Discuss - Ep #0754

[Watching Project]

Robservations #754

[fanforever]

Wow! The Millay and Frid scenes in 1897 were always top-notch. You could really feel the hatred and tension between the two characters. Poor Jamison, delirious with fever, doesn't really know what's going on, and that naivete could result in his untimely end. He should've realized when his mother left that he shouldn't trust her.

I feel for Beth. She's trying her best to protect Quentin from mindless animal killers like Edward and, dare I say it, Barnabas. That secret is such a huge burden to carry.

[Pansity]

LP does the voice over, seems she’s speeding through it for some reason.  

We pick up with Beth in the woods with the gun, and the wolf on the rock. This time they don’t spend as long focused on Beth after she screams, and her hand’s not shaking as she aims the gun.  

She’s really not thinking straight (not a big surprise under the circumstances).  She’s screaming for help, yet screams “No, Quentin, NO!” .  And we have the convenient cavalry to the rescue walking in the woods, in the form of Edward and Barnabas.  

It was a VERY close thing with Beth, the creature has her down on the ground and is rolling around – again, very conveniently he doesn’t use the claws or teeth on her neck or any vital areas.  She’s hysterical, but still has the sense to let them know Jamison’s out there.  Though apparently she doesn’t give them or let them know she had a gun with them, as they want to go get a gun.  I’m also wondering if her faint was for real, as she fainted JUST when Barnabas was going to go chase the creature, and that was the only thing made him help Edward get Beth back to the house.

And now we’re back to Laura at the cottage, the logical place for Jamison to go from here.  (Wonder if that’s where Beth was heading?) At least the delay in seeing her probably means the pink dress has been cleaned by now. With all the goings on with Jenny and now the curse, the threat of Laura got pushed to the side.  Clearly, though, she hasn’t forgotten, and she still intends to get rid of Quentin someway and somehow.  

Interesting that Edward notices that the wolf had clothes and ran like a man, but didn’t recognize the clothes?   Then again, Edward is NOT the brightest bulb in the bunch sometimes, and, as we see later, doesn’t even recognize those clothes when seeing them close up and on someone of the right height.

Barnabas shows sense in aiming Edward toward Laura and the cottage to find Jamison, but in the internal monologue, he mentions asking Edward for silver bullets.  What are the chances that anyone (saving the Lone Ranger) has a stock of silver bullets just lying around, much less silver bullets of the right caliber for that gun?

Just occurred to me, isn’t that yellow/gold brocade couch at the cottage one we see in Quentin’s rooms?  

Laura manages to sidetrack Edward quite nicely to go out on a wolf hunt, on the assumption that Jamison is out there too.  LE has one of his unusual almost bloopers here “if you’re lau…lying Laura….”.  He corrects himself quickly and just forges on.  Interesting how in this scene Laura actually remembers that Nora exists, and wants to fetch her too.  

Beth again opens the windows, even though the wolf is howling and for all she knows could come bouncing right in the window at her.   She’s really upset, and Barnabas calls her on it, asking about the animal before she asks if Jamison has been found and is all right.

Note how everyone now seems to know about Beth and Quentin   – it’s assumed by just about everyone, now including Barnabas, that she knows where he is any time they need him.  Wonder how much Beth knows about the Laura problem, since Barnabas just entrusted her with knowing that Barn and Quentin plan to “settle” Laura.

Barnabas was careless, same way he was in that earlier episode when he batted in to Quentin’s rooms, and this time Laura caught him exactly the same way Beth caught him then.   Of course he has no plausible explanation this time either  -- and has her scarab in his hand. Amazingly, he manages to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory by underestimating her.  If it weren’t for the delirious Jamison, he’d never have distracted her and gotten the boy out of the cottage.  

Nope, I’m not going NEAR the fact that Jamison mistook Barnabas for Quentin.

Jeannie

[MagnusTrask]

I've been making various jokes about my lack of brain function tonight, but right at this very moment I'm becoming scared by how little I'm able to follow people's posts.   I need to bail out very soon in posts to alleviate stress I feel at having to concentrate.   I'm not begging for demeaning sympathy here, just trying to inform people I hope to call friends in the future.

[Nancy]

I consider myself lucky to have someone like you posting here.  Always enlightening.

Take care of yourself, buddy.  We'll be here.
 
Nancy

[MagnusTrask]

Thanks very much Nancy, I just wish I knew of a way TO take care of myself under the circumstances...

[Pansity]

Hope you're doing better, Magnus.  Post when you feel up to it.  We're not going anywhere and neither are the posts.

Jeannie

[alwaysdavid]

Laura is back and that's always good.  Barnabas now decides the reason why he is here is because of Chris because there is a werewolf at Collinwood in that time.  Apparently saving David has flown right out of his mind, but then between Rachel, Angelique, Charity and Laura he has a lot of women on his mind.

[Midnite]

Since Barnabas was face to face with the werewolf long enough to study it, wouldn't it have been a hoot if he'd recognized that, except for the different clothes, it's identical to the one in 1969? 

Laura's comment that what she and Jamison must go through to get there will be well worth it is further confirmation that the Phoenix's death by fire is not a pleasant experience.  But if it enables her children to go to a beautiful world filled with sunshine and special people, why is it that Vicki [spoiler]was able to communicate with David Radcliffe's spirit during a seance?[/spoiler] Is Laura lying about the other world?

And what does her mention to Jamison of "just the three of us, just as it was when you [and Nora] were little, darling, only better" mean?  Are we supposed to take it literally, meaning that Edward wasn't always around?

LOVED this line by Laura, after opening the cottage door to Edward, who's holding a rifle:  "You've come here to kill me?"
 

