Thanks, MB! If it's Brutus's Secret Room, that would certainly explain his portrait being there. The architectural plans for the Great House must be very interesting indeed.

It would be a shame if the movie forgets about Sarah. One of my favorite scenes in the original series is when she gives him what for when she stops him from killing Julia. Barnabas pinned by a little girl--and grieving AND conscience stricken--was a wonderful moment.

  Gosh, thanks!

The portrait of Brutus looks remarkably like Raphael's portrait of the Renaissance writer Baldassare Castiglione. (Yes, I took the art history survey course!) I know Gabriel is completely insane and murderous (at least some of the time), but thanks to Pennock's loopy portrayal I had to laugh at Gabriel's ranting as he slashes the portrait and sets it on fire. Poor Morgan--not only does he know where all the bodies are buried but now he also has to start a new sideline as a fireman!

JF is wonderful as Bramwell, although I thought it was rather ungallant of him to make Daphne run to him instead of pulling her away from the knife-wielding Gabriel. And poor Daphne, no doubt feeling even more vulnerable after Catherine's tongue-lashing. Really, she has nowhere else to turn but to Bramwell. I agree with you, Lydia, that really she hardly knows anything about him. Maybe she's attracted to the enigma rather than the man--she's so very young.

And yes, Catherine's look at the end says everything. No dialogue needed.

you remember him from Star Trek as the Ambassador of an overpopulated planet of inhabitants that are immune to disease, so he arranged for his daughter to meet Kirk and become infectious.

OMG, that was HIM??!! Of course I remember that episode!

Episode 1214; or, The Long Night of Practically Everybody

The scene between Bramwell and Catherine is one of the highlights of the entire series. Amazing work by both!

Poor Julia--this night must have been a sad replay for her. And it must have been even worse for Flora, who saw what her husband became and now has to endure waiting for her youngest son.

Ten years isn't a generation--true. But I think the Room doesn't care about how many years it's been, just that whenever the previous Room person dies, the next generation has to go, even though it's been only ten years since Justin's turn. But then again, if the generational thing were strictly the case, then Julia and Flora would be disqualified and it really would be up to Morgan, Quentin and Gabriel--and Catherine too if she got her way. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to try to hold the Collins Universe to any kind of consistency.

And poor Melanie, possession, the plague, and delirium too!

Interesting thoughts on Quentin, Lydia. He might also have returned home because the family business would be more likely to hire an ex-convict. For such an authoritative woman, Flora does seem to have raised quite a clutch of problematic sons!

The conversation with Bramwell and Daphne is one of my all-time favorite scenes. I love the scorn in his voice when he imagines Catherine's life at the Great House, especially when he says, LET her draw! It was fun to see that Bramwell has forgotten Gerard Stiles, but who knew that young ladies of 1840 went out on dates! And Daphne, with her fledgling feathers ruffled, is so sweet when she reminds Bramwell that she's no longer a child.  My other favorite bit in this scene is how JF registers the abrupt change from warmth and genuine interest with Daphne to subzero when Julia arrives!

Good scene also with Daphne and Catherine, who seems to have forgotten that Josette lives at the Old House too, so Daphne's staying there isn't nearly so improper as Catherine and Morgan would have us believe. No doubt Catherine is thinking of Bramwell's reminiscence of how they met (and how he made her miss church, bad boy!) when she warns Daphne against his charm--which seems to be all the more powerful for being so well hidden.

Morgan and Julia finally manage to get Gabriel into the Locked Room. But what will they find when this long night is over?....

The first time I saw this episode, I was totally bowled over by the final scene. I loved JB's combination of formality and fatalism as she intones the ritual lottery formula.

I always thought Flora came to Collinwood as a bride. If we assume that she too came from money, we can probably assume that her family would have followed the aristocratic tradition whereby women left their families to marry and men brought their wives home. I suppose the obligation to produce an heir (and at least one spare?) would have reinforced her new identity--as would her responsibility for Justin after he went into the Room.

What strikes me about PT is that even though Morgan is clearly of age, Flora is still the head of the family and Mistress of Collinwood--even though Justin has died. In the normal universe, she might even have retired to a cottage on the estate, and Morgan would become the new Master, but she's still very much in charge. I've also always thought that Julia was born a Collins. Once she decided not to marry (there must be a story there too!), the strong-willed Julia probably felt she had to fashion some kind of role for herself that would keep her from being totally eclipsed by Justin and maybe also by Flora. Hence her fanatical and single-minded devotion to the family honor--and its secrets too.

I like the idea of a Pairs Project! But I don't really know the eps. well enough to suggest any other pairs. Maybe a trio or quartet of the various times Barnabas had to insert himself into the family?