I'm going to write this fast -- I'm in the middle of final exams -- so I'm hoping some allowances can be made if I make a misstatement without having an attack launched.  These are only my ideas and I never meant to present them as the last word on the subject.  I raised this question merely as that -- a question -- something I thought might be an interesting idea to someone, maybe someone who writes fanfiction who might see possibilities in my suggestion of one possible interpretation of Joanna Mill's character.  Since I posted only my thoughts, I did not attempt to adduce evidence to back them up as I might try to do were I presenting a "case" for, for example, a case for who Victoria Winters' parents really were.  But in light of rather pointed challenges to my thoughts, I'll try to think what conveyed my impressions -- though I don't know if I can provide the kind of evidence people are asking me to produce.

The ghost of Joanna Mills seemed unique to me.  I think the main thing was her corporeal presence rather than the transluscent, fleeting entities that characterizes so many ghosts on DS.  Within the context of the 1840 storyline, we might compare (or contrast) Joanna Mills to the other ghost we're presented with, that of Daniel Collins; they are obviously very different in form and in the way they appear and are presented.

Joanna reminded me of Angelique in the 1795 courtroom scene.  My thinking on Angelique may differ from that of others, because I didn't view Angelique as a ghost.  In the past, I've written at length about the resurrection appearances/bodies on DS in contrast to the ghostly entities.  In my view, Angelique resurrects on DS and never comes back as a ghost.

In my opinion, the DS writers were familiar, at least having a passing knowledge, with much classical literature including the Bible.  In the New Testament, Jesus returns from the dead -- but in his own words, he is not a ghost.  Rather, he is flesh and blood and invites the disciples to touch him as proof of this.  Interestigly, Joanna Mills echoes something very simiilar when she tells Daphne that she is real, not a ghost -- I think she even says something to the effect to touch her, feel her hands -- they're warm.  Angelique says nearly identical words when she appears to Victoria Winters when she has imprisoned the latter in the Leviathan storlyine (I think that's the the right storyline).  Both of these instances are examples of allusions to the New Testament; and of course there are other belief systems that speak of the body being physically resurrected.  In the New Testament, after his resurrection, Jesus appears and disappears at will in his new physical form, as I see Angelique also doing ... and possibly Joanna Mills.

Every other ghost on DS that I can think of is always recognized as being a ghost by others.  It's true that the very corporeal-appearing Sarah puzzles David and Victoria for que a while, but eventually even they realize that Sarah is a ghost.  Joanna Mills is different.  Not only does she fool all of the mortals, her true nature eludes even Barnabas, Angelique, and Judah -- the last two of which, especially, might be expected to recognize a ghost via their own supernatural powers and knowledge.  Since they don't, that suggests to methat Miss Mills has some special, unique properties setting her apart from many other ghosts.

Samantha is the only one who maintains that Joanna is a ghost, but that is not based on any ghostly properties or actions of Joanna but because Samantha knows she killed Joanna.  (Incidentally, I still don't think this happened at Widow's Hill, as others have mentioned again in other threads; but I admit I may have misheard the original scene and also misheard latter commentary by other characters about it. But if so, I misheard dialogue on at least two occasions indicating that this took place on the sanitarium grounds.)

So, I wondered, idly, how it is that Joanna might have some extraordinary or special aspects as a ghost.  Is she casting a spell on everyone?  Could she possibly have had powers in life that have carried over beyond the grave?  Yes, I know there is no evidence for this -- it's just a thought, and it would be interesting what the DS writers might have come up with had Joanna Mill's past and character been delved into much more.

This explanation obviously won't satisy many posters here as it doesn't rise to the level of proof, but all I can do is try to explain my impressions to which I hoped to add a dash of creative thought.

How disappointing. 


Well, so you can experience the thrill of this storm vicariously, right at this moment I can't even see out any of my windows because the snow is coming down so hard and blowing around so much.

I admit, while watching coverage of the east coast snowstorms on TV, I have felt a few pangs of nostalgia for home (a slightly more northerly direction than my current location ...).  It's just the hassle of getting around (not to mention dangerous driving) that I don't miss.  My perfect scenario would be snowfall on Christmas Eve, once I'm safe and snug at "home."   

In other words, just like we always saw it on DS.  :-

And as we saw in that beautiful modified photo of Collinwood ... looking like one of those glass (or plastic) snow shakers ... that graced the DS Christmas round-robbin story about four years ago.   

This has been puzzling me for the past few weeks of 1840.  There have been any number of instances where one would think Gerard would have the ability to discern the truth about situations beyond an ordinary mortal's capacity, yet he hasn't displayed many powers other than giving Daphne bad dreams with his Celtic cross ...  (e.g., he's unaware of Gabriel sneaking up behind him in an attempt on his life).

In one of Thursday's episodes, the Evan Handley character seemingly addressed this, finally, asking Gerard something like why he hasn't been using his powers, or suggesting that he use his powers (this may have been to uncover where Quentin and Desmond were hiding out).

If it's the case of choosing to exercise his powers or not, Judah has had a seemingly curious lack of interest in using them ...

Who knew what secret Samantha Collins was hiding -- that she had (she thought) killed Joanna Harridge.

(As an aside, it's a little surprising that the mental asylum allowed patients to roam freely on the edge of a cliff ...  )

I wonder if keeping this secret contributed to Samantha's irritable personality ... her hair-trigger temper ...

At any rate, this reveals another layer to Samantha's character ... and who knows what other secrets she may have (e.g., re: Tad).

A while back someone commented that they didn't like the change in Samantha's personality after the earlier 1840 eps.  I think it was all planned from the start.  Certainly the writers knew about Daphne and Gerard -- this was evident from the 1970 haunting and 1995.  Quentin and Joanna were known from the beginning of 1840.  Samantha and Gerard was obviously known/planned from the start.  The Quentin and Daphne pairing also seems likely to have been part of the original plan.  Since all these relationships were plotted out, it seems likely that Samantha's killing of Joanna was also known from the beginning.  They certainly handed Virginia Vestoff and fantastic role to sink her teeth into!

Someone recently said that the character of Ben Stokes was brought back for little apparent purpose at the beginning of 1840.  Although I disagree with that assessment, I just thought I'd point out the very practical reasons the writers may have had in killing off poor Ben Stokes early on -- Thayer David's return in two successive roles within the same storyline.

I wonder if any other actor did this on DS -- three different characters in one storyline!  And each one an individual creation -- Ben Stokes, Mordecai Grimes, and Professor T. Eliot Stokes.

Kudos to Thayer David!  And to those who plotted and casted the 1840 storyline!

What bothers me is that this particular court seems to pick and choose which civil rights they'll respect.  For example, they honor Quentin's Sixth Amendment right to be represented by counsel, but then they defy the Fifth Amendment by forcing Desmond to provide testimony that ultimately incriminates himself.  So does this court operate according to the US Constitution or not?  It's just a big jumbled mess to me.

Although Desmond was not on trial, so he couldn't really be said to be incriminating himself.  It was more like an impromptu hearing -- interrupting Quentin's trial -- to supposedly see if there was a conflict of interest with Desmond representing Quentin.  Maybe the judges rode slipshod over procedure by then indicting Desmond for witchcraft ... but how many TV trials or even movies are all that accurate -- or even realistic -- when it comes to trial scenes?   

 

Thanks, MB.

I'm very surprised that the FAQ would have said that Tom and Chris Jennings were twins (which, as you say, we've discussed -- it's never even suggested on the show, yet vast numbers of fans believe it to be the case ...  )

I've never read the FAQ thoroughly -- never printed it out -- but the sections I've read showed an impressive combination of no-nonense factual information, detailed observation, and eruditeness.

He seems to be getting a lot of airtime in the jail cell.  Moreso, I think, than John Karlen's excellent courtroom scenes.  I'd be happy with more of Mr. Karlen.