I love the fact that we, the audience, know who appears in answer to Evan's summons in the wing-ding finale! I have always been tickled by the strong anticlerical undercurrent in the show, and I've always wondered whether any TV show would get away with it today.
For once Edward does the right thing. The moment Barn gets the door open--from the inside--he rushes straight to his children, who fly straight into his arms. Angelique's spell worked--Nora says they saw only an old woman.
We get our first look at Evan Hanley’s handsomely appointed drawing room when he walks through it, fastening a robe over his nightshirt, to answer the pounding on the front door. (Smoke from the previous scene lingers in this room; through an open door we can see a lighted view, part of the set of the previous scene. The tall, beautifully carved wooden arch that graced Tony Peterson’s office, then Joshua and Naomi’s room at the Old House, then Nicholas Blair’s House by the Sea has found a new home.)
No wonder Quentin gets drunk--it seems the only sensible thing to do under the cirumstances. In two nights, there will be another full moon, Quentin reminds Evan--and we both know what that means. I know that! Evan snaps impatiently. What you do _not_ know, Quentin tells him harshly, is the agonizing pain that comes just before the change, and the guilt after. The last time it happened, I killed a woman! Finally, he has begun to realize the dreadful consequences of the curse on others besides himself.
Edward does indeed ask Barnabas The Question. Even after the commercial break, Barnabas still hasn’t thought of a plausible explanation. How did you get into that room? Edward repeats impatiently. Finally Barnabas says, After you went to get the axe, I remembered there is a ledge outside. I ran to the end of the corridor, got out that window, and made my way along the ledge to the window of the room where the children were imprisoned. That was amazingly fast, Edward comments. Barnabas replies with becoming modesty, I wasn’t even conscious of time. I didn’t have a second to spare.
Barnabas convinces Edward that the very old woman was Laura and that she was a supernatural creature. How will I ever explain that to the children? Edward frets. Barnabas tell him, After the doctor has gone, the children probably won’t be able to sleep anyway. For their peace of mind, you must tell them that their mother is gone and will never return. I don’t envy you the task, but you must do it--and you must succeed in convincing them. Edward promises to try, and Barnabas says good night. Edward closes the double doors after him, turns out the light and goes upstairs.
At 12:20 a.m., Jamison, in his robe and slippers, comes downstairs disconsolately and sits on the sofa in the darkened drawing room. The great fireplace is empty and cold.
At 4:55 a.m., Jamison has finally fallen asleep on the sofa. He wakes up when Evan brings Quentin home and comes out to greet them. Quentin, now apparently sober, asks brusquely, What are you doing out of bed at this hour? I wanted to talk to you, Jamison explains, but I didn’t find you in your room. I was visiting Evan, Quentin says, then adds mildly, It must have been something important if you waited up. Tentatively Jamison says, I wanted to ask if we can become good friends again. Evan politely turns away to give them privacy. With a chuckle, Quentin warmly assures Jamison, I never stopped being your friend. Jamison does the right thing--he will be Elizabeth’s father as well as Roger’s--and proves he's a better man than his uncle as he tells him solemnly, I know that, but I said some things to you that I’m sorry I said now. With sudden realization, Quentin says gently, Something must have happened here that upset you very much. Why don’t you tell me all about it? Jamison answers, My mother’s gone--she’s dead! Evan and Quentin start in surprise.
Quentin asks, How did it happen? Jamison tells him, She was trapped in a fire in the East Wing (Evan looks up sharply at this)--it was terrible! Seeing Jamison’s distress, Quentin kneels and kindly tells him, You don’t have to tell me any more about it--it’s too upsetting. Jamison finally reveals his real fear. I’m afraid you’ll go away too, he says. Don’t leave Collinwood! he begs his uncle, Stay right here with me! Quentin assures him, I’m staying right here at Collinwood, and we’ll be even better friends than before. Now go upstairs and get some sleep, and tomorrow we’ll have a nice, long talk like we used to. His fears banished, Jamison says goodnight to the two men and goes upstairs to bed.
