562 - Joe orders Willie to come to the sheriff's office with him--he must be insane to rob a grave. Willie denies robbing a grave, but stutters over what he's doing there--it's none of Joe's business, says Willie defensively. Joe grabs Willie's arm and they begin to struggle. "You can't!" protests Willie.
Angelique realizes that something is interfering with Joe coming to her, she can sense Joe isn't responding, and begs Nicholas to help her. She has the power, Nick assures her, use it to force Joe to respond. Angelique calls to Joe again to come to her. Joe, struggling with Willie, releases him. "That voice," says Joe, but Willie hears nothing. Joe covers his ears--he can't listen. Willie asks what's wrong with him, isn't he taking him to the police? He should, agrees Joe, listening to the voice in his head. Joe knows what he should do, but Angelique's voice is all he hears. "No!" screams Joe hoarsely. "I can't let it happen." Willie is confused. Is Joe trying to decide whether or not to take him to the police? Joe says he can't decide anything, the decision has already been made. He wanders away, he's going where he has to go. Freaked out, Willie calls to Joe to come back, pleading with him. Angelique grins, it worked! Joe has heard her and is responding to her call. Excellent, praises Nicholas, now Joe will NEVER be able to resist her. She looks feral and hungry and happy.
Willie races back to the Old House, screaming for Barnabas. He runs around the house, looking for him. Barnabas comes in and Willie tells him Joe caught him in the graveyard--he caught him digging up a grave. Barnabas wonders how Joe, who seemed so ill this morning, had the energy to leave his room. All Willie knows is that Joe was heading for the police, and they have to get out before they come. They'll search the basement, find out everything, blathers Willie.
Barnabas assures him they'll fabricate a story, then asks Willie what he told Joe. Willie says he gave no explanation. "Fool!" cries Barnabas, who says they'll tell the police Willie wasn't responsible for what he did--Willie was in a mental hospital, so Willie could simply display irrational behavior sometimes. Willie protests that it isn't fair to dump the blame for this on him, especially since he didn't want to go in the first place. It's all you can do, says Barnabas--Willie getting caught was the risk they had to take. In a panic, Willie refuses to accept the blame. Barnabas asks if Joe went to the police. Willie is sure he did--where else would he go?
Angelique hears the door open and close. Joe is there. She was expecting him, she says. In a tortured voice, he says he didn't want to come--he wish he's never seen her. She says he doesn't mean that, and he says he does. He doesn't understand why she has this power over him, and she says it's the power of love. He doesn't