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X Company 304: Writer Nicolas Billon on the heartbreak of “Promises”

Spoiler warning: Do not read this article until you have seen X Company Episode 304, “Promises.”

In our Season 3 premiere preview, X Company co-creator Mark Ellis emphasized that Second World War spies didn’t survive for long in the field.

“You’re not supposed to live a lot of weeks, if you do live,” he said. “We wanted to be truthful to that history.”

This week’s episode, “Promises,” written by Nicolas Billon, reiterated that point in heartbreaking fashion when Harry (Connor Price), the team’s youngest member, was killed while trying to escape a train headed for a Nazi concentration camp. Since this is the final season of the series, a major death or two was expected. However, the suddenness of Harry’s death at a relatively early point in the season was shocking.

That was part of the point, according to Billon.

“I think that’s how his death is emotionally received by the other team members,” he says. “It’s such a shock, and it’s just so hard.”

Billon built a career as a successful playwright–penning the plays The Elephant Song, Iceland and Butcher–before making the switch to television. “Promises” is his first television credit. He joins us by phone to tell us more about his choice to become a TV writer, Harry’s death and what’s coming up for the remaining team members.

You had a lot of success as a playwright before taking part in the Canadian Film Centre’s television lab. What made you want to move into television?
Nicolas Billon: I think the decision was based essentially on the fact that most, or at least a lot, of the best writing that I was seeing was on television, and this was very exciting. And there are some stories that I want to tell that are clearly suited for the stage, and then there were a lot of stories that I wanted to tell that were not suited for the stage and better for film or television. In a lot of ways, I was much more interested in the long-form narrative that television provides.

Did you go straight from the CFC to X Company?
I did. One of the great things about the CFC program is that you get to meet everyone in the industry while you’re there, and one of the people that I met was Lesley Grant, who is the supervising producer on X Company. She liked the pilot that I wrote while I was at the CFC, and I believe she is the one who gave it to Mark [Ellis] and Steph [Morgenstern].

How did your experience in the writers’ room differ from your experiences writing plays? 
One of the major advantages of writing for television is that you get to break the story as a group and then go off and write individually. In some ways, it’s kind of the best of both worlds, because you have all this brain power available to break your episode and get all the beats out as best as possible, and then you get to take that, go away and write an outline and script by yourself. To me, it’s really the marriage of two really efficient ways of writing.

Now let’s get into some plot points. You killed Harry! Why was that decision made?
Well, needless to say, the room was quite torn about the decision to kill Harry. I think in a lot of ways because we knew that Season 3 was the final season, we knew that it had to be the highest in terms of cost to the team. There’s the increasing danger of getting further into enemy territory, and Harry is one of the major repercussions of Sinclair’s mistake of confessing in Episode 303 that Klaus had died. And ultimately, we also wanted to acknowledge the fact that the reality of being a spy in World War II was that you had a life expectancy of six weeks in the field, and those who were least likely to survive were the radio operators. So in some ways, we had to acknowledge that reality, and as heartbreaking as the decision was, it felt like the right time and it felt like the right story for Harry to lose his life.

With Harry gone, what’s going to happen to Neil and Alfred as they head into Poland? Will they stick together or work separately?
That’s a hard one to answer without giving too much away! But it’s not something that we’ve seen much of in X Company, to have the team separated. I think it’s a really interesting obstacle to see how they’re going to surmount it and deal with it.

Faber was taken hostage by the Polish resistance. Can you hint what will happen with him in the next few episodes? 
I think what’s so great about where we leave Faber off at the end of 304 is that it’s really a low point. It’s one of the first times we’re seeing him not in uniform, and I think it’s going to be a real test for Faber not only as a double agent but as a human being the next couple of episodes.

Heidi offered Aurora a job in the very ominous sounding Race and Resettlement department. What will her new employment entail? 
Just from a narrative point of view, what’s great about having our teams in different places is that we’re going to be able to see two different sides of the war in that Aurora is in deep cover embedded in the heart of the war machine, while Alfred and Neil are going to be with the Polish resistance. We’re going to get to see two sides of the struggle in a way I don’t think we’ve ever seen on X Company. That’s very exciting. And generally in terms of Aurora, what she’s going to discover while working at Race and Resettlement is just how deep the horror of the Nazi war machine runs.

Sinclair finally told Krystina he will send her out in the field. Will she be seeing major action this season? 
Well, in the writing room, we’re such big fans of Krystina, and so this is going to be a very big season for her. But that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a season where all her wishes are granted or at least granted when and where that she hopes they will be. That’s not to say that she won’t go into the field, but there’s certainly some bumps in the road ahead.

This was a dark episode. What was the most difficult scene for you to write? 
Oh, boy, there are so many to choose from. This is definitely a dark episode. Obviously, Harry’s death was probably one of the hardest, but I would say the death of the little boy and his father was also really tough to work with. Generally speaking, when you’re dealing with trains filled with Jewish prisoners on their way to a concentration camp, the entire thing seems totally surreal. It’s hard to fathom the human cruelty and depravity that that requires. And yet it happened. It’s very hard even to speak about it.

What scene are you most proud of?
I think a lot of the scenes with the little boy inside of the train I really found quite moving. I think perhaps my favourite scene is when the cappo is going around and talking about where they’re headed, and he can’t quite bring himself to say that they’re going there to be killed, and it’s the little boy who says it, I thought that was a really lovely moment.

What can viewers expect next?
It’s such a roller coaster ride. All the things that are going to happen in Poland are going to be very exciting, and once they move on to Berlin, when they’re in the literal heart of the monster, those are going to be some pretty amazing episodes.

X Company airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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X Company

Link: X Company’s Lara Jean Chorostecki on Krystina’s action-packed Season 3

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: X Company’s Lara Jean Chorostecki on Krystina’s action-packed Season 3
“We had talked about it since Season 1, how they wanted to do more with her, but it’s a big story. The whole time period has so many stories to tell and Krystina had always been, from the beginning, someone back at the camp, but also someone they wanted to make room for in the larger story. I’m really happy they were able to do that and I know it had always been an intention that we talked about.” Continue reading.

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X Company 304: The team heads to Poland in ‘Promises’

This week’s new episode of X Company, “Promises,” written by Nicolas Billon, is a doozy, and the show’s cast and creators have been (rightly) sounding the alarm bells on Twitter.

The spy team is headed to Poland, and Sinclair’s (Hugh Dillon) choice to tell Frommer (Thorston Maderlay) his son is dead has major consequences as Harry (Connor Price), Alfred (Jack Laskey) and Neil (Warren Brown) attempt to arrange transportation from France. Meanwhile, Aurora (Evelyne Brochu) tries to mend her friendship with Sabine (Livia Matthes) during an eventful train journey with the Fabers.

Here’s a sneak peek:

A tale of two trains
One of X Company‘s finest hours–Season 2’s stellar “Fatherland”–took place on a train, and “Promises” doubles the feat by centring the action on two very different trains headed for two very different destinations.

Aurora and Sabine alert
The budding friendship between Aurora and Sabine was one of the highlights of Season 2, but watching them in “frenemy” mode is even better. Evelyne Brochu and Livia Matthes for the win.

Who is Heidi Adler? 
Heidi is feisty, capable and more than a bit mysterious. Both the character and actress Madeleine Knight are intriguing additions to the show.

Tense times for Faber
Faber’s first-class ticket to Poland doesn’t result in a first-class experience, which allows viewers to see him in a new light and Torben Liebrecht to turn in another top-shelf performance.

Tear-jerker warning
This episode contains heavy subject matter–even for X Company–and has a gut-wrenching conclusion. Prepare yourselves the best you can.

X Company airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Image courtesy of CBC.

