In Response to Episode 45

Since the release of Wolf 359’s 45th episode, Desperate Measures, there has been a lot of very important, very difficult discussion about the show, and the events that transpired in this episode. After taking some time to make sure I thoroughly listened to a lot of what has been said so far, and to discuss with other members of the Wolf 359 team, I want to take a moment to address this conversation, and to share my thoughts.



Desperate Measures was a hard episode. It was hard to write, hard to rehearse, hard to record, hard to edit. And it was hard to listen to - we meant it to be hard. However, in the pursuit of that goal, we made an episode that veered into territories that were unacceptable. We made an episode that was hard to listen to not because of choices made by the characters it contained, but because of damage that it inflicted upon our listeners who are members of minority communities.

That this was not our intent does nothing to excuse the reality and extent of the damage. In this instance, the writing went far beyond any projected parameters and intentions, and that is on me. This was a shortcoming of empathetic thought and sensibility on my part, both as a creator and as a person of color. For too many people amongst the show’s listenership, the pain in this episode became traumatic in a way that fiction is not meant to cause. These are not the values that we want the show to reflect, and I take full responsibility for this breakdown.

If you feel you were personally betrayed by this episode, you have my sincere apologies.

If you feel that the pain in this episode was gratuitous or unearned, you have my sincere apologies.

If this episode hurt you beyond the scope of what fiction is supposed to do, I am sorry.

I stand by the outstanding work that our brilliant cast and crew did in this episode, and I stand by the creative team’s decision that the events of this episode were important to the story, both as a culmination of the journeys the characters have undergone over the past two seasons and as a transition point towards the characters’ future. What now stands out as an inexcusable flaw, however, is my limited perspective of how my handling of this material would impact its listeners. All descriptions of this episode are being amended to include a warning about the violence present therein. This is, of course, not nearly enough, but it feels like a necessary measure for future listeners.

I have said this before, and I suspect that I will say it many times over: Wolf 359 has the best fans in the world. We are blessed with the smartest, most incisive, most forward-thinking conversations about our show, which is yet another reason that it saddens us to have brought this kind of pain to members of the community. The only thing that I would request now would be this: whatever you need to do in the wake of this, please do it. If you need to say something, say it - and everyone else, please listen. If you need to send me anger, or sadness, or distress, or anything else you might be feeling, please do. If you need to go away from the show - either temporarily or permanently - we will be sad to see you go, but we understand and respect it. Every reaction is valid and fair as far as I’m concerned, there are no wrong ways to go through this.

We are able to make this show because we have you guys, pushing us forward. Thank you for listening, and thank you for supporting the show, even when - especially when - supporting the show means calling us out on our flaws. We hope to continue to make a show and to tell a story that deserves the level of care and attention that you have given it.

Thank you.

- Gabriel Urbina