Remember when I said there are things you learn midway into a series that
you can learn no other way? Yikes....

As I've mentioned before, in our season ender, "Chrysalis," we tip over
every table we've got. I'm talking here *major* stuff, that profoundly and
permanently affects many of our primary characters. Well, you build that as a
two parter, and even *try* to resolve all of that in the second part. It
doesn't work, because the repercussions are so substantial. (What it is,
really, is something that'll be felt throughout the entire second season.)

You can try to pack all the loose thread-tying into part two, but it's
like trying to pack 10 pounds of potatos into a 5 pound bag. One other option
is making it a six parter, but *that's* really silly. So what I'm doing, I've
decided, is to take the major elements and play them out over the first five
or so episodes. This will give me time to give each of the threads the
necessary time to play out effectively, rather than rushing things.

So Chrysalis stands alone as a season ender, and a prelude to the Big
Stuff in season two. Episode 1 of year two, therefore, won't be "Chrysalis,
Part Two," but have its own title, allowing me to spread the stuff over the
next few episodes. (Probable title: "Points of Departure.")

I showed "Chrysalis" to some people the other day, and the reaction was
across the board astonishment. Just stunned. Which was pretty much the
desired result. It's an absolute left-turn for the series.

But because this is the non-spoiler area, I won't comment further.

jms