Discuss - Ep #0317

[Watching Project]

Robservations - #317

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

Re: Discuss - Ep #0317

[DarkLady]

FAREWELL, DANIEL KEYES! According to my notes, this was his last appearance as the caretaker.

Eagle Hill is the happening place tonight! First Barnabas arrives, then is extremely annoyed when he finds that Julia has followed him. She forces him to tell her about the secret room, and now she knows how his father chained him in the coffin. Julia shivers with the cold, but of course it has no effect on Barnabas. She watches very carefully as he opens the secret panel.

Just as Julia is about to tell Barnabas that there's nothing in the secret room, he finds David's broken pocket knife. Julia tries to talk him out of killing David, but he warns her that she might end up her along with-- But he stops himself before mentioning Jason McGuire, whom he killed before Julia entered the story.

He's just decided to kill David when they hear Sam and Dave approaching. Hidden in the secret room, they listen as Sam and Dave finally put it all together: Sarah's grave marker, her clothes, her quaint manner, the brand-new 150-year-old doll. This is more than a coincidence! Dave exclaims. Maybe little Sarah really is a ghost!

By the way, no one ever explains the apparent light source in the secret room or why no one ever seems in danger of suffocating.

[Gothick]

Funny, Dark Lady, I watched this episode a few weeks ago and I had the same thought--where's the light coming from in the Secret Room?

Even if there was a grille masked as some sort of ornamental feature of the rear exterior of the mausoleum (which is a likely explanation of the presence of light and air in the Secret Room), the kind of lighting seen on camera suggests an overhead source.  Fluorescent light from beyond the grave?

G.

[DarkLady]

Maybe some restless spirit's aura--or some interesting mushrooms? 

[MagnusTrask]

He's just decided to kill David when they hear Sam and Dave approaching.

Singing "Soul Man", or "Get Ready"?!

I have the vague, possibly unwarranted idea in my head that somewhere above their heads is some sort of shaft to the roof that lets in air and light, cleverly concealed by the architect, no doubt.  Maybe several small ones.

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I put the apparent light source in the mausoleum's secret room and why no one ever seems in danger of suffocating there in the same category as who the hell lights the seemingly ever present lit candles that will show up in the mausoleum's secret room in future eps, as well as the candles in the secret passages of Collinwood. It's all something that's never explained and something one just goes with the flow with and accepts. Kind of like watching Lost, a show where I also just went with flow and never expected everything to be explained. After all, when it comes to the supernatural, some things just aren't meant to be explained. 

[MagnusTrask]

I put the apparent light source in the mausoleum's secret room and why no one ever seems in danger of suffocating there in the same category as who the hell lights the seemingly ever present lit candles that will show up in the mausoleum's secret room in future eps, as well as the candles in the secret passages of Collinwood. It's all something that's never explained and something one just goes with the flow with and accepts. Kind of like watching Lost, a show where I also just went with flow and never expected everything to be explained. After all, when it comes to the supernatural, some things just aren't meant to be explained. 

We do know that, but we try to make sense of it anyway.   After all, no show can take an unlimited number of incongruities, and we try to limit them as much as we can, for the sake of protecting our suspension of disbelief.   

As for Lost, I always thought that they set it up as a show where the explanations were coming, and mattered, so they (the show)couldn't really survive a lot of nonsense (and perhaps didn't).  But maybe others watched it differently.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

we try to make sense of it anyway.

And that can certainly be a lot of fun, and far be it from me to stifle creative thought -

After all, no show can take an unlimited number of incongruities, and we try to limit them as much as we can, for the sake of protecting our suspension of disbelief.

- though for me personally I suppose I don't sweat the small things like candles burning that probably shouldn't be (though when it comes to the candles in Collinwood's secret passages, I do have that theory that it's all done in a very Dickensesque manner by poor Collins relations that the rich family allows to live in the secret passages  ) or light in the secret room when it's closed up. I'm more concerned with things like how[spoiler]a man like Philip Todd could potentially be hanged (for crimes he didn't even commit and with no real evidence to connect him to them, no less) when Maine didn't have the death penalty![/spoiler]Though, of course, things like that are way off in the future from where we're presently at on the show. 

As for Lost, I always thought that they set it up as a show where the explanations were coming, and mattered, so they (the show)couldn't really survive a lot of nonsense (and perhaps didn't).  But maybe others watched it differently.

