By Jamie Ruby

Last night Revolution returned with its midseason premiere on NBC. The episode, entitled "The Stand," continued where the series left off, with the group reunited but now on the run from Monroe's helicopter. The episode ended with a huge shock as one of the main characters were killed.

Before the episode, creator and executive producer Eric Kripke and star Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays Rachel Matheson, talked to the media about the death, as well as what else is to come on the NBC series.

NBC Conference Call
Revolution
Elizabeth Mitchell and Eric Kripke

March 13, 2013
12:00 pm ET

QUESTION: What is about genre shows that appeals?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: That's a great question. Do you want to say Eric?

ERIC KRIPKE: No, ladies first.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Thank you. It's lovely to be called a lady. I have to say I'm a huge fan of adventures. I love to read them, I love to watch them. They go on in my head. So I think anything epic and adventure-wise is always a huge draw for me. It's what I like to watch and to get to actually do it, to be in something that's Lord of the Rings or Star Wars or any of those things it's just what my passion is, where I go to escape. So that's what draws me to it.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, and coming at it as a writer it's really fun to write genre not just because you can explore some mind-bending concepts and have lots of fun action but because you really get to discuss issues and really subversive ideas that you never would be able to get away with if you were writing a straight drama and you get to talk about - you really get to explore some really edgy stuff about murder and death and redemption and as long as it's hidden underneath people swinging swords at each other, you get away with it. So that's been really fun for me because I've been able to say things and talk about things that I would never be able to otherwise.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: A lot of freedom.

QUESTION: And Elizabeth, you were talking about how you love being in action/adventure-oriented type shows, are you going to get to do any action of your own this second half of the season?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Yes, yes we are and my father will be thrilled because that's really the stuff he likes to watch the most. I think that Linda Hamilton's his favorite actress.

I do get to do some more actiony type stuff and I have a wonderful time. I love that stuff.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes she totally kicks ass.

QUESTION: The whole first half of the season was spent on Charlie's quest to rescue her brother, then in this episode they kill her brother. So I'm wondering do you have any concerns that viewers might throw up their hands in exasperation that after all the effort to get the brother back the writers go and kill him right away?

ERIC KRIPKE: Well, before I begin I just want to say, because I don't know who is on this call and there's no bigger spoiler and…I know we distributed some episodes to writers, but I want to make sure that everyone who's on this call takes this vow of silence to never please report on this before the episode airs on March 25 because it's a pretty thermonuclear secret you just mentioned. So I want to be very, very clear about that. Please don't anyone go online and mention that fact.

And then second – no, we don't think so. I think it will be - it's exactly the right type of shocking development that really ramps everybody up for their mission in the second half of the season and it really emotionally escalates everything.

QUESTION: Can you talk about the challenges of having been away for awhile, how you're going to reintroduce things to viewers and your concerns about being away, being off the air?

ERIC KRIPKE: Sure. Look, any time you're off the air for four months you hold your breath and you hope fans come back, but we take solace and encouragement from a few things which is I think there's a long history of genre television really working with these large breaks in between, like Walking Dead or Game of Thrones, and also because the second half of the season is such a different mission and quest and energy than the first half that it really does feel like a natural break. It feels like it's its own particular season of television in that the first half was the drive to find Danny was prologue to it opening up into a much larger and more epic and exciting story.

So I think because there's such a natural break in the storytelling, I think people will be able to jump right in and watch one recap and remind themselves where all the characters were and then dive in the way that. I won't see Game of Thrones for literally a year and then I'll watch one 90-second recap and be right in the middle of it.

And then finally, the break gave the writers and the producers and the actors a minute to really explore what was working about the show and what wasn't working and how to make it better so whether we were on the air, whether we were off the air, the inevitable risk that goes along with it, I mean that's all true but it allowed us to make a higher-quality, better series. And at the end of the day that's the thing I have to put at my first priority. The show's better because we took the break so therefore I'm glad we took the break.

QUESTION: You're returning to an NBC that's different, too. Things have changed for the network in the past couple months. Any thoughts about that?

ERIC KRIPKE: No, like any good player we just keep our head down and focus on our game. And look, we're coming back with The Voice and the fact is there is no bigger show on television and there's no better lead in. And we're very, very happy and grateful to have such a monster hit as our lead in.

And so we're hopeful that we'll come back strong. Again one, because the episodes are really strong and in my mind I love the first half but I think the second half is better, no question. And we have a hell of a lead in so those things are all reasons for hope.

QUESTION: A question about filming in North Carolina. I wanted to see if you could talk about the advantages and the challenges of that.

