Setup:

Angelique was disappointed to learn that while she had been dead, her favorite store in Collinsport had gone out of business: _________

Setup:

Quentin: Inspector, if you'll pretend that you never saw me here at the cottage tonight, I'll give you...

Hamilton: Really?  I must admit, I'm tempted.

...a separate TV for my jacket...

Was that why Barnabas liked strangling Julia so much?  Because her anatomical parts tended not to get in the way?

Magnus, I always want to like Aristede – I mean, in the way one likes seeing a bad guy on-screen – but there's always something lacking.  Those Rube Goldberg-style murders, or attempted murders, seem slightly out of kilter for Aristede.  I'd believe it if I saw him stick a knife in somebody – literally – and twist it, but the delayed gratification style of murder doesn't fit him.  Granted, there's the immediate gratification of seeing the victim squirm and plead – but somehow Michael Stroka didn't make it work for me.

Our-time Bruno was simply annoying.  He was too one-dimensional – a lover of violence and nothing more, from start to finish.

Something about Bruno Hess, however, was different – or, at least, it was different for me on this round of watching.  It's not in the writing of the character – i.e. - it's not in simply knowing that he composed and played the piano and therefore is more than just a lover of violence – but something that I saw in the portrayal of the character.  The talking to Cyrus, the terror when Damien was haunting Collinwood – it all seemed more real than anything I saw in Aristede or in our-time Bruno.

Bruno wasn't much of a person, but I'm sorry to see him gone.  I really enjoyed Michael Stroka's portrayal of him.  And purely to spite me, I'm sure, they made it clear that it was just a dummy on the floor today, not the real Bruno, so I couldn't kid myself that I was seeing Michael Stroka doing a fine portrayal of a dead man.

Quentin talked about calling his "lawyers" - plural.  There was a mention of Chris the other day, so we know he's back from his business out of town, even though we'll never see him again.  Larry Chase is dead, as cold as if he had been dead for a millennium or two.  Who else is there in the firm?

The door to Maggie's and Quentin's bedroom squeaked when Angelique opened it.  I can't remember whether it squeaked before.  Hoffman surely would have dispatched an underling to oil the hinges the second the door even began to think about squeaking, but Julia is letting the house fall apart.

Maggie and Angelique should consult each other about what they're planning to wear.  Under no circumstances should that red and blue dress of Angelique's and that yellow robe of Maggie's ever be seen together.  Which reminds me, has anybody noticed that "Alexis" is not dressing the way she used to?  I doubt that Alexis brought with her the clothes that Angelique is wearing.  I hope Angelique is not wearing her own clothes.  That would be sure to be noticed, and I think it would be considered bad taste for Alexis to be wearing her late sister's clothes, not to mention the fact that Quentin would go through the roof every time he looked at "Alexis".  Now I'm trying to remember if Angelique wore any of these dresses before she went with Quentin on the famous trip to Bangor.  All that aside, I do like the way Angelique looks these days.

It looks as though Maggie and Quentin share a bureau.  Ye gods, Quentin's rich enough to support several poor relations, and he's got a house as big as all outdoors, but can't have his own bureau.  No wonder he's bad-tempered.  And what was he thinking, calling that little statuette (Bach?  Beethoven?) a voodoo doll?

Oh, golly, it didn't take Angelique long to persuade Quentin to escape.

Nice performance by David Selby today.  He's always good, of course, but there were a couple of details in his intonation - in particular, something he said to Maggie just before leaving the house - that I liked.

I was thinking all the way through this episode: imagine living in a world in which people can be murdered in the way that Angelique murdered Bruno, so that evidence that we think of as vital - such as who was with somebody when he died of strangulation - is irrelevant.  From how far away does Angelique's voodoo work?  And is it necessary to work harder when her victim is further away?  And does she ever get connection blips and call her VSP (Voodoo Service Provider) and file a complaint and threaten to switch to another provider?  Anyway, my point is: this can't be the first time in the Dark Shadows Parallel Time Universe that somebody has been murdered by voodoo.  It's got to be a known phenomenon.  So, fervently though I adore Inspector Hamilton, I think he's being a bit careless here.

Setup:

Julia: I wonder, Mr. Stokes, if it would have been better get the life force from a body that was less well-endowed.

Stokes: Oh, no, Hoffman, the endowments are essential, because...