(S01E09) "I've never been almost killed before."-- MorganNow that Beth has discovered some of the secrets to her past, she is hellbent on discovering all of it. There were some definite inconsistencies, though, in what she said about it this week compared to last week. Last week, she said that she had always felt safe, and she knew it was because Mick had been watching over her. We even saw that in the scenes from last week.
This week, she tells a different story: She says she needs to find out the truth about her past in order to feel safe, and she doesn't know whether she will ever feel safe again. So, did she just start feeling unsafe when she started putting together the pieces? Mick is still her guardian angel, right? So, why won't she feel safe again?
Granted, it is understandable that anyone who has been victimized by another person (or vampire) would feel threatened by that person now being at large, but the show didn't really specify the reason for the change in her feelings.
We had an interesting twist this week: Beth narrated the action instead of Mick. I liked the switch, because even though I primarily think of this as Mick's show, it's precisely because of the narration that I think that. It would be interesting to bring the other fine actors into the fold more, and to make this more of an ensemble show. I would love to see a show narrated from Josef's point of view.
Just for clarity's sake, let me tell you how I am going to refer to Morgan/Coraline. I know that both names apply to one person. However, when I use the word "Morgan," it's because I am talking about the character before we have confirmation of her identity. When I use "Coraline," I am referring either to flashbacks, what we know about Coraline, or when we do have confirmation of who she is.
We also saw a lot of play on the language that Beth has used to describe her relationship with Mick: Morgan says that she would like to have her work relationship with Mick become more permanent, because she thinks they make a good team. Mick and Morgan share a kiss in the hotel room, and he is the one who is awkward about it, rather than Beth being awkward when she kissed Mick. Beth's boyfriend seems to be pretty much out of the picture now, doesn't he?
Mick and Morgan also shared a shower scene, which was pretty steamy. Even though they were kissing each other, I think it was pretty clear that Mick's primary interest, now that he knows Morgan is Coraline, is in her cure for vampirism. Or, at least, I think that's what Mick tells himself. I think Mick, despite his feelings for Beth, definitely still feels drawn to Coraline. After all, he had an adult relationship with Coraline, a sexual relationship with her. Beth, in some ways, is still the child he rescued, and there is an unequal power relationship between them, both because he has seen her grow up, and also because he is a vampire: more powerful, older.
It's easy to see that Mick is desperate for a cure not only because he despises what he has become, but also because it would level the playing field with him and Beth. However, I think Josef is right: There is no cure. Coraline admits that she thought it would get his attention. That he seems to like the human girls. When Beth searches Morgan's apartment, she finds a prescription, and it's a pretty substantial bottle. I think Morgan is taking a drug that somehow simulates human characteristics: Bleeding, smelling human. And as for her eating meals, it's not that vampires *can't* eat food-- they just don't *need* to eat. I think Mick could go ahead and order food at a restaurant and just sort of shove it around on his plate, but then we wouldn't have had the funny bits with the waiter telling him that maybe he should stop meeting people in restaurants.
Back to Morgan/Coraline eating, Coraline tells him that one of the clues she laid out for him as to her identity was ordering her favorite wine: Clearly, if Coraline was drinking wine when they were together, vampires can eat food. She also mentioned dating musicians, which certainly caught Mick's attention (by the way, he plays a musician in August Rush, if you haven't rushed out to see him in that movie yet). It's pretty clear that where Coraline is concerned, Mick has blinders on: As Josef said, when Mick thinks about Coraline, he isn't using his big head.
Despite the fact that Mick and Coraline had such a powerful relationship and that they seem to be attracted to each other now, do you think his feelings for her are more powerful than his feelings for Beth? I doubt it: I think feelings of protection are very very intense. It's interesting that Mick swooped Morgan up in his arms and jumped with her when Tina was getting ready to run Morgan over: Does that make up for the fact that Mick killed Coraline? An eye for an eye and all that? She seems incredibly moved by the gesture; what we don't know is whether she truly would have been hurt by being hit. Just as we don't know whether the stake could really kill her, or, as Beth sneers, "Stakes only paralyze vampires."
Could Beth go to jail for murder, do you think? I don't think Coraline will die, but it's food for thought.
I thought there were some nice plot parallels at the end: When Tina crashes her car into the water barrels, I remember thinking, "Now her plans are all wet." The same is also true of Morgan at the end: Her disguise is finished when she is in the shower, and Mick discovers the fleur de lis. The fact that Coraline was branded with it, rather than choosing it as her own tattoo, was disturbing. Coraline has a very interesting past, and I hope they explore that further.
