| "The Gift": Analysis of "The Gift" Arc of ABC-TV's Port Charles
(c) Alison Armstrong |
| An analysis of the "The Gift" episodes of the show Port Charles, formerly of ABC-TV. This site will focus on the scenes featuring the vampire character Caleb Morley/Stephen Clay (portrayed by actor Michael Easton). The character of Caleb Morley/Stephen Clay 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. |
| "The Gift" Analysis #18 When deciding whether to accompany his grief-stricken Livvie to the hospital or stay at the gym and look for his ring, Caleb had opted for the ring. He had chosen it and the vampiric legacy it represents instead of his soulmate. He had chosen power and family honor instead of love. The ring, unlike Livvie, is immutable. Unaltered by the unworthy who have possessed it, the ring retains its original lustre. Although, like Livvie, it can be capricious and perverse, it never becomes tiresome or demanding. It needs no one for validation, stages no hysterical dramas for attention, and requires no assurances of undying love. If safeguarded and used wisely, it is a manifestation of the dark forces serving the Morleys for generations. If it is allowed to fall into unworthy hands or if used foolishly, without careful consideration of its often macabre manner of granting wishes, then those same dark forces can turn against their possessor, ruthlessly destroying whatever is most loved and desired. Sweet little Christina had made an unfortunate wish. Not knowing that the ring had sinister powers, she had held the golden bat-embellished heirloom in her hands, seeing it as a thing of captivating beauty. The bat, in her eyes, was a lovely bird. The magic she instinctively sensed within it was interpreted by her innocent soul as a fairytale charm that could, with Disneyesque enchantment, make everything happy and perfect by bringing her mommy and daddy back together again. When she wished upon the ring that her parents would be reunited, she never suspected the way her wish would be granted, the suffering it would cause her dad. Conversely, when Livvie plotted to have the light fall at a pre-arranged time, she intended it to land on Alison. She devised an evil plan, which, ironically, harmed her newly-reformed, well-intentioned father. The loving wish and the malevolent plot have mysteriously worked together to bring about Kevin’s tragic fate. In the process, they have created the chaotic scenario perfect for Caleb to, unobserved, regain the ring. While Caleb proudly admires his reclaimed treasure, Rafe and Jamal, unaware of Caleb’s victory, discuss how Christina happened to have obtained the ring. Jamal confides that he had thrown the ring into the river and that Christina, seeing the shiny object with the “bird” on top, had told him she found it by the riverbank, but now, visiting her wounded father at the hospital, she had revealed to Jamal that the ring was lost. Rafe admonishes Jamal for not giving him the ring instead of tossing it into the river, warning him that if Caleb gets back the ring and wishes upon it, he could destroy them all. They are on the verge of returning to the gym in search of the ring when Caleb, smirking and flashing his ring, appears before them. |
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| Snappies of "The Gift" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |
| Jamal rushes towards him, lunging for an attack, but Rafe, just in time, prudently cautions him against doing “anything stupid.” Reminding Jamal that a vampire cannot attack the vampire wearing the ring, he orders him to leave Caleb alone. |
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| “I hate to admit it, but he is right, J.,” Caleb smugly informs Jamal. “There’s nothing you can do, and now that I’m back, I’m going to remember who was naughty and who was nice. You should never have taken what didn’t belong to you.” Deftly, sneakily, Rafe, noticing a scalpel nearby, snatches it up while Caleb is threatening Jamal. Concealing the weapon, he then turns towards the two combatants. “Well, I still think the best place for that ring is at the bottom of the river where I put it,” Jamal sullenly retorts. “And someday it’s going to be right back at the bottom of the river with your finger attached to it, all right?” |