It's really a curious dynamic, especially seeing how close they'd become by the start of the series -- and how much colder Mitchell was in the flashback in episode 6 to meeting George. Being around George lightened him up a lot, I think -- it's obviously hard to draw comparisons between Mitchell at the beginning of the pilot (before he goes on the wagon) and subsequently in the series because of the actor change, but I don't think the difference that we saw between Mitchell pre-abstinence and post-abstinence is nearly as great as the difference in him pre-George and post-George.
Absolutely agreed - I don't see as huge a contrast between the two Mitchells as some do, and at any rate, both Mitchells are very relaxed and laid-back around George. PreGeorge!Mitchell in the flashbacks is so much colder and more distant. (You've seen the prequel clips, right?)
And, yeah ... I get the idea in the episode where George finds out about Lauren that George was, perhaps deliberately, not letting himself think about that aspect of Mitchell's life. Like he said to Annie, he'd forgotten what other vampires were like -- he knew, but he'd gotten used to Mitchell the laid-back joker, and I think he'd managed to blind himself to Mitchell the killer.
Even when he finds out about Lauren and is really quite desperate about it, he complains about "attacking our friends and turning them into monsters" - it's how close to home Mitchell's struck that's bothering him the most, or at least, that's what he's letting himself be upset about. He's still ignoring whatever Mitchell may have done to people he doesn't know.
Oh! And I just remembered - later, when Josie tells him about Mitchell having fallen off the wagon, doesn't it look like the part that bothers him most is that it's intruding on the hospital, their pseudo-human life?
And you know, I think that's still true -- even when confronted by evidence of what Mitchell's capable of, George is still convinced that it's some kind of aberration, that Mitchell is better than that.
Of course it all fits perfectly - George has a lot invested in compartmentalising, with his own werewolf self, and it isn't until the finale that he lets himself acknowledge that as part of himself. It makes perfect sense that he'd apply a similar filter to Mitchell's vampiric life: It's not part of this, their normal life, and so it doesn't really count, right? It's not really real.
Now I wonder if he'll look differently at Mitchell, having accepted more of his own dual nature ...
And I agree with you about the Star of David -- it's a really great twist, and I love how it's quietly introduced as a bit of characterization in the very beginning, but doesn't become a plot point until, what, episode five? I love that kind of planning on the writers' part.
Yay! I'm really thrilled by that. The Star of David was there from the pilot on, and you never think there's anything more to it than what it says about who George is - and then ... Fantastic. I love it when little details that haven't been hung on the wall in an obvious Chekhov's Gun kind of way suddenly become important.
I do wonder about George's faith, and what it means when he hands his Star of David over to a vampire for safekeeping, and how Mitchell reacted to finding out he wasn't affected by it at all, and why Mitchell never told George, and ... oh, there's so much in all of this!
See, I rambled at you again. Can you tell I really don't have many people to talk to about this show? *g*
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Absolutely agreed - I don't see as huge a contrast between the two Mitchells as some do, and at any rate, both Mitchells are very relaxed and laid-back around George. PreGeorge!Mitchell in the flashbacks is so much colder and more distant. (You've seen the prequel clips, right?)
And, yeah ... I get the idea in the episode where George finds out about Lauren that George was, perhaps deliberately, not letting himself think about that aspect of Mitchell's life. Like he said to Annie, he'd forgotten what other vampires were like -- he knew, but he'd gotten used to Mitchell the laid-back joker, and I think he'd managed to blind himself to Mitchell the killer.
Even when he finds out about Lauren and is really quite desperate about it, he complains about "attacking our friends and turning them into monsters" - it's how close to home Mitchell's struck that's bothering him the most, or at least, that's what he's letting himself be upset about. He's still ignoring whatever Mitchell may have done to people he doesn't know.
Oh! And I just remembered - later, when Josie tells him about Mitchell having fallen off the wagon, doesn't it look like the part that bothers him most is that it's intruding on the hospital, their pseudo-human life?
And you know, I think that's still true -- even when confronted by evidence of what Mitchell's capable of, George is still convinced that it's some kind of aberration, that Mitchell is better than that.
Of course it all fits perfectly - George has a lot invested in compartmentalising, with his own werewolf self, and it isn't until the finale that he lets himself acknowledge that as part of himself. It makes perfect sense that he'd apply a similar filter to Mitchell's vampiric life: It's not part of this, their normal life, and so it doesn't really count, right? It's not really real.
Now I wonder if he'll look differently at Mitchell, having accepted more of his own dual nature ...
And I agree with you about the Star of David -- it's a really great twist, and I love how it's quietly introduced as a bit of characterization in the very beginning, but doesn't become a plot point until, what, episode five? I love that kind of planning on the writers' part.
Yay! I'm really thrilled by that. The Star of David was there from the pilot on, and you never think there's anything more to it than what it says about who George is - and then ... Fantastic. I love it when little details that haven't been hung on the wall in an obvious Chekhov's Gun kind of way suddenly become important.
I do wonder about George's faith, and what it means when he hands his Star of David over to a vampire for safekeeping, and how Mitchell reacted to finding out he wasn't affected by it at all, and why Mitchell never told George, and ... oh, there's so much in all of this!
See, I rambled at you again. Can you tell I really don't have many people to talk to about this show? *g*