Behind the Scenes: Belladonna Cove | Episode 11.3

Sofia showing off her A+ report card!

Well, this is it! The last episode in the first round, the first season, and I'm rubbing my hands together like a master puppeteer eager to continue tugging on strings. 

I'm already thinking about a new household biography for the Baldwin family. In the first round, the biography stated that things were next to perfect for this family, but after thinking about the last episode, thinking about the various interactions and developments, I can see the cracks developing. 

The DeBateau family's drama was pretty clear, in-your-face and obvious, but the drama with Benjamin, Isabel, Sofia and Marcus … well, it's more subdued. 

Benjamin occasionally thinks of his children - he wants them to do well - but that's about it. Isabel's more focused on cooking than teaching her kids valuable skills. Sofia does want to please her parents, but she's thinking of a career that Benjamin wouldn't approve of. Though, she only has 2 points in Entertainment; it's possible that she wants that career just so that her parents will pay attention to her. Then, Marcus. He doesn't get along with Sofia, and he's doing his own thing. Everyone's pretty much doing their own thing. Living with each other, but away from each other. 

I have to be honest with you. I love this episode, but I'm also a bit disappointed with it. If that last minute surprise hadn't happened, I think I would have redone this episode. Why? We saw Carlos bringing shame to the family name only once, and I forgot that Isabel was supposed to call him over to argue with him about his behaviour. Sofia could have taken Marcus to the arcade and then there they could have tried to work on their relationship, but I didn't think of that. Also, how can I explore the fact that Benjamin and Isabel are members of high society?

I guess I can build an exclusive club. Like, only Carlos, Armand, Benjamin, Isabel, Timothy - as well as Vivian, because she's his wife - and Marissa can have access to this building. It will be grand, gold and over-the-top. That's all I have at the moment.

But I'm not going to get worked up because of little things. I've focused on the foundation and now we get to explore. Now, we can focus on and develop the following:

• Isabel and Carlos' relationship. I decided that she doesn't know about his engagement. She does know that he's still insatiable, so she'll be visiting Carlos to make sure that he's toeing the line. Like, during Carlos' next round, I can teleport her over really late, when he's with a lady (probably Jessica), and he can get annoyed with Isabel. Then, maybe, he can blurt out the fact that he got engaged to Jessica. Jessica will be delighted and Isabel will be shocked. He'll be like, oops, now do I have to go ahead with the marriage?
• Benjamin and the kids. He can probably try to bond with Marcus by asking him to tinker with him. But Marcus is a sporty kid and maybe thinks that making or fixing things is boring. He can also try to influence Sofia so that she's more interested in science. He does want her to go to university, so he could constantly talk to her about his work, but Sofia gets fed up and blurts out her interest (well, it isn't really an interest) in the Entertainment field.
• Sofia and Marcus. I ... don't have much for this relationship. I guess they can argue and be typical siblings. If their relationship deteriorates, then I can see one of them helping out the other because of some problem. But this will happen much, much later. Yeah, I only have vague story ideas for them.
• Then Isabel. She's lazy, but playful. Loves cuisine. Can spend hours on herself, ignoring the people around her. I think she (and Benjamin) did a better job with raising Sofia when Sofia was toddler, so will she do well with another child? Is she neglecting Marcus? This is something to think about. But I honestly don't know what Isabel wants. Something to focus on and then develop.

What do you think?