Have a GRAND time, all--wish I could be there, but I've already taken my yearly trip to California!

Love, Robin

I remember it well!

Mom wanted to watch DS because she liked Joan Bennett, so I watched it with her, even though I kind of resented this new show for replacing NEVER TOO YOUNG, which I'd been getting into.  

Mom wasn't terribly enthused, but I was, and watched from that day on with great excitement.  Ghosts on a daytime soap?  A Phoenix?  A homicidal child?  I loved it!

When Barnabas joined the show, I was totally enraptured.  A handsome, courtly, homicidal vampire who felt badly about what he did?  Cool!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, DARK SHADOWS!

Love, Robin

540 - Cassandra, clutching her bandaged hand, comes downstairs. Nicholas tells her bandaging the hand was very sensible of her, and she does so few sensible things. She pleads with him to not do this to her, and he reminds her he could have done worse. You need me, she insists, and can't destroy me-you need me in order to stay at Collinwood. Nicholas points out that no matter what happens to her, Roger will still think him her brother, and if he decides to destroy her, he will let Roger think she has gone away and allow him to stay at Collinwood indefinitely, if he wants. She insists he can't do this, but he assures her he can-and will-if she doesn't learn what went wrong with Barnabas' curse. You only gave me a few hours, she whines, I need help. He refuses, telling her to stop pleading with him, she's made too many mistakes already. She tells him she doesn't know what to do, how to start. That's your problem, he says (he's tough!), and she remembers Willie. He told Maggie Barnabas was dead and must know what happened after her dream curse came to an end. Cassandra will summon him and force him to tell her whatever he knows. Nicholas tells her to go ahead-without his help. Fail again, and Cassandra Collins will cease to exist. He hold up a glass of brandy as a toast to what he is telling her.

At the Old House, Willie admits David, who asks for Julia. She's in town, says Willie. David says he wants to talk to Julia about the tape recorder, something he wants her to hear. Willie says Julia doesn't have time to discuss tape recorders and promises to tell Julia David was there. David asks Willie about Adam, unnerving the poor guy. Willie says he doesn't know anymore about Adam than David does, and the boy says Barnabas knows about Adam-there's some connection between Adam and Barnabas. Willie demands to know what connection, and David says he isn't sure. Willie says Barnabas knows nothing about Adam, but David protests, "It's on this tape!" Willie sends David on his way, almost kicking him out, and David wants to know why Willie is so nervous. Willie closes the door in the boy's face and leans back against it, shaking.

On the terrace, Cassandra summons Willie, who, doing some dusting at the Old House, is puzzled. "Come to me," chants Cassandra. Willie protests that he doesn't want to go there, but she orders him to hear her voice and obey her-he has no choice. She realizes he has gotten the message, and he appears before her as ordered. He's surprised to see who summoned him, and she tells him to look at her.He refuses, but she is insistent, and he has no choice. Hypnotized, he listens raptly to her. "Tell me everything you know about Barnabas Collins," she demands. What happened after the dream? Willie tells her Julia and he found Barnabas after he'd been attacked by the bat, and there were two gashes in his neck and he was bleeding. Julia found no heartbeat. They buried him. Cassandra is shocked to hear this. Willie says Barnabas told Julia he wanted to be buried where nobody could find him, if it happened (this wasn't true; he wanted to be staked). Willie goes on-he dug the grave in the woods, put the coffin in the ground and covered it with dirt. Then he returned to the Old House with Julia, who was going to give him a job at Windcliff. Willie returned to the Old House and there he was, alive. How? asks Cassandra, but Willie has no idea. He escaped the curse was all he told Willie. Cassandra is terribly upset that Willie isn't more forthcoming. He says such things scare him, and he'd rather not know. He's telling the truth, he can't lie to her. She sends him back to Collinwood-he'll forget that she summoned him. He walks off, slowly, and she is in despair. She was so certain he knew something! She starts climbing up on the terrace and finds Nicholas sitting there. "Well, Cassandra," he says, sounding jubilant, "another failure!" He witnessed her fiasco and could almost pity her as each tick of the clock brings her closer to her own destruction. She learned a great deal from Willie, she says, Barnabas did revert to what he was, temporarily, and he was buried in the earth-so her conversations wasn't a complete failure. Nicholas wants to know why Barnabas didn't revert to being a vampire permanently, and how did he escape from his grave? Find out those things, he says, if she expects him to spare her. She doesn't know those answers, but there must have been an intervening factor. She will learn what it is and remove it, she swears, and Barnabas will become a vampire again. She needs a little more time, she pleads, and he tells her how much her pleading bores him. Be reasonable, she asks, how can I learn what I need to know before midnight?--I need a day, a week! He insists he's been lenient enough already. She begs and begs for more time, and he tells her to stop it. "All right, Cassandra!" he says, he's decided he won't destroy her at midnight if she can't come up with the info-her pitiful pleas have caused him to change his mind. She thanks him, and he advises her not to, so relieved, but then he drops the bomb-he's changing her deadline to 9 PM, one hour from now! He's quite annoyed with her failure and pleas for mercy. If she can't obtain the necessary info by then, he will destroy her. She says she can't find out in an hour, and he advises her to, instead, spend the next hour preparing for the moment of her destruction. (He is so good here, so wicked and unrelenting, you've gotta love this guy!)

