Discuss - Ep #0176

[Lydia]

Robservations #176

[Lydia]

This was a truly exciting episode.  We saw the fourth wall of the caretaker's cottage!  I didn't think that ever happened in the whole series, but there it was.  We kept getting a lovely view of it from the fireplace, and I thought surely Laura and David were going to go over there at some point and take advantage of this new bit of set, but they never did.  Golly, they didn't even look at it and say, "Hey, where did that come from?"

And it had a window!  A big window, too.  Never have I ever seen an indication that there was a light source in that direction, and yet there was a window.  There must be a shade that is pulled 99% of the time.

Guthrie said that he can protect himself, but shouldn't he have an ankh for that purpose?

David said that when he walked in on his mother, she reminded him of how she looked in the picture that Sam Evans painted.  What did he mean?  My first thought was that he meant that there was fire all around her, but I guess he was just talking about her expression - which is a pity, because I like the idea of Laura looking as though fire was all around her, or maybe in her.  Sort of like when you toast a marshmallow.

Isn't it lucky that they did this storyline when they were still smoking cigarettes on the show!

[DarkLady]

Yes, everyone smoked like chimneys back then. One of Mrs. J's main tasks was the constant emptying of ashtrays!

I'll have to take your word for it regarding the fourth wall of the cottage, since I don't have any way to watch any eps. before the arrival of Barnabas--not too long from now!! 

It's a pretty exciting episode for David too--he gets two desserts for telling Vicki and Dr. Guthrie all about his mother.

[Janet the Wicked]

Laura could have avoided David’s interruption by doing her thing late at night when David would be asleep. And why Dr. Guthrie finds it necessary to confront Laura with his suspicions is beyond me.

[DarkLady]

Well, yes, that's true, but it does make for a thrilling finale to the episode. Plus we get a chance to [spoiler]hear Laura laugh just like Angelique.[/spoiler]

[MagnusTrask]

Teaser:  Vicki runs into the drawing room, after being called, while Dr. Guthrie is still on his feet.   As a result, he never collapses, alone, with no one aware of it.   The most overcome he gets is when he sinks to his knees by the right side of the fireplace.   Because Vicki came in "this time" (helping to snap him out of it I guess), and because David interrupted Laura, his sanity and/or life is saved.   (Who knows if Laura can adjust this thing she does with the fireplace fire, to kill rather than to mesmerize?)   I smell interference with time, here.   We should keep peeking behind doors and in dark corners for any signs of Barnabas and Julia, on a mission to save Dr. Guthrie.

Guthrie speaks as if he's just experienced lost time, as Liz did-- perhaps several hours, as a result of the "spell".  If so, this "redo" might not be a redo at all, but a new scene taking place hours later.   Vicki came, but much later.  If so, though, that means Laura was sitting there casting the "spell" for hours, too.   Unlikely.

Laura opens the Big House front doors with her hands in her pockets!   Another cool power she displays, while no one can really be sure they saw anything supernatural.   Maybe she opened them manually, fast, then got her hands into her pockets before they knew it.   

[Watching Project]

The Robservations captures for this ep have finally been posted. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

it does make for a thrilling finale to the episode.

I absolutely love the final moments of this ep when Laura gets in Dr. Guthrie's face and laughs, then turns on her heels and proceeds to leave the house still laughing hysterically. Priceless. And perfectly played by Diana Millay.


As for the switch in staging of the opening, I doubt the difference was due to any sort of change in storyline direction because the script for this ep was surely written before Ep #175 was even taped. I chalk it up to them wanting an exciting cliffhanger ending for Friday as well as different directors because John Sedwick directed Ep #175, whereas Lela Swift directed this ep. Continuity between directors would be nice, but it's something that often didn't happen on DS. And after all, the directors may have even subscribed to DC's belief that the audience wouldn't even remember exactly how the previous ep's version of a scene was staged, even in such a radical example as how differently things played out in this case. 

[alwaysdavid]

I was thinking it may have been different directors but was too lazy to look back to see if the credits were listed. I thought the redo was a more inspired filming.  Vickie is very intuitive today and thinks that Guthrie looked Like Mrs. Stoddard when she became entranced.  David"s description of Laura as part of the fire was good and the smart boy that he is connected it to the painting.