| "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" #7 (cont.) Embracing one’s shadow, one’s other half, as Kevin tells his daughter Livvie when she visits him at the mental institution, makes one whole. Using the examples of Caleb and his alter-ego Father Michael, Kevin explains that our other half has what we lack, and vice versa. As we connect with this darker aspect of our self, we tap into its strengths and insights. He tells Livvie that by connecting with his own shadow side, his evil twin, Ryan, he became stronger, and he suggests that Livvie do the same with her “other,” Tess. He also reminds Livvie that even though she killed Caleb “in the physical sense . . . a man’s energy never really leaves.” The energy, the presence of what has been and what took place, continues to resonate. As an example of his newfound insight, Kevin puts on a music recording that his therapist, Dr. Fox, played for him to open connections with the “other.” The song he plays, “Naked Eyes,” stirs Livvie with fear, anguish, and yearning as she remembers her dance with the stranger at the masquerade. Stunned by hearing this song here, at the mental institution with her father, Livvie hastily bids her father farewell, saying that she has to get home and thanking him for his advice about Tess. As she leaves, Kevin mutters, “Back to Crooked Avenue, where we all end up,” referring perhaps to the twisted path towards knowledge that leads one back to the primal roots of one’s deepest self. Kevin, like Caleb, is receptive to the wisdom of the abyss, secrets scrawled from the dissociated psyche, sigils of metamorphosis and regeneration. This wisdom, the gift of divine madness, is, like Caleb’s gift of eternal thirst, something the moralistic people of Port Charles, such as Rafe, Lucy, and Ian, fear. Rafe, sensing a sinister presence in Port Charles, passes on his paranoia to Alison and seeks to also infect Alison’s mother, Elizabeth. Having returned from his misty encounter with Stephen Clay at the gym, Rafe watches as Elizabeth and Alison discuss the numerous women Alison’s father, Malcolm, had seduced. Liz, still writing down the list of Macolm’s conquests, tells her daughter how Malcolm bragged about his affairs. While Alison listens to Elizabeth recount the seemingly endless list of women involved with Malcolm, she begins to become more sympathetic to her mother’s plight. She and Elizabeth start to connect, the two women gradually forming a bond that Rafe, distrustful of Elizabeth, tries to sever. When Elizabeth leaves momentarily to answer a phone call, Rafe tells Alison about his bizarre experience with Stephen in the sauna. Then, after Elizabeth proudly announces that she has just received a phone call from her new boyfriend and reveals his name, Stephen Clay, Rafe tries to afflict both Alison and Elizabeth with his ominous misgivings. Stephen, meanwhile, continues preparing for his flamboyant unveiling, the concert that will flaunt his resurrection to all who sought his destruction. Key to his bedazzling return is the cryptic message within his music, and to ensure that this message is most powerfully delivered, Stephen looks over the lyrics submitted by his songwriter, Marissa. As he and Marissa sit together on a bench in the park, he praises her “amazing” work and discusses the power of music to evoke the ineffable, to express emotions that “make you feel something even if you don’t understand what you feel.” She senses that he already knew what he wanted to say but for some inexplicable reason needed her as channel to express his message. Although she may flatter herself that she is indispensable, she is, like all the rest of Stephen’s band mates and associates, a means to an end. When he realizes, later on, that he is able to access the words himself, without her as an intermediary, he no longer has any need for a lyricist. In his conversation with Marissa, Stephen presents himself as a rather easygoing, sensitive mentor/band leader. He apologizes for Joshua’s stern, bullying behavior towards Marissa and her boyfriend Jamal, assuring her that even though Joshua doesn’t seem to have a life outside of the band, everyone, including Marissa, “deserves to have a life.” These remarks, designed to impress Marissa with his generosity and empathy, are, like many of Stephen’s comments, lies containing a grain of truth. Stephen is every bit the taskmaster that he accuses Joshua of being. Domineering, temperamental, prone to violent fits of anger, Stephen lashes out at anyone threatening his leadership or artistic judgment. However, unlike Joshua, Stephen does want to have a life outside of the band, a life of sensual pleasure as well as creative fulfillment. In fact, Stephen’s lust and reckless impulses are the weaknesses that will allow Joshua to temporarily usurp Stephen and rob him of power. |
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| Snappies of "Naked Eyes" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |
| As Stephen and Marissa go over the lyrics in preparation for the upcoming concert, Ricky angrily interrupts their conversation. Reese cowers nearby, dreading Stephen’s reaction. With his customary macho swagger, Ricky strides towards Marissa, shouting that he doesn’t need Marissa’s “pity” and that he is “not a charity case” who needs her to get him a job in the Stephen Clay Experience. When Marissa apologizes for her role in having him hired as drummer, Ricky replies that he doesn’t need “handouts” from anyone and announces that he’s quitting the band. In response to her pleas to stay in the Experience, Ricky insults Marissa, insinuating that she wanted Ricky hired just so that she could show everyone “how much juice” she has “with the big boss.” Glaring at the foolishly insolent drummer, Stephen commands Reese to take Ricky away from there. |