MOONLIGHT 1.10 – "Sleeping Beauty"

Writers: Trevor Munson & Ron Koslow
Director: John T. Kretchmer

Cast: Alex O'Loughlin (Mick St. John), Shannyn Sossamon (Coraline), Sophia Myles (Beth Turner), Jason Dohring (Josef Kostan), Jordan Belfi (Josh Lindsey), Tami Roman (Maureen), Rashawn Underdue (Tim), Nick E Tarabay (Ralf Martan), Ian Abercrombie (John Whitley), Alice Greczyn (Sam), Paul Rae (Tom), Kavita Patil (Doctor Duffy), Al Galvez (Dan), Robert Noble (Toupee Man), Elizabeth Chambers (Victoria's Secret Model), Jane Galloway Heitz (Elderly Woman), Dierdre Holder (Nurse Linda), William August (Nurse), Betty A. Bridges (Paula), Edward Carnevale (Doorman) & Chase Kim (Detective Kim)

A hitman targets Josef and Mick's investigation discovers hidden depths and secrets about his old friend...

"You just gonna stand there all day, or you
gonna help me find out who killed me?"

-- Josef Kostan (Jason Dohring)

It was about time the show focused on 400-year-old vampire Josef (Jason Dohring), who has been unfairly pushed into the background for too long, appearing just occasionally to raise a smile before disappearing. Sleeping Beauty involves an assassin, hired by a sick old man, travelling to L.A to kill the playboy vamp...

This is actually the first episode written by Moonlight's creators, Trevor Munson and Ron Koslow, who are credited as executive producers but left the day-to-day running to showrunners David Greenwalt and later Chip Johannesen. If this episode exemplifies their take on the material they created, I hope they write more – as this was the first episode that gripped me from the teaser and entertained throughout.

Wizened millionaire John Whitley (Ian Abercrombie) dispatches hitman Ralph Martan (Nick E. Tarabay) to kill Josef, who later interrupts Josef's poker night with some fanged buddies, by spraying them all with bullets and detonating explosives to finish the job. This was all in the first few minutes of the show!

Mick (Alex O'Loughlin) is heartbroken that his old friend has been murdered this way -- resolving to find out who killed him, and why. Beth (Sophia Myles) becomes aware of the incident through BuzzWire and is assigned the case by her boss, finding her professional duties and personal relationship with Alex colliding rather uncomfortably.

But of course, Josef isn't really dead. No, no. He miraculously survived the attack and is just as eager as Mick to find out the identity of his would-be killer. Unfortunately, Josef's laid-back demeanour isn't best suited to hiding out at Mick's apartment (he can't help bringing back a group of babes to entertain himself), and the extreme danger he's in barely seems to register.

The Sleeping Beauty of the title (well, one of them...) is Coraline (Shannyn Sossamon), now confirmed as Mick's vampire wife who has somehow turned herself back into a human – but was stabbed by Beth in the climax of last week's episode. Coraline is now in hospital getting medical attention, with Beth feeling guilty about her rash decision to stake her competitor for Mick's affections. As for Mick; well, he wants to know how Coraline has reversed her vampirism (as he longs to be mortal again), but she's too weak to give him clear answers. Instead, he extracts some of her blood into a syringe, intending to investigate her biological make-up for answers...

After being tipped off about his Josef's survival by Josef's traitorous security man, Martan returns to finish the job. Josef and Mick are in the fire-damaged luxury apartment so Josef can retrieve the contents of a fire-proof safe, when Martan strikes again. Mick manages to defeat the hitman, thanks to his superior strength and agility (although the Martan puts up a commendable fight, considering his disadvantage!), and gets the name "John Whitley" from Martan's lips as he's dangled over a balcony.

Beth discovers that Whitley is a 93-year-old real estate tycoon living in New York, and she travels with Mick to investigate why he's put a price on Josef's head. Josef himself has vanished after hearing about Whitley's connection to the Martan, keeping something a secret from his best-friend. Meanwhile, Martan is handed to the cops, but escapes during transit...

In New York, Mick and Beth manage to sneak into John Whitley's home and confront him about why he paid Martan to kill Josef. Whitley claims that Josef killed his daughter in 1955 and, now that he's old and in poor health, he doesn't want to go to his grave without ensuring Josef (real name: Charles Fitzgerald), pays for his crime. As proof, Whitley shows them his daughter's diary, which proves she was madly in love with Charles/Josef before her untimely death, and knew he was a vampire.

Mick and Beth quickly locate Josef in a house he owns, and he leads them into a bedroom where the episode's true Sleeping Beauty resides: Sarah Whitley, still the same age she was when she "died" in the 50s. Josef explains that, given his vampirism, Sarah wanted to be "turned" so they could be together forever. He eventually gave in to her demands, but the process didn't work – causing her to slip into unconsciousness, but unable to age. He's been keeping her comfortable for the past half-century, hoping that advances in medicine will find a way to revive her, so they can be reunited.

Martan (the Kato of hitmen, it seems) pounces once again, grappling with Mick and Josef in Sarah's bedroom. Martan succeeds in paralyzing Josef with a stake, but Mick manages to get the upperhand and snaps Martan's neck, before pulling out the stake from his friend's stomach. Satisfied that Josef isn't a killer and Whitley just didn't have all the facts about his daughter's "death", Mick offers Beth the chance for a fun-packed evening taking in the city, but Beth is feeling guilty about leaving her boyfriend back home, and shoots down his proposition.

I had fun with this episode. The story was relatively simple, but the mystery surrounding Whitley's motives was maintained well, while the pace and energy stopped things becoming tedious. It was also great to see an episode revolve around Josef for once, even if he still shrank into the background as Mick and Beth investigated events around him...

Maybe Josef's personality is just too passive and selfish to take charge of an episode with an investigative aspect (which demands active empathy for others), but it would be a shame if Jason Dohring doesn't get a chance to take Josef into fresh territory. I really liked the revelations about Josef's love life, as it's now clear his own past life has parallels to Mick's current one. But, in case you didn't pick up on that very obvious aspect, Beth did plenty of knowing looks and sideway glances to Mick! But is Mick-Beth as doomed as Charles-Sarah?

The subplot for Coraline wasn't particularly eventful, but it was interesting to see her vampire nature takeover the sicker she got – with fangs protruding when she spotted a nurse's neck pulse in one scene. If she has found a cure for vampirism, it seems to only be a temporary fix. I'm sure the blood Mick took from her will prove insightful, in any case...

While not quite the blistering, high-octane adventure the superb teaser promised us, the performances continue to appeal and the central relationships work. O'Loughlin and Myles are great together, but O'Loughlin and Dohring also work brilliantly as a duo. I even like Jordan Belfi as Beth's boyfriend Josh, who isn't a clichéd scumbag and instead has my sympathy as he watches his beautiful girlfriend slip away from him.

It's even better that Mick is a decent guy in Josh's eyes (having helped him on a few cases), so the blame for any break-up with Beth wouldn't be wholly directed at "the other man". It's Beth who's making the obvious play for Mick; even if he's (understandably) not pushing her away with much gusto.

Josef's presumed death also gave O'Loughlin a brief tear-jerking moment to reflect on his loss, that made a refreshing (if too brief) change of gear for Mick. If there's one thing Moonlight needs, it's more opportunities for its actors to stretch themselves.


22 April 2008
LivingTV, 10.00 pm