| "Surrender" : Analysis of the "Surrender" Arc of ABC-TV's Port Charles
(c) Alison Armstrong |
| An analysis of the "Surrender" 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. |
| "Surrender" #2 (cont.) “Shhh, a little,” he smiles mischievously, still somewhat teasing, but no longer cold or cruel. Whether or not he loves her, he does, at least, have feelings of affection for her and no longer wants to trample on her emotions. “You know exactly how to touch me,” she sighs. “Always,” he murmurs, arousing her with his caresses. “Oh, Stephen. Please,” she begs, her voice a soft wail of longing, as he carries her to the bed. “Your skin is so beautiful. Your body is so alive,” he whispers, lying beside her. “I will make you happy.” “I want you, Stephen,” she moans. “I know what you want,” he assures her. “I know what you want. I understand the hunger so pure—so pure when you follow the beat of your heart, that breath that is so deep inside you.” He speaks to her of their shared need, the animal need stronger than any emotion they once had when they were still human, still ruled by laws and systems of morality now alien to them. “Are you ready?” he asks, kissing her as her moans grow more fierce and insistent. “Can you handle what I give in our world? In our bed?” |
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| Snappies of "Surrender" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |
| “Yes, Stephen. Yes,” she begs, clutching, needing.
“Then, sleep, Elizabeth. Sleep, my love,” he says, gently placing his fingers over her eyelids. “Tonight I can’t give you what you need.” As his hands glide over Elizabeth’s face, he envisions Livvie. He sees Livvie, his true bride, sleeping next to him, her skin as soft as flower petals. He hears himself uttering the pledge he made in “Tempted.” “I’ll get it back,” he had vowed. “Everything they took from me. Because I promised you the world, Olivia.” He had said those words when he was slowly regaining his vampire powers but was not yet strong enough, vital enough, to satisfy Livvie’s desires. Those were the times of desperate, vengeful dreams, when hunger and lust, his infernal companions, consumed his soul. During the lonely hours when Livvie was pretending to herself that she belonged in Jack’s world, Caleb would sit in the cave, a melting candle, like a dripping phallus, seeding his fantasies with the passion of flame. He had been so close to having it all. |
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| Now, gazing at Elizabeth, he yearns for the soulmate he may have forever lost. Now, as in the cave, he is unable to satisfy his woman’s needs, but this time it is due to lack of desire, emptiness of spirit. Weary of his substitute wife, his counterfeit bride, he is drained of passion. “We both want we can’t have. But be patient with me,” he whispers to the sleeping Elizabeth, “and you’ll have a good life. And me, I’ll have everything I want.” Is he trying to convince himself that Elizabeth will someday be enough for him or is he envisioning an idyllic future with Livvie as his bride and Elizabeth as one of his doting, docile minions? He lies down beside her, caressing her. “You are so beautiful when you sleep,” he murmurs admiringly. “You’re everything a man would want.” Awake, she is demanding, problematic, but asleep, she is a silent, living work of art, almost perfect in her placid repose. “Even a man like me,” he muses, as if considering the possibilities of their life together. “And yet,” he pauses and sniffs the air. “Slayer,” he gasps, sensing the distant presence of Rafe. |
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| Thoughts of his future, with or without Elizabeth, must be put aside for the time being as he prepares to again battle his enemy. The war between Caleb and Rafe, vampire and slayer, is a recurring theme throughout this and the subsequent Port Charles arcs. The saga of their war is inextricably linked to the story of Caleb’s love for Livvie and Rafe’s love for Alison. War, like love, involves conflict and surrender. In the world of Port Charles, the warfare and the love are eternal, darkness and light forever bound. |