Discuss - Ep #1024

[Watching Project]

Robservations #1024

And if you'd care to look back, the first WP discussion topic for this ep:

Re: Discuss - Ep #1024

[MagnusTrask]

By Sam Hall.  Hoff leaves the room while Maggie looks over party dresses, so Hoff won't be blamed afterward.  She would have known it was Ang's.  We're now wrapping up Rebecca in a hurry, after having put it on hold shortly after starting it up in the first place.  If you added up the actual Rebecca plot episodes, there might not be very many.  The long gap makes it seem long. 

No extras budget, so we see no hint of party guests, not even during the big dress on the staircase scene, where the public spectacle was supposed to be the problem in Rebecca.  After, Roger and Maggie are in the Drawing Room, as if no party had happened, no trace except their costumes.  Roger is fast going into sniping overdrive, I'm guessing because they only decided recently [spoiler] to make him the bad guy.[/spoiler]  Early on, I don't think he did that.  Then suddenly, it was something he'd always done.

[DarkLady]

For all the buildup about the letters, I think this is the last we hear of them.

Barnabas and "Alexis" while away the time in conversation. She says that Maggie and Quentin have been having terrible fights, but even Barn can't make bricks without straw.

Quentin finds Maggie reading the letters and blows up at her.

Later, over chess (Ange plays black), Barn says he's heard "Alexis" is a "sculptress" (his word). Although she hasn't brought any of her alleged works back to the States, we've seen one example of her skill at modeling in clay. She checkmates him.

Poor Maggie has finally realized that the costume ball started out as an anniversary party. Quentin storms off again.

Hoffman says that "Alexis" has had some costumes brought down from the attic--something she had no business doing, since she isn't the mistress of the house. MT, I didn't notice that Hoffman leaves while Maggie is looking over the gowns--nice touch! Maggie picks exactly the wrong dress. Quentin's costume is fab but he yells at her anyway. Poor Maggie. At least her humiliation is more private than the second Mrs. De Winter's. Not even Cyrus was invited--he could even have come as Yaeger.

I think we still have a few more "Rebecca" incidents before this story line comes to an end. One is in the very next episode.

DC gets a little more mileage out of the costumes from HoDS, but they look as if no one has even bothered to steam them or otherwise freshen them up. Too bad, because The Dress is especially nice. Of course, Barn's jacket is blood red.

[MagnusTrask]

I hadn't noticed that moment before either, DL, but I saw this time that they lingered awhile on Hoffman's face as she "calculated", while Ang and Maggie talked about the dresses before looking them over.  Hoff comes to a sly decision, we see that, and leaves just at the right time.

Later, when Maggie tries to blame Hoffman, Alexilique reminds her that Hoffman left before seeing which dresses they were.  Oh yes, she answers.  Alexis can't be blamed, not knowing the significance of any of them.

It now occurs to me that Hoffman as the servant would have done the actual collecting of the gowns. 

I also noticed a big earlier moment of decision in a close up on Hoffman, leading to my picking up on this one.  I forget what instigated it, but "Alexis" did something only Angelique would have done-- it was small and subtle, but telling nonetheless.  We see Hoffman thinking it over.  They spend some camera time on her face, as she does.  Then Hoffman brings the voodoo doll and pins to the Room and gives them to Angelique, now absolutely certain she knows who she's dealing with.

I enjoyed that moment, where we figure it out just by watching Hoffman's face, as she silently figures it out.  It took me, what, five viewings over many years?

[DarkLady]

Yeah, same here. I remember Hoffman bringing "Alexis" the doll and pins, but I don't remember the closeup as Hoffman thinks it over first. The writers have given GH some good moments in this story line.

[Uncle Roger]

My baby wrote me a letter! Maggie finds a bunch of old love letters that Quentin had written to Angelique before they were married. This is a very different Quentin than what we have seen on screen and it doesn't quite jive with later revelations about the marriage. But it's enough to give Maggie doubts which is the desired effect.
Major boo boo with the mention of a daughter. Did they have a child who died? Did the writer forget that Amy is not their child? Is she in New York with Maggie's invisible sister? The supposed daughter is never referred to again.

[DarkLady]

Wow, yes! We never see or hear about a daughter, only young Daniel. Big writer goof!

[alwaysdavid]

A and B play a game of chess on and off the board. Showing that he and Maggie are perfectly matched Q wants the ball called off and then changes his mind and is okay with it.
Suddenly B's new portrait is hanging in the hall again despite being exiled by Q in earlier episode.