FanGirls: Moonlight "Out of the Past" (102)

Moonlight

“Out of the Past” (Ep 102)
Mick’s past rears its ugly head again. This time in the form of a ‘wrongfully’ convicted killer who knows Mick’s secret.Original Air Date: Friday, October 5, 2007

“Being a vampire sucks. It's a bad joke, I know, but it's the truth.”

Twenty five years ago, Mick was hired by a young woman who was being abused by her husband, Lee J. Mick confronted Lee J, threatening to seriously kick his butt if he touched he wife again. No shock, the woman turns up dead shortly after, an apparent suicide. Lee J ends up in jail but spends the whole time claiming innocence. Now he’s been paroled and even had his story made into a future bestselling book.

Mick is not happy over this turn of events. Forget the fact that Lee J knows Mick is a vamp. Mick knows that Lee J is only pretending to be reformed and will kill again. All he needs is a hapless woman to fall for him and into his trap. Which he has found in the woman that wrote the book. She is totally convinced that Lee J didn’t do anything wrong. As are dozens of others, which is handy when Mick goes after Lee J, who makes Mick look like an obsessed and violent freak. Which puts Mick on the run.

Josef is surprisingly sympathetic about the whole thing. And co-star in an amusing flashback to early days when they both wore bad suits, listened to Duran Duran and drank their meals fresh (giving new meaning to the question ‘red or white’). But there’s no lacking in the dry wit with Josef’s ‘Not while I’m eating’ snap. And his smug ‘You make the news’.

And all the time this is going on, Beth is getting more and more curious about her savior and new friend. When she discovers that a prime witness against Lee J is a Mick St John (his father Mick claims) something doesn’t feel right and she goes to talk to the cop from the original case who tells her that his Mick St John had no children and paid him a visit just days before. (He’s blind so he was clueless that Mick had not aged). No shock that Beth doesn’t believe that Mick would try to kill anyone, even when her DA boyfriend believes it. But a review of the original case file convinces Josh. Beth helps Mick broadcast the truth, which is validated when Lee J makes his move. Stopped by Mick of course, with some help from Beth after Lee J blasts Mick with silver buckshot (which is seriously painful and poisonous to vamps). This leads to Beth finding out the truth when she follows Mick home and walks in on him in a feeding frenzy. Talk about awkward moments.

Perhaps not the best thing on tv in terms of perfect writing but it definitely bears the marks of its temporary Buffy pedigree with the snappy wit, the Beauty and the Beast relationship and even the protecting the innocent mindset. And like Buffy, and spin off Angel, it makes for a fine way to spend an hour.