Vampilique (spoilers)

[Gothick]

A couple of weeks ago, I started watching the storyline where [spoiler]Vampire Angelique or "Vampilique" as she might be called is given permission by her Master, the fiendishly debonair Nicholas Blair, to go after Barnabas Collins.  It's been a few years since I visited this particular storyline and it's been interesting watching it again.[/spoiler]

What I did not realize before is how heavily the writers seem to have drawn upon the works of English novelist D H Lawrence in their portrayal of Angelique and Barnabas at this point.  This storyline seems to have taken their love/hate relationship, particularly the view of Angelique as a fiend literally sucking the lifeblood out of Barnabas, to its logical conclusion. 

I'd be interested to hear further discussion of this storyline, particularly from fans of the Ang/Barn relationship.  The dialogue reveals some fairly bitter twists, such as when both characters inform one another of their hatred for the other, or when Ang takes evil pleasure in breaking down Barnabas' sense of self-worth and dignity.  The whole Angelique/Joe denouement is an even more bitter spin along these lines.

Maybe folks who haven't seen these shows can just avoid this thread, so most of the discussion doesn't have to be behind those hard-to-read spoiler curtains?

[PennyDreadful]

 It has been awhile since I've watched these episodes.  I enjoyed Angelique's brief stint as a vampire, and I recall that she seemed to relish Barnabas' demoralization.  She was also extremely cold-blooded with regards to Joe, who sadly degenerated into a very pathetic individual.  While Angelique used her vampirism to humiliate Barnabas, she also clearly didn't want to be a vampire, since she eventually asked the Devil to remedy the situation.

I certainly enjoyed the poetic justice of Angie being made into a vampire, and of Barnabas being made into the victim of a vampire.

As for the DH Lawrence parallels, that's quite interesting Gothick.  Could you elaborate?  I should be more familar with Lawrence but alas, I only vaguely recall the poetry I've read by him in my undergrad years, and have never read 'Lady Chatterly's Lover.'

~Penny Dreadful~

[victoriawinters]

I'm not exactly seeing the DH Lawrence parallel.  I also vote for a detail of the correlation.

Vampilique seems a unique character to DS.  She is in the total control of Nicholas Blair which is an unusual state of affairs for a vampire.  Generally, the vampire is in charge of things.  She does eventually rebel against Nicholas with Barnabas in her grasp.  And, in the end does not get her Dream Curse revenge since she disappears and Barnabas remains human.  She had to make the deal with the devil since Nicholas was sure to kill her for her rebellion.

[michael c]

these were the episodes i most recently watched as well.

i thought that the dialogue between barnabas and angelique was very crisp and well written.i love how formally everone speaks to each other here.the idea of barnabas being under ang's control was interesting.if anything i think maybe they didn't get as much mileage out of it as they could have as it only lasted a few episodes.

i don't want to get spoilered so i'll just say that mrs. johnson's hysterics upon walking in on a certain situation were priceless!and there was a tense scene where barnabas was being questioned by sheriff patterson(unfortunately not played by dana elcar here).it was funny that out of the blue barnabas and vicki shared a "strange mental bond" that lead her to him.

another thing i noticed across these episodes was just how willful and impudent both angelique and eve were.they "all powerful" nicholas blair continually threatened to wipe them off the face of the planet but they just turned around and did whatever they wanted to anyways.like spoiled teenage girls.
i didn't really buy that nicholas started to let his whole diabolical scheme slide so he could persue a flirtation with collinsport's favorite waitress.don't get me wrong.i like maggie but the idea that he would abandon his master plan her doesn't gel.i thought that whole sub-plot was contrived to give kls something to do.

but the sad fate of joe haskell during this story was indeed a bitter pill to swallow.ang was meaner here than she had been in a long time.

[michael c]

i forgot this.

at it's conclusion julia sends barnabas away to wyndcliffe for safe keeping.this really doesn't make sense.
for obvious reasons julia would need to be involved in his treatment.she couldn't just send him there and expect nurse so-and-so to understand his needs.and who knows what he might say?

plus they act like no one would ever think to look for him there.it's julia's hospital for goodness sake.after collinwood and the old house where else would anyone be?

they did a similar thing with willie and elizabeth.who cares for these people at wyndcliffe after julia takes up permanant residense as collinwood busybody?

[stefan]

The whole Angelique/Barnabas relationship is really really disturbing. I honestly can't understand why people feel this is love. It's all about power, sex and control and an unfair advantage in that Angelique has special powers and gets whatever she wants without earning it.
I'll probably skip this part of the series.