ERIC KRIPKE: Well, Elizabeth why don't you start since you're there?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I will say the advantages are Wilmington is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, so that has been beautiful. And then what I think that Billy and I were talking about the other day is just how lush and gorgeous the world around you is, how that plays a little bit of a part -- not a little bit, quite a bit. It's almost another character in the show and we've all loved it. The cast has all loved it here.

It's been, I don't know, beautiful, interesting to be outside, every time you are you're amazed by what you're able to find, especially in the second half. I think some of the architecture, some of the abandoned buildings, it's truly beautiful. So for us it's been a gift. Eric, for you?

ERIC KRIPKE: I second all of that. I second that emotion. The locations are stunning and haunting and our production team there has been able to find just a remarkable variety of looks that we've had to do actually very little CG work or visual effects work or dressing them up. A lot of these locations, these massive abandoned factories and power plants and we've been able to just move right into them and shoot them.

It's always a little challenging being 2,000 miles away from my production. You know, it would be nice to be able to be on set and have that guiding hand but we have an incredible team in Wilmington. And ironically enough, on this show we are absolutely reliant crucially upon technology and we're emailing and Skyping and sending photos and dailies are coming - dailies don't come as film or tape or DVDs anymore, they come on our desktops and so then we're responding quickly in real time. And you can actually get quite a lot of producing done just by sitting at your computer, which is funny and ironic.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Yes it is. But it was great too. I mean it's really great. There's a lot of talent here, which is awesome.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, yes we have amazing producers there too that are really steering the ship quite, quite well.

QUESTION: Do you get to go out there much at all or are you mostly in L.A. the whole time?

ERIC KRIPKE: I would, except they keep me handcuffed. Part of this call was to secretly ask you all for help and to tell my story. No, I haven't been actually, which is a shame but we're so jammed getting scripts out and in postproduction, all of which happens in Los Angeles that unfortunately I haven't been able to make the trip yet, but I will.

QUESTION: Eric, when we spoke to you at Comic-Con you told us that we would learn why the power went out to begin with fairly early on the season and you delivered on that but with this midseason premier it seems like we've created almost twice as many questions as we had to begin with about what's going on. What can you tell us about what we're going to learn about the overall mythology for the second half of the season?

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, what you just described is pretty much my MO which is start answering questions and then ask more and then answer those. And I think that's what viewers can expect in the second half of the season which is I really favor in a really aggressive red-blooded pace of storytelling. Endless mystery is not really my (unintelligible) and anyone who's watched any of my shows will know that.

So for me it's about in episode 13 Rachel reveals pretty much every single thing there is to know about why the blackout happened and every time I watch that scene, that scene -- and she's brilliant in it -- but that scene's a hard swallow every time because you're like, “Wow, we're just saying it.” And it goes against many of your baked-in sure weather instincts are not to have the scene that reveals every single thing in three minutes.

But the reality is Jon Favreau was hanging out with us in the writer's room and we were discussing the problem that as a character Rachel knew why the blackout happened and she was back in and among heroes, she wasn't captive anymore, and we were really wrestling with the question, “Well, why wouldn't she just tell them?” And then Jon, who came in and was able to provide much-needed perspective, just looked at me he was like, “She would tell them, so have her tell them.” And I said, “Yes, you're right, you're right. She would say it so she has to say.” And so she does.

And so we reveal why the blackout happened but the card I think we have up our sleeve is I think the explanation really opens the door to much greater story possibility.

QUESTION: It definitely does. And Elizabeth...

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, I don't think we box ourselves in a corner. I think we open a door to a whole new world. And then we ask more questions. Because for me the story was never about what caused the blackout. I think for me the show isn't just based on one particular mystery, it's based on these characters and this world and this transformed landscape that they have these adventures in.

It's risky and it's surprising that but I think it turns out okay because there's so many other storylines about the characters, who they were, we ask a few more questions, we pose a few new mysteries. But I will say I'm literally turning in the season finale later today and having now in detail seen what happens through the end of the season, I think we answer most if not all the questions that are being posed. And then we start asking new ones but that is as is my way.

QUESTION: Elizabeth, at the very end of the season opener or the midseason premier, at the very end you pull something out of Danny which there was a flashback regarding a surgery when he was younger, will we get an explanation as to what's going on with that before the season ends?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I believe that we will, given that that's a huge spoiler, the huge no one can know. But yes, I believe that we absolutely will and it's really intriguing. I was intrigued by it as a nerd so I think that you'll be satisfied, as gratified.

QUESTION: I wanted to ask you guys about binge watching, which we hope everyone who didn't watch Revolution will do with the show before its midseason premier. Has either of you binge watched a show and which show and can you talk about the experience?

ERIC KRIPKE: What's the question? What other shows do we watch or what episodes of Revolution do we watch?

QUESTION: Binge watching, have you ever sat down and watched a whole bunch of episodes of a show?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Oh yes.

