Moonlightaholics

Lilly wrote:I don't think he did recover quickly, grace. Later, he put on his game face for Mick and Beth, but he was clearly more rattled than we had ever seen him. He's a survivor, yes, but I think it had been a very long time since he was that much out of control of his environment. That's why the poker game was so important -- to establish how relaxed and cocky he had become over those 400+ years. Also, of course, it set up the discussion of relationships with mortal girls which we would see later had much more meaning to him than he let on.

Oh I agree, totally agree with that... I meant the purely survival part. He thinks on his feet. Got out of there. Got to Mick's. Got INTO Mick's. I meant he seemed prepared for this kind of sneak attack, and was ready to react to it. Calm under pressure.

Emotionally, psychologically, this was a wonderful ep for the very stuff you say... we get to see deeper and he's got vulnerabilities of all kinds that he's never shown before... not even to Mick.

I gotta admit - I didn't become a Jason fan until this episode. *hides from Lucky*

After 400 years, I wonder if a vampire becomes...complacent. I mean, yeah they cover their tracks, but after living for centuries, a feeling of invincibility would sort of start to set in. I don't think Mick's been a vampire long enough to feel that way, since he's still within a human lifespan at 85, but Josef had to feel like he was at the point where nothing could touch him (to loosely paraphrase Lola). To have someone break into his office, get past through his security? Shoot up his place, set it on fire? That had to be sobering - that even though one is immortal, that existence can still be ended.

I agree, Grace - Josef was a wonderfully multi-facted character, and this episode just shed a little more light on that character. I've always believed there's much he kept from Mick - some for his own good.

And on the slightly shallow side...I thought Jason was utterly adorable in this scene.

Oh YAY! We're discussing my favourite episode

I absolutely adore this episode. It's so deliciously slashy

Although I do have to echo the 'I thought Josef was dead' sentiments. I was not a happy camper.

The rest of the episode more than made up for it though

Did anyone else notice, at the end of the scene where Mick says 'I'm going to bed', and Josef replies 'And what am I supposed to do', how Josef is standing at the bottom of the staircase with his jacket on. But in the next scene he is coming back down the stairs, his jacket is off, and he's putting on a coat. So what exactly was Josef doing upstairs (where Mick's freezer room is) that required him to be partially undressed?

Hold your horses, Em!!! We'll get to that scene soon enough....

Red

It's interesting when it originally aired I didn't worry about Josef being dead. I guess I've watched so many soap operas where the explosion happened and the main character survived.

Of course I was into Mick at that point and Josef was the other guy. (Yes, that was a brief period of my life which ended with this episode.)

Well, I thought Josef was dead - and I still don't know how he got away from the explosion...

Kade1301 wrote:Well, I thought Josef was dead - and I still don't know how he got away from the explosion...

And that is precisely why we have fanfic.

It sure was a make your eyes go wide moment; but they seemed to be good at that just before a break.

I remember thinking something like "Oh, what a shame." I wasn't very into Josef at this point. I was more worried about the affect it was going to have on Mick.

Mick goes to Josef's office to investigate. He enters with Tom, Josef's head security guy and Mick is asking what happened.



Tom says they're still puting the pieces together. Mick asks "Josef?". They haven't found any remains. Just ash. Tom says whoever did it brought an awful lot of firepower to take out just one man. They walk through the debris. Mick asks how the guy got in. Tom says he's been head of security for 5 years - there's no way anybody should have been able to get anywhwere near Josef's office.



We move across town (at least the transition makes it look that way) to Buzzwire. Beth is at her desk and is approached by Maureen.



When Maureen sees her still there she quips that is why she love her. Beth says she had to finish up some copy. She'd spent the morning at the hospital. Mo remembers Morgan and asks how she is. When told that she's still in pretty bad shape Maureen asks if anyone knows how she hurt herself.



Beth says no, Morgan is still unconcious.



Her boss tells Beth to cheer up and that she has something to take her mind off Morgan. She sits on the desk and pulls up a story on the computer. It's an explosion at a downtown office building. Terrorists?



No. Apparently the targe was a bigshot hedge fund trader. She pulls up a picture. Guess who!



Beth is shocked that it's Josef. She tells Maureen he's a friend of Mick's. Maureen quips that THIS is why she loves Beth.