Then she sends word to Nora (via scarab mail) to come to her now... while a wild animal is loose on the property!  Bad, bad mothering.

Barnabas now decides the reason why he is here is because of Chris because there is a werewolf at Collinwood in that time.  Apparently saving David has flown right out of his mind

I don't think he has forgotten David, or believes that Chris is his only reason for being there.  The 1897 ww is his first tangible tie-in to future events, so he decided to focus on that for now.  I think his line, "For the first time, I know why I'm here" refers to finally finding something in this time that he can effectively change.

LP does the voice over, seems she’s speeding through it for some reason.

That was Diana Millay and her usual way of speaking.  LP isn't in the ep.

[Pansity]

Since Barnabas was face to face with the werewolf long enough to study it, wouldn't it have been a hoot if he'd recognized that, except for the different clothes, it's identical to the one in 1969? 

Maybe all werewolves are grey in the dark?   

Laura's comment that what she and Jamison must go through to get there will be well worth it is further confirmation that the Phoenix's death by fire is not a pleasant experience.  But if it enables her children to go to a beautiful world filled with sunshine and special people, why is it that Vicki [spoiler]was able to communicate with David Radcliffe's spirit during a seance?[/spoiler] Is Laura lying about the other world?

Ok, here's some thoughts: maybe the Phoenix is the only  one who goes to happyland.  Or maybe only those who go willingly? (If I remember right, didn't David Radcliff NOT want to go?)

And what does her mention to Jamison of "just the three of us, just as it was when you [and Nora] were little, darling, only better" mean?  Are we supposed to take it literally, meaning that Edward wasn't always around?

Good catch.  Wonder if he did a lot of travelling for the family business? Don't remember the time frame they put it in, but wasn't it mentioned that travels abroad were how he knew Lord Gerald and Lady Kitty Hampshire?  Or maybe (with Grandmamamama's influence, perhaps) he was like Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins: saw the kids once or twice a day for a few minutes, and the rest of the time they were seen and not heard.  The same Grandmama who taught Judith not to cry even for the death of the woman who raised her might well have taught Edward that it was weak and unmanly to care too much about children.

That was Diana Millay and her usual way of speaking.  LP isn't in the ep.

  WHOOPS!      Me bad.  I missed checking that one against what I thought I'd heard, which I'd sworn to myself I would do after the last goof up.

Jeannie

[Taeylor Collins]

LOVED this line by Laura, after opening the cottage door to Edward, who's holding a rifle:  "You've come here to kill me?"

I love that line as well Midnite!

VO: DM

I don't particularly like Diana's voiceovers or Lara Parker's for that matter.  There I said it.  Both are fine actresses though!  Diana sure was hamming it up on the VO and I didn't really care for it.

YAY!  Laura's back! Glad to see this plot starting up again. I love the green Barnabas chromakey when he fades in.  Cool effect with Laura trying to burn up Barnabas!

Again not much to say on this episode, however, I have several pages written for the ones to come!

[EmeraldRose]

Barnabas now has a clue connecting 1897 to 1969 - there was a werewolf in both timeframes; also, this was the first time that Laura made her son "sick" before "going away". IIRC, David didn't get sick the way Jamison did. Another milestone: This was the first time that another supernatural being used his/her powers against Barnabas. (Laura the Phoenix vs. Barnabas the Vampire - Vampire wins!)

Note to Magnus: I hope you feel better soon. I enjoy your posts.

When Barnabas asked Beth where Quentin was, I momentarily thought (wrongly) that Barnabas and Quentin would never be able to see each other again, because Barnabas only came out at night and Quentin was only "Quentin" during the day. But then I came to my senses, breathed a sigh of relief, and realized that Quentin was only a werewolf during the full moon!

I was surprised and relieved that Beth wasn't killed by the Werewolf really fast the way Dorcas was. Maybe it was because it was Beth, and/or maybe Barnabas and Edward's rescue was swifter than it seemed.  

----- Sally -----

[Lydia]

It was fun to see Barnabas beating the werewolf with his silver cane.  1897 seems like such a different world from 1969 that it was fun to see a connection.

Interesting that Edward notices that the wolf had clothes and ran like a man, but didn’t recognize the clothes?   Then again, Edward is NOT the brightest bulb in the bunch sometimes, and, as we see later, doesn’t even recognize those clothes when seeing them close up and on someone of the right height.

Oh, come now.  Do you really expect Edward, an oh-so-manly Victorian male, to admit that he ever noticed exactly what another man was wearing?

Barnabas now has a clue connecting 1897 to 1969 - there was a werewolf in both timeframes

Yes, Barnabas has a clue, and he's all excited about it.  And what does he do with it?  He decides that Laura has to be disposed of this very night!  I sat there thinking: "Does he have Attention Deficit Disorder or what?"

Is Laura lying about the other world?

If Laura is lying, she tells some strange and unnecessary lies.  Why does she tell Jamison that his illness is part of the transition (or whatever it is she says) to the new life?  And why does she say he'll have to learn a lot (or whatever it is she says)?  Couldn't she baby him along with a better fairy tale than that?  Today I was starting to believe that Jamison and Nora really would be going to a wonderful place with Laura - and I have never believed that before.

Barnabas said to Laura: "I know what you are."  But what does he think she is?  And: "You have no right to call yourself his mother."  Huh?  Whether she's a good mother or a bad mother, I think it's reasonable to assume that she did give birth to Jamison.

The business with Laura overpowering Barnabas was nicely done.  The sudden light really made it seem that something supernatural was happening to Barnabas.  I keep thinking that some notion of what he is should have been apparent to Laura at that point - it seemed as though a connection was made, and she should have felt the truth - but I assume that didn't happen, because surely she would have said something, in the time-honored melodramatic Dark Shadows way.