It was completely creepy when Beth found the perfectly maintained room where Coraline held her captive as a child: Never have pink, dolls, and stuffed animals seemed so sinister. But I think it is important for Beth to recover these memories so she can let go of the past. If she and Mick are to have a future together, it's important for her to begin to see Mick as human and for them to have equal footing, rather than rescuer and rescued-- and that includes her stepping in to save him all the time. I have heard of symbiotic relationships, but this is ridiculous.
So, here is my question: If Coraline has come back for Mick, has she come back for revenge, or because she still wants him, and wants him to fall in love with her again? I think she wants him back. And she knows that if she hurts Beth again, she will lose him forever. So, who will Mick choose? (Beth, of course!) And does Coraline get to live? Or will she have to be destroyed once and for all?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-24-2007 @ 3:01PM
BigTed said...
Am I the only one who finds something icky in the whole idea of a relationship between Mick and Beth? As the review points out, he first knew her when she was a little girl, and watched over her throughout her childhood. And now we find out that Coraline wanted to form a sort of family, with her and Mick as the parents and young Beth as the daughter. So even if Beth does end up becoming more emotionally mature, there's no way a love affair between her and Mick could seem in any way appropriate.
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11-24-2007 @ 3:08PM
Michael said...
I figure Mick will just bite Coraline and turn her to save her. If there's one thing that vampires are good at, it's from stopping people from dying. After all, if she found a way to go back, presumably it will work a second time.
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11-24-2007 @ 3:46PM
clgbutterfly said...
First to clear what seem inconsistent. Beth's sudden fear and feeling unsafe probably has alot to do with Mick denying her. She can't complete her feeling of saftey if he will not reciporcate her feelings. I also feel like there is an episode missing.
As for Morgan/Coraline. I'm still under the impression its a trick. If it isn't a trick she doesn't know how it happened. Plus I totatlly loved Beth shoving that chair leg into Coraline. She earned so many cool points with that action. She also proved that she isn't helpless.
My favorite moment is when Beth goes to Josef. Damn that took balls! It's also help solidify the fact that Coraline is Mick's greatest weakness. He doesn't think clearly around her. He makes bad decisions and tends to have huge blinders on. I've experienced this, so I can completely relate to his idioic behavior.
In connection to this Coraline knows how to play Mick and will keep doing so until he finally kicks the habit (her) for good.
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11-24-2007 @ 9:53PM
Amy said...
Nah, Coraline will be fine and of course she will share whatever it is that cured her. But let's hope it's only temporary or else we have no more vampire show.
If Mick can temporarily become human, then he can finally have Beth.
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11-24-2007 @ 4:30PM
Anita said...
A friend came over halfway through, disturbing my ability to wholly enjoy the show's second half. This was a great ep, but Jen's right, I wish they'd kill the Mick as child savior. Every time I start to root for MB, the writers remind us of their parental relationship. Regarding the brand - has no one read/watched 3M? :)
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11-24-2007 @ 4:37PM
Mist said...
I eagerly watched this episode online this morning (I don't have a TV), and at the end my response was, "Wow." And I don't even like Morgaline. (I saw that name play in a fanfic somewhere.)
The safety thing I didn't think too inconsistent; it flowed from events. I actually liked how the series writers gave viewers credit for brains to be able to figure out a connection. Beth has felt safe for all this time, but recent events are what make her feel unsafe. Coraline is Mick's weak point. Notice how eagerly Beth jumped to the wrong conclusion about Coraline wearing Mick's shirt, when only a few weeks prior she'd done the same thing for reasons that didn't include a roll. Add that Coraline's been stalking Beth & Mick while Mick's been stalking & friends with Beth, and if he didn't notice that while it was happening, it doesn't seem to be quite so safe around him anymore, huh?
And I liked Beth's staking Morgan. She actually learned something from her too-obvious attempt to stake Shepherd—don't alert the vampire that you're ready to hurt him!
BigTed - I'm not convinced that the relationship "wouldn't be appropriate." Appropriate relationships happen all the time where one party—usually the guy—was an adult when the girl was a baby. Okay, maybe not all the time, but I can count a number that I know about. My friend just married a guy almost 18 years her senior. My aunt's stepdaughter is almost as old as she is; and I could continue. Coraline's a few centuries older than Mick—is that then inappropriate? :-) I think I've made my point.
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11-24-2007 @ 4:56PM
BigTed said...
Hi Mist -- I understand your point. And you're right, age-different relationships aren't necessarily inappropriate (especially when one of the parties is immortal). But if the older person actually knew the younger person as a child -- and there was even a suggestion of a parent-child relationship between them -- then you can't avoid thinking "That's just wrong."
