329 - (Grayson Hall) - Tonight, a dangerous and terrifying secret may be disclosed, for a man presumed to be dying has suddenly rallied, and when he speaks, he may expose one whose very existence has depended on his silence.
Weird to see Dana Elcar back in the role of Sheriff Patterson and repeating the ending of the previous episode!
Barnabas wants to join the party heading to the hospital to see Willie. He still believes there's an explanation for why Willie had Maggie's ring. John Karlen is back playing Willie now that the oxygen tent's been dispensed with. Would they normally have a patient who'd undergone back surgery lie on his back like that?
Dave examines Willie, who is doing better every moment. He tells Julia the transfusions worked, and she responds, "That's wonderful, Dave," very unenthusiastically. She lights up a cigarette (really freaky to see this in a hospital room!) as Dave explains he doubts Willie was the kidnapper. Loomis is insane, Julia insists. Dave leaves Julia with the sedated Willie. Julia considers Barnabas being exposed and herself losing her license to practice medicine(http://www.dsboards.com/epimgs/0329-1.jpg)
and thinks how easily she could silence Willie. She's about to slip the IV out of his arm when Dave comes in (she calls it a hypodermic needle). When Dave demands to know what she was doing, she says Willie moved and she was checking to make sure it hadn't fallen out. Dave notes that Willie looks even more improved. (What miracle saved him, we must wonder?)
Barnabas looks angry and crestfallen when the Sheriff brings him to the hospital and orders him to wait outside in the hallway while he questions Willie. Urbanely, Barnabas tries to explain to Patterson how much better it would be if he, Willie's employer, questioned the patient first.(http://www.dsboards.com/epimgs/0329-2.jpg)
NO! says Patterson, and Barnabas glares after him.
Dave tells George that Willie is heavily sedated and will be asleep for another three hours. Willie awakens almost exactly three hours later; great call! Also, Woodard has told Patterson that Julia is a doctor when the sheriff demands to know why she's there, but Dave assures him Julia's been a big help. George tells Dave and Julia about finding Maggie's ring in Willie's room, proving his guilt. He tells Julia that Barnabas is still maintaining Willie's innocence and is waiting in the hall. Barnabas paces, and when Julia comes to speak to him, orders her to kill Willie. When she tells him she had the opportunity but couldn't go through with it, he calls her a bumbling fool.
Everyone waits for Willie to awaken. Barnabas and Patterson pace, Julia drums her fingertips, Dave sits in a chair. Poor Willie comes to consciousness at 4 AM, moaning in pain. Dave tells him he'll give him a painkiller, but the sheriff must speak to him first. Willie begs them not to hurt him, cringing pitifully.(http://www.dsboards.com/epimgs/0329-3.jpg)
He ignores Patterson's questions about why he was breaking into Maggie's bedroom and asks if it's dark. He's afraid of the dark, he whimpers, begging again not to be hurt. Patterson shows Willie Maggie's ring and he stares at it and claims it's his. "Maggie Evans," Willie says. "I'm afraid--and I don't know why."
Barnabas is wracked with fear when he realizes dawn is only half an hour away. If Willie has told them about him, he'll be destroyed!
George and Dave exit Willie's room, looking grim, and at first you wonder if Willie didn't tell them WHAT he's afraid of, as in his former vampire employer. Dave and George tell Julia and Barnabas that Willie is hopelessly insane. His mind has snapped--apparently he's been deranged all along. Now he's in his room, babbling incoherently about being afraid of a voice from a grave. So, Willie is guilty, the case is now closed, and Willie will be sent to an institution for the criminally insane. Barn and Julia express their sorrow over hearing this. They go in to see Willie, who gazes raptly at Barnabas, whom he doesn't recognize at all. "Are you a doctor?" Willie asks in a friendly, childlike voice.(http://www.dsboards.com/epimgs/0329-4.jpg)
"Yes, Willie," responds Barnabas, a triumphant light in his eyes, "I am a doctor."
Great performance by Karlen. I don't know if this was his last show, but he was excellent. Everyone else was wonderful, too.
NOTES: Barnabas gets lucky again! Willie doesn't even remember him, and now he's going to be put away for God knows how long, no longer a threat to Barnabas. Who will protect the vampire now, we wonder?
