Episode #241 - Two people will face a frightening fantasy of an existence out of the past--a young boy, who believes that he can communicated with an apparition, and a missing girl who is unable to remember her true identity.
David talks to Maggie/Josette, who is played today by KLS instead of the silent stand-in. Her voice is high-pitched, weird. She was in a place of death, she tells him, but she's come back. She seems surprised to hear him refer to this as her house, and shows him her music box, a gift from "someone." He's very happy she's conversing with him, as is she.
There's something important she's trying to remember, but it isn't coming to her. They'll talk often, she promises. He tells her of her portrait, which puzzles her, but he says it's her face. He shows her Barnabas' portrait sitting on the easel. She recognizes the name of the painter, Evans, and is distraught at the sound of the name Barnabas Collins, backing away from his portrait in her fear.
When Roger and Vicki knock at the Old House door, Maggie/Josette disappears. Roger is furious with David, who promptly lies that he wasn't looking for her and he never saw Josette, nooooo sir! Vicki, sniffing the air, asks if he's sure he didn't see Josette, and David says, nooooo!
Barnabas comes home to find this convention of Collinwooders in his living room and tells David his fondness for the Old House is insatiable.
Roger is clearly embarrassed to be found trespassing and tries to laugh it off. David again tells his cousin, noooo, no Josette here! Roger, probably trying to change the subject, admires the portrait, saying the pose makes him look just like his ancestor. David murmurs, "Barnabas Collins" thoughtfully, and Barnabas asks him why he says his name so peculiarly. David doesn't really answer, and Barnabas, seeing them out the door, wishes David a special good night. Brrrrr!
Maggie/Josette sits at the vanity, listening to her music box. Barnabas comes in and closes it, then sits down and asks if she saw people in the house. She doesn't remember. He warns her that no one is to see her, and if there's any chance of it, she's to come upstairs.
Why? she asks. Because people might think she resembles someone else--Maggie Evans. She says the name, seems to like it. No, Barnabas says, your name is Josette Collins and always has been. "I am Josette Collins," she repeats obediently, and he opens the music box so she can hear the tune again. She sits and listens, staring blankly into space.
Sheriff Patterson pays Barnabas a visit and is disappointed when Barnabas not only gives him an alibi for Willie for the night Maggie disappeared,
but will even sign an affadavit swearing to it! Barn has a bad moment when they hear the music from the music box, but the vampire gets out of that one by explaining to the sheriff that it was only a music box he was restoring, and the darn thing has a bad starting mechanism! He sees Patterson out and gazes upstairs.
Roger sips a brandy and demands that his son obey him for once and keep away from the Old House. To underline that, he tells Vicki to make his son write the word honesty and it's definition 50 times the next day. (Bart Simpson, watch out!) Vicki and David discuss Josette, and this time, after she admits she smelled jasmine at the Old House, he confesses that he spoke to Josette and they had a real conversation and she was different, so different, this time--she cried, and tried to remember something and had a music box. Vicki is mystified by the whole thing. Sheriff Patterson stops by and tells Vicki he regrets that he is going to have to cut back on the search; he just lost his chief suspect, thanks to Barnabas. He has no evidence, no clues--no case! The sheriff confesses he fears Maggie might be dead.
At the Old House, Maggie drifts downstairs, music box in hand, calling, "Little boy. . .where are you? I need you. . ."
NOTES: Maggie remembers the little boy she spoke to, and now she needs him. Does she remember, deep down, who she really is? Is her personality too strong to be subjugated under Josette's, despite the bites, the music, the constant reminder that she's Josette? Will Vicki try to make sense of it all?
Episode #242 - The sun that rose blood red at dawn hangs brightly over the countryside, but even its fierce glare is not able to reveal the hidden secrets that mystify the finest minds, and even the darkness of the night past did not hide the fear these mysteries inspire--unconquered by darkness and by light, indifferent to the assaults of the rational mind, terror and mystery continue their terrible union, creating an ever-deepening mystery, an ever darkening terror.
Burke pays a visit to Dave Woodard and they discuss how Sam is nearing the end of his rope without news of Maggie. Burke homes in on the research Dave is doing on Maggie's blood; perhaps, as Woodard suggests, if they know what was wrong with her, they can treat her when she's found. Dave has found something about the blood sample that is frightening, mysterious, even terrifying, and he keeps saying he's going to get "Hoffman," a "good man" and excellent doctor, to look at the sample, too.
This is our first mention of the doctor who would later prove to be Julia Hoffman.
Dave suggests Burke stop by before going to Sam's cottage to play chess with him, and perhaps he'll have more concrete info then.
Liz and Roger are in the study, arguing about the family accounts, which are missing large sums of money.
Liz promises she'll fix it up so it can be properly audited, but that isn't Roger's concern--he knows Liz is being blackmailed by Jason and wants to help. Showing far more patience than we're used to seeing from him, Roger tells his sister he personally knows what it feels like to be at someone else's mercy. She accuses him of cruelty, but he says he knows Jason is using a secret against her. He wants to stand by her, and begs her to let him help. She, in turn, begs him to leave her alone. It's a tense, sad scene, and you can feel how empty Roger feels that his sister is unable to confide in him--and how bereft and lonely she feels in not being able to do so.
While Liz tries, over and over, to get Jason to understand that she can no longer give him any money, he's blathering on about a picnic they went on many years ago, and a flowering peach tree. She was pouring the wine and he made the toast. . .now what was that toast again? (Jason, the bastard, isn't even showing up for the job she created for him at the cannery, apparently.)
He assures her he'll resign himself to no more money, if he must, and calls her "My darling," which pisses her off. Time will tell, predicts Jason, and he'll get his rewards "in their ripeness of time." (Hmm, are these hints that he's Vicki's father, too? Probably not, since he'd surely bring that up as a second attempt to blackmail poor Liz.)
Liz assures Roger that the accounts are now straightened out. She apologizes for their ugly scene earlier that day. He's concerned about her, and she knows that. Although she can't tell him the whole story, she's frightened and lonely, and needs him. He promises to stand by her, a nice scene between this often-at-odds brother and sister.
Dave and Burke find Woodard's office a complete shambles--the slides and samples of Maggie's blood have been stolen and the office wrecked, apparently by a madman with supernatural strength.
Now Dave, who insists this means Maggie was forcibly taken from the hospital, is willing to apply the words to this situation he was loath to before--impossible, and terrifying.
NOTES: So Barnabas must have done the dirty work himself this time, going to Dave's office to steal the blood samples. Of course, he had to make sure suspicion is turned away from him completely, and those blood samples are damaging evidence--and Dave already seems to suspect supernatural origin.
I believe this is the episode in which we hear Burke refer to the microscope as the microphone. Hey, they're both micros, anyone could make that mistake! And look at how often stray microphones (out pal, Mike R. Phone) keeps showing up in scenes as a surprise cameo!
The scenes between Liz and Roger were wonderful. These two aren't exactly the most loving siblings in the world, but when faced with trouble, blood is thicker than water for the Collinses, and it's a shame she feels she can't tell Roger exactly what Jason is holding over her head. He had his own experience being blackmailed, and had to "pay", in one way or another, to Sam and Laura to protect himself. Surely Liz must realize her brother will understand and want to help. At least Roger promises to stand by her, no matter what. That's rare, coming from him, and shows he really loves his big sister.
Love, Robin
