Popular Culture Review Vol. 14, No. 1, February 2003 | Page 121

F o r e v e r K n ig h t

and

T he In v isib le M an

117

law enforcer, protecting the very humans that were supposed to be the prey of all
vampires. Rather than continuing to tolerate this embarrassment to his species
(and himselO^ LaCroix decides to kill Nick in a very bloodthirsty fashion — first
by decapitating him with a shard of window glass and then by plunging a fiery,
wooden stake directly into his heart. While these efforts fail, the tele-trickster lurks
around the corner throughout the first season, awaiting the opportunity to rid the
world of his imperfect creation.
By the second and third years of Forever Knight, however, LaCroix under
goes a major personality change in how he relates to Nick. He suddenly becomes
a more concerned, ever-watchful “parent” to his offspring, hoping that one day
Nick will come back to the vampiric fold (see “Killer Instinct” and “Father’s Day”).
Actor Nigel Bennett explains that his character step-by-step has come to the real
ization that “beating the crap” out of his “son” so that the latter recognizes the
error of his ways has proven to be an ineffective technique; rather, by becoming
“less antagonistic toward Nick and more of a mentor and advisor...the two can
behave more like normal people...[with the end result that] Nick will come to
terms with the reality of his existence and who he really is” (in Bloch-Hansen 55).
Although Nick continues his quest towards humanity, he tolerates the presence of
the master vampire in his life and even listens in to the trickster’s nightly radio talk
show, The Night Crawler. Of course, allowing LaCroix to stake him in the finale
(“Last Knight” ) is as much for his benefit as the trickster’s. Nick realizes the
vampiric self must die so that his human soul can be saved in the next world. That
LaCroix executes the deed suggests that the trickster finally acknowledges that
vampirism is his son’s curse and that he alone has the power to lift it from his
shoulders by giving the hero a truly noble death.
The Invisible M a n \ doppelganger trickster, Arnaud, shares many qualities
with Forever Knight's. With respect to personality type, Arnaud is depicted as a
cold-blooded killer in the two-hour opener. He not only brutally guns down Darien’s
brother, Kevin, but almost succeeds in eliminating Darien too when he blows up
his base of operations. Of course, Darien’s unwillingness to join the madman’s
terrorist organization, especially after Arnaud has killed his sibling, makes the
trickster think twice about his methods of persuasion. In later teleplays, Arnaud
uses a softer approach on Darien, much like LaCroix does with Nick (see “Re
union” and “Flash to Bang”). He assumes the identity of Kevin and is able to
convince The Invisible Man that he in fact has survived and is still working on the
successful removal of the Quicksilver gland. While his plans to convert Darien to
his cause ultimately backfire, he never gives up trying. And when Arnaud acquires
the powers of invisibility himself (“Money for Nothing, Part II”), he becomes
even more obsessed with turning Darien over to the dark side.
By the end of the series’ run, Arnaud is captured by the Agency and is forced