Discuss - Ep #0411

Robservations #411

What a drastic and vivid change newly vampire Barnabas from the human Barnabas! JF portrayed this change so perfectly. Regret, sorrow, anger, shock  and fear, all sum up what Barnabas is feeling. I still am curious as to what effect the curse has on Barnabas's mind, as we can see here, and indeed in episodes to come, that it does effect him emotionally.

Poor Ben, trying to comprehend what has happened to Barnabas, and Barnabas himself fearfully figuring out bit by bit of his cursed existence, it's just sad for everyone involved. 

Yes, yes, and more yes to Sunny_Collins's post.  This is where the soap opera format really becomes worthwhile.  We've had eight weeks get to know nice, well-intentioned Barnabas, and eight weeks to get to know clumsy, good-hearted Ben, and today the change in Barnabas was terrible to see, and Ben's difficulty in grasping what had happened was very real, and made me feel very sorry for him.

Was the lighting in the secret room any different from usual?  During the initial scene with Barnabas and Angelique, I felt that it added to the feeling that Barnabas had just stepped into a nightmare.

When Angelique described how a vampire must return to his coffin at dawn, I suddenly had a switch in my thinking.  Previously I had thought of the coffin as an inconvenient necessity in a vampire's existence.  Angelique made me think about Barnabas telling Willie that Maggie would think of her coffin as beautiful.  Now I'm thinking of the coffin as being central to the vampire's existence, always drawing him back to it, as if it were a magnet.  Perhaps the death or afterlife that a vampire experiences during the day is more real and vital to him than the life he has at night.  It doesn't really make sense, and I don't think it's true - but it's fun to think about.

I feel like a fool.  As Joshua opened the door to the secret room, I thought it was going to be a tough squeeze in the coffin with both Barnabas and Angelique.  It never occurred to me that Barnabas would use his bat form.  Clearly Barnabas is a faster learner than I am.

I feel like a fool.  As Joshua opened the door to the secret room, I thought it was going to be a tough squeeze in the coffin with both Barnabas and Angelique.  It never occurred to me that Barnabas would use his bat form.  Clearly Barnabas is a faster learner than I am.

The same thing happened to me, Lydia! I also forgot that Barnabas could use his bat form.

I thought it was great when Barnabas killed Angelique! Barnabas finally was able to get rid of her - for good (at least for a while)! However, part of me did feel sorry for Angelique, too. She did all she could to try to save Barnabas from her curse. She just got there a little too late.

I felt sorry for Barnabas and Ben, too. Barnabas' fate was a lot for a simple-minded man like Ben to comprehend. When Barnabas came back with the blood on his collar and running down the sides of his mouth, it was very unusual. It doesn't usually happen that way. I guess maybe Barnabas was messier because it was his first time. It was rather shocking to see him that way.   Barnabas' disgust at what he became was sad.

Excellent episode. It was a milestone, because it was Barnabas' first night as a vampire.

----- Sally -----

However, part of me did feel sorry for Angelique, too. She did all she could to try to save Barnabas from her curse.

I don't feel sorry for Angelique.  When she intended to stake him, that was pure self-preservation.  And if she had managed to save him before she died, she would have wondered why Barnabas wasn't grateful to her for saving him from the curse that he had made her put on him.

I agree with Lydia...Angelique went to stake Barnabas to save herself, not to spare Barnabas the torment that would come with being one of the living dead. As far as I'm considered, she is totally undeserving of any pity and deserved to get strangled by Barnabas.

Indeed, we now see a complete change in Barnabas now that he's a vampire now. He's no longer trusting, seeing as he was almost ready to kill Ben to keep his secret safe. Good thing for Ben he offered to help Barnabas. Barnabas is no longer gentle, as evidence by the blood on his face and admission he attacked someone.

I loved it when Joshua opened the door to the secret room and the bat flew out. It was actually eerie.

Great episode. Well acted by all.

(I'm watching the episodes I've missed in the past of the Watching Project).