ERIC KRIPKE: Oh yes.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: That's the best.

ERIC KRIPKE: Go ahead Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: That's one of my favorite ways to watch shows. I did that with 24, I did that with Breaking Bad. I will go back and probably do that again with Revolution just because I like the ride. I love the idea of sitting down to a 24-hour movie. I think it's really fun. I realize it's a little nuts but you get in your PJs, you've got some great popcorn, it's worth it. I think it's great fun.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, I think I watched every episode of The Wire within a few weeks and Game of Thrones. I actually came to Game of Thrones late and then picked up the entire first season over two or three nights. So yes, and I think more and more that's how viewers are watching television, that kind of binge viewing.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Binge viewing, that's great.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes and I think, just to bring it back to Revolution for a minute, I think that's why when we come back and are airing ten in a row, I think that's another big advantage of taking a little bit of break because we don't need to split up the storytelling once we're back. We come back and every week people can come along that ride right until the season finale without any break. So I think that will provide a great momentum in storytelling.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I agree it does.

QUESTION: What advice would you give to people who are going to binge watch the first episodes of Revolution to get caught up before March 25? To get in the mood is there something specific they should eat, should they turn off all the lights in their house?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Yes, watch it by candlelight, that's a great idea. I love it. Maybe cook things over a fire.

ERIC KRIPKE: I would just tell them to pay for the whole seat but they'll only need the edge.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: That's really great.

QUESTION: Elizabeth, can you talk a bit about working with the Lost guys again and why don't they throw you a bone for Star Trek or Star Wars, to give you a part on that too?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: You know, I'm campaigning hard to be a Jedi. My friends like to tell me that I feel like I’m one in life so yes, that would be really awesome. And I love it. I love complicated, good characters. I love complicated, good characters set in extraordinary situations so to be with the same people who made that happen for me before is an absolute joy and I'm always honored.

[quote]We reveal why the blackout happened, but the card I think we have up our sleeve, is I think the explanation really opens the door to much greater story possibility.
--Eric Kripke[/quote]
It's always nice to come back. It's better than people being like, “Let's just not work with her again.” So I'm honored and it's fun and selfishly I love the complication of the characters I get to play. I just love the work so to be able to be with the people who make good work -- is that proper English? -- it's fun and I've had a great time getting to know Eric. It's been great. He's along those lines of thinking and different and wonderful and it's neat. So yes and yes, I'd love to be in Star Wars, just putting it out there.

ERIC KRIPKE: And really for the record, me too.

QUESTION: Wouldn't we all?

ERIC KRIPKE: And by the way, the feeling's totally mutual Elizabeth. It's been great.

QUESTION: Elizabeth, I've been watching you since Gia and I want to know when's the last time you talked to Angelina Jolie and did you know she was going to be so hugely famous back then?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Wel,l I did know she was going to famous because she kind of already was. I mean, the minute she walked on the set I remember that even her stand in was like, “I can't stop looking at her.” I was like, “You know what, she's very cute.”

So when did I talk to her last? I don't know, it's probably years ago. I think we get word through friends every once in awhile. She's deeply lovely, deeply wonderful so I know that she's there and I think she knows that I'm here. So we haven't spoken but I definitely she's a pretty great lady.

SCIFI VISION: Do you have a favorite scene or moment coming up that you can talk about without spoiling too much and if not then a favorite moment from earlier?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Well I have one. Eric you just let a really loud noise.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, I have a safe word.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: You have a safe word. Stop! I have a scene in the moonlight next to water with Miles that is probably one of my favorite scenes as much for the silence as for the words. I enjoyed playing it, I enjoyed reading it and I just f got a chance to do ADR for it and I normally can't watch myself but I liked it. So I think that's probably one of my favorites. It was simple and lovely and exactly the kind of thing that I like to play and to watch. So just a simple little scene. I don't know if anyone will feel the same way but that was one that I truly enjoyed and I thought that Billy was terrific and great fun to watch.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes she's right, that scene's awesome. And it hints at and we can spoil that part and say that it hints at a deeper, more fraught and complicated history between Miles and Rachel and it's all mostly done in looks and so much is conveyed with very little dialogue and it's a thrill to watch them work.

I would add to that that there are actually two - the ones that I'm thinking of are two Elizabeth scenes so well done, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Thanks Eric.

ERIC KRIPKE: So one is in -- and I don't want it spoiled -- but the final moments of episode 11 when we come back are just such an insane neck-snapper of a twist and it's so awful and wonderful and you kind of can't believe you're watching it and there's tears and there's knives and it's just awesome. And then I would say in the first run when Rachel ganks Dr. Jaffe with the screwdriver. That's a personal favorite in the writer's room, we love that. She just jabs him in the chest and then says to Monroe, "Now you need me."