The clock ticks. It's 8:55. Cassandra stares at it. Four more minutes and she'll be destroyed by Nicholas, forever! There's nothing she can do about it, nothing at all! David comes over to her and notices her hand, which she says she burned. She says he should be in bed, something he isn't happy to hear, and she says she wants to be alone--he should go to bed. He asks her to listen to the tape recording Julia gave him, there's something funny on it, and he doesn't understand.She says she isn't in the mood and again tries to send him up to bed. David dejectedly heads upstairs, then, on the first step, turns and asks her if she knows very much about Barnabas- does she know what his "affliction" is? This catches her attention, and suddenly, she's very anxious to hear this tape. She drags him into the drawing room, and he's surprised at her abrupt change of mind. She tells him to hurry, she wants to hear the tape. It's about two minutes to nine now. She hears the music, and listens impatiently, telling him to speed up the tape to get to the good stuff. She listens to Lang's voice, hears what he has to say about Adam and Barnabas, and realizes this is her get out of jail free card.The music resumes and David turns off the recorder. He asks Cassandra if she knows what it means. "Adam. . .Barnabas, of course!" she murmurs, but when David asks her to explain, she hustles him out as fast as she hustled him in. She demands he get out, hysterical, and as the clock strikes her nine PM deadline, she screams, again and again, for Nicholas.

NOTES: Gotta love how nasty Nick is to Cassandra, like a stern professor chiding his pupil for failing her final. He leads her to believe he's giving her MORE time, when he's decided to get her much less. His idea of irony will come to fun fruition in a few weeks, too, when he visits upon her an even more twisted fate. . .


541 - Cassandra continues to call for Nicholas, who appears before her in the drawing room. It's time for them to say goodbye, he mocks her, and she says he can't destroy her-she's learned why her curse failed, and now she can make it succeed. She can make Barnabas what he was before! Nicholas purses his lips with interest.

Nicholas listens to Lang's tape. He finds it extremely interesting and congratulates her for being successful, for once. She can make her curse succeed by killing Adam, then Barnabas will revert to what he was. Nicholas is far more interested in Adam than her curse. He wonders if anyone actually was able to create a living human being, and he MUST find out how it was done. It would open up a world of possibilities. Cass doesn't know the voice on the tape, although it sounds familiar, and he orders her to keep listening until she remembers. They must find Adam, and he might need her help. He's going to let her live as long as she proves useful and doesn't make anymore mistakes. Who was the last person to see Adam, he asks her. Joe, after Adam attacked him, says Cass, and the cops are still looking for him. Nicholas figures someone is hiding him, perhaps Barnabas, but Cass says she overheard Barn asking Carolyn if he'd seen Adam. Now Joe. ..Nicholas remembers him as the man engaged to Maggie, and he smiles as he decides to pay her a call. Cass notices his interest and wonders if he has a plan in store for Miss Evans. He hurries away, but Cass stops him, asking him to restore her hand. He can't leave it the way it is--Roger will be home, wonder what happened. He tells her to prevent him from seeing it, and teases her that the hand of a skeleton would provide problems.He suggests leaving it that way to teach her a lesson, punishment, but he orders her to remove the bandages. He takes them off for her, and she is relieved to see her hand back to its normal beauty. He decided to spare her, he says, one last chance-if she makes a single mistake or messes up his plans, he'll destroy her. He loops the bandage over her shoulder and departs. Cassandra listens intently to Lang's tape.

