467 - (Discontinuity note: Barnabas is in a different robe in this episode than the one he was in the previous episode. He climbs out from the opposite side of the bed and the scene between him and Lang is totally different. Most of the scene is played with Barnabas standing, rather than lying in bed, as in the previous episode.)

Barnabas cowers in a corner of the room and orders Lang to close the drapes before he kills him. Look at the sun, says Lang, don't be afraid--look into the light! Lang supports Barnabas, who, hoping, fearful, turns and looks at the sun from the terrace of his room (fancy hospital). How warm the sun is, he exults, he'd forgotten. He lifts his hands, sure his flesh will wither. No, says Lang, you've--I know what you WERE. Barn asks if this is a monstrous joke, but Lang smiles and assures him it's true--he isn't sure how, but checks the former vampire's pulse. Can it all be over? asks Barnabas, hardly daring to hope--is the curse finished?--Angelique won't let it happen, it will end as it did with Dr. Hoffman's attempt at a cure. Lang says he's given him an injection to avoid a repeat of what happened with Julia. Barnabas asks if he can live as any other man. For now, says Lang. Barnabas, acting like a delighted little boy, tells Lang how often he wanted to step into the light--he'd forgotten the beauty of the day, the colors and light, the green of grass, trees, leaves, the blue of the sky.Barnabas' childlike grin is a lovely thing to behold. "I am alive again!" he says, then asks Lang how long will it last. They did it by chance, explains his doctor, and he knows what he did if there's a regression--he might go back--he's giving Julia his notes so she can treat him--she has his best interests at heart. Barnabas asks if Julia told him about his being a vampire, but Lang assures him she refused to tell him and he guessed on his own. Barnabas explains that he's been this way almost 200 years, chained in a coffin until last year. Who else knows? queries Lang. No one, says Barnabas. What about Angelique? persists the doctor. Barnabas hastens back into the room, reluctant to tell him, but finally says she was a witch he married before he realized what she was--her curse turned him into this creature, and he wishes he could hide from her still. In modern medicine he might find his best hiding place, suggests Lang, and he will defend him. Barnabas fears Ang will fight him, but thanks him wholeheartedly and ask what he can do to express his gratitude. Barnabas  vows to do whatever Lang wants, without question. Lang says he'll remember that, and tells him to lie down now. He's having the curtains removed; Barnabas will begin a new, exciting life. Lang is learning that, too.

The phone rings long at Collinwood, and no one answers. Roger is too busy staring raptly at Angelique's portrait, ignoring the phone. Liz answers, but the caller has hung up. She's annoyed with Roger for not answering--it might have been the hospital. She realizes Roger can't hear her; he calls her Naomi and says she's speaking senseless prattle--she must stop the senseless drinking, he adds, sounding very Joshua-like. She's concerned about his behavior, but he sourly says he's never given her cause to worry in all their married years. She orders him to turn around and look at her; when he does, he sees Liz dressed as Naomi. Your hands are shaking and your hair is a mess, he accuses her. She tells him she's angry and he tries to send her to her room, shaking a finger at her and calling her Naomi.Do as he says or he'll--and Liz smacks his face to bring him back to the present. She apologizes for hitting him, but says he wasn't himself at all. He remembers nothing. Both of them are puzzled. Liz describes his failure to answer the phone. You're making it up, he says. She asks him to see a doctor when they go to the hospital, but he insists he's all right. He gazes at the portrait and tells her that he has other things to do at the hospital besides seeing a doctor. What? Liz quizzes--why are you staring at the portrait so much? It fascinates me, he says--who is she really? Liz insists it's an antique and whoever posed for it is dead. Roger says she's wrong, sometimes, he hears the voice of the woman in the portrait. (creepy, brrrr!)

