Alex O'Loughlin and Sincerity

What is your favourite picture of Alex? Hard to choose, I know! But this is mine.

It's probably one of the least flattering photos of a man who can't take a bad picture.
But I love it because it reveals something about him that others don't.

In every photo I've ever seen of him, he is always, to some extent, "on". There are lots of funny pix where he's goofy; he makes a lot of people laugh. He's the class clown.

Then there are the professional "character" pix where he's basically modelling, and clearly portraying some interchangeable sexy, vapid, but hot guy with great hair, great abs, and bad boy tattoos. There is no character, but he does project an image, usually of someone you want to...what? Take home and meet your mother?

I love this pic of him for two reasons. Firstly, because it's in relation to Sophia. It's clear they have an easy camaraderie. They are also pros who highly esteem each other's work. Sophia exposed the dynamics and quality of their working relationship when she said,

It’s a fantastic duo. We both make the other one better. It’s like playing a really good game of tennis every day. We’re competitive, but it’s good, we kind of raise each other’s game.

This means they inspire each other and challenge each other to great acting heights, and just riff off each other, like any great jazz musician. I imagine it's quite a rush. Though no one can explain the mysteries of chemistry.

I like this pic because she's leaning back towards him, and he's curved towards her.

It's also as if they were caught in the midst of a motion and it wasn't purposeful. And that gives us a frozen moment of time in-between where perhaps they are more themselves.

So, secondly, what does that moment of Alex in-between tell us? He has a small smile, like the Mona Lisa. It's a moment of vulnerability. No act. No projection. A moment of being caught between the role-playing, even before potential. He looks like an exposed human being. It is a tender picture, a tender stance, in which he looks like a small and defenceless creature, a snapshot of an inner moment, without the trappings.

It is the nexus of sincerity. Sincerity is not a hot commodity these days. We live in a culture of irony and cynicism- of snark. Snark has nothing to do with wit. Or play. Or silliness. Snark is often mean and self-referential. It's about the cachet of snark, and not about the love of words. It distances oneself and others from honest feeling. It's also an end in itself, and reflects a culture that worships the negative and the dark.

And yet, in his interviews, no one is as earnest as Alex is. Whether it's about his love and passion for his character, Mick, or for the themes that run through Moonlight, his love for "my little show, our little show", or even his love for his fans, you know it's pure- you know it's true and from the heart and that he's given thoughtful consideration to everything. And although he has his moments of wit (not irony) in interviews, he is never condescending or self-referential, and honestly has a good and optimistic outlook on life.

And the fans love him for it. Adore him for it. Worship him for it. Think he is "adorable".

Yet I also see a lot of those same fans continue to worship the dark and cynical as if it carried way more prestige and power than simple earnestness. They want that in their celluloid heroes, go figure, and perhaps that's a reflection of their lives and culture.

Ironically, Alex brings that earnestness to the character of Mick. As did the initial writing team. I see him still fighting for it, in the character- when Mick looks down for an eternity with profound guilt and shame after Beth catches him with a freshie in Episode 1.16, Sonata. I suppose he could have "embraced his inner vampire" and made some smart remark, a la Josef. But Alex shows that to Mick, it is a naked bestial act when suddenly illuminated by the presence and gaze of the woman he loves. Alex keeps Mick honest, transcendent, regardless of all the lousy writing and direction in most of the last 4 Eps.

So, I love this picture of Alex, because it reveals him in that moment in-between that transports us to the Mick I love and adore, to someone with a pure heart.

Episode 1.15 What's Left Behind

It's pretty terrible when you can't think of anything to write about an episode. It's terrible because the first 12 episodes of Moonlight were chock full of wonderings, and edge of your seat suspense and revelation, with, at the very least, one scene per episode that blew my mind. Consider the sumptuous balcony scene in 12.04, the naturalistic "I'm a vampire" moment at the end of Out of the Past, the hug of all hugs at the end of No Such Thing As Vampires, the kiss at the end of Arrested Development. Even the hot mess that was Fated to Pretend had a heart wrenching scene with Josef and Mick, with Mick's re-Turning. In fact, it seems to me that Mick and Josef are more in love than MickBeth these days. That other noisy, hot mess that was Click, had nothing to recommend it. And in comparison to it, What's Left Behind just seems prosaic.

