The scene was written during production. We were debating whether we needed something
that could explain why Hunter turns up with Karn at the very end. Spoiler!
Let her go! Brave, but foolish. Mahri Rai or not, you
cannot defeat the Kah'Nath on your own. Who said anything about being alone?
I very much remember us all sitting down in the office in Caxton and discussing their
relationship, because originally there wasn't any scene like this between Hunter and Karn.
Well, the scene was shot quite late in the year. We started preproduction in July and
got into production a couple of months later, and it ran into September, even October I
think, so it was one of the last scenes, as far as I remember, that was filmed.
Jesus, it is bitter today. I was lucky. My costume had a few layers,
but poor Duran had just a shirt and it was open, and we were absolutely freezing.
Now we just need some warm bottles of milk. Action!
Where's the girl? What girl?
I know it was your mess I came across in the forest. I know she was there.
Do I need to stop you? I need to stop you. You need to be stopped by this guy talking
to you, because you don't know who he is yet. So you'd stop.
If he's got his arm out, I have to entertain a conversation.
There's a scene just before this one where Duran spots the Master coming into the square,
and he quickly whips around the corner, and you get a sense that - oh! - there's something
there. There's a history. And we were debating how far to go down that route of revealing
that history. And that scares you?
If you don't settle this now...
There's certainly a father/son element to it.
Hunter had that element of... he's very rebellious, so the unwillingness to listen
to any sort of authority, but in Karn he could see that actually this guy's a warrior as
well. Okay, let's roll up camera and sound.
Speed! Mark it, please. 495, take five.
Okay, and action! He's here. The Master.
It could be, for Karn, he's exorcising his demons, in a way, because that's what Karn
has done, hasn't he? He's run from the Kah'Nath and hidden away.
So this is where you've been hiding all these years, Mahri Rai.
It's the foresight of saying, "I've done this and I haven't been able to rest. Now if you
do this, you're not going to be able to rest either."
Another interesting thing about this scene is Karn's costume.
Was it over there? Yeah.
When Karn finds Ren's pencil in the forest he's in one costume, but when he turns up
to save her he's in his full Mahri Rai outfit, so there's certain elements in between those
two scenes and those two costumes that actually has an enormous backstory to it, and I think
– in Season Two – that's something people should be looking out for.
And that scares you? I kind of want to say, "Scared?" but I think
it should be more of an internalised thing rather than a vocal thing.
I don't know. You can try it. I was thinking, "Does it need the line? Probably
not." I mean, you can say it in your head almost.
Yeah, yeah. When we talked about whether to keep the scene
in or not, I think it was a unanimous decision really, because we felt that it had to be
a surprise when Karn and Hunter turn up. It was just too difficult to find a place for
it without sacrificing the build of the main story.
Was I sorry that the scene got cut? In a very short answer: yes, very much so! It was one
of my favourite scenes actually, because it showed a different dynamic to Hunter as a
character. I think it might be a point where Hunter realises he's a better person than
he believes he is, or gives himself credit for. It's the first opportunity where he can
actually be quite selfless. You get the sense there's a lot more to his
character, and therefore in Season Two, I think what people will be looking forward
to, and what they will get, is more of that. What is it that drives this character?
He could become a Mahri Rai perhaps and a protector, or he could go completely the opposite
way and actually succumb to the Kah'Nath and the dark side. So it's just interesting to
see which way that pendulum swings. We're here today to discuss Season Two and
how you can assist the process and be part of the Ren family.
Yeah, and one of the ways you can do that is to become a Patron on our Patreon page.
Indeed. Another way is to sign up to the newsletter, Renew Ren.
Yep! And the third and final way?
Social media. Social media? So that would be Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter. And all of this stuff is in the description below.