How would you bring Ashley back?

[badwolfSG]

that's true.

I know, I'm a genius! lol!

[AresLover452]

Hehe, yes you are.

[Shatterkiss]

Here's what I posted on a similar thread on the SyFy boards:

For what it's worth, here are some of my ideas on bringing Ashley back. The mechanics of it aren't as important to me as the character development issues, so that's what I'll focus on. The first step: Kate.

1a) I don't want to see another actress get canned by TPTB <Snipped>, so the first step is setting up Kate's redemption. She doesn't seem like she'd just sprout a conscience or respect for other living beings on her own, so to redeem her you pretty much have to break the character down and start over. The one thing she seems to care about other than herself is her family, so to really shake her up and make her question herself you need to hit her from that angle. Remember her brother? He's toast. Kill him. The most effective buy also most obvious way is to have the Cabal try to use him as leverage against Kate. He dies along the way, and Kate has to deal with the fact that her previous lifestyle led to her brother's death. It could also be a fairly random death (mugging gone wrong or something), though that wouldn't be as likely to cause Kate to reexamine her own life choices.

1b) Once Kate has taken enough of an emotional beating (and perhaps a physical one in the process) the Sanctuary team might actually have good reason to feel empathy for her. Helen has lost Ashley, Will lost Kate, Bigfoot lost his entire people, etc, so they know what loss is like. At this point Kate is actually fairly likely to undergo a fundamental personality shift. The combination of her brother's death and the team's support could actually earn her loyalty. She could also start feeling really guilty over her involvement with the Cabal and what happened to Ashley. It's reasonable that she would then start trying to find out exactly what happened to Ashley, especially if Helen expresses doubt over whether or not Ashley is really dead. Kate might feel that rescuing Ashley is the only way to redeem herself and pay back the Sanctuary team for what they've done for her.

1c) Now, how does Kate find Ashley? Well, how did Kate find the other beings she hunted? She obviously has contacts the Cabal couldn't access, otherwise they wouldn't need her to hunt things down. Perhaps something like object reading, claircognizance, or an abnormal she knows of that can track essentially anything. Kate might not tell the team what she's doing simply to avoid getting their hopes up. She should probably also willingly pay a heavy price in the process--loss of all allies and contacts outside of the Sanctuary team would fit nicely. Giving that up would prove her loyalty nicely, and perhaps add some much needed humility to the character.

The second part is the mechanics of Ashley's "death" and "rebirth", so I'll list some possibilities here. It's a SciFi show, so as long as the explanation is internally consistent and doesn't contradict anything already established in the show (and isn't too cheesy) it should work out fine.

2a) Ashley didn't die, but her mind or spirit is now in energy form. Her body wasn't found, but it really could be anywhere. Once Kate reveals the location of the mind and the body, Helen could recruit Tesla (dragging him by his short hairs if necessary) and find some way to recombine the two. For some reason astral projection comes to mind, although any philosophy/religion/mythology that allows for the separation of the mind and the body would work.

2b) Ashley isn't dead OR alive. She's a vampire, so she could be in some kind of living death state. Once found it could be the same as above, with Helen, Tesla, short hairs, etc.

2c) Ashley is really dead. Totally dead. Her remains are found, either melded in a wall or sucked into a vacuum (as in Dust Buster). How to fix this? I haven't seen anything preventing necromancy in the show, so if Kate could use her contacts to find Ashley's spirit (see option 2a) and a necromancer two bring Ashley back to life. That kind of thing really sounds like a deal with the devil, so the price Kate would pay would likely be very severe. Perhaps her own lifespan shortened to a year? That level of sacrifice would really show her redemption, endear her to the Sanctuary team, and provide a powerful storyline for next season as the team races to save her life. Kate might feel that she deserves death, so she might not even want to be saved. The team would do it anyways, of course.

Hmm, I said that the mechanics didn't matter as much to me, but I rather like that last one. There would have to be something special about Ashley or her death that makes it possible to actually return her to life, otherwise why not bring everyone else back too?

Anyways, Ashley is now back and the show needs to figure out what state she's in. Is the still Super Abnormal Ashley? Regular Ashley? Something in between? I'd go for option number 3. She's been ripped apart physically, spiritually and emotionally, so even if she's still Super Abnormal Ashley she's probably too messed up to be able to use her abilities. The potential here is vast:

3a) Her recklessness and aggression could turn into a nihilistic blood-lust. Yes, I'm reusing that from one of my earlier posts--I just like the phrase "nihilistic blood-lust" too much to just use it once. Can anyone think of a character already in the show who has past experience with madness and violence, who could help her learn to control it? It could be good character development, as Ashley questions his motives and he tells her he couldn't survive her dying again.

