Alex O'Loughlin's Guide to Moonlight, Part 2: Episodes 5-8
Actor Alex O'Loughlin continues his look back at each episode of Moonlight, this time focusing on episodes 5-8.
Episode 5
“Arrested Development”
Written by Chip Johannessen
Directed by Michael Fields
Although Mick has been trying to avoid Beth since he fed on her, the two come together to stop a serial killer who’s actually a 200 year old vampire who looks like a teenager.
“Not my favorite,” O’Loughlin says matter of factly. “I felt like I could have cared about the kid more. I’m not sure if as the lead or the voice of the show I should be this honest, but there was just something missing. I’m not entirely sure why. It was more of a ‘vampire-of-the-week’ to me. People ask about this show being a purist of the genre, but I’m a purist of drama and the importance of drama has been burned into my frontal lobe. Drama is life with the boring bits cut out and I felt like that episode was a little pedestrian. It didn’t feel like an organic Mick/Beth storyline.”
Episode 6
“B.C.”
Written by Erin Maher & Kathryn Reindl
Directed by Paul Holahan
An attempt to find a vampire that Josef has had an on-again/off-again relationship with for a century, leads Mick to the discovery of a group that sells vampire blood to humans for the incredible high it provides. At one point, Beth gets a taste of “V” and she goes through an incredible personality shift.
“I really liked the scene with Beth and Mick when she comes in and she’s all horny and wants him to do whatever she wants him to do,” he smiles. “I think it was a really obvious shift from the normal Beth to this, and I enjoyed watching Mick squirming around and his discomfort. It’s really clear how these two feel about each other, right? But it has to be unrequited, because nothing good can come of any other decision. I don’t think it’s a story that can be consummated. I think it’s a story about an unrequited love. It’s like Romeo and Juliet to me, so that integrity had to be maintained at all times.”
Episode 7
“The Ringer”
Written by Josh Pate
Directed by Chris Fisher
Mick is convinced that his vampire wife Coraline is back from the dead, but all indications are that she is someone completely different and that the woman (identifying herself as Morgan) is not a vampire. He seems to be bordering on madness in his efforts to prove his theory to Beth.
“This is where it starts to get interesting,” notes O’Loughlin. “Chris Fisher directed this episode and he created the time for me that I otherwise wouldn’t have had with other directors. He prioritizes around getting the best ouf the actors, not about his shots, the lighting or other things. I really like this one from beginning to end. I like the intensity. It’s the introduction of the next step of Moonlight, of the next big dramatic storyline shift. And we start to see the cracks in Mick St. John’s veneer. We start to see where his pain lies. Coraline’s the big love of his life. It’s different to Beth. Coraline’s the tempest, the tumultuous relationship. That’s the pain and the love all mashed into one. It hasn’t left him. He’s carried it for 60 years and it runs pretty deeply.”
Episode 8
“12:04 A.M.”
Written by Jill Blotevogel
Directed by Dennis Smith
Beth helps a kidnap victim escape from the clutches of a cult, the leader of which has been turned into a vampire. During the course of this case, Beth starts to relive her own kidnapping as a child and comes to discover that it was Mick who had rescued her back then.
“As strange as this sounds,” says O’Loughlin, “I think this episode needed a couple of more beats of violence. When you’re dealing with this extremely powerful creature and this guy is good at this, you think it’s going to be a big show down. But when it goes bang, bang, bang, it’s not a big showdown, it’s a medium-sized showdown. Which pulls the drama out of it a little bit. I’m a boy, I like to see things blow up, I like long fights. It wasn’t bad, but I felt that Mick and him, when they have their confrontation, it was a little lame.”
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EdGross
7/13/2010
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