To create Episode 7 of "Persephone" (The Deer Queen Ascends), I worked from five different scripts and kept my actors in the dark about each others roles (unless they were in scenes together).  I didn't want other scenes to cloud the raw immediacy of how their characters approached this episode.  You really get into Hades head this time out, even his emotions - and discover how he feels about Persephone and the Underworld.  In turn, Persephone has one of her most dramatic moments when she literally peels off the skin of the Deer Queen.  (We did that in one take, you'll see why...)  

This episode is definitely the most experimental in terms of narrative structure. It is fractured, rather than having a single through line - I wanted a frantic feeling as she gets closer to the world of the living and leaves the Underworld behind.  I don't think change is easy.  I didn't want Persephone to just walk into the sun and be done with it - she needed to wake up, she needed to shed, and to speak out about her true existence. The Underworld, Hades, Althea are not truly antagonists for her -  that responsibility lies more with her emotions, and coming to terms with her fate.

Visually, I gave this episode an old world feel, with sepia undertones and faded red leaves, deep shadows. One more walk through the burned out landscape before she heads into the gold and colors of life.  But - as any complete Cycle of Souls will show - the Underworld will return before the series ends.  All threads through each episode make up the fabric of her nature.