters especially when it came to alcoholism and family trauma and her answer probably sums up the beauty of character development this season.
"One of the things that initially drew me to the novel was Joe Hill's nuanced portrayal of the complex relationship between Vic and Chris and one of my favorite things about the show is watching the phenomenal Ashleigh Cummings and Ebon Moss-Bachrach devour their scenes together," said O'Brien. "In Season 1, Chris tells Vic that he hopes she'll never have to know what it's like to disappoint the people that she loves, but if she takes up drinking, like him, he warns she will find out. That line of dialog turns out to prophetic."
"In Season Two, Vic makes many of the same mistakes her father made — which on the one hand helps her understand him better, and on the other hand fuels her anger towards both him and herself. I think the question of whether or not Vic will be able to forgive her father and therefore herself is still an open question at the end of the season." It's safe to say that this season gave fans a lot to think about. The series chronicles life where the fragment between the real world and the world of thought can be torn allowing for so much to be talked about when it comes to the fantasy genre. But, what makes this show an interesting one is its refusal to shy away from intense and hard-hitting themes such as abuse and ruthless killings in characters such as Bing Partridge. We wondered what it was like to tell the story of a character that complex?
"There was a lot of conversation about it. Because we initially LIKE Bing, the network questioned whether or not we should include what he did to his parents and specifically his mother in the show. While we were very careful to never show or glamorize sexual assault, I felt it was important to honor that storyline from the novel precisely because it undermined how we felt about Bing and underlined one of the themes of our show which is the violence of misogyny," revealed O'Brien. "Charlie Manx is fundamentally a misogynist character. He appeals to the latent misogyny buried deep within Bing to help seduce him. I think that with so many male anti-heroes on television these days, we're quick to forgive some pretty terrible actions from characters who present themselves in a certain way. We're quick to believe some pretty reprehensible characters' stories of themselves. I love that just as you start to think, oh, this guy is justified in his actions or this guy's actions are understandable, you have to reconsider." Bing's character was scripted genius to say in the least.
The season saw many characters venture out into their own realm of character development and one amazing part of the production would have to be the integration of Cassie Manx into the narrative. Besides Millie needing to discover her mother on the outskirts of her father's Inscape for her to understand her father, we asked O'Brien, what effect did Cassie Manx bring to the narrative this season? The producer spoke of a character perspective saying, "Last season we heard an awful lot from Charlie Manx about his motivations. We hear that he loves children. That he's rescuing them from terrible homes and terrible mothers. Cassie Manx allowed us to interrogate that story because she has a very different point of view about what motivates Charlie."
This season showed us that Millie thinks a little different than the other robotic children in Christmasland. She was able to see Vic McQueen as a human and not an enemy and seemed to be more independent in her thinking. Why was this the case, we asked O'Brien who explained Millie's epiphany brilliantly. "When Charlie dies in the first episode of season 2 and the lights go out in Christmasland, Millie recognizes for the very first time that she's not safe. That Manx and Christmasland can be harmed and therefore so can she. I think that new fear of death opens up a tiny piece of humanity inside her demon heart," said the showrunner.
While the series is based on Joe Hill’s best-selling novel of the same name, we asked O'Brien how the show has made its mark on the narrative? What was unique to this adaptation? Explaining that she loves the novel and wanted to stay close to the spirit of it, she said, "I'm proud of the way we've expanded many of those characters for the TV show. Maggie, Millie, Cassie, and even Craig all have expanded roles in the show. I love each of those characters and especially love that Maggie, who plays a much smaller role in the novel, gets to take on Christmasland with Vic in the show. In the show, neither Vic nor Maggie would survive Christmasland without the other. I love the two of them together, and I think Joe Hill does as well."
O'Brien says she loves all the characters but "MIGHT" dress up as Millie Manx this Halloween, which we think is probably the best option too. If you were also one of the fans that wanted a Maggie Leigh-Vic McQueen spinoff, O'Brien says that would be "Season 3 of NOS4A2" not a 'spinoff'" crossing her fingers that the network will give the series a third season. On a hilarious note, O'Brien mentioned that if she had to choose one thing that the audience could take away from this season, it would be "Look out for Millie Manx!"