| "Tainted Love" Diary 75 (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. |
| Leaving his former friends, the couple he had married in his church, Michael turns away from Eve and Ian and prepares to destroy a part of himself. He heads towards the basement of the monastery, the place he had once imprisoned and hid away his Caleb aspect, the place where all his relics of the first Olivia were kept, treasured memories tainted with guilt, preserved with reverence, love, and remorse. There he confronts his vampire self in all its witty, defiant, arrogant glory. "Back here to slap my wrist and tell me what a bad boy I've been? Caleb mocks. "Sorry, brother," Michael says solemnly. "It's time. . . To finish this. For good. Only one of us will ever leave this room, Caleb." The ultimate confrontation and the deepest betrayal, the betrayal of self has begun. ******************************************* The battle between two worlds, two selves is waged within, as both Caleb and Livvie undergo shattering inner conflicts which have repercussions for the rest of Port Charles. While Lucy and Kevin are away on their vampire genealogy expedition in Transylvania, Livvie is left in the custody of Jack, who uses memories of their past to rekindle the love the two of them once shared. As Jack kisses her, Livvie clings to the feeling of safety and familiarity he provides, a kind of love much different from the passion, excitement, and sensuality that Caleb evokes in her. Jack is like a childhood sweetheart, a beloved remnant of a time gone by, a symbol of an innocence neither of them wants to admit can never be regained. Even though both Livvie and Jack have had their dark, passionate, sensual aspects awakened by Caleb, both are trying to resist the impulses he stirred within them. The memory of their former selves, the naivete they shared before Caleb entered their lives provides a sense of security amidst the chaotic urges overwhelming them. The comfort of memory, like the restraining effect "Father Michael" has on Caleb, helps them deny and suppress their frighteningly powerful impulses. "All this ache and confusion," Livvie explains, "I just--I want it to go away. God, I want to know where I belong and feel it again in your arms. Jack--the way it was, the way I remember. Can you give me that? Please?" But as Jack tries to re-experience the kind of love he once had with Livvie, his insatiable new desires threaten to destroy the life they both seek to recreate. "Oh, God, Livvie. The curve of your neck--I can taste your blood," Jack sighs as they embrace. "You swore you'd help me forget, Jack," Livvie murmurs. "You'd make me forget about everything and everyone but our love. Just us. God, please. Jack, please, save me. Save us please." However, as before, the urges begin to possess Jack, and afraid of giving into them, Jack pulls away. The urges possess Livvie also, making her thirst for more than the safe, secure love she moments before begged Jack to help them both reclaim. Breathing heavily, seething with desire, Livvie pleads, "Show me. Jack, show me. I'm not afraid. . . Show me what you're afraid of. God. I want to see. I want to see, Jack." Although Jack keeps trying to restrain her as well as himself, repeatedly telling her "no," Livvie's hunger for him, her craving, in particular, for his vampire aspects, overtakes her. "I love you, Jack. I love you and everything that you are. Everything. Please," she pants as Jack bares his fangs. |
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| Snappies of "Tainted Love" scenes taken by A. Armstrong |
| "Finally, something that we agree upon, right?" Ian says
gruffly. "You have feelings for her. I have feelings for her
because we both know what a wonderful person she is. And no, I don't
blame you for falling in love with my wife. But it bothers me that
you may think, even for one moment, that you could love her more than
I already do." Showing no concern for Michael's agonizing dilemma, Ian then implies that Michael is "letting" Caleb prevail by passively praying for guidance while his "brother is out there wreaking havoc" and reminds him that "all evil needs to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing." "I've done more than pray. You know that," Michael explains in a sad, exhausted voice. "For years I've been my brother's keeper, his jailer." "His jailer? His jailer, Michael?" Ian replies. "Then why is it that you're stuck behind the stone wall?" "You're saying that I've locked myself away," Michael observes. These comments by Ian and Michael vividly express the psychological truths represented by the Michael/Caleb split and the Freudian concepts of id vs. superego. Id (Caleb) and superego (Michael) battle for dominance, the power shifting from one to the other as each aspect of Caleb's psyche temporarily takes charge over the other. Both aspects balance, control, and in a sense, imprison each other. When the Michael side is dominant, the Caleb side is restrained, jailed, and vice versa. "Michael" has built a church, which, with its stone walls and cold austerity, could just as well be considered a prison. Both aspects coexisted within this prison for a time, as the jailer (Michael) side repressed desires. Then, his desires awakened so strongly that they could no longer be restrained, Caleb emerged from his dusky cellar of the subconscious. As he satisfied his long-suppressed urges, the self-hating, self-denying Michael aspect was, in turn, contained, temporarily rendered inactive. Ian, unknowingly, by asking "Michael" to exterminate Caleb is asking him to destroy the most vital, energetic aspects within, for tied to Caleb's danger, destructiveness, and volatility is his passion, his sensuality, his intensity. Similarly, when psychiatrists used to treat certain mental disorders by means of lobotomy, cutting out a portion of the brain, the result was often apathy and listlessness, for tied to the problematic, psychopathic portions of the brain were other essential aspects of the personality, including creativity and emotional expression. When Michael, weary and defeated by the interrogation, finally admits that he may not have "done enough to stop Caleb," Ian chimes in "You haven't, Michael, but if ever there was a time to set it right, it's now. . . . If anyone can stop him, it's you." Eve also pleads with Michael again. "Listen to your heart, your soul," she begs. "Be honest with yourself, and you'll know what is the right thing to do. Please, Michael." "Do you have any idea what you're asking me to do?" Michael exclaims, on the verge of tears. "The only way to end this. You're asking me to kill my brother. You're asking me to kill my brother." |