Ep #276 might just be the first time that Barnabas actually did something that the audience cheered - namely kill Jason. And it's just so perfectly fitting that Jason's own greed is what did him in. Willie gave Jason a piece of jewery that could have probably provided him more than enough money to start over somewhere else. But, noooooo, Jason had to have as many jewels as he could gets his hands on. Still, I'll miss him because Dennis Patrick played Jason to perfection.
It's also interesting to note that, even though once again Barnabas explains details of his past that prove not to be true once we get to the 1795/96 storyline (Sarah died long before he knew Josette), the date of Sarah's death on her headstone in the mausoleum is correctly listed as 1796. I wonder if that date had any part in ultimately determining that Barnabas' backstory should take place in 1795/96 and not at some point during the 1830s?
I know I said that I might never make fun of characters wearing coats in the summer on DS, but I noticed something in ep #538 that I just can't let slide without comment: not only is Stokes wearing a coat - he's wearing a sweater underneath it! I realize Stokes is an eccentric and his scenes in the ep do take place in the wee hours approaching dawn, but still - a sweater too?!
But seemingly ridiculous wardrobe aside, it's absolutely wonderful to see Stokes repeatedly questioning Julia's bizarre (to put it mildly from someone from the outside's perspectrive) behavior. I love when Stokes chides Julia for asking questions but refusing to answer his, and when he vows that one day he will understand "the secret of Barnabas Collins."
And finally, it's so fascinating to watch Thayer David's controlled performance as Stokes tries to make some semblance of sense of the things around him in ep #538 and then to see him as PT Stokes in ep #1060 as that Stokes verges closer and closer to madness. I and others have said it many times before, but David was truly a gift to the DS universe.
