| "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 41-42 (cont.) Like vampires of lore, Caleb is asking to be let in, requesting admittance into the body, the soul, the will. The allure of Caleb and vampires in general lies partly in the complicity of their so-called “victims.” Unlike werewolves, they seduce before they attack. They tempt and conquer resistance before they violate. The film “The Addiction” brilliantly depicts this kind of moral surrender the vampire demands of his/her victims. For example, in “The Addiction,” the vampire, Kathleen Conklin, challenges her friend Jean to say “no.” “Look me in the face and tell me to go. Look sin in the face and tell it to go,” she urges. “Look me in the face, tell me to go like you mean it, with authority. Say it with authority.” When Jean can only plead and whimper “No,” Kathleen attacks and infects her friend with her addicting vampirism. Caleb vividly embodies the addicting allure of sin. As Caleb savors his sensual delights, he tempts others to sample what only he can offer. Sublimely sexy and mesmerizing, Caleb makes the Russian woman hunger for whatever he has to give. When Caleb asks her if she is sure this is what she wants, the woman heedlessly surrenders to his will, unaware, however, that surrender is absolute and irreversible. “Well, I’ll let you know if it isn’t,” she says coquettishly in reply to Caleb’s question/challenge, not knowing that she has relinquished all control of her body, life, and soul. |
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| “What if it’s too late to say no?” Caleb warns.
“Well, then, I’ll just have to pay the price, won’t I?” she smiles. |
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| “Yes, you will,” Caleb reminds her. “You have no idea what I’m about to do to you, do you?”
“Surprise me,” she dares him. “Surprise,” Caleb says, smiling, his mouth curling slowly, mischievously, to reveal his fangs. He stares at her with a playfully predatory hunger, the innocent ruthlessness of a cat maiming a mouse. |
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| “Oh, my Go! No. No!” the woman gasps. But just as Caleb is about to bite her, he hears a clattering noise alerting him to danger. “Who’s there?” he asks in a commanding tone. “I heard you. I know someone’s there.” “Let her go,” Rafe threatens from a distance. “Who are you?” Still pinning the woman to the wall, Caleb calls out to his lurking foe. |
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| Snappies of "Tempted" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |