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| "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" Episode 40 (cont.) “I am so proud of you, Olivia,” Caleb tells her, panting with desire and twirling her around in a playful embrace. “You’ve finally become the woman I’ve always known you could be.” “You’re so right,” Livvie humbly agrees. “This is incredible. You’re incredible. Thank you.” “This is our destiny,” Caleb reminds her as they lie in bed, caressing each other. “We’ll have everything we’ve always wanted and we’ll have it for eternity.” As Caleb savors his dreams of glory, his expression is full of yearning, arousal, and a touch of sadness. All he has ever wanted is so close he can taste it. The symbolism of the candle suggests sexual potency as well as its diminishment, life-giving power as well as mortality. A candle can only burn for so long, spreading its radiance, before it is consumed by the fire. As in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the candle represents mortality and ephemerality; it is “brief,” doomed to be extinguished. Although Caleb is a vampire and can transcend human limitations, his “immortality” is not absolute. He, too, can be destroyed, and his seemingly godlike manipulation of his human pawns is limited. Even his awe-inspiring power and passion are of little consequence to an indifferent universe; even his so-called “immortal” life is, as Macbeth would say, “but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more: it is a tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury/ Signifying nothing.” Like the lives of his human victims and minions, the lives he so callously uses for his own purposes, Caleb’s existence, along with all his plans and dreams, is relatively insignificant. Although Caleb believes all his desires will soon be fulfilled, his plans start to fall apart as Livvie begins remembering the truth. Babysitting Danny, she remembers taking him to the park, then recalls Eve telling her (in “Tainted Love”) that Caleb was going to claim Danny as his son. Once Livvie regains her memory, Caleb's control of her is weakened. She resents being used by Caleb, sacrificing her loved ones, her own happiness to achieve his vengeance. With her knowledge and resistance comes the unraveling of his meticulous schemes and the dissolution of his most fervent dreams. His egocentric fantasies are insubstantial, mere flickering flames of lust in a lonely, dark universe. |
| Snappies of "Tempted" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |
| "Tempted" Episodes 41-42 As Livvie remembers her unwitting role in Caleb’s vengeful schemes, dreamweaver Rafe confronts his own nightmares. By re-experiencing his death at Caleb’s hands, Rafe is forced to acknowledge the hatred he hides behind his guise of self-righteous morality and realizes that allowing himself to become “distracted” has helped Caleb to triumph. Flashing back to the night of his death, Rafe sees how his lack of focus, then, as now, has caused Caleb’s “evil” to flourish. Rafe watches the scenes of his past unfold unalterably. The bravado, the arrogance, the careless heroics—all his Slayer attitudes and mannerisms are illuminated in these glimpses into his last mortal moments. He hears once more the throbbing hypnotic music of a discotheque, sees Caleb escort a young blonde woman into a murky alleyway. “Mmmm,” Caleb sighs, towering seductively above the woman. “You dance like you’re ready to explode.” “Oh, but I am,” the woman murmurs in a Russian accent. “See, you had my blood boiling for hours on that floor. It’s time to let some steam off.” She thinks she knows this game of seduction so well. Entice, excite, and then savor the reward. Many times she has played this game, with each lusty stranger a potential conquest. However, she has never met anyone like this particular stranger, anyone who tugged at her will and thrilled her passions. As she and the stranger kiss, he holds her face and presses her against the wall. “Are you sure this is what you want?” Caleb asks slyly. His words tantalize. They intoxicate with the sweet yet bitter virulence of absinthe, promising ecstasy, delirium, or death. |