I felt so sorry for Willie, but there was also something sly about him, or at least it seemed so to me. Suppose he remembered EVERYTHING, but chose to pretend otherwise, to protect himself from being killed? He probably knew that the only way to avoid Barnabas' murdering him was to act as though he had no knowledge of Barnabas. Also, you have to wonder if Willie's surviving this shooting was for a higher purpose. Perhaps Sarah intervened somehow? It's interesting speculation!
Excellent episode!
330 - (Grayson Hall) - It is afternoon at Collinwood, and the bright afternoon sunshine has dispelled the fears of the night. But fear lingers in the mind of a child, and before this day is over, fear will mount to terror.
I got SO sick of hearing David repeat the same things throughout this ep--Barnabas is mean and wants to kill me, he's hiding something terrible in the basement of the Old House, I'm not lying, Sarah did come to see me, ad nauseum.
David complained to Aunt Liz that the eyes in Barnabas' portrait were following him--and Barnabas hates him, is hiding a secret in the Old House, and wants him to die!(http://www.dsboards.com/epimgs/0330-1.jpg)
Liz denies it; Barn is very fond of his young cousin. Roger overhears David speaking about the ghostly Sarah's warning, how everyone should stay away from the Old House, etc., and promptly yells at his son for such "nonsense" and sends him up to his room. Liz tells Roger he mishandled David, but Roger says he's really concerned--either David's lying or losing his grip in reality, and neither is good news.
An angry David, lips compressed with determination, sneaks out of Collinwood yet again, and climbs in through the reliable open window when he finds the front door locked. It's nearing dusk as he begins to look around, quickly turning away from THAT portrait of Barnabas. He's shaking the locked basement door when Julia catches him. Barnabas wouldn't want him to be there, she warns, the house belongs to him.(http://www.dsboards.com/epimgs/0330-2.jpg)
It belongs to his Aunt Liz, counters David, and demands to know why the basement door is locked--it never was before! Julia hurts his arm and drags him back to Collinwood.
Roger is playing the piano when Liz rushes downstairs to report that David is gone. Julia walks in with the child that very moment and tells them he was at the Old House. Roger is ready to spank his son, but Liz sends him upstairs instead. Julia advises them to keep David away from the Old House; Barnabas wouldn't appreciate what's been going on, and it's over-stimulating David's imagination. Julia is shocked to hear that David believes Barnabas wants him dead, is keeping a secret, and that Sarah warned him about the Old House. Julia dubs it a strange fantasy, then advises them to not tell all this to the sensitive Barnabas, who'd be hurt by it.
In his room, David ponders the locked basement--Barnabas is hiding something, he knows it!
Julia gives Barnabas another injection and tells him she's pleased with his progress. He's astute enough about her moods to know something is bothering her, but she covers by saying Willie was committed today, and she feels badly about that. So does Barn. (These two should just give us all a break, huh?) At least, says Julia, Willie's convenient insanity removes all suspicion re: Barnabas' involvement in Maggie's kidnapping. That just leaves Cousin David, says Barn. Julia is forced to admit he wasn't receptive to hypnosis, that he'd dreamed about her medallion and was afraid of it.(http://www.dsboards.com/epimgs/0330-3.jpg)
David is still a threat, frets Barnabas, but then he gets an idea--no one will believe the boy. He stands at the window, staring menacingly out as weird yellow light plays over his features.
Roger and David have some touching moments together, a rarity, for sure. Roger speaks gently to David, assuring him he wants to understand and help him. Why does David always disobey him? He had to go to the Old House to prove he wasn't a liar, responds David defensively. Sarah was no dream, and Roger has no idea what Barnabas is really like--mean, locked basement, etc., etc.(http://www.dsboards.com/epimgs/0330-4.jpg)
Roger assures David he cares about him and asks him to please try harder to obey him--and stay away from the Old House, for real! David promises, seeming sad, and Roger beams as he leaves David's room. Left alone, David watches in horror as his window bursts open and a bat comes flying in. It swoops and dips over his head as he flails his arms and tries to get away. Finally, he sinks to the floor, cowering, crying for help, as the bat swoops closer to him.
NOTE: Yes, the special effects were cheesy, but back in 1967, this looked really scary to us, believe me!
Love, Robin