Sure enough, the three loud knocks on the door announce the worst news for Magda. Poor Sandor!
According to my notes, this is the last ep. in which Quentin wears fake sideburns while waiting for his own to grow out.
Victor tells Quentin, I managed to keep my illusions till I was thirty-five. He also hates gypsies. Quentin confides that he hates moon-watching, even though it's his big new hobby.
Another wonderful, though brief scene, beautifully acted: Wearing a black veil over her head, Magda kneels to lay some flowers on Sandor’s grave. It is over, she murmurs sorrowfully. Sandor and I are over. Barnabas puts his hand on her shoulder and says, We must get back. You! she cries, outraged. He let you out of your coffin, and what thanks did you give to him? You took a man and made a slave out of him! He died then, my Sandor! Then, not now! She vows, One day, when you are in your coffin, I will kill you, _Mister_ Barnabas Collins! I swear it on Sandor's grave! She has aged years in a night, looking worn out with grief and loss. All right, she says bitterly as she bares her neck. Bite me. Bite me now. Let me be your slave, too. At least I will know then how Sandor felt these last months. No, Magda, Barnabas replies with great sadness--and gentleness. You will not kill me. And I will not harm you. We will grieve together.
Quentin stands in the gazebo, which we haven’t seen for a while--normally a peaceful spot. But instead of looking for peace, he is holding a gun. Lifting it, he wonders, Do I have the courage? What am I waiting for? Julianka was my only hope--and she’s dead. Who would grieve for Quentin Collins? Beth and Jamison, perhaps. When he hears the sound of a blow, he ducks behind a tree, so perhaps he’s not so suicidal after all. Then he hears Victor snarls Aristede’s name. Aristede pleads, No, please, don’t! Victor chases Aristede right to the gazebo, shouting, Come back! You’re a fool! I could have been out of here by now! Once they reach the gazebo, Quentin can’t hear what they’re saying, so he moves closer to hide behind a tree, straining to listen. Thanks to the magic of television, however, we can see and hear everything. All of us soon learn a few things about Victor and Aristede.
The fact that you killed Julianka has nothing to do with me, Aristede says. I would not have had that emotional reaction if you had gotten the hand and kept it, Victor says. We should have been out of here by now. Aristede reminds him, Julianka must have had the hand. Why didn't _you_ get it from her? Furious, Victor grabs the young man’s lapels and shakes him, asking, Are you criticizing me? No, the terrified Aristede assures him, never. See that you don't, Victor, snarls. I'm not complaining, not at all, Aristede insists. Victor warns him, Do you know what it's like to fall into the deepest sleep you've ever known? And the first thing you see upon awakening is blood on your pillow? You rush to the mirror and what do you see? Not that face you love so well, Aristede [here Aristede puts his hands up protectively], but another face, a gift from the unicorn! Horrified, Aristede begs him, Tell me what to do! They lower their voices again, and again Quentin can't hear them, though we can. Aristede protests, I can’t talk to Quentin! Aristede exclaims. He’ll kill me! Perhaps that’s what I have in mind, Victor replies calmly.
The disconsolate Magdatells Barnabas, For the first time, I have no interest in what will happen now, tomorrow or ever. You will, Barnabas assures her, but she moans, I cannot live without love, but whoever I love will die! With perfect understanding, Barnabas tells her, I know your feelings. Everyone I love must die, too. Oh, Barnabas! she cries, then suddenly remembers. The child! she exclaims, Jenny’s child, Quentin’s son! You’ve never seen the children, Barnabas points out. It’s possible to love someone without knowing them, Magda insists. I must stop what will happen. I want to go to Mrs. Fillmore and stop it before it happens. I will go see Jenny’s children and perhaps bless them or say an old gypsy prayer. Tomorrow, Barnabas suggests. No, Magda answers, I have a feeling. I must go tonight--now. She hurries out. Barnabas gazes away, looking sick with dread.