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: People come up to me and say that to me. People come up to me and they go, "Oh, now you need me." And I'm like, “Okay.”

ERIC KRIPKE: This badass chick with a screwdriver and that was really funny and awesome and surprising and brutal and it was just great. We talk a lot about in the writer's room how we want to do this - maybe it will be a webisode, we'll probably never do it but we call it “The Short, Sad Life of Dr. Jaffe” and how he like Rachel felt, it's just funny, I love it. I love that we have such a complicated lead character and a complicated hero who basically provides intel, gets the guy captured, gets him in front of Monroe and then to apologize stabs him in the chest with a screwdriver.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Well sorry. It's really horrible. When you hear it it's horrible.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, but it's what she has to do to survive and protect her children and I think people understand and go with it and I think it just makes Rachel that much more awesome.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Everyone that I've talked to has been like, “Yes.”

SCIFI VISION: Eric last time I talked to you I asked you about Grace and you said that she was going to be a bigger part of the storyline in the second half of the season. Can you talk at all about that?

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, that's true. We see a glimpse of her or you've all seen a glimpse of her already at the end of episode seven and episode eight where we reveal that Randall has brought her to this particularly mysterious location.

And starting with episode 11 we start to reveal what that place is, why Randall has brought her there, what he wants from her and then the story progresses from there. But the location - the place where they are really starts to become important to the point where it starts to have its own gravitational pull in the story, not literally, figuratively, and every character starts getting drawn closer and closer towards it because it's such an important location and because what Grace is doing there is so important.

QUESTION: I think that your show is a lot better than some of the other "event programs" that have debuted on network in the past couple of seasons. But in your opinion why do you think Revolution has worked where those shows didn't?

ERIC KRIPKE: Well, let me preface this by saying any writer who knows why his stuff works is lying. I have my theories but mostly I'm just grateful that people seem to be connecting with it and I'm greatly appreciative that they're watching is mostly my reaction and response to that question.

As to why, my theory or my hope is because we actually put the - yes it's a genre show but we try very hard to put the genre on the backburner and put the characters front and center. And our focus in the writer's room is not what's the trippy, mind-bending concept? Although we certainly love those, our focus is how do those concepts bring out new dimensions of our characters and how do we make it as emotional as possible and how do we make these characters as fraught and complicated and tortured as possible?

Because look, here's the truth of episodic television, which is you want every episode's storyline to be great but the reality is the sheer volume of work means that some are great and some of your stories as a writer suck out loud. But if the characters take and the actors create amazing characters, which I think they're doing, then viewers get invested. I don't think they get invested in any particular storyline, they get invested in the characters. And if the characters are working then the series works. And conversely it doesn't matter how cool your concept is, if the characters aren't appealing or relatable to the audience then it will never work.

I used to say this a lot to making a reference to Lost when I was talking to J. J. and Bryan and all the Bad Robot guys in the beginning. We talked about it a lot and what I said to them and they totally agreed and I think it's why Lost worked so well was we said, “Look I'm interested in, I'm fascinated by what's on that island but that's not why I'm watching. I’m watching for Matthew Fox and Elizabeth and John Locke and all the characters.” And they're the ones that you love and that's why that show was so successful and hopefully Revolution is coming close to approximating that same formula.

QUESTION: Okay. And Elizabeth you've been on shows like this with large casts before, what do you think is the key to keeping everyone happy and engaged and how would you say that Revolution is doing that for you?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Oh, what a great question. I love ensembles I think mainly because I started in theater and I love that idea. What keeps people happy and engaged is good work, great words and then I think coming together there's a lot of...Lost was the same way. We were all very supportive but everybody came ready to play and I think if you have that attitude and there's not ego, which is also the case on Revolution which I really like, then it's fun.

You go in and it's fun and you play together and you antagonize each other on camera and you love each other on camera and you hate each other on camera and then you go off and you try to figure out how to make it even better and you come back and you try to do that. And that's the collaboration of a group is and has always been very exciting to me. I think it elevates everybody. You rise to the occasion and I love that.

I hear that from all of the actors when we're walking around. “How did that go? Oh, I had scene with Giancarlo and I learned so much, it was fantastic.” Or I did this or I did that. So I think just that respect and passion. That keeps it going and makes it really nice.

SCIFI VISION: Elizabeth, I know you've talked some about Lost. Could you compare the filming process, how it’s the same and different to Revolution?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: You know, it's really interesting and I don't know if this will make sense to anyone but it is slightly different. Lost we started with wide, we'd come in the middle, we get right into tight and we'd go for the eye, like we'd get in really close. And on Revolution right now we're shooting a lot of long lenses which means that I don't necessarily know when the camera is right on my face so it's been something of a surprise.

