The mythological strand that TJ, Ben, Olive, and others were really honing in on in that run of episodes from 205 to 209 suggests that this might not just be a contemporary or new phenomenon but that perhaps what all of these contemporary figures are going through connects back to something that — at the least — is centuries old if not older.

Was it your intent that viewers should connect the dark lightning strike that broke the ice to the disappearance of the three meth dealers?

I think that a lot of savvy viewers online jumped on that right away as I noticed on social media, and that’s of course a thread that will be picked up at the very top of season 3. And I should say we don’t have an official pickup yet, but I’m going to speak in optimistic tones hypothetically assuming a season 3. One can expect that we’ll be picking that thread up right where we left off.

Did Zeke survive his death date because of his heroic deed, or is there more to it than that?

These are all the exact questions that I’m glad you’re asking and that I’m hoping the audience continues to ask themselves… Let me say that I think that people are right to assume that the notion of a death date now, in light of Zeke, appears to be conditional. That is to say it would be reasonable to conclude that there is a needle to be threaded by which one can overcome their death date. So exactly how and why Zeke overcame his death date — was it because he followed the calling? Is he the complete, utterly autonomous agent of his destiny?