Quentin is still intent on watching Victor and Aristede, even though he can’t hear them. But we hear Aristede say, I just want to get out of this place--alive. So you shall, Victor assures him--as soon as you speak to Quentin. I'll tell you what to say. I wouldn't have it otherwise. I’m aware of your charms, he adds dryly, but I know that conversation isn’t among them. [Hmmm.… Just how aware is he?] I won't get a chance to say anything, Aristede protests. Quentin hates me--and with reason! Go now, Victor orders him, and call me when you feel more--positive. Then we will plan our little miracle. And smile, Aristede! he says coaxingly. Before you go, think of the day we get the hand, and the power I’ll have. You, Aristede comments. Yes, Victor gloats, and I will be extremely greedy. And me? Aristede wonders. You? Victor replies. You'll be the most elegant gentleman in the world! Even the pockets of your suits will be lined the finest silk! Where shall we have your clothes made? he muses. London? Or Paris? I think London. Think of London when you talk to Quentin Collins. Shaking his head, beguiled in spite of himself, Aristede leaves the gazebo. When Victor steps down from the platform, Quentin grabs him from behind and puts the gun to his head. Out so late, Mr. Fenn-Gibbons? he asks ironically. Now, I shan't kill you--unless you refuse to tell me why you and Aristede are such good friends!
The wily Victor talks Quentin into releasing him and insists he doesn't know Aristede at all. Quentin can't be sure because he couldn't get close enough to hear their conversation.
At 4:55 a.m., Quentin, like almost everyone else and perhaps in spite of himself, has brought his troubles to Barnabas. Barnabas checks the clock a little anxiously and asks Quentin, Are you sure there's a connection between Fenn-Gibbons and Aristede? I’m positive, Quentin replies firmly. What it is, I don't know. That doesn't interest me, Barnabas replies, but why Victor refuses to admit knowing Aristede does. They both want the hand--that's obvious. Magda returns, looking totally drained. Quentin tells her gently, I'm sorry about Sandor. Barnabas takes one look at her and asks, Has something else happened? It is over, she replies dully. No one else will die. Oh, no, Barnabas gasps. Quentin asks, What's this all about? Don't ask me anything, Barnabas warns him. Why not? Quentin asks. Is someone else going to die? It has something to do with me, doesn't it? Magda, please tell me. She turns to Barnabas and asks wearily, What does it matter? Without any preamble, she tells her brother-in-law, Quentin, your son is dead. So it has happened, Barnabas says sadly. What does this means? Quentin gasps. I have no son, What is Magda talking about?
I’m sorry, Barnabas says gently. It's true. After you went away with Laura, Jenny had your twins, a boy and a girl. Edward took them from Jenny after they were born. Those dolls Jenny carried, Quentin says, stricken as he realizes the truth at last. She never even told me, Magda says. Barnabas tells Quentin, Edward sent the twins away as soon as they were born. He wanted no reminder of you at Collinwood. Stunned, Quentin asks, How did my son die? It was the curse, Julianka's curse, Magda explains. This afternoon he was well, playing in the nursery. This evening, Mrs. Fillmore heard a scream. She ran in and found the little boy dead in his crib--very cold, as if he were dead a long time before. Oh my god, Quentin whispers in disbelief, My god. What about the girl? he asks with dread. She is all right, Magda answers, adding succinctly, Gypsies do not prize girls. She must stay all right, Barnabas declares, if Chris Jennings is going to be all right in the future. The future, Magda mutters. Let it happen. Let the child stay alive. She adds, For us, Quentin, I do something, I swear it, I fix them good. Very quietly Quentin pleads, No more fixing. No more. My son, my son, he murmurs. He walks out, dazed.
As the clock strikes 5:00, Barnabas wonders, Should we have told him? It don't matter, Magda replies apathetically. Barnabas asks, Will you be all right? Sure, she answers. You do what you have to do, I do what I have to do. I wish I could stay, says Barnabas with real regret. Go, Barnabas, go, she urges him. Be sure to hide the hand, he cautions her--Aristede is still looking for it. The hand--don’t worry, I take care of it, Magda promises. The rooster crows, and Barnabas must tell her, Till tomorrow. Yeah, I’ll be here, she answers absently, but her chin is trembling. Barnabas leaves by the front door, so he’s still not sleeping at the Old House.
Magda opens the metal door to the basement and retrieves a hatchet that is hanging on a nail. She brings the hatchet to the almost certainly priceless antique table where the hand is resting in its casket. She takes the hand out and lays it on the table. You don’t cause no trouble no more! she vows fiercely. Then she grips the hatchet in both hands and slams it down hard....
