It was 1897 at it's best, that's for sure! It just hangs together so well, and has so many level, layers and multidimensional characters. LIke a Dickens novel at its best.
Ok, here's my take on this episode: Selby voiceover.
We pick up right after the fadeout of the last episode, with Barnabas and Edward coming to the rescue as the children are trapped in the burning room. Kind of convenient isn’t it, that Edward listened to Barnabas and went for the axe, rather than ask Barn why HE didn’t go do it? Or maybe we’re meant to think it works because Edward would know right where the tools are? In any case, it leaves Barn free toi use his powers without any inconvenient witnesses. Nicely done for the time blue screen effect showing us Barn going invisible.
In this scene we see that Edward ,behind the Victorian stiff upper lip and no emotion shown to the world, really does care for the children and is terrified until he sees they’re all right.
We cut to The House by the Sea (cute in joke that Evan lives in what will be Nicky's house in the future), and Evan opening his own door to the once again drunk as the proverbial skunk Quentin.
Hmm funny that he should comment on how late it is, when you get the impression that he and Quentin are well accustomed to raising hell (perhaps even literally) together till all hours.
Mr. Entltlement really doesn’t get it yet. Just because you NEED help doesn’t mean you can or will get it, expecially if you demand and make a pain of yourself in trying to get it. On the other hand, he is making progress judging by the way he refers to “the guilt that comes after”. This death seems to trouble him far more than Jenny’s did – at least before Magda added the curse. One wonders whether his statement that “I’d rather die” than go through the transformation again (think this is the first time we hear him consider suicide) is drunken wallowing and histrionics or something he’s seriously thought out and only verbalized because he’s drunk.
Great scene with Barnabas and Edward after the Dr. has seen the kids and they’ve been put to bed. We see that Edward sees a lot more than we’d expect, even in a panic situation. He puts Barnabas on quite a spot there, wanting to know how he got in the room, and gives the impression that he’s not going to be easy to fool. Edged along a window ledge the length of the corridor, huh? Wonder if Willie ever filled him in on Harry Houdini…. In any case, he did a neat job of turning things around so that Edward trusted him again. But of course the next time something supernatural and spooky happens, it’ll be back to good old stolid Edward the unbeliever.
Hey didn’t Quentin sober up kind of quick? He could barely walk and talk before, and how he’s back to normal. And he seemed genuinely concerned about Jamison’s welfare when he stopped the boy from tellingl him how his mother died in flames.
Maybe empathy, since he himself saw two people die that way, and we saw how horrified he was the last time it happened. On the other hand, he could have been the one who would have been creeped out by hearing the details.
So now we’re going for the big guns, and going to try and summon the Devil and risk his price. Interesting that Quentin is now willing to risk everything and pay any price,
when he was so scared of angering the ancient angry gods with the earlier ceremony.
Poor Edward, you feel for him in this scene with Nora. He’s worried about her, and wants to do something to help, but seems out of his depth. The way he explains the mother’s death makes me wonder how old he and Judith were when the parents died,
and whether they ended up having to help explain it to the little boys when still pretty young themselves.
Nice foreshadowing with the scene on the phone with Trask.
I realy like the Quentin and Edward scene. When told it’s a family matter, Quentin goes for the flip reply about not being treated like a member of the family. Instead of taking the bait, Edward is trying to be nice. Of course Quentin’s immediate reaction is to wonder whether he feels all right. Got to give Edward points for effort and continuing to try. He wants to try and get things on a more even keel; but his unfortunate choice of the word “unnatural” makes Quentin “it’s all about MEEEEE” (as Midnite so aptly described him in an earlier post) wonder what Edward knows about his little problem. Poor Edward is very confused by Quentin’s reaction.
Hmm this time the ceremony isn’t at the cottage but at Hanley’s house. Wonder where the “extravagant wife” is – or does Evan simply not care what she knows or guesses about his little hobby.
Quentin is scared to death, and as usual, is drowning it in as much alcohol as he can,
and hiding behind sarcastic snarky remarks. Does it strike anyone else as a bit odd that Q is still wearing his coat when they’ve been in the house a while from what Evan says. HA always is wonderful at doing these rituals. (And these invocations actually have internal logic!)
Quentin is getting more and more scared looking
as the ritual goes on, then passes out cold
when he sees the shape in the French doors
(I guess it beats brown trousers…..)
Jeannie