Considering many of the comments I've seen on the Internet regarding Lost, I definitely watched it differently than many did.    And perhaps it's similar with DS. 

[alwaysdavid]

The opening slide is reversed today. It's been happening a lot lately. Dave says kids would be scared to death to play in a cemetery. I guess when i grew up with three nearby its just another place to play. Another storm rages in the background. It's hard to believe that San nor Joe would know the caretaker or at least know of him.  I fail to see Barnabas' logic in that David must know about him just because he was in the room and why not just get rid of the coffin?  I keep wondering what was the purpose of the awful wig on Julia.? 

[DarkLady]

Apparently DC insisted on Julia's awful wig. I guess he wanted her to look very severe and scientific. [spoiler]Later, though, GH will get to wear her own hair.[/spoiler]

[dom]

I like Grayson's voiceover.

Barn in the Old House window - another classic DS still come to life. I love the image, especially in color. The look Frid gives and the way he tilts his head as he turns from the window is a perfectly delicious 20 seconds to me.

The Bickersons: Barn & Julia spar in the opening scene and I am totally engrossed. As actors they both do very well but I especially enjoyed Hall. She gives a priceless look after Barn twice asks Julia to get out of his way and then says, "thank you", that is my favorite moment in the whole episode. I wonder if she received a lot of fan mail?

It makes total sense to me that Sam wants to get to the bottom of things and insists on investigating the cemetery and mausoleum, with all he's deduced so far. Still lovin' Gerringer, BTW. I got the giggles at Woodard's hesitation to investigate the cemetery at night.

Barn & Jules in the mausoleum - OMGoodness! How fantastic was that whole exchange. The chemistry between them in this episode is fabulous. Frid is fantastic and Grayson kills. The acting, the writing, it's all perfection to my eyes and ears. It's even funny at times without being campy. I loved Julia's body language as Barn closes the secret door in the mausoleum behind them. Nary a frame nor second is wasted.

Gerringer and Ford in the mausoleum scene are fantastic, especially Gerringer as he talks about Sarah.

My favorite lol moment is when Barn tells Julia to "Be quiet!" so that Sam & Woodard won't hear her, and she still talks.

There's a moment when Barn & Jules are listening to Evans & Woodard from behind the wall and Grayson nods. I am dying to know if this is a reaction to Lela Swift's direction not meant to be seen or a nod in character as to what she is hearing as Julia.

I really enjoyed this episode. Frid was almost perfect and G. Hall knocked it out of the park and Gerringer was wonderful too. Ford was better than usual and for some reason D. Keyes didn't even annoy me as per usual. I guess I woke up on the right side of the bed this morning.

DarkLady mentioned that this is the last we see of the caretaker. Too bad they didn't off him on screen. What a waste. The existence of that character never made any sense to me. 

I guess Barnabas emerged from the coffin without pointy bangs? I keep wondering why his Old House portrait is bangless but I keep forgetting to mention it.

My television was spared the shoe because Barnabas didn't say that David would have to be destroyed.

[MagnusTrask]

I remember Daniel Keyes making little impression on me in this storyline, but he was great at the time of Laura and the very beginning of Barnabas.   I guess there was nothing interesting to do with him, once there were no more unleashed horrors to warn about.

[IluvBarnabas]

I loved Daniel Keyes as the caretaker....especially a few episodes ago where he was warning Roger and Joe to stay away from the mausoleum or else the dead will take vengeance. I even couldn't help chuckling when he mistook David's voice from behind the wall of the secret room as the voice of a ghost though I did feel bad for David.

I say Julia had some guts following Barnabas as she did...of course Barnabas could sense she was following him and becomes annoyed with her. I loved how he stopped short of mentioning Jason when they're going at it in the mausoleum.

I agree that Barnabas should not have jumped to the conclusion that David knows all about him simply because he found David's pocketknife in there. Barnabas' paranoia has grabbed him full force. Despite what he said about how he believed Sarah wouldn't willingly bring harm to him, it's clear he really doesn't believe that since he's made himself believe that David has found out the secret and the only way he could have found out was through Sarah. Barnabas says he loves his little sister and while I don't doubt that he does it's sad he has so little faith in her. She hasn't told David or anyone about Barnabas, but if Barnabas goes ahead and kill David....that might just push her to do so.

Loved Sam and Dr. Woodard's conversation with the caretaker too. Not much else I can say except great episode and everyone was great.