The Others
"Mora"

"Mora"
Airdate: June 10, 2000

Rumour had it that "Mora", the twelfth episode of The Others, was so horrible that they decided not to air it at all. Whether that's true or not, the series finale -- in which every Others member died a horrible, painful death at the hands of Kristen Cloke -- did air in its place. Those who watched the series regularly believed that "Mora" would end up collecting dust in a forgotten studio vault. Not so! In typical NBC fashion of airing the episodes out of order, it was decided to air "Mora" as the final new episode of the series.

Mark

In the ICU, an overworked Mark and an attending nurse speak frankly about the inner-politics and tensions between doctors and administration at the hospital. Suddenly, three patients under Mark's care flatline at once from some strange worm-like creatures that only he and another elderly patient (Marian Seldes) can see. This sick, snarling woman, named Kate Risavitch, is fearful of "The Mora" -- monsters from obscure Eastern European folklore that suck away life. She clearly has something to do with the deaths but whether she is trying to cause or prevent them, nobody knows. When Mark discovers what looks like a cut braid from Pippi Longstocking's hair under two of his patients' beds, the Others fear some kind of voodoo ritual is at work. For the remainder of the episode, the Others try to figure out what this so-called "Mora" talisman does, while Mark takes heat from the hospital board members, namely his overbearing father (Stephen Macht, Gabe's dad).

The episode's director is newcomer Jake Paltrow -- Gwyneth's younger brother and Spielberg's godson -- who neither stands out as being a genius, nor a total hack in this one-hour of television. Writers Brancato and Ferris have found a good folktale to base their story on and have a knack at writing witty, flowing dialogue for the characters that they have created. Although this would probably be considered a Mark-centred episode, every member of the Others is given an interesting task. The highlight of the episode is without at doubt, any scene featuring Warren, Satori or both of them together. Melissa Crider does a fine job making disgusted facial expressions towards the talismans (made of human hair and feces), even when the camera is not focused on her. Kevin J. O'Connor is finally used more than he has been in the past. All of his one-liners produce great laughs, from his blasé instructions to a patient having an out-of-body experience to "follow the bright light" should he see one, to his distressed revelation that "LIVE" spelled backwards is "EVIL".

Unfortunately, once the plot gets under way, things cease to make much sense. Scene by scene, I found myself asking too many rhetorical questions. Not a good sign. Among my gripes (SPOILERS AHEAD):

Marian

1. For the first time, I found myself distracted (instead of my usual impressed) by the show's visual style. Starting from the opening teaser, my first question was, "Is this shot in black and white"? Seeing some burgundy in Mark's scrubs, I scrapped that question and wondered if my television was broken. Soon realizing that it this was an aesthetic choice, I fruitlessly wondered, what is the significance of the lack of colour in this scene?! The bleak look didn't do much for me.

2. Elmer believes that the charm that Mark found under the hospital beds are possibly summoning evil spirits towards patients. His solution to this? Search the entire hospital for these things and get rid of them. This seems like a bit of an unreasonable request, but apparently, the Others are up to the task. Soon, Satori decides to check a storage room. Then, she randomly decides on one bucket sitting on the top of a shelf that she cannot see into and which doesn't look particularly suspicious (perhaps she uses her psychic powers?). What are the odds of it happening to be the secret hiding spot of all the janitor's talismans? In Satori's case, 100%.

3. Miles discovers Kate's entire life history and genealogy through the Internet. Is it realistic that Katrina's Parisian grandson would willingly send information of his entire genealogy to a man who not only has no official association with her, but parades himself as a the spokesperson for a psychic support group?

4. During the climax of the episode, the normally loving and benevolent Elmer turns into Good Cop/Bad Cop (They say this cat Elmer is a bad mutha - shut your mouth! Can ya dig it?). He knows of Kate's involvement with Mark's sudden illness and to get the answer out of her, he yells at her and threatens the old woman with a syringe! Why does this behaviour seem very out of character?

Elmer

5. In conclusion, Marian makes everything all right by showing Kate the family that she never knew she had living in Paris. The twist is that Marian does not realize that at this time, she is speaking to a dead woman. This makes no sense! Why would Kate bother to seek Marian after she died? Wouldn't her dead son be telling her all this family stuff in their tearful reunion on The Other Side -- the entire incentive for Kate to finally let go and die peacefully?

It gives me a headache.

On the positive side, one element that nicely stands out is the beautiful music composed by Shirley Walker. I always pay close attention to her scores each week, but "Mora" is definitely my favourite. A recurring piano theme for Kate Risavitch, as well as what sounds like a sad bassoon play each time we enter her hospital room/bedroom. Perhaps Peter and the Wolf has gotten the better of me, but I associate the bassoon with Russian/Eastern European culture. The score does wonders to enhance the feelings of nostalgia for this elderly woman. Without it, it is harder to sympathize for her, especially when this sudden revelation of guilt for this long lost son of hers is thrown into the mix so late in the story.

Again, I can't help but come back to the same thing. We suddenly learn of Kate's fear of dying because she wants to know what happened to her son. Her guilt and fear has fueled her desire to live. So much so, that she is sucking the life out of others in the process. This seems like an interesting enough motivation. It is the fact that someone decided the episode needed a point/a motivation/coherence (circle best answer) in the last ten minutes that makes the entire lead up to it seem like such a bloody waste of time. The sudden backstory to her character appears out of thin air. It provides an all too neat and tidy ending, but it is too rushed and arbitrary for it to be reasonable.

But there are way too many questions for there to be enough reasonable answers anyway. Frankly, they are questions any viewer shouldn't have to be worrying about at all. Initially, I thought, "maybe I just didn't get it?". Alas, on second viewing, there was nothing there to get. The progression of events simply lack consistency and logic. And nice as they are, no amount of fine touches in acting, music or squirmy-worm special effects can cover up for the lazy storytelling.

If NBC truly shelved "Mora" because it was such a stinker, they must not have bothered to watch the previous Mark-focused episode, "Don't Dream It's Over", which just plain sucked ass on every level. Some fans however, have complimented NBC for at least allowing them to view "Mora", which technically, is the bona fide end for The Others. Call me over-sentimental or totally irrational, but personally, I feel cheated -- as though this series has now just gone out, not with its intended sadistic BANG, but with the frail whimper of a 107 year old ballerina. Hopefully this will pass once I get over my long standing loathing towards network executives.

In the meantime, fellow Others fans, comfort yourselves with the words that Elmer (and Hare Krishnas) like to say -- Death is not the end. If I don't see you on this side, I'll see you in the next. And don't be late!

-- Julie Ng

The Others has been canceled.

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