Discuss - Ep #0701

[Watching Project]

Robservations #701

[Lydia]

This episode is even more interesting when you watch it the second or the umpteenth time - when you know exactly who all the people are whose names are mentioned, and when you know what has happened in 1897 before this action.  But I'll never forget watching this on its first airing in 1969 and being surprised by the beauty of David Selby's voice when he said, "You're still beautiful, Beth."
 
How did Barnabas send the vision of the mausoleum to the crystal ball?  He didn't do it when he existed in 1897 the first time around, and he knows no more about Sandor and Magda now than he did then.  All I can figure is that the I Ching was helping him.  It's obvious that the pattern of the I Ching wands on the table in the basement of the the Old House in 1969 was not the same as the pattern on the door that Barnabas saw.  Something in Barnabas evoked something in I Ching, and it showed itself in the door accordingly.
 
Alternatively, there is Magnus's theory that Barnabas self-hypnotized himself to get through the endless nights the first time around and that's why he never sent a vision to Magda's crystal ball, but if that's the case, then why is it that Willie heard the heartbeat from the portrait in 1967?  And come to think of it, why did Willie hear the heartbeat in 1967?
 
What were those cards that Edith had?  There was Tarot there, but there were also some other cards.  Were they old fashioned playing cards, from before they put the number and the suit on the corner?
 
There was a scratch or something on Magda's crystal ball that looked to me as though something had scratched "Joe's" into it.  Very distracting. Is this the same crystal ball that David uses in 1966?
 
I liked the pallor of Barnabas's hand next to Sandor's brown skin.
 
I was thinking during our hiatus that this was like the between-seasons time on a prime time show, since I knew that things would be so different on the show when it started up again.  When I tell people my favorite TV show is Dark Shadows, often they ask: "How many seasons did it run?"  It's a great question to be asked, because it opens the door to explaining to them some of the wonderful things about Dark Shadows.

[MagnusTrask]

I love how the Barnabas we see is a sort of joining of the 1969 and 1897 (or 1795, since that's the last time he lived in the world) versions.   You can hear it in his voice, [spoiler]when he delivers the line about the house being in a "deplorable condition".[/spoiler] 1969 human Barnabas would never have said it that way, in those words, with that attitude.   You can hear how his point of view is affected by being a vampire again.   Yet... his 1969 self dictates his priorities, despite how transformed he is.

It's great watching J Frid spring to life again as the past storylines begin... it's clear he just has so much more to work with, and so much more enthusiasm.

[Midnite]

It's obvious that the pattern of the I Ching wands on the table in the basement of the the Old House in 1969 was not the same as the pattern on the door that Barnabas saw.

Really?  The pattern on the door looked exactly the same to me as the one Stokes arranged on the table.

What were those cards that Edith had?  There was Tarot there, but there were also some other cards.  Were they old fashioned playing cards, from before they put the number and the suit on the corner?

That was all Tarot.  We usually see cards from that deck's Major Arcana, but Edith had mostly Minor Arcana cards in front of her-- pentacles, wands, swords and cups, including a court card (an inverted Knight of Wands, which should have cued her in to exactly who was at the door, lol).  There are samples here:

1JJ Swiss Tarot images

It was my first deck, purchased after seeing it on DS, naturally.  I bought it at a witch's shop in San Pedro's Ports O'Call, which is one reason why I loved that the Village stood in as Collinsport in '91 and '04.

[MagnusTrask]

I do vaguely remember it being something other than the 49th on the door.

[IluvBarnabas]

Great episode. We get to hear Quentin and Beth speak....Quentin trying to woo Beth one second, then abusing her another, then back to sweet-talking her again. What a complex guy Quentin is, and will continue to be as the storyline plays out.

I must admit, it always bothered me too how Barnabas was never able to summon anyone to release him before, but now he does, but I just have to shrug my shoulders and enjoy the ride. I look forward to 1897 more and more.

Love the interaction between Magda and Sandor. They are completely believable as a husband and wife, quarreling as all other married couples do from time to time.

[Midnite]

Not to beat a dead horse,  but I rewatched, paused the screen, and still see the same hexagram on the table that's on the door (the one below).

__________
__________
__________
__________
__________
__________

Lydia, maybe it's how we are seeing the pattern on the table?  I don't know.  It appears to me that we see the broken sides of a couple of them that are solid on top.

[Lydia]

I haven't gone back and looked again, but both times that scene was shown - in the end of episode 700 and in the beginning of 701 - it seemed clear to me that when Stokes threw the wands down, there were more white sides up than there were on the door.  It may be that while we were looking at the door the first time, the wands were rearranged to show what was on the door.

Thanks for the information about the Tarot cards, Midnite.  I'll take a closer look next time I watch this episode.

[MagnusTrask]

That diagram doesn't look like the 49th to me.   It just looks like five thin white lines actually...  Anyway, I wonder if we're being fooled by seeing the wands from the side rather than from the top.   Are they the same on all sides?

[Midnite]

You're welcome on the Tarot Lydia.

it seemed clear to me that when Stokes threw the wands down, there were more white sides up than there were on the door.  It may be that while we were looking at the door the first time, the wands were rearranged to show what was on the door.

I noticed Stokes doing a LOT of rearranging and a little flipping to make the pattern after Barnabas (not Stokes) threw them down.  I guess that was inevitable, cuz Barn couldn't be expected to actually throw them into the desired result.  When you referred to the pattern on the table in 1969, I thought we were talking about the pattern when Stokes was done with them, lol, and those are what looked the same to me as on the door.

That diagram doesn't look like the 49th to me.   It just looks like five thin white lines actually...

Sorry.  The colors should display (top to bottom, though I think I-Ching is read bottom to top) as broken/solid/solid/ solid/broken/solid.

I wonder if we're being fooled by seeing the wands from the side rather than from the top.

I wondered exactly the same above, but didn't word it as clearly as you.  You have to look really carefully to distinguish the top from the sides when there's a white (broken) side or top.

[Midnite]

Considering all the character introductions in the first couple of weeks of this storyline-- with first appearances of more memorable characters than you can count on both hands-- it's easy, amid the excitement, to overlook the set changes.  Yet I feel that one prop in particular is worth mentioning since after its introduction in this ep, it will remain a fixture (unintentional pun) all the way to the end of the series.  So, yay for the drawing room chandelier!   

[MagnusTrask]

I'm curious as to what that crazy turn-of-the-century piece of furniture is called, the one where three people can sit facing different directions and still talk to each other.   Someone here knows, I guarantee it!

[Lydia]

I don't know, but I suggest calling it the menage a trois seat.

[Lydia]

I noticed Stokes doing a LOT of rearranging and a little flipping to make the pattern after Barnabas (not Stokes) threw them down.  I guess that was inevitable, cuz Barn couldn't be expected to actually throw them into the desired result.  When you referred to the pattern on the table in 1969, I thought we were talking about the pattern when Stokes was done with them, lol, and those are what looked the same to me as on the door.

Of course you're right, it was Barnabas, not Stokes, who did the throwing.

I was indeed talking about the pattern when Stokes was done with them, but I suppose it could be that looking at them from a different angle made a difference.  If that's the case, then the director slipped up, because every time I see that scene, I think those wands look different on the table from how they do on the door.  But of course I'm unobservant.

[MagnusTrask]

I don't know, but I suggest calling it the menage a trois seat.

Or... The Taking-All-The-Fun-Out-Of-The-Menage-a-Trois-Seat.