(Season One, Episodes 7 & 8)
Tonight’s entry marks the halfway point in my Moonlight Diary. If you’re just finding it now, I’ve listed links to the first few entries at the bottom of the page. A quick note about the picture accompanying this post. A nice shot of Coraline, or even Sheppard would be most appropriate, but the final scene of the eighth episode just jumped off the screen. Bravo to the lighting department, as this shot was absolutely beautiful.
“The Ringer”
First, I’ve got to say: The opening shot with Mick working out against the skyline on fire would have been cool if the green screen work had been just a bit better. But it was a great concept.
So Coraline is alive. Not exactly the most surprising twist, but at the same time I am interested in how it twists up the oddity that is the Beth and Mick dynamic. Ironically, despite my queasiness on their relationship, Beth herself is beginning to grow on me. If Coraline was and perhaps is Mick’s one true love, then, as I have heard once said, “Them chickens coming home to roost.”
I love Josef, “Coraline … You mean Coraline, Coraline?” He’s got a way of just saying the right/wrong thing at any given time. Him not wanting to break into the house, “Can’t you just let me in the door?” Him not being able to tell who Coraline is (and the whole bleeding thing to throw off Mick) makes me wonder what the heck is going on.
Come on, Mick…. You’ve got to know the rule in TV and Movies: If you don’t see the body (or, in our case, the ashes), then she’s going to come back in the third act, or by the seventh episode. The storyline of the arson, dead victims, and set up at the cemetery was a little weak. That being said, the story was secondary to the reintroduction of Coraline, so its easily forgiven.
Oh, and “I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating crackers,” though a ubiquitous turn of phrase, continues to be one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard.
“12:04 AM”
This is one of those storyline that is not necessarily about about vampires, though it does take that turn eventually. The root of the story is a young woman in need of protection from a monster, and our hero Mick plays the guardian. It’s that nice damsel in distress story, and is a staple of film noir. This is when this show works best for me, because I think the characters that live in this world are markedly better than the mythology that it is built on.
And what a monster Sheppard is! He was scarier before he became a vampire than he ever was before. Forget the physical violence he commits, but the emotional trauma that he puts Audrey through is terrifying. The connection that Beth makes is poignant, especially contrasted with all of Mick’s stalkery photos Beth finds. You’ve got to love when the damsel misunderstands the hero. Maybe now that the truth is in the open, some progress can begin with the “ick” factor.
Speaking of “ick,” the DA keeps the murder weapon in a trophy case in his office? First, that takes a greater suspension of disbelief than the idea of vampires. Second? Creep to the fraking E. That’s just wrong, boys and girls.
Did Coraline just disappear for a episode? I don’t even remember a throw away reference. There must have been one, though, right? They wouldn’t just leave that way out there in the open like that, right?
Recap
Boyfriend so superfluous that he didn’t even show up this week. “Ick” factor still strong, though slightly different. Oh, and no Angel OR Veronica Mars references. I’m getting better.
Diary of a Moonlight virgin: OK, I might be cheating just a little
Diary of a Moonlight virgin: Beth: tastes great or less filling?
Diary of a Moonlight virgin: Vamp fights are cool
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Jun 22, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
Dear Clique Clack, your comment (in quotes) “Oh, and “I wouldn’t kick her out of bed for eating crackers,” though a ubiquitous turn of phrase, continues to be one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard”, shows just how young you are. That my dear was a very favorite phrase used by guys in the forties & fifties when whispering to their buddies about how they’d like to get that lady in the sack. It might sound stupid to you but it was “hip” way back in the day of which writers were trying to portray.
*POST AUTHOR*
A fair point I will easily concede… I am in fact going to exit my 20’s this very year.
In my own defense, however, I will say that all generations have some silly sounding phrases as a part of their standard vernacular, mine included.
Ep. 7 was a great introduction to Coraline for us, but it really set up the true intent of Mick’s attempts to find her–the fact that she may be human again, and if so, he could become human again, too. Although Josef had some classic lines (during the B&E in Palmdale, and during Mick’s discovery of Matola’s death) he was the one trying to keep Mick real by telling him he needed to accept what he was. And I have since discovered that at the end when Coraline revealed that she really was Coraline, apparently I was not the only one screaming at my TV.
12:04 was Mick doing what he does best–protecting the innocent and tracking down the bad guys, decapitation included. And the balcony scene–there are no words. Well lit, well acted, and well done.