Discuss - Ep #0834

Robservations

Robservations #834

It's so infuriarting to watch Edward buy into Petofi's "misjudged, misunderstood guy" act. Remembering how Petofi possessed Jamison,  possessed the boy with David's spirit, was willing to let him die, even willing to burn everybody alive at Collinwood at one point...now Petofi has convinced him that all this evil was because of Barnabas.

Petofi even calls Barnabas the single greatest threat to the Collins family when in fact it's Petofi himself who is the real danger. No matter how much Barnabas has screwed up history at this point, he's still striving to save his family from the evil schemes of Petofi.

I can't help but think if only someone other than Quentin had told Edward about Petofi, Edward might not have been so easily swayed by Petofi. But who knows....from what we've seen, Edward has never questioned what anyone other than Quentin has ever told him.

Major Milestones:
1. Magda told Barnabas that Quentin did not change and showed him Quentin's (werewolf) portrait. Magda also told Barnabas about Charity/Pansy's vision about Quentin dying in 6 days - on September 10th.
2. Barnabas looked for and found the I-Ching wands. He attempted to use them to go back to 1969 and ask Quentin's ghost how he died and who killed him.
3. Barnabas told Magda to tell Quentin to leave Collinwood without seeing Jamison.
4. Tate discovered that whatever he drew appeared.

At Tate's studio, Petofi called Edward "Charles". It was one of the few Thayer David bloopers.

All of a sudden, Barnabas was an expert on the I-Ching wands and the 64 hexagrams. I recall that it was Professor Stokes who studied the book and learned about them. Barnabas wasn't the one with all the information about them. It was pretty neat that Barnabas wanted to go back to 1969 to find out how Quentin died, though. Barnabas was all about saving Quentin; that's all he cared about.

Edward was really being stupid when he believed Petofi and did not believe Quentin. Indeed, Count Petofi himself was the biggest threat to the Collins family.  

----- Sally -----

Tate discovered that whatever he drew appeared.

How did he not know this beforehand?  We know that Amanda has been around for two years and nothing has clued him in before?  I realize this is a RD character, but really.  ANd then he freaks.  I'd be painting lots of jewels, money, etc.  
Then he manhandles the vase like it was one of his leading ladies.

Tate discovered that whatever he drew appeared.

How did he not know this beforehand?  We know that Amanda has been around for two years and nothing has clued him in before?

I was thinking to myself, "Maybe Tate has been so busy with commissioned portraits that he hasn't had time for drawing imaginary stuff," and then I remembered: when I was eight years old my parents had a portrait of me painted by a local artist.  I posed for it carrying a small basket, and in the portrait the basket has little red flowers in it - but the flowers didn't really exist; the artist made them up.  If some little red flowers ever appeared anywhere out of the blue in 1963, I never heard about it.

It's strange that Amanda's first appearance two years ago didn't take place in Tate's studio.  I was wondering yesterday, as Tate looked at his first drawing of Amanda, if Amanda was in black and white the first time she appeared.

Petofi refers to Kitchener as "Lord Kitchener" but according to Wikipedia Kitchener wasn't made a baron until October 31, 1898.

Dark Shadows I Ching is such fun.  Anything can happen!  I'm voting for Barnabas to go back in time from 1897 to Laura's previous incarnation so he can destroy her for good so she won't come back and marry Edward and...well, you know the rest.  And Dark Shadows being what it is, this will not mean that Jamison and David cease to exist, so the Collins family will not come to an end.

Did anybody wince at Magda's bad grammar when she asked, "Are these them?"

I see that Quentin smartly decided to stash away the painting-in-wolf-form.

The vase wasn't placed where Tate painted as it was at the end of the previous ep, a boom mic shadow floated across the closed closet, JF tripped, the wands (again) had to be rearranged off-camera to form the 49th hexagram, plus there was the blooper described by EmeraldRose, but these mistakes were minor compared to Frid's mishandling of some important exposition.  A case in point--

Barnabas:  "The ghost can tell us whether or not Count Petofi ever existed here or ever came here or whether he came because history had not been changed."
Huh?!  (And what a pity that no one will get around to asking Quentin's ghost if he'd ever heard of Petofi.)

And, make up your freakin' mind, Barnabas!--

Barnabas:  "Magda, you must understand everything that is happening."
Magda:  "Alright, Barnabas, I try."
Barnabas:  "Now if I am successful, my body will remain here in a trance-- my physical body. My astral body will go."
Magda:  "Astral body? What is that?"
Barnabas:  "My will, my force, my soul-- whichever you like. Now if you don't understand, don't try."

All of a sudden, Barnabas was an expert on the I-Ching wands and the 64 hexagrams. I recall that it was Professor Stokes who studied the book and learned about them. Barnabas wasn't the one with all the information about them.

Didn't we all become somewhat expert at the I-Ching from listening to Stokes talk about them?  But where IS that journal that was also found in Quentin's room in 1969?

Then he manhandles the vase like it was one of his leading ladies.

It's strange that Amanda's first appearance two years ago didn't take place in Tate's studio.

Well, the brooch didn't appear in the studio either, and made its way to Braithwaite & Sons instead.

Petofi refers to Kitchener as "Lord Kitchener" but according to Wikipedia Kitchener wasn't made a baron until October 31, 1898.

Good catch.

That was a sweet moment at the end when Magda touched Barnabas' shoulder before leaving him alone in the basement.