PRODUCTION/CULTURAL REFERENCES (written 6/27/16)

-The episode was meant for June 19, and then last night, but it wasn't ready yet because my procrastination kicked in again.

-I had the idea in my head for Jaylynn to go back to her hometown for several months now. It was actually inspired by the Girl Meets World three-part episode "Girl Meets Texas" which aired last October. I then thought about what would happen if the kids had to go to Portland and Jaylynn had to confront her past. Before I changed plans for the season finale, this was going to be the penultimate episode of the season. Meaning, all individual parts of the episode, then the one-hour season finale with the kids leaving fourth grade. Of course, plans changed.

-Originally, this was going to be three parts like the Girl Meets World episode, but I shortened it to two because I didn't have enough material for three half-hours with the same story. Plus, I started thinking it would be overkill.

-For a while, I considered having this be the season five premiere (September 25 and October 2) but I decided against it and kept it for this season.

-The episode title is a reference to the Notorious B.I.G. song "Going Back to Cali," off his 1997 posthumous double album Life After Death.

-Jaylynn's bad day was something that I just recently decided to come up with in the writing. I thought about everything I could do to make her miserable but still keep it humorous.

-A long time ago when I was thinking about getting really creative with the concept, I was going to have the rapper Nas do a guest appearance and perform a remake of his classic song "N.Y. State of Mind" called "Portland State of Mind," which would be played in the background. However, I didn't think I could make it work and had a limited amount of time so I decided not to do it.

-One thing I knew I wanted from the beginning was a bunch of guest stars, and I saw it as a little inside joke since Sarah is voiced by Sabrina Carpenter. I wanted actresses that I knew well enough and could bring something interesting to the characters. Soni Bringas just felt right, and I knew I wanted Skai Jackson from the beginning. But Isabela Moner was a last-minute choice. I think she's a charming actress and I like her on 100 Things to Do Before High School so I included her as well.

-I knew that I had already done a scene where Jaylynn overslept this season ("To Be or Not to Be a Role Model") so I went back to see what time she woke up in it.

-When talking about the movies, RK references the season two episode "Cinema Thieves."

-Another theme of the plot I wanted to touch on in part one and part two is Jaylynn's feelings of exclusion. I only realized recently that she's never questioned her place in the group or wondered if she really belonged so I thought that would be interesting to explore.

-Jaylynn getting ditched twice is something that was actually inspired by real-life events, because in one week, I was left behind at school twice by my friends. It's always therapeutic to just take things that happen to me and incorporate them into the show. It just feels more organic that way.

-I knew the boys would never do something like ditch Jaylynn without there being a reason, so I decided to make it a misunderstanding.

-I was slightly mulling over whether or not Jaylynn was going too far by spying on the boys, but I didn't really take it too seriously and by extension, they didn't either.

-I'm glad I accomplished my goal of having Sarah appear in another episode this season, because usually, I tend not to end up doing what I set out to do with this show. I'm still figuring out her character for the most part but I do want her to appear in more episodes every now and then.

-One bit I liked including was RK forgetting Sonja's name, which is chalked up to him slightly not caring about the situation.

-Jaylynn holding up her fists and referring to them as her legacy is a reference to an Undertaker promo from a few months back on Monday Night RAW.

-I thought it would be funny to make Portland gritty and harsh, reflecting the stories that Jaylynn has told and her violent background. If I devoted more time to the episode, I would have emphasized it even more.

-The boys smiling at Jaylynn in a creepy way is a direct reference to the Big Time Rush episode "Big Time Songwriters." Fun fact: One of the possible episode ideas I have for Thank You, Heavenly is a Big Time Rush crossover. To me, it's something that makes sense and would actually work well, but I'm not all that crazy about it right now.

-I was thinking about making more jokes revolving around Jaylynn possibly having a crush on Sonja, but I decided not to and might even do it in the opposite direction.

-Originally, Jaylynn wasn't even going to touch Sonja and run away before the fight starts, but I decided to have her come close to losing and chicken out to get the point across that her character has changed since season two.

-When talking to Buster at the fight scene, RK references the chorus to "Kill You" by Eminem ("You ain't got the balls to beef/We gonna never stop beefing, I don't squash the beef").

-When Jaylynn asks to see Sonja again, Sarah references the main conflict of her first episode, season three's "The Karma Machine."

-I wasn't even going to use "Dangerous Woman" at all as I usually like to keep new or recent songs out of the show unless it's for a joke, but I thought it would work really well with the fight scene.

-I briefly considered having Jaylynn beat Sonja in a similar way to the first fight, but I thought it would be better if she just won decisively.

-When planning out the episode, I knew I was going to have "Outstanding" play in the end credits. It's one of my favorite songs at the moment.

-Part one was dedicated to legendary professional boxer Muhammad Ali, who died on June 6 at 74 years old from septic shock. His outspoken attitude at the height of the civil rights movement, unwavering confidence in his Muslim faith, trash-talking tendencies, and classic fights with the likes of Sonny Liston, George Foreman, and his greatest rival Joe Frazier solidified his place as a sports icon and larger-than-life figure.