Evans cottage - Nicholas looks through the window and sees Maggie sitting and sewing. He raps at the door and she admits him, pleased to see him. She happily invites him in, takes his hat. He asks about Joe, and she says he's going to be OK, but hospitalized a long time. She's relieved about that. Nicholas says he knew of Sam's tragic death and wouldn't want to wish a double tragedy on her, had Joe died. He offers his condolences about her father, and asks about Sam's paintings. She tells him to look around, and he admires Sam's work, walking around to check out several paintings. "Excellent," he says. He especially likes one painting and offers her two thousand dollars for it. Maggie is shocked, and he asks if it's enough. She says honestly, Sam never got that kind of money for his work. He praises her for being beautiful and exceptionally honest, too. He feels the painting IS worth that much and wants to pay it to her. She admits to needing the money, and he says he'll buy it, but leave it with her, on a permanent loan--he wants to hang it when he has a place of his own. She demurs, saying he's kind, but she doesn't want to take his money yet keep the painting. He asks her to consider it, and she says she will. He looks at the painting of Betty Hanscomb (which I thought Sam gave Vicki ages ago), then questions her about Adam. She says she wants him punished for what he did to Joe and her father. Maggie says Stokes was hiding them, or so they suspected, and did find Adam, but there was no sign of him when Stokes' house was searched. Stokes claims Adam was a beggar, but they believe he was hiding him. Someone else must be hiding him now, suggests Nicholas, but Maggie has no idea who. Nicholas says he hopes the man is found, then takes his leave. She tells him to feel free to stop by anytime, ("and call me Maggie"), and he tells her he is Nicholas and he just might take her up on that.They gaze at each other, the attraction quite mutual, and she is still smiling when she closes the door. Nicholas grins, too, outside.

Cass admires her restored hand. David comes in--he wants his tape recorder, then he'll go to bed. She says he can't take it, but he insists it's his. She doesn't want him listening to it half the night, she's his mother and he can have the recorder back in the morning. He says she's acting strangely--she screamed at him and scared him by the way she looked at him earlier.She apologizes for scaring him and asks his forgiveness. He accuses her of understanding what's on the tape, but she denies it. He said she got excited after listening to the tape, but she claims she was puzzled. She believes it doesn't mean a thing, and touches David on the shoulder. He notices the missing bandage, and she says her burn wasn't as serious as she thought. He heads upstairs, giving her a weird look, and she closes the doors. David sneaks back downstairs and out the front door. Cassandra listens to the tape again.

Old House - Julia answers David's knock. He says he must speak to her, he had to sneak away from Collinwood. It's about the tape recorder-there's something funny on it. Music, then a man's voice. Julia is attentive. The man speaks to you, says David, and says things I don't understand. Julia puts it together-Eric left her a message. David explains something about Barnabas and Adam, if Adam lives, something would happen to Barn, but if Adam died, something else would happen to Barnabas. David doesn't remember specifics, but Julia urgently says he must try to remember. David can't-it makes no sense. Julia puts her arm around David and they head back to Collinwood. Nicholas is furious at Cassandra for letting Stokes find out about her. How did he, demands Nicholas, and she explains about how Stokes learned of the dream curse, forced himself to have the dream, forced her, as Angelique, to come to him. He knows Cassandra, and while she tried to deny It, Stokes, didn't believe her. Nicholas spits out that she's a fool. She reminds him Stokes couldn't stop the curse. Nicholas wonders how much power he has, and she doesn't know how much Stokes knows about Adam. Nicholas is angry at how little she does know. The front door opens and Julia and David troop in. Nicholas and Cassandra hear them and meet them in the foyer. Cassandra is annoyed David isn't in bed, but he says he isn't a baby, and doesn't care that she wants to speak to Roger. She and Nicholas excuse themselves to get some air, and David and Julia go into the drawing room. David plays the recorder, but the music isn't the same (it's the same creepy music used in THE SHINING). They wonder who took the tape, and David says Cassandra heard it and got all excited. Julia shakes him slightly and tells him he must remember what's on the tape, but he can't. David doesn't understand the tape's importance, or why someone would want to take it, and suggests Cassandra took the tape and left it in his bedroom.He runs upstairs, but Julia is sure Cassandra kept the tape, knows about the experiment, Adam, and how to destroy Barnabas-and there's no way she can stop her, no way at all! Julia's face is filled with frustration, and we see the tape recorder, now filled with the a completely different tape.

