Great episode - and interesting, too. We have been informed that Sarah is for real, but Maggie does not have our information. She has reason to believe that she is going crazy...and so she cooperates, and slips the surly bonds of sanity.
If the ghost that came to Maggie had been Naomi instead of Sarah, would that have changed anything? "I'm looking for my husband, but he'll be angry if he finds out I'm down here. Would you like some wine? It's very good, and if I drink enough of it, maybe I'll forget that I'm lost...lost...lost..." "Mrs. Stoddard? Why are you looking for your husband? He's been gone for eighteen years! And why are you dressed like that?"
Barnabas said there was a time when others showed him no mercy. I wonder what particular time and what particular others he was referring to - although, since this was before his back-story was finally decided on, it's a slightly fruitless speculation. Still, it would be interesting to know: was he thinking of some part of the real story that we later learned, or was he thinking of some incident that he twisted out of all recognition during his years in the coffin?
And then there's poor Willie, dealing with two nut-cases. We could re-name the Old House "Windcliff Wannabe."
What I really liked about this episode is that, when I watched it this time, I realized that a certain later development was not the total cop-out that I had previously thought it to be:
[spoiler]Maggie's amnesia and reversion to childhood after her escape.[/spoiler]