And what is done is that it felt more in some ways like a play. You're doing all of this, our operators are catching all of this but they're not right exactly there. So it's been really interesting, really fun.

ERIC KRIPKE: That is really interesting.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Yes, it's been really interesting how that is because I was so used to having the camera right there. But the thing that I have found very similar is that we as the actors are all very excited to know what's happening next and I love that. I love the fact that we want to sneak in and who has a script and has anyone seen script and does anyone have a script and should we call Eric, should we ask Eric. Oh let's not ask him. Oh maybe we will. Everyone's like, “Okay, I asked it.” And I was like, “Did you, what happened? Well it's about my character. Come on!”

So I love that we're all so excited and we were that way on Lost, too and that to me is a huge and wonderful commonality.

SCIFI VISION: And what's been the most challenging for Revolution?

ERIC KRIPKE: Elizabeth, do you want to start?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I like challenges, I'm weird that way. I'm the one who ran stadium stairs as a kid. Challenging...I always find shooting outdoors to be challenging. It's loud, it's dynamic and you can either raise your game accordingly or you can get incredibly frustrated so I suppose that I enjoy that particular challenge of making all of that work and shooting a show with no electricity in a very powerful world. So there's the cars, there's the planes, there's the (unintelligible), there's the cell phones so that's definitely a challenge but it's pretty funny.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes. I would say for me it's the story breaks are remarkably challenging. It's definitely very, very rewarding but it's also the most difficult to show I've ever written for. There's so many characters, there's so many storylines. They all have to hit the targets of being emotional and true and honest and action packed and exciting and genre and it's a son of a bitch to break this show.

And I can't tell you how many times we've gotten an entire story up and then I went back and read it over -- we put them on these giant dry erase boards -- and we'd show back up in the morning and read it over and literally just erase the whole thing and the writers come in and they see the empty board and their faces fall and it's so tragic and it happens so often. And we say, “Okay let's go back, let's talk about what we want this episode to be. Let's go back to theme and then do it all over again.” But they're all in and we're all excited to do it because we want it to be great and everybody really cares and hopefully the viewers will see that in the payoff because we really take very meticulous care with these stories.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: It's in the scripts. I mean, it really truly is. And I feel like we need to have a reality show of you guys in the writer's room now.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, and then you should see me - because it's just my show-running style where I'll act out every part as we're working through the scenes.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I love that. Come on (unintelligible).

ERIC KRIPKE: I've always threatened to have DVD special features which is like a video of me acting out the part with how the actor ended up doing it professionally.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I'm going to hold you to that.

ERIC KRIPKE: But I will say this that in my version of the performance I would say every other word is fuck or shit and so my version of Revolution is much more R rated and blue and it's much more like as if David Mamet had written Revolution than what ends up on the screen, like a lot of the fuck and shit in the writer's room becomes hell and damn by the time it gets to the screen.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: That's awesome.

SCIFI VISION: Yes, I want to see this.

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes, I'm telling you it's a sight to see.

QUESTION: Eric, I have a question about Tracy and JD's characters. I seem to be rooting for a romance at the beginning of last season and will we see anything develop?

ERIC KRIPKE: Yes we definitely will. JD's character is named Jason, it was Nate, but his real name is Jason. Jason goes through some seismic shifts with his father, who's Giancarlo, with his relationship with the militia and that Charlie has a front seat to a lot of those really dramatic turns in that there is this static friction between the both of them that draws them closer. And then we blow it all up because these types of relationships in these types of shows are about the push/pull and about the friction of will they get together or won't they and what obstacles do they have to overcome.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: And they're freaking gorgeous together.

QUESTION: Yes, they are.

ERIC KRIPKE: They're good-looking people. I’m sorry, what was that?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: They're just freaking gorgeous together, that's what I said.

QUESTION: Yes, so get them together. And Elizabeth what can you tell us about -- I know you talked a lot about it -- but how will your character's stakes be raised, just give us one clue?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: With the things that happen in the first episode back I think that my character's stakes, I'm sure they probably could get higher but right now I can't imagine how, what she wants to accomplish, what her goal is. The protection of her daughter, her family, it's operating at such high stakes that at times I'm always amazed she doesn't just burn out and extinguish. So I think that people are going to - I've enjoyed the shifts for her. I've enjoyed both her strength and her, I don't know, sometimes sociopathic intensity but I always go back to the mother in her and I'm fascinated by that.

QUESTION: Going back to the notion of binge viewing and the Lost factor, how important was it for a lot of questions to be answered now at this point in time? Was there a sense of urgency?

