The Nine Lives of Chloe King
The Nine Lives of Chloe King is a three-book series by Celia Thomson that is being produced in 2011 as a 10-episode mini-series by ABC Family. The book series features Chloe, a young girl who seems to fall to her death at the beginning of the first book. After a mysterious recovery, she finds that she's changing and may not actually be human, but rather a member of a catlike race, the Mai, who can never truly co-exist with humanity. Moreover, she may be the reincarnation of the race's destined leader with nine lives and new powers, and the existing power base is not happy with that fact.
Tropes used in The Nine Lives of Chloe King include:
- Ancient Conspiracy: There exists a society that seeks to prevent the Mai from destroying humanity.
- Catgirl: Chloe belongs the Mai, a race that appears to be human, but can manifest catlike traits such as enhanced senses and physical ability as well as manifesting claws and ears. Prolonged or repeated usage of these abilities results in the cat features being more prominent and more permanent.
- Can't Have Sex Ever: With humans. Her race's claws secrete a poison deadly to humans and the claws manifest when they are aroused.
- Cats Have Nine Lives: As a reincarnation of their leader, Chloe is prophesied to have nine lives. So far, she's miraculously survived three attempts to kill her.
- Cut Short: The series ends abruptly after three entries in what was intended to be a nine book series.
- Death by Sex: When excited, the Mai secrete a poison from their claws and saliva that's deadly to humans. Chloe is implied to have killed the man she had a one night stand with shortly after her manifestation.
- Fantastic Racism: On both sides of the Mai/human divide. Also in the TV series a new dimension has been added with the Jackals.
- Genre Savvy: Kim.[1] Justified by her being an expert in the ancient myths that formed the basis for a number of modern stories.
- Nice Hat: When Chloe first meets her eventual love interest and member of the ancient order of assassins dedicated to killing her race, he's wearing a knit hat with cat ears that he made himself.
- Puberty Superpower: Chloe begins manifesting around the same time as she's hitting puberty.
- Window Love: Chloe does this with her first love interest Brian to avoid killing him.
The show provides examples of:
- Adaptation Dye Job: In the books, Chloe was a brunette.
- Anyone Can Die: The season finale alone had Brian die as well as leave Jasmine and Valentina's fate ambiguous as they lay dying.
- Asian and Nerdy: Paul
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Chloe makes a birthday wish that things would be different. Cue her developing cat-like powers, prompting an assassin to try and kill her.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Chloe and Alek (with Alek on the sexual side and Chloe on the belligerent).
- Beta Couple: Paul and Amy.
- Betty and Veronica: Chloe between Brian and Alek.
- Blessed with Suck: Chloe.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: Alek describing the effects of the Mai's venom:
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"Paralysis, death, paralysis and death. |
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- The Cast Showoff: Grace Phipps (Amy) gets a chance to sing a song.
- Catch Phrase: Whenever Chloe's mom says "I love you" to Chloe, Chloe responds with "Implied."
- The Chosen One: Chloe is the Uniter of the Mai and is blessed with nine lives because of that.
- Dangerous Sixteenth Birthday: Chloe discovers her heritage on her sixteenth birthday.
- Demoted to Extra: Brian. In the books Brian knew that Chloe was a Mai, and was a member of the order trying to kill her. He also didn't die in the books.
- Disappeared Dad: Chloe's dad, although he does communicate with her by e-mail.
- The Empath: Chloe. ("You, my child, are an empath.")
- First Kiss: Chloe claims the one with Paul years ago didn't count so the one with Xavier officially marks the first one.
- Genre Savvy: Paul
- Has Two Mommies: Amy has two fathers.
- I Just Want to Be Special: And boy did that wish come true!
- I Thought Everyone Could Do That: Chloe does this a few times in the pilot, not realizing that balancing on the back of a sofa or hearing an un-plugged-in iPod are things that ordinary humans aren't capable of.
- In the Hood: In the beginning of the first episode, the visible diversion operatives are wearing sinister black hoodies over their heads.
- Killed Off for Real: Brian, due to the Kiss of Death mentioned below.
- Kiss of Death: Chloe and the Mai.
- Living Lie Detector: Chloe can use her empath ability to tell if a person is feeling something that's different from what they're saying, as demonstrated in "Responsible".
- Long Lost Sibling: Zhane is revealed to be Alek's brother.
- Meet Cute: Brian and Chloe.
- The Messiah: Chloe seems to be trying to be this. (Judging by her willingness to try and help someone that the rest of the Mai consider to be a member of an enemy race.)
- Missing Mom: Since five years ago, poor Brian has been raised by the guy who's attempting to exterminate his son's crush and the rest of her civilization.
- Part-Time Hero
- Perma-Stubble: Brian doesn't shave, even when going to a black tie event.
- Playing Against Type: Skyler Samuels's previous roles had her playing Alpha Bitch types
- Product Placement: Chloe just really wants that Kia Soul.
- Relationship Upgrade: Subverted in an episode where Amy and Paul both want this but have very different ideas of what this would mean. It does not end well.
- Secret Public Identity: Chloe uses her real name in public despite generally keeping her nature as Mai secret from humans. [2]. Perhaps justified, as the members of The Order seem to be able to recognize Mai even when they don't use their powers, so it's unlikely that hiding her name or face would do anything to protect her.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Supernatural Powers: The Brazilian Mai think they can do whatever they want, including kill humans, because they are the Superior Race
- Stock Super Powers: The Mai as a race have many superhuman attributes:
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between Alek and Chloe. It grows more obvious by the episode.
- Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Brian with his dad, Jasmine with her mom.