At the hospital, Liz presents a grateful Barnabas with a pretty bouquet. He happily says he wants to start working on the gardens at the Old House. To a faraway, unheeding, cold Roger, Liz comments that Barnabas looks well. Liz and Barnabas sit down and she tells him how scared they were to get the news of the accident. We're lucky, says Barnabas, and explains about the man on the side of the road and Vicki's losing control of the car. Vicki's a wonderful driver, says Liz, so the accident is odd. Roger looks around angrily. Liz says they came to see Barnabas first, and will be seeing Vicki next. Barnabas suggests Roger sit down, but Roger walks away and stares out the window. Barn asks Liz what's wrong and she says Roger isn't feeling well--she's trying to get him to see a doctor. Lang enters and Barnabas introduces Liz and Roger to him. Roger looks downright hostile, refusing to shake Lang's hand at first. Lang drops off some medicine, accidentally leaving his headpiece on the dresser. Liz wants to know when he and Vicki will be released, and he says Vicki tomorrow and Barnabas in a couple of days. While the others are engaged in conversation, Roger steals Lang's headpiece. Barnabas comments to Liz about all the plans he has, and she is surprised to hear her reclusive cousin is talking with such enthusiasm. She congratulates Lang for his treatment of Barnabas. Lang says goodbye to Liz; Barnabas and is puzzled by Roger's cold response. Barnabas tells Liz Lang is brilliant and he's deeply indebted to him. Liz is annoyed with her brother for his rudeness towards Lang, but Roger says he must get back to Collinwood. He looks icily at Barnabas and says, "It is not this easy." Barnabas begs his pardon, but Roger simply leaves. Barnabas notes Roger's remoteness to Liz, who assures him hes very fond of his cousin, she doesn't know what's going on with her brother. Outside the room, Roger pulls Lang's headpiece from his pocket and stalks off.

Later that night, Roger stands before Angelique's portrait.He brings out the headpiece and reverently says, "I brought it. It's his--his name is on it. I don't know if I can do what you put in my mind. There's no reason for me to think of it myself--but I will try!" Roger takes the headpiece and begins to twist it. Lang, in Barnabas' room, feels pain shooting through his head, but continues his questions about Angelique. She came from the West Indies? he asks. Yes, says Barn, she came to his father's house as a servant. Lang feels another pain as Roger twists the headpiece harder, and Barnabas rushes to find someone to help. Roger releases the tension on the headpiece and Lang tells Barnabas the pain stopped--very peculiar--he never experiences anything like that before. Barnabas thinks he may know the cause of the pain.It happens again as Roger violently twists the headpiece, causing Lang's vision to go dark. Barnabas calls for the nurse. Roger asks the portrait. "Why should I put it in the fire--what is he doing?" He doesn't care what happens to him (Lang or Barnabas?) Roger is about to toss the headpiece in the fire, then says he can't, not even for her! Lang is all right again, able to see, pain-free. Although the doctor is confused, Barnabas knows Angelique is responsible. She wouldn't come after me, protests Lang--she'd go after you. Perhaps she can't, suggests Barnabas. He tells Lang he wants him to stop treating him, let him revert to what he was. Lang refuses, but Barnabas fears she will destroy Lang--her revenge on both of them for curing him--Lang's payment will be death unless he stops it. Roger kneels before the fire, staring at the flames. The camera focuses on Angelique's portrait.

NOTES: The portrait has gotten its claws into Roger, but good, and Angelique apparently wants to ensure that her husband, former vampire, reverts back to being what she made him--even if she has to use Roger to make it happen! Angelique never hesitates to use someone to do her dirty work, and right now Roger is in Ben's position, being influenced to hate Lang as much as Angelique herself must right now. He is foiling her plans!

How touching is it to see the glow on Barnabas' face when he realizes he can look at the sun, stand in it, enjoy its warmth? That he can plan a garden and actually tend it himself, see the blossoms open in the sunlight? That scene on the terrace is such a good one, and I always tear up for Barnabas' joy.


468 - Vicki is in the hospital bed, her throat bandaged. Lang takes her pulse. She asks if he's releasing her, she wants to go home and stop lying there with nothing to do but think. She asks if she can leave this morning; she has something to do. He checks her shoulder and the marks on her neck, which she doesn't remember getting--and they're gone! How can that be? wonders Vicki. Because the cause of them has been eliminated, says Lang--a miracle, and only the first miracle. We focus on Barnabas' portrait, then Angelique's.

