| "Tainted Love" Diary 61 (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. |
| As the episode concludes, Jack, still in the cellar (representing the past, buried secrets, and the subconscious), is suddenly confronted by Father Michael. Thinking that Michael is Caleb, Jack attacks him, grabbing him by the throat and demanding to know what he has done with Livvie. Desperately shouting "I'm not who you think I am," Michael struggles against his fanged, furious opponent while Kevin, Lucy, Eve and Ian enter the church and hear the commotion. Caleb and Livvie's future teeters precariously on the edge of disaster. Doomed by the past, threatened by internal as well as external forces, it is tied with the future of the other Port Charles residents as well as the peculiar karmic laws of Port Charles' fictional universe, laws of opposition and balance in constant flux. ********************************** While Livvie, at the Villa, dreamily awaits her wedding to Caleb, his enemies continue to plot his destruction, and the Father Michael mask begins to shatter. Not aware of Caleb's alter ego, Jack accidentally glimpses the truth behind the illusion. When he encounters "Father Michael" in the monastery basement and "mistakes" him for Caleb, Jack, unknowingly, sees a portion of the truth that the others do not yet realize. Holding Michael by the throat and demanding to know Livvie's whereabouts, Jack taps into his vampire fury, his red eyes and fangs convincing even the most skeptical of his new allies that vampires do indeed exist. Later, after Eve tells Jack that Michael is a priest, Jack remarks that he still "wouldn't trust this guy," and, undraping Olivia's casket, points out that Michael knew Olivia's body was stored there but kept it a secret. Throughout this scene "Michael" acts as an apologist and accomplice for Caleb, presenting Caleb's point of view, as a way of partially excusing and forgiving the Caleb side of himself. Explaining what happened to Caleb's first love, Michael states, "He killed her, but he loved her. He couldn't part with her." But then to distance himself again from his vampire aspect, "Michael" vows that he can get in touch with the "small human side" of Caleb and will do anything he can to save Livvie, Eve, and Eve's unborn child. The revelations of Michael's complicity in Caleb's obsessive plan intensify Ian's distrust of Michael. As Michael starts to leave the church, Ian angrily demands he stay. Ordering Michael to sit down in a pew, Ian accuses him of adulterous schemes. "I'm thinking maybe you didn't open your mouth because you wanted everything to play out the way you planned it," Ian claims. "You gave Eve a necklace to protect her, protect the baby. It wasn't there to protect me now, was it? So maybe you were hoping your brother would come, take care of me and you'd have Eve all to yourself." When Michael refuses to hear any more of Ian's accusations, Ian pointedly asks Michael if he is "in love with another man's wife." |
| ************************************************* Ian's inquisition of Michael continues into the next episode, causing Michael to seriously doubt his own intentions regarding Eve. While "Michael" begins to realize his guilty desires for Ian's wife, Caleb comes ever closer to possessing Jack's beloved Livvie. After Ian leaves, Michael, alone, anguished, prays for forgiveness as he confronts the true nature of his feelings for Eve. The priestly defense he has maintained for so long, a defense which helped to repress and deny his vampire urges, begins to weaken. As in "Time in a Bottle," when Michael brought Eve the apple, gaining her trust and faith, we see here hints of Michael's darker, more seductive nature, the serpentine Caleb aspects, tempting and beguiling. |
| Livvie, likewise, experiences conflict between two opposing aspects of herself. Her innocent, "good girl" side, represented by her childlike love for Jack, battles her sensual, adventurous side (represented by her passion and need for Caleb). As these contradictory aspects struggle for dominance, her fragile sanity and self-esteem start to erode; she begins to fragment, a process which eventually culminates in the Livvie/Tess split presented in "Naked Eyes." At the Villa with Caleb, Livvie dreams of Jack and murmurs his name. Awakening, she sees a note and rose from Caleb. "You're so beautiful when you sleep," he writes. "I didn't want to wake you. Dream of me. Remember what it feels like to be in my arms." Remembering the night Caleb asked her to marry him, re-experiencing his caress, their embraces amongst the silk curtains, she decides that she has to write a farewell letter to Jack, say goodbye and cast aside her old life. This episode of "Tainted Love" seems to suggest that Livvie still loves Jack but cannot resist the love, passion, magic, excitement, and seductive sensuality that Caleb provides. He enthralls, arouses, captivates, and addicts--once you experience the feelings that he alone can incite, you are "tainted" for life, always craving, always insatiably yearning for his intoxicating presence. Later, when Caleb returns and reminds Livvie, with his caresses and kisses, of the passion that they share, Livvie, cannot recall what she was doing moments before. Seeing the letter in Livvie's hand, Caleb asks, "what's this?" but Livvie replies that she doesn't remember. "I bet you were going to write me a love letter," Caleb suggests, slyly putting that thought into her mind, as he, insecure, doubts her love and needs to believe his own lie. Then, still doubting and needing reassurance, he asks her what she had been doing to keep busy earlier. "I guess I was thinking of you," she says softly, as if in a daze. "That's what I wanted to hear," he replies. As he embraces her tenderly, he looks rather sad and worried, vulnerable despite his magic and charm, like a lonely little boy desperately needing to be loved. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Snappies of "Tainted Love" scenes taken by A. Armstromg |