Best line in this episode is from Carolyn: "Just call me Miss Jitters of 1967."
This time, Barnabas visits Vicki in her own room at Collinwood--but he still can't bring himself to bite her. Instead he settles for the long haul and sets the music box playing.
Julia is now an officially established houseguest at Collinwood. While Carolyn goes to the kitchen for coffee, Julia quizzes Vicki on Barnabas. Vicki plays the music box and praises the music's "tinkling" quality. Once again, Julia is instantly alert. But Vicki departs in a huff when Julia insinuates that Barnabas is trying to recreate Josette.
The music box, Vicki's mention of Josette's jasmine perfume and even Vicki's huffy departure have enabled Julia to put everything together. Now she knows beyond a doubt what Barnabas was trying to do to Maggie--and what he plans for Vicki. She needs just one more piece of evidence to have the complete picture. Still fully dressed past 1:30 a.m., she puts on her raincoat and leaves for the Old House without even a thermos of coffee to sustain her.
With massive understatement, Barnabas tells Willie, And now it's time for me to go downstairs. Conveniently for Julia, Willie has to go to Bangor for supplies.
I love Julia's determination to wait for as long as necessary to gather the final evidence. I also love, love LOVE her climbing in a window! At least she is smart enough to close it behind her.
For the first time, Julia descends the stairs to the basement. Downstairs, she finds the coffin resting on its plinth. Even though she told Vicki that she is afraid of nothing, she takes a deep breath before she opens it. With a mixture of fear and triumph, she gazes into the coffin. Her eyes widen as she sees-- exactly what she expected to see....
What fun to watch a smart, older woman applying her keen intelligence in the successful solution of a major mystery! I've always thought Julia Hoffman was a character ahead of her time.