Discuss - Ep #0281

[Watching Project]

Robservations - #281

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

Re: Discuss - Ep #0281

[DarkLady]

Barnabas stops the séance, and Vicki abruptly falls across the table in a faint. When the others ask him why he stopped it, he gets careless with his pronouns and his time frame. Fortunately for him, no one notices. He explains, Because she was recreating her death. I’m sure Vicki was about to say who was chasing her, Carolyn says. The agitated Barnabas stands up, saying I couldn’t let her go through that death again. You shouldn’t have stopped her, Roger says. It was the only way I could save her! cries Barnabas.

Vicki sees Sarah standing on the balcony upstairs, wearing her blue party dress. Despite her quiet, impassive face, she must have seen and heard everything that just happened. Even the chance to wear her favorite dress one more time for her brother’s party has been marred. Later, we see that she's changed back into her everyday dress as she carefully smooths out the blue one on Josette's bed. But the moment she hears footsteps, she disappears.

Nice exchange between Roger and Elizabeth when everyone is back at Collinwood, discussing the evening's events. The ebullient Roger thinks the séance lent some badly needed excitement to the family’s life.

So Roger agrees with Lydia--but what about the very recent excitement of Jason McGuire's home invasion and his attempt to marry Elizabeth and take over Collinwood? What, that wasn't enough excitement?! What is it with these people?

Vicki blames herself for breaking up the party. I remember how hurt Barnabas looked when we left, she says ruefully. You weren’t to blame, Elizabeth tells her. What is the value of suffering if it isn’t to be enjoyed? Roger wonders. Enjoy your own then, not other people’s, Elizabeth retorts.  Roger replies airily, My ancestors’ suffering is part of my rightful family heritage. You shouldn’t try to keep it from me.

JF does his second (I think) voiceover--and very nicely, too--as Barnabas gazes up at Josette's portrait and explains why he had to send her away.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

but what about the very recent excitement of Jason McGuire's home invasion and his attempt to marry Elizabeth and take over Collinwood? What, that wasn't enough excitement?! What is it with these people?

   Yes, one would certainly think that would have provided plenty of "excitement" for them. But apparently not. I suppose the type of excitement they crave involves the explanation of grisly and tragic death. If only Liz had jumped from Widows' Hill during one of those times she'd attempted it. Then her ghost could have come back and given everyone a ton of excitement by relating the horror of falling from the cliff and crashing on the rocks below! 

[DarkLady]

Oh, yes, Barnabas gives Vicki the music box--the whole point of the exercise. As she listens to the music, already enthralled, he gazes at her fondly.

The music box never seems to need winding--it must be possessed.

[Lydia]

So Roger agrees with Lydia--but what about the very recent excitement of Jason McGuire's home invasion and his attempt to marry Elizabeth and take over Collinwood? What, that wasn't enough excitement?!

Wait, wait, what did I say?  I don't think I said anything about excitement being wanted or needed at Collinwood.  I just said that if you're going to throw a party, you should make it a good one.  Hmm...Sam Hall wasn't writing for the show yet.  He and Grayson knew a thing or two about parties.  Would the Old House costume party have been any different if he had had a hand in it?

When Josette came to a séance before, she spoke French, but today's spirit spoke English.  I had forgotten my speculation of five years ago that the spirit in today's séance was not Josette, but now I'm thinking the language difference points to that conclusion.  Also, there was no scent of jasmine in the air.

Barnabas got a little more of the past than he bargained for when he planned the costume party: both Josette (whether or not it was she, he believes it was she) and Sarah showed up.  So it seems unlikely that costume parties at the Old House will become a regularly occurring event.

[Janet the Wicked]

Barnabas stops the séance, and Vicki abruptly falls across the table in a faint. When the others ask him why he stopped it, he gets careless with his pronouns and his time frame. Fortunately for him, no one notices.

If anybody in Collinsport ever noticed ANYTHING, Barnabas would have been staked a long time ago.

[DarkLady]

When Josette came to a séance before, she spoke French, but today's spirit spoke English.  I had forgotten my speculation of five years ago that the spirit in today's séance was not Josette, but now I'm thinking the language difference points to that conclusion.  Also, there was no scent of jasmine in the air.

But the spirit is obviously reliving the night when Barnabas chased Josette and she jumped off the cliff to escape him. It could just be a question of continuity: According to DS Wiki, Episode 233, in which Barnabas tells the girls the original story during a blackout while a storm rages outside, was written by Malcolm Marmorstein. This episode was written by Joe Caldwell.

[Lydia]

DarkLady, here's what I said five years ago:

It's neat to see Josette telling, through Vicky, the tale of her suicide, because the details don't match what in fact happened in the 1795 storyline.  On the other hand, if I remember correctly, the spirit speaking through Vicky in today's episode never did say her name, so that it is theoretically possible that it was somebody entirely different.  Heaven knows enough women have thrown themselves off of Widows Hill so there would be a wide selection of alternatives.  Maybe it was Beth talking, not Josette. Or maybe the spirit was talking about another location altogether.  I don't think the name Widows Hill was actually mentioned.

I have no doubt that the writers thought it was Josette who was speaking, but maybe the writers were wrong.

[alwaysdavid]

I thought the hand Naomi felt was Sarah touching her mother, but apparently she watched from the stairs.
Barnabas decided that the past is just the past and he must let josette go and have someone from the future.
Vickie is the natural choice.

[IluvBarnabas]

The last time Josette spoke through Vicki, she spoke in French...that was because Laura had showed up. Had Laura not appeared, I think Josette would have been able to speak clearly in English.

I always thought that it was Josette speaking this time, but Lydia has brought up the possibility that it may have been someone else...and that very well could be. There are the widows...heck, maybe it wasn't even a woman talking through Vicki. Maybe Bill Malloy had a more dramatic death than we were led to believe. [spoiler] Matthew said he never intended to harm Bill, but we only have Matthew's word for that. And we saw he was ready to kill Burke at the Blue Whale. [/spoiler]

Roger loves to enjoy the suffering of his ancestors....nice. If he only knew the nature of some of that suffering, perhaps he'd have a different view.

And so now Barnabas gives Vicki the music box....he must be pretty confident he'll succeed with her where he failed with Maggie in recreating his Josette. A rather premature, silly move, because he has no absolute 100 percent guarantee that he'll have more luck with Vicki no matter how much she shares his love of the past.