Discuss - Ep #0323

[Watching Project]

Robservations - #323

And if you'd care to look back, the first WP discussion topic for this ep:

Re: Discuss - Ep #0323

[DarkLady]

Poor Willie has found out the hard way that the road to hell--or at least the road to the hospital--is paved with good intentions.

But Maggie is sorry for Barnabas--because his attempt to reform the violent, thuggish Willie has apparently failed.

Barnabas has stayed home in the hope that Sarah will appear to him. He's so desperate to see her that he actually confides in Julia about it. Then the sheriff arrives with his news. For once Barnabas and Julia are equally thunderstruck, still more so at the sheriff’s declaration that Willie must have been the kidnapper (nice bit by Jonathan here as Barnabas comes to a sudden realization).

With all his 18th-century courtesy, Barnabas apologizes to Maggie, even though he says he's not directly responsible. Sam and Maggie and the sheriff boast about the success of their plan--while Barnabas and Julia have to hide their alarm. Maggie shows no signs of agitation at the sight of Barnabas. Julia questions her with the utmost delicacy, but she remember nothing that Barnabas did to her while she was his prisoner. Later Julia points this out to Barnabas and says he's in the clear.

But David isn't in the clear….

[alwaysdavid]

Willie convieniently provides Barnabas with an alibi. Barnabas now frets that Willie will live.  I guess all that time Willie spent with him means nothing, but who will replace him as general flunkie?

[Joeytrom]

At this point, Barnabas was still going to be killed off, I wonder if they intended for Willie to take the blame prior to that or JK had to leave the show abruptly.

[DarkLady]

I guess we haven't yet reached the point where the writers spared Barnabas. If they were planning to make Willie a scapegoat, it makes sense in light of later events, because [spoiler]very soon Willie will be dispatched to an asylum. Maybe that was supposed to be his ultimate fate.[/spoiler]

[Mysterious Benefactor]

One might think, though, that if they'd already decided to do the flashback of Barnabas' origin, then they might have already decided not to kill him off. It would certainly seem odd to kill him off and then do the flashback. Though I suppose they still may have been planning to kill him off after things came back to the present.

[Joeytrom]

The flashback wasn't thought of yet, as once Barnabas was killed off, that was that and then move onto the Seaview storyline.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The flashback wasn't thought of yet

The following letter was written on August 21, 1967, the day ... Ep #310 was taped ...

...

Curtis (producer) told me today they are going to do a story where all the characters in the family are going to "regress into the past" and become ancestral counter-parts. I will play myself in my "first existence” and the story will tell how I became a vampire. Sounds like I'll be good for four or five more months. ...

[DarkLady]

*makes humble bow before the awesomeness that is MB*

[Joeytrom]

I stand corrected!   

So they had three months to work on 1795.  Though three weeks before 1795, Barnabas tells Julia the Josette story that goes against 1795.  Maybe they still had the flashback told through ghosts and books idea going.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I've said this before, but I just love the scene in this ep in which Julia assures Barnabas that if the events of this night didn't jar Maggie's memories, nothing will - and Barnabas threatens that she'd better be right:

It's such a classic moment between them. Though, of course,[spoiler]little does Julia know how wrong she'll be a year down the road...[/spoiler]

[DarkLady]

[spoiler]Kiss her, Barnabas! Kiss her! You know you want to!!![/spoiler]

Great frame grab, MB!

[dom]

KLS does not excel at the opening voiceovers.

If you were in the Evans' shoes, wouldn't you either be in Maggie's room while she slept or have Maggie sleep on the sofa in the living room?

So, Willie is shot up and still living. The poor guy can't catch a break. Interesting discussion about Willie's history and his old traits painting him a not too surprising culprit, despite Maggie's reservations about Willie being her captor.

I'm liking Frid's work in this episode. Not perfect but his scene with Julia is good and continues during the sheriff's visit. Frid's physicality is still on point (though his eye makeup is worthy of a Ronette).

If I would have had Barn's robe as a young teen I would have been in heaven. I would have twirled myself dizzy.

The Barnabangs are in full bloom! <said with a bad Katherine Hepburn impersonation>
Barn's bangs are at their best, I wonder if it is at this stage of the game when they began to go on to solo fame.

I liked this episode. It held my attention. And I got my my shot of Barn at the window, this time in B&W. And it closed with a classic DS music cue.

[IluvBarnabas]

The previous episode I was about to give credit to the police department for doing their job....however they shot the wrong guy though they don't know it.

Poor Willie...he only wanted to help Maggie and instead he's become the sacrificial lamb in the hunt for Maggie's kidnapper. He really didn't deserve this. Even remembering what a creep he was when he first came on the scene he still did not deserve this. He had come a long way since then.

Sigh. Barnabas frets that Sarah would rather protect those who would destroy him rather than he himself. Never mind the fact that no one forced him to kidnap Maggie, he did that of his own free will, or that pocketknife  or not, he still doesn't know for an ironclad fact that David DOES know about him....all he has is his unwavering paranoria that the boy does. Maybe if he had a little more faith in his little sister maybe she would come to him...

I can't help but snort when Maggie said how much Barnabas tried to help Willie....sure. I don't consider the butt of a silver wolf head's cane very much help. I know she doesn't realize this but still....

Well Maggie may be out of danger but David isn't. Barnabas still hasn't give up the idea of killing him. But if Sarah intervened once before I believe she will again. I think she's aware that she's her big brother's Achilles Heel, even if Barnabas himself isn't aware of it.

Good episode.