NOTES: There was no time to change it from when Julia and David came in until Nicholas and Cassandra left, so it must have been witchcraft.

Love, Robin

Willie and Julia's "funeral in miniature" for Barnabas was really great to watch.  I think both Julia and Willie have selective memories, forgetting the chokings and beatings, attributing them to a Barnabas that is long gone since he became human.

And wasn't that bitch-slap Julia gave Cassandra SO satisfying?

Love, Robin

vampire675,

I hope you'll continue to post your comments under Robservations even though the dream curse has reached its end.

So do I, vampire675!  Thank you so much for your comments about the dream curse!

Love, Robin

536 - Why does Barnabas think Willie can "find out what happened?" If you were Barnabas, would you go outside after hearing a knock at the door?Carolyn, flaming lantern in hand, returns to the root cellar to find Adam grasping his neck and rocking with pain. Hurt, he tells her, hurt! She checks the place where he's clutching at his neck, but there are no marks. She wants to leave to get a doctor, Julia, but he doesn't want Barnabas' friend. She is afraid, unsure of what to do, and asks him when it started hurting. Just before she came, he tells her, crying, "Barnabas"! She asks if Barnabas hurt him, but he isn't articulate enough to tell her. She says Stokes is on his way, but Adam keeps calling Barnabas.

Julia finds Barnabas lying on the ground, his throat gushing blood. "Angelique has won," he says. "The bat. . ." Julia calls for Willie, and Barnabas moans he'll be as before-she knows what to do. Willie hears Julia's call. Barnabas passes out, and when Willie sees what has happened, he's upset-he'll be like he was before. He kept expecting it laments, Willie, and now they'll hear the dogs howling and Barnabas will be out prowling around. Julia says Barnabas must die before that happens, so they must keep him alive, but Willie says they won't be able to. Willie vows to protect Barnabas, who will need him even more than he did before. Willie is acting very vacant, reminding her of what Barnabas told them to do-just last week he gave him a stake and hammer, and if this happened. . .Julia demands he help her, and he asks if she will end it. All she wants is his help, but he refuses to help her stake him, because Barnabas has been so nice to him (?) Selective memory. He agrees to help her carry Barnabas into the house and together, they lift him.

Adam tells Carolyn to go, and she says she'll return with a doctor. Adam wants to go to Barnabas, but when he struggles to his feet, he falls on the makeshift cot. Again he calls to Barnabas and lies there, moaning. Carolyn tells him not to get up. He lifts his head and says, "Carolyn, good," then passes out, scaring the crap out of Carolyn.Stokes shows up and she tells him Adam was fine, and when she came back, she found him in pain, clutching his throat. Nothing Adam said made sense, but he keeps talking of Barnabas, yet tried to go to him. Stokes explains that Adam hates Barnabas, which puzzles Carolyn. She asks him what they're going to do.

Julia listens to Barnabas' heart. He's, dead, she pronounces, and Willie bursts into tears. He had to die before becoming the living dead again, and Cassandra has won. She begs Willie not to cry, but he can't help it. (This is too sad.) They kneel on either side of Barnabas and Willie sorrowfully asks Julia what they're going to do--he can't decide. They lived through this before, together, Willie reminds her, and Julia says Barnabas warned her that if it happened again, no one would be safe. Willie asks if she's going to end it, and she says she doesn't know. She can't bear the thought of Barnabas living throughout eternity, craving blood, unless THEY do something.Willie doesn't want to be a party to this, but Julia remembers the look on his face when he asked her to destroy him. Willie climbs to his feet with a moan, asking if she wants him to get the hammer and stake. No, she says, although she must.

Carolyn tells Stokes Adam is dying and they aren't helping him. She can barely feel his heartbeat. She begs Stokes to help him, her voice shrill.

