465 - Barnabas tells Vicki to go to his portrait and listen to him. When she does, he orders her to be ready tonight--when everyone is asleep, he'll come for her, wake her, and they will go away together and never return to Collinwood. "Yes, Barnabas," she says. "I will be waiting for you."
Vicki answers a knock at the door--it's Joe. She calls him Joe Haskell, confusing him. He came to see her, he says, which makes Vicki nervous. He senses something is wrong--she seems odd. He returns to her charm bracelet Maggie gave her for her birthday. You found it in the old Collinsport courthouse, says Vicki. He's surprised she knows, but she explains that's where she last saw it--at her trial. This further perplexed Joe. It was brought there by Mr. Trask, used it as evidence against her, she adds. Joe says there hasn't been a trial in the old courthouse for over 50 years. I know, says Vicki. I went there to get old fixtures out of the condemned building, he says--he'd think her crazy if she told him she'd been there. It's falling apart, he protests, but she says it wasn't falling apart when she saw it--this might prove she WAS there, but on the other hand, someone could have stolen it from her and dropped it in the courthouse.
Vicki isn't making sense to Joe, and he asks again what happened to her. Something strange and terrifying happened the other night, she says. He feels she must have lost it in the courthouse herself. She agrees. I was there, she tells Joe, but not recently--I was there a long, long time ago.
11 PM - Vicki sleeps in a chair in the drawing room. She hears Peter calling to her--help me!--where are you? He's in jail, in darkness. She tells him she hears him, she'll help, don't be afraid. The jailer arrives and gives him a dirty look. It's almost time, says Peter, they'll be coming for me soon. Vicki appears in front of his cell and tells him she tried to make the judges listen to her, but they acted as if she weren't there. There's no hope, he laments, but she says there is still time--she'll find a way to save him. How? he asks. I'll she'll find someone the judges will believe, she promises, then leaves, telling him to wait for her--she'll come back to him. Vicki finds Nathan Forbes with his head down on a desk. She wakes him. Miss Winters, he asks, what's your pleasure? They're hanging Peter, she tells him. I'm sorry I can't be there, says Forbes. You can't let him die, protests Vicki, but Nathan says he can't help him, despite knowing he's innocent. Vicki shot Noah, she reminds him--she tried to talk to the judges, but it didn't work.
They won't listen to him, either, says Nathan. Change your testimony, urges Vicki. Nathan wants to discuss them, not Peter. She begs him to do something decent. They have something in common, Nathan says. You're despicable! She accuses--you have no conscience, she says, Peter will die for a crime he didn't commit--please help him. Nathan says he's touched, he feels Peter is puling and tacky, not worthy of Vicki. He's touched by her feelings, and believes if he could, he'd do so, for her. It is possible, she insists. NO, it isn't, says Nathan, the judges can't listen to him, they can't hear him--he's powerless to sway the court for the same reason she is. They can't hear her, or him, when both of them are dead. Shocked, Vicki vehemently shakes her head.
No! Vicki cries, they're both alive, but Nathan says it's not true. She died by hanging, he reminds her, and he was strangled, not a dignified way to go, but he had no choice in the matter. He chuckles, and she says he's lying. He raises his glass in a toast to death, the best of all possible worlds, and laughs uproariously. Vicki returns to Peter's cell, but the door is open and Peter isn't there. She calls him, panicky, then sees him on the gallows, about to hang. She won't let them, she cries, pressing herself again him. He assures her he isn't afraid, he's all right, but she refuses to lose him when he's innocent. He says they will find a way to be together. She's been alone for so much of her life, she says, she thought falling in love would be warm, simple and beautiful. (she sure forgot Burke fast!) That's what it's been, she doesn't know how or why it happened, but she does know it won't end. They kiss, deeply, passionately, and the jailer draws her away. "I love you," says Peter. The jailer shoves Vicki away from Peter. Vicki cries out that SHE shot Noah, please believe her, Peter is innocent. The jailer places a bag over Peter's face, the signal is given, and Peter's legs twitch as he hangs.
Vicki awakens calling, "Peter!" Barnabas is there, demanding to know who Peter is. "Someone I met a long time ago," she says. Someone you cared for, Barn asks. Yes, she responds. Forget him, orders the vampire. I'm trying, she says. You knew I was coming tonight, he reminds her--are you ready to leave now? She moves away from him, upset. No, there's something I have to do first, to get peace--I must know if what happened during the seance really happened or was just a dream. It makes no difference, he insists, she's beginning a new, different life. She asks if he wants her to be happy. Of course, he responds. I won't be until I know for sure, she says, and there's a way I can do so--go to the Collins tomb and see if there really was a secret room--if there is no secret room, she'll know it was a dream; if they do find it, she'll know she lived through part of the past.
Vicki and Barnabas drive towards the cemetery; she's at the wheel. She comments on how quiet he is, and he says he's having second thoughts about what they're doing. He thinks he's mistaken, indulging her in her whim, but she insists it's very important to her. My instincts say it's all wrong, says Barnabas--I've changed his mind, you won't find what you're looking for. We have to go there and see, Vicki maintains. Barnabas is also concerned about the time--they must be on the ship and settled before sunrise. It won't take long, she promises. He reminds her she never told him who Peter is. Peter Bradford, she says, was very kind to her, defended her at her trial. She was convicted of witchcraft and he helped her escape, and that's how she came to be hiding in the mausoleum. Barn says her experience was only a dream. Why? she asks. If there was a secret room in the tomb, she wouldn't have known about it--she found out from Ben Stokes.
He was very kind and gentle, she says, and Barnabas agrees. Vicki was glad Prof. Stokes said things turned out so well for him. Barnabas asks if they aren't nearing the cemetery, and she says it's just around the corner. "What's that up ahead?" asks Barnabas. "Someone's stepping out into the road!" Vicki sees the man, who steps out to wave to them. "Barnabas," cries Vicki, "it's--it's Peter Bradford!" She swerves the wheel and there's the sound of crashing glass and metal as the car crashes.
NOTES: I remember thinking the first time around how strange to see a car accident on DARK SHADOWS, a staple of other soaps at the time (although there was a whopper during the Laura storyline, too, and the never-seen manslaughter incident). I wondered what would happen to a vampire who was in such an accident?
Barnabas once was responsible for making sure the secret panel in the tomb wouldn't open; surely he could do the same when they arrived at the mausoleum? Vicki might have pulled the ring but found nothing happened--case closed.
So we have a vampire and his victim heading off to get married. Pretty cool. But they didn't make it. How badly are these two injured?
466 - A nurse, calls Collinwood from the Collinsport Hospital; Julia answers in the Collinwood foyer. The nurse tells her that Barnabas Collins and Victoria Winters were just admitted to the hospital, and Barnabas is in critical condition. Julia immediately leaves, her forehead creased with fear. In his hospital bed, Barnabas murmurs "Millicent was right." A white haired doctor enters his room and takes his pulse. "Vicki, Josette," mutters Barnabas as the doctor checks his heartbeat. "Tomorrow, Vicki." The nurse enters the room. The doctor asks her for his report on the blood type. The nurse says he had no pulse when admitted, and his blood count the lowest she's ever seen. He orders plasma and to preparation for a massive transfusion, asking if the patient was bleeding extensively when admitted, and she says no. The doctor asks to see the patient's clothing. After the nurse leaves, he looks over Barnabas' shirt. "Vicki," Barnabas calls. In another room Vicki is being watched over by the Peter Bradford lookalike they almost struck, who tells the nurse he caused the accident. She orders him out. He wants to stay, but she says rules are rules, and he's gotta go. Reluctantly, he leaves, but lingers in the doorway until she follows him out--then he sneaks back in. Vicki awakens, calling Peter, and the man comes back into the room. She opens her eyes and sees him, and calls him Peter. He leans in close. (Barnabas calls Josette and Vicki, Vicki calls to Peter, obviously not on the same love wavelength here.)
Vicki sits up painfully, but he eases her back down. He tells her she's in the hospital. She remembers seeing his face in the headlights. They crashed into a tree, the man explains--Barnabas is alive--I pulled both of you out of the car--Barnabas kept calling Vicki. She's surprised he doesn't know who she is, I was sure you'd remember--we knew each other long ago. He seems puzzled. His face, his hair, his hands are all the same, points out Vicki--you are Peter Bradford.
I'm Jeff Clark, he corrects her, sorry to be upsetting you. He wants to help, tells her not to cry. Neither of them understands, which makes them perfect for each other. He wants to go, but she begs him not to leave. Where did he come from, she asks. The road, he says--he hasn't lived in Collinsport long at all and doesn't want to give her his life story after all she's been through--not 1795, but the accident, he says. He starts to go, promising he won't disappear. He figures she liked Peter and envies him that. Don't envy him, advises Vicki. The nurse returns, upset Jeff is still there. Jeff is unhappy to hear Dr. Lang is her doctor. When he promises to return tomorrow, she begs him to keep that promise. The nurse says she can only see relatives, and Vicki's visitors will be up to the doctor--you're lucky, adds the nurse. When Dr. Lang enters, Vicki asks about Barnabas. We gave him a massive blood transfusion, says Lang. His condition on arrival was puzzling--(he calls her Miss Collins)--and asks if she knows Barnabas well. He was in excellent health before the accident, she reveals--has he discovered anything? Not anything I didn't know about already, replies the doctor. Lang examines her shoulder and finds the marks on her throat, which she tries to conceal. It looks like you've been bitten, he observes, but she doesn't remember how she got the marks, and behaves weirdly about it--I noticed them a few days ago and thought they'd go away--why are they so bad? she demands. The nurse bursts in and tells Lang someone is trying to take Barnabas from the hospital He rushes out.