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11-24-2007 @ 5:33PM
Trey said...
I personally hope "Morgaline" is dead for good. Sorry to wish ill to anyone (even a fictional character) but her "rebirth" would be inconvenient on a couple of levels: A) If she could have "cured" vampirism, wouldn't that have essentially been the end of the show? Who cares about a private dick and the blonde he secretly loves? We've already seen it--it was called "Moonlighting." and 2) She was just getting in the way. Her presence created more questions than it answered, and was just distracting. Besides, I liked it better when we got to focus on Mick's developing relationship with Beth.
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11-24-2007 @ 6:39PM
wondergirl9847 said...
I loved this episode. What I really want to get into soon is the past relationship between Josef and Coraline, whether it was romantic or not. Their backstories intrigue me greatly. Mick was so joyful finding out that Coraline was alive because he wants a "cure" for vampirism SO bad. Poor guy.
Coraline will NEVER change. She will forever manipulate him and Beth too. Glad she got staked. I don't how I'll make it until December 14th for the next episode.
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11-24-2007 @ 7:51PM
assuit said...
Hi,
Great episode. I'm glad Beth has moved away from the victim to the attacker. It was an important emotional step for her character development, otherwise she would have been stuck being the rescued. Mick would have kept her in a time warp as the helpless little girl. Now she is a full fledged, warrior woman on the war path! Way to go girl.
It was also great to see her rattle Micks cage over his relationship with Coraline, she wasn't afraid to ask the tough questions.
The opening was wonderful with her sitting in the car grilling Mick and him having to face the possibility that he might have made a mistake about Morgan. We saw the fire it takes to become a successful crime reporter. That said I was disappointed before when both Mick, a private investigator and Beth didnt check more closely before into her past.
Getting back to Beth feeling insecure, WHO wouldnt. Remember the look Coraline gave her at the end of episode 6. After finding out it was Coraline in Episode 7 I would have the jitters full on, she was working with the woman!
The cure is....
We now have to wait two weeks!
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11-24-2007 @ 8:53PM
Carissa said...
Too everyone who thinks the prescription has an effect on Vampirism, I had that prescription, and may of you take it. It's called Aleve over the counter. So, I don't think that is the answer. But I can't wait to see what is! She had better not be dead...she adds a very nice element to the show.
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11-24-2007 @ 9:27PM
Mist said...
Hey Carissa--pardon my medicinal spellings, please.
I know the label SAYS naproxin, but is that what's in it? :-) That was more of the prescription strength Aleve than I was given when I had all four impacted wisdom teeth removed!
If her pain's that bad to need that much painkiller, wouldn't she have Lortab or hydrocodone? Prescription naproxin is a waste; all you have to do is take 2-4 Aleve for the same amount of medicine.
Hey BigTed--
I'm sorry if I neglected to express this earlier, but I do see your point. (I have a bad habit of omitting transitions. They're hard to remember when you don't exactly think with them.)
That (the child/protector —> lover feeling) is "just wrong" actually doesn't occur to me. If it were in a real world setting it probably would, but not in Moonlight. Maybe I just hang around immortal worlds too often with my writing them, since my thought is more like "that could be wrong, but at least here his caring for Beth has obviously matured into protecting the WOMAN he cares about and not GIRL."
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11-25-2007 @ 12:13AM
wendy said...
If this is Coraline and she found a cure, then where has she been all these years? She hasn't aged since the fire, so she must have been a vampire. Did she just find the cure and now thinks she has a chance with Mick? As much as Mick would like a cure, Josef would not. I can see Josef going after her to make sure no cure is ever outed.
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11-25-2007 @ 1:04AM
assuit said...
If Mick becomes human even if its only temporary then think what might happen if he and Beth finally get together. Be careful of unexpected results.
The cure has more to do with Beth than the drug.
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11-25-2007 @ 1:56AM
Leeser said...
I loved this episode. The show just gets better and better every time I see it.
As others have said, this episode needed to happen in order for the story to progress. Imagine Morgaline's surprise when Beth wasn't the meek little thing she apparently thought she was...it didn't help that she sleazed her way down the stairs to say "hi" after Mick left her in the shower to answer the door. Sorry, slitch...Mick always answers the door or the phone for Beth.
Mick's singlemindedly wanting to find a cure for his vampirism. I don't think that's going to happen. Whatever is going on with Morgaline is obviously something temporary...it wouldn't be Moonlight if it was vampire Mick and human Beth. And Morgaline roasted to a crisp in the Gobi Desert.