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X Company

Link: X Company: Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern talk “One for the Moon”

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: X Company: Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern talk “One for the Moon”
“Faber and Sinclair both acknowledge each other as master players, and you can never feel safe for too long no matter how much you respect and tentatively trust someone. They always have a card, or two, up their sleeves and I think in both cases they genuinely hope they don’t have to deploy that card, but they know the game too well to play it unprotected.” Continue reading.

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X Company 303: Scribe Daniel Godwin on ‘One for the Moon’

Spoiler warning: Do not read this article until you have seen X Company Episode 303, “One for the Moon.”

The first act of X Company Season 3 came to a close this week with “One for the Moon,” written by Daniel Godwin. The episode saw Faber (Torben Liebrecht) ordered to report to Poland and the spy team scramble to get out Rigaud’s (Milo Twomey) message after Faber took him out. Meanwhile, there were heartbreaking personal interactions as Sinclair (Hugh Dillon) told his old war pal Frommer that his son was dead and Aurora (Évelyne Brochu) finally told Alfred (Jack Laskey) their relationship was a mistake.

“We want to see [Sinclair] move into a more vulnerable place, and Hugh [Dillon], in this episode,  just absolutely nails it,” Godwin says.

As for Alfora’s split–temporary as it may or may not be–the producer is nervous about fan reaction.

“I hope no one hates me,” he admits. “It’s such a blow.”

Godwin joins us by phone to tell us more about this week’s major plot points and provide insight into working with X Company creators Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern.

You’ve worked with Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern on both Flashpoint and X Company. What’s that experience been like for you?
Daniel Godwin: I started with them back on Flashpoint, and they are actors turned creators. The benefit of what they bring to the table that way, I feel like from my point of view anyway, is that they approach things from an acting standpoint first, so it always comes from a real honest place of the emotion of what’s driving each character, and that is kind of true of their writing through Flashpoint and X Company. And that’s why we end up with these really grounded kind of stories that feel relatable and they feel real, because of that process.

And in terms of how they run a room, that process has kind of evolved since Flashpoint, and their confidence has obviously grown tremendously since Flashpoint, and watching them sort of go through that and find their legs has been fun for me to witness, and I’ve learned a ton from them, of course.

How has your role in the writers’ room changed since you first started working with Mark and Stephanie? 
When I first started out with them back with Flashpoint, I was the story coordinator, so I got to really just watch the whole process unfold, just like a fly on the wall. And then over the last few seasons of that show, I moved up to become a story editor and started writing episodes, and that sort of continued into X Company, where I was story editor and now producer. As that unfolded, my confidence kind of grew, and just being able to tell those sorts of emotionally driven stories, and I guess in a way, trying to emulate their voice as much as possible to make that show theirs–and it’s such a strong voice that they have. And Flashpoint and X Company are kind of similar in the sense that we used a lot of real world research and diving into a real nugget, a real story that happened, and growing our fictional stories from that piece of reality, which instantly roots it in such a real place.

In Episode 303, we learn Faber and the team are headed to Poland. Why was the choice made to switch locations this season?
In France, we had definitely exhausted a lot of stories. There’s still tons of juicy territory to move to, but it was sort of throwing them into the deep end, into a place where it is uncharted territory, they don’t have a network set up and there aren’t really any agents operating. We don’t have the same comforts that we did operating in France. And then from a historical perspective–and as our season arc starts to evolve–that’s where we realize the oil is, so there’s the throat of this war that we can start to choke. If we’re able to cripple this oil supply that will help in the greater mission and, hopefully, shorten the war from our spies point of view. And you’re deep into enemy territory at that point that, because the Germans are heavily set up in Poland. It’s a scary place to be. They’re very much behind enemy lines there.

Sinclair broke down and told Frommer that Klaus was killed back at Camp X. Why did he choose to do that? 
The thing that I kept coming back to was Sinclair’s own experiences in the war with his sons, with one dead and one missing and not knowing what happened to his missing son, if he’s still out there. He would want to know himself as a father. So it was a weakness, in a sense, of him relating to Frommer on a father-to-father level. He just needed to say it, and ultimately that’s a bit of a misstep because that’s not what he should be doing. So it’s an emotional crack in Sinclair’s character that really nice to see. And that sort of launches him on a bit of a journey. I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s definitely a great payoff.

