Template:QOTW - The Rape of Heather Willis/Production
The episode's teleplay was written and directed by series creator and execuitive producer Ava Zinn and teleplay was written by Nancy Boyd, Charlotte Clay, Thomas Higgins, and Dallas Barnes and edited by Ava Zinn.
The episode saw the introduction of Quillsville Police officers Ramona Battishill, Kymberly Millspaugh, and Elaine Reed as well as Craven Gifts employees Bobby Joe Bones, Zelda Kellie Martin, Amber Jena Irene Battishill, and Natalia Lightner. Additional characters introduced are Craven North manager Ray Grissom, Craven North Assistant manager Hunter Boyd, Craven East manager Shane Kinney, Craven East assistant manager Caitlyn Sparks, Craven West manager Ben Sykes, and Craven West assistant manager Eliot Clingens. It also saw the final appearance of Tiffani Donovan, Anna Pamhouser, Lando Abhrams, Lilly Abhrams, and Trevelle Abhrams.
The episode reveals Craven Gifts' employees are diverse:
- Craven's main branch's staff of Bobby Joe Bones, Reginald Wilson, and Scott Schuller are the only remaining males at the main branch with Ava and Adrienne are Craven's only all-female management team.
- Ray Grissom reveals (and confirming Tina) that Craven Gifts staff are mostly have fat guys. Series creator Ava Zinn confirmed this was due to Indianapolis being one of the fattest cities in the United States.
- Eliot Clingens reveals that he is not only has been the assistant manager of Craven West since 1999, and the only females on the staff are an accountant and a few sales associates.
- During the conversation Ava and Adrienne have with the Craven Gifts meeting at The Broken Boilermaker, Ava reveals that Caitlyn is the assistant manager of the of Craven East.
In addition to the regular cast, Tracia Matthewson guest starred in the episode as Nancy Bones, Frank Davidson reprises his role as Officer Dailey, actress Kathryn Morris reprises her role as Quillsville Police Detective Lilly Rush.
Concerns
In the episode, Heather decides to raise her child conceived in rape, the traumatic effect of the rape and the child's blood relationship to the rapist had the potential to create some psychological challenges (as Heather killed her rapist), but the circumstance of the child's conception is no guarantee to cause psychological problems. Ava Zinn states that Heather could have difficulty accepting the fact (as Heather wanted to have another child, yet it wasn't under the circumstances she dealt with). As Heather is already a mother of one daughter, series creator Ava Zinn states that she will give birth to a boy the following season.
In announcing the episode, Zinn states that Heather may also face legal difficulties as Heather's rape occured in Indiana. Had Bobby Joe survived, he would have maintained parental rights as Heather is to be the biological mother and Bobby Joe's paternal rights would be terminated anyway.[1] Research by legal scholar Shauna Prewitt indicates that the resulting continued contact with the rapist is damaging for women who keep the child.[1] She wrote in 2012 that in the US, 31 states allow rapists to assert custody and visitation rights over children conceived through rape.[2]
Part 1 of the episode is based on Ava Zinn being raped by a female on April 22, 2015 (which was reported as a female on male rape) in Marion, Indiana, as well as two other times in 2002 and 2010.- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Prewitt, Shauna R. (2010). "Giving Birth to a 'Rapist's Child': A Discussion and Analysis of the Limited Legal Protections Afforded to Women Who Become Mothers Through Rape". Georgetown Law Journal 98 (3): 831–62. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121024060610/http://georgetownlawjournal.org/articles/giving-birth-to-a-rapists-child-a-discussion-and-analysis-of-the-limited-legal-protections-afforded-to-women-who-become-mothers-through-rape/.
- ↑ Prewitt, Shauna (22 August 2012). Raped, pregnant and ordeal not over. CNN
