| "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" #3 (cont.) “I can’t wait,” Caleb mutters sarcastically. “Thrill me with your theory.” “You still want Livvie,” Rafe proclaims. “Aaaa,” Caleb responds, imitating the sound of a buzzer on a game show. “Wrong! Guess again.” The strident sarcasm fails to conceal Caleb’s discomfort as Rafe points out Caleb’s deepest vulnerability. Caleb’s love for Olivia has always been the cause of his downfall. It is revealing that Caleb responded with a similar buzzer joke at the finale of “Tempted” (http://horrorvacui.us/CalebTempted/Tempted60D.html) when Kevin had accused Caleb of brainwashing Livvie to destroy her friends and family. “Aaaa,” Caleb, then as now, had replied. “Guess again.” His exultation in Livvie’s love was tragically premature; the moment he had believed would be his greatest triumph was his most humiliating defeat and the woman he thought loved him unconditionally, eternally, stabbed him the heart as they made love in front of captive onlookers. “No, you want her so bad that you can taste it,” Rafe insists, echoing Caleb’s familiar phrase—“I want her so bad I can taste it.” “That’s how I finally discovered your true colors. Remember, you were standing there watching as Livvie was making it with your drummer. That had to hurt,” Rafe sneers. “You’re crossing the line, Slayer,” Caleb grumbles, temporarily losing his patience. “I was just in the neighborhood.” He walks to the wall, facing it as he struggles to regain his cool. “What’s the matter, Vampire? Didn’t all your little buddies in Hell warn you about her?” Rafe jokes. With a burst of fury, Caleb lunges at Rafe, but the Slayer has disappeared. “Looking for me, Vampire?” Rafe’s voice taunts, as Caleb looks around for his invisible heckler. “You’re going to have to do a lot better than that, Slayer,” Caleb scoffs. “Where is your precious Livvie now? Huhh?” Rafe mocks. “Not here, not by your side?” “You know, Rafe, this has just grown tiresome,” Caleb says, assuming a blasé tone to mask his pain. “There ain’t nothing you can tell me about Olivia that I don’t already know.” “Well, then, maybe both of us can visit some of Livvie’s greatest hits,” Rafe suggests. “A little trip down memory lane, if you will. Take a look.” With a wave of Rafe’s hands, the warehouse wall becomes a seedy movie screen, and the film projected against the grimy bricks is a compilation of Livvie’s treacheries. Taking as an inspiration the videos Caleb showed to his imprisoned audience at the end of “Tempted,” Rafe uses Caleb’s methods of sadistic humiliation. In “Tempted,” Caleb had gloatingly shown his prisoners video clips of Livvie’s “award-winning” performances as Anne-Marie and Christina, proudly displaying evidence of Livvie’s deceit and manipulativeness. Now Rafe is employing similar tactics against Caleb. The first clip in Rafe’s tormenting trilogy shows Livvie kissing Ricky on the couch while Caleb watches from the doorway. As Rafe had mentioned, this is the moment Caleb had revealed his “true colors,” fangs bared, eyes blazing in angry arousal. |
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| Snappies of "Surrender" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |
| “Is that the best you’ve got?” Caleb remarks, still trying to act bored and blasé.
“No, no,” Rafe says smugly, “this little show is just to remind you of every time your precious Olivia failed you.” |
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| “Well, this is fascinating,” Caleb sighs sarcastically. “I should have brought popcorn.”
“When she was with Ricky, where were you?” Rafe goads. “Outside the door, your mouth twitching, fangs desperate for blood. And all for what?” |