269 - Death walks among us, calling on those he has chosen. And they follow him, for there is no alternative. He chooses his meeting places well, and arranges the time with great care. But there are those who seek him out, and ask for escape from the burden that life imposes.
Liz stands on Widows' Hill, agonizing over taking the jump. She paces. Just as she's gotten the courage to jump, Vicki, screaming, stops her. My life is hopeless, insists Liz, sitting down on a rock--I've betrayed everyone.
Vicki tells Liz she's displayed great courage and urges her to tell the others the truth. If you were to die here, points out Vicki, Carolyn would blame herself forever. Liz stands, looks out to the sea, then collapses in Vicki's embrace.
When Vicki and Liz return to Collinwood, Liz says that she never expected to come back here. Tell Carolyn the truth, says Vicki. Liz thanks her for her help. As Vicki is about to leave, Jason enters and shows Liz her wedding ring. He wants to try it on her, but she refuses.
Vicki leaves the room with Liz' permission. Liz crisply informs Jason that she will wear the ring, but only at the ceremony. Jason tucks the ring back in the box.
Burke, at the Blue Whale is on the phone, holding papers in his hand. He thanks the person he's speaking to, then hangs up. When Vicki joins him, Burke reveals that Jason has an "international reputation," accused of many serious crimes--he's wanted for questioning in several countries.
That won't make a difference to Liz, says Vicki sadly, but they leave anyway, heading to Collinwood.
Vicki convinces Liz to hear what Burke has to say. In the drawing room, Burke tells Liz the results of his investigation, but she refuses to look at the papers. Burke is forced to admit there is no actual proof of any crime, and Liz asks him to leave her alone. Jason comes in. Burke explains to him that he came to talk Liz out of the wedding, without success.
After Jason is shown the papers, he issues Burke a wedding invitation. Disgusted, Burke says goodnight to Liz and leaves.
NOTES: I watched Liz agonize over taking the jump and was so grateful when Vicki stopped her. You'll notice that, until Vicki pointed out how much her suicide would hurt Carolyn and David, Liz was still going to take that leap. Family is everything to Liz, and Vicki hit the right note. That scene was very touching, too, especially when Liz hugged Vicki. There's so little affection on DS, when you do see it, it's something special.
Loved Vicki's almost-bitchy reaction to Jason and her lioness-like protectiveness toward Liz when Jason attempted to have her try on her wedding ring. At first, when Liz refused to try it on, we hoped she might just cancel the wedding altogether, but even Burke's revelation of Jason's almost-crimes didn't deter her. You could clearly see Burke's confusion and Vicki's frustration when it was apparent Jason had won out and Liz said that she was going to marry him no matter what Burke had learned. When Jason invited Burke to the wedding to "shed a tear or two," I personally was hoping Vicki would jump on McGuire and start pummeling the black-hearted SOB.
270 - Soon the sun will set on Collinwood and the night in its inexorable journey across the land will plunge the ancient house into darkness. A darkness of the spirit, a darkness of the mind, a darkness of the will--and it will seem at times that light and truth have been banished forever, leaving behind the desperation and fear of people who do not know what the darkness holds.
Jason finds Carolyn in his room, which she has frantically searched in an effort to find out what he's using against her mother. She finds what appears to be a journal, breaks it open and has just started to read when he catches her. She tosses the book down. He orders her to pick it up and hand it to him, which she does when he grabs her hurt arm. I know you're forcing my mother to marry you! accuses Carolyn,
and he retorts that he expects her to marry Buzz and get the hell out of Collinwood--in his new role as Liz' husband, he will have her out tonight!
Blue Whale - Carolyn drinks at the bar, then puts a record on the jukebox. She's drunk, and the bartender advises her to go home. When Joe comes in, she tells him she's waiting for Buzz--and that Liz and Jason want her out of Collinwood.
There's nothing you can do to prevent the marriage, Joe tells her. Carolyn grows silent, thinking. Jason wants you to marry Buzz, says Joe. I won't marry Buzz, says Carolyn, but there is something I can do. Joe tells her he'll take her home, and they leave.
In the drawing room at Collinwood, Carolyn takes a gun from the desk drawer.
Vicki and Liz are in the latter's room, dressed for the wedding. Liz is concerned because she hasn't seen Carolyn;
everything seems hopeless. Vicki leaves the room.
Downstairs, Roger expresses annoyance that Burke is here for the ceremony. Jason comes in. Carolyn comes downstairs, looking satisfied, clutching a small evening bag. There's a knock at the door, it's the eminent Judge Crathorne, who greets Roger. They all wait for the bride to join them. Vicki comes in, surprised to see Carolyn. Liz descends the stairs as the judge describes how beautiful she looked the day she married Paul. Hearing this, Liz' face shows remembrance and despair. She enters the room, and the judge greets her warmly. Carolyn stands apart from the others, opening her purse to look inside and check on the gun, then closes it. Liz is pleased to see her daughter. The wedding starts. Liz and Jason stand before the judge. Liz requests that Vicki stand beside her. The judge asks that Liz and Jason hold hands; they do. As the judge begins to say the "I do" words, Carolyn reaches into her purse and takes hold of the gun. The judge asks Liz if she does, and Jason prompts her to respond: "I do." Liz stutters, "I. . .I" as Carolyn aims the gun at her future stepfather. Jason again tries to force Liz to answer the judge, but she cries out "NO!" and moves away from Jason. "I can't!" she wails, anguished. Liz walks beyond the judge, who restrains Jason with his hand. The judge asks Liz what's going on. With confidence, she turns and says, "I killed Paul Stoddard--and that man was my accomplice!"
She points to Jason triumphantly, finally free. Carolyn, shocked, drops purse and gun on the floor.
NOTES: Jason took off the kid gloves with Carolyn, didn't he, when he found her snooping in his room? Not only did he order her to leave her own home, that very night, he insisted Liz would support him in kicking out her own daughter. His "Goodbye" to Carolyn was icy cold. Hope he gets what he deserves, and soon!
So, Carolyn goes off to drown her sorrows at the Blue Whale and runs into Joe. Not only does he talk her out of marrying Buzz by pointing out that it's just what Jason wants, he gives her another idea--sneak the gun out of the desk drawer and shoot Jason before he can say "I do"!!
Liz' wedding dress was shapeless and hideous. It was sad to hear her reminiscing with Vicki about her wedding to Paul, her miserable marriage, etc. Roger wasn't happy to see Burke and less happy to learn Jason had invited him. It was the judge's turn to reminisce about Liz' first wedding, and it disturbed Liz something awful, as her face attested. I suspect it was a prime reason she couldn't go ahead with the wedding. I kept thinking, as Carolyn readied the gun, that it would be a shame to shoot a hole in such a pretty purse (and didn't the intended murderess look lovely?) Of course, when it came down to the wire, Liz couldn't say the fateful words to bind her to Jason. Instead, she turned to face everyone, pointed, and, in one of DS' most dramatic moments, announced, "I killed Paul Stoddard--and that man was my accomplice!"
And not for the first time, or the last, pandemonium reigned at Collinwood!
Love, Robin