Julia rocks back and forth as Willie brings her the stake and hammer. She asks for them, not really wanting the instruments of her loved one's destruction. She sets the stake against Barnabas' heart, but can't go through with hitting it with the hammer. She gazes at them, drops them, steps away from Barnabas, shaking her head. "I cannot do it," she cries, and Willie grabs her shoulders with joy, pressing his head against her shoulder. They both know. . .she thanks him. She can't do it! He'll turn into a vampire, Willie reminds her--should they get his coffin set up in the basement or secret room? Willie reminisces about discovering Barnabas in the tomb-he never should have taken him out of there, he knows it now. (an understatement!) They can't put him back there; too many know about that place, says Julia, including Angelique. Julia tells Willie she promised Barnabas he'd never live as a vampire, and she'll keep that promise-they'll bury him in the woods. He's dead, they must face it. She orders him to dig the grave. They can't do it alone, protests Willie, but Julia says they can because they must.

Stokes tells Carolyn Adam's heart has stopped, and she grieves, crying, "No!" She says he made a mistake, but Stokes feels no pulse. She can't understand him dying, he was so strong and healthy earlier-how could he die? Stokes is perplexed, but says he feels it isn't true. Carolyn says someone should go for the police.Not yet, says Stokes, he isn't ready to give up his intuition that more is happening this night than is happening here. They must wait a few moments longer, he insists.

Julia and Willie stand over the hole containing Barnabas' coffin, wondering if this is what he really wanted. It's what he told them to do, says Willie. They'll never see him again, says Julia, and Willie says he knows. Julia tearfully wishes she had never met him, then says no, that isn't true, even when they were against each other, she knew he only did what he was driven to do. If that curse had been placed on either of them, how would they have behaved? "He was so different, ever since I came back this time," remembers Willie, smiling. He's about to start shoveling dirt over the grave, but Julia stops him-they can't just bury him like this! Willie suggests they pray for him, and Julia agrees. She kneels and takes a clump of dirt in her hands, closes her eyes, and drops it on the coffin.

Carolyn and Stokes mourn over Adam's still body. She tells Stokes Adam is dead, she doesn't understand his waiting-a person's heart doesn't stop beating and start again! she cries. (this is DS, and you're wrong!) Stokes is equally puzzled by his feelings. She asks how long Stokes will sit there, and he stands, saying he must accept it. He says he'll see her home, but she says they can't leave him here like this--I can't leave him, she says, he saved my life. She tells Stokes to go to the police, but he reminds her there will be a lot of questions. They need to find out what happened to Adam, and Julia can help them there, he says. He asks Carolyn if she's afraid to stay alone with him, but she says no, she owes him that much. He's going for Julia, and strangely, he expects a miracle, something he's never believed in before.

Barnabas is buried, flowers atop his grave. "So, it is over--the end," says Julia sadly--"The end." Willie, leaning on the shovel, tells her she'd feel better if she cried. She's past crying, she explains; if she could imagine life without him, she could cry, but she can't, she can't. Willie says he can't, either.

The music swells and we wonder-is this the end for Barnabas and Adam?

NOTES: Sad little services, two odd couples mourning people they cared about. Carolyn and Stokes, perplexed and saddened, mourn over the end of a big man who died under mysterious circumstances. Elsewhere, Julia and Willie have their own funeral service for a man who tormented them-and who, each in his or her own way, loved him. Barnabas changed both of these people, for the better in some ways, for the worse in others. They agree they will never forget him.


537 - Graveside - Willie asks Julia what they're going to do now. He never thought of a life without Barnabas, and always thought Barnabas would return for him when he was at Windcliff-all he had to look forward to. Willie kneels by the grave, leaning on the shovel. How could somebody hate Barnabas so much, he wonders, that Cassandra? What will they tell Roger and everyone at Collinwood, he asks. Julia doesn't know.What will they tell them, persists Willie. That he went away, she says. Where? asks Willie, they'll want to know, and won't believe we don't know where, and might call the police. If the police find out that they buried him, it's against the law. Julia realizes Willie is right, but she can't very well tell the family they buried him before he could rise as a vampire. No, he kept his secret and so must they. How? asks Willie. We must, says Julia. Willie is afraid, he wants to leave before the questions start. He has no reason to stay there anymore. Julia agrees Willie should leave tonight, and he's surprised she isn't convincing him to stay. She, too, will go, with no reason to stay. She tells Willie he can come with her, to Windcliff. Willie doesn't want to go, but she says she'll give him a job there, he won't be a patient. He's touched, pleased. He can be a gardener or attendant, she says, because Barnabas would want her to do this for Willie. Not because of the police? asks Willie.  She assures him that's not it. He hopes to work himself into a real good job, gain respect, and Julia says he can if he wants. She sends him to the Old House to pack and tells him to close up the house. What about Barnabas' clothes? says Willie. Pack a suitcase, says Julia-it was bright of you to think of that. They agree to pack and meet in an hour; they will leave before dawn. Willie walks away, but Julia lingers, staring down at Barnabas' grave.

