More brilliance from Thayer David!

Still thinking that someone is outside and clearly falling into madness, Matthew is distracted. Then he remembers what he's doing--sort of. He goes out to take the food to the car and to bring the car up to the house.Why didn’t he just bring the car up to the house first?? I guess there's no accounting for what madness will do to a person. Later he thinks that Vicki is actually Miz Stoddard, but unfortunately for her, he recovers.

Once again we get the story of how the widows want a third girl. Being a real humanitarian, Matthew tells Vicki he's thought of a way to kill her that will make the widows happy.

Part of the problem was that Professor Stokes was supposed to know everything--but thanks to the faithful Julia, he never found out the biggest secret of all.

(Just once more, I'd have liked to have seen the great Bob Rooney, tending bar, and wearing one of his trademark Sears flannel shirts, with his El Producto stogie firmly clenched between his teeth!)

But of course, Bob is always a welcome sight!

However: I do have to disagree about the playroom. It was one of my favorite sets on the show. I just wish they had given us a closeup of the portrait of the two kids and written it into the story line somehow. Maybe it would have taken some time away from Hallie's kvetching, or at least distracted us from it.

Other than that, I didn't mind the claustrophobic atmosphere. It added tension to the slowly (maybe too slowly?) unfolding mystery of the 1970 story line, one of my favorites--although I could have done without the zombie pirates. But we also get to see the relationship between Julia and Barnabas change and grow. I wouldn't have missed "Not without you!" for anything!

Another symptom of Matthew's insanity: Once again he must be carrying the water in his pockets as he returns from the well.

Meanwhile, we get the the tale of the phoenix.

Later, in public at the coffee shop where anyone could hear them, Maggie takes Sam to task for his latest bender and suggests he needs to start over in a new place, say, Phoenix, Arizona.

Joe may look messy, but he still looks very handsome, IMHO.  I guess the sheriff thinks that Ben has already killed Vicki and hidden the body somewhere in the woods, so he probably has all the searchers climbing over rocks and investigating every hollow tree.

Nice work by Thayer David--and nice effects too--when the portrait glows right before Ben's horrified and deranged eyes. He runs out of the house, and we hear seagulls calling--a sound effect that doesn't happen too often later on.

The first time I saw these pre-Barn episodes, I was also impressed when Laura walked into the diner. Her arrival brought a whole new set of dimensions to the story, and I certainly had no idea what was going to happen next! Whether Diana Millay was pregnant or not at this point, her outfit is still amazing in this day and age, though it was typical for the time: a well-tailored pastel suit with a nice blouse, a hat, and gloves!

Vicki is really MIA here--she doesn't appear at all in this episode.

Once again Ben goes for water, and once again he doesn't bring a bucket with him.

Carolyn is wearing a very businesslike suit, but the thought of getting a job never seems to cross her mind--never mind the idea of anyone else working.

Thayer David plays the only DS villain who is competent at tying a gag on the heroine.

When David steals food for Matthew, we can see that the kitchen cabinets have curtain panels in the door frames. Mrs. Johnson's cigarettes are unfiltered, marking her as a member of the working class.

Matthew complains that David didn't bring him the brandy he promised. I didn't think you'd want it for breakfast, David replies.

Matthew goes to the Old Well to get Vicki some water--this was long before the days of bottled water. Vicki pleads with David to help her, but he's probably afraid she's a ghost. Then we see film of Matthew returning to the Old House, apparently carrying the water in his pockets.