Discuss - Ep #0696

[Watching Project]

Robservations #696

[Lydia]

I love this episode.  Willie is a ball of nerves while Barnabas is calm and resolute.  I have the impression that it was opposite from that in real life - Jonathan Frid worrying about his lines while John Karlen told him not to worry.
 
Denise Nickerson is very nimble with that red ball that she uses with the jacks.  I remember Sarah used to annoy me with her (slightly bigger) red ball, because she barely threw it when she was playing with it - her hands would go up with it, and the ball was never more than a few inches from her hands.  I assume that Sharon Smyth was worried about dropping it, but it still annoyed me.  And then Amy casually gathered up the jacks as she and Maggie were talking. Admirable.
 
I was imagining Quentin turning all of the residents of Collinwood - not just Maggie, David, and Amy - into their 1897 counterparts, starting with Willie.  But then I decided it wasn't very likely that Quentin would want Willie's 1897 counterpart around.
 
Lovely moment when Barnabas, still unable to see the ghost, defies him anyway, declaring that Quentin wouldn't have any of them.  Stirring.  At this point I don't see what Barnabas can do to stop Quentin, but it was still a good moment.

[alwaysdavid]

I really dislike when they use the dirty slides during the voiceovers.  It was really noticable today because they had a daylight scene when they were talking night happenings.  How hard would it be to have someone blow the dust away?
I enjoyed the shot of Maggie and Barnabas though the cell door as a reminder of their past relationship and then Willie comes in further reinforcing the reminders that they once had a past in this same house.  Then later at Collinwood when Barnabas says, "You are Maggie Evans."  I wanted to say, but not so long ago you wanted her to be someone in the past also.  When she was trying to remember who she was, I wanted her to say, "My name is--- Josette."  The episode shows how Barnabas has come full circle from being the one to fear to the protector.  I'm not sure Barnabas would see the irony of the situation.  He seems all consumed by his new role as protector even to the exclusion of his persuit of young women. 

[Midnite]

I get that Maggie was lured to Collinwood where she became possessed, and as this other persona changed into the Victorian clothes and returned to the drawing room to be discovered by Barnabas, all this in under 45 minutes... but how did her hair get put into ringlets? 

[MagnusTrask]

Magic!   This is a supernatural show...

To enjoy DS, I keep having to turn off that area of my brain that reacts as I would to a science-fiction program.

[Lydia]

I guess when the alternate personality was installed in Maggie, her hair automatically responded.

[IluvBarnabas]

I too noticed the irony that Barnabas was trying to convince Maggie she WAS Maggie when awhile ago he was trying to get her to believe she was Josette. I couldn't help but think "Now here's your chance, Barnabas. Tell her she's Josette!"

I like to know where the heck David was hiding in the house. Or was he? Could he have been hiding in the secret room? It sounds silly, but not totally incomprehensible. I imagine Barnabas searched the house inside and out. I also believe that Quentin knew that's what they would do so keeping David at Collinwood would not have been to his advantage. Having reestablished his hold on David, he could simply have told the boy to hide in the secret room until it was safe enough to come to the house without being caught.

[Midnite]

I guess when the alternate personality was installed in Maggie, her hair automatically responded.

LOL  Yesss, my hair has at times behaved as if it were possessed.  Sometimes by demons.

Thanks for your explanations, Magnus & Lydia!

[EmeraldRose]

Willie is a ball of nerves while Barnabas is calm and resolute.

It was fun to watch Barnabas and Wilie together while they were searching for David and Amy. I'm sure JK relished being able to play an over-the-top, frightened Willie once again. He's so cute when he acts that way. 

Denise Nickerson did an excellent job in this episode. I loved it when she froze as Quentin was controlling her. Her demeanor at Collinwood was really spooky. 

It was strange to see Maggie dressed in 1897 clothes, but it was also strangely familiar.  This time, the tables were turned when Barnabas was trying to convince Maggie that she was herself, instead of trying to convince her that she was someone else (Josette). It's nice to see Barnabas as a protector instead of being pernicious.

----- Sally -----

[Roland]

Willie must have been secretly pleased with all this ghost-possession stuff, since it afforded him the oppurtunity to have his lady-love move into the very same house with him - no more trips to the cottage or even the Big House just to see her.

[Pansity]

I enjoyed the shot of Maggie and Barnabas though the cell door as a reminder of their past relationship and then Willie comes in further reinforcing the reminders that they once had a past in this same house.  Then later at Collinwood when Barnabas says, "You are Maggie Evans."  I wanted to say, but not so long ago you wanted her to be someone in the past also.  When she was trying to remember who she was, I wanted her to say, "My name is--- Josette."  The episode shows how Barnabas has come full circle from being the one to fear to the protector.  I'm not sure Barnabas would see the irony of the situation.  He seems all consumed by his new role as protector even to the exclusion of his persuit of young women.

Just watching this ep now (trying to catch up with watching project before something ELSE at work blows up and keeps me from watching with the watching project).  As soon as I hit that scene I had to scurry over here to post.  It's delicious, warped irony, that scene.  Interesting how sometimes they DO remember stuff and incorporate it, to such great effect --  then other times they forget  essential, important stuff -- like Edith needing to be grandmamamamamamamama in 1897.

I'm trying to place that dress -- anyone with a better memory than I have remember if it was used again in the 1897 storyline? Ghost Beth's dress I know was never seen again once they got into real time. Don't remember if I ever brought this up, but I saw a clone of that dress -- a Victorian wedding dress -- on a website way back when, and it was cited as being authentic period, complete with provenance.

And Denise Nickerson was just wonderful in this ep. A real kid, then a spooky possessed one.  Good bits of business while doing her lines.

Jeannie

[Midnite]

I'm trying to place that dress -- anyone with a better memory than I have remember if it was used again in the 1897 storyline?

I'm sure I don't have the better memory (!!), but we do see it in 1897.  Here are MB's wonderful screen grabs from the next ep of Maggie in the dress:


and of Rachel wearing it in #715 the morning after she heard noises coming from Edward's room (undoubtedly a rare occurence, lol):

[Pansity]

Thanks again for the detective work on the screen cap.  I never connected them up before, and the watching project is great for tying loose ends like that together.  Not to mention for making you pay attention and NOTICE things that could have been missed on previous viewings.

Jeannie