3b) Possible vampiric traits, like the need to drink blood. Hmmm, we'd want a vampire in the show to help with that. There must be one somewhere....

3c) A trained therapist would be useful. I'm sure they could scrounge one up. Maybe one that suddenly became a modern-day ninja for no apparent reason. If I had my way he could be a romantic partner too, but I tend to like romance in the shows I watch.

3d) Helen would be trying to remind Ashley who she was before the Cabal got her, and helping her regain her humanity. Great emotional scene potential here. Anyone could write them and make them moving.

3e) The interaction between Ashley and Kate could be good too (don't hit me!!). Ashley probably never met her (unless Kate was at the Cabal base when Ashley was there), so she wakes up to find a stranger in her home who both saved her life and helped the people who abducted, tortured, brainwashed, and experimented on her. I'm guessing she'd be a little conflicted. Kate would probably be very tentative, not knowing how Ashley would react. The price Kate paid to save Ashley would play a large part in this.

It wouldn't take too many episodes to do.

Ep1-Kate's brother gets ganked and Kate falls apart. The team tries to help, and shows a lot of compassion throughout.

Ep2-The team is still being supportive, and Kate searches for Ashley. A lot of Kate in this one, but it's the new Kate and she's helping bring Ashley back so it should be okay.

Ep3-Ashley is "found", now they bring her back. Helen finding out that Kate found Ashley would be a powerful scene. Lots of bonding. A big hug. Maybe a lingerie pillow fight. No, wait on that until Ashley is back. Then a lingerie pillow fight.

After that, add the "fixing Ashley" scenes into other episodes for a while in the next season. If Kate has some kind of impending doom due to her actions in bringing Ashley back, deal with that later in the season so that the plot arcs don't collide.

Okay, that took ten times as long to write up as it did to conceive the ideas.

[Skydiver]

hate to burst your bubble folks, but I don't think s3 is a definite.

so AT has an idea to bring ash back, IF there is a s3

it's not official or even announced yet

[Shatterkiss]

hate to burst your bubble folks, but I don't think s3 is a definite.

so AT has an idea to bring ash back, IF there is a s3

it's not official or even announced yet

Yeah, I just hope they'll let the fans know that they're listening to feedback and fixing errors so that we'll get a season 3.

[Skydiver]

no. i don't want them to listen to the fans. the fans don't know...crud

honestly, amanda, damian and martin need to make what they feel is the best show that they can and tell the story they want to tell

don't even START catering to any fan or fan group

IMHO, that's what made the Stargate fandom such a mess and compromised the show in general. Ignore fans and just make your show

Cause, there is no way in hades ANYTHING they can do will make all the fans spectacularly happy...because there's nothing that they can do that will please us all.

They just need to tell the best story they can tell and not worry about catering to anyone's personal preferences, especially a fan(s)

[Shatterkiss]

If I'm reading you correctly, you're saying that hey should stick with their own vision and ignore the fan reaction. If I have that wrong, please correct me. I certainly want them to keep their artistic integrity, but there are two other things that pop into my mind:

1) When it comes to television, someone that insists on producing something that not enough people want to watch, they'll soon not be producing anything because their shows will be canceled. That's their choice to make, but they need viewer support to continue making their art. A writer can write without publishing anything, and a painter can paint without selling a single painting. TV shows (or webisodes) need far more funding to exist at all.

2) This isn't even a case of artistic integrity vs popularity. DK, AT and EU have all said that it was a [I]network[I] decision that mandated the change in cast, not something that the people actually making the show decided. The network is forcing them to compromise their artistic integrity, and the fans who are trying to get them to undo that network mandated change and just let the Sanctuary people make the show they want to make. That's what we had in the first season, and we loved it. We just want that back.

[Skydiver]

I don't know the 'we' you're referring to.

I personally don't care either way. So you're certainly not referring to me. I think communication works best when a person only speaks for themselves.

If individuals wish to express their dislike of the plot turn, please do so, just please don't presume that you're speaking for the whole fandom, because I don't think you are. Some may share your opinion, others may not. But you, as a person, cannot speak for every single fan of the show.

As to Ash returning, if they have an idea that works with the plot and makes sense and is a benefit for the show, please, bring her back. But if the only thing they can do is stunt casting to bring her back for no other reason than to say she came back, i personally see that as a disservice not only to the character but the show itself. And it could also be seen as sacrificing the integrity of the show for the sake of the preferences of a portion of the fandom.

