(S01E09) "I've never been almost killed before."-- Morgan

Now that Beth has discovered some of the secrets to her past, she is hellbent on discovering all of it. There were some definite inconsistencies, though, in what she said about it this week compared to last week. Last week, she said that she had always felt safe, and she knew it was because Mick had been watching over her. We even saw that in the scenes from last week.

This week, she tells a different story: She says she needs to find out the truth about her past in order to feel safe, and she doesn't know whether she will ever feel safe again. So, did she just start feeling unsafe when she started putting together the pieces? Mick is still her guardian angel, right? So, why won't she feel safe again?

Granted, it is understandable that anyone who has been victimized by another person (or vampire) would feel threatened by that person now being at large, but the show didn't really specify the reason for the change in her feelings.

We had an interesting twist this week: Beth narrated the action instead of Mick. I liked the switch, because even though I primarily think of this as Mick's show, it's precisely because of the narration that I think that. It would be interesting to bring the other fine actors into the fold more, and to make this more of an ensemble show. I would love to see a show narrated from Josef's point of view.

Just for clarity's sake, let me tell you how I am going to refer to Morgan/Coraline. I know that both names apply to one person. However, when I use the word "Morgan," it's because I am talking about the character before we have confirmation of her identity. When I use "Coraline," I am referring either to flashbacks, what we know about Coraline, or when we do have confirmation of who she is.

We also saw a lot of play on the language that Beth has used to describe her relationship with Mick: Morgan says that she would like to have her work relationship with Mick become more permanent, because she thinks they make a good team. Mick and Morgan share a kiss in the hotel room, and he is the one who is awkward about it, rather than Beth being awkward when she kissed Mick. Beth's boyfriend seems to be pretty much out of the picture now, doesn't he?

Mick and Morgan also shared a shower scene, which was pretty steamy. Even though they were kissing each other, I think it was pretty clear that Mick's primary interest, now that he knows Morgan is Coraline, is in her cure for vampirism. Or, at least, I think that's what Mick tells himself. I think Mick, despite his feelings for Beth, definitely still feels drawn to Coraline. After all, he had an adult relationship with Coraline, a sexual relationship with her. Beth, in some ways, is still the child he rescued, and there is an unequal power relationship between them, both because he has seen her grow up, and also because he is a vampire: more powerful, older.

It's easy to see that Mick is desperate for a cure not only because he despises what he has become, but also because it would level the playing field with him and Beth. However, I think Josef is right: There is no cure. Coraline admits that she thought it would get his attention. That he seems to like the human girls. When Beth searches Morgan's apartment, she finds a prescription, and it's a pretty substantial bottle. I think Morgan is taking a drug that somehow simulates human characteristics: Bleeding, smelling human. And as for her eating meals, it's not that vampires *can't* eat food-- they just don't *need* to eat. I think Mick could go ahead and order food at a restaurant and just sort of shove it around on his plate, but then we wouldn't have had the funny bits with the waiter telling him that maybe he should stop meeting people in restaurants.

Back to Morgan/Coraline eating, Coraline tells him that one of the clues she laid out for him as to her identity was ordering her favorite wine: Clearly, if Coraline was drinking wine when they were together, vampires can eat food. She also mentioned dating musicians, which certainly caught Mick's attention (by the way, he plays a musician in August Rush, if you haven't rushed out to see him in that movie yet). It's pretty clear that where Coraline is concerned, Mick has blinders on: As Josef said, when Mick thinks about Coraline, he isn't using his big head.

Despite the fact that Mick and Coraline had such a powerful relationship and that they seem to be attracted to each other now, do you think his feelings for her are more powerful than his feelings for Beth? I doubt it: I think feelings of protection are very very intense. It's interesting that Mick swooped Morgan up in his arms and jumped with her when Tina was getting ready to run Morgan over: Does that make up for the fact that Mick killed Coraline? An eye for an eye and all that? She seems incredibly moved by the gesture; what we don't know is whether she truly would have been hurt by being hit. Just as we don't know whether the stake could really kill her, or, as Beth sneers, "Stakes only paralyze vampires."

Could Beth go to jail for murder, do you think? I don't think Coraline will die, but it's food for thought.

I thought there were some nice plot parallels at the end: When Tina crashes her car into the water barrels, I remember thinking, "Now her plans are all wet." The same is also true of Morgan at the end: Her disguise is finished when she is in the shower, and Mick discovers the fleur de lis. The fact that Coraline was branded with it, rather than choosing it as her own tattoo, was disturbing. Coraline has a very interesting past, and I hope they explore that further.

It was completely creepy when Beth found the perfectly maintained room where Coraline held her captive as a child: Never have pink, dolls, and stuffed animals seemed so sinister. But I think it is important for Beth to recover these memories so she can let go of the past. If she and Mick are to have a future together, it's important for her to begin to see Mick as human and for them to have equal footing, rather than rescuer and rescued-- and that includes her stepping in to save him all the time. I have heard of symbiotic relationships, but this is ridiculous.

So, here is my question: If Coraline has come back for Mick, has she come back for revenge, or because she still wants him, and wants him to fall in love with her again? I think she wants him back. And she knows that if she hurts Beth again, she will lose him forever. So, who will Mick choose? (Beth, of course!) And does Coraline get to live? Or will she have to be destroyed once and for all?