Barnabas in 1897

[Joeytrom]

Does anyone else have a problem with Barnabas' behavior when he was in 1897?   He seemed to act as though things were to go his way regardless of how history originally went.  He makes no qualms about Rachael or Kitty into making them yet another Josette without thinking they had their own future lives to lead. This obviously goes for his callousness to Dirk and Carl (and indirectly Pansy).

To me, he totally defeated his purpose for being in 1897 to help David by being responsible for the many deaths of all the others that happen due to his own fault.  I know Vcky wasn't a smart time traveller, but at least she tried to change some things for the better, even though the outcome was the same as it originally was.  IMHO, Barnabas is an even worse time traveler then Vicky with his abruptness that things be done to his own policing (Ediths will come to mind) like he is a new sheriff in town.

Then there is the Laura matter, which he obviously didnt see the obvious, that the family was there in the present, therefore, there wasnt any need to worry about her taking her children with her by fire.

He realy didnt have to do anything other then to observe why Quentin's spirit was so vengeful. 1897 shows Barnabas much  less as a hero then as someone on an ego trip at times.  I think his character regressed a lot in this storyline.

The craziest statements he makes has to be when he accuses Angelique of changing history when she announces that she plans to marry Quentin and she accusaes him of the same.  His response was hilarious: "I have done all i can do to make sure to keep histpry the way it was" or something to that effect.

As much as 1840 is maligned, at least there he was more of an observer then a participant.

[MagnusTrask]

I think BC was new at trying to solve people's problems rather than creating them, and Barnabas of 1897 was struggling with trying to stay reformed and do the family some good, while being pulled toward darkness by the curse again.   I think being a vampire was so overwhelming that he didn't know it was affecting his judgment.   This is actually my favorite time for the character.   And yes, he may have done more harm than good.   He wasn't necessarily the right person for this job....

[Mysterious Benefactor]

1897 shows Barnabas much  less as a hero then as someone on an ego trip at times.

When isn't Barnabas on an ego trip?!    The man's ego is HUGE and it never fails to get him and nearly everyone around him into trouble. 

[arashi]

Good points made by both Joeytrom and Magnus!

I hadn't really thought of that before, the whole Rachel and Kitty into Josette changing the time line thing. I don't think the writers were really prepared to go through with the ramifications of EVERYTHING they seemingly changed from the "original" 1897 to the "altered" 1897. I mean just in the case of Rachel we can generally assume she wasn't "originally" shot by Judith Collins, but did she meet a similar nasty end by some other means? Like maybe at that exact moment in the "original" 1897 she was killed some other way.

As for Angelique getting married to Quentin- things get really murky there for Beth's ghost tell's Julia in the "present seeminly as yet unchanged future" that Angelique told her she was marrying Quentin, meaning Angelique was there in the "original" 1897. What was she doing there? Did Evan and Quentin accidentally call her up when wishing some other devil upon someone else?

That's one of the bothersome and yet fun things about post-1897, nothing seems to have changed save Quentin now being alive and immortal. Not everyone seems to remember him as a ghost, and yet others do. Maybe the time line changing had a kind of ripple effect like the memories of the previous events gradually faded until they were forgotten by all but those who had really been affected and couldn't forget.

[MagnusTrask]

I wonder... if Barnabas and/or Julia had gone to Beth for details before BC went to 1897, would Beth have told a different story, without Angelique?   Perhaps the past is always shifting day by day ("The past is always being rewritten."-- Barnabas, 1968, right?), in response to whatever Barnabas has done up until a certain point.... and would "that point" be the parallel date in 1897 that seems to stay linked up with the same date in 1969?

I would guess that since there was no shortage of Q girlfriends at any one moment, another love triangle could have "originally" (it's fun wrapping one's head around all this, isn't it?) triggered Beth's rage, right?

One thing makes sense: Petofi would never have come if not for Barnabas, and he was the factor that stopped the killings.    His influence even gets her out of Collinwood.    Interesting that all this was not planned, but an accidental consequence of Barnabas' being there.   It even happened when Barnabas was "indisposed".

[arashi]

Good point. Perhaps it was Barnabas' offer of help that started changing Quentin's personality and outlook. I mean, by the time September 10th rolls around he's been put through so much more via Petofi and the family falling apart than he may have originally been. Perhaps in the "original" he was just as cold and conniving as we saw at the beginning of 1897 before things were really changed. It's certainly more in keeping with the way his ghost acted.

[Janet the Wicked]

I don't particularly care for Barn's character at this point. He plays the martyr, his cause is to save the Collins family name, and will stop at nothing to do it. That's a good thing, but our first impression of Barnabas is his selfishness. His undying love for Josette prevails throughout the series.
In the beginning, he will stop at nothing to regain Josette's love. Suddenly he is among his incesters, and willing to do anything to do what's right for the future of the Collins' family, especially Quentin. It strikes me odd as to why he should care, given that his main force and drive in life is to be with Josette. I do understand the will to preserve a family name, but when Barnabas first came on the scene, his main concern was to find his bride.

