Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 16

This interview was done in September 2009 By Retro Ed at SciFi TV Zone. It is no longer online but I preserved it. ~Enjoy

“Sonata” Episode 16
Written by Ethan Erwin
Directed by Fred Toye

In the series finale, an exploration of the vampire culture and vampire justice is explored when a female vampire threatens to expose every vampire in Los Angeles. Towards the end, Beth wants to call the relationship off with Mick, but he declares his love for her and the two of them kiss passionately as they embrace the future.

“It felt like we did some pretty cool stuff in this one,” says O’Loughlin. “It was great seeing the different vampires together and have us out on this mission. Some very nice performances in it.” The standout moment for him, naturally, is the climax when Beth says they can’t be together – largely because of the codes governing the vampires — but he nonetheless comes back into her apartment and the two begin to kiss.

“He’s trying to keep the boundary there and the reality is that he can’t allow, despite what his heart says, this human girl to dictate the moral code of something that’s been around for thousands and thousands of years. So he will always have boundaries there; he is a vampire. But then there’s the thing that he’ll always love her, too.

That’s always been the great quandry of that character. Then he leaves and what followed just came out of the moment. I was walking away from the apartment and I stopped outside the door and stood against the wall for a moment before going back inside. I wanted to continue that thread in the series, that feeling, that there is a wall between them that will always be there no matter what. But in that moment he decides he’s still gonna have a go at it. The love is too strong, he’s not going to walk away and he’s still going to try and make it work.”

Despite its premature cancellation, this final moment in Moonlight at least fulfilled the promise of the show’s premise, having these two characters from different worlds uniting.

Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 15

This interview was done in September 2009 By Retro Ed at SciFi TV Zone. It is no longer online but I preserved it. ~Enjoy

Episode 15
“What’s Left Behind”
Written by Jill Blotegovel
Directed by Chris Fisher

Flashbacks illuminate Mick’s past when the rescue of a kidnapped youth suggests that the boy may be the grandson of a woman Mick had had an affair with back during World War II. For Beth, life is changing as she quits BuzzWire and is offered a position of “civilian investigator” for the DA’s office.

“The subject matter in this episode is pretty great, and there’s a lot of potential for storytelling dealing with Mick’s past,” notes O’Loughlin. “Think about it: you’re looking at this guy who looks like he’s twice as old as Mick is, but could be his son. I felt like this was the strongest of the four that we did when we came back from the strike. I enjoyed playing this different version of Mick and this different side of him. Sometimes you wonder if this guy has the capacity to feel anything above and beyond what we’ve seen, and I kind of wanted to look a little deeper. Essentially he was faced with the things he wants most: his humanity back, his mortality and the chance to grow old and die. Which is a strange thing to want, because it goes against what we as humans think we want. We want to stay young. But he faces that in this one, and he has the hope that maybe his bloodline is carrying on. That was really fun to play. There was no shortage of drama or stakes in that episode.”

Alex O'Loughlin's Blog Note after Moonlight was Canceled on May 14, 2008

This is from Alex O'Loughlin's only authentic blog - his official MySpace... it's good to read (again)

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 10:47amCurrent mood: Shocked and sad

Dear Friends, Family and wonderful, wonderful Fans of MOONLIGHT.

Well, where to start....?
The decision to cancel MOONLIGHT... my MOONLIGHT... our MOONLIGHT, is
as much of a shock and gut wrenching surprise to me as it is to all of you.

Really, I don't even know where to begin.

I sit here at my computer, still slack jawed even 24 hours after
receiving the news that my services are no longer required on the set
of this show. A show we have all come to know and love deeply, and it
hurts more than I can possibly tell you.

Since i got THE CALL I have not read anything online or otherwise, I
have not been following blogs or forums, I have not been reading the
trades or opinion polls and I have not been calling around to get
information.

"Why are you not fighting for your show?!" I hear you all scream!!
The truth is my friends, I never STOPPED fighting for it.

From the very beginning when I was told time and again that i wasn't
the man for the job, having to prove myself to everyone with tests and
screen tests, to a complete re-casting of the show, through 5
different show runners at the helm with 5 different artistic visions,
to a Writer's strike that took 5 episodes away from us...... oh how
the list goes on.

But through all of that, i am proud to say that not once did I bow
down and allow someone else to come in and do with MOONLIGHT as they
please. And along the way, if I needed a break and wanted to do that,
I don't think I could have anyway because, well, I suppose it's just
not in my nature! ;)

This is all still so fresh for me and I am going to need a little time
to process this whole thing before i can digest what has actually
happened, let alone move on.