Hospital - Vicki looks at herself in the mirror and runs her hand over her unmarked throat. She's packing to leave the hospital. Jeff Clark enters her room.  She greets him unenthusiastically. "I'm not Peter Bradford today?" he asks.She's embarrassed at her misidentification of him--she couldn't believe he wasn't Peter. Maybe I am Peter Bradford, says Jeff, but if I were, I'd remember. He lifts her suitcase and asks to drive her home. Lang comes in. Jeff looks uncomfortable and Lang seems to know him. Lang tells her Barnabas was asking for her, and she leaves to go to see him. Annoyed, Lang asks Jeff what he's doing here--he doesn't want him hanging around the hospital--get back to work. Jeff insists that he's taking her home. No you aren't, says Lang. Jeff says the doctor can't control who he sees, but Lang reminds Jeff he's forgetting something. Jeff complains he's more of a prisoner with him than he was. . .Than when you were where? queries Lang, and Jeff walks away. He tells Lang he wants to drive Vicki home; she thinks he's someone named Peter Bradford. Lang asks if that name means anything to Jeff. No, but he wants to find out something, if possible. Not from her, says Lang. Why? asks Jeff, and Lang gets pissed off--he asks too many question. Lang reminds Jeff he agreed to come work for him willingly. "But I didn't know then. . ." begins Jeff. Did you care what his duties were, then? asks Lang pointedly. No, answers Jeff. Don't develop a conscience, advises Lang. Jeff wants to have friends, but Lang says all he needs is someone who doesn't think he's Jeff Clark. She might know something about him, says Jeff, but Lang says to stay away from her--he might have plans of his own. Jeff demands to know what plans, but Lang refuses to respond. Lang tells him to leave, but Jeff refuses. Lang pointedly asks Jeff, if you weren't working for me, what would he be doing--and where would you be? Jeff touches his forehead and quickly leaves the room. Lang leans on Vicki's suitcase looking satisfied.

Vicki returns to the room and tells Lang Barnabas really has changed for the better. Lang tells her Jeff had to leave, which startles her. Vicki says she will take a taxi home, but Lang offers to drive her himself--a pretty girl like her can't be left alone. Lang asks Vicki about herself. She tells him she's got no family; she was raised in a foundling home--she's got the Collinses now, but not forever--David will eventually go away to school. (or prison) What will she do then? He asks. Vicki doesn't know. You're the kind of girl who interests people, he says--I have a feeling that you're destined for a very unusual, significant life. She seems to find this comment peculiar, but they leave together.

Carolyn, standing in the foyer, checks her scarf, wondering why she always wears it. Julia says that's a curious question to be asking HER; what game are they playing? None, says Carolyn--she saw Barnabas at the hospital, and he's changed in a good way--he was so unhappy, and made those close to him unhappy--as he did Julia. Julia is awed--this is the way Carolyn used to talk to her before she became so "close" with Barnabas. Carolyn says she's been too involved with Barnabas, she needs a life of her own. She pulls off the scarf and Julia sees the marks are gone."They're gone!" Carolyn says exultantly, and asks what it means. "He's as free as you are," says Julia, and determinedly says that it must last.

Foyer, Collinwood - Vicki tells Carolyn about Jeff. Perhaps Jeff is Peter, suggests Carolyn, perhaps he's a ghost, like Sarah. This guy isn't a ghost, says Vicki, and Carolyn apologizes for getting carried away. Vicki wishes she could pretend her trip to the past never happened, but she can't. Carolyn assures her she didn't dream it--she saw her in the ancient dress. She's got to find out where she was and what happened, frets Vicki. Call Jeff, encourages Carolyn, perhaps Jeff is Peter and doesn't know it. Vicki agrees to call him at the Collinsport Inn, but in consternation learns told that no one named Jeff Clark registered there--and never was. Vicki laments that nothing is simple and Carolyn suggests there's a logical explanation. He's gone and she'll never see him again, says Vicki. Julia comes in, and Vicki desperately asks her what she's going to do--what? Try to be sensible, advises Julia. Vicki looks out at the stormy night (it's really raining). Vicki tells them she has to go prove the secret room exists. Carolyn says she'll go with her, but Vicki reminds her she and David are going away early the next morning. Julia volunteers to accompany Vicki to the tomb, but Vicki says she must go there alone to remember everything that happened. Julia insists on joining her--she might need her--and promises to stay silent. After they leave, Carolyn stares out at the rain.

In the cemetery, a man walks into the mausoleum. He hears Julia chiding Vicki, "You're going much too fast." The secret room is inside, says Vicki, she doesn't remember how she knows it, but she does--Ben took her there, he was Barnabas' friend. How would this friend know, asks Julia, but Vicki doesn't recall. There was something terrible in here, recalls Vicki. Julia tries to discourage her from going in, but Vicki is insistent. Both carrying flashlights, they enter, and find Jeff standing huddled in one corner of the tomb! Vicki covers her mouth and screams "Peter!" Jeff introduces himself to Julia, explaining that he was taking a walk and it started to storm, so he came in there. Vicki nearly faints and they help her sit on a coffin. The last time she saw Peter safe was in the tomb. She asks Jeff if he remembers--they were in the secret room, he was going to Collinwood to warn them Daniel was in danger--he gave her a gun.Jeff is clueless, and yells for her to stop talking about his being Bradford. She apologizes, then he does. He doesn't understand any of it, he wants to help her, but all her talk of secret rooms and guns bothers him. Julia asks where the secret room is, but she doesn't remember. Jeff touches his head. Vicki remembers one of the panels moves, but can't remember which. Peter walks to the middle panel and reaches up to pull on the ring in the lion's mouth. The door swings open, shocking Vicki. Julia stares at him in surprise.

