Moonlight Episode Discussion - Ep 9: Fleur de Lis

[GuardianAngel]

LOL. Yes, I remember thinking Mick was being obtuse with his definition of 'courtesan'. Friend of the court, my a$$.

In fact when Coraline finally reveals herself (*ahem*) to Mick she tells him that she's been dropping him hints all over the place. e.g. my favourite wine, favorite novel by the bedside, Proust of course ('Remembrance of things Past'). I think she thinks he's been pretty slow on the uptake.

I agree, Luxe. But you know, when she said that, it made me wonder. In The Ringer, Mick made it abundantly clear that he believed her to be Coraline. Exactly what was she holding out for? What was she looking for him to do?

[Luxe de Luxe]

just goes to show that the French are pretty fast and loose with a branding iron, Lucky!

[librarian_7]

LOL. Yes, I remember thinking Mick was being obtuse with his definition of 'courtesan'. Friend of the court, my a$$.

Well, *ahem* very friendly.

And yeah, they do seem to like the kinky stuff...branding indeed. Even though what Coraline has is clearly a tattoo.

Lucky

[Luxe de Luxe]

LOL. Yes, I remember thinking Mick was being obtuse with his definition of 'courtesan'. Friend of the court, my a$$.

In fact when Coraline finally reveals herself (*ahem*) to Mick she tells him that she's been dropping him hints all over the place. e.g. my favourite wine, favorite novel by the bedside, Proust of course ('Remembrance of things Past'). I think she thinks he's been pretty slow on the uptake.

I agree, Luxe. But you know, when she said that, it made me wonder. In The Ringer, Mick made it abundantly clear that he believed her to be Coraline. Exactly what was she holding out for? What was she looking for him to do?

I think in part she was enjoying his total flummox-ation!!

[darkstarrising]

flummox-ation? may not be a real word but it certainly describes how he reacted.

[allegrita]

Flummox-ification?

[wpgrace]

Courtesan/ friend of the court... tattoo/ brand... Morgan/Coraline... Reign of Terror/Vampire Genocide... potato/ potahto... really now. Mick IS a guy. Do we actually expect him to get all these details right? Plus, maybe he's a little gullible... or flummoxified... ok?

I mean, seriously, he doesn't even get his own age right... or his own birth month. We got two of both of those over the course of 16 eps, did we not???

[darkstarrising]

Courtesan/ friend of the court... tattoo/ brand... Morgan/Coraline... Reign of Terror/Vampire Genocide... potato/ potahto... really now. Mick IS a guy. Do we actually expect him to get all these details right? Plus, maybe he's a little gullible... or flummoxified... ok?

I mean, seriously, he doesn't even get his own age right... or his own birth month. We got two of both of those over the course of 16 eps, did we not???

I agree, and whether he was flummoxified (love the word) or just being a guy, he might not get these little details right.

But it would have been nice if the writers had....

[GuardianAngel]

I'm with you, dsr. Some of those are the product of the Mick flummoxification and some were outright writer boo-boos. One is easily understood (because Mick looks so cute when he's messing up) but the other is not.

Of course in Moonlightland the good far outweighs the bad. So I'll shut up now.


The first time I watched this scene I took the flashback of Coraline getting branded as just that - a flashback. Not Beth's imagining of what could have happened. Is everyone agreed on what it was suppose to be?

[darkstarrising]

GA,

Not sure....the ML transcript has it listed as a flashback as Beth is doing research on French courtesans. When Maureen questions Beth about what she's doing she replies

"Oh ehm, a Fleur de Lis. Did you know that French courtesans were branded with them back in the 18th century? It's like a permanent scarlet letter."

So it could be just Beth's imagining of what happened to Coraline based on what she read online.

[librarian_7]

I certainly originally didn't question that it was anything but a flashback. However, it seems more like it should be Beth's imagining, since the reality of the tattoo is so far removed from a brand scar.

The fact that this is ambiguous enough to warrant discussion is actually pretty cool.

Lucky

[GuardianAngel]

The fact that this is ambiguous enough to warrant discussion is actually pretty cool.

Isn't it? That 'flashback' brings up a few questions for me.

Mick never actually refers to the fluer de lis on her shoulder as a scar or a branding, does he? That's only Beth's assumption during her research, right? Or is it meant to be facts that she brings forward for the viewer?

If it is an actual flashback, was Coraline human or vampire when she was branded? They could not have held her down if she were vampire, but then again, there were a lot of people there, would she have revealed herself? Or was she maybe under the influence of the Cure?

[darkstarrising]

In the episode 'The Ringer', when Mick is chasing Morgan through the cemetery and grabs her he says

"Just tell me how you did it. Just tell me how you turned human. Show me that tattoo!"

OK, here's something really outside the box....let's say Coraline was branded as a human. Wouldn't the brand heal when she was turned?

Maybe she got a tattoo to remind her of her past....

Just a thought (a tired one, at that)

[Luxe de Luxe]

hmmm.... I always thought Mick referred to the fleur de lys as a 'tattoo' - but I'm not sure now whether he actually qualified whether it was a brand or a tattoo. Does anyone know?

Subtext-wise I guess i always supposed the writers wanted us to believe it was a brand.

[Luxe de Luxe]

OK, here's something really outside the box....let's say Coraline was branded as a human. Wouldn't the brand heal when she was turned?

..

Just a thought (a tired one, at that)

vampire-lore-wise, I thought that you stayed exactly the same as when you were turned. So that if you had a tattoo in life, then you'd have it in un-death too. I thought that only the things that occurred post-turn healed.