By Brandon Nolta

It’s one thing to be a predator, but being a serial killer pushes the whole “red in tooth and claw” thing a little far. Being a vampire for any length of time seems to up the odds of tipping from one into another, at least according to MOONLIGHT. After last week’s dinner in the desert, things are a little strained between Beth (Sophia Myles), who seems to be OK with feeding time, and Mick (Alex O’Loughlin), who—judging from the “I’ve been backed into a corner” look he busts out when she’s near—is not. Mick’s been staying clear of her as best he can without shouting it from the rooftops, but after his search for a missing girl intersects with her tracking of a serial killer from the Bay Area, Mick decides reluctantly to team up with her for the search.

Thanks to Mick’s sensitive schnoz, he knows they’re tracking a vampire, but the research he and Beth do lead to them both getting a strange vibe from this dude. There’s a good reason for that: the bloodsucker is a teenager. Stop for a moment and imagine passing eternity as an adolescent. Passing off a failure to age would be tough enough for an adult, but teens can’t blend into society like adults can. Needless to say, this would be a frustrating experience, which would certainly explain some of the more, well, violent marks left on the victims.

Anyhow, since the eternally frustrated nosferatu has a thing for whacking escorts, Mick and Beth decide to get it in gear and find Mick’s client before she gets killed by Beth’s quarry. But, as most of you should remember, teens are known for poor impulse control, and it quickly becomes a race before the angst with fangs strikes again. Frankly, I was rooting for Mick and Beth from the get-go, just because the punk playing the eternal teen was so damn annoying, but Mick’s supposed to be a good guy aside from his drinking the blood of the living thing. So, where’s a good place for a showdown between vampires when one of them is trapped in immaturity forever? Did you say a boardwalk carnival? You, too, could write for CBS. Does the undead punk get his comeuppance? Guess right and win a prize. I wonder who cleaned up the mess.


Despite the annoying villain, this episode turned out pretty nicely. O’Loughlin and Myles seem to be settling into a nice rhythm with their characters; he’s charming and dangerous, but not the brooding engine of doom that other vampires have been. Beth may be a damsel, but she’s unafraid and capable of handling distress without swooning or calling for help. Best of all, their attraction, while apparent, is handled with restraint and allowed to develop without rushing to the sack like, oh, every other freakin’ show on the tube. Time is the cure for a lot of ills, and MOONLIGHT’s writers seem willing to devote that time to the saga of Mick and Beth. Whether CBS is as willing is unsure, but I guess we’ll see.