NOTES: So, is this Peter Bradford, reincarnated as Jeff Clark? How did he know the way to open the panel if he wasn't there with Vicki?

Now both Vicki and Carolyn are free from Barnabas' control (not that either of them ever really seemed to change under the vampire thrall, not nearly as much as Willie or Maggie), they can pursue their own lives. Barnabas' hope when Julia was working to cure him was to be with Vicki as a normal man. Now he is one, assuming Angelique can't stop it, and he will probably return to romancing her. Now that Jeff/Peter is in the picture, who knows what will transpire?

Real rain is highly unusual on this show. I wonder why they used actual water.

Love, Robin

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!


Laura Collins - Wanted to burn her own kid, but meant well.  No way!  No stars out of 5.

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard - The best of the lot, IMHO.  She shows her love for Carolyn over and over.  5 stars out of 5.

Sarah Johnson - Harry WAS a jailbird, so obviously all her religious claptrap didn't work on him! 1 star

Naomi Collins (1795) - A sweetheart who deserved better.  She loved her kids unconditionally and was treated very badly.  She gets 4.5 stars out of 5.  4.5 stars (misses 6 because of her booze problem).

Edith Collins (1897) - Sent her kids away to boarding school, you sensed she couldn't care less about 'em.  0 stars

Jenny Collins (1897) - Great singing voice, probably would have been a wonderful mom--if she weren't nuts.  Her kids were absolute dolls!  2 stars

Minerva Trask(1897) - Pushed daughter Charity to get married, but for all the wrong reasons.  No stars!

Angelique Collins (1970PT) - Loved her kid, but man, she was psychotic!  No stars.

Samantha Collins (1840) - Loved her son, perhaps too much, told a lie to her husband and was not to be trusted.  3 stars

Flora Collins (1840) - A funny, warm, wonderful mom, Desmond was evidence of a fine upbringing.  5 stars!

Josette Collins (1840) - One of the best, considering all the nonense she went through.  Loved the broody Bramwell and adored her daughter Melanie.  Great lady, but she did cheat on Barnabas.  4 stars

Megan Todd - Kissed her own child, but in her defense, she did have a lot of different  kids growing up too fast.  2 stars for effort.

Flora Collins (1841PT) - Don't remember her mothering much, but I do know she suffered by losing two sons very close together.  She gets 3 sympathy stars.

Catherine Harridge Collins - We only knew of her kid in utero, and I only hope that, as a mother, she makes better choices--right off the bat!  4 stars for good potential.

And happy Mother's Day to ALL the moms out there!

Love, RobinAuthor, LAUGH OUT LOUDS FOR MOMS
(The perfect gift for a mom you love for Mother's Day!)

I thought Vicki a tad more responsive to Peter's kisses than she was to Burke #2. Then again, HE didn't seem to enjoy kissing her, while I bet Roger Davis tried to slip her the tongue, knowing him!

Vicki sure seemed upset over Burke's death, but I guess we have to give her the benefit of the doubt--going to 1795/6, which to her, at least, was four months, must have efficiently erased her feelings for Burke, especially after Peter stood by her and tried (inefficiently) to save her from the gallows. Perhaps she was just clinging to him as the only person there who was willing to help her.

Besides, didn't you get the impression that he thought her a little bit loose, and hoped that she was? 

Love, Robin

461 - (Nancy Barrett) The great house of Collinwood stands in the 20th century as it did in the 18th, a silent witness to the tragedies of the Collins family, then and now. For time has been suspended here. The hands of the clock are stopped as a result of a seance and the girl who is missing, whose journey to the year 1795 began in this room, at this table--that girl is about to die, convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to hang. And now, two moments in time are parallel. During one tick of the clock in 1968, months have passed in 1795. Now only seconds remain. One woman stands at the gallows, her death nearer and nearer. Now two moments in time are parallel and the great clock suddenly starts again. The members of the seance stare in horror and disbelief, for where Victoria Winters was, there is a stranger on her way to this estate 170 years ago, a stranger to all except one man, who lived then as well as now.

