| "Naked Eyes" : Analysis of the "Naked Eyes" Arc of ABC-TV's Port Charles
(c) Alison Armstrong |
| An analysis of the "Naked Eyes" 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. |
| "Naked Eyes" #6 (cont.) “Why? Do you like it?” Stephen replies with another question. “Hate it,” Rafe answers brusquely. The hide-and-seek becomes verbal, as well as visual, when Stephen, with mock innocence, asks who sings the song, and Rafe, certain now that Stephen is taunting him, gives the answer they both already know. ‘‘He’s good. He’s original,” Stephen comments, speaking of the singer who is himself. “Really? Yeah, I went to a party he threw tonight,” Rafe says, impatiently playing along with the game and trying to get his opponent to slip up and be caught in a deception. “You weren’t there by any chance, were you?” “Actually, I stopped by for a moment,” Stephen remarks with a half-truth; he was there, of course, but not just for a moment and not as a guest. “It seemed like it was a blast.” “So why’d you ask me who sung this song since he was the host of the party?” Rafe inquires, getting closer to unveiling Stephen. “No kidding,” Stephen teases. “Why did you go?” “Well, I just wanted to meet the guy, up close and in person,” Rafe explains, stalking closer to Stephen. “What happened?” Stephen asks, calmly. Unlike Rafe, he is at ease, enjoying the game all the more now that Rafe is growing more infuriated and more restless for it to end. “Didn’t meet him, didn’t even see him,” Rafe replies, sitting beside Stephen, ready to grab the towel that shrouds Stephen’s face. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Stephen taunts. “You just did.” As Rafe angrily grabs at the towel, Stephen disappears into the mist, leaving the towel as a meaningless trophy. Rafe has the towel but not the prize he sought. He is left with as many questions as he had when he came to the gym that night. Although Rafe’s opponent revealed that he is Stephen Clay, just as Rafe suspected, he did not reveal his face. Rafe is no closer to confirming that Stephen is Caleb, and although the game is over for the time being, the battle, which continues throughout the rest of the Port Charles series, is just beginning. Caleb will always elude Rafe’s capture and comprehension; he will always elude anyone’s attempts to pin him down, impale him to a set of assumptions. He defies expectations and perpetually stimulates the imagination. |
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| "Naked Eyes" Analysis #7 Stephen Clay entices us into a mirror maze, where, glimpsing our double, we may discover our suppressed potential. Confronting the shadow and merging with our “other” reveals a path beyond apparent dualities, a path of knowledge, power and danger, which, like Caleb’s journey from the underworld, creates chaos as well as wisdom. This labyrinthine path, this “crooked avenue,” as it is called in Stephen Clay’s “Naked Eyes” song, is one of skewed angles, the dizzying perspectives and schizophrenic schemata of creative intoxication. As in the etchings of M. C. Escher, the path twists into reverse-image stairways, objects and their shadowy reflections becoming indistinguishable, equally illusory. |
| Snappies of "Naked Eyes" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |