Moonlight Episode Discussion - Ep 10: Sleeping Beauty

[GuardianAngel]

Tho she still had every intention to truly HURT Coraline. Which leads me to wonder, had Cora been a regular vamp at that moment, what WOULD Beth have done to her when staked and vulnerable?

I have no clue as to what Beth wanted to do after she'd staked Coraline. But she would have been pretty sure that whatever it was she didn't have a chance at it without staking her first. I'd also bet that she assumed Mick would back her up especially after finding those photos proving that Coraline had been stalking them. Then there they are, the two vamps, all wet and cozy, Cora looking like the cat who caught the canary. Even miffed with him I think Beth would have thought that, besides getting her own regenge, she was also saving Mick (especially after Josef telling her that if Cora is back she's back for Mick). I could practically hear the "Oh, no. This is gonna end right NOW!" running through Beth's brain.

[Lilly]

Well, this probably belongs in the FdL thread, but I don't think Beth was expecting to find Coraline at Mick's. She was going there to show him the evidence she found and undoubtedly expected him to be as horrified as she was.

Stumbling into the situation there the way she did threw her completely off guard, and I believe she reacted without thinking things through at all.

Why, at the hospital, Mick seemed to give her a pass on knowing what the effect of her actions would be is something I'm just going to chalk up to Mick being thrown off kilter by the whole turn of events equally as much as Beth was.

[GuardianAngel]

I agree, Lilly.

As for Mick, I think he was feeling a bit guilty (his specialty). Beth had been off gaining proof that Morgan was indeed Coraline (she had been correct in digging deeper when Mick had been read to let it go) while Mick had been ready to devour his ex-wife in his shower. He probably thought the outcome had been his fault so he wouldn't want Beth beating herself up over it.

Mick's reactions practically gave me whiplash. When he first approaches the hospital bed you really can't tell what he's thinking. Then there is his response to Beth's question and his attitude - of course he cares for Coraline. She was his wife. Then his regret over her dieing would be that he will not find out about the cure - not that he had been relieved to find out he had not murdered his wife and would maybe regret her perishing so soon again because of him.

[Lilly]

I think perhaps they were trying to keep us guessing, but instead it came off as rather jumbled.

[wpgrace]

I think perhaps they were trying to keep us guessing, but instead it came off as rather jumbled.

Yeah to be honest, I think this was an area that, with all the different writers and show runners, they did not have a unified vision for where the show was going or where this love triangle was going... and so they were keeping all options open at this point. He still loves her, at least a little bit... he cannot resist her sexually... there is always that connection between them... no, he really is only interested in the cure... (as Lucky wisely noted) well, he's a vamp; he can take a bit of violence and shrug it off... you pick the one that appeals to you.

But then, look at what's going on with Beth from the end of this ep onward (yeah, going too far ahead, sorry)... but it's a bit of the same thing. She wants Mick and will stake for him and dump Josh for him... she doesn't want Mick... she doesn't really want Josh either... yes she does... oh she doesn't know... now he's dead and it's Mick's fault... no, now she has a ring and her best buddy Mick will help her make sense of it... Josh is dead a week now, let's call that sexy vampire Mick... shit Mick's a vamp, let's call it off... oh no he remembers what shoes I did not wear; date's back on....

Again... not a clear vision from the top... so the actors did what they could with the material. God bless em.

[Lilly]

Oh, grace! You've hit the nail on the head. And this is one of the reasons I haven't participated very much in these discussions (even though I bow to the wonderful job GA is doing with them). I think many of the things that folks puzzle over have no real answers. The writers were leaving options open for an ongoing series, and even if they did have a clear-cut vision, they weren't giving too much away in any given week. As the writers changed, and more importantly the original creators were shown the door, the vision most certainly changed. And I think sometimes the actors had yet another take on things.

It's no wonder we're a tad confused at times.

[wpgrace]

Yeah, I think Alex's commentary on the eps in that SFX magazine were interesting. Clearly, he had to play Mick, and interpret the scripts as they came, leaving the door open for potentially another interpretation altogether in following scripts. That HAD to contribute to the greying of Alex.

[aolver]

It was mentioned about Mick giving Beth a pass about not knowing Cora was human. Noone has mentioned Beth giving Mick a pass about finding him in a compromising position with his ex wife. Granted Beth was still "officially" Josh's girlfriend, but the writing was on the wall about her feelings shift toward Mick. Beth was falling for him and maybe she was thinking he was falling for her, until Morgan showed up and threw a cog in the works. Beth thinks that she and Mick are moving toward more than friendship and then , WHAM....she comes in, finds Mick wet and bare chested, and Cora comes down the stairs in Mick's shirt. (Obviously on purpose to show Beth that Mick belonged to her) And Beth lets this pass!! No confrontation about it at all. Maybe she felt it wasn't her place, because of the reasons I mentioned, but still. So they both gave each other a pass and in the meantime, frustrated the viewers....

