Indeed he did.

Gothick, you have nearly broken my heart with your suggestion that Tad grew up to be the Thaddeus Collins who died during and possibly in the Civil War. His death would have cleared the way for Gabriel and Edith's grandchildren. (In an earlier post I mistaken wrote "Edith" instead of "Judith.") But didn't Thaddeus's gravestone at Eagle Hill say that he was BORN in 1840? I just don't remember.

The plot of 1840 was completely off the wall, but the beginning had some great moments. I loved Virginia Vestoff as Samantha, especially the scene where the long-lost Quentin walks in moments after she has married Gerard. Hilarious!

Another good moment is the meeting of the (not-yet-Judah) Gerard and Barnabas, who manage to become enemies in mere moments.

And what about old Daniel meeting Barnabas (again) and telling him, You haven't aged a day!

What a pity that the arrival of Professor Stokes didn't really have much effect on the story line. He was always one of my faves.

But really the best part of 1840 was the whole lead-in from the 1970s mysteries. But I guess I'm almost the only one who liked that part.

Wow, he left so soon?!

Does anyone else out there think that Julia is already falling for Barnabas? In ep. 299, my notes have her looking surprised and pained just as Barnabas and Vicki finish their conversation by the fountain. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, though.

Some nice moments here:

Barnabas is quite annoyed when he has to call Willie twice. Barn wants Willie to spy on Vicki and "Devlin" and report back everything they say. Willie protests, I can’t get that close without their noticing me! Find a way, Barnabas orders him. Need I remind you of the cost of failure? The streetwise Willie tries to warn him thus: Face it, Barnabas, you're going to lose her. Barnabas eventually lets go of Willie's throat when he realizes he needs him to report back.

Barnabas may be cooperating with Julia, but only under duress: Julia finishes giving Barnabas an injection, evidently not the first in the series she has scheduled. While Barnabas rolls his shirtsleeve down and puts his jacket back on as if re-encasing himself in a suit of armor, Julia reports that things are going well so far. She tells him, Your blood chemistry is starting to change already. You even have a heartbeat. I’d like to listen to it now. At this request, he stiffly and reluctantly unbuttons his suit jacket, keeping his shirt buttoned up tight. He holds his jacket open just barely enough for the stethoscope to fit. (JF does a good job of showing Barnabas's reluctance at what must seem to be very invasive procedures!)

Barnabas and Julia agree that they must trust each other. They are far from friends, but already I get the feeling that JF and GH are playing their characters like a couple.

Vicki thinks that by marrying Burke she'll find her identity--as Mrs. Burke Devlin (bleargh!). Then they have one of the least-convincing kisses in TV history. What happened to the "little governess" who told Burke that she's "standing on her own two feet"?

Once again, Barnabas sounds Vicki out about living by night. He tempts her to come to the Old House to admire some new family histories he's found. They're very old and very rare, he tells her--like their owner, perhaps. But Vicki has a date with Burke.

Julia arrives and joins the other two in admiring the evening. Just before Vicki leaves to get ready for her date, she tells Barnabas, I'd still like to come to the Old House soon. Barnabas watches Vicki go inside the house. Neither of them sees Julia’s stunned and pained expression as she comes to a sudden realization. [Go, Grayson!]

Julia warns Barnabas to stay away from Vicki. Barnabas can't understand what Vicki sees in someone as "crude as Devlin." [Go, Barn!]

Next, Julia warns Vicki to stay away from Barnabas. Somehow during this conversation, they progress from "Miss Winters" and "Miss Hoffman" to "Vicki" and "Julia."

Vicki gets what is probably her first-ever kiss from Burke. Bleargh! She is blissfully unaware that Barnabas is watching them. Then Julia catches them smooching again in the foyer.

At 3:00 a.m., Collinwood is dark and silent. Barnabas sneaks into Vicki's room by simply walking down the hall and opening the door. [His powers seem wildly inconsistent.] Vicki sleeps on undisturbed as he bends over her and reaches his hand out. He can almost touch her--but once again he can’t bring himself to bite her. He regards her longingly for a moment, then goes over to the nightstand and opens Josette’s music box. As the music plays, he stands by the bed, gazing down at her a moment longer. Then he slowly and regretfully leaves. He may be a monster, but he isn't a jerk.

We get our first color view of the interior of Seaview. And I almost forgot! At Seaview, Elizabeth once more is wearing her pastel houndstooth plaid suit, with the jacket over her shoulders.

