Discuss - Ep #1129

[Watching Projrct]

Robservations #1129

And remember:

Friday, January 14: No Episode, originally Friday, October 23, 1970 was Pres. Nixon's speech to the United Nations

[Lydia]

When Barnabas and Julia just happened to stumble on the late Hortense (who, with her feet sticking out, reminded me of the Wicked Witch of the East), Julia asked Barnabas to go fetch her medical stuff from her "rooms" - plural.  I guess, since she's supposed to be a Collins, she gets better quarters at Collinwood than she did when she was just some random historian lady.

Samantha has no problem with berating Quentin for his affair of (if I remember correctly) four years ago, but it never occurs to her that if, as she claims, Quentin is not Tad's father, then she was unfaithful long before Quentin was.  And in 1840, female infidelity was viewed far more harshly than male infidelity was.

Have we seen Barnabas's plum-colored coat before?  Wow!

Julia fumbled her visit to Daphne.  I don't know how she should have done it - it's a difficult problem - but she sure made a mess of it, just saying, "Don't become governess at Collinwood.  You'll die."  Couldn't she have padded it with a good story?  It sounded as though maybe Julia didn't want to say too much lest she change history - but changing history was exactly what she was trying to do.  All I could think was how weird Julia must seem to Daphne - a Bathia Mapes sort of woman out of the blue.  Or in the blue, what with the cloak she wears.

[MagnusTrask]

Lydia-- I think many people underestimate the need to give good reasons when trying to persuade, and don't stop to think about whether they're really communicating.   Often people "know" they're right, and assume therefore that if they just open their mouths and start talking, others will be persuaded, if they have sense.  If they aren't persuaded, it's assumed the other party isn't listening.   Many don't imagine how they must sound or appear to the other.

Lara VO-- Ang is coming!  Again!   Really nice to see Barn and Julia back in the first scene.   Welcome back!   They find another woman's legs, as they found Mrs. J's in 1970.   What's Judah's Body's problem with Hortense?   Seems he's after everybody's heads, even those of random passers-by.

In half a nanosecond, after Julia says Hortense is near death, Barnabas sees a job opening for Daphne, rather than trying to help...   Q, Julia, and Barnabas split up, the latter bounding off to inform the police, perhaps grateful that for once he can afford to do so.   Is Hortense still just lying in the woods?

Sam hates Q1 for being a perfect gentleman, right after hating him for being a cad!    ***   .... and Barnabas is brought up to speed by Q1, and joins the Anti-No-Headed-League!   Is the Body really much of a threat, if you don't disturb its mystifyingly ivy-shrouded dirtnaps?!   I mean, he was on the ground, dead to the worlf, ivy was growing on him, even... then Hortense had to shake him out of it.   Let lying bodies lie.   Just dig a moat around him, I bet he can't swim...

After Q and Barnabas talk over the Body and Head situation, they cut immediately to the window, and for a second I expected to see the Body "looking" in through the window (even though he can't), as menacing creatures are wont to do!

Could just any woman be hired to be a governess?  I thought they were supposed to be trained home-schoolers.   Are they like nannies?   Or do they just "tend" the kids, keeping their fingers out of pencil sharpeners, that sort of thing?

Ang is back!   Further Ang thoughts in separate thread, maybe.

[DarkLady]

Julia fumbled her visit to Daphne.

True, but I blame the writers, who were trying to figure out some semi-plausible way to get Daphne hired as the new governess but also knew that they had to include some semi-plausible way for Barn and Julia to at least try to prevent it. But would you believe a total stranger who tried to convince you that taking a job you hadn't even been offered would lead to death and disaster in about 120 years? But it was disappointing to see Julia so uncharacterstically at a loss for the right words. Remember this is the same woman who knew how to talk fast--and persuasively--when Barnabas came to her room at Collinwood so long ago, hell bent on strangling this pesky modern female who had discovered the truth about him!

Anyone else notice how Quentin tacitly acknowledges Barn's innate leadership when he asks him, What are we going to do, Barnabas? From now on, Barn is the unofficial head (as it were) of the Anti-No-Headed League.

Not only is Daphne almost certainly not qualified to be a governess, it didn't even occur to Quentin to ask about her background, experience in the governessing line, references, etc. I guess in the Collinwood universe, that doesn't matter.

Barn also had spiffy plum-colored coats in 1795 and 1897, but this one is equally spiffy!

[MagnusTrask]

Very glad you've jumped into this, DL!  You seem to have hit the ground running!   

[DarkLady]

*modest bow* Thanks, I'm having fun!