261 - Nightfall has come to Collinwood, and a cold mist blows in from the sea, a mist that clings to everything it touches-and hides unexplainable horrors that stalk the earth. In the subterranean depths of a deserted old house, there is a girl who dreads the approach of nightfall, for it brings a promise of death-yet hidden within it there is an unexpected hope of escape.
Barnabas calls to Maggie as she attempts to pull open the two doors. Sarah's flute sounds, seeming to give her the answer, and she goes through that doorway. Barnabas is close behind her, insistent in his pursuit. Barnabas arrives at the two doors Maggie faced and calls her name in a threatening tone. In another corridor, Maggie spies a light and ascends some steps. Barnabas forces one door open and enters.
Maggie staggers out onto the beach, into the night, Sarah's doll still clutched in her arms. Barefoot, clothes torn, she makes her way to a rocky spot and collapses. I'm free! She murmurs, tossing her head back and forth, breathing with difficulty. Barnabas walks over to her and gazes menacingly down at her.
In the woods nearby, doing what Sarah urged him, Sam searches, flashlight in hand.
You cannot escape, Barnabas warns Maggie, leaning down to grab hold of her hand. When he pulls, she lets out a scream. Hearing her cry, Sam calls, who's down there? Hearing Sam's call, Barnabas releases Maggie's arm and walks away. Sam, finding his daughter alive, cries with joy; he begs her to open her eyes and speak to him. You're safe, he assures her.
From behind a boulder, Barnabas watches this reunion.
Hospital room - Maggie lies in a bed, unconscious. Sam asks Woodard how long she'll be like this. When Joe arrives and touches her, Maggie jumps with fear. She must have been terrorized by someone, theorizes Woodard. Sam explain how and why he came to find Maggie-Sarah. Maggie mutters the little girl's name.
When she awakens, she asks her father for her doll, which is placed in her arms, making her happy. The three men exit Maggie's room and head into the waiting area. The evidence--her recollections of the distant pass muttered in a childlike voice, plus the fact that she doesn't recognize Joe, makes Woodard believe she's regressed to childhood. He hopes that, as she recovers, she'll feel more secure, but mostly fears for her safety, in case the kidnapper tries again.
He advises Sam and Joe that the public should be led to believe Maggie has died; he will fake both death certificate and funeral. He's going to send Maggie to a facility run by a Dr. Julia Hoffman, who is already interested in this case, so only she and the three of them will know the truth.
Sam and Joe go back to Maggie's room. Sam explains to Maggie that she's going on a trip-she'll be safe there. She grins with childlike pleasure.
Barnabas approaches the desk where a nurse sits; he asks about Maggie's condition. Dr. Woodard comes out and tells Barnabas that Maggie is dead-and she never regained consciousness.
Please convey my condolences to her father and Joe, says Barnabas with a barely-hidden smile of triumph.
NOTES: I still remember the first time I watched as Maggie ran from Barnabas, guided to safety by Sarah's flute--talk about exciting! And even at the beginning of this ep, where Maggie lay gasping on the rocks, sure she was free, to see Barnabas' shoes appear on the sand...!
Fortunately, the fates were kind to Maggie, and her father found her, clutching the doll that Sarah "loaned" to his daughter. So, Maggie is in the hospital, but as Dr. Woodard points out wisely, not really safe. His incredible, highly unethical plan to declare her dead is something most physicians wouldn't dare do. That's falsifying records, and even if it's for the best intentions, some might say he's doing the wrong thing. I like Dr. Woodard's pluckiness, and applaud his brave decision. He's doing what's right for the patient. I bet Dr. Ross on ER would approve.
Sad moments for Joe and Sam when they realized that Maggie's mind had snapped and she had reverted to her childhood to protect herself. At last Maggie recognized Sam, albeit from a 10-year-old's viewpoint; she didn't do the same for Joe, who looked heartbroken, to say the least. You know it was a hard decision to go along with Dr. Woodard's wild suggestion about declaring Maggie dead, but it worked on the person it had to work on best--Barnabas Collins. If I were Dr. Woodard, I would have wondered about a man who is only acquainted with the Evans family showing up at 3:30 AM to inquire into a rumor he'd heard in town. Who could have spread such a rumor? Sam wasn't anywhere near town, nor was Joe. I would have thought Woodard's suspicions might be aroused at Barnabas' inquiry.
