The two central characters of this scratcher-attack scene, the messengers Vanessa and Mandy, were created for this episode with their actors-to-be already in mind. This scene was the first time on a Night Zero shoot for both of them, but they took to the unusual style naturally and both gave solid, powerful performances. Many months later, each returned (on separate occasions) for their appearances in the Originettes (Vanessa in “Sorority” and Mandy in “Syndicate”), but through the aforementioned cuts and consolidations, their storyline in Episode Six was reduced to just this one scene we’ve come to finish.

This scene, or rather the two parts of this scene (entitled “Flanked” and “Mandy”) combined, are a far cry from what was in the original script. Part of that change was the result of shuffling around the sequence of events in the episode, and how the various storylines overlapped. Another part of the change was dictated by our location, as we were unable (despite numerous efforts) to secure a dead-end alley where the duo would more likely find themselves cornered. Additionally, an earlier scene was cut wherein Vanessa’s leg is injured, so like Jeff Goldblum magically understanding the aliens’ computer language, so too do we have a plot element (a messenger who’s too slow) that makes no sense superficially due to what got left behind. But who’s really paying that much attention?
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