ERIC KRIPKE: I certainly felt having gone back and having a had a minute to go back and analyze the first ten episodes, I thought our pace of mythology reveals was probably a tiny bit slow. At the time you're so focused on establishing character and establishing world and especially on a genre show where it's an entirely new world with new rules and you spend a lot of time making sure that you've got those straight and that you're setting it all up properly.

But once I looked back at all the completed episodes if I had a criticism in the storytelling it was that I was feeling I think the same impatience that the audience was feeling over the last couple and they were good stories and good episodes but I had that vibe of like, “Okay get to it, get to Danny, let's see what's going on, let's get to the next part, I'm ready, I get it, let's do this thing.” A

nd once we realized that then the writers collectively looked at each other for the second half and said, "Okay, let's course correct and let's blow the doors off it and let's get everybody together.”

And there's probably a lot of answers that we're giving in the second half that probably could have waiting until season two but we felt that we should smoke them if we've got them and we knew what some of our answers were and we knew that we had these big reveals up our sleeve and they're just wasn't any reason to withhold them. So we just started spending our coin and I think the episodes reflect that.

I think you'll look at the second half and there's probably no one episode that doesn't have at least one big moment that either unveils more mythology or is a seminal moment in one of the character's lives that transforms them and we really work hard to make sure there's something like that in every episode.

QUESTION: Elizabeth, when the show resumes where's Rachel's mindset with regard to Monroe, the rebels and being with her children?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: She wants to be with her children. She wants to kill Monroe. I think that Rachel is somewhat, in my mind of course but everyone feels that way about their own character, such a tragic figure. She's tried so hard to do the right thing for so long and she's possibly one of the worst people. I think that her mindset is on survival and her mindset is on revenge and in a horrible awkward way her mind is on good parenting which she's not very good at. But I think the sad thing was that she probably at one time truly was. So it's just what this world has created and she's a direct reflection of that.

So her mindset is revenge, love and trying to do the right thing. We'll see if it works.

QUESTION: Elizabeth, in episode ten the scene with you and Tracy where you come face to face, that was so powerful, so raw. What was it like to shoot that and did you and Tracy just go over those lines first or how did you do it?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Tracy and I really like each other and we have a very easy and lovely relationship so we didn't bring too much of that into the room. I think that we were both feeling just as awkward as the characters were because you want things to be so amazing with the people that you love the most. You want to be the perfect mother, the perfect person, the perfect whatever is and we both wanted that.

And what came out of our mouths and what happened was so awkward and stilted and raw and kind of horrible and that was the feeling the whole time. Both of us were like, “Oh, we just wish we were nice,” and I liked that. I liked how awkward and raw and horrible it felt in the room. I felt like there was something really real there and Tracy and I looked at each other and I don't know who said it but we were both like, “This is exactly how it would be. This feels so real to us,” and that's what we walked away with, this sad, awkward horrible thing where you just want them to just hold onto each other and be like, “I’m so happy to see you.”

So it was awkward and horrible and kind of wonderful and raw so I think that Eric did a perfect job on that one. I really do.

QUESTION: How far in advance did Eric give you guys the script? Were you prepared for this or did Eric just kind of spring this on you? How'd it go?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: We got the scripts before and we both of course memorized it the day before and then we walked in, we read it through but we didn't actually work on it together. It was more what's going to come out when we're on camera together and that's basically what came out. It was very fresh and very raw.

And as far as being sprung, sure episodic television is the best because you get the script and then a couple days later you're doing these crazy huge scenes and I love that, I really do. It doesn't give you time to think before you jump off the cliff, you just jump and I’m a fan of that.

QUESTION: Right. And at Comic-Con I interviewed Terry O'Quinn who was also on Lost and he said...

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I love him.

QUESTION: He's great, isn't he? He said that he would never get his scripts in advance and is that how they play it here? I mean, you said you get yours like a day in advance but he said he didn't want to know what was going to happen next. He just wanted to go with it and just act in the moment. Is that how you guys are playing it on Revolution versus Lost or is it a little bit different on Revolution?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: No, I think it's very much the same. I think it's the idea of you get it and play it and you play it with everything that you've got. And you may look back and be like, “Oh gosh, why didn't I…,” but I think the immediacy of it is what makes it so interesting. It's one of the reasons I love television is that you can spend a long time agonizing over every choice or you can simply jump and a lot of times with episodic you just have to jump, which is what Terry does so beautifully. I loved watching him in the immediacy of what he would do. So I like it.

I mean it's kind of a Meisner approach to the whole thing but I just enjoy springing things on people, watching their reaction and reacting back. I think it's really fun.

QUESTION: That's pretty cool. Eric my next question is for you. Now I just heard for the first time about this spoiler thing with Danny. Why Danny?