I can't thank CBS enough for continuing to support this show, though I am surprised they chose to run a first-run episode during a holiday weekend. The ratings numbers are going to be a bit skewed, methinks. I hope they will keep in mind that the numbers of ALL shows over the long weekend are going to be off.
There are several Moonlight fan sites on the web. The one I recommend is www.moonlightline.com. We have a large bunch of helpful, good people and have a minimum of drama. I rather like that.
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12-05-2007 @ 3:43PM
Prism said...
I felt it made perfect sense that Beth would no longer feel safe. It would've started the moment that Mick walked away from her after saying it could never work between them. For the first time, he rejected her and hurt her. It's not a stretch that her thoughts would then return to Morgan/Coraline, and his past relationship with her. Then maybe she began to analyze Morgan's odd behavior, and started to wonder if they could have been wrong about her after all. She begins to realize that her crazed kidnapper may be back, and may want revenge. And if that's not bad enough, Mick may still have deep feelings for this woman. So her "safety valve" springs a couple of leaks. Beth always felt Mick's presence, even though she never knew who he was. She felt protected from the moment he saved her. But now, as the episode unfolds, she becomes aware 1) That Coraline may be back, 2) That if she's back, she wants Mick back, 3) That she is Mick's Achilles heel, 4) Coraline would have every reason to want Beth out of the picture, and 5) That Mick's obsession with her clouds his judgment to the exclusion of almost everything. Every incriminating (though possibly sometimes misunderstood) encounter with the two of them would not only break her heart a little bit more, but also increase the fear that Mick may not have the focus or motivation to protect her anymore. She's in danger of losing her best friend, her new found love, and her guardian angel in one fell swoop. And then there's the fact that her life may be in serious and imminent danger. So in the end, she takes matters into her own hands, and may have become an unintentional murderer in the process. The fact that Mick does not appear to be on her side at this point is devastating and terrifying. The last vestiges of safety would have been torn away at that moment.
As for Coraline's humanity, I believe one of three things will happen. The least likely is that Coraline will die, leaving Mick completely bereft, knowing that he was that close to knowing how to become human. That and his obvious depth of emotion where Coraline was concerned could cause conflict for many episodes to come between Mick and Beth. But it would also remove her character from the canvas, which I don't think would be a smart move on the writer's part. Not when she could wreak havoc for years to come (dare I dream!)
The second possibility is that Mick will turn her to save her, and she will be unwilling to share how she became human, or unable to remember.
My money is on the the third possiblity, and that is the likelihood that she has just learned to fake humanity. Insanity is a great motivator, and you've heard the expression "necessity is the mother of invention" I'm sure. She's had twenty five or so years to obsess and experiment and plan her come back. If seeming human is what it took to get Mick back, then she'd find a way!
Lastly, it never crossed my mind that the relationship between Mick and Beth would be inappropriate because I never felt that Mick had paternal or famililial interest in Beth. That was Coraline's fantasy, and Mick was just saving a little girl from a lunatic. He felt guilty that he was the cause of her trauma, so he kept tabs on her to make sure that she was safe and didn't suffer any ill effects from the experience. Perhaps as she got older, he became fascinated with her vivaciousness, tenacity, and her joie de vive. Even as she matured and became a woman, she was living the human life to it's very fullest. The life he wants back with every fiber of his being. And then when they met face to face, and got to know each other, he began to fall in love with her...that realization becoming more clear as he faced her near death, and the possibility of living life without her. How bittersweet to respect, admire, and love someone that you can never be with. The character of Mick (played so well by Alex) seems to me to have much too much integrity, intelligence, and wisdom to have any incestuous or perverted intentions. The fact that he is fighting every urge to act on his feelings would seem to support that.
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11-26-2007 @ 12:57AM
Cj said...
I love this show can't wait for the next one. I think Beth staked Morgan because she's in love with Mick. I think she was jealous. But he's in love with her but won't let himself go. I wish he would can't wait for that to happen. I hope Morgan's dead and they just keep solving cases. I don't like the competition here. Why do they torture us week after week let them get together. Love I'm such a romantic........
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11-25-2007 @ 5:59AM
Yashoda said...
Am I the only one who laughed out load when Beth was flipping through the pictures of prostitutes and one of them was Madame de Pompadour?
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11-25-2007 @ 8:23AM
Georgia said...
I think since Coraline still has the perfect child room where she kept Beth, her intentions are not about purely loving Mick. It shows her mind is twisted.
Mick must have turned in his iPhone, because it seemed like he had another type of phone this week.
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11-25-2007 @ 8:27AM
Georgia said...
Oh yeah, August Rush was a great movie. Went to see it for Alex, but Freddie wins the show.
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