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by Amy R.
May 22, 1997
Last Modified October 11, 1999 / Comment on LiveJournal
The story of Nick Knight's original "conversion" to vampirehood in Forever Knight comes to us in bits and pieces, dribs and drabs, tantalizingly strewn throughout the series, with no internal order and debatable internal consistency. As intriguing as is Forever Knight's use of this technique, it sometimes frustrates viewers who enter the cycle somewhere other than the very first episode, "Dark Knight" (101), which generously flashes "Paris, 1228" on the screen in its opening segment.
Chronologically arranged, the flashbacks addressing Nick's vampiric infancy appear below. The parenthetical numbers refer to each episode's place in the production order, which is not necessarily the same as its place in the aired order.
"Dance By the Light of the Moon" (105)
Nick willingly dallies with Janette, who opens the door to Lacroix.
"Near Death" (212)
Re-shoot of Janette opening the door to Lacroix. Drained by Lacroix, Nick has a near-death experience and chooses not to step into the light. Lacroix feeds Nick from his wrist. Nick and Janette kiss passionately.
"Dark Knight" (101)
Janette leads Nick to his first vampiric meal, provided by Lacroix. This scene appears in the opening credits; the "meal" is female and unconscious.
"Dark Knight, The Second Chapter" (102)
Distressed by his new condition, Nick characterizes himself as Lacroix's "slave." He asks Lacroix to undo it, to put him back across to humanity.
"Killer Instinct" (201)
Either later that first night, or within a few nights, Nick, in the Paris catacombs, receives his first lessons in how his vampirism has bound him to Lacroix.
"Curiouser and Curiouser" (219)
Within a week, Lacroix approves of Nick's progress as a vampire but advises him to banish his lingering, human guilt.If the Forever Knight "Powers That Be" were as accommodating as, for example, Highlander's, they would have made -- and sold -- us a professional tape of all these flashbacks in chronological order. And a very funny sight it would be, of course, as Nick's hair, Lacroix's cape, and Janette's gown vary significantly from episode to episode. In addition, the scene introducing Lacroix -- that brief moment before he sinks his fangs into Nick -- differs slightly between "Dance by the Light of the Moon" (DBTLOTM) and "Near Death" (ND). In ND, Lacroix is slightly more informative and Nick appears somewhat more compliant. In neither rendition, however, does Lacroix tell Nick that vampirism is what he has in mind, not some sort of human interaction potentially within Nick's imagination and/or experience.
DBTLOTM is interesting as the only episode other than "Queen of Harps" to provide a glimpse of a human Nick; in this case, he was drinking, not happily, at a table with many other men. Some have judged the ND flashbacks not flashbacks at all, but delusions. I disagree, since Janette independently corroborates Nick's perceptions with her own flashback. I am more willing to accept that argument for the flashback in "Curiouser & Curiouser," occurring as it does in the middle of an undisputed delusion.
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