Discuss - Ep #0537

Robservations #537

What outstanding drama can be created out of sheer nonsense!
 
The scene between Willie and Maggie was great.  First I felt for Maggie, trying to be nice as Willie indulged his delusions, and then it was totally believable that Willie just backed himself into a corner and had no choice but to tell Maggie that Barnabas was dead.  Earlier in the episode, as he was comforting Julia, Willie was almost starting to come across as a little plaster saint, so it's good to know he's still the same idiot.
 
Grayson Hall was very moving today.  Once again she demonstrated her ability to put me right smack into Julia's shoes.
 
I suddenly wondered today: when the writers had Angelique pretend to be Cassandra, was it so that both Barnabas and Angelique would have other selves or identities?  Barnabas had Adam, and Angelique had Cassandra.  And of course the cases were completely different, but still it makes for a nice balance.

At the beginning of the episode - and at the end of yesterday's episode - I looked at the three flowers on Barnabas's grave and thought, "Hmm...where did they come from so conveniently, I wonder."  And then at the episode, I saw why they had to be there: so that we would know without a doubt that we were looking at Barnabas's grave, and not at some random pile of dirt.

I was sruck by the flowers at first, but then realized they were put there by one who loved Barnabas

Poor Willie! It sure was hard for him to keep a secret from Maggie!    It figures that Willie would want to say goodbye to her, since he loved her.

I loved it when Jullia yelled at Cassandra! It was great! I especially loved it when Julia slapped Cassandra!    (I forgot to mention the slap yesterday.)

It was a brilliant move by Prof. Stokes to go and get Julia to help Adam. She was the right person for the job. She was finally able to figure out the connection between Barnabas and Adam - without hearing the tape.

Boy, Barnabas and Adam didn't stay "dead" for very long, did they?! That was pretty exciting at the end, when Adam started breathing again and felt like he was suffocating.

----- Sally -----

I've always wondered what it was that made Barnabas and Adam come back to life so mysteriously. I mean Julia pronounced Barnabas dead, Stokes more or less pronounced that Adam was dead, then all of a sudden, Adam starts breathing again and Barnabas too.

Then I figured they must have been in a catatonic state, only appearing to be dead. [spoiler] (Boy, Elizabeth would sure have sympathized with them there, considering it happened to her not once, but twice! [/spoiler]

It was sweet to see Willie saying goodbye to Maggie,but I had to shake my head at him for blabbing to her about Barnabas. Maggie indicated that she wouldn't tell anyone until he and Julia were gone, but there WAS going to be some kind of investigation over what happened to Barnabas by the family and the authorities....and Willie and Julia's abruptly leaving would look awfully suspicious (well maybe not so much on Julia).

I loved watching Julia give it to Cassandra too.

It couldn't have been a catatonic state, but I thank you for the suggestion, IluvBarnabas, because now I know why (it's in tomorrow's episode, so I'll throw in a spoiler warning, though it's just a detail)
[spoiler]they had Julia calculating how long Barnabas could live in that coffin before the air gave out.[/spoiler]We know from this that Barnabas had to have been dead.  Perhaps the new infusion of vampirism into Barnabas was a heavy, time-consuming load for Adam to drain off. 

I loved the slap heard round the world.  Julia is the only one with the balls to do it.   LOVED IT!!  Victoria wasn't too bad with her smart ass remark either!

  Perhaps the new infusion of vampirism into Barnabas was a heavy, time-consuming load for Adam to drain off. 

I think that's it.    Adam's health and resilience was joined to Barnanas's, but it took awhile for the two of them to fight off... what?    I would think real lasting relief would only come when Barnabas was dug up.    Maybe Adam's managing to oxygenate Barnabas's tissues, by remote control.

I haven't seen this in awhile.

***

Taeylor -- That slap makes things real.   It cuts through all the drama and verbal sparring and elusive hinting, and in one brief moment makes it all connect on a human level.   How dare you.    I can't persuade you, I can't kill you, I can't even hurt you, but at least I can hit that smug face.

AMEN to the slap comment Magnus!! TRUTH in your words

I love this episode.  John Karlen is so poignant in his scene with Maggie, and that conversation between Julia and Cassandra!  All I can say is wow.  Grayson Hall really pulled out the stops and made us care for Julia.

One question though:  Wouldn't Julia know that Barnabas would be conscious every night in that coffin, presumably for all eternity?  Ism't that a horrifically cruel fate to consign someone to, especially someone you love.  I've often wondered about that in regards to Joshua as well, chaining his son up in a coffin so he could wake up every night trapped in there with no hope of getting out.  That seems somehow a much more hideous fate than a stake to the heart.

I was kind of wondering why Julia and Barney buried him.  Would that have held him down??  I thought vampires could rise out of their graves after being turned and buried.  Didn't Tom Jennings??

Yes, that burial seemed totally insane to me, for the reasons given.   I think I yelled incredulously at the TV when that happened.

I have an idea that during this watching I noticed some reference to a cross, presumably to be affixed to the inside of the coffin lid.  But I'm not sure about that, and anyway, it would still be, as Roland said, a horrible fate for Barnabas.

When we see Barnabas inside the coffin in Ep #538, he's wearing a chain around his neck with a small cross on it.

I just wanted to slap Cassandra silly. I wonder if she would have tried to find Barnabas and
help him escape from the coffin. That way he could have been grateful to her.

But it was dumb to bury Barnabas.  It seemed like Cassandra was waiting to hear the news
that Barnabas was dead.

I will have to look for the cross in the next episode.