Discuss - Ep #0416

Robservations #416

Excellent performance by Louis Edmonds, as usual.  Naomi was unfair to Joshua when she told him all he cared about was revenge.  It was obvious that Joshua was grief-stricken by his daughter's death.  But Naomi was grief-stricken, too, so she couldn't see what was before her eyes.

When Joshua talked to Vicky at the Collinsport Gaol, I thought to myself that this was the point at which Vicky should get her mind - such as it was - in gear, and try to figure out what was going on.  She herself can't say that witches don't exist, because she knows that the supernatural exists, or else she wouldn't have been transported back to 1795.  Therefore it must be possible for witches to exist.  She knows that there was something strange about the fire in her bedroom at the Old House, so from that she can deduce that there is a supernatural force at work here, whether or not it is a witch.  And right now she has lots of time to play Nero Wolfe or Hercule Poirot, and put her little gray cells to work.

I believe that Vicky should be thinking - but I know it wouldn't do any good, because motive is no longer going to get her anywhere.  It is true that Angelique apparently got $20,000 out of her short-lived marriage to Barnabas - and in 1795 that must have been a fortune - but if money was what Angelique wanted, it would have been far simpler for her to marry Jeremiah.  If she loved Barnabas, then why did Barnabas die?  If she wanted revenge, then what did she have against the Collins family?  All three Dupres family members are still alive, and since she was a Dupres servant, surely it would be against the Dupres family that she would want revenge.  None of it makes any sense to a logical mind - but Vicky should still be trying to make sense of it.  It's her only hope.

I felt very sorry for Barnabas in the mausoleum, listening to his parents grieving, and unable to to talk to them.  He's going to live a long, long time after they die.

It's interesting to note her that Angelique's powers quite often run away from her and she loses control of the situation completely. I don't really remember her turn as Cassandra that well (need to pull out the DVDs I guess) but later on she seems to be in control MOST of the time. Maybe a few stints in hell polished her up a bit.

I believe that Vicky should be thinking - but I know it wouldn't do any good, because motive is no longer going to get her anywhere.  It is true that Angelique apparently got $20,000 out of her short-lived marriage to Barnabas - and in 1795 that must have been a fortune - but if money was what Angelique wanted, it would have been far simpler for her to marry Jeremiah.  If she loved Barnabas, then why did Barnabas die?  If she wanted revenge, then what did she have against the Collins family?  All three Dupres family members are still alive, and since she was a Dupres servant, surely it would be against the Dupres family that she would want revenge.  None of it makes any sense to a logical mind - but Vicky should still be trying to make sense of it.  It's her only hope.

I don't think Angelique ever thought logically. Emotion ruled her and while she wanted the prestige of marrying a Collins, it was Barnabas who spurned her love, thus, in her mind, he was the one who should pay. In truth Angelique would never have been accepted as a true Collins to many of the members of the family. She was "low class" and certainly Joshua would have tried to stop any marriage,  wether to Barnabus or Jereimiah.   If Angelique followed logic she would have forgotten Barnabas and the Collins family and found some lonely rich gentleman to live off of.

Nice to see you posting in the Watching Project, buzz!

I did not say that Angelique acted logically.  Heaven forbid that I should say such a thing!  If Angelique had acted logically, Barnabas would have married Josette and everybody - well, lots of people - would have lived happily ever after.  What I am saying is that if one assumes that the events up until now were based on a witch's efforts to reach a certain goal, and if one tries to determine the identity of the witch on that basis, one is doomed to failure because Angelique did not act logically.

Hi Lydia,

I get your point now. Sorry, my mind has been on Angelique and her actions, as you will note if you read my "What's love got to do with it?" post. It would be very hard to figure out what she was up to and why, and Vikki is not always the quickest to figure these things out. Of course, when you have help like Peter Bradford, there is very little hope....

Kudos to all - the acting in this episode was fabulous! I felt sorry for Barnabas, too - listening to his grieving parents and not being able to respond to them. This episode was very sad. Poor Naomi and Joshua lost both of their children, so their future is gone. The last scene, when Barnabas said, "Yes!" several times was very touching - I had goose-bumps as I watched it.

With all the time Vicki was spending in gaol, she should have had plenty of time to figure out that Angelique was the witch. But of course, she didn't. I guess Peter Bradford was distracting her too much. It's a shame that the writers chose to "dumb down" Vicki - she was much smarter when she first came to Collinwood. 

----- Sally -----

What a pity Barnabas wasn't able to witness Sarah's funeral. I realize he saw her die, but funerals provide a measure of closure when someone dies, and barnabas wasn't able to attend Sarah's or Josette's funerals, or any of his family members after he was cursed. Perhaps that's why he lives so much in the past. It's much easier to keep denying the facts when you haven't truly accepted them. I just think things might have been easier for him had he been able to have a bit of closure to all these deaths. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense. 

It's amazing how events can change a person. In the beginning when Abigail was making such a fuss about the presence of a witch, Joshua didn't believe in such nonsense. Now he's thoroughly convinced of their existence, and that it's Vicki.

What a pity Barnabas wasn't able to witness Sarah's funeral. I realize he saw her die, but funerals provide a measure of closure when someone dies, and barnabas wasn't able to attend Sarah's or Josette's funerals, or any of his family members after he was cursed. Perhaps that's why he lives so much in the past. It's much easier to keep denying the facts when you haven't truly accepted them. I just think things might have been easier for him had he been able to have a bit of closure to all these deaths. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense.

It makes a lot of sense.  My family does memorial services, not funerals, so I hadn't thought of it that way until I took what you said and imagined not attending the memorial service for various people I have loved.  Coming together with others to say goodbye and to talk about the person makes a difference.