Author's Note - Episode 12 "Clarity" (Final Chapter)
First of all, I have to thank all the loyal followers on FanFiction for continuing to show an interest in my story – your support is much appreciated! I wanted to take a moment to share some background on the direction I went with this episode, the major death(s), and why I chose to revamp things a bit.
The purpose of this episode, like its title, was to really clear up some things for most of the main characters and level out the playing field. David needed to see the truth about Victoria and she needed to see how he really felt about her. I thought on the show that this was often glossed over, as we could not really tell what David's intentions were, and it seemed like Victoria believed he really wanted to be with her, when suddenly we found out he had planned to kill her along! So I needed a moment of clarity for both of them to really see each other, and having them kidnapped by Malcolm provided the perfect opportunity for that.
The final scene was definitely a whirlwind of events, and challenging to write! But my goal was to keep true to the essence of the characters, while still keeping our villain realistic. This is why, unfortunately, Jack takes a pretty good beating from Malcolm, before Emily gains the upper hand. I also thought Emily deserved to own the heroic defeat of Malcolm, him being the first person she's actually had to "kill", albeit in defense of her father. This subject will come up again in future chapters…
Keeping in step with the realistic tone, it also made sense that as Ben is just beginning to get close to Emily, her intrigue also scares him. I thought the show did a good job of setting up his character's suspicion around David Clarke, so the misconception of him being Chief Alvarez' murder, and then the truth that he did murder Conrad would be enough to put Ben over the edge. His moment of clarity happens right before he hesitates to take the shot at Malcolm. His character has always been a little self-righteous and I could see him priding himself in making David's arrest, thinking he's avenging the death of his mentor.
And finally, Victoria, who has been a very quiet observer this whole time, sees this as an opportunity to offer her own version of an olive branch to David by killing his would-be prosecutor, and preserving the truth from going beyond everyone there. She sees it as a sacrificial way to earn his forgiveness and momentarily does not fear the consequences. However, as we all know Victoria's changes of heart are short-lived, so we can expect this won't last for long… and with Daniel & Nolan added as key witnesses, the inevitable trial should prove to be interesting!
That being said – there is another episode in store! While Chapter 7 was the last installment in "Clarity" please stay tuned for a new story - Episode 13 "Reckoning". This episode will continue to dig into Daniel & Emily's relationship. I can preview that there will be some significant developments between them, as they both deal with the aftermath of the previous episode. Also expect some new relationships to develop, and another character who will be out for REVENGE Happy reading! Please comment with your thoughts and if there's anything else you'd like to see! Thanks!