We know Maggie is off to Windcliff, which means Dr. Julia Hoffman's first episode is heading our way very soon.
262 - The cliffs that lead from Collinwood to the sea have stood for centuries. The sound of the sea is a primeval whisper, tempting us to think the world will never change. But we cannot forget that the real world is a changing world full of knowledge and love and loss.
Liz comes into the drawing room and calls to Vicki, who has just learned that Maggie Evans is dead. Liz offers sympathy. Sad, Vicki reminisces-Maggie was the first person she met in Collinsport. Liz asks Vicki to be a legal witness to her marriage to Jason. Tell Carolyn the truth, urges Vicki, but Liz won't consider it.
Vicki promises Liz she'll think about it.
In the foyer, Vicki finds Carolyn, who is about to get together with Buzz, in one of her defiant, flippant moods, which changes to shock and sorrow when Vicki tells her about Maggie's death. Shaken, she asks Vicki for details, and tells her how sorry she is. When Vicki suggests that she stay in, however, Carolyn returns to bitchy biker chick mode and refuses. Vicki drops hints that she knows Jason has a hold over Liz,
but when Carolyn demands details, Vicki is forced to back down, and Carolyn leaves.
Vicki and Burke walk along the beach together. Soon, says Vicki forlornly, the water will wash away our footprints-and Maggie is dead. Burke expresses hope that the kidnapper will be caught and punished, but Vicki says she wonders about the kidnapper's actions. Burke realizes her thoughts are elsewhere, and wonders if there's a way to stop Liz' marriage.
He's concerned for Vicki's feelings, and she tells him she prefers the beach, where it's quiet, peaceful and dark.
Liz comes downstairs in time to hear Buzz pull up front on his motorcycle. Outside the front door, he's angry because Carolyn changed her mind and wanted to go home. Carolyn enters Collinwood with Buzz, and she greets her mother. Buzz refuses to stay, and he and Carolyn argue. Vicki comes in. Carolyn tries to urge Buzz to see her the following evening, but he belligerently says he isn't sure. He goes, his motorcycle noisy as he leaves the house.
Defiant at first, Carolyn softens, saying she saw Joe and the look on his face made her sad. She and Liz get into an argument before Carolyn goes upstairs. Vicki again encourages Liz to tell her daughter the truth, but Liz says she can't. I'll be your witness, Vicki assures her, adding, "In your own way, you're a very brave woman."
NOTES: My heart went out to Liz today. She can't ask her own daughter or brother to stand up for her at her wedding, and she has so little respect for herself, she was refusing the offer FOR Vicki! I felt so glad when Vicki said she'd be proud to stand up with her, and for that moment, as they stood together, I saw them as mother and daughter. Even if it wasn't planned that she was to be Liz' daughter, she SHOULD have been! Even Carolyn expressed jealousy at Vicki being asked to be an attendant (because, after all, while Liz and Vicki kept calling it being a witness, it's really the position of a maid of honor).
We met the new Burke Devlin today. He does look more the romantic leading man, and not so much older than Vicki, as Mitchell Ryan did-but I still will always consider Mitch Ryan the best Burke. His seaside respite with Vicki was pleasant; I like that set, too. They seem to be drawing closer together. It's obvious how much he cares-he wants to help her untangle the unhappiness she's facing and knows her life is very tied up with the Collinses now. When she was talking about Maggie, you really felt her loss. As someone who grew up an orphan, losing a peer must really hurt. When she discussed how warm and friendly Maggie was, I flashed on the wise-cracking waitress who called her a jerk, then remembered the pale, childhood-regressed young woman at the hospital yesterday. What a contrast!
Love, Robin
