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« on: September 13, 2019, 11:36:31 PM »
I really enjoyed the two weeks in 1995. Some genuinely creepy moments and some of Nancy Barrett's best work. What follows is extremely frustrating.
The summer of 1970 leads us to expect certain things to play out once we finally get to 1840. But most of them appear to be red herrings. I was very spooked when Gerard turned Carolyn into Leticia and using her as a helper. But when we reach 1840 proper, Leticia is shown to have had a past camaraderie with Gerard that may not have been 100% on the up and up. As the story progresses, Leticia becomes more and more suspicious of Gerard and allies herself with the Collins family. It would have worked better if 1970's Gerard had Carolyn possessed by Edith or Samantha.
At the Anaheim festival, Jeane Avery, David Henesy's mom, said that David's absence from the show was due to his decision to spend some time with his father. She added that she asked them not to write David out of the show completely in case he changed his mind. Henesy does appear in maybe three 1840 episodes. This may have impacted on long term story. It would have been difficult to write Tad in as a key character if they weren't sure that the actor would be available. It would have been a challenge to write a story about a character that didn't require his presence on screen without recasting.
Daphne is a hard character to figure. She is supposed to be the protector of the children but seems to lead them into more and more danger in 1970. And, for a servant in 1840, she seems to have an abundance of free time.
Gerard is definitely a Quentin retread. But the character is never well developed. The Gerard that we meet before the possession is, as Julia pointed out, an opportunist. He's a con man, working Flora, Daniel, Carrie, Edith, Samantha and probably others for his own purposes. We never see any attempt that he's trying to fight off the possession. If anything, Judah gives him a chance to really manipulate people. It's next to impossible to root for that kind of character.