ERIC KRIPKE: Oh well again, and please don’t report on it till after the premier, but because we looked around and we needed a massive instigating incident to kick off the second half of the season and every character needs an intense emotional drive and wants to face down General Monroe and to not do it just for political reasons but do it for intensely personal and tortured reasons. And as the writers discussed it at length we realized that this move would not only I think blow people's hair back but really mobilize everybody - mobilize all the characters to take the fight to Monroe in the most fraught and desperate way possible.

QUESTION: I wanted to know a little bit about the dynamic with Rachel and Charlie and the family dynamic as you guys move forward to this back part of the season. Obviously Danny is going to have a huge impact on that but then how do Miles and Charlie and Rachel - is it a lot of conflict that's going to take awhile for them to gel as a unit or will they come to some kind of even ground in a relatively short amount of time?

ERIC KRIPKE: I think there will be lots of conflict. I think the three of them is such a center of gravity for the show and of the Mathesons and the show is really at its heart a family show and the issues we discuss and the thematics we explore are much more about family than they're about anything else and can this family stay together in the face of these overwhelming odds?

And if you had to make a choice between for instance revenge or keeping your family safe, if you had to make a choice between fighting for the greater good or protecting your children, these are the types of questions and conflicts we really explore on the show. And I think between all three of them there's a very rich amount of material to play both in the character histories and the beautiful job that the actors are doing.

And Rachel and Miles have a very complicated history which we'll begin to unveil and explore and more and more in the second half. I think Rachel and Charlie have a very complicated present because Rachel hasn't been in her children's lives for years and now suddenly she's coming back and both mother and children have expectation as to how it's all going to go but of course it doesn't go at all like that because they're different people and they're basically strangers. And even though you don't want to feel resentment you can't help but feel resentment and you don't want to feel frustration but you can't help but feel frustration and we want to play it. And the actors are beautifully playing it in a very realistic way of what this reunion would be like which is it wouldn't be all wine and roses, it would be actually very painful and awkward and complicated.

But I think what's really important and I think all of these characters' saving graces are that they're all really trying and that they really want to overcome those obstacles and they really want to be a close family and they really want to correct the mistakes of their past and they're not always successful and sometimes they make newer and even worse mistakes but they're always really trying. And I think that's really important.

I think that's why I'm rooting for all of them and that's why I love all of them, because they all want to be better and they all want to overcome their pasts and for me if there's a major thematic on the show it's that trying is the thing and that we'll all be - we might not be able to make the world a better place when it's all said and done but if everyone keeps trying then I think that's what important and we try to reflect that in the characters as well.

QUESTION: Eric, do you see the show at all as a warning or a cautionary tale of sorts?

ERIC KRIPKE: Oh yes it is. Yes, I think we are as a culture really over-reliant on technology. I think it used to be a convenience and now it's a necessity and I think we are dangerously separated from our food and water supplies. I think very few of us would know what to really do in any kind of calamity, and how to find your children and how to provide the basic necessities of survival. And I think this show hopefully makes a few people think about that.

But even on a more emotional level, it’s a really interesting age we’re living in now because, concurrently, I don’t think as a culture we’ve ever been more connected and at the same time have ever felt more alone. And I think it’s because everybody is walking around with their smartphones.

And there’s been such a seismic shift just over the last couple of years. It’s happened so quickly that everyone has basically plugged into the first generation matrix and they’re so focused on the world that is on their screen, that they’re not looking up and seeing the world around them and connecting in the moment with the people who are literally standing across from them. And I’m very guilty of it too, I mean everybody is. But I’m as bad as anybody with it.

But yet the other thing I think we think about this world, because it’s not all about, it’s not just despotic, it’s not this brutal hardscrabble. We’re not making The Road here. And I think one of the points we want to make is that human connection in the absence of technology would probably flourish. And if we can make people think about that, if we can make people maybe unplug from their smartphones for a minute and connect with their families and fight for your family, then that would be the best possible outcome.

But that’s all like high solute and douche bag shit to say. And mostly I just hope people enjoy the characters and dig the sword fights.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I like that.

MODERATOR: Sorry, but we must release Eric as he has to go write the show. Elizabeth, you have to stay and remain Eric’s representative for the time being.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Okay. How wonderful.

QUESTION: Are the dynamics between Rachel and Miles, clearly there’s a lot of back story there. There’s also some parallels in that; their willingness to protect people they care about manifested during the blackout. So can you talk a little about how we’ll be seeing that dynamic explored the second half of the season?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I can say that in my mind it’s lucky that we do explore it. I think there’s a lot there. It’s deeper, richer than I at first thought. I knew there was something, but I didn’t realize how much.

And there’s - the two of them - there’s a theory that people come together because of shared pain. You think, “Oh, I have things in common with someone and that’s why I love them.” But in some ways, it’s actually what your pain is, what the worst thing is for you, where your secret fears are.

