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Moonlight 1.7: "The Ringer" |
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Saturday, 10 November 2007 |
By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
With every new episode of “Moonlight”, I’m more and more impressed by the success of the writing staff. They have managed to take a series that was all but dead on arrival and made it not only viable but one of the better new shows of the season. The first few episodes were shaky, but the writers and cast have certainly hit their early stride.
This is the point in the typical season arc where the introductory elements give way to complication. As previously predicted on several occasions, this is exactly when one would expect Coraline to return and add strain to the relationship between Mick and Beth. At this point, Mick and Beth are circling each other, clearly on the road to romance, but Coraline’s clever machinations have thrown a wrench into that process.
I like the fact that Coraline comes back in the guise of a simple photographer, pushing all of Mick’s buttons and leading him into actions that make him look reckless and out of control. When Mick and Josef both confronted Coraline about her true nature, and they couldn’t break her façade, it was one of the best moments in the series. In fact, Josef was played to near-perfection; it was like watching a cat recognize a threat in its midst.
The writers also made things more complicated by bringing her back as a human being. This may still be some kind of ruse on Coraline’s part, but both Mick and Josef were sure that Coraline was human, and in the end, that led them to believe that Coraline was actually a very mortal and confused Morgan. If Coraline has managed to find a way to restore her humanity, then this could create a major rift between Mick and Josef. In fact, Mick could be lured back to Coraline, if she could promise him restoration.
Two minor concerns kept this from being an above average episode. First, while the rest of the cast has overcome initial shortcomings, Shannyn Sossamon’s performance is visibly less impressive. She’s not convincing as the femme fatale, and she seems wooden compared to the rest of the cast. Perhaps the chemistry will develop over time, when the character is more familiar, but right now it’s not quite working as well as it could.
The second concern is the familiar nature of Coraline’s return. While it is used well in the episode, and should make for an interesting twist to explore in the future, it bears a remarkable resemblance to a plot arc used in the second season of “Angel”. So far, there are some key differences, but the writers will need to be careful to keep the distinctions in the forefront. |