Julia, on the phone in Barnabas' room, is ordering an ambulance. Lang comes in. I knows who you are, he says, we know each other. I have been treating Barnabas, she says, who is in no condition to stay here. You can't move him, insists Lang, but Julia says only she completely understands his case. What is your diagnosis? asks Lang, and she says it's a rare blood disorder. It IS rare, he agrees, and difficult to control. What name has she give to this rare disease, he asks, but she evades the question. She starts taking Barn's clothing from the closet. Lang knows what it is--and first asks to see Julia's neck--he saw strange marks on Vicki and wonders if Julia also has them. (she wishes, sigh!) She is again evasive, demanding the necessary clearance to take Barnabas out. It's very nearly dawn, he observes shrewdly.
I have a lot to do, she says nervously, she isn't sure what the transfusion given in the hospital will do to him. Lang points out Barn had almost no blood, no pulse, no heartbeat--I envy you such an unusually interesting case, he says, but she insists they're wasting time. Lang has an interest in bizarre medicine and wants to discuss Barnabas, a member of the living dead, now. Your words, not mine, says Julia. Lang wonders how long Barn has been in this condition--time is passing, he says, which is important to both of them--what have you been doing, experimenting on a cure for a legendary condition? Do you want him to die? asks Julia desperately. He can't die, says Lang. He'll die if he stays here, she says. Why? asks Lang. If she tells him all, will he let her move him? Asks Julia. No, responds Lang, and she picks up the phone, threatening to go over Lang's head. He reminds her of the rules and she puts down the phone--you have no choice but to tell me the truth, Lang says--don't kidnap him, or I'll call the cops. Julia agrees to tell, but says Barn can't be exposed to any light--an eye condition, she lies. Lang accuses her of lying. I'm only trying to protect my patient. "He's a vampire, isn't he?" asks Lang calmly. That's ridiculous, says Julia. Lang knows otherwise. She again asks for the darkened room, and Lang promises to make it so. You're in a curious position, he points out--how long have you been treating such a dangerous ailment? Julia worries that Barnabas' body may reject the blood he gave him; there are many unknowns here. What more can I do for OUR patient? asks Lang.
Lang makes sure the room is completely darkened and is sitting beside Barnabas as he awakens, asking where he is. He looks at Lang. "Who are you?" he asks. Dr. Eric Lang. Barnabas remembers the accident and is panic-stricken about Vicki. Lang assures him she's fine and will be released in a day. Barnabas tries to leave, but Lang orders him to stay here--you've had a lot of medicine and you're suffering from shock. Lie down, urges Lang. Barnabas asks the time. "Nearly four," answers Lang. Call Collinwood to send a car for me immediately, commands Barnabas.
Lang says, I've been trying to tell you--you've been injected with new and experimental drugs--I had no choice but to use them--you must stay so I can study the effects--this is vital to both of us. Only one thing is important to me, says Barnabas passionately. "To be home before dark?" asks Lang, upsetting Barnabas. Why are you asking--what do you know about me? demands Barn. You must stay in this room, says Lang, I must speak to you. "Tomorrow," insists Barnabas. "After dark?" counters Lang. "Then come to Collinwood," says Barnabas wearily. "You just don't understand what has happened to you, Mr. Collins," says Lang. Barnabas struggles out of bed and nearly falls. You're too weak, Lang warns him--it's vital that you stay here. "No!" cries Barnabas. Barnabas pulls his shirt from the closet and sees Lang at the window, about to open the drapes. "What are you doing?" Barn demands. "It is four o'clock, yes," says Lang, "but four o'clock IN THE AFTERNOON!" Violently, the doctor yanks open the drapes, letting sunlight flood the room. Barnabas screams loudly, over and over, and covers his eyes with his hands.
NOTES: VERY DRAMATIC SCENE the first time I saw it, with Addison Powell monumentally overacting as the mad doctor. I wondered whether Lang was a good guy or bad, and why Julia would leave Barnabas with him this way, giving in to Lang so easily. I assumed Lang shared his plans with Julia and wondered why she wasn't there at such a climactic moment for Barnabas. After all, she worked hard to effect a cure, wouldn't she want to be with Barnabas under these circumstances? I would think so.
Love, Robin
