e My Valentine

Comments

I agree completely with your assessment of Lacroix's behavior. I think LaCroix was just trying to save face, but I also think that he has a commitment problem. So, he justifies it by saying "Oh, I'm sorry. Can't be with you. My son would not like it." Conversely, Nick who has a commitment problem with anyone if it involves bringing them over (I can't condemn you to my darkness. I am assuming that you regard vampire life as darkness simply because I do.) justifies his inability to bring Nat over by saying "Oh look, my father will kill you." Both men, IMHO, are using each other as security blankets. It is pathetically codependent behavior.

[in relation to "Baby, Baby"]:
Serena is a reason why Nick won't bring anyone else over, but I still say it's a blanket excuse. Nick does not realize that he has to take it on a case by case basis, because he's so caught up in his own reality.

-- Raissa Devereux

This was one of the first episodes I ever saw, and also one of the best. Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic, but I think Nick had been trying to hide his feelings for Nat for a long time and finally realized that if you don't open yourself to love, you will never really be happy (or mortal). I was thrilled to see their relationship progressing and disappointed when Nick made Nat forget at the end.

As for LaCroix giving up Fleur so easily, maybe he knew at least subconsciously, that bringing her across would be a horrible thing to do to her. He claims he brought Nick and Jeanette across because he loved them, but really he only wanted to possess them. Fleur may have been his first experience with real love, and he realized it would be wrong to force her into eternal darkness, even though she claims to want it. She probably didn't fully understand what it meant to be brought across.

-- Jaime Kohles

I thought this episode was well written in most every aspect, especially the development of LaCroix's character. We've seen him have a fondness for his children, but his relationship with Fleur transcends his vampire cynicism and forces him to realize that love means doing the best thing for the loved one no matter how painful. I thought Bennett did a really good job on acting this too.

Nick's little dissertation on why LaCroix shouldn't make Fleur a vampire was a bit stretched but I liked LaCroix's reaction to it; like he knew that but had to have his subconscious verbally expressed by Nick to actually make him confront it. By the way, I enjoyed seeing LaCroix's neck! (a first, perhaps?)

-- Antonia Mandry

This episode was probably my most favorite of them all simply because of the element of romance between Nick and Natalie. The ending ticked me off though because I didn't understand whether Natalie had been made to forget or what. The writing or direction here was vague.

-- Brittney

I really like this episode. Just for the reason that Nick and Natalie finally sort of got together. The pill box was a nice gift, with a loving inscription on it.

-- Julie Fogel

One of my favorite episodes! Finally, a little romance between Nick and Nat. The writing was good and so was the mood of the show. It was reminiscent of the first seasons episode "Only the Lonely". But why did Nick call LaCroix's bluff? And why hold a grudge for over 700 hundred years? I liked when LaCroix sent the letter to Natalie inviting her to dinner, and she thought it was from Nick. You could see the hope and love in her eyes.

-- Julie Fogel

When I first saw this episode I felt "at last! They're finally exploring the feelings Nick and Nat have for each other." I watched it over and over a number of times then realized it wasn't as satisfying an episode as I'd originally thought. The scene in Natalie's apartment seems stiff and awkward. Perhaps that's what the writer intended, but it just doesn't feel right. Besides, that "come here" line is one my high school boyfriend used many years ago. Seems kind of sophmoric, especially for someone who's been around for 800 years.

I particularly liked the flashback scenes. Though I'll never be a "cousin", I did enjoy seeing LaCroix discover his feelings for Fleur. There was no indication as to how much time had passed from Nick's being brought across to the threesome's visit with his family. My impression was that it was several years, say somewhere between three and five. Enough time for Nick to miss Fleur's growth into a woman, and certainly common enough in those days.

Actually, my all time favorite episode is "Only the Lonely", which makes Nick and Nat's feelings toward each other obvious - at least to the viewer, yet still keeps things pretty much "hands off."

-- Barb Erickson

I did not enjoy the romance in this episode, however since I assume this is their Valentine's Day special they had an excuse for it. I did however like the leaping through window scene, it seams like in the first season they incorporated smashing glass into every show a tradition that, until now, had seemed lost in the second season.

-- (anonymous)

Oooooh, moan. This is the first FK episode that made me want to be 1/2 my weight, 2/3 my age, and a character in the FK world. The Nick/Nat scenes, in my opinion, were a perfect enactment of the love-in-the-air, is-it-safe-to-show-I-care business that can afflict adults who've been emotionally trampled more times than they can remember. The Nick/Nat/LaCroix scene was, too, masterful: if I, like LaCroix, hadn't seen the earlier Nick/Nat scenes, Wyn Davies would have convinced me, too, that Nat didn't really care. The control Nick must have had to hold over his vampire instincts as he "prepared" to nibble Nat must have been phenomenal. Once LaCroix left I think Nick showed that he really loves Nat. A fantastic acting job.

With regards to Nat's casual behavior at the end: personally, I think Nick appended a little hypnotic suggestion to her swoon to protect the two of them from LaCroix. I can also attest that it's highly embarrassing to not remember a blessed thing about a long-desired evening out with a long-desired friend; the result may well be a retreat into behavior that has previously proven to be safe, if lonely.

-- Carrie

Please feel free to leave your own comments on this episode.