I believe this is the first time that we see the black-bordered, multicolored afghan, and I think it is no coincidence that its debut comes only a couple of days after the advent of color.

In that case, welcome, black-bordered, multicolored afghan! 

Poor little Sarah, indeed! Her first friend in almost two hundred years has forgotten her. But she seems to be a forgiving little soul. She plays catch with Maggie and even sings "London Bridge" with her--which doesn't drive Maggie to hysterics for once. But she's still hurt and runs out, taking the doll with her.

Barnabas does have a bad moment when Maggie comes out of her room to talk to him. But he recovers quickly enough, maybe because he's given up on creating an exact replica of Josette and has fixed his sights on Vicki, and because he doesn't know if he can trust Julia to keep Maggie from remembering. But still, conversing with Josette's almost-double must seem strange, even to him.

Barnabas becomes increasingly alarmed as Maggie starts to remember the strangely dressed little girl who visited her earlier during the day. His agitation increases as Maggie describes the girl further. Maggie has turned away from Barnabas in trying to remember details of the conversation. The little girl said her name was Sarah, Maggie tells him--whereupon Barnabas actually stands up, he’s so disturbed. (Nice bit by JF here.) Maggie, unaware, finishes, I hope I can find Sarah, because she may know what happened to me. Barnabas exclaims, The person who did this may very well be apprehended! Something will have to be done, he says.

Now without the doll and utterly vulnerable, Maggie is asleep when when we hear the howling of one of the "children of the night." Maggie continues to sleep peacefully as Barnabas enters noiselessly through the French windows. [They had the budget for color videotape, but they couldn't make him materialize out of the darkness, for pete's sake!!!!!] He prepares to smother Maggie with a conveniently placed cushion when suddenly Sarah starts singing London Bridge. He calls to her in a desperate whisper: Sarah! Sarah! What is it you want? What do you want of me? But she only keeps on singing. Appalled but seemingly torn between loss and longing (another wonderful bit!), Barnabas slowly backs out of the room while Maggie slumbers on, unaware of her danger--or her rescuer.

Now Barnabas knows absolutely that (1) Sarah is here; and (2) she won't let him harm Maggie. So he is pretty much forced to trust Julia, even though that's probably the last thing he wants!

I feel sure that if Julia has studied up on vampires, she also has a pretty good idea of how their servants behave. She probably had some contingency plans for dealing with Willie, too.

At this point, I think Julia is more interested in Barnabas as a patient than as a person and probably attributes his actions with Maggie to his disorder. And yes, I do think she needs him to be up and around, the better to study the effects of her treatment. We don't know yet whether she's planning some sort of medicinal brew or injections. I imagine it wouldn't be too easy to give someone, say, a hypo while they're in a coffin. And it's hard to swallow liquids while you're lying down.

It's nice to see Maggie back in her own room, surrounded by all her own things and with her pop and her beloved Joe.

Dr. Franz Mesmer first started hypnotizing people at parties in the 18th century, so Barnabas might have heard of it before he was confined to the coffin. Mesmer didn't use hypnotism for medical purposes and was considered a charlatan, which might explain Barnabas's skepticism about the process. (Mesmer was a friend--and mesmerizer--of Mozart, who used mesmerism as a plot element in one of his comic operas.)

Barnabas and Julia have an interesting conversation on the subject. Julia is going to make house calls (!) to continue treating Maggie. She tells Barnabas, I plan to visit Maggie regularly as her doctor to make sure she continues to forget--as long as you continue to cooperate. And if I don’t? he asks. Your safety depends on me, she reminds him. You’re going to great lengths to continue, he comments. I’ll do whatever it takes, she answers. That seems to be anything, Barnabas observes, not without some wonder at her medical dedication. Anything to save a human life, Julia says firmly [spoiler](words that she will remember, alas!).[/spoiler]

While they're talking, Julia calmly inserts a cigarette into a holder and lights it at one of the candles. I wonder why Barnabas lets her, but then some of the strangest twentieth-century customs (or clothes) don't seem to faze him at all. Possibly her smoking is less of a surprise to him now that he knows that twentieth-century women can be doctors. After a final warning to Barnabas that if something happens to Maggie she will expose him, she sails out the door.

Meanwhile, we see that Sarah is also looking out for her friend Maggie….