And I think that Miles and Rachel are at heart in their sorrows very much the same. And I think that their tendency towards their ability to protect the ones they love is also very similar.

But they’re (friends); it’s a great word for them. They have been through all kinds of things which we really do get almost completely laid out for us by the end of the season. And it’s interesting.

And I don’t want to use the wrong word to lead it in the wrong direction, but I would say that if you can use passionate in the way that it was intended, being filled with emotion, that is how I would describe them and the revelations that we come across.

So I’m excited to see people’s response. But I’ve had a great time playing it and I really enjoy working with Billy. I think his (smile) is completely different than I ever expected him to do anything. So I’ve been having fun watching him.

QUESTION: I have a question about what’s going to happen to your character as things go on. I have to preface this by saying I haven’t seen the season opener yet, but I have seen promos. And the promos suggest that Rachel is going to actually recreate power for the good guy or by...

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Yes, and I think...

((Crosstalk))

QUESTION: Can you tell us a bit more about how your character’s role changes because if she’s in charge of that then she would have a much more powerful role as the season progresses, right?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Yes, Rachel has a lot more to do in the second half of the season which is really fun. And yes, as the preview suggests, that’s the quest, that sums it all up for her, and trying to patch her family back together and trying to figure herself out and sending her child again; that’s the worst and all of that.

So Rachel’s quest is specific and she’s incredibly proactive. She’s making a straight line towards what it is that she needs to do.

And the fun part that Eric had talked about before is that she also unloads everything; the entire secret, the entire history in one crazy conversation in Episode 1.13.

So I think that people will enjoy the fact that she has a lot to say and that her admonition or her quest is very powerful and proactive, which I love in a character. It’s always nice to see women, people, anyone - your protagonist going after what she wants full force. So I think that’s going to be fun.

QUESTION: And can you say whether we will see something more personal in this story for her in terms of maybe a romance?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Yes, we will see echoes of what has been and what could be and what might be now, and there’s definitely more passion for her in the second half, which by the way if really fun. I always find it kind of interesting to see where people’s hearts lie. So we get to see that for sure.

QUESTION: I ask because I think that in the first part of the season, I don’t know if it was deliberate on the writer’s part or whether it was because you had a certain chemistry both with Monroe and with Miles when you met them. There was always this air of tension that was not really understandable between them.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Yes, right.

QUESTION: So it would be interesting to see whether that was one thing or the other, like maybe hate or maybe something else.

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: Yes, it’s a fine line isn’t it? And yes, I think that some things were deliberate, some things just happened because it’s the chemistry that was in the room. That’s what always happens and then the writers are like, “Gosh, that’s interesting. Let’s go further with that.”

But in some of the scenes the tension is deliberately written in, it’s in the lines. And then sometimes it’s simply just there, it’s just in the playing of it. And I do think that there is, as they say, a thin line between love and extreme hate.

So we’ll get to explore that a little bit more. But yes, that tension was definitely there.

SCIFI VISION: Could you describe in your opinion Revolution in three words?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: That’s a great thing to ask, let’s see. Adventure, love - I want to put swashbuckling there. How about this? A swashbuckling love adventure.

That might do it. I’m missing a few things but I feel like swashbuckling is such a great word. And there are sword fights, so it may not be the best word but I feel like I need to use it; it’s a good one.

SCIFI VISION: That works. I was also curious, do you guys stick a lot to the script or do you improve at all? Are there things you add?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: We really - it was the same with Lost. We don’t improv all that much.

Now Eric is incredibly kind and generous. His feeling is, “Please say one, exactly as written, and then if you feel the need to play, please play, but just make sure that we get one as scripted.”

And if I feel like there are things that I want to say or that should be said or certain things, then I will do one exactly as scripted and then I’ll play in one. And sometimes they’ll use it and sometimes they don’t.

But for the most part we try to stick exactly to the script because they’ve obviously, as Eric was talking about acting the whole thing out. But I sometimes can’t help myself. I was an improv actor for a long time, so there’s always a situation where I’ll add this or that and the script supervisor just rolls her eyes. So sometimes it’s effective and sometimes it’s not.

But Eric’s been really generous about letting us play if we have the desire to do so.

SCIFI VISION: Can you think of anything specific that you did add or that got cupped in or even maybe character-wise?

ELIZABETH MITCHELL: I’m trying to think of one specifically and I just can’t. But I know that there are times when I’m watching and I’m like, “Ha, that was mine.”

It’s just usually little crazy things here and there. Probably the one thing that people are like, “Why would he write that?” Yes, I’m sorry. I can’t right now, I should but as it comes to me I’ll [tell] you.