Build it Up!
The newest episode had a lot more sets coming together for that “photo finish”. Namely, there were elements from ten different sets, though two of them were simply minifigures. Still, I wanted to include everyone as they were featured prominently in the episode. This included:
- 10251-1: Brick Bank
- 10232-1: Palace Cinema
- 60198-1: Cargo Train
- 10264-1: Corner Garage
- 60240-1: Kayak Adventure
- 60220-1: Garbage Truck
- 60179-1: Ambulance Helicopter
- 60231-1: Fire Chief Response Truck
The small electrical box near the helicopter was borrowed from the Response Truck set, Grace came from the Corner Garage, and Tom was pulled from the Cargo Train. The truck that Ruby stopped is the Kayak Adventure vehicle, and our featured buildings included the Bank and the Cinema. The Cinema, of course, has already undergone a transformation to become Mission Control in the first season.
Pulling this many elements together made me really begin to feel like I was working on a set. I was checking props, framing images, positioning cast members, and scrounging for ideas on how best to present the image I wanted to convey. You might even have noticed that I couldn’t find a large enough green space for the helicopter field and eventually borrowed a large Duplo base plate to use for the shots in this episode.
Writer’s Thoughts
When it comes to the story telling in The Township, I often find myself searching for a balance between a young child and a family-friendly adult. I don’t want there to be too much violence, but I don’t want the environment to be so harmless that there’s no inherent danger to the characters.
As this season begins to tackle bigger issues, like aggression, revenge, and survival, I was in a constant state of ramping things up only to feel like I needed to reel them back in when it got too impactful. I think we’ve found a really good place for the overall tone, but one scene felt like it needed to stay.
This episode’s scene, the one where Olivia is tackled by Tom, was a difficult one to write. It’s a reminder of multiple dangers in the real world that we face each day… individuals that get aggressive with authority, or angry when they’re ignored, or maybe just having a bad day and taking it out on someone else.
At the end of the day, it is clear to most readers that Tom overstepped a boundary that the citizens of town hadn’t yet experienced.
There’s a few takeaways that I wanted to establish here:
- When you know someone is in the wrong, you don’t have to escalate the situation. Olivia was outmatched in the field. Instead of simply talking to her, or even commanding her to surrender, Tom escalated that situation until it was at a dangerous level.
- When you disagree with someone on your side of the fight, you don’t have to support their poor decisions. In this scene, when Grace sees what Tom is doing, she is quick to act. She steps in, gets Tom out of the situation, and helps Olivia catch her breath. She didn’t agree with Olivia, but she understood that nothing was going to be gained by escalating the tension.
So, now we know that Rayland feels the missions risk the safety of the town. Olivia feels she must continue the missions or she will risk the loss of a valuable citizen. Neither plan can come to fruition while the other still operates. We’ve reached an impasse… where do we go from here?
There’s plenty more to learn in the weeks ahead, so be sure to return Tuesday for the next episode, “Out of the Fire”! As always, a big thank you to everyone for visiting this week’s Behind the Bricks segment. We’ll see you soon!
TechnicoolDad 