Discuss - Ep #0265

[Watching Project]

Robservations - #265

And if you'd care to look back, the first WP discussion topic for this ep:

Re: Discuss - Ep #0265

[DarkLady]

WELCOME, GRAYSON HALL, DOCTOR JULIA HOFFMAN!!!

Oh, yeah--and welcome Dr. Hoffman's fish tank too, although we won't see it again for a long time.

Dr. Hoffman is clinically detached--even her hair is swept back in a severe pageboy do--in her examination and questioning of Maggie, who can't even remember her own name.

The hideous "lobster scope" makes an extremely fake-looking effect of revolving tree branches as Sam and Joe drive to Windcliff. (Dr. Woodard drives his own car, I guess.) Dr. Hoffman is unpleasantly surprised when they arrive.

The scene with Maggie groaning, "Take the key and lock her up" is truly sad and disturbing. Then Maggie screams hysterically. Kudos to KLS for a great job. Later, Dr. Hoffman pretty much bans Sam and Joe from returning, but offers them one small crumb of comfort: Their absence may hasten the day when another visit will be advisable.

I love the "Not at this time" duel between Dr. Woodard and Dr. Hoffman! But she isn't totally detached. After the three men leave, she scatters some fish kibble into the tank. Luckily it's already nighttime, so we don't have to watch the "lobster scope" thing as Sam and Joe sadly drive home.

[Janet the Wicked]

The hideous "lobster scope" makes an extremely fake-looking effect of revolving tree branches as Sam and Joe drive to Windcliff. (Dr. Woodard drives his own car, I guess.)

Yes, it looks ridiculous. I wondered if Dave was in the back seat, but I didn't see him.

[Lydia]

It's heavenly to see Julia.  She's so unlike any of the other women in the series so far.

Interesting business with Julia asking Maggie about names.  Julia has figured out, I guess, that there's a weird identity problem there, and she can't isolate it.  So they go over the names, again and again, and, I imagine, Julia hopes that eventually Maggie will blurt out something that will give a clue to the basic problem.

Kudos to KLS for a great job.

Yes indeed!

And there was an interesting lie from Julia to Sam and Joe, telling them she didn't know what would happen when Maggie saw them - but later she told Dave she knew exactly what would happen.  I'm guessing that Julia wanted Sam and Joe to be so surprised by Maggie's behavior that they would leave Julia alone to work with her, but that Julia didn't want Dave to think she wasn't in complete control of everything.

[DarkLady]

I think you're right about Julia's plan, Lydia! She's clever right from the first frame out! Looking back, I always think how amazing it was that a strong woman scientist became a major character on a daytime soap. Too bad I didn't watch it the first time around--she might have been a role model, and who knows how differently I would have turned out!

[alwaysdavid]

First glimpse of the Wyndcliff exterior and it's not some grainy faded dirt covered slide as most of the Collinwood shots are.  Dr. Hoffman is very evasive. My first thought after years of dealing with doctors would be you are done and we are out of here.

[Lydia]

First glimpse of the Wyndcliff exterior

Yes, and for the first time I noticed that Windcliff has a sort of a tower.  A tower in a mental institution - gosh how I wish the writers had used it!

[IluvBarnabas]

Rewatching Julia in this episode, it's interesting to note how her character evolved over the years. She's all scientiific, no-nonsense, detached in here, but the Julia from post 1795 and onwards not only would have allowed Joe and Sam to see Maggie but would have given them fair warning in advance as to the harm and damage it would do to them and to her.

Was Julia's approach in here wrong? Allowing them to see Maggie, suspecting what was going to happen and risk more emotional damage to Maggie's state of mind? Certainly she could have found a more sympathetic way of telling them their absence just might be more constructive to Maggie's getting better.

In all truth though Sam should have let Julia know he was coming even if it meant she would have advised him against coming. However one can't really blame Sam for wanting to see his daughter especially after having been separated from her for awhile thanks to you know who.

I don't know. In theory perhaps Julia's way was the right way, but realistically, I don't think the visit to Maggie really had any real good effect for anyone except maybe for Julia since Sam and Joe took her advice and stayed away, allowing Julia to work with Maggie without any nagging or interference from them.

[Janet the Wicked]

First glimpse of the Wyndcliff exterior

Yes, and for the first time I noticed that Windcliff has a sort of a tower.  A tower in a mental institution - gosh how I wish the writers had used it!

Vertigo.