[Shatterkiss]

The "we" I was referring to are the people who are trying to get Ashley back on the show. I was being kinda presumptuous, and I certainly could have been more clear. I wasn't trying to speak for all of the fans, but there are enough people who have posted here or elsewhere saying that they aren't going to watch while Ashley is gone that I know I'm not the only one.

As I said, the Sanctuary team didn't choose to get rid of Ashley. DK, AT, and EU have all said it was the network who decided that. That was when artistic integrity was lost. I think that by trying to undo that change and getting the network to stop insisting on changes for whatever reason I'm actually supporting the artistic integrity of the show. The rephrase something I said in my last post (in a more appropriate first person singular): I loved the first season, and I don't like the change that was forced upon the creators/writers of the show by the network. I want the network to leave well enough alone and let the Sanctuary team do the show they want to make.

[badwolfSG]

When making a TV show I think the network has to rememeber there three parties involoved! One.) The Fans. Two.) The star of the show. Three.) The network themself. (Not in any order of inportancts.)

I think the network should listen to the fans, listen to have they to said, listen to there likes and dislike. A network SHOULD know there fans, it make for a better show, however I'm not saying listening to the fan a 100 percent of the time. "Bout ten to five percent of the time would be great. What next the Network needs to listen to the stars. They do all the hard work, they face are the one that make the show. The network should listen to them about 45 to 50 percent of the time or at least make them feel involoved with the writing... What ever left is for the network itself....

[Shatterkiss]

The people making these decisions also have to answer to all of the people who work on the show. If they make a bad decision that leads to a show getting canceled there are a lot of people who are suddenly out of work. I know virtually nothing about the inner workings of the tv industry, but I do know what it's like to have other people's jobs depending on me doing mine well. Sometimes you have to do something you don't really want to do, simply because if you don't other people will pay the price.

[docgwen]

To me the story dynamic of the Mother Daughter bond was excellent. The potential to bring Ashley back with defects or as an enemy are wonderful. I wouldn't tell them how to do it, but that doing it might be of interest to an audience.

There is a fine balance between viewership sponsorship and network control versus Artist. I just watched the websodes again and found them to be more intense and more interesting. The shortcoming there was money and sponsorship to make the product longer. Syfy has a habit if you ask me of aiming for an audience that they don't understand and end up ruining things. A few mediocre episodes can always be tolerated within a run of good episodes. How many times has it been proven about the loyalty of the scifi fanbase? There are so many examples and we can make a difference. The problem is are we influencing in a negative or positive way.

For the most part- I believe it is a positive way.

[Eternal Density]

To me the story dynamic of the Mother Daughter bond was excellent. The potential to bring Ashley back with defects or as an enemy are wonderful. I wouldn't tell them how to do it, but that doing it might be of interest to an audience.

I second this entirely

...1a) I don't want to see another actress get canned by TPTB

Agreed. Swapping Kate back out for Ashley would be too Jonas Quinn.

3a) Her recklessness and aggression could turn into a nihilistic blood-lust.

Aha! That's the phrase I was looking for earlier. Nihilistic blood-lust, yeah, that's kinda what I was aiming for. Well done.

3d) Helen would be trying to remind Ashley who she was before the Cabal got her, and helping her regain her humanity. Great emotional scene potential here. Anyone could write them and make them moving.

that would be good stuff.

3e) The interaction between Ashley and Kate could be good too .

I hope this is able to happen.

After that, add the "fixing Ashley" scenes into other episodes for a while in the next season. If Kate has some kind of impending doom due to her actions in bringing Ashley back, deal with that later in the season so that the plot arcs don't collide.

Sounds reasonable

[mjwalshe]

Or.... there is this one idea that i had in mean head. What if the Cabal somehow were able to make a clone and that clone was the one that died and they have Ashley hidden away somewhere.

Cause the cabal had their hands in so many pies, why not cloning being one of them.

well how about creepy dr who seemed to identify Asley as her daughter created another clone implated with Ashley memories and sent that one off to atack the sanctury and has the real Asley some where in hiding posibly with false memories implated to think creepy doc is her mum.

[badwolfSG]

well how about creepy dr who seemed to identify Asley as her daughter created another clone implated with Ashley memories and sent that one off to atack the sanctury and has the real Asley some where in hiding posibly with false memories implated to think creepy doc is her mum.

I had a similar idea but my wasn't as well thought out! So, I like your better