Moonlight Episode Discussion - Ep 5: Arrested Development

[GuardianAngel]

Mick and Beth arrive at the teen vamp's home. Beth asks if Mick's friends (Josef and Ryder) are vampires.



Mick quips that she can't tell, can she - scary.



They arrive at the vamp's door and Mick knocks with no answer.



Beth goes to say that it doesn't seem like anyone's there. Mick shushes her. Beth shushes.



Mick picks the lock on the door.



When he enters he's grabbed. There is a tustle. The light goes on. Carl is there with FBI agents. They had tried to subdue Mick but he has two agents held on the floor. Carl is holding a gun to Mick telling him to let them go. Another agent has Beth up against the another door out in the hall.



With hands on his head, the agents pull him up off his knees. Mick gives in but isn't happy about it.



Meanwhile, on the boardwalk, the teen vamp is meeting Cherish.



When the teen walks up to her and asks if she's Cherish it looks like she might lie.



But she doesn't and tells him to sit down. Either she's really hard up for cash (which I don't think so since she was reluctant to take on another customer) or she is much nicer than Jazzmyn who was ready to shut the door in his face. The vamp sits and we get our first look at him.



He eyes her body and is getting excited. He has to push his fangs back in with his thumb. CreepEE!

[wpgrace]

It is remarkable that Alex can take that one word line, "Scary!" and make it so memorable... we have all noted that line at one point or another over the past year... a one word line... an everyday word...

I think it is cool that when he talks to Cherish... the teen vamp gets all excited about a day with her and mentions that the "roller coaster is killer." Yes it is.

[darkstarrising]

I had a number of reactions to this part of the story....your first screencap that shows Mick and Beth walking toward the building capture Mick's allure - dark clothes, the duster, the confident stride, his 'look' sigh.....

The other screencap where he tells Beth to shush is a stunning one, with the light haloing Beth's hair. Sophia Myles is truly a beautiful woman.

Speaking of hair, does anyone else think that the teenage vamp's hair was a wig? I hope it was.

The look on Cherish's face says it all....

[GuardianAngel]

dsr, Sophia Myles IS a truly beautiful woman. She's also angelic looking which is why I think she was cast for this role. But she's not an angel - so her looks and personality make her interesting. We can see why she captivates Mick.

As far as the teen vamp's hair... sometimes it looks like a wig and sometimes not.


grace, Alex makes the word 'hey' sound special. There are several episodes where he says an ordinary word and I gushed. Like "hurry up" to Morgan in FdL. It's husky and has a hint of a laugh in it. Two words I hear almost every day but he makes them sublime.

[mwj01]

I personally thought that Josef's reactions were a bit out of character. He should be way more smooth and suave than that, IMO. His reaction upon meeting her initially wasn't the problem. It was the weird/awkward/uncomfortable thing later that just seemed too played up. Josef has been around thousands of beautiful human in his 300+ years, so why the weird reaction to Beth? Didn't make sense to me. Hell, Ryder's reaction was smoother than Josef's. Did that make sense? Jason himself admitted that it took a long time to get a handle on how to play Josef, so maybe this was his choice and possibly not the right one.

Agreed. It was beyond strange. It was an over-the-top reaction and what made it seem more odd was that he never reacted anything remotely like that again.

[nana]

I LOVE HOW MICKS CAR TAKES A SPIN, AND WHEN IT COMES BACK SOMEONE HAS TAKEN ITS PARKING SPOT, AND NEEDS TO MOVE UP FIVE SPACES....WONDER HOW MICK KNEW TO TURN RIGHT INSTEAD OF LEFT TO GET TO HIS PARKED CAR....

[GuardianAngel]

I was waiting for someone to bring that up, nana. They screwed up that scene. They approach the building from one side and leave towards the other. And lo and behold, there's Mick's car, right there!

[Fleur de Lisa]

I personally thought that Josef's reactions were a bit out of character. He should be way more smooth and suave than that, IMO. His reaction upon meeting her initially wasn't the problem. It was the weird/awkward/uncomfortable thing later that just seemed too played up. Josef has been around thousands of beautiful human in his 300+ years, so why the weird reaction to Beth? Didn't make sense to me. Hell, Ryder's reaction was smoother than Josef's. Did that make sense? Jason himself admitted that it took a long time to get a handle on how to play Josef, so maybe this was his choice and possibly not the right one.

Agreed. It was beyond strange. It was an over-the-top reaction and what made it seem more odd was that he never reacted anything remotely like that again.

It is something how we all see things in such different ways. I thought Josef's reaction was just fine. This is the first time that he has met the woman who has rocked Mick's world. For years, he has been trying to get Mick to loosen up around the freshies and partake of their blood, as well as their flesh, and Mick has demurred. This is the first time since the ex that he has been so captivated by a woman. Not to mention the lovely blood type she sports! And let's face it, Josef is cocky and self-assured, him checking out Beth seems to be a normal reflex for him, couple that with him trying to be respectful towards Mick, and that is where you may see some awkwardness.

[nana]

I was waiting for someone to bring that up, nana. They screwed up that scene. They approach the building from one side and leave towards the other. And lo and behold, there's Mick's car, right there!

NO COMPLAINTS FROM MOI, A GOOD SHOT OF THE "MICK STRUT" LOVE THAT BELT BUCKLE...

