PRODUCTION/CULTURAL REFERENCES (written 5/16/23)
-This was one of the original ideas I came up with for season nine, but it went through multiple changes before I started writing the script. My original idea was an episode called "Trust," where the guys would start feeling like Ashley and Sanna are ignoring them when they decide not to come to the guys' party. It's later revealed that Ashley and Sanna want to distance themselves from the guys now that they're in junior high, bringing the friendship to an end. I came up with the idea for "Who Says You Can't Go Home" months later and thought about setting up what would happen in "Trust" with that episode. At some point, I decided that "Who Says You Can't Go Home" should be its own episode, and I wasn't sure if I should even write it since I had "Trust," but I ended up keeping it.
-Eventually, "Trust" was renamed to "We Don't Talk About Ashley and Sanna." I still wanted to keep the original idea, but then I realized that the episode would be stronger if it was about a different character. I wanted the episode to show what happens when friends fall out, when they no longer have anything to say to each other but they don't want to admit it. Ashley and Sanna have been consistent side characters since the first season. Even though they're closer to Jaylynn than the others, they've had multiple interactions and stories with everyone in the main cast. Whether it's something like "Dumb's the Word" or something like "Buster Loves Ashley," they've always been around. They've even had their own episodes. It would take a lot for me to write an episode where they don't want to be friends with the guys anymore. Not to say it would be impossible, but it would require a lot of work especially when there isn't enough evidence.
-I then thought about Gilcania and I realized the episode needed to be about her. Unlike Ashley and Sanna, I've ignored Gilcania for the most part. She was introduced in season two, but she was used way less than anyone else in Jaylynn's group. She's never had an episode about her, never had that many interactions with the main cast. Despite being friends with Jaylynn, I never showed them just hanging out by themselves. There's never been a Jaylynn/Gilcania story. If I was going to make this episode realistic and have it pack a punch, it needed to be about Jaylynn and Gilcania no longer being friends. Instead of just realizing that Gilcania has always been pushed to the side, I wanted to acknowledge it and call it out. This would make Gilcania's reasons for ignoring Jaylynn more meaningful, because she's always felt overlooked and excluded. That's when I knew I had my episode.
-I changed the title to "We Don't Talk About Gilcania," then to "Lost One" (after the Jay-Z song of the same name). I was anticipating this episode for a while, so I was ready to get to it. I didn't have everything planned out, but I knew what I wanted to say. I thought it would be cool to write it where Jaylynn is being ignored by Gilcania and she doesn't get it. It comes out of nowhere and she has no idea how to handle it. All of a sudden, Gilcania is treating Jaylynn like she doesn't matter. But then it flips and it turns out that Gilcania is only acting like this because Jaylynn's acted like this for years. And unlike most episodes, the situation doesn't get resolved. Jaylynn acknowledges what she did, but her and Gilcania don't go back to being friends. I've had a lot of broken friendships in the last couple years. Many things went unsaid, people I thought I knew showed who they really were. I spent a lot of time wondering what I did wrong and trying to get those friendships back, but it was too late. This is one of the most therapeutic episodes I've ever written, because a lot of what happened between Jaylynn and Gilcania happened to me.
-I didn't want to just jump into Jaylynn and Gilcania having problems without setting it up first. I used "Who Says You Can't Go Home" as a way to do it, with Jaylynn sensing some tension from Gilcania but not being able to confirm it. Little things like not talking for that long, ignoring messages. Then at the end when one of Gilcania's friends makes fun of Jaylynn and Jaylynn sees the whole thing, she realizes something's wrong. That's why I decided to have the episode end on a cliffhanger and pick up right where it left off with this episode. I didn't write a two-parter, but I gave myself enough time to make the storyline believable.
-The subplot was something that came naturally because I've hinted that KG has issues with Sparky this season. I felt like it would be interesting to explore that and not just have it be a joke. I don't remember right now, but I know there was an earlier episode where KG said something about Sparky being arrogant, so even before this season, I've teased it. KG being upset with Sparky because of the recording wasn't something I had planned. When I started writing this episode, the recording didn't exist. I knew I wanted KG to have issues with Sparky over something specific, so I came up with the recording here and added it to "Live from British Columbia" later, just so the episodes connected. I chose to write it like Rodney and Trevor had short-term memories and told KG that Sparky was on the recording because they were high and unaware of what they were saying. Then they realized later on that they messed up and remembered that it was Bitch Clock on the recording.
-This is also a case where the A-plot and B-plot have similar themes. Sparky and KG confront their issues just like Jaylynn and Gilcania do, but they're actually able to make peace and wipe the slate clean.
-RK references The Weeknd not being nominated for any Grammys in 2020, despite having one of the biggest albums of the year (After Hours) and being chosen to perform the halftime show at Super Bowl LV.
-Bitch Clock references Shakira's tax issues, with her being charged in Spain with six counts of tax fraud in September 2022. Sparky responds by referencing lyrics from her song "Give It Up to Me."
-Fun fact: Applebee's actually used "Chicken Fried" in their commercials back in 2021.
-It was important to me that neither Jaylynn nor Gilcania were villains in this episode. They both had legitimate reasons for having issues with each other. Even though Jaylynn never spent much one-on-one time with Gilcania, she genuinely cared about her as a friend and respected her. And even though Gilcania distanced herself from Jaylynn, it was only because she was hurt and betrayed.
-Jaylynn references the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic when she's at Anja's house.
-For whatever reason, "Birthday Sex" was playing in my mind when I wrote scene #22, even though I hadn't listened to it in a long time. I decided to make that Bitch Clock's song for getting himself in the mood. He then references the fact that he made girls sign NDAs during his time with the anti-drinking ad campaign ("These Drinks").
-Originally, scene #23 started with Sparky talking to KG about Bitch Clock. However, after a couple read-throughs, I realized that Wade wasn't in the episode. I don't think I've ever left a main character out of any episode, even if they only had a couple lines. I was trying to think of where I could use Wade. but none of the scenes gave me an opening, so I extended scene #23 and wrote the conversation between Wade, Buster, and RK. It was the only part of the episode that he fit into since KG invited all of RK's friends. However, since Jaylynn had her own story, I didn't feel the need to show her at Denise's party.
-When Sparky sees Bitch Clock on the floor, he says "I'm not cleaning that up," which was Muriel's catchphrase on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
-I'm interested in revisiting this episode's story and seeing Jaylynn and Gilcania become friends again, but it just has to be the right time. I already knew before I wrote this episode that their friendship had to end, just like I knew before I wrote "These Drinks" that Bitch Clock was never going to stay sober.
-Since this episode was originally named after the Nas song "Trust," I had nothing else in mind for the end credits.