Prosaic procedural. Like CSI with a guy who happens to be a vampire. And who isn't doing much vamping out, either. Where the issue of Mick's vampirism used to be central to each story, now he just uses his vamp superpowers to kick ass or catch the bad guy. Any tension between the use of his powers and his own desire are gone. Mick is copacetic with being a vamp. There is no longer any need to explore the subterranean recesses of his mind that recoiled from vampirism and its consequences. He's a happy guy now, and doesn't really seem to have any inner life beyond descriptive voice overs. The voice overs no longer expose his inner life because, well, now he hasn't got one.

He seems to have lost that loving feeling as well. He and Josef have it in spades, but when it comes to Beth, you no longer know what he's thinking, or if he's thinking anything. He's just busy being happy and living in the human world. In this ep, his happiness got interrupted by feelings of guilt and then feelings of sadness. Guilt that he slept with his best friend's wife, implying that he committed adultery, had betrayed his bud. Well, it turns out the bud was still alive, not dead as Mick thought, so that's why he felt guilty. Even though he thought said bud was dead. So, he made a mountain out of a mole hill. Mick becomes a drama queen. And with all that guilt, he must have been religious at one time. You never know.

Still, it's a poignant moment if you can find it amidst the clutter of happiness and averageness. The man is so sensitive to those he loves, and so honourable, that he'll beat himself up for anything he considers even the smallest infraction. Aww. It magnifies the obstacles between Mick and Beth somewhat, and directs them away from the current pop psych of "intimacy issues", towards the greater and more interesting issue of morality and conscience. Now that's epic. And at least Mick has not thrown out his conscience with his human being (unlike Beth).

On the other hand, when Beth tells him that it was okay, because it was love, it seemed like a non-sequitur. Was the "affair" okay because he loved Lilah, or was it "okay" because anything is okay if there is love? Which sends shivers down my spine, because, what if Beth believes it, that anything is okay for love, like murder, and now, betrayal? Whereas Mick still hangs in with a moral centre, Beth's seems to be drifting, or perhaps hers was never that well defined to begin with. So, thank you, Jill Blotevogel, for restoring Mick's morality to front and centre.

Perhaps this episode would have had more impact, been more meaningful, if the other 2 eps had not preceded it (and traumatised me). The baby talk between Mick and Beth seemed jarring when it shouldn't have felt like that to me. It came from left field but was very much consistent with Beth's character to be forward and blunt, while there's a subtext of feeling and feeling Mick out going on. They're wary and feeling each other out on a topic that obviously has crossed their minds. They're like, "we're a couple but we won't admit we're a couple but we're thinking about sex and babies all. the. time (though not marriage...hmmm..)" It's confusing to me that in the last two eps they've been doing the dating thing, and in this ep it's like they're largely back to being who they were before the hot mess. I'm getting whiplash.

I liked that Mick had never considered having a family. Had never regretted it because it just never came up. Faced with the possibility of a son, he felt the stirring of longing and hope. The look on his face when he would encounter Robert then, so sure that Robert was his...of such fascination and tenderness. Going all fatherly, too. So subtle. Okay, Alex is good. And the only real sense I got of Mick and Beth as MickBeth was when Beth brushed his hair with her fingers when he learned that Robert was not his, and realised, that yes, now it was a regret.

Things I'm hating:

1. I loved Beth as a reporter for a sleazy online mag. I haven't seen that one done before. And Beth had to struggle with her own ambition in not crossing that line into sensationalism; she also had to manage to juggle the idea of an expose with more serious news. She was largely her own woman and got to investigate the stories which fed her curiosity. I loved the trenchant take on tabloids as well and how she doesn't fit in.

Now she's going to be a "civilian investigator"? What makes her different from other female characters on tv now? And what background does she have that is plausible. This is so lame.

2. The Mick and Beth relationship- the inconsistency. I don't know what a shipper is. I've liked the whole MickBeth thing because it was part and parcel of the story, but not the only story. There was balance. They were integrated into the whole. Half the time, now, I don't know who they are. I don't care if they smooch or hold hands; all I care about it something that makes sense to me and not something that feels out of kilter.

It's almost as if no one can decide what this show is to be. These are more than stand alone episodes. They might as well be in different tv series. I would like to think that there is a thread running thru each episode that is leading up to something, and I used to be sure, in the past, that it would. Now, I don't know.

What's Left Behind was way better than the last two eps, but something is missing. Where are MickBeth? There wasn't one truly compelling scene between them, and in this ep, I don't think it was the writing.