Evans cottage - Maggie pulls a book off a shelf and peruses it. Someone knocks at the door. It's Willie, who wants to talk to her. He was afraid she was asleep, but luck was with him. He blathers about luck for a moment, then turns to her. He was wondering about her. She assures him she's fine. He tells her he's getting another job out of Collinsport, a potentially good one, and she grins and says they'll miss him--Barnabas will miss you very much, she says. Willie says he hates to leave, in a way, but there's only one reason why. She asks if he's done something he shouldn't, and he promises he hasn't. We're friends, he reminds her.  She asks if he's fought with Barnabas. No, he tells her-I have to make something of myself he explains, do you think I can? Sure I do she assures him. Then I will, he says, pleased. He isn't quite sure, it's late to be starting out, but this chance came up. She asks if he's afraid to take it, but he says it was just unexpected. He wanted her to know she'd be hearing from him, perhaps seeing him sometimes. She expresses pleasure. Friends mean a lot to him, and he considers her a friend-especially now. She realizes something has happened, and Willie says Barnabas went away, on a long trip, he doesn't know where. This puzzles her. He told Julia, not him, and it's none of his business. Maggie accuses Willie of being angry at Barnabas, and Willie suddenly bursts into tears. She notices he's crying, but he denies doing so.She tells him not to make any rash decisions, and says she can't believe Barnabas just disappeared. He has, says Willie. She asks him what's wrong, but he says he can't tell her. She asks if he trusts her, and he says more than anyone. She offers her help. "Barnabas is dead," he bursts out-"it happened tonight." She is stunned, disbelieving, and he says she can't tell anyone. It's true, he assures her. People will know, she protests, but Willie says they won't, and that's it. She speculates Adam murdered him, what else can she think? He had the dream, he explains--and he died. She can't tell because it's a curse. She insists there should be an autopsy, and Willie tells her Julia examined him and declared him dead. Growing increasingly frantic, Willie insists not telling isn't against the law, and if Maggie tells, she won't give him his chance because he spilled the beans!--what will happen to Willie Loomis if he doesn't get his chance. Maggie tells him not to get excited, but he says he IS, she can't say a word! She again reminds him that people will know, Barnabas' death won't be a secret. He says if she likes him, she had better promise, and she says she won't tell until after he leaves-he hasn't done anything wrong so there's nothing to fear. "Barnabas dead-I don't believe it," she says, staring into space. It's true, says Willie. It's true.

Julia returns to Collinwood looking haggard, and walks aimlessly around the foyer until Cassandra comes out and says, "I was wondering about you." You can at least be honest, says Julia angrily-you were wondering about Barnabas. "Why should I?" asks Cassandra. Through clenched teeth, Julia says, "I'll tell you, you can stop worrying-you have won. You have FINALLY won! You have won at last." Cassandra feigns: "I don't understand." Julia spits out, "I expect you to admit nothing to me, as you admitted nothing to Barnabas." Cassandra asks Julia if she's "been with" Barnabas (odd choice of words), to which Julia retorts, "Yes, I've been with him-aren't you going to ask me how he is? I know how curious you are. What an effort it must be for you to not demand what I know!" Cassandra feigns innocence. Spits Julia, "I'm talking about you, and your powers, and your evil and that dream you started." Cassandra accuses her of spending too much time with Barnabas, of sounding just like him. She then accuses Julia of being in love with him, and Julia, voice full of venom, says, "Not nearly as much as you are." "How dare you?" demands Cassandra. Julia tells Cass Barnabas is dead, and if not for her, there would be a man in the Old House who could finally savor the life she denied him all these years, find the love she was determined he'd never see.Cassandra turns away, insisting she had nothing to do with Barnabas and won't listen any longer. Julia pursues Cassandra to the window: "You want to be alone to enjoy your triumph," says Julia, and Cassandra calls her mad, and says she'll speak to Roger; he was wrong to send Liz to her sanitarium. "Speak to Roger, speak to Carolyn, speak to the entire population of Collinsport," invites Julia, "speak to anyone you like-nothing will stop me from knowing what you are, and nothing will stop me from doing whatever I can about it." The cat fight is interrupted by a knock at the door. It's Prof. Stokes,looking for Julia. He is glad to see her, and says he was playing chess with a friend of his, and the friend was taken ill. He wants Julia to come with him. He notices how upset she is, and she says he must find someone else. No, he insists, I can't. She says she's just come in from a case, she'll find him someone else, she says distractedly, and Cassandra tries to plead exhaustion on Julia's behalf-she's been saying incredible things to her tonight and she thinks Stokes had better not bother her. "Yes, and you know that exactly, don't you?" Julia says as Stokes gazes back and forth between the two women. Cassandra tells Julia to get some sleep and heads upstairs, telling Stokes she's sorry she can't help him. Stokes and Julia go into the drawing room and he closes the doors. He is perplexed, and she says she's had enough. He tells her the patient is Adam, and she must come. He's had a strange attack-I think he's dead--think it, but don't believe it-you must come.

Julia goes to the root cellar and examines Adam. Stokes tells Julia he felt cruel leaving Carolyn alone with Adam, but he couldn't help thinking the big guy wasn't dead. He should have taken Carolyn home, he wants to go after her. Julia corroborates it-Adam is dead. Men die, mutters Julia. Not without reason, protests Stokes, and Julia responds, tears in her voice, usually without reason. Julia says she'll arrange for an autopsy, if he wants, and Stokes says Carolyn found him clutching his throat as if fighting something. He got weaker and weaker, kept calling Barnabas, and finally, it was as if all strength had been drained from his body. Julia asks for a time frame (around 11), and she appears upset-she must go. He feels she knows more than she's revealing, but she says he brought her there to find out if this man is dead, and he is. Suddenly, Adam stirs! Stokes is thrilled to see this. "He's alive! A miracle!" he exults. Adam calls Barnabas, reaching up with both hands as if pushing something off him. Julia realizes Adam can't breathe. "He's suffocating!" says Stokes. Panicky, Julia says she must go. Stokes demands she help him--you knows what's wrong! Julia may know why, although it's impossible--they are the same. . .the experiment--perhaps Adam's why, she mutters.Stokes has no idea what she's talking about. "Barnabas! I've buried him alive!" cries Julia.

We see the tamped down earth on Barnabas' grave, and the few lonely, wilted flowers.

NOTES: Gotta love this stuff, high drama, high melodrama, and weird science. And the Julia-Cassandra catfight-one of the very best in series history!

Will Barnabas live? Has he already suffocated, since he was obviously buried human? Couldn't he, if he'd become a vampire, dematerialize outside the coffin? DS always did make its own rules, but this is especially odd!

Stokes must think Julia's crazy, muttering about the connection between Barnabas and Adam, but it sounds like she's finally figured out what Lang left on that tape recorder, even though she's never heard it. Next ep, Stokes is gong to prove what a truly good friend he is!

Love, Robin

Julia is a terrible doctor, of course, at least as written by the DS writers, who probably had absolutely no counsel with any real doctors and made everything up as they went along.  I still remember when Willie was hospitalized after having 5 bullets pumped into his back (by Collinsport's finest).  Dr. Woodard told Julia that if she disconnected his IV, Willie would die.  I never understood that--it wasn't as if he was on life support and she was disconnecting an apparatus that was doing his breathing for him.  

Even back then, as a teen, I noticed how half-assed the medical aspects of this show were handled--half the time, long-term patients weren't even hooked up to an IV!--but somehow, I dismissed or accepted it all, including Julia's insane actions.  She was a woman in love, and somehow, everything else, including her questionable medical practices, was acceptable to me.

Love, Robin

   

Wow!

Thank you, Midnite, for this stirring description of our own ProfStokes' graduation day, her salutory speech, and the mention of us, her "cousins."  I have to admit, I teared up reading this, and I'm so proud of our talented, brilliant ProfStokes I could just burst!

I wonder how many others in that audience "got" those references?  I probably would have been blubbering my eyes out, both from joy, memories of my own youth and the gleeful knowledge that I KNEW everything she was talking about!

All the best to you, ProfStokes, and again, many thanks to Midnite for sharing the graduation in words and photos with all of us!

Love, Robin