| "Tainted Love" Diary 74 (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 offiical 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. |
| "I know you don't want to hear any of this. I know you're scared," Michael says softly. "But I'm scared too." "Of your brother?" Eve asks. "Of the feelings I can't deny anymore. Eve, you were right," he admits. "I am in love with you." Just as Michael utters this painful confession, Ian enters the chapel. With a guilty, haunted expression in his eyes, Michael faces retribution for the emotions he can no longer hide from himself or others. |
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| In this episode Eve's fierce maternal instinct has compelled her to use Michael's desire against him in a form of emotional blackmail, asking that he kill a part of himself as a token of his love for her, demanding the unthinkable and offering nothing in return. Playing on Michael's guilt, she evokes also Caleb's self-hatred, his need to punish himself through an externalized agent of divine justice, a priest, a servant of God. It is significant that, according to Michael's conversation with Eve, both aspects--Michael and Caleb--were awakened and aroused by a woman, Michael by Eve and Caleb by Livvie. Without this female temptation, both aspects were able to live celibate for long periods of time, the Caleb side hibernating, in a sense, while the Michael side existed in Spartan, self-denying asceticism. How Caleb managed to sustain himself as he suppressed his instincts for survival remain a mystery if we are to believe the Father Michael version of events. After all, Caleb admitted in the preceding episode and elsewhere throughout this arc that the hunger becomes overwhelming and must eventually be satisfied. "The hunger always gets to you," he reminds us; "You can't fight it." This intriguing question from Caleb's past, like so many others in the Caleb saga, will, unfortunately, remain unanswered. ***************************************** Guilt trips and emotional blackmail dominate the next episode. Providing only brief, tantalizing glimpses of Caleb, much of the episode seems mired in a mood of disillusionment and desperation as Livvie's condescending protectors seek to turn Livvie's heart against Caleb and Ian joins Eve in the attempt to make Michael betray his "brother." After Jack informs Kevin and Lucy about Livvie's depressing visit to see Rachel at the hospital, Kevin tries to comfort Livvie. Telling her, "Well, at least now you know the truth," he is dismayed when Livvie refuses to acknowledge the death of her perfect fantasy world. "Oh, the truth," she snarls in angry defeat. "Yeah, you bet I do. The truth is he [Jack] made my mother sick again. . . . I will never forgive him for that. Ever." Despite Jack's assertion that it was all an illusion" and everything Caleb promised was "just a dream," Livvie clings to her belief in Caleb's healing magic and perceives her abductor, Jack, as the villain who poisoned her Eden. |
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| Snappies of "Tainted Love" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |
| Terming his vampire existence "torture," Jack seeks to destroy her
belief in Caleb's wondrous world, the immortality, passion and
sensual delights it offers. Although it can be argued that Caleb
did not fully prepare Livvie for the harsher, fiercer, more brutal
aspects of vampire life, he gives her a more balanced perspective
than Jack provides. Focusing on the hunger and refusing the
pleasures Caleb could have revealed to him, Jack fails to explore the
intriguing possibilities of his new existence. He cannot transcend
his human conceptions and paradigms and is, therefore, stuck in a
dismal limbo of dissatisfaction and self-pity. Although Kevin and Lucy fail to persuade Livvie to reject Caleb's gifts, they do succeed in convincing her to believe in Jack's love. Admitting that she loves Jack also, Livvie tries to explain the differences between her love for Jack and her passion for Caleb. "I feel--God, I feel--that I belong to him," she points out. When Kevin argues that Caleb wants her to feel that way, Livvie firmly asserts, "No, Dad, it's me. I know what I want and what I feel." Likewise, when Jack tells her that Caleb is not who she wants, Livvie defiantly stands up for herself and the reality of her own emotions. "Why, Jack? Because you think it's you? Don't you dare tell me who I want or don't," she growls. "This is my life." Her three captors, however, refuse to respect her right to self- determination. Continuing her meddling, Lucy keeps trying to find fault with Livvie's views. "What if it's not?" Lucy argues. "Livvie, what if it's not your life? What if someone's trying to twist your heart and your mind, try to control you and make you think you want what they want you to want?" Growing angry and annoyed with all their interference, Livvie finally shouts, "No, stop" Stop! It's the same every time. I think you finally all understand me and then you start right back in again. . . . I am leaving here the first chance I get, I swear. I am going back to Caleb where I belong because he is the only one who understands me." With these words, Livvie leaves the room and retreats upstairs, trailed, of course, by Jack. Going to the roof, where she had previously been rescued by Caleb and transported to his magical world, Livvie remembers her pledge to Caleb, her vow to be one with him throughout eternity. Poised on the edge of the precipice, she is ready to take that leap of faith and join him forever. "Caleb, come for me," she begs. "Take me away from this. Please, from them. Take me home." Her moments alone with her memories, however, are interrupted by Jack. When Livvie asks him to leave, he says he doesn't believe her. "You're fighting your feelings for me," he tells her, "I can see it in your eyes." Ignoring her invocations to Caleb, her pleas for him to rescue her again, Jack persuades the vulnerable, anguished, heart-torn Livvie that the love they once shared is still there. Disregarding her words of rejection, Jack breaks through her pain-forged barriers and steals a kiss. Meanwhile, at the chapel, Michael has confessed his love for Eve. Ian, overhearing the conversation, takes advantage of Michael's guilt and joins Eve in pressuring Michael to kill Caleb. Although admitting that he can't blame Michael for falling in love with Eve, Ian uses the priest's shame and self-reproach to make Michael feel responsible for allowing Caleb's "evil" to remain unchecked. |
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