| "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" #6 (cont.) “Why not just have Rafe kill me and solve your problem?” Frank inquires, a reasonable question and one never fully addressed. The answer may have something to do with the power struggle between Caleb and Rafe. If Rafe killed Frank, then that would be perceived by Caleb as an intrusion into Caleb’s territory. Since Frank is a vampire, then Caleb wants to deal with him as he would one of his own dangerously insubordinate minions. Caleb does not want to relinquish any of his power to Rafe, so he must handle his own vampires as he sees fit. “It’s too bad, Frank,” Caleb sighs, a hint of pity combined with scorn as he considers the desolate wreck of a man standing before him. “You could have been useful.” Grasping Frank by the neck, Caleb begins to growl, all traces of pity vanishing in a feral surge of predatory instinct. As Caleb prepares to fulfill Frank’s death wish and, in the process, assert his authority over the vampires in his realm, Livvie and Alison are on the verge of experiencing a transformation neither one of them wanted nor expected. The paint fight is escalating. Both are still laughing at each other’s paint-smeared clothes, but the mood is becoming gradually more vicious. Alison is eager to get the place cleaned up so that she and Rafe can open their new gym, whereas Livvie, annoyed that Alison rejected her apology, is venting her anger with increasingly forceful and copious splashes of paint. When Alison complains that Livvie came over and messed up everything, Livvie pushes her down onto the floor. The two women are still brawling with the paint when Jamal and Imani come back to the warehouse after looking at the apartment next door. Returning to the paint-splattered battle site, Imani, unsurprisingly, decides she does not want to rent the apartment, and Jamal, accidentally splashed by the paint Alison meant to throw at Livvie, once again intervenes to stop the fight. “You’re both acting like two stupid little idiots!” Jamal scolds. “I just wish you two could spend some time in each other’s shoes just to see what it’s like. You’re so stupid!” Jamal’s hastily muttered wish immediately begins to take effect, with Livvie’s shoes changing into Alison’s and vice versa. Although Jamal meant for his wish to be taken metaphorically and probably did not even intend his words to be acted upon by the ring, the spell he inadvertently cast has literally transformed the shoes and personality of the two women. The results of Jamal’s wish, like that Lucy unknowingly made regarding Kevin, are far-reaching. Free-will has been altered by the magic of Caleb’s ring. The Morley heirloom, charged with the power accumulated by generations of vampire kings, has woven a spell beyond the scope of human reason and stronger than the autonomy of the soul. |
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| Snappies of "The Gift" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |