“Tempted” Episodes 7-8
Filaments of fear, distrust, and jealousy are woven by Caleb’s vengeful spirit, and like a spider awaiting the stumble of hapless prey, Caleb bides his time and spins out his threads of discord. Appearing in Eve’s dream, he intensifies her anxieties over baby Daniel’s safety and thereby creates further tension between Eve and her husband as Ian begins to doubt his wife’s stability. When Eve notices a new mobile over Daniel’s crib accompanied by an anonymous note, her keen maternal instincts alert her that Caleb has somehow sent this gift, but Ian’s stubborn refusal to heed his wife’s intuitions lead Eve to take desperate measures to protect their son.
Meanwhile Caleb creates a separate thread of deception and betrayal for Jamal and Ali. Having received an anonymous note giving her Jamal’s whereabouts, Jamal’s former girlfriend Valerie arrives in Port Charles. (It will later be revealed that the baby girl Jamal helped her deliver may be his daughter.) But although Caleb sets up the initial chain of events leading to the conflicts between Jamal and Ali, the seeds of dissension--the secrets and lack of trust--are already present, hidden; as with the other couples, Caleb is merely the catalyst for the collapse of relationships. Knowing the weaknesses of all his foes, he picks the appropriate bait, sets his trap, and watches his victims falter to their inevitable doom. He is a clockmaker god, beginning the action and then letting the events unfold. Although his victims have free will, Caleb knows them so well that they react as he had planned.
The thread he weaves for Livvie and Jack also takes form just as he anticipated. Problems between Livvie and Jack gradually increase as Jack discovers Livvie’s bracelet in the catacombs. He and Ali, searching for Livvie, also discover the snake which bit Livvie. After killing the snake and bringing it to the hospital, where Livvie hovers between life and death, Jack once again tries to persuade himself that he and Livvie can regain their blissful untainted romance. However, his doubts over Livvie's sanity and faithfulness begin to escalate.
Between two worlds, Livvie’s soul wanders in the caverns, a limbo of tunnels and memories, Caleb’s voice calling from the corners of awareness. “Olivia. Find me. Come to me. Come to the one you love. The one who loves you. Forever. Olivia. Olivia.” As in the Villa, she searches for him through the maze of flickering candle light and shadows. However, here, the game of hide and seek is darkened by disillusionment and cynicism. The lover she looks for is not a fairytale prince promising an eternal Eden; he is the serpent leading her astray from all she once held dear.
Awakening from unconsciousness, Livvie is unable to forget her subterranean quest. Although Jack repeatedly reassures her that her visions of Caleb are unreal, phantoms of trauma and emotional exhaustion, Livvie remains convinced of their reality. After Jack leaves, she sneaks out of the hospital room and goes to the nursery, where she sees baby Daniel’s mysterious mobile and an empty crib. Sensing Caleb’s presence, she is enmeshed ever deeper in Caleb’s web.
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