[GuardianAngel]

Back at the teen vamp's house Mick is being scolded by the female FBI agent.



She asks Mick if he knows how close he came to getting shot. In his head he asks if she knows how close she came to getting her face ripped off.



She goes on and on getting loud in Mick's face. His VO contemplates humans and yelling. Mick never understood it. Not that he doesn't like that flushed blood in the face look. As the agent continues her tirade Mick's VO explains that the elevated blood pressure causes you to miss things. He is obviously calm, looks around and notices some clues about the vampire.









Mick walks over and picks up the picture. An agent takes it from him asking what it is.



Mick tells him the obvious - looks like an old photo. Neither agent give it much thought. Mick notices something else. A personal organizer.



Carl is talking with Beth. He's telling her that the killer has been profiled. A loner, 38 - 45 yrs. old, wet his bed.



And he keeps trophies of his victims in the freezer on the floor.



Mick comes over. He signals to Beth to take the organizer. (I love how much can be communicated between these two with just a glance).



Mick talks to Carl to distract him. Carls tells Mick what he's been telling Beth about the profiling. Beth swipes the organizer.



They leave and outside Mick tells Beth what he has deduced. The vamp is a kid - 16 going on 200.



Beth says what an awful age. Mick tells her that boys that age think about sex 20 times a minute. It's a scientific fact. Times 2 centuries - it has to take a toll.



Beth starts to look through the organizer and realizes it belonged to the dead escort. Mick tells her to wait until they're in the car before looking through it - they were being watched.



Beth gets in and flips through. She finds a photo and shows it to Mick. Who recognizes the girl he's looking for.



He also notices the name of the bar in the background. Beth tells him there's a phone number on the back. Mick says to call it.



Back at Greene's Cherish asks the teen if he's a virgin. He says it depends what she means. She asks if she'd be his first. He says not really.



Then she asks how old he is. She doesn't believe he's even 21. He gives her the truth. Like she'll believe it.



Her phone rings. (Beth a-calling).



He tells Cherish not to answer it and hands her a wad of cash. She says okay and puts the money in her bag along with her phone.

[coco]

Mick comes over. He signals to Beth to take the organizer. (I love how much can be communicated between these two with just a glance).

GA ITA. One of the things I've always loved about the Mick/Beth dynamic was how much they could communicate with just their eyes. This scene and the kitchen scene in Fever showed that to perfection

[darkstarrising]

Two things of interest here, one of which I'd never noticed before. In the old picture of the teen vamp with the ladies of the bordello, does the woman standing next to him kinda look like Cherish?

The other thing I found funny was how Mick was the one who actually brings up the topic of sex when he talks about how frustrating it must be for the teen vamp (20 times a minute times 200 years - gotta take a toll). I love the smile on his face when he says it. He doesn't realize the door he's opened until he and Beth are in the car and she starts asking about sex with vamps.

[mwj01]

I personally thought that Josef's reactions were a bit out of character. He should be way more smooth and suave than that, IMO. His reaction upon meeting her initially wasn't the problem. It was the weird/awkward/uncomfortable thing later that just seemed too played up. Josef has been around thousands of beautiful human in his 300+ years, so why the weird reaction to Beth? Didn't make sense to me. Hell, Ryder's reaction was smoother than Josef's. Did that make sense? Jason himself admitted that it took a long time to get a handle on how to play Josef, so maybe this was his choice and possibly not the right one.

Agreed. It was beyond strange. It was an over-the-top reaction and what made it seem more odd was that he never reacted anything remotely like that again.

It is something how we all see things in such different ways. I thought Josef's reaction was just fine. This is the first time that he has met the woman who has rocked Mick's world. For years, he has been trying to get Mick to loosen up around the freshies and partake of their blood, as well as their flesh, and Mick has demurred. This is the first time since the ex that he has been so captivated by a woman. Not to mention the lovely blood type she sports! And let's face it, Josef is cocky and self-assured, him checking out Beth seems to be a normal reflex for him, couple that with him trying to be respectful towards Mick, and that is where you may see some awkwardness.

Yep, very differently. I didn’t see Josef as seeing someone who rocked Mick’s world. Certainly at that point anyway. But since the Fever feeding, he surely realized she was special to Mick and that Mick was protective of her and guarded where she was concerned. Did he realize she had a rare (and faux) blood type? Now, that would make sense, but I thought that it was news to Mick later on. It just seems ‘off’ that he appeared to be SO affected by her and next time they meet, zilch.

[nana]

SINCE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT AND HOW MICK TELLS JOSEF THIS IS THE CHILD HE

RESCUED, JOSEF MAY HAVE JUST BEEN OVERLY CURIOUS, AS TO JUST WHO AND WHAT

BETH REALLY IS...IN THE FIRST COUPLE EPS, HE DOSEN'T SEEM TO KNOW "THE BETH" ON

BUZZWIRE IS "THE BETH" MICK RESCUED....IF HE EVEN KNEW ABOUT THE FIGHT WITH

CORALINE AT ALL....ITS NOT TILL RINGER THAT JOSEF TALKS OF THE KIDNAPPED BETH...

[SirenSong]

Another problem I have with this ep and just about any eppy that involves the police, why oh why do they have to make them look soooooooo inept!?! And in this episode it's not only the police but the FBI? It does make you wonder how they solve any cases in the real world, doesn't it? Sheesh!