We once again see those who participated in the seance in their original positions--Barnabas, Carolyn, Roger, Julia, Elizabeth and Phyllis Wicke.

Roger races out of the drawing room, looking for Vicki. Barnabas looks terrified. "What are you doing here?" he demands of Phyllis, who grabs her throat, in pain. Vicki is being hanged, but, lucky for her, she and Phyllis trade places at just the right moment. Phyllis is screaming, grabbing her throat, and falls out of the chair. Barnabas and Carolyn trade looks of concern. Back in 1796, the jailer examines the dead woman--it's not the prisoner, not the one they hanged! they realize in consternation.Vicki, back in her own time, screams shrilly and passes out. Roger and Barnabas help her to her feet. They wonder where Miss Wicke went. They assist her to the sofa and Liz suggests calling a doctor. Julia, kneeling, takes Vicki's pulse--she's alive, says Dr. Hoffman, though her pulse is slow. Julia also takes this moment to reveal that she's a doctor, startling Barnabas. Julia promises to provide explanations later. She asks for smelling salts and Carolyn volunteers to get them. Julia asks if she can trust her, and Carolyn nastily asks why she shouldn't. Roger wants to search the house for Miss Wicke. Vicki wakes up muttering that Millicent was right--she said he wasn't dead. She's so glad.  Barnabas turns away, terrified of being exposed. Why didn't you want anyone to know you were alive? persists Vicki. She calls Liz Mrs. Collins, then spots Julia and Roger. This jolt clues her in--I'm back. I didn't die! cries Vicki, ecstatic. Roger asks Barnabas to find out what this is all about. Julia wants Roger to help her take Vicki, who's apparently in some kind of shock upstairs--she wants to give her a sedative. Barnabas volunteers to help her take Vicki upstairs, but Julia asks Roger to assist her. Vicki's arm hurts, and Julia notices rope burns on the girl's throat. Vicki remembers nothing. "Barnabas," says Vicki. Roger points out she mentioned Millicent, who died 200 years ago. Vicki gets upset--she doesn't know. The dress, asks Roger, but Julia says this isn't time yet for questions. Barnabas says he wants to talk to Julia later, but she says that isn't necessary, for the moment she's in charge. They give each other a long look as Roger assists Vicki upstairs; Vicki calls Carolyn "Millicent" along the way. Julia says she'll send for Liz as soon as she thinks it wise, and Barnabas seems very nervous. Liz asks Barn if he had a premonition about tonight. He walks away. He didn't want to have the seance. He figures she's back in the time where she belongs. She was coming to care for Sarah Collins, remembers Liz, and was in a carriage accident. Sarah died in 1795, says Barnabas. Liz wants to consult the family history book, but it's gone. Barnabas feels there are more important things going on than the loss of a book. Liz says he sounds like he knows what happened--tell. He implied Miss Wicke was living back in the past--does the past repeat itself constantly? Barnabas can't believe it, doesn't want to. Perhaps their time is different, suggests Barnabas.Liz thinks he believes Vicki saw Millicent Collins, she can tell by his face--you always have knowledge we don't--you knew Miss Hoffman was a doctor. He found it out, yes, Barnabas admits. Why didn't you tell us? drills Liz--for the same reason you aren't telling her what you felt happened this evening? Julia enters and says she gave Vicki a sedative, but "she wants to see you." Barnabas assumes this means him, but Julia sarcastically says no, it's Liz Vicki asked for. Left alone, Julia and Barnabas square off. He advances on her and accuses her of not allowing him to see Vicki. She teases him that he's worried, and he accuses her of enjoying it.You really believe she was in the past, says Julia. What will I do, frets Barnabas, if Vicki is telling Mrs. Stoddard the truth about me right now? You're not in control of everything and everybody here, says Julia, who finds that interesting. She turns on her heel and, smiling, walks away. Barnabas stares after her with blazing eyes.