Honestly. I really feel lost for words.

I will say however, that never, never in my life have I experienced
first hand a level of support from a group of people like that of you
all who are reading this now, and who 'loved this show to life'
alongside me. It has been overwhelming to say the least.

I am grateful to you all.

I am extremely proud to be associated with this piece of television.

And I am so, so sorry to my very core, to lose MOONLIGHT.

All my love,

Alex O'Loughlin x

Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 14

This interview was done in September 2009 By Retro Ed at SciFi TV Zone. It is no longer online but I preserved it. ~Enjoy

“Click” Episode 14
Written by Erin Maher & Kathryn Reindl
Directed by Scott Lautanen

When a member of the paparazzi takes photos that could expose the truth about Mick, Beth does the unthinkable: she goes to Josef to get him to take care of the “situation,” creating a pact between them and that Mick knows nothing about. Meanwhile, Mick and Beth decide to start pursuing a romantic relationship.

“What I like about the episode is the fact that it showed the risk that Mick faces on a daily basis in terms of possible exposure,” O’Loughlin says. “Between this paparazzi guy and the fact that D.A. Talbot has a file on Mick, you start to explore what could happen if this part of the lives of these creatures were exposed public. And with Beth going to Josef – wow! Knowing what her request will mean for this photographer shows a bit of ruthlessness on her part, but also the depth of her feelings for Mick.”

Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 13

This interview was done in September 2009 By Retro Ed at SciFi TV Zone. It is no longer online but I preserved it. ~Enjoy

Episode 13
“Fated to Pretend”
Written by Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman
Directed by David Barrett

Mick is enjoying the idea of being human again, but when Beth is threatened by the killer of her BuzzWire boss Maureen, he feels he has no choice but to ask Josef to turn him back into a vampire so that he can rescue her.

“I remember reading that scene with Mick and Josef in the loft when Mick is going off to be the hero, and Josef slaps him around a bit and says, ‘You’re out of your mind,’ and Mick realizes what he has to do,” says O’Loughlin. “So he reluctantly asks Josef to turn him back. I thought it came out great and I thought it was an evocative scene. That’s one of the things I’m intrigued by about these creatures – there’s such ambiguity to them, which this scene played in to sexually.”

Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 12

This interview was done in September 2009 By Retro Ed at SciFi TV Zone. It is no longer online but I preserved it. ~Enjoy

Episode 12
“The Mortal Cure”
Written by Chip Johannessen
Directed by Eric Laneuville

Beth discovers that Josh was getting ready to propose to her. Meanwhile, Mick learns that Coraline is still alive but is a vampire again. She tells him about a cure and, in fact, administers it to Mick before she is whisked away by a powerful vampire, leaving a very human Mick behind.

Notes O’Loughlin, “Mick has been obsessed with a cure; the fact that there’s a way out. You know, there’s an important moment in episode seven when Josef says to Mick, ‘You’ve got to stop hating what you are. Accept it.’ And Mick doesn’t. Well, he does, but he lives in this controlled denial. He’s not a stereotypical vampire. He’s a reluctant vampire. In this episode he’s cured and he remembers how painful it is to be human. And there’s a gap between Mick and Beth, Coraline’s gone and we don’t know what’s going to happen to Mick. It was a pretty exciting place to leave us when the Writer’s Guild strike happened.”

Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 11

This interview was done in September 2009 By Retro Ed at SciFi TV Zone. It is no longer online but I preserved it. ~Enjoy

Episode 11
“Love Lasts Forever”
Written by Josh Pate
Directed by Paul Holahan

Josh asks Mick to protect Beth as he wages legal war against a powerful gang, which goes disastrously wrong as Josh is shot, dying in Beth’s arms and Mick refuses to save him by turning him into a vampire, fully aware that there are some things worse than death.

“This is a tough episode,” states the actor. “Wherever it comes from, he has affection for Josh. Mick sees death all the time. In fact, Mick participates in death often, but this death, when it’s as wrong as this is, does something to him. I mean, it’s the whole build up to everything that’s going on, when he’s had his hands in the stomach of this guy, trying to keep him alive. The aroma of blood, the need to feed breathing down on him, this wrongful death and loss of innocence. At the end of the episode, he weeps for the loss of innocence in this room, and essentially what he’s crying for is the loss of his own innocence, because he truly is a victim of circumstance. He doesn’t have a victim mentality, but he is a victim. I think it’s a metaphorical episode and the fact that we lost one of our leads was hard-hitting.”