Faber was under a lot of pressure in this episode, and he ultimately decided to take out Rigaud. What was behind that decision, and how will that play out for him in coming episodes? 
It’s good to see how Faber reacts whenever his back is against the wall, and he basically has no option on either side. If he allows Rigaud to fall into German hands, it’s only a matter of time before they interrogate him and get enough information out that they possibly make a connection to Faber and the team or beyond that. But if he takes him out, that also ruins his relationship with our team because he’s made a promise to them to keep him safe. It’s basically him trying to choose the lesser of two evils in that and figure out how he can best maintain that whole relationship and keep everybody happy.

Of course, he needs to now bring his assistant, Edsel, on board with that, which launches them into a nice little arc that pays off later on, as we see him trying to bring Edsel on-side but still keep him in the dark about what he’s really doing and his true motivations.

Aurora follows Sinclair’s orders and tells Alfred she doesn’t have feelings for him. That can’t really be the end of it, can it? 
Aurora was definitely following orders delivering that to him, but in order for him to believe it, it had to be as real as possible. But we also know that she’s a spy, and she’s very good at lying. But that definitely won’t be the end of the Alfred and Aurora storyline.

Neil seemed to find some comfort and focus after Miri’s death by finishing Rigaud’s speech. What can you say about the rest of his Season 3 arc?
Neil has kind of changed, I guess, from Season 1 when he was kind of just this quiet muscle. And it’s been great to see this character evolve into this kind of passionate person that he really is, and he’s someone who’s been sort of watching it all go down, and he can’t sit silent anymore, and he needs to say what’s on his mind. And he’s somebody who’s lost somebody that he’s loved, not just his family, but now the people that he’s fighting side by side with, and that is pushing him and driving him. I’m very happy with where his character ends up when all of this is said and done. It’s a really satisfying journey for him, seeing what he goes through and the place he ends up in.

Do you have a favourite character to write?
Faber is obviously so fun to write for because you never really know what he’s going to do and what he’s really capable of. Last season was such a gift to be able to write. I wrote 206, which was ended with the massacre at the village, and being able to write that piece for Faber and see him go through that whole emotional cycle was just incredible.

But I also love writing for Neil and Harry, especially this season, their dynamic has taken on [new dimensions] and gives us some levity that we’ve been missing. Especially after the death of Tom, they’ve kind of been galvanized, and they have a sort of very close brother-brother sort of relationship that’s really nice, and they’re so much fun to write for. In this episode, too, you see that with their little mission coming together.

And Alfred and Aurora, that’s a treat to write every time. Like the scene at the end of this episode, it’s heartbreaking and so real, and I think everyone’s kind of been there and felt one side of that at one point or another in their lives, and you can relate to those feelings, and it’s so heartbreaking–which is what makes it so good.

What’s your favourite scene of the episode?
The whole speech montage, just Neil delivering that speech was really moving for me, and that’s one of my favourite scenes. I feel like it’s so relatable to what’s been going on today. When I was writing the draft, the tragic mass shooting in Orlando had just happened and Trump becoming president was starting to become a very terrifying reality. There was just a lot of hate in the air, and it kind of felt like France in 1942. Back then–and it still does–the world felt like a very terrifying place. For me, I tried to put a lot of what I was feeling into what Neil was going through, specifically in that scene. And I hope the message that came across is maybe one of hope and unity, because as we recently saw in the Women’s March on Washington and around the world, it’s kind of when we all come together and find the things that unite us, that’s when our voice gets stronger, and that’s when our voice gets heard. And for me, it was knowing that I’m not alone in that feeling is what gives me hope for the future. I hope that that’s what was coming across in that scene. That’s what I was trying to say.

What can you tease about the rest of Season 3?
Get ready for Poland. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen on the series before. And then, as we move, we set our sights on Berlin, which is the heart of the beast.

X Company airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

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