Liz watches over the sleeping Vicki. Julia enters. Liz says tonight isn't the time to explain Julia's story, but Julia insists, explaining that she needed a change, she felt she was in danger of having nervous breakdown if she continued to work. Dr. Woodard knew of her interest in history of the area and the Collinses'--she IS writing a book, that much is true (no it's not!)--she hopes Liz will let her stay and finish it. Vicki moans in her sleep. Julia assures her she's OK. It hurts, complains Vicki. Julia says there was a bullet wound, an ancient bandage, no tape. How could she have been shot? asks Liz, and Julia says the wound wasn't made from a modern bullet, is about 3 weeks old. Liz is confused; she sees her every day. Vicki screams for Peter, asking Mrs. Collins to save him from hanging, then cries out that her own throat hurts. The mask, Vicki says, she heard Peter calling to her, and they put the rope around her neck, she was on the gallows, and the man said, "Victoria Winters, may God have mercy on your unrepentant soul!" and she began to drop! Liz and Julia assure her she's OK, back at Collinwood. Who is Peter? asks Julia. Vicki knows the name, but not from where--she doesn't remember what happened to her, but continues calling for Peter to help her. A dog howls, and a bat hangs suspended outside the window. Barnabas hides in the shadows of Vicki's room as Liz and Julia watch over Vicki. Liz offers Julia a cup of tea, then asks her to go tell Barnabas and Roger what's going on--Julia is so definite about what happened. Being definite is her cross in life, chuckles Julia, but she wants to stay with Vicki right now. Liz asks her to do it as a favor, and Julia complies, feeling she owes Liz a great deal. The bat squeaks, and Barnabas calls to Vicki from the corner of her room. Wake up, my dear, he orders, walking around her bed--it's Barnabas. Vicki murmurs his name and he stands over her. She wakes up. I was concerned about you, she says--why did Josette come to the jail and tell me you were dead? Why was I in jail, wonders Vicki. Barnabas assures her she's safe at Collinwood. I'm confused, she says. Why? he asks. About you, she responds--when Josette came to the jail, she blamed me for killing you--I would never put a curse on you, you would never believe that, would you? Never, he says, and he didn't know there WAS a curse on him. Poor Josette, laments Vicki, I tried to stop her death, told the Countess. . .told her she would lose a ring the day she would die, a black onyx ring like Barnabas', but they told me he was dead.She doesn't remember anything else, only that he wasn't dead, but that's a secret Millicent told her. She was there! Does you know why it's a secret, he demands of Vicki. Julia enters and orders Barnabas to get out--he's disturbing her patient and if he doesn't go, she'll tell Roger and Liz--oh, and don't come back again--she won't be alone all night. Barnabas rises from the bed and gives Julia an angry look before leaving. Vicki realizes she frightened Barnabas, but she was in another time with people she'll never see again--what am I going to do--what? she begs Julia.

When Carolyn sees Barnabas in the drawing room, he orders her to divert Julia tomorrow evening--he doesn?t care how. Carolyn says she isn't sure she can, but Barnabas insists that he be with Vicki alone. He was tonight, she points out. Yes, but not long enough, he says--I'll do what I must, Barnabas continues-- Vicki must speak with him alone, or she'll never speak again.

NOTES: I always thought it was rotten luck for poor Phyllis to die in Vicki's place that way, but I gather she did in the original story as it played out before Vicki went back in time.

The final scene between Barnabas and Joshua tore me up. It was so very sad. That poor man lost everything in the space of a few short weeks, and was left with a madwoman and an adopted son to raise--tough breaks all along the way.

(I was using the 1795 Concordance, as a source for the opening voiceovers, but the 1968 Concordance does not feature them, so, sorry to say, neither will I. Thank you for your patience and understanding!)


462 - Looks like Barnabas is losing his hold over the SYT, doesn't it? That must sting a whole lot!

Julia sits on Vicki's bed, hypnotizing her, sending her back in time, twirling her medallion in front of her face. Vicki doesn't want to go back, but Julia promises protection. Vicki thinks Julia is Abigail, and talks about using the book in the trial. Peter says they should use it--it will make the judges believe she came from the 20th century. Where is that book? asks Julia.Vicki wishes Barnabas were here, he'd help, he'd get Peter out of jail. It's important, coaxes Julia, try to remember, but Vicki says she doesn't. The bat, says Vicki, Josette said the bat at the window had. . .she won't help her, she thinks she's a witch, too. Then Vicki says the Countess doesn't think she's a witch, and begs her to help Peter. She must go to him, cries Vicki. Julia swirls the medallion, trying to wake Vicki, but Vicki persists in saying she has to help him, don?t stop her.

