Or maybe they were just toying with us and wanted to end this episode with as much of a cliffhanger as possible so we would think, Poor Dr. Guthrie! All alone! And collapsed by the fireplace! Is he dead? In a coma? What? And where's Vicki?

I'll also save comments on 176 for that episode.

Maybe Laura didn't use fire to make Elizabeth ill because it would have drawn too much attention to her (L.).

I think the gods were displeased that Laura didn't make a full transition in Phoenix--maybe because David wasn't there, and she couldn't do it without him--?

How remarkably like the Collinsport police station the Phoenix police station looks! But it is a nice cactus in the establisher shot. 

Poor Carolyn finally gets to have a good cry.

I've always wondered if Lieutenant Costa's name is a reference to the Portuguese immigrants in New England. A lot of them worked in the fisheries.

David is so proprietary about Josette! It's kind of funny, actually. For every step forward Vicki takes, he seems to push her two steps back.

Laura almost gives the game away when she gloats to Burke about how hard it was to get Elizabeth away and in the hospital. Burke is actually alert, until Laura adds in her sweet voice, For Liz's own good, of course.

Later, Vicki voices her suspicions, listing all the things that have happened since Laura's arrival. Burke looks thoughtful, but not nearly thoughtful enough. And sure enough, later on, Laura sneers that she can just imagine Vicki's little list.

(Admin note: with regard to an earlier removed post:)
Yah. It is--apologies to anyone making their first trip through the saga.

There are some things you just can't do in a hurry. A tiny piece of my brain was actually wondering why there was no Mrs. J. Duh.

Anyway, I did like it when Dr. Guthrie told Laura he thought the séance was very successful and _very_ revealing. Laura says, I think it was very crafty of you to tape the séance. Without missing a beat, Dr. Guthrie replies, Since the recorder is part of my craft, it is indeed crafty to have one.

I just hope Mrs. J won't pay some dire penalty for standing up to Laura. And I did like the crackly ending!

Carolyn does a nice job of defending Dr. Guthrie to Roger and reinforcing her role as temporary Mistress of Collinwood.

Vicki remembers part of the séance--she was engulfed in flames, while Laura stood by, watching and laughing. Why do all these terrible things keep happening since I arrived here? Vicki wonders.

Nancy Barrett would have made a very interesting Vicki. Not the same as AM, but definitely worth watching, I'm sure.

I had four years of French and three years of Latin in high school. But then again, I wasn't raised in a foundling home.

Awesome, Lydia! Thanks! *bows low*

I don't think individual people are important to Josette. She may not care for David for his own sake but as the hope of future generations and the continuation of the Collins, um, bloodline.

When Laura first appears, she is wearing a long cloak, but later she wears a knee-length one.

When Dr. Guthrie arrives, he tells Mrs. Johnson, "I just escaped the rain," but his coat is perfectly dry. Mrs. J looks at his teeny reel-to-reel tape recorder as if she's never seen a tape recorder before.

As the séance begins, we get an unusual overhead shot of the table with everyone sitting around it (boy-girl-boy-girl). I don't remember ever seeing another overhead shot in the rest of the series, but I would be delighted to be wrong.

After all that build-up, the séance actually was pretty thrilling!

Josette has already displayed some interesting powers, so I'm sure she made it back to her portrait.