Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 10

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 10
“Sleeping Beauty”
Written by Trevor Munson & Ron Koslow
Directed by John Kretchmer

Josef is nearly the victim of an assassination attempt, which is tied to a human woman in a coma, the love of Josef’s life who went into that state when he tried to turn her into a vampire.

“An important episode for Mick,” observes O’Loughlin. “There’s the shot when Beth is in the cab and he just walks away, which pulls back to a wide shot. That isolation, in a sense, is the way he feels through a lot of this episode. Also, Josef has kept all of this from him. He’s supposed to be his best friend and his only real ally in life, and he’s been keeping this huge secret. Beth has gone back to Josh, because she’s gotten a sense of what her future could hold, and I think Mick is feeling more isolated than ever. Very strong episode.”

Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 9

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 9
“Fleur de Lis”
Written by Gabrielle Stanton and Harry Werksman
Directed by James Whitmore, Jr.

Mick ends up working with Morgan, the photographer who looks like Coraline, on a case, and as the two are drawn closer together he discovers that she is indeed his former love, somehow rendered human – a point made when, Beth, having discovered the truth on her own, shows up at Mick’s place and stakes her – unaware that the woman is no longer a vampire.

O’Loughlin admits that when he initially read the script he was a little skeptical over the fact that Mick apparently was accepting the fact that Morgan wasn’t Coraline. “I tried to find as many moments in the script where we can see he still believes she’s Coraline; that something wasn’t right,” he says. “I liked that tension that was all the way through the story. I like that it’s hardcore.

“And Beth staking Coraline! Incredible. There’s also a moment when Mick is looking at Coraline, and you can tell he’s feeling big love. He hates to admit it, but he wants her back so bad and, ding-dong, Beth is at the door and, oh my God, what a s*** fight! She sticks that chair leg straight into that kid’s chest. It’s a pretty radical ending. The last 10 minutes of this episode are incredible, and where we leave it – Coraline in Mick’s arms and him screaming to Beth, ‘You idiot, she’s not a vampire!’”

Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 8

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 8
“12:04 A.M.”
Written by Jill Blotevogel
Directed by Dennis Smith

Beth helps a kidnap victim escape from the clutches of a cult, the leader of which has been turned into a vampire. During the course of this case, Beth starts to relive her own kidnapping as a child and comes to discover that it was Mick who had rescued her back then.

“As strange as this sounds,” says O’Loughlin, “I think this episode needed a couple of more beats of violence. When you’re dealing with this extremely powerful creature and this guy is good at this, you think it’s going to be a big show down. But when it goes bang, bang, bang, it’s not a big showdown, it’s a medium-sized showdown.

Which pulls the drama out of it a little bit. I’m a boy, I like to see things blow up, I like long fights. It wasn’t bad, but I felt that Mick and him, when they have their confrontation, it was a little lame.”

Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 7

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 7
“The Ringer”
Written by Josh Pate
Directed by Chris Fisher
Mick is convinced that his vampire wife Coraline is back from the dead, but all indications are that she is someone completely different and that the woman (identifying herself as Morgan) is not a vampire. He seems to be bordering on madness in his efforts to prove his theory to Beth.

“This is where it starts to get interesting,” notes O’Loughlin. “Chris Fisher directed this episode and he created the time for me that I otherwise wouldn’t have had with other directors. He prioritizes around getting the best out of the actors, not about his shots, the lighting or other things. I really like this one from beginning to end. I like the intensity. It’s the introduction of the next step of Moonlight, of the next big dramatic storyline shift. And we start to see the cracks in Mick St. John’s veneer.

We start to see where his pain lies. Coraline’s the big love of his life. It’s different to Beth. Coraline’s the tempest, the tumultuous relationship. That’s the pain and the love all mashed into one. It hasn’t left him. He’s carried it for 60 years and it runs pretty deeply.”

Alex O’Loughlin’s Guide to Moonlight Ep 6

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 6
“B.C.” (Black Crystal)
Written by Erin Maher & Kathryn Reindl
Directed by Paul Holahan

An attempt to find a vampire that Josef has had an on-again/off-again relationship with for a century, leads Mick to the discovery of a group that sells vampire blood to humans for the incredible high it provides. At one point, Beth gets a taste of “V” and she goes through an incredible personality shift.

“I really liked the scene with Beth and Mick when she comes in and she’s all horny and wants him to do whatever she wants him to do,” he smiles. “I think it was a really obvious shift from the normal Beth to this, and I enjoyed watching Mick squirming around and his discomfort. It’s really clear how these two feel about each other, right? But it has to be unrequited, because nothing good can come of any other decision. I don’t think it’s a story that can be consummated. I think it’s a story about an unrequited love. It’s like Romeo and Juliet to me, so that integrity had to be maintained at all times.”