Julia continues to swirl the medallion; Vicki calls to Barnabas, to Jeremiah, for help. Julia tells her she isn't the Countess, she's Julia Hoffman, and finally gets Vicki to close her eyes and remember nothing of this. Vicki opens her eyes to the snap of Julia's fingers and smiles. Vicki feels a bit better. Julia advises her to stay in bed, but Vicki feels she must find something, make sense of what happened. It wasn't a dream, says Julia, but Vicki must prove it to herself. Julia promises to help her, and gives her a sedative. Julia has business in town. Vicki fears sleep, she might be returned to the past, but Julia assures her Liz will sit with her (and how will that help?. Don't talk to either Barnabas or Carolyn says Julia, she doesn't want to answer all the questions they'll ask. Vicki settles to sleep, but dreams of someone calling her name,--Victoria Winters!--You said I could help you--let me help you! She sees Jeremiah's tombstone. He's watching her, even now, he says, and his hand thrusts out of the earth, reaching Vicki, in the dream, screams "Jeremiah, no, no!" He orders her to come to him, not to be afraid, he'll help her. He is the first he killed, says Jeremiah, the first but not the last says Jeremiah's ghost. Many will die at his hands! Vicki refuses to believe, but Jeremiah says he's heard them crying in their graves, so shall Vicki--he grabs her shoulders--for the last he will kill is. . .Don't fear him, says Jeremiah, look and see the truth. Vicki screams and runs, but Jeremiah says she is running from the wrong one, the one she should run from is Barnabas. You will end as I, warns Jeremiah.Vicki cries out NO in her sleep and twists her head on the pillow.

In the gazebo, Barnabas stares at the fountain, looking disconsolate. Julia, sporting a gorgeous new haircut, joins him, calling the 'do an impulse. Barnabas tells her he likes her hair--"You're changing your image completely, no longer here under false pretenses." She couldn't tell the complete truth, they agree, or it would have endangered him, and he thanks her for that. She feels his compliments mean he wants something from her, and he says her directness makes him out to be more devious than he is. She refuses to tell him what Vicki has told her, and he says she's placing Vicki in danger. Blackmail, says Julia. Why won't she tell him, he demands, does she enjoy torturing him? No, she says. She won't let him see Vicki. She wants to protect both of them, says Julia, but he says not to protect him. He offers a bargain--help him and he'll leave Vicki alone. He realizes she doesn't trust him. She says she'd be a fool to. He explains the seance changed him--the panic he felt when he recognized Phyllis Wicke, Sarah's governess until tried for witchcraft. Julia asks if she was hanged. Barnabas says she was due to hang the day his coffin was carried to the tomb in chains. Vicki took her place, realizes Julia, and Phyllis knew his secret--and so does Vicki, finishes Barnabas. Julia says Vicki only remembers moments, fragmented, she seems afraid to remember all of it. Barnabas fears Vicki does know about him, why else is she afraid? He kneels on one knee (such a submissive posture!) and begs her to help him as he did before. Can't they be friends again? She doesn't know. She was ready to save him then, he points out, and his life depends on what Vicki knows.If Julia won't let him, she must find out. She says she's trying to. Will she use what she learns to help or hurt him, he asks, and she says that depends entirely on him. (GOOOO, Julia!) She leaves him, still kneeling, and he decides he can't count on Julia--he must do what he can himself.

Julia goes upstairs to Vicki, who sits on the window seat. She compliments Julia's chic, lovely hairdo, too. The haircut doesn't make her feel all new, says Julia. Vicki tells Julia she rested poorly, but she needs a sedative that rids her of dreams. What is your subconscious mind telling you? asks Julia. Vicki says she saw Jeremiah in her dream, not Peter. Vicki minds talking about Bradford, it's weird to hear someone else say his name. She sometimes feels like she made him up. You didn't, says Julia. She went to town to see if there was a Peter Bradford in 1795. He was a jailer, says Julia, but she's reluctant to reveal the rest. Vicki prods. He was tried for the murder of Noah Gifford, a seaman, admits Julia. Vicki tells Julia SHE killed Noah, not Peter, but Julia says there's no way to let them know that, it happened so many years ago. Julia tells her Peter was hanged, upsetting Vicki terribly. She offers her another sedative, but Vicki doesn't want it--she loved Peter!

On the terrace, Julia tells Barnabas Vicki loves Peter Bradford. He's a dead man, protests Barnabas. "You love Josette," Julia retorts. He doesn't want her to say that name, says Barnabas, but Julia persists--Josette is dead, death doesn't stop love, which he knows quite well. Vicki will forget Peter, comforts Julia, but Barnabas is worried about what other memories might be unearthed--he has no time. He has to leave before the storm, he says, and tells her to say goodbye to Liz. She reminds him he promised her he would do nothing; she knows what she's told him is upsetting, but she can handle her as she did Maggie--whatever Vicki remembers, she'll make her forget--for him, she promises. He walks off without another word.