3. And here is my biggest beef- apart from the loss of grand themes (for the time being only, I hope) it's the loss of noir. People tend to think it's just a visual style, but after noir got axed I realised how essential it was to the dramatic telling of the stories, how it made everything seem grand and compelling. It gave characters a greater presence and import. Everything seemed important.

Noir is not just about some shadows and lighting, it is about a consistent tone, a voice- it's a character in itself. It worked, IMO, fabulously well in ML and raised it above all other tv shows. It's an element that unconsciously sucked you in- got a grip on you and transported you into another world completely. It succeeded. It was genius. Without it, everything and everyone seems less suggestive of mysterious depths. Mick seems so average, just a PI working on a case and using his vamp powers for good. In the first 12 eps, he was way more than that. Now he's just another TV hero.

Episode 1.14 - Click, Redux: Anything For Love

Well, I rewatched the episode, finally.

It still is meh- the only one great shot of mick is when he's walking into Guillermo's freezer to see him to talk about Tierney's murder- there he looks like the old Mick, a mysterious vamp- in the shadows- it gives him great presence.

For the rest of the ep he was rather ordinary- Mick and Beth were ok and their awkwardness is ok but all the glances at each other- was a bit much for me- i dunno- it wasn't the same as before- i think the scene near the end where he's looking at her with such tenderness is heartmelting, but by this time i'm disaffected so it doesn't get to me like it should.

Why do i get the feeling Mick and Beth are being set up?

How does the pap know to be around when Mick gets hit by the car?

Who sends the pix to Talbot and why? Also the dossier on Mick is looking like more than one page....

Foreshadowing happens thruout the ep when various people talk about doing anything for love (Mick to Abbot about Tierney), killing for love (Mick to I forget who at the moment), doing anything for love- the example of Tierney taking care of her mom who killed her husband in a fit of passion, and keeping her privacy even when Tierney is blackmailed, of paying for everything to star in that film ... there must be more- the only thing that wasn't mentioned was dying for love, which Mick has already done.

The title should have been 'anything for love'.

When Beth orders the hit on the pap, and at one point she says to Josef "we" meaning it is clear she is complicit in the guy's death, 4 thoughts ran thru my mind:

1) it will go the way of mafia type shows where ordering hits is part of the family business and Beth does cross that line and becomes just like most vamps (so, turn her already).

2) the lost boys were ordered by someone else to kill the pap before Josef puts out the hit- it's setting up Beth in some way and with the pix Talbot has, setting up Mick in some way.
2a) or the lost boys wanted the pap's territory and so they took him out
3) Josef's lackeys really did it
4) it's all a dream, a feverish hallucination that Mick is having under the influence of the compound

When Beth orders the execution of the pap, geezus i almost cried- i felt sick to my stomach.....i'm hoping it is all something that doesn't come true and Beth will have to face how far she is willing to go.

Mick tells her that he would have to move away if he were in danger of being exposed- she tells Josef she thinks the pap will never stop- it seems so plausible, and she's paying Mick back for all the times he protected her- i almost bought it....she definitely will do anything for love....

i think that if this is not addressed, Beth's decision, i won't be able to watch ML with any kind of heart from then on, and i think in time i would drop out....if it is not put right in some manner....even if the hit didn't happen because of her, she needs to experience the fallout- i can't get past it, i realise,

One other thing: how could Beth sit there so sweetly and comfortably having dinner with Mick after having put a hit out on someone? even if she thinks she's protecting Mick, why is she not a mess? and people have the nerve to say she has balls....more like she's content with her decision and hardened at the cost of her humanity....or just a very good actress.

Moonlight, right now, is no longer stylish or elegant; its tone is just plain noisy.

Oh, and not a single voice over!

Episode 1.14 - Click

I hated this ep. Where did Moonlight go? I didn't "sign on" to watch a CBS detective show. The plot? Blahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Who cares? Near the second half of the show I started not to pay any attention to it. Why should I? It meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. It was filler. The last quarter of the show was the only part that caught my interest, and that wasn't enough.

I watch Moonlight for:

the vampire stuff - tonight? barely there;

the incredible chemistry between Mick and Beth - tonight? there was none. NONE! alas;

the suspense that often keeps me on the edge of my sofa - tonight on the edge of my sofa? my cat.

