When he saw the full Adam prosthetic and costume, his biggest concern was being able to show nuanced facial expressions under so much latex. It took hours to get Hertzberg into his full costume, but even after it was fully applied on set, often he would have to wait even longer before he went in front of the cameras. He spoke of the need to stay focused during all the waiting while sweating underneath everything he wore for the part. Buffy studies scholar Roz Kaveney states that estrangement from the self and others is the primary theme of the fourth season. To illustrate the absolute search for identity, the series writers created Adam, who is more truly alone than is anyone else. He is a creature assembled from a man, vampires, demons, and cutting edge cybernetic technology. Adam was not the first re-animated corpse to be presented in the series. "Some Assembly Required" in the second season also had a Frankenstein monster-like creation and "Beauty and the Beasts" in the third includes references to "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"; both touch on the misuse or abuse of science. Adam is a clear reference to Frankenstein's monster, who in the novel "Frankenstein" (1818) tells his creator that he is the "Adam of your labours". Mary Shelley wrote the novel to highlight the problems progress, science, and industry create for humanity. Throughout the action, the monster constantly asks what he is and why he was created. Likewise, Adam escapes from 314 and makes his way out into the world, and much like Frankenstein's monster, he finds a little boy and asks the boy who and what he (Adam) is, then murders and dissects him. Adam is a curious character, seeking the truth and pontificating on what he has learned, even if he gained the knowledge through heartless violence. Whedon wanted Adam to be inquisitive and introspective, directing George Hertzberg to "find the stillness" in the character. Roz Kaveney notes that Hertzberg's "flawed but impressive performance" includes Adam's interesting idiosyncrasy of pausing each time he speaks, as if he is creating meaning with his own words and must consider the implications of what he is saying. Author Nikki Stafford connects Adam's need to learn about the world around him to Frankenstein's monster: Adam must understand why other people are here and why he has emotions, a peculiarity of his creation as Dr. Walsh never encouraged others to question her.