Barnabas goes to Vicki's room and recalls his conversation with Julia. He pushes her hair from her throat and she awakens. He observes she's frightened of him. She apologizes, saying she shouldn't be, he's her only link to what happened to her. How am I a link? asks Barnabas, but she refuses to talk about it. He insists he wants to know tonight.  He sits on her bed?he wants to help her. She used to talk of the past with him so much, she loved it and wanted to live there, but she was wrong. She saw all the terrible things that can happen to people "All the terrible things," echoes Barnabas. Vicki learned too much about Joshua, Naomi, Josette. What about Josette, he asks. He didn't tell the story the way it happened, says Vicki--she didn't come to marry Jeremiah, she came to marry you. "Me?" asks Barnabas, and she says she's confused. She dreams of them, Barnabas, Jeremiah, whose ghost came to her tonight, warning her--she doesn't want to talk about it. Barnabas insists.Jeremiah warned her about Barnabas, which is ridiculous, the one person who has always been kind to her, always wanted to help. Will you let me help you? asks Barnabas. He rises from the bed and backs away. "Come to me," he says, "Come." He stares at her, asks if something is stopping her from trusting him. No, says Vicki. He wants to prove his trust, and again tells her to come to him. She rises from the bed, walks to him, gazes into his eyes. He offers her peace. She says she would like that. He can make her forget, make everything seem far away. "Please. . .please," begs Vicki, and sinks against his shoulder. He pushes her hair out of the way and bites into her throat.

NOTES: Very sexy, that last scene. Barnabas finally overcame his aversion to biting Vicki. How will this change their relationship? If Julia finds out, she's going to be very pissed--and she offered to help him, be on his side!

Love, Robin

Luciaphil said:

You know, this is the first time this occurred to me, but on Star Trek in all of its incarnations, there's this character who is sometimes called "the Useless Yeoman."  This allows them to be able to kill off Ensign Jones or Yeoman Smith, create sturm and drang and angst and all that other good stuff so that Kirk or the hammier of the actors can look tortured.  And of course, saves the main cast from getting killed.  At least on Trek, it made some sort of logical sense that there was this inexhaustible pool of cannon fodder.

SPOILER...



LOL!  I always called them "bullseyes."  You knew they were just placed in the script for the purpose of getting killed.  Later, there will be another of those on DS--Donna Friedlander, and even later, Dorcas Trilling.  They might not wear STAR TREK's ensign uniforms, but they are bullseyes just the same!

Sad to say, neither Barnabas nor Joshua really paid attention to Naomi.  She was there as window dressing, no more, and I guess it never occurred to either one of them to do anything about her.  At this point, watching family members he loves falling by the wayside, one after another, Barnabas was wallowing in his own self-pity.  He wasn't self-pitying before he became a vampire, but then again, I guess he had nothing to be pitied for, except his parents' odd marriage and his own surety that his father didn't love or approve of him.

You're right, Luciaphil, dysfunctional all the way!

Love, Robin

I always enjoyed THE ROOKIES, although I wondered why those three stayed rookies for so long--were they bad at being cops?

And it always made me laugh that no matter where in the city someone was injured, they ALWAYS brought the patient to the hospital where Kate Jackson's character worked.  

It was a very enjoyable show, and I remember being very happy for Kate Jackson when I saw her in it, feeling she had hit Hollywood and "arrived."

Love, Robin
Author, LAUGH OUT LOUDS FOR MOMS
(The perfect gift for a mom you love for Mother's Day)

Good question, VAM!

Beth Chavez - good at keeping secrets, but DID have an affair with Quentin, and that's a no-no for a good servant.  While I think she's a pretty decent gal, overall, I wouldn't want her in my household.

Sarah Johnson - Many forget she was hired by Burke to spy on the Collins family, including the DS writers!  I always liked her, but had to remember where she came from and what her original motives were.  She sure dusted well!

Mr. Trask (1970PT) - Like knives too much!

Harry Johnson - I don't think so!  Slippery, greedy.

Willie Loomis - Only if I could get a vampire to nibble on him.  He was a superior jack-of-all-trades, very talented.  A little on the psychotic side, but hey, you can't have everything!

Ben Stokes - Loyal, sweet, giving, strong, compassionate--I'd take him any day!

Riggs - I hardly knew ye.  Not enough data.

Mathew Morgan - Nah, too crazy.  Likes axes too much.  I don't think so!

Magda Rakosi  - If she keeps my floors waxed, sure.  Great sense of humor, could put curses on people I don't like.  Fun to have around, but I'd hide my jewelry!

Love, Robin