All throughout the month of September, we have been bringing you our interviews with the cast and crew of Twitch's sci-fi scripted series, Artificial: Remote Intelligence. We've been supporting the interactive and Emmy Award-winning show by sharing audio chats with the likes of Stephen Chang (The Last of Us II), Alejandra Reynoso (Castlevania), Justin Lee (Arrested Development), and many others as we count down to the Season 3 finale, which airs tonight.
For the first time ever, Artificial has released a prologue for tonight's episode, giving fans and viewers a sneak peek at what the finale is all about - which is a big deal for a show that is completely dependent on audience interaction. The music, the plot, the characters, and everything else is completely dictated by the live chat aspect of the show that only Twitch can provide.
We wanted to share the clip with you guys straight away since the finale airs in just six hours! We have also included our next interview with cast member Christy St. John, who discusses her scientific background in chemical engineering and how it affects the scientist character she plays.
To listen to our chat with Christy, click the podcast player below; otherwise, scroll down for the transcript, as well as a couple of our other chats with the cast and crew of Artificial.
2m 18s - Literary Joe: I want to know a little bit about how your character has advanced throughout Season 3.
2m 28s - Christy St. John: It's crazy how much Elle and the whole Artificial project feels like it's flying by the seat of our pants. I know Bernie had said on stream that I'm not what he had first pictured when he thought of Elle. I believe there are two reasons.
I have a scientific background, and I think that made the writers up their game in terms of dialogue and making good points. I know that I, Christy, I've done stand-up comedy, and I like to add a lot of humor to it. And that works well on Twitch as a platform. I think that has developed.
Certainly, the relationships are different. After the first episode, I remember talking to my best friend about it, and she was like, "I ship you and Justin, which is obviously what you guys are trying to do." And I remember being like, "Oh, that was not what we were trying to do." Like, "Oh, that was not what we were supposed to do."
I didn't know that Asher and I were going to break up. We did talk about it after the first episode like this kind of feels like where this is going. But much of my character feels like where this is going, and then it ends up there.
3m 50s - Literary Joe: How do you feel about how that love triangle has advanced? Because, as you said, you didn't know you were going to break up. How do you think that affects the plot and the storyline going forward?
4m 13s - Christy St. John: In the beginning, I thought Justin and I were going to get together, and that didn't happen. It's possible because there were too many love interests for Justin at the beginning. Cause Kira was one of the first characters created; if she created his girlfriend, that might have been more of a possibility for us to go.
And then Lilith falling in love with Asher is like, we want everything to happen. So we already had a love relationship with Lilith and Asher. We had a breakup relationship with Asher and me.
4m 20s - Darth Lexii: How do you think the relationship between Asher and Lilith has affected Elle as a scientist? Has it made her more biased in certain decisions?
5m 7s - Christy St. John: Elle's been biased the entire time, and that's a little bit on me, on Christy. Because I think it's way more exciting to do a breakup scene then to do a scene where I logically argue a point.
I do think that Asher and Lilith have definitely affected me. Mine and Lilith's relationship has always been somewhat surface level. We've never had a chat that feels like Justin and I have. Where you can see that connection, and you see those bonding scenes. And I would like that a little bit more. And I think Asher, really, just drove a wedge into it.
If anything, it made me, as Elle, step back and try to be even more scientific. But that's hard when the emotional component is such a big part of it. And I, Elle, the scientist, am very much trying to deny, deny, deny because it is a part of it. And we see Elle going down a similar path to what Dr. Lin went down, which is, how do you balance the science and the emotion? And emotion tends to win.
17m 52s - Literary Joe: Is there anything else you want to mention about Artificial or any of your other projects?
18m 7s - Christy St. John: I love to plug my Instagram. So if you want to find more, please head there. I want people to know that every episode, it's live. It's so difficult. It is very live. So that's one thing.
And two, I do read the chat. And I think the audience interaction is the basis of this show, the foundation of this show. We're trying so many more innovative ways, just this season, to make that audience interaction more important. And I, as an actor, think it's so great.
Even in specific episodes, like the trial of Dr. Lin, I was not very impartial. And I added a line that was like, "come on, Elle, be impartial," talking to myself. And then I made sure going forward that that affected how I acted. It does matter in both and Artificial and in November.
*This interview has been edited for clarity and is co-hosted by cosplay actress Darth Lexii.*
The AI has escaped! Where is she? Who took her? What will she do now that she’s free...? Tune in to the SEASON FINALE to decide Lilith’s fate. How will you write the ending?
Tune in to the finale today at 5 pm PST / 8 pm EST here.