| "Tainted Love" Diary 50 (c) Alison Armstrong |
| An analysis of the "Tainted Love" episodes of the show "Port Charles," formerly of ABC-TV. This site will focus on the scenes featuring the vampire character Caleb Morley (portrayed by actor Michael Easton). The character of Caleb Morley 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. |
| ************************* Caleb's tender seduction of Livvie at his Villa continues while Jack remains imprisoned like a vicious animal by his brother Chris. Throughout this episode Caleb and Livvie discover within themselves and each other their inner children, their wounded innocence. As Jack lies in pain, desperate for blood, he still hypocritically denies his affinity with Caleb. Instead of realizing that Caleb, like Jack himself, must suffer the same intense cravings for blood, Jack persists in seeing Caleb as a monster and dreams of destroying him. In Jack's dream Caleb is a taunting, demonic creature and Jack is the hero, rescuing Livvie from Caleb's malevolent spell, safeguarding her purity. |
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| However, as the scenes in the Villa demonstrate, Caleb is far from the evil, heartless beast Jack and others perceive him to be. Instead, he is much more complex, sensitive, conflicted, and vulnerable than they could ever imagine. At the Villa Caleb and Livvie, like children in a fairy tale, inhabit their own magical palace, a realm where all the loneliness, sorrow, and disappointment they have faced in the past is replaced by love, beauty, and endless sensory delights. Although Caleb is the magician, the sorcerer, the shaper of this fairytale world, he is also a believer in his own magic. As cynical and pessimistic as he is about human beings and their shallow, fickle conceptions of love, Caleb nevertheless believes in the possibility of eternal, unconditional love between soulmates, a love so strong it can defy death and overcome all obstacles. In Caleb's fairytale vision, all of his and Livvie's dreams can come true in seven days if she will only believe and surrender to his fantasy. "Seven days and seven nights," Caleb promises as he and Livvie sit together on the bed of pillows. He kisses her neck and strokes her hair. "Give me that much and you'll know what it is to be loved, to be so happy you'll never want to be anywhere else. We'll be so good together. All you have to do is say 'yes.'" Livvie sighs, her body yielding to his touch, but her mind still resisting. |
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| "No!" Livvie suddenly yells, getting up and moving away from him. "How can you ask me to do this? You know I love Jack. I could never leave him." Stung by her rejection, Caleb reacts like an angry child, roughly grabbing her wrist and bristling with rage. "Jack means nothing to you. You understand me? Nothing!" he roars. "I don't want to hear any more about Jack." "You're hurting me," Livvie cries out, startled and frightened by his furious temper. Never before had he acted like this around her; he had always seemed so gentle and seductive. She tries to pull her wrist away from his painful, menacing grip. |
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| Coming to his senses, Caleb releases his grasp and tries to calm himself. He also seems frightened by the violence of his behavior, no doubt remembering the death of his first Olivia and striving to be patient this time. He wants to win Livvie's love and perhaps fears that his outburst has ruined chances for their future together. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he says nervously, walking away, his hands to his head as if struggling to think clearly. |
| "It's just I have so much to offer you. I just want to give you so much, Olivia." He swallows hard, overwhelmed by yearning. Like a child continually disappointed, disillusioned, and rejected, denied what he most desperately needs, Caleb struggles to express his anguish. "Do you know what it's like to have dreamed of something so long and the thought of it not coming true almost, almost becomes too much to bear?" he asks sadly. |
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| Snappies of "Tainted Love" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |