I always wonder why Caroline doesn't use the most obvious argument as to why she should be the one to drive Julia into town instead of Tony: Julia will need a ride back, which makes Caroline the perfect choice.

I like the way Jerry Lacy plays his part when he's sitting at his desk. He's very understated and reserved, merely observing, in a somewhat superior, bemused fashion, the antics of the two crazy women who have suddenly entered his life this night. His underplaying is certainly in contrast to the over-the-top hysterics of one Grayson Hall, whose performance here becomes the very definition of "scenery-chewing" (though nothing compared with what we have to face in the very near future in her one-woman tour-de-force).

Excellent show, lots of depth and complexity in the relationships.

My only wonder is why Carolyn doesn't mention that she and Vicki have also seen the bat flapping around the windows of Collinwood. That might have helped buttress the argument she was trying to make regarding David's credibility.

The spell Julia cast over Vickie causing her to feel deeply uncomfortable around Barnabas doesn't seem to have lasted very long. In addition to traipsing on over to the Old House in search of Barnabas as if nothing had changed, Vicki is back to defending him against Carolyn's growing suspicions. Did the writers simply forget about the plot line they had devised a mere two episodes back? Or was it just not serving their purposes and figured the audience wouldn't either mind or notice?

In addition, even though the scene is interesting and well staged, the "I don't want to get you sick" excuse Barnabas gives Vicki really doesn't make a whole lot of sense since clearly Julia is staying with Barnabas and she even touches Vicki's hand at one point. Oh well, I may just be nitpicking here. But, on the whole, I've really liked the feel of these recent episodes.

IS there a match for Julia's strolling into the drawing room only to find Barnabas and Vicki deep in conversation and blithely announcing "In walks Julia bearing flowers," not only an effective way to defuse a highly awkward situation but to comment on its very theatricality - almost as if they were in some kind of "soap opera" or something.

It was unusual to have a dream sequence without any kind of mist or distorted lense-work. It seemed so real that, later on in the episode, when Julia turned towards Josette's bed, I momentarily expected to see Burke's wrapped body lying there, until I remembered that that was part of Vicki's earlier dream.

It does seem like Carolyn should be grieving a bit more for Burke, even though Vicki is nice enough to at least extend some of her own sympathy to her. I guess because Burke was played by a different actor when the two had their scenes together and we never saw Carolyn interacting with the second one, the writers felt they could de-emphasize that part of Burke's life.

This is easily one of my all-time favorite "Dark Shadows" episodes. The poignancy and sense of melancholy are palpable. And David Henesy delivers such a delicately beautiful and understated performance as the resigned and despairing David that it ranks up there with the best child performances I've ever seen.

I'm glad this episode exists only in black-and-white. It turns out to be the perfect medium for this unforgettable mood-piece.

That scene in the garden got a bit crowded - and comical - with eavesdroppers eavesdropping on eavesdroppers.

Julia's "No one was there" line reminded me of the cyclops scene from "The Odyssey."

By the way, was the image of Dr. Woodard supposed to disappear before Julia turned to see him or was it just a mistake in timing?

I guess that old expression, "I'd love to be a fly on the wall," should now be changed to "I'd love to be a bat at the window." Barnabas has become quite the eavesdropper lately.

It's interesting that Sam and Maggie seem to have traded positions from where they were just a few weeks ago. Then, Sam was insisting that Maggie stay home for her own safety while Maggie kept pooh-poohing or at least minimizing the danger. Now, Sam is in the position of trying to calm Maggie's fears.

I dearly love Grayson Hall, but, really, has there ever been an actress who had more trouble hiding her characters's "guilt"? Her tics and twitches are so pronounced in these scenes that it is amazing the other characters don't pounce on her immediately as the culprit. Julia was always at her best when coolly sparring with evildoers like Nicholas Blair (nobody ever peeled off a pair of gloves as dramatically and effectively as Grayson) rather than reacting to incriminating news.

What is it with these professional types on DS? Dr. Woodard is making the exact same mistake as the paranormal investigator the family brought in during the Laura Collins story, namely, directly confronting the person whom he suspects of engaging in nefarious activities, leaving himself totally exposed and at the mercy of said person without any real plan to defeat him or her.