This is where I'm supposed to give credit where credit is due, and say, "Well, Vicky scotched Elizabeth's suicide plans where Mrs. Johnson and Barnabas only delayed them." And I do say it. Granted, she had a head start: unlike Mrs Johnson and Barnabas, she knew why Elizabeth was planning to jump, so she could speak about the real problem instead of just saying vaguely, "Death is not the answer." But Vicky fought well. And now I'm the one who's being less than warm - but I never can bring myself to say, "Hurray for Vicky!" I'll leave it to others.
When Elizabeth and Vicky come back to Collinwood and Elizabeth looks around, it's obvious what Liz is doing, even before she says it. Very nice. And then Jason comes in like a bull in a china shop. What is his problem? Well, we know what his problem is: Dennis Patrick wants out of the show, so Jason has to push Elizabeth too hard so Elizabeth will push back. And given his previous history as described by Burke, it makes sense: he never quite succeeds in his schemes, but always ends up jumping ship and looking around for a more promising victim. I keep wondering about Jason. What sort of person walks into a roomful of people and immediately sets about making them hate him? Clearly Jason doesn't believe that kind hearts are worth more than coronets - but at his age, he might want to start thinking about the future. Who is going to come visit him after he's been carted off to the nursing home? [spoiler]Perhaps, in the long run, Barnabas did him a big favor. After all, he'll never be lonely in the secret room of the mausoleum. That place is like Grand Central Station.[/spoiler]
I feel sorry for Vicky, who has been given the task of erasing the date of death from Elizabeth's entry in the family Bible. She's definitely not going to be able to make it look as though nothing had ever been written there, and I hope she won't make a hole in the paper scraping away the ink. Her best bet may be to use white-out - although the paper probably is more like off-white. Incidentally, I liked the handwriting on the date of death - so elegant!