[Brandon Collins]

Barnabas certainly was much more of an "activist" rather than a "passivisit" in 1897.

One thing that keeps me coming back to topics like this is that time is so convoluted and paradoxical that it continuously remains interesting. I mean, if you look at the natural timeline of things: 1795-1840-1897-1960s-1995, it seems all jumbled up. But, if you look at if from the perspective of the audience, and thus, the characters, it tends to make much more sense even though it shouldn't-- 1960s, 1795, 1960s, 1897, 1995, 1960s, 1840.

I think it's fairly safe to say that Vicki isn't responsible for the convolutions that happened, as she was only replacing Phyllis Wick, who we can assume went through all the same things.

But, lets just forget the character's personal timelines for a second. Start with 1840. All that stuff that's happened, Barnabas is interfereing yet again. Julia, Stokes, and Angelique all pop up, all characters from another time. Mucking up of the timeline seems to be the in thing. So, what if all these people popping up is what caused Quentin in 1897 to be so conniving and evil, thus leading to his ghost haunting Collinwood in the 60s? Maybe in the original 1840, Angelique didn't visit Barnabas' grave at all. Maybe she did, and was assured that he was still there, so she left, without becoming involved in the events at Collinwood.

And it's completely possible that Barnabas traveling back in time caused the Leviathans to show up. They saw he was perpetually trapped in 1897, with no apparent way out, and decided to take advantage of it, using their last ounce of power to bring him forth, make him their earth-bound leader, and bring them back to power.

There's a million different ways this could go, and THAT'S what makes it interesting to talk about.

[MagnusTrask]

It strikes me odd as to why he should care, given that his main force and drive in life is to be with Josette. I do understand the will to preserve a family name, but when Barnabas first came on the scene, his main concern was to find his bride.

Barnabas was an insane stalker right after getting out of the coffin.     After he became human again, he got his sanity and perspective back.

[IluvBarnabas]

I honestly think Barnabas' heart was in the right place when he came to 1897, though I do think it was foolish of him to think his mere presence would NEVER change history in the slightest.

Two things though about his behavior in 1897 did irritate me though:

SPOILER ALERT

1. His murder of Carl. I still have no idea why he felt he had to kill him. He bit Charity and made her his slave. He could have done the same to Carl and have Carl recant everything he told Gregory Trask about Barnabas.

2. His obsession with Josette yet again. Wasn't so much Rachel but with Kitty Soames. Barnabas did seem to lose sight of his mission to save Quentin, Chris, David and the rest of the Collinses once he got a look at Kitty.
He wouldn't listen to Julia and didn't want to believe that his obsession with another Josette lookalike just might hinder his plans to save his family. I do say he was very selfish in his thinking here.

Still, he must have come to his senses about the whole thing and realized that saving the family HAD to be his first priority....thus using the Barnabas doppleganger and staying out of action for a few weeks.

[MagnusTrask]

He needed to reinsinuate himself back into Collinwood to pursue Kitty, too.

[Jackie]

I think BC was new at trying to solve people's problems rather than creating them, and Barnabas of 1897 was struggling with trying to stay reformed and do the family some good, while being pulled toward darkness by the curse again.   I think being a vampire was so overwhelming that he didn't know it was affecting his judgment.   This is actually my favorite time for the character.   And yes, he may have done more harm than good.   He wasn't necessarily the right person for this job....

He definitely needed Julia's help!  LOL

[loril54]

Whatever Barnabas and Quentin did, they had to figure out how to bring them back.   If Qunentin hadn't been such a big hit, would they have had the picture, as in picture of Dorian Grey. Barnabas would have resolved Quentin's problem and there wouldn't have been a problem.  There were certain stars that didn't stay on the show.

At to the Josette thing, the writers had to figure out a way to get Barnabas back and not have him return by the coffin.  His body did disapear from 1969 didn't it..  How else where they going to get him back.   Just my two cents.  Pllus that was the hock that was used to keep Barnabas in line.

I would have been nice to see  Barnabas come back with Julia. The Josette thing did got tiring. Barnabas had a real fixation, Julia could have helped with that.

[Lydia]

Whatever Barnabas and Quentin did, they had to figure out how to bring them back.   If Qunentin hadn't been such a big hit, would they have had the picture, as in picture of Dorian Grey. Barnabas would have resolved Quentin's problem and there wouldn't have been a problem.  There were certain stars that didn't stay on the show.

They could have brought David Selby back in 1969 with a blond plastic wig and named him Cassander.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

They could have brought David Selby back in 1969 with a blond plastic wig and named him Cassander.

No doubt they could have recycled Maggie's wig from the beginning of the show.    After all, some fans are almost certain they recycled Buzz' wig for Cassandra.