Evan has decided to help Quentin--but for his own reasons. You and I are not amateurs in what are called the Black Arts, Evan reminds Quentin. We have occasionally been successful in summoning dark powers, haven’t we? I propose we hold a ceremony to summon the supreme power of the underworld. The _devil_? Quentin asks in amazement. Yes, Evan replies solemnly. Quentin observes dryly, I admire a man who aims high, but I don’t believe for a minute-- That we’ll be successful? Evan finishes. We have nothing to lose by trying, and if we are successful, your troubles might be at an end. But there will be a price to pay, he warns. I’ll find some way to repay you, Quentin says, mistaking his meaning. Evan corrects him: I’m not talking about my own price. I mean the devil’s price--which I would expect will be rather high. Will you be willing to pay it? I’m willing to pay _any_ price! Quentin declares instantly. If necessary, I would even sell my soul! You may have to, Evan warns him gravely.
The next morning, Edward (who does NOT wear a black armband for Laura) has a talk with Nora and tells her to forget what happened. You must make every effort to forget what happened, he says, and make every effort to occupy your mind with other things. Will you do that? Somewhat comforted even though she has effectively been forbidden to mourn her mother, Nora promises to try, then says, I’m going upstairs now. [We never do find out how Edward explained Laura’s death to the children.] After she leaves, Edward has only a moment to sit alone and brood before the Reverend Gregory Trask phones about the lease on the school building. Edward tells him, You should speak to Evan Hanley, our lawyer. He’s courteous and most efficient [as well as an amateur Satanist].
Next, Edward talks to Quentin and tells him that the two of them, plus Judith and Carl, should try to become closer. What brought this on? Quentin asks suspiciously. Edward says, The realization that there’s something unnatural about our lives. Quentin finds it necessary to avert his eyes as Edward continues, What happened to Laura last night was against the natural order of things. I want to make certain that something as freakish and abnormal as that never comes into our lives again. Quentin can’t hide his disturbance, which Edward notices and asks about. I must go--I’m going to be late, Quentin says abruptly and prepares to leave. Edward sputters, What could be more important than family matters? Quentin answers seriously, I don’t think you’d understand, but you may be interested to know that I am as interested as you are in the natural order of things. With a sad smile, he leaves.
In his drawing room, Evan lights three black candles on a table and puts on a black robe. [spoiler](We can see several blue side chairs that a long time from now will furnish Flora Collins’s cozy little drawing room in 1840.)[/spoiler] Everything is ready, he says when Quentin arrives, but is annoyed because Quentin is (1) early; and (2) drunk again. (He’s brought his own bottle.) Do you want me to postpone the ceremony? he asks. No, Quentin answers, I’m going to be all right. We’ll do it now. You’re drunk, Evan observes. Does it bother you? Quentin asks sarcastically. Yes, Evan replies crossly. Well, I don’t think it will bother the devil, Quentin says--if he happens to show up, he finishes with a sneer. Angrily Evan tries to relieve Quentin of his bottle, but Quentin evades him, lapsing as usual into self-pity: I’m the victim in this mess. If I have to pay a price, I’ll pay it in my own way. The clock strikes eight. It’s time to begin, Quentin announces. Evan turns out all the lights except the candles, stands before the table, spreads his arms wide and begins an incantation similar to the one Angelique uses for the same purpose: Prince of Fire, I call upon the flame to summon you. I call upon the raven and the bat, and all the dark creatures. I call on the charred and blackened stars that reigned at your beginning to draw you out of the earth. As thunder suddenly rumbles ominously, Quentin sets the bottle down and becomes more attentive. Evan intones, Prince of Darkness, I summon you in the name of the seven plagues, the thunderclouds that weep with nightshade, the rivers of blood from which demons drink.... Quentin starts in fright when the French windows (yes, Evan has some too) suddenly fly open. As Evan, his back to the windows, continues with his incantation, a wind rises. Three times he calls out, Appear to us, Satan! Quentin gasps when he sees a man’s figure standing silhouetted where the windows flew open. He stands up, eyes, starting, then collapses to the floor in a faint. Evan turns around in surprise....