Beth asks if Josef was there and is told that he was, no survivors. Maureen wants Beth to get a cameraman and get over there. Beth says she can't - this guy is a really good friend of Mick's. She's told to use that to show some vulnerability. Tracking says that women 18 - 34 find Beth a little harsh.



Maureen walks away and Beth is stuck with the assignment.



Mick is sifting through the rubble. He finds a blood vial that was used in the poker game. He sniffs at it. (Thine heart be still!)



He hears Beth come up behind him and tells her that it was poker night and that he was supposed to be there.



She says that she's so sorry. Mick is too. She asks who could have done it. They used fire so they likely knew Josef was a vampire. Mick says Josef had enemies. But this? Who could hate him this muhc? He sees the camera guy.



Mick looks confused and then annoyed. He questions Beth. That's why she's there? She's there on a story?



She trieds to explain that Maureen sent her. Mick doesn't want to hear it. He tells her to go away. Ouch.





Poor Mick. Do vampires get headaches?



She tries again to explain. They were going to send someone anyway, isn't it better it be her? Micks says his friend just died. He doesn't want to talk to her. Ouch again.





He then tells her that no, she should stay, get her story. She should do her job, he'll do his. And he walks away.

The first time I saw this, I thought that Mick was being overly harsh with Beth....she was right, better that she's covering the story than somebody who wouldn't be as sympathetic and might be too nosy. Later though, I understood that Mick's reaction just underscored how much he loved Josef.

Love how Mick's face wrinkles up when he gets mad!!

I'm always torn by this scene. On the one hand, Mick is pretty harsh with Beth. On the other, he just lost his best friend, and Beth does look pretty insensitive, showing up with a cameraman. (Yes...I know she was told to do so, but I can certainly see how it looks to Mick.)

And on the "did you really think Josef was dead?" front, I believe I knew that this was going to be Josef's "big episode," and I don't think it ever crossed my mind that they'd even consider killing off Josef. But I'd become a Josef convert literally weeks earlier, and perhaps it's just that I couldn't conceive ML without JOSEF. I mean...really.

Lucky

I was torn by this scene as well. I did feel bad for Beth because it was already set up by the preceeding scene that she didn't want to cover the explosion - she knew how upset Mick was going to be. But of course Mick was going to be annoyed. I WAS a little peeved that he didn't even want to let her explain. But hey, like he says, his best friend just died. I think he deserved for us to cut him some slack. I also liked that it was another look into his character. He's not perfect. Who is?

Something that stands out for me in this great scene is that Mick and Beth have become so close and they are both sharing their pain and fear with one another that Josef might be gone. Beth clearly understands that this attempt was purposefully to kill Josef. She is now understanding the vampire world better. She knew the fire meant they were trying to kill a vampire. Mick lashes out in anger at Beth, and sometimes it is those we feel safe with that we blow off steam to. And Beth knew Mick was hurting and wasn't going to argue back too vigorously. Beth was really hurt that she had disappointed Mick so. All this reaffrims to me Mick and Beth have gotten to be very close emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

Hmmmm... yeah, dead best friend. Not in a good mood. I LOVE the sniffing thing with the blood vial. Oooooo! And I loved the way he SAID, "You brought your camera guy?" Really well-delivered line. Showed total pique.

Beth's argument was valid... they could've sent another reporter. But so was his devastation. This was JOSEF! Maybe she shoulda just come as herself and let BuzzWire send someone else. She doesn't really have business-like impartiality here after all.

But neither one of them really let fly. They didn't agree, but she was gentle with him. And considering, he coulda unloaded upon her a lot more than he did. For an argument, it was pretty mild.

AND it led her to go see him later. 'Nother scene and all, but a good one.

wpgrace wrote:Hmmmm... yeah, dead best friend. Not in a good mood. I LOVE the sniffing thing with the blood vial. Oooooo! And I loved the way he SAID, "You brought your camera guy?" Really well-delivered line. Showed total pique.

Beth's argument was valid... they could've sent another reporter. But so was his devastation. This was JOSEF! Maybe she shoulda just come as herself and let BuzzWire send someone else. She doesn't really have business-like impartiality here after all.

But neither one of them really let fly. They didn't agree, but she was gentle with him. And considering, he coulda unloaded upon her a lot more than he did. For an argument, it was pretty mild.

AND it led her to go see him later. 'Nother scene and all, but a good one.

I agree with Grace. That scene led to their next scene which I adore but I'll wait 'til we get there.

The waiting is the hardest part.

*twiddles thumbs*