Discuss - Ep #0705

[Watching Project]

Robservations #705

[Lydia]

Finally we see Edward!  And the mustache is worth the wait.
 
The interplay between Barnabas and Quentin was very enjoyable: Barnabas was having such fun acting superior to Quentin!  And all the time Barnabas knows that whatever Quentin's faults may be, at least Quentin is not a vampire.
 
Barnabas was rather daring, claiming he was bringing something for Edith from the head of the family in England.  All sorts of questions might have been asked.  And if I were Edith and I received such a present, I would want to write a thank you letter for it.  I daresay Barnabas could say he would enclose her letter within a letter that he himself was writing to the head of the family, but still, making people up out of thin air can be hazardous.  Barnabas is being much bolder than he was when he arrived at Collinwood in 1967.  Is it because he thinks he'll be in and out of 1897 as quickly as he was in and out of 1796 a few weeks ago?  Does he think that all he has to do to get back to 1969 is to get Sandor to chain him up in his coffin?
 
Edith said that Gabriel died 34 years ago.  That makes it 1863.  Naturally I wonder if Gabriel fell at Little Round Top at Gettysburg, fighting with the 20th Maine Regiment under Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.  It seems very unlikely, however.

[MagnusTrask]

Yikes!   Kudoes on the Civil War history!   Now I wonder how in the original timeline Gabriel's ability to go walkies was revealed.   Maybe the draft board.

[IluvBarnabas]

I too love the exchange between Barnabas and Quentin. There will be more, and they'll get more and more enjoyable.

I myself, if I had a choice between being a vampire or being a werewolf, would rather be a werewolf. You'd only have to be a monster for one or two nights a month, whereas as a vampire, you'd have to be a monster ALL the time.

Oooh...you can just smell the bad blood between Edward and Quentin. We'll see that Edward does have cause to despise Quentin, but I think he also feels a bit jealous towards his brother in regards to Jamison. I think in a lot of aspects, Jamison feels closer to Quentin than to his own father and Edward resents it.

[Midnite]

Now it's the Old House that's shown backwards in the voiceover.

I so want Judith's brooch.

as a vampire, you'd have to be a monster ALL the time.

Not to mention dead.  Yikes!

You'd need a helmet to protect yourself from the insults flying about Collinwood, such as--

Judith to Quentin:  "I shouldn't advise you to break things you can't pay for."
And (about locking the door to Edith's room):  "You'll probably go outside and try to scale the wall."

Barnabas to Quentin (about why he hadn't mentioned his gift to Edith before) "I was too busy defending my good name, thanks to you."

Judith while looking at Quentin (about letting Barnabas visit Edith):  "The sight of a gentleman might do her some good."

Quentin to Edward (referring to Rachel):  "Your new wife? No, no, too pretty."

Edward (after Quentin asked Rachel if she's married):  "Would it make any difference to you if she were?"

[alwaysdavid]

I noticed that it was said that Edward as the eldest was the only one to know the secret, yet all the other siblings know there is a secret.  It makes one wonder what kind of games Edith has been playing with the children over the years.  "Let the others be anxious"  tells a lot about how she manipulates the family to her liking. 
It appears that Rachel is much impressed with Collinwood.  How long before she learns about her resemblance to Josette?

[Midnite]

I noticed that it was said that Edward as the eldest was the only one to know the secret, yet all the other siblings know there is a secret.  It makes one wonder what kind of games Edith has been playing with the children over the years.  "Let the others be anxious"  tells a lot about how she manipulates the family to her liking.

I think that's a great point.  Even Beth knows about it, so do all the servants know too?

It appears that Rachel is much impressed with Collinwood.  How long before she learns about her resemblance to Josette?

In DS time, only 4 episodes.   

[tragic bat]

Quentin to Edward (referring to Rachel):  "Your new wife? No, no, too pretty."

I always found this scene quite ironic since later Edward nearly marries a girl with almost the exact same prettiness as Rachel...but who remembers the servants that well?

[EmeraldRose]

This episode marks the first appearances of Edward and Rachel. I enjoyed watching the exchange between Edward and Quentin, too. I particularly loved it when Quentin was speculating about who Rachel was!