And how is it that Mick can ride around in a topless convertible and not try to shade his head from the sun? How is it that he can stand around and even sit in the sun without shading himself? And a minor point, I guess, but what was going on with his hair? It's been hard for me to figure out what bothered me about it, but it did.

The last quarter of the show--finally there is something to talk about. I was flabbergasted that Beth would ask Joseph to have the photographer killed. I don't recall his name. It wasn't worth remembering. She wanted it done, but she couldn't say the words. And she asks for his murder, for that is what it was. Why? Because she doesn't want Mick to leave town! to move away! to leave her! She wasn't doing it to keep him safe because Mick said that if he ever got found out he would just change his name and move. It was no big deal to him, although I suspect it would be if he had known that his big secret had been found out. And that would have brought up an interesting scenario. Would he kill the photographer himself? Would he dare tell Beth that he had? We'll never know now, as Beth took matters into her own hands.

So now she has a big secret, one she can't tell Mick. Why do you think? I refer to my paragraph above for the answer. What would Mick think of her? And now she has asked Joseph to keep a secret from Mick. I see nothing good in this situation. I see disaster, because I'm not sure what else to call it. But Trouble with a capital T is ahead. And you know what this reminds me of? A soap opera. Soaps run on lies; it's what keeps them going year after year after year. I didn't sign on for a soap either.

Mick will find out about this, eventually. I can only imagine the distress that he will go through when he does.

And one last thing. The only surprise worthy of the show? Talbot has the pix of Mick. That got me on the edge of my seat. At last.

This may be the first Moonlight ep that I don't buy from iTunes. Not sure yet, but what would I miss by not buying it? In the opening act next week, they will review the end of the show. I will see the only part worth keeping.

P.S.: Lafluffy has reminded me that these 4 new eps are stand-alones. I've never seen the names of the writers for this ep before tonight. I hope it's the last time. But because these are stand-alone eps, I don't feel as discouraged about Moonlight. Perhaps next season they will get back on track. I will hold thoughts about the next 3 eps, but I will not hope. I must say that the preview for the remaining eps was quite good.

I can see that I hate-stand alone eps.

ADDENDUM

Oops! Forgot something. A lost opportunity for a terrific scene, as in earlier eps, involving Mick and Beth. The scene: Beth is invited to sleep on the couch. Mick goes upstairs to sleep in his freezer. You mean to say that neither of them had any thoughts about creeping down/up the stairs to take a look at the other? And if they did, why didn't the writers give that to us? Geez, that reminds of Black Crystal. The writers gave it all to us there. In this ep we're left with nothing!

I can imagine Beth slowly going up the stairs, hesitantly, perhaps even looking at the freezer. And Mick? Would he perhaps go to the top of stairs, or the door? Turn around and go back to freezer? (I would have made both scenarios happen, along with the thoughts while they lay in their respective beds.)

I want my Moonlight backkkkkkkkkkkk!

LaFluffy:

The first 12 eps., what I'll have to call "Classic Moonlight" now, spoke to my heart. This one especially, didn't. And what really shocks me is Beth's ordering of the murder of a guy who is a sleazebag, but not any of the people Mick usually knocks off. He's not a criminal, not a murderer, and as much I think paparazzi are pondscum, he doesn't deserved to be murdered for uncovering something.

And it is more shocking for me to read that fans are okay with it. They justify it by saying if someone threatened their loved ones they wouldn't hesitate. But no one's life is on the line. Vampires are always in danger of being exposed. There are more creative ways to take care of the problem than simple murder. I swear this is turning into the Buffy show, where people die left and right, and there are no boundaries to what is right and what is wrong.

This show used to have a moral centre. Mick was it. Without it, it's just another postmodern heap of ambiguity and non-commital chaos, where no one takes responsibility for their actions and when they do, it's only to justify it. If the Mick I loved still existed, I would expect him to kick her ass to the curb and it would be a long, long time before I'd let her back into my life. I hope he does that in the season ending.

I have lost all respect for Beth. To do anything for love, to sacrifice anything for love, including your soul? That's just teen angst and romance and so unworthy of "Classic Moonlight". Why not just turn her into a vamp and be done with it. I'm so depressed.

And you're right, LTU, soap operas are built on lies. I'm speechless.

The only way this can be a seriously brilliant twist is if it turns out that it is Beth who is in need of redemption (I don't think Mick is, never have. He was redeemed when he chose to save Beth as a little girl, and thus, began turning his life around).