Discuss - Ep #0982

[Watching Project]

Robservations #982

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

Re: Discuss - Ep #0982

[Joeytrom]

Is Quentin Liz and Roger's brother?  I'm don't remember if it was explained.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Cousin. (Though in an argument with JB in one scene, DS accidentally refers to Liz as "dear sister," no doubt flashing back to 1897's Quentin and Judith's arguments - an easy mistake since those arguments are legendary - almost as legendary as RT Roger and Liz' arguments.  )

[Joeytrom]

So, there are three sets of cousins: Liz & Roger, Quentin, Chris & Amy.  I can see Jamison as Liz and Rogers father, 1897 Quentin's son as Quentin's father, perhaps a second son of 1897 Quentin as Chris & Amy's father?

[Uncle Roger]

Maggie and Quentin. Will and Carolyn. Two different but dysfunctional couples. Maggie is really feeling out of place at Collinwood, much to Hoffman's delight. Quentin is already acting impatient with her, though it's unrealistic of her to expect him to spend the day with her instead of going to work. Maggie is desperate for a friendly ear and Will Loomis seems to be it.
I found it a little odd that Will said that they couldn't accept rent money from a family member. Carolyn is okay with it and it would be her relative, not his. The Loomis marriage seems to be on shaky ground. Which came first? His drinking or her bitterness? Did one cause the other?
Though Barnabas is reluctant, Carolyn is quite insistent that he bite her again. Kind of like Megan but [spoiler]I am more reminded of a similar scene between Barnabas and Carolyn in HODS[/spoiler]. This doesn't end well for either of them as Will figures out things very quickly. This leads to a rather effective way of writing Jonathan Frid out of the story for the duration of the film shoot.
Assuming that in PT1897, Quentin and Jenny were still the parents of twins, I would think that the current Quentin is the son/grandson of the little boy who died in infancy. Chris and Amy could still be Lenore's grandchildren. I like the idea that they are accepted as part of the family but I have thought that their last name should still be Jennings.

[DarkLady]

Maybe in PT, 1897 Quentin and Jenny had twin boys instead of a boy and a girl. Or else the twins were still a boy and a girl--she would have married out and left. But if Quentin and Jenny stayed together, they could have had another boy, younger than the twins. That way, Chris and Amy would be Collinses.

I suspect that Will developed writer's block and took to drink because it wouldn't go away and then Carolyn gave up on him.

Welcome, strange gold windowpane plaid jacket of Quentin. Those 1970 clothes!  And he breezes right out without even seeing that Maggie needs his help.

Will warns Maggie about the dangers of tannic acid and also--much more to the point--about not trusting Hoffman. Later, Maggie hears Hoffman laughing about her to Angelique's big giant portrait. Hoffman quickly hustles her out of the sacred precints and reminds her that dinner will be ready soon. I assume you’re going to change, she adds as she bundles Maggie down the hall.

So PT Will knows about vampires! Who would have thought! It takes him no time at all to make the connection between Carolyn's fainting fit, her scarf, and their parlor boarder. Farewell, JF, for now.

[MagnusTrask]

Was Barnabas carrying around lots of cash on his person in prep for PT time?  He can pay rent?  So maybe Will has it in his head that there's a tradition of not just the tea, but also of romancing creepily the mistress of the estate, whoever she happens to be at the moment?  That's what it seems like. 

PT Carolyn has a fun, rebellious, unique version of vamvictimhood... semi-independent, but more determined to be a victim.  When Barnabas tries to spare her, she demands a biting like it's something she's owed.  "You can't just start this and stop!" -- good line.  The writers had to have decided that having Carolyn go gentle and compliant would defeat the purpose of having a different Carolyn in the first place.  Interesting solution to that problem.

I suppose Will wants to save Carolyn, explaining his kidnapping of Barnabas at the end, though he doesn't put it that way.  By Sam Hall.

[DarkLady]

Maybe Barn has a couple hundred on him. Presumably in PT, he didn't have to hide Naomi's jewels in the basement of the Old House

Funny how Carolyn thinks Barn is treating her like a one-night stand!

I suppose what Will does at the end could be interpreted as saving Carolyn. But at least this early in the story, nobody is quite what they seem, and everyone has lots of different and even conflicting reasons for doing what they do. Well, okay, maybe not Hoffman. Or Barnabas. But almost everyone else.

[Uncle Roger]

Who knows what Barnabas was going to use for cash in parallel time? The currency from RT may have been completely different and I don't think that Barnabas was the type to have credit cards. It's probably not something that the writers thought much about and Will's actions make this a moot point anyway.
I agree with you about the parallel time characters, Dark Lady. They are drawn with much more shades of grey than many of the RT characters.

[MagnusTrask]

I do remember what Will's stated purpose is for locking up Barnabas, later.  We see it here too, with Will talking about how Barnabas will be his salvation, or something.  Nothing about that last scene indicates that he has saving Carolyn in mind; it's just that that would make more sense than what the purpose turned out to be.  I thought watching that scene: "Why don't you just ask him nicely, Will? [spoiler]Why wouldn't Barnabas help you with your research?[/spoiler]"  Then I thought, "Oh yeah, Carolyn's a vamp victim too, he may need to stop that ASAP..."  Plus there's his own safety.

DS rarely had any patience for acknowledging or dealing with the basics of everyday survival, like toilets, or money.  Mostly that's a good thing, but too many characters are now landing in town with no means of support and no clear place where they live, no hint of who does the meals or cleaning up, etc..  It gets especially implausible when Barnabas gets to continue operating as a wealthy member of a wealthy family, no matter where he goes, no matter who he's posing as.  It's as if having money is just intrinsic to him, just his basic nature, and it's true wherever he goes, because that's who/what he is.  He could find himself in the Stone Age, and he could still live on his undefined, offscreen money.  And they say we don't have a class system in the US...

[DarkLady]

Well, Mrs. Johnson does the meals and the cleaning. And way back in 1966, we got a shot of Matthew Morgan trimming shrubbery with some wicked-looking hedge clippers. And Willie looks after Barnabas, somehow.

But aside from that, all those other mundane things just seem not to happen.

Just had a thought of Barnabas arriving on the island of Yap in the South Pacific, where they used to use big giant stone wheels as currency. I'm sure he'd have a few of those too.

[alwaysdavid]

It seems odd that Will would have no copy of his own book, nor the rough drafts around somewhere.
This old house has electricity. Must be saving a lot on the candle budget.
Maggie certainly is thin skinned and insecure. Every little thing sends her off the deep end.
Will apparently knows his way around vampires and has crosses and chains waiting for Barnabas.