688 - (KLS) - In the dead of the night, a mysterious stranger has appeared on the Collins estate. He is there looking for Chris Jennings, claiming he is a friend from years gone by. But he has aroused the suspicions of two people he has spoken to. Now, while they wait for Chris to return to his cottage, Barnabas Collins and Julia Hoffman wonder if this stranger in their midst knows the terrible secret that Chris Jennings has vowed to keep from the rest of the world.
Chris' cottage - Barnabas and Julia wonder if Ned knows the truth about Chris. Ned sits in a chair and asks Julia and Barn if he's making them uncomfortable; they seem nervous. Barnabas tells him they just don't know why he's there to see Chris. Julia asks what he does for a living. Nothing, replies Ned--just traveling the last few months--my coming to Collinsport was no accident; I came looking for Chris. Ned observes he HAS made them uncomfortable.
It's getting late, says Barnabas. Ned invites them to leave. (nervy!) We can't leave you alone, objects Barnabas. Ned sarcastically comments that one must be proper in New England. Barnabas agrees--if one values social acceptance, he points out--perhaps you don't, he suggests. Julia asks about Ned's sister. I don't want to speak of her, says Ned, and I'm sorry I mentioned her. Barnabas suggests they all go to Collinwood, Ned can leave a note for Chris. Ned suspects they don't want him to see Chris--"and I'm sticking right where I am until he shows up."
Collinwood - David is in the drawing room, speaking to Quentin, begging him, "Answer me!--I've been looking all over for you and must speak to you--appear to me--I know why you won't--you're ashamed to, and you should be!--you promised not to hurt Mr. Braithwaite, but went back on your word and killed him--I can't sleep, thinking about it--I keep seeing Mr. Braithwaite, walking up out of his grave, pointing his finger, saying, "It's your fault, too, David!" David admits to being scared, and mad at Quentin, too--so after tonight, I won't obey you anymore. The music begins to play, but David covers his ears and tells him, I won't listen, won't play the game! David's face twists with misery; he drops his hands from his ears as the music takes its usual hold over him. David walks to the desk, sits down, takes a pen, writes on paper.
3 AM - Maggie, in a nightgown, exits the servants' quarters and turns out the light. She spies light coming from the drawing room and enters. David sits at the desk. She calls him. He smiles at her. She asks why he's up at this hour. He says he went to bed, but couldn't sleep. You shouldn't be roaming the house, she says sternly. I was writing a story, he says, which I do sometimes when I can't sleep. Maggie comments it's not good for someone his age to not be able to sleep--why can't you? I don't know, answers David. She kneels and asks--are you afraid of someone or something? No, he says. I want to help you, she says. I don't need help, insists David. You do, counters Maggie, and we both know it.
He looks at her. You're very pretty, he says in a creepy tone--maybe someday, I'll write a story about you. He refuses to show her the story he just wrote and takes it away from her. I don't want anyone to see it! he cries. She asks him to tell her what the story is about, then. He shakes his head. I ask because I'm interested in everything you do, says Maggie. He gives her another phony smile and tells her it's about this man who lived under a curse put on him by a wicked woman--this curse changed him into an animal that killed people, even those he loved--then one day, he found a secret room and thought if he could hide in there, he could escape his curse--but he couldn't--there was no way for him to get away from it. And then someone let him out of the room, someone who didn't want him to suffer anymore, and then he was killed by a hunter in the woods, and that's how he found his peace. David playfully asks her if she thinks his story weird. Maggie, probably thinking 12 years of therapy wouldn't hurt, says she'll take him upstairs and put him to bed. He argues with her--I'm not tired--but she insists on taking him back to his room. David screams that he won't, and runs out. Maggie leaves the drawing room and finds the doors to the outside wide open. "DAVID!" she cries. She looks around outside, ordering David to come back, then grabs her coat and leaves the house.
Ned paces, asking Barnabas and Julia what Chris does for a living. Barnabas and Julia sit at the table, unwilling captives. Chris is working for the estate, replies Barn--Carolyn made the arrangements. I met her, says Ned, and know she's interested in Chris--I want to talk to her again, about her interest in Jennings. Barnabas leaps to his feet in protest. Ned says he knows he shouldn't be butting into who's going out with whom. Barnabas explains--Julia and I were discussing a book we're writing when you arrived. So I AM in the way, says Ned. Yes, Julia says. You should have told me before, says Ned--I'd have understood--I think Chris isn't returning tonight. Ned puts on his coat--let Chris know I'll be by--thank you. The three leave the cottage. Julia frets--I thought we would never be rid of him. Barnabas agrees--why does he want to see Chris? He's no friend, insists Julia--I doubt he knows Chris' secrets--he was pumping us for too much information. We must go to the tomb to see Chris in the morning, says Barn, and warn him of Ned's arrival.
