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.