Why this inconsistency?

[Roland]

I've always been a little bothered by the fact that Carolyn and Vickie [spoiler]so readily forget ever having been under Barnabas' spell once he is no longer a vampire.  Yet, this is not the case with other people who are at least temporarily under a vampire's spell.  I'm thinking particularly of Willie and Julia.  There is at least a plausible explanation given for Maggie's loss of memory, why not the same for the others?   I realize that the plot necessitated Vickie and Carolyn forgetting (after all, the main characters in DS always seemed doomed to be forever in the dark as to what was really going on at Collinwood, so having them know the truth about Barnabas on a permanent basis would never do)[/spoiler] but the inconsistency is still troubling.

[Taeylor Collins]

As for Willie I have no idea.  Julia however was never under his spell...In fact[spoiler]it's almost ironic (since she was supposed to be killed off) that in the entire run Julia was never bitten or under Barnabas vampire spell.  She was only under that old spell most of us have been under before: LOVE![/spoiler]

[Lydia]

Here's my idea: the drugs that Dr. Lang administered to Barnabas were (to use MB's preferred qualifier) beyond experimental.  They would break the vampire thrall in different ways depending on the victim.  If Lang had been a truly dedicated (not to mention sane) scientist, he would have had Barnabas bite a couple of dozen people in separate locked rooms before he gave Barnabas the drugs, so that he could observe the various reactions and determine to what extent environmental and genetic factors made a difference.  It may be worth noting that Carolyn and Vicky, who had similar reactions, were quite possibly related, suggesting that genetic factors were indeed involved.

[Garth Blackwood]

[spoiler] in the entire run Julia was never bitten or under Barnabas vampire spell.  [/spoiler]

Well actually, [spoiler] Julia was bitten by Tom Jennings [/spoiler], and along the lines of the original post, [spoiler] she clearly did have a recollection of the experience after Tom had been staked. It seems almost like the writers forgot to explain why Carolyn and Vicki forgot that Barnabas ever was a vampire. [/spoiler]

[Garth Blackwood]

Lydia, that would certainly explain it, lol.. Those drugs must have been insanely beyond experimental if they can, among other things, drastically effect the memories of people who had been bitten by the one who was administered the drug. 

[Zahir]

An interesting question.

I suspect the real reason is purely for purposes of plot, plus a certain assumption that might have been made about pretty young ingenues.

Coming up with an "in show" explanation is much trickier.  I personally don't see how Lang's drugs would have worked on only some victims and not on others.  It might have had something to do with their individual personalities, though.  We each respond to trauma in our own ways.  Carolyn might well have suppressed her memories, while Victoria of course was in a car accident.

Mind you, Carolyn did ultimately come across to me as somewhat self-delusional.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Mind you, Carolyn did ultimately come across to me as somewhat self-delusional.

She would have to have been to have married Jeb.   

[Roland]

Thanks for your responses. Yes, I should have been clearer in my comments about Julia.  [spoiler]But I was referring to Tom Jennings and not Barnabas.[/spoiler]  Thanks for the clarification.

[IluvBarnabas]

Mind you, Carolyn did ultimately come across to me as somewhat self-delusional.

She would have to have been to have married Jeb.   

I am rewatching the later half of the Leviathan storyline. I am watching the episode where [spoiler] Quentin tells her Jeb killed her father and she gets all defensive, accusing him and Barnabas of pointing the finger at Jeb just because they didn't like him. I wanted to smack her. She's only known Jeb for what, a week or two at this point, not to mention she had that dream of him where he admitted he killed her father. All right, a dream doesn't count as positive proof, but she's known Barnabas a lot longer than Jeb. She hardly knows anything about him as a matter of fact yet she jumps to his defense because Quentin tells her something she doesn't want to hear. She won't even consider the idea. [/spoiler]

Back to topic, as far as Carolyn and Vicki went about forgetting what Barnabas was....I suspect Vicki may have chosen to live in denial about him.
When she was in 1795, she is told Barnabas [spoiler] has died instead of going to England. Then how could the Barnabas of 1967/1968 could exist if his "ancestor" didn't live long enough to sire some offspring? [/spoiler]

As for Carolyn, maybe she just didn't want to expose Barnabas since they were 'blood' (albeit a few generations separated them) and she still felt some loyalty to him. Or maybe she just pitied him.

[Taeylor Collins]

[spoiler] in the entire run Julia was never bitten or under Barnabas vampire spell.  [/spoiler]

Well actually, [spoiler] Julia was bitten by Tom Jennings [/spoiler]

I said she was never bitten by Barnabas.

[Garth Blackwood]

Well I read it as "she was never bitten, and she was also never under Barnabas' spell". The way it was worded, this wasn't an absurd thing to conclude.

[Taeylor Collins]

NO worries.  I will try wording things better next time.

[adamsgirl]

If I recall correctly, there's a scene between Carolyn and Julia once the 1795 storyline has concluded, and Vicki returns to the present. Julia says something to Carolyn along the lines of, "You're certainly back to your old self now." Carolyn responds and says (paraphrasing): "Yes. I've decided I need to live my own life and not live for Barnabas." It's obvious at that point that Carolyn is no longer under Barnabas' spell. As for Vicki, what can I say? She never really "understood" anyway -- LOL!

[michael c]

shortly after barnabas is "cured" by dr.lang there is an episode where both carolyn and vicki discover that the bitemarks on their necks have vanished.lang opines that perhaps it's because the "cause of them has been removed" or something to that effect...and with this both girls' memory banks become clean slates.their knowing barnabas' secret would have impeded the progression of the storyline.perhaps one could use this same thinking to justify the fact that david no longer fears barnabas...a plotline never otherwise satisfactorily resolved.

but in general a case of collective amnesia seems to have infected collinsport by 1968.having most of the main characters...besides of course barnabas and julia...always outside the know was an integral part of the series for some reason.if everyone knew what was going on there would have been no sense of mystery i guess.besides having everyone's memories of key events disappear means that show could move from storyline to storyline without troublesome plot threads left dangling from the previous story.there could be a fresh start and of course the character makeovers(barnabas,julia,quentin)the program is known for.

later in 1968 a very,very convenient memory erasing devise(in the 'suave' personage of nicholas blair)becomes widely overused causing many characters to forget everything that had been happening to them for the previous several weeks or months.

[michael c]

there was also a scene at the hospital where dr.land first discovers the bitemarks on vicki's neck.when he asks her about them she becomes quite distressed and claims she "doesn't remember" where or how she got them.

i never understood if she was just being understandably evasive or if perhaps during the daylight hours,or when not in barnabas' physical presence,she genuinely was unaware of them or her condition.

both maggie and carolyn had different reactions to this as well.maggie was a basket case where as carolyn was cool,calm and collected.