[GuardianAngel]

Nope, no mention of what happened (or almost happened) between Cora and Mick. And I agree, she DID give him a pass. Even puting aside the romance aspect, Mick was suppose to be helping Beth get to the bottom of the this mystery because Beth wanted to know if Morgan was the same woman who kidnapped her as a child. The same woman Mick thought he killed to rescue her. And there he was getting wet with her. That in itself was a betrayal.

ETA: Thank you, Lilly.

[Luxe de Luxe]

hmm.... coming in late again, sorry about that. I'd like to comment on the 'She's my wife' comment again.

While I do think this indicated some ongoing regard for Coraline, I also think that Mick was a little snippy here because he was feeling affronted. Does Beth think that when he gives his love to someone he takes it lightly?! No! Being in love is serious business for Mick. I think he was offended by her comment, felt that the depth of his ability to love and commit were being misunderstood by her.

I have to say - I've always been shocked by the staking and how savage Beth was when she did it. I suspect she was shocked and ashamed also of how easily she herself had nearly become a killer - something I'm sure she wouldn't have been slow to accuse Coraline of had she got the chance.

[wpgrace]

It was mentioned about Mick giving Beth a pass about not knowing Cora was human. Noone has mentioned Beth giving Mick a pass about finding him in a compromising position with his ex wife. Granted Beth was still "officially" Josh's girlfriend, but the writing was on the wall about her feelings shift toward Mick. Beth was falling for him and maybe she was thinking he was falling for her, until Morgan showed up and threw a cog in the works. Beth thinks that she and Mick are moving toward more than friendship and then , WHAM....she comes in, finds Mick wet and bare chested, and Cora comes down the stairs in Mick's shirt. (Obviously on purpose to show Beth that Mick belonged to her) And Beth lets this pass!! No confrontation about it at all. Maybe she felt it wasn't her place, because of the reasons I mentioned, but still. So they both gave each other a pass and in the meantime, frustrated the viewers....

NO way, for me, guys.

Beth has made quite clear, quite, that while she may be intrigued by Mick, she is not dumping Josh for him. SEVERAL times in The Ringer, she AND Mick noted that Beth has a boyfriend. So Beth has NO excuse to feel romantically "betrayed" here. This woman is Mick's ex wife. A long term relationship and an intimate one. They have just rediscovered each other. After he had tried to kill her.

That gives them a reason and an expectation for some privacy, frankly, to work out just where their current relationship stands. He owes Beth nothing romantically. So he can be as wet as he wants to be around Cora. They're adults. And neither one have made ANY commitments elsewhere. Beth can be disappointed by that, but she has no right (she may feel it, but she has no moral right) to feel territorial about Mick.

Now if Beth feels physically intimidated or threatened by the discovery that Morgan is Cora, that is understandable. The vamp once tried to hurt her, and has now been stalking her in disguise. Sp she should expect Mick to make sure Cora does not hurt her. And she may feel her FRIENDSHIP with Mick is at risk, should Mick decide to get back together with Cora. But that decision is HIS to make. (And we know he didn't make that one, btw, so it's an intellectual argument.)

He's known Cora for 50 years. He's known Beth--aside from the rescue bit, I am meaning adult Beth here-- for all of 3 months. Three eps ago... or in ML world 3 weeks prior... Beth's BOYFRIEND had invited MIck to their anniversary party. He gets a free pass for a reunion with Coraline. Cause otherwise, Mick's been all alone.

[coco]

I really should be working but I couldn't resist joining in here quickly.

I totally agree with Grace on the romantic side of things. Whatever was going on between Mick and Coraline at that point in time shouldn't have caused Beth any regret in terms of romance. She has a boyfriend, they both know it and have mentioned that on more than one ocassion. Even if there are feelings there between them both - it hasn't been acted upon so Mick hasn't betrayed her in that regard.

I also agree with GA that he did let Beth down in terms of helping her discover Morgan's identity. Beth was left to figure most of that out alone causing her anger and frustration to build. I can see that Mick was in himself distracted by Morgan and his own history with her but I do feel he kind of left her on her own to uncover all of this which was traumatic in itself for her given his own history in her past and what happened.

[redwinter101]

I agree with you, Grace.

However (a nice way of saying "but" ) the fact that Mick said, "It's not what you think," (STILL the lamest line, Mick, honey) means that HE felt compelled to explain Coraline's presence in a state of undress. I agree that he had no obligation to do so, given their respective relationship statuses, but he felt it nonetheless.

Red

[Luxe de Luxe]

Yes, there was definitely something implicit going on between Mick and Beth by this stage (she'd kissed him twice, smelled his jumper !, discovered his ongoing protection of her etc) and while she had no moral right to feel let down by Mick romantically with Coraline, (I agree with you totally there grace) I think she felt it anyway. Regardless though, Mick did have every right to do as he chose here and he drew a clear boundary with Beth about Coraline with the 'She was my wife' comment.

[redwinter101]

And with "She's my wife," for me, Mick totally redeemed himself for the "It's not what you think" line.

To me, that line that wasn't about Coraline - it was about him and what being married meant to him.

Red