251 - It is twilight, and a few fading rays of sunlight still cling to the walls of Collinwood. Not far away from the great house, the approach of nightfall strikes terror in the heart of one girl, for she either must submit to an unspeakable fate or kill--destroy in order not to be destroyed.
Barnabas didn't take kindly to Maggie's attempt to destroy him and realized she was faking being Josette.
He's going to kill her! Willie intervenes and said he'll have to kill him, too, and kill him first, if he kills Maggie (there's that heroic fellow we all came to know and love). A knock at the unlocked door (left so because Willie heard Maggie screaming down in the basement) saved the cowering pair from instant annihilation, as Barnabas had to go upstairs to answer the door before some busybody just let himself or herself in. The frown Barn gives the two of them is absolutely horrible.
It's Vicki, who explains that there's a curfew in town now, due to the attacks and Maggie's disappearance. He asks about poor Miss Evans in the past tense, which upsets Vicki. She might not be dead, Vicki says--but then again, she might, says Barnabas. "Unless she's being held by a madman," counters Vicki (zing, Barnabas!)
In the basement, Willie has his hand over Maggie's mouth, muffling her cries. He warns her to keep quiet and takes his hand away. She explains how she tried to kill Barnabas. She'd rather die than be like him, she wails. Willie reminds her that where there's life, there's hope--if she doesn't become his bride but can convince him to let her live, perhaps someone else will get them out of this mess.
Vicki tells Barnabas he's missed at Collinwood. He's been too busy to get down there, Barn explains. She sees the music box on a table and admires it; he plays it for her.
She likes it, she says, grinning, it reminds her of the past, and she SO loves the past! After Vicki leaves, Barnabas continues to listen to the music as he glances at the door through which Vicki departed. You can almost see the wheels turning in his head--to hell with Maggie! Vicki is the girl I should be going after!
Willie and Maggie hear Barnabas heading back to the basement. He reminds her to let him do the talking. Willie tries to convince Barnabas how good Maggie was, but Barnabas says she's going to her grave as common old Maggie Evans.
Cruelly, Barnabas says that she deserves to die, painfully, slowly, so that when she does die, it will be a merciful death. She'll die lifeless--and bloodless! Maggie cringes and cries out at these cruel threats, and even though the vampire warns Willie that he no longer needs him, either, he starts talking rapidly (his performance is stellar here). Look at how pretty she is, Willie babbles, you wanted her for your bride, give her a chance! Barnabas turns away, not wanting to look at Maggie, but does turn back. Barnabas drags the protesting, struggling Maggie away, leaving Willie alone, and locks her in a small, dank cell in another portion of the basement. She'll stay there until he makes his final decision, he informs her harshly.
Already working on his new conquest, Barnabas goes to Collinwood and gives Vicki a handkerchief that once belonged to Josette. She admires it and says she loves family heirlooms--she's an orphan, you know, and has always wanted a family. This being the first he's hearing about this, Barnabas is probably thinking, hmm, no family ties, no one to stop me! He warmly invites Vicki to the Old House to discuss the past with him.
Maggie sobs on what has to be a mouse-eaten, damp mattress in her cell. She cowers when Barnabas comes in. He wants to kill her, he says. "GO AHEAD!" she screams, no longer caring. He also wants her as his bride, he confesses, and for her to come to him of her own free will.
That she will never do, she informs him. Only her beauty is saving her, he reminds her, and right now, he's going to leave her in that cell. She begs him not to--she'll go crazy! "Perhaps madness is preferable to sanity or death preferable to life," he retorts. He locks her in, ignoring her plaintive crying. He's already found another candidate, and Maggie, for the most part, has already ceased to exist for him.
252 - There has been an announcement at Collinwood, an announcement that has shocked all those who live here, and filled them with disbelief. But there is one who will not accept this news, and is determined to do something about it.
Today we saw the first introduction of Buzz, Carolyn's chain-bedecked, beer-guzzling, motorcyle-riding hunk. We also saw the scene in which Joel Crothers subbed for the MIA Mitch Ryan at the Blue Whale.
It was hard to tell what distressed Carolyn more in her discussion with her mother--hearing that Liz is pushing her divorce through so she can marry Jason because she loves him or that she accuses Carolyn of having no life of her own.
You can see how very much alike mother and daughter are here, in their resolve to muck up their lives.
After a brief PTA meeting in the study with David's governess (he's doing great at math and English, poorly in history, and Rog wants Vicki to push him to do better), Roger makes a comment to Vicki and Carolyn that we are, essentially, the authors of our own screwed-up lives, and it's after hearing this remark that Carolyn looks in the phone book and calls Buzz, who is surprised to hear from her. She wants to take a ride on his new motorcycle, she giggles.
Mom's found love--so will she!
Joe and Vicki are having drinks at the Blue Whale when he tells her he saw Buzz' motorcycle gang revving their engines--and Carolyn was with them. On a second go-round, they left a pile of beer cans in their wake--and Carolyn was still with them. Vicki says Carolyn is just doing this to upset her mother, then suggests that Liz might be marrying Jason because he's charming and not unattractive. Joe, however, thinks Mrs. Stoddard is heading for a fall. Buzz and Carolyn lurch in, both drunk, and order more booze at the bar. Vicki and Joe are upset to see her in such gruesome company, and not at all happy when Carolyn drags Buzz to their table to introduce them. Carolyn, who says she has more money than he'll ever see, buys Buzz beer because he's out of "bread," and he says life is "a gas." She has been riding with him all day, and it's been so much fun!
To Joe and Vicki's discomfiture and disgust, Carolyn gives Buzz a big, sloppy kiss in front of them.
Buzz pulls up in front of Collinwood's front door (neither wears a helmet). He wanted to go around to the back, but she'll have none of that for her new beau! He says they "swing" well together, and they smooch hungrily. He refuses to go inside at first, but she drags him in, and he's impressed by the place. He says he'd love to drive his bike right up Collinwood's staircase and Carolyn tries to talk him into doing so, but he at least has enough smarts not to do anything that foolish. They go into the drawing room, drink some more, and dance to a transistor radio; then Buzz sits and watches Carolyn gyrate for a while. Liz comes downstairs, horrified that Carolyn has come home at 3 AM (isn't that when all the good stuff happens at Collinwood?). Carolyn introduces her to Buzz, who calls her "Mommy," grossing Liz out.
Liz tries to order him out. Carolyn soundly kisses Buzz and plops herself into his lap, introducing her mother as Mrs. Jason McGuire, screaming it after the retreating Liz, who arrives at the top of the stairs, unable to bear her daughter's jibes anymore, and struggles to open the difficult door.
NOTES: So, what do you think of Buzz? He almost seems to be a character of comic relief, but Carolyn has specific plans for him, whether he wants to be involved or not! Of course, she's using the biker to upset Liz--hey, Mom has an unsuitable beau, I'm doing her one better! He actually comes across as a better fellow than Jason, but that will be seen in the future.
Liz' struggle opening the door is on the blooper tape, I believe.
Mitchell Ryan didn't show up for work this day, so they had Joel Crothers at the Blue Whale with Vicki, and they obviously had to alter his lines to fit the scene. Did you think it seemed weird that he was there with Vicki instead of Burke?
Love, Robin