Ooh! That last scene was exciting! What a scary thing for Edith to see! Barnabas obviously didn't know that he was the secret! Barnabas was pretty scared, too, listening at the door to find out if Edith was going to divulge his "secret" to Edward.

----- Sally -----

[Pansity]

Playing some seriously outdated catch up here....

Finally we see Edward!  And the mustache is worth the wait.

  I was waiting for him to twirl it a la Oil Can Harry.

Barnabas was rather daring, claiming he was bringing something for Edith from the head of the family in England.  All sorts of questions might have been asked.  And if I were Edith and I received such a present, I would want to write a thank you letter for it.  I daresay Barnabas could say he would enclose her letter within a letter that he himself was writing to the head of the family, but still, making people up out of thin air can be hazardous.

You know, I never thought of this till I read your post, but that's an excellent point.  The Victorians LIVED by letters, and etiquette.  One would NOT accept a gift without sending a thank you letter -- especially to someone from England. Likely also a long letter of introduction would have been expected to accompany the gift as well.  It would be the height of poor manners by the standards of the time. (And if anyone's thinking I'm exaggerating, my grandmother and her cousins I knew growing up were all born between 1880-1900, so I got the thank you letter indoctrination from all directions.)

Edith said that Gabriel died 34 years ago.  That makes it 1863.  Naturally I wonder if Gabriel fell at Little Round Top at Gettysburg, fighting with the 20th Maine Regiment under Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.  It seems very unlikely, however.

Would have been a nifty coincidence, but we do find out later why that wouldn't work.  On the other hand, maybe that's why the writer or writers picked on 1863.  History buff?

Jeannie

[Pansity]

It makes one wonder what kind of games Edith has been playing with the children over the years.  "Let the others be anxious"  tells a lot about how she manipulates the family to her liking.

The sense I've gotten is that she's been playing them off against each other for years, and Quentin has been allowed to get away with all that he does simply to spite the others.  The family reminds me for all the world of the family in "The Little Foxes";head games, manipulation, fraud and power plays.  That's even aside from the robber baron class's usual sense of entitlement and  being above the law, answerable to no one.

Q and his bully boy tactics are part of what makes think he's the youngest, and a spoilt brat.  He learned he could get what he wanted by being a bully, and the family, not to mention the Victorian culture, did nothing but reinforce the behaviour.  I get the feeling he always got what he wanted without having to go beyond threats.  Note the difference in reactions[spoiler]between when he threatened left and right to kill people, and how he reacted when he really DID kill Jenny, then thought he had left Carl for Barnabas to kill.[/spoiler]

Jeannie

[Roland]

I've often wondered if Jonathan Frid felt at least a twinge of professional jealousy when David Selby came on the scene as Quentin.  After all, Jonathan had had a good year-and-a-half-long run as the only real male sex symbol on the show before David arrived.  I can imagine that quite a bit of the fan mail and attention shifted to David at that point.  It's never easy in any area of life for a person to relinquish that kind of adulation, so I imagine Jonathan might have had a little trouble adjusting to the new order of things on the show at that point.

[Nancy]

It was Frid's idea to bring on a second leading man.  He went to Dan Curtis and told him that being the main character was getting to be too much and actually asked Curtis to bring on another leading male character. Hence the character of Quentin was brought onto the show.  Frid has told this story at the festivals and in interviews.  Frid is one of those oddball actors who would rather have more time to himself and privacy than adulation.  That's one reason why he didn't miss DS once it was off the air, another fact he has mentioned at the festivals and in print interviews.  He would rather walk down the street and not be recognized.

Nancy

I've often wondered if Jonathan Frid felt at least a twinge of professional jealousy when David Selby came on the scene as Quentin.  After all, Jonathan had had a good year-and-a-half-long run as the only real male sex symbol on the show before David arrived.  I can imagine that quite a bit of the fan mail and attention shifted to David at that point.  It's never easy in any area of life for a person to relinquish that kind of adulation, so I imagine Jonathan might have had a little trouble adjusting to the new order of things on the show at that point.

[MagnusTrask]

Not that I can claim to know much about JF, but he did seem to be the kind of three dimensional human being who might tire quickly of being the focus of media overkill.

[Roland]

Nancy, thanks for the info.  That was very informative and interesting.  It says a great deal about Jonathan as a person too.