Beastly is in the Eye of the Beholder - Part V

Finally, just in case you’re thinking that Beauty & the Beast stories always have to be supernatural in nature, there is one more couple that bears mention on this topic.  Far from the genres of Science Fiction or Paranormal Romance, is the Daytime Drama. John and Evangeline were characters on the drama “One Life to Live.”  Working with much more realistic situations, these writers were still able to create a story line that quite stunningly mirrored Vincent and Catherine.

John is our very human Beast.  He stands out sharply in a town of well dressed people who some would say talk way too much about their feelings.  John, who wears only black, is a man of very few words.  He has Vincent’s striking and soulful blue eyes and a quiet, raspy voice. He is the dark and brooding resident of Llanview.  But John is not your typical “Bad Boy” character which abounds in Daytime and elsewhere.  He has never made a conscious choice to be involved with bad things.  He’s not a reformed criminal.  He is, in fact, a former FBI agent and a dedicated cop.   What makes him Beastly is, like Vincent, largely out of his control. 

Events in John’s past contribute to his Beastly behavior.  First, his dad, also a cop, was killed in the line of duty when John was just 10 years old.  He was then forced to assume the role of man-of-the-house for his younger brother and mother.  This engendered a very serious attitude and an exaggerated sense of responsibility in him at a young age. His father’s murder case was never solved and it haunts him. Whenever something goes wrong, John is usually ready to take the blame for it. He is at least has hard on himself as Vincent would be for things that he has little or no control over.  He sees his job, at least in part, as “Protector” and will race to the rescue of anyone he feels is in his charge. 

In addition to all this, once, while he worked diligently on a serial killer case, his fiancé was captured and became the killer’s next victim.    He felt responsible for her death happening on his watch.  As a result, John is seriously handicapped in his ability to have a normal loving relationship.  But his unspoken feelings for his Beauty, like Vincent’s, were always quite obvious to anyone who was paying attention.

Evangeline was the Beauty.  She was a very classy attorney who even had some associations with the DA’s office.  She oozed a refined “Park Avenue” style in just about everything she said and did, and especially in what she wore.  Her apartment was done in delicate pastels. (John lived in a cheap motel in a bad part of town.)  Even her hair was worn straight and smooth in a Catherine-like cut and she, of course, was very beautiful. 

She loved John and she suspected that he felt the same way, but his lack of ability to express it upset her.  Evangeline was very idealistic, with a strong sense of right and wrong and she argued very convincingly – much as Catherine would – using her lawyer’s training.  Eventually, she broke up with him, emphasizing the fact that in healthy relationships there should be communication, and if she was the right one for him, he should be able to tell her he loved her. 

At the time, this was intended to be a plot device to keep them apart a little longer.  But unfortunately, Daytime politics got in the way.  The actress left the show while John and Evangeline were apart.  The-Powers-That-Be didn’t feel that they could replace her because she had been extremely popular.  So Evangeline was eventually killed off in a very horrible and senseless way.  It was more than a little déjà vu, to be sure! 
 
When “One Life to Live” ended earlier this year, John did have his happy ending…with Natalie.  She was a good match for him, and there was even some chemistry, but she was most certainly not a Beauty to his Beast.  John and Natalie were much too similar to fit this category.  They were from the same “world” – a tough neighborhood in Atlantic City, NJ.  They met playing pool in a bar – an activity that it doesn’t seem likely Evangeline or Catherine would ever be found doing. The point is that not every good couple, nor every popular romance, fits this category.   I’m not seeing Vincent and Catherine in every couple out there, only a select few, but they have been popping up with some consistency over the years.

As we all know, it was never meant for Clark and Lana to be together forever.  It remains to be seen what will ultimately happen between Stefan and Elena.  Max and Liz were the only Beauty & the Beast couple to actually be granted their happy ending. But, I think it’s important to note, that in all these cases, you get the intense romance of a Beauty & the Beast story minus the accusations of impropriety when the two do, in fact, get together.  All of these relationships were consummated, whether they worked out or not.  

While we love Vincent exactly as he is and know in our hearts that there could never be a more perfect Beast, Hollywood is probably congratulating themselves on finding a solution to a sticky TV problem – how to bring the Beauty and the Beast together - and stay on the air.

One last thought: Having a normal - or even far above normal - looking Beast may seem like a cheapening of the Beauty & the Beast story in some ways.  But, with the help of good writing – something that all these shows had - it really can take the symbolism to a new level.

In life, it’s easy to assume the other person has it all together.  We especially think this of extremely good looking people.  But the truth is we all have our Beastly side – the side that we wish we could just ignore or run away from.  I have always found it quite amusing to imagine what Vincent would say if he knew that some of the very best looking guys there are could experience so much of the very same obstacles and insecurities that he has gone through with Catherine! 

There are probably more examples that could be discussed.   These have just stood out to me as being too much of a coincidence to be believed.  Vincent and Catherine’s influence was far reaching, indeed.  They can never, of course, be truly duplicated, not even by a so-called “reboot.”  But…if imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, then we Vincent and Catherine fans should be delighted with all these new versions of the story being planned.  They might explore the “tale as old as time” in new and modern ways, but we will always know in our hearts that all over Television Land, our Vincent and Catherine live on through them…again and again and again.   

 

A reference used for this essay and a very good book for anyone who wants to read more is:  “The Meanings of ‘Beauty & the Beast’: A Handbook” by Jerry Griswold, Broadview Press, 2004.