--- description: The OA's director reveals an important point about why Prairie's story might not be what it seems. title: The OA's Director Just Revealed a Very Important Twist image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadef85c24977a79c/6988b35f97cdff3ec86aeee2/oa_107_02953r-the-others.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _The OA's_ Director Just Revealed a Very Important Twist to Prairie's Story by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 21, 2016 4:31 PM CUT by [Ashley Hoffman](/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 21, 2016 4:31 PM CUT **Warning:** This post contains spoilers for _The OA_. Ever since Netflix’s new mystery series [_The OA_](http://time.com/4605895/the-oa-explained-netflix/ "undefined") debuted, fans have been suggesting that the central character’s fantastical story doesn’t quite add up. On the show, Brit Marling plays the OA a.k.a. Prairie, a young woman who miraculously survives abduction and unfolds her addictive backstory every night for five captive listeners. [The series](http://time.com/4604523/the-oa-review-netflix/ "undefined") seems to present each mysterious segment of her tale as her own account. But apparently that’s not exactly the case, and we’re really watching the way her new friends are _interpreting_ the retelling. In a new interview with _Esquire_, Marling’s co-creator Zal Batmanglij, who also directs the show, explains that there’s a difference between the OA’s version and the version the Crestwood squad imagines: --- > “” --- As the OA sends everyone down the mystery rabbit hole, this could be a key revelation. Consider it just as important to remember as the cat hiss/spirit fingers dance combo, which parkour Steve really knocked out of the park. Read more at [_Esquire_](http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/news/a51648/the-oa-netflix-interview-brit-marling-zal-batmanglij/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4609078/the-oa-director-interview-reveal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4609078/the-oa-director-interview-reveal/"},"headline":"The OA's Director Just Revealed a Very Important Twist to Prairie's Story","datePublished":"2016-12-21T16:31:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:56:56.340Z","description":"Zal Batmanglij shares a crucial insight about the show's flashbacks","url":"https://time.com/4609078/the-oa-director-interview-reveal/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadef85c24977a79c/6988b35f97cdff3ec86aeee2/oa_107_02953r-the-others.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltadef85c24977a79c/6988b35f97cdff3ec86aeee2/oa_107_02953r-the-others.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"1","caption":"1","creditText":"JoJo Whilden—Netflix","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4609078/the-oa-director-interview-reveal/","name":"The OA's Director Just Revealed a Very Important Twist to Prairie's Story"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Video Is No Longer Available","description":"Zal Batmanglij shares a crucial insight about the show's flashbacks","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fKodeUO6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-06-23T15:00:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4609078/the-oa-director-interview-reveal/","duration":"PT10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4609078/the-oa-director-interview-reveal/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```