EPI-LOG ARTICLE on Beauty
and the Beast
review by Nina Johnson. Click
here for contents.
Episode 31 (Season 2, Episode 9)
Brothers
Brothers (airdate: Feb 3, 1989). Catherine and Vincent are
walking in the park. He stops to admire the full moon and asks Catherine if
she remembers the first time she ever saw the moon. He tells her that
he remembers. A white van with one of its taillights out is driving along
the street. The police pull out of an alley to stop the van. The van makes
a U-turn and speeds away as the police give chase. The van pulls into an
alley. The police arrive and find the back doors of the van open and find it
empty. The cops stand on a manhole while they decide what to do.
Below the manhole is Devin and another figure. The man is huge and covered with
a black velvet cape. All that can be seen is his eyes. Devin gives him the
flashlight and they make their way to a door covered with dirt. In mouse's
chamber, he touches an electronic cloud chamber. It is a gift from him and
Catherine to Vincent so that he may always have a piece of the sky. As
Vincent is thanking them, a warning light flashes on a panel. Mouse says
that it is an old security system for the outer tunnel entrances. He says that
it is a false alarm and turns the buzzer off. The light goes on again and
Vincent decides to investigate when Mouse says the entrance hasn't been used for
years. In the Whispering Gallery, the huge man is near the bride of the Abyss.
He hears the voices and runs back to the tunnel. Devin tries to get him to
come out. He explains to the man, Charles, that just ahead is the safe
place he told him about where he grew up. Charles slowly edges onto the
bride but panics when he looks down and returns back to the tunnel. Devin
tries to coax him out but Charles tells him they won't want a freak.
Vincent softly says "There are no freaks here" and removes his
hood. Charles walks across the bridge to Vincent and takes his hand.
Father comes to tend to Charles' cuts on his back. When Father tells
Charles he is going to cut off his shirt, Charles lashes out and grabs Father's
wrist. Devin manages to calm Charles down and Vincent takes him to the
hospital chamber. Father and Devin talk about Charles. Devin tells
him that he kidnapped Charles from a carnival. He wants Charles to stay in the
tunnels. Father will not promise anything but will ask the Tunnel
Council. Father asks Devin to get Mary, as his wrist is broken.
Vincent takes care of Charles' wounds after Charles touches his face.
Devin goes to Vincent's chamber and opens A Tale of Two Cities that he had given
to Vincent. Devin asks for Vincent's support at the council
meeting. Then he asks if Catherine is still with the D.A.'s office.
Devin tries to convince Vincent that Charles needs to stay in the tunnels.
Vincent's reply is that Charles needs Devin. Devin goes to Charles to tell
him he has to leave for awhile. Charles begs Devin to stay with him and
not to leave him alone, but Devin leaves.
Catherine is leaving her apartment when a hand grabs her on
the shoulder. She breaks the grasp and throws him over her shoulder into
the empty elevator car. Devin asks her if she is going down and she
apologizes for her reaction. Charles takes off his hood to wash
himself. Vincent comes in and Charles hides behind a curtain.
Vincent tells Charles that he has to wear a hood when he walks above. But
here in the tunnels he doesn't. He is at home and Charles can be
too. Charles takes off his hood. His face is deformed but that fact
has not reached his eyes, which are full of hope. Father explains to
Vincent, later, the symptoms of Neurofibromitosis. Father doesn't like the
fact that Devin dumped his problem on them. Vincent tells him that Charles
is not a problem, but rather a human being in pain. Father says he
understands Charles' feelings but Vincent asks if he really does. Devin
has taken Catherine to the carnival that Charles was in. They go to Charles'
keeper's tent. The man, Eddie, is dirty and unkempt. He asks Devin where
his "freak" is, claiming that Devin stole Charles. Devin tells him
that Charles went with him willingly. Eddie then gives them a sob story of how
he cared for Charles for years and had to suffer the stares of others because
Charles was his brother. Eddie renounces his claim on Charles, glad to be
rid of him. Devin and Catherine drive back to New York. Meanwhile,
Vincent goes to visit Charles but he is not there. He has found Mouse's
chambers and stares about. Mouse comes in and confronts Charles who tries
to escape and throws Mouse to the floor. Charles' hand is cut and Mouse is
unconscious. Catherine and Devin go through the park to the main
entrance. She tells him that as a little girl she had an imaginary friend
since she was an only child. He tells her about how close he and Vincent
were. He wanted to take Vincent above but it was impossible. Now he feels
guilty over their unfulfilled wishes and dreams. On the pipes someone taps
out that Mouse has been hurt. Father goes to care for him. Father send
Vincent to find Charles, who is hiding under the stone steps, to try to get him
to come out. Charles apologizes for the pain he created and doesn't want
to go any farther for fear he will hurt more. Charles asks Vincent how he
learned to cope and Vincent explains his childhood. Above listening are
Devin and Catherine. Vincent tells Charles of the night that Devin took
him to see the carousel and his first glimpse of the moon. He was so intent on
the Moon that he didn't notice a car in front of him. A little girl in the
car had seen Vincent's face and began to cry. Her crying hurt Vincent. Charles
tells him that the girl didn't know that she was hurting him. Vincent tells him
that he didn't let the hurt stop him from seeing the moon again. Devin asks him
why not. A council meeting is held to decide whether or not they can let Charles
stay in the tunnels after the violence. They decide to let him. Charles,
Vincent, Catherine, and Devin enter. Charles apologizes for his anger.
They tell him he can stay but he refuses, saying he is going with Dev to see the
world. Devin and Charles ready themselves to leave the tunnels.
Catherine comes in to hear Vincent reading the final chapter of A Tale of Two
Cities. Vincent hands the book to Charles saying that the lines are for him.
Charles reads them aloud. It's a far, far better thing that I do now than I have
ever done before. It's a far, far better rest I got to than I have ever
known. Vincent hugs Charles goodbye. They ask Devin and Charles
where they are going to first. Their reply is the mountains. Catherine is happy
for Devin and Charles. Vincent says that Charles is lucky for he will get
to travel. Vincent takes Catherine in his arms as they walk back through
the tunnels.
Guest Cast: Bruce Abbott as Devin, Don Stark as Eddie, Kevin Scannell as Charles, the dragon man, Ritch Brinkley as William, Remy Ryan as Lauren, Robert Britten as Berniue, Richard Camphius as the white cop, Al Lee as the black officer.
Writer: George R.R. Martin
Director: Beth Hillshafer.