| "Tempted": Allure and Menace in Port Charles' "Tempted" An Analysis (c) by Alison Armstrong |
| An analysis of the "Tempted" episodes of the show "Port Charles," formerly of ABC-TV. This site will focus on the scenes featuring the vampire character Caleb Morley (portrayed by actor Michael Easton). The character of Caleb Morley and any other characters relating to Port Charles are the property of ABC and their creators. This is a fan-run site and is not an official site, nor is it affiliated in any way with ABC, Port Charles, or the actors portraying any of the Port Charles characters. No copyright infringement is intended. The writings on this site are copyrighted by the author, Alison Armstrong, and may not be reproduced without the author's express permission. |
| “Tempted” Episodes 1 and 2
As Livvie holds Caleb’s ring in her hand, she hears his voice, invoking her deepest longings and fears. “Our souls are bound together, my love. It will never be over for us. Never.” The wind blows her hair, a caress from her lover’s spirit. In frustration, anger, and yearning terror, she casts the ring from the balcony, trying to banish his simmering temptation. Although Livvie comforts herself by saying “You have no control over me. Not anymore,” her eyes reveal her mesmerized addiction to his summons. Later, while preparing herself and her bedroom for a romantic evening with Jack, Livvie lights candles and sprinkles flower petals over the sheets, a reminder perhaps of the sensual fairytale passion she shared with Caleb. He taught her how to love, how to savor the tinglings of her senses and tantalize with erotic beauty. Over the bed, the ceiling fan hovers, its dark saber blades like the dagger teeth of a lurking beast, stalking and waiting, biding its time, patient and deadly. Upon her bed Caleb’s ring reappears. In her head she hears the plaintive refrain of Caleb’s music box, his desolate, hungry serenade from the grave, ashes calling to flesh to give him life. When Jack appears and Livvie tries to explain the appearance of Caleb’s ring (now suddenly gone), Livvie struggles to convince herself of its physical reality. Fearing more than anything else, the loss of her sanity and the subsequent loss of Jack’s love, Livvie finds herself succumbing to Caleb’s lure. Even as she and Jack make love, the ceiling fan lurks overhead, a shadow of menace. Outside the window, the wind gusts, as if in a vindictive tantrum, tree branches clawing against the glass. Caleb’s spirit slowly gathers strength, feeding off the negative energies already abundant yet repressed within Livvie as well as his enemies. He nourishes himself on their insecurities—Livvie’s fears about becoming insane like her mother and uncle, her anxieties over being abandoned; Jack’s insecurity over Livvie’s love and his previous vampire urges; Eve’s panic over her premature baby’s health, memories of her first baby’s death gnawing at her soul. |
| "Tempted" Episodes 3 and 4 Caleb’s “residue” seeps slowly into the souls of those Caleb loved, used, and despised. This “residue,” as Jamal’s vampire expert friend explains, is the presence that vampires leave behind after their destruction, the cloying, disembodied energy that continues to affect all those they tainted and seduced. Caleb’s residue manifests itself in various ways. The presence lingers in the form of the vampire serum Chris sneakily and, unbeknownst to anyone else, managed to save. It surfaces as the dream Lucy has about Livvie being pregnant with Caleb’s baby, grows stronger as Livvie begins to believe she may actually be carrying Caleb’s “demon” spawn, and slithers its way ever so slightly between Jack and Livvie as guilt, anger, and insecurity, suppressed, simmer with intensity. It lurks also between Eve and Ian, increasing Eve’s paranoia about her premature baby’s safety and literally hovering, in the form of Michael’s protective amulet, around Eve’s neck. The sense of menace brewing around Eve, Ian, and their baby, also affects Lucy and Kevin, adding to Lucy’s feelings of inadequacy over being barren and in the process fueling her longstanding rivalry with Eve. Although Livvie’s pregnancy test proves negative, the seeds of suspicion and distrust between Livvie and Jack continue to germinate. As Livvie perceptively points out, “The worst part is Caleb’s still with me. Every time you touch me I can’t help wondering if you’re disgusted or if you’re cringing.” Admitting that thinking of Livvie with Caleb makes him “sick,” Jack persists in trying to convince himself that Livvie was blameless in her betrayal, an innocent victim of Caleb’s manipulation, but as time goes on, this comforting delusion gradually wears away and Jack will be forced to admit his disgust with Livvie’s betrayal. Caleb’s “residue,” seductive as well as destructive, taunts Livvie and Gabby, binding them forever to his spirit. As Gabby explains to Chris, “It’s like Caleb imprinted himself on my thoughts, on my body, damaged me forever.” With Livvie, the imprint is like an itching wound she longs, despite her better judgment, to rip open. The tingling remains, the temptation to surrender and let herself be swathed in his intoxicating embrace. She hears his voice, a murmuring reminder as she gazes upon Eve’s newborn son. “This should have been our baby, Olivia,” he tells her, “Yours and mine.” Although he cannot physically impregnate Livvie, he has impregnated her with his essence, his insatiable will. She can never again be the girl with whom Jack fell in love; she can never again get Caleb out of her soul. |
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| Snappies of "Tempted" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |