Moonlight Episode Discussion - Ep 7: The Ringer

[Luxe de Luxe]

Aargh.... I've been missing out. where can I find Alex's comments?

[coco]

Aargh.... I've been missing out. where can I find Alex's comments?

Luxe you can find them here:

viewtopic.php?f=184&t=2831&start=15

Enjoy.

[darlingcat]

Alex did a fabulous job depicting Mick's confusion. He always said he loved the dramatic moments in ML and, if it were up to him, the tension between Mick and Beth would have been prolonged...
But still Mick make a very clean break with Coraline and his past later in TMC
He was distant, almost cold with her, and refused her invitation to join her and her attempt to work on the cure.

[wpgrace]

Rattled Mick? Be still my heart.

For me, it was the conflict that Coraline created that really set the sparks flying. Mick and Beth didn't just have to overcome their inherently different natures, they had to overcome Mick's past as well. And that was a fascinating and revealing struggle for them both. Thanks to Alex's wonderful performance, we saw, writ large, the pain, the passion, Mick's desire to move forward while still being drawn back to the past. And it was amazing to see.

Red

It definitely made Mick a more interesting character... I think that is what this story arc begins to do for him. And Alex of course got that, smart guy that he is. Plus as an actor, what a more interesting bit to play. The simplicity of a noble reluctant vampire would wear thin after awhile.

Mick was not simple... he wouldn't have brooded for all those years if he were, unless he was just a depressive. He had chinks in his armor, and flaws in his own make up, and drives, cravings, obsessions that he could not fight. He was neither a natural monk, despite his last decade or so, nor a natural saint. And this episode begins to really show us these chinks... he has noted that he has flaws, that relationships with vamps and humans are not recommended, but he's been such a tame vamp so far, it is hard for us, and Beth, to understand what the problem is.

So now we get to see some of what he's talking about. He hasn't let Cora go... Josef had implied as much when he told the monk story several eps back, but now we see how much he is still holding on to her, despite himself, despite what he wishes he would do. And we get to see how obsessed he has been with her... what he has done... and what kinds of actions he is capable of... how he can lose control of those tightly controlled emotions, and how his actions then follow that loss of control. We see it in the graveyard scene, and in the flashback chair in the window scene. Mick can be violent. Mick CAN lose control. When he was a human, and when he is a vamp.

So what else has he done in his past? Sadly, 16 eps, we're not gonna get to see... but leaves the door open for the writers, huh?

[redwinter101]

So what else has he done in his past? Sadly, 16 eps, we're not gonna get to see... but leaves the door open for the writers, huh?

As wide as a barn door, Grace....

Red

[mwj01]

I didn't see coldness there DC, more like being guarded. There was all kinds of warmth between them in the scene where she gave him the cure, they left together sharing a moment, and then he nearly got himself killed trying to fight badass vamps, as a human this time, to defend her. There was sadness and pain on his face when he helplessly watched her taken away. No doubt that's what Alex wanted to convey and I think he did so wonderfully. And whether there was to be any future for them at some point or not, knowing what we know about him, there was no way he wouldn't have tried to rescue her, and not after what they'd shared and the sacrifice she made of herself for him in the end.

But I digress, The Ringer...how fascinating to see cute, fun-loving Morgan suddenly turn and give that chilling look to Beth in the end! Whoa! Kudos to Shannyn for that one! She conveyed so much in that one look!

[coco]

But I digress, The Ringer...how fascinating to see cute, fun-loving Morgan suddenly turn and give that chilling look to Beth in the end! Whoa! Kudos to Shannyn for that one! She conveyed so much in that one look!

mwj that looks still scares me to this day. Such a chilling look and a real sense of danger for Beth and yet she has no idea. That look told me why Morgan was back and what her intentions were. I've often wondered what Mick would have made of that look had he seen it?

[darlingcat]

I didn't see coldness there DC, more like being guarded. There was all kinds of warmth between them in the scene where she gave him the cure, they left together sharing a moment, and then he nearly got himself killed trying to fight badass vamps, as a human this time, to defend her. There was sadness and pain on his face when he helplessly watched her taken away. No doubt that's what Alex wanted to convey and I think he did so wonderfully. And whether there was to be any future for them at some point or not, knowing what we know about him, there was no way he wouldn't have tried to rescue her, and not after what they'd shared and the sacrifice she made of herself for him in the end.

I have to respectfully disagree.

Mick was almost annoyed when he opened the door and saw Coraline. His voice when he said "where have you been?" conveyed no concern or worry about her. His responses to her were very curt; "well, I burned you alive, so we are even", did not show an interest in her beyond the carrier of the elusive cure that had been his dream for 60 years.
And of course, he didn't even blink when she offered "Come with me". To me that was his clean break with the past: No hesitation, no second thoughts, just a dismissal, he wanted no part in Coraline's research efforts, he had no interest in going back. He did try to save her because he is the man of honor we know and love, he would have defended anyone from Lance, let alone the woman who was a big part of his past. Mick is honorable and brave.
As far as Coraline's motives go, she went to Mick not volunteering the cure but because she needed his help to escape her brother's fury. The only redeeming act on her part was stopping Lance from killing Mick. At that point she knew she had no chance, being outnumbered by Lance and his helper, so there was no sacrifice. It was a choice between Mick's death or not since her fate had been determined, so for once she did the right thing.

But we are getting ahead of the episodes here, we are still in #7
And to be on topic, Shannyn did a good job

[allegrita]

Friends, this isn't the place for a discussion of events in TMC. Please confine discussion to The Ringer.

Thanks!

[wpgrace]

But I digress, The Ringer...how fascinating to see cute, fun-loving Morgan suddenly turn and give that chilling look to Beth in the end! Whoa! Kudos to Shannyn for that one! She conveyed so much in that one look!

mwj that looks still scares me to this day. Such a chilling look and a real sense of danger for Beth and yet she has no idea. That look told me why Morgan was back and what her intentions were. I've often wondered what Mick would have made of that look had he seen it?

I actually think that that look is what made Beth, once she saw the photos from her own file in Mick's office (in 12:04), believe that Morgan was Cora... thereby setting up the action for FdL...

I think she MIGHT have gotten off on that bug anyway, once she saw those photos, but the photos PLUS the look, I think that got Beth's mental wheels spinning.

Now, unlike the rest of y'all, the look didn't chill me. It was just, to me, an unguarded moment from Cora. She was playacting with this whole Morgan thing, and Beth caught her looking at her as Cora, rather than Morgan. And Cora, understandably, isn't keen on Beth taking her man. But I didn't sense a threat in the look, as it was partially cold and partially disinterest. Beth had served her purpose and gotten Morgan close to Mick... now it is all about seducing the man. And the look to Beth was more like a girly cat-fight mentality... she is determined to get Mick back and I CANNOT believe, as much as WE know that Mick loves Beth, that Coraline really sees Beth as anything other than a minor obstacle. Plus she WOULD know, from painful--and hot--prior experience that threatening Beth is NOT the way to win Mick. So I think at this point, she is just giving Beth a cold look that says, you've served your purpose; I don't need you anymore.

[mwj01]

But I digress, The Ringer...how fascinating to see cute, fun-loving Morgan suddenly turn and give that chilling look to Beth in the end! Whoa! Kudos to Shannyn for that one! She conveyed so much in that one look!

mwj that looks still scares me to this day. Such a chilling look and a real sense of danger for Beth and yet she has no idea. That look told me why Morgan was back and what her intentions were. I've often wondered what Mick would have made of that look had he seen it?

No doubt Coco! And the way they shot it gave it an extra chill! I sorta feared for Beth in that moment, wondering what Cora was going to do. Although, as it turns out, she wasn't so scary after that. I think the look did tip-off Beth though that they may not be buds after all.

[coco]

But I digress, The Ringer...how fascinating to see cute, fun-loving Morgan suddenly turn and give that chilling look to Beth in the end! Whoa! Kudos to Shannyn for that one! She conveyed so much in that one look!

mwj that looks still scares me to this day. Such a chilling look and a real sense of danger for Beth and yet she has no idea. That look told me why Morgan was back and what her intentions were. I've often wondered what Mick would have made of that look had he seen it?

No doubt Coco! And the way they shot it gave it an extra chill! I sorta feared for Beth in that moment, wondering what Cora was going to do. Although, as it turns out, she wasn't so scary after that. I think the look did tip-off Beth though that they may not be buds after all.

Probably not the best of friends.

Grace I like your view point too. Beth had got Morgan where she needed to be with Mick at that point so there was an element of 'don't need her anymore' in that look but it still scares me and I can totally agree with you that Beth would have pieced that look together with the photos and set her on her quest in FdL but as we're not there yet, i'll shut up now.

[GuardianAngel]

I actually think that that look is what made Beth, once she saw the photos from her own file in Mick's office (in 12:04), believe that Morgan was Cora... thereby setting up the action for FdL...

I agree. I assumed it was that look along with finding out it was Coraline that kidnapped her as a child that had Beth ouside her window in FdL. Thank Bob, too. Because Mick has a tendancy to run. He doesn't like to deal with things. At least not until they are right in his face. Just like him not really dealing with his feelings for Coraline and what happened between them for 22 years. He's basically just put it away (or at least he's tried) but now it's BAM! In. His. Face. And he doesn't know if he's coming or going.

[mwj01]

I like your take on the look too Sister and I see what you mean with reading it as disinterest and a "you've served your purpose" kinda thing.

[allegrita]

It's so fun to speculate--and I know it's been said before, but doesn't it say volumes about the talent of these actors that they were able to portray sooo much with just their body language and facial expressions? Alex, Shannyn, and Sophia just blew me away in this episode, and so did Jason. The looks that Josef gives Mick as he's trying to convince Mick that Morgan can't be Coraline make you go hmmmm... how much does Josef know that he's not saying?