Maggie runs through the woods, calling David, ordering him to answer. She hears footsteps and is stunned to come face to face with Jeff Clark's look-alike. Don't come near me, stay where you are, she orders--why did you come back? He assures her he isn't there to hurt her--I'm Ned Stuart, not Jeff Clark. Maggie is astounded at the resemblance. I was heading back to my car and heard you yelling, he says, I was concerned you were in trouble. I was looking for David Collins, she explains--he ran from the house and is outside somewhere. Unwilling to leave her alone in the woods, he offers to help search. She asks why he's at Collinwood. I was trying to visit Chris Jennings, says Ned--let's take this path--I promise you you don't have a thing to be afraid of--I'm glad to help you. They head off, searching for David.
Returning to Collinwood, Julia comments to Barnabas how it was interesting, the way Ned introduced his sister into the conversation, then was sorry and dropped it. They speculate on the possibility Chris killed Ned's sister; Barnabas doesn't know what else to think--Chris isn't responsible for what he does after the transformation--the same thing almost happened to Carolyn. Yes, says Julia. She tells him she needs a drink, but he refuses one; he's tired and will go back to the Old House, then return for her in the morning. Julia finds David's discarded story on the floor. "Don't leave," she admonishes, and he reads over her shoulder.
Ned thinks he hears something in the bushes. Maggie calls to David--no response. They continue looking. David pops out from behind a tree, smiling over having fooled them.
Barnabas and Julia agree that if they are to take David's story seriously, the boy knows Chris' secret. Julia was hoping Barn would call it a wild coincidence--how could David know about it? Barnabas brings up the two spirits, one trying to help Chris, the other to harm him. Julia feels it has nothing to do with this story. Barnabas suggests David didn't know what he was doing-- Maggie told me about David's strange behavior lately. You could be wrong, points out Julia, Chris' name is never mentioned in the story. Yet it's all there, says Barnabas--a cursed man turned into an animal, hidden in a secret room. . .and the story ends with someone freeing him from the room. Julia gasps--would David try to do that?
Barnabas isn't sure, but someone might, and I suspect tonight. Barnabas wants to go now, but Julia reminds him it may be too late, Chris may already be out! Or I might get there in time to stop it, says Barnabas, ordering Julia to stay behind. He has the magic cane, which protected him before. "Don't worry about me," says Barnabas. (and tell her to stop breathing, too!)
Maggie tells Ned she thinks they're going in circles. He suggests David might have returned to the house. Maggie doubts it. He wonders about a little boy wandering these woods all night, unafraid. David is no ordinary boy, Maggie assures him. Ned agrees. When David gets angry, he stays angry, says Maggie, and he didn't want to go to bed at 3 AM. Ned finds this astonishing.
Maggie says David's been troubled lately, and he sarcastically agrees to that, too. (nice attitude!) Maggie tells him she appreciates his help, but he doesn't have to stay with her if he doesn't want to. She's going back to the house, anyway, and call the police. Ned agrees it's a good idea and offers to take her back to the house. They hear a sound and go to investigate. Ned pulls out a gun (does everyone own a firearm on this show?) and tells her it's just an animal. She shrilly demands to know why he has the gun. For protection, he says. From whom? she demands. He heard about the attacks in the woods in Collinsport, he says, a good reason he should take her home. They leave.
David goes to the mausoleum and hears growling from behind the secret panel. He's terrified, not moving. The growling stops. David walks forward and reaches up for the ring in the lion's mouth that opens the secret door--will he let Chris out to terrorize and kill? (Just let him get Ned, please, please!)
NOTES: It was great seeing Barnabas and Julia here, but icky poo on Ned Stuart--what a turd, keeping them virtual prisoners in Chris' home! In general, I do not like the Stuarts especially much. As we will soon learn, he has a good reason for seeking out Chris, but he's still an obnoxious, weird fellow and the show didn't really need to use Roger Davis for yet another character. He's supposed to be a good guy, so why don't we like him? You'll soon see!
David's little story could almost have applied to Barnabas, too--a man cursed to turn into a creature who kills. Surprising Barnabas didn't pick up on that, given his usual paranoia. But I guess he's secure in his cure for now.
689 - (KLS) - There exists within the great house of Collinwood the malevolent spirit of a man long dead. This spirit has taken possession of young David Collins and forced him to leave Collinwood on this night and go to the old cemetery at Eagle Hill. There, in the Collins family mausoleum, a terrifying creature is locked behind the wall of the secret room. David Collins will have no choice but to do what the spirit of Quentin Collins has ordered, unaware that he will be placing his own life in danger.
Quentin smirks, looking evil indeed, eager to see the destruction that his control over David is going to cause.
David walks into the mausoleum, listens fearfully to the creature growling within the secret room, and reaches up for the ring with both hands¢â‚¬¦
Barnabas shows up just in time to prevent David from freeing the creature. David claims he was doing "nothing," but Barnabas doesn't believe him. He demands to know why David is here at this hour. The child claims he got angry at Maggie about an hour ago--I wasn't tired and tried to explain that to Maggie, but she wouldn't listen and I left the house--I needed someplace to hide and came to the tomb. Barnabas finds this choice of hiding place odd. David says he felt Maggie would search all the other places Barnabas suggested--but wouldn't find me here. I found you here once before, Barnabas reminds David, and there's no place to hide, right? David agrees. Barnabas asks David if he was planning to open the secret room--since you were reaching for the ring.
David denies knowing what he means, then admits he heard what sounded like an animal trapped in there--but there's no noise coming from there now, admits David--it stopped when you came in. Barnabas asks if he was afraid and didn't really hear a noise at all--we're going home, David.
It's 5 AM (Gawd!) Maggie is nervously pacing the drawing room, probably regretting ever taking this thankless job as governess. She gets her coat, all set to go out searching again, when Barnabas and David return. Barn tells her David went to hide from her in the tomb. She orders David right to bed, and he compliantly goes. She threatens him with a long talk in the morning. Maggie tells Barn she's tried pretending nothing is happening with David and Amy--but handling this is making me feel like a total failure. Barnabas reassures her--I know the children don't realize it, but they desperately need you. Maggie says Amy hasn't been bad the past few days, but David--sometimes his behavior baffles me, other times, completely terrifies me. Why? he asks. She doesn't know--it's as if David is two totally different people, one considerate and thoughtful, the other a frightening child--when he's the latter, it's like David is nothing more than an empty shell, all the good things about him completely smothered under a cold, unfeeling, sinister personality--he was like that earlier this evening when we argued, she says--do you know what's happening to David? I don't, says Barn, but I'll do my best to find out--be patient and understanding with the children, and above all, don't be scared. Maggie knows David has had problems in the past and wonders if the problems they are having with him now stem from his inability to accept her as governess. (She's so sweet here.) Barnabas assures her it has nothing to do with her, and encourages her to go upstairs and get some rest. He leaves after giving a concerned glance over his shoulder at Maggie.
David paces his room, troubled. He sits on his bed, then stands, his face contorted. Maggie comes in, wondering why he isn't asleep. Not tired, he says--I keep waking up--I had a dream I can't explain; it wouldn't make sense to you. She asks him to describe what happens in the dream. It's a regular dream, he says--can dreams hurt a person? They can be terribly disturbing, she says. I know, says David. You've been up almost all night, says Maggie--the sun is rising. She grins--it's morning and you've had no rest--get some now.
He stops her and asks her not to leave him alone, his face looking like that of a really little boy. She sits beside him, comforting him, holding him. He tells her how afraid he is, his head pressed to her bosom.
Maggie assures David she'll stay with him until he goes to sleep. He tells her he sometimes thinks he'll never sleep again--I don't know why I feel that way. She asks what he's frightened of. I know what it is, he say but can't tell you--I don't know how. She asks if it's a person in the house that's scaring him. Stop asking so many questions, says David. Do you trust me? she asks. Yes, I do, David replies. Then tell me what's troubling you and I'll do what I can to help, she assures him. No one can help me, insists David, turning away from her under his covers. She begs him to take someone into his confidence, or his fear will grow and keep growing until nothing is left but the fear. He keeps insisting, I can't tell you, I just can't, his voice filled with anguish.
Barnabas returns to the mausoleum to let Chris out. He listens at the panel and hears silence. He pulls the ring. He finds a worn-out Chris sitting on the floor. When I'm my other self, I expend enough energy to kill a normal man, says Chris. It's better you stayed here last night in your present condition, says Barn--who is Ned Stuart? Chris stands, wondering where he heard the name. Barnabas tells him Stuart is in town--he went first to Collinwood, then to the cottage. "So, he caught up with me at last," mutters Chris--Ned has been after me for two years. Barnabas asks if he knows about Chris' affliction. I have no idea what he knows, says Chris. Ned realized Julia and I were your friends, says Barn, so he wasn't especially forthcoming with us--we must know why Ned is here. I must speak to Ned myself first, says Chris. Barnabas asks if it has something to do with Ned's sister--Julia and I gathered, by what little Ned revealed, that his sister is dead. Chris nods slightly. "Dead," he says--we were engaged--I'm not surprised to hear she's dead; the memory has haunted me for two years--I suspected as much, and assumed I did kill her--I'm not certain, but Ned's sister was the first person who ever saw the transformation--she was impetuous and loving, or it wouldn't have happened. Chris feels compelled to tell Barnabas this story--I was going away for a long weekend, knowing there was to be a full moon--what I didn't know was that she planned a surprise party for me; she had a key and let herself in that Saturday night--she was standing there, looking at me, a box of party decorations in her hand--I tried hard to get her out, but she refused to go, she was going to stay until I told her why I hadn't left town--then I changed, and I don't know what happened afterwards--I never saw her again. Barnabas assumes she was a victim of the werewolf. "I loved her deeply," says Chris softly, "just as I love Amy, now Carolyn."--I must leave Collinsport--the same thing might happen to the two women I love. If you leave now, says Barnabas, there's no hope for you at all. There's none if I stay, with Ned around, says Chris--he intends to avenge his sister's death and I can't blame him for that. Barnabas reminds him they found a way to contain his violence, they'll deal with Ned. No, says Chris, he's a man with too much purpose, and he'll hound me until he kills me--he might have come close the other night, probably poisoned my drink.
Barnabas doubts that, Ned claims he only showed up the previous night. Probably lying about that, opines Chris--he won't confess the truth. It will be much easier to deal with you if Ned isn't here to kill you, says Barn. (Struck me funny, that line.), and helps Chris out of the tomb.
Maggie kisses a sleeping David good night, shuts off his light, and leaves. David feels something shaking his bed and awakens. Quentin, his face bathed in red light, stands over him!
David sits up and tells Quentin, desperately, I tried to obey your orders, but Barnabas stopped me--you never told me what was behind that secret door--what was it you wanted me to let out? Quentin doesn't respond.
David asks if it was something bad, something he would have been ashamed of--if we're such good friends as you say we are, why won't you let me go? (This was really sad, and Henesy really wonderful.) I don't like it when you hurt people, it makes me feel guilty--"Oh, Quentin, won't you let me go!" David gets back into bed, huddling under the covers. Quentin, hands held in a throttling gesture, approaches the terrified David.
8:30 AM - Liz comes downstairs. Barnabas enters the house and tells her, I haven't been to bed tonight--I must speak to you about David. They head for the drawing room. Liz opens the double doors and utters, "My God!" The place is a shambles, furniture overturned. They wonder what happened, who would do such a thing, and why. Maggie joins them and asks what happened--whatever it was, it happened so quickly, I was here earlier this morning and everything was fine. Liz comments there was a great deal of activity in the house last night. Maggie admits David ran away and Barnabas brought him back. We must get to the bottom of this, insists Barn. Liz doubts the children did it. Maggie says, I found Amy sound asleep, and I stayed with David until he fell asleep. Someone is responsible, insists Liz--it didn't happen by itself!
Quentin is laughing, pleased with all the trouble he's caused. David continues pleading with him--I don't want to play a new game, any game at all!--I don't want to scare people away from this house, or be all alone with you, either. This infuriates the ghost, who begins to advance on David. Neither Amy or I want to play the game anymore, says David--please don't be mad! Quentin cruelly grabs his arm, squeezing tightly. "My arm! It's on fire!" screams David, rubbing it fiercely. Maggie, walking down the hall, hears David crying out--and Quentin's insane laughter. She enters David's room and finds him sprawled on the floor, unconscious!
NOTES: Whew, what a great ep. Quentin is really messing with David's head, and now his body. Why would Quentin have messed up the drawing room?--just one more brick in his plan to drive them all from the house? Quentin is terrifying. Will he permanently harm--or kill-David? He apparently wants everyone out of the house except him--but David doesn't want to be left alone with the nasty ghost--and who can blame him?
Now Barnabas is going to have to tell Liz what's really going on in the house--will she believe him or react as Roger did, and order him out?
What will Chris decide to do--leave Collinwood? His concern about killing Ned's sister is valid, but he isn't even sure he actually did so, circumstantial evidence aside. Poor Chris tried to live a normal life, even becoming engaged (no wonder Ned wants to speak to Carolyn, probably warn her), but how could he possibly explain his full-moon disappearances to his wife? Why didn't he confess his affliction to his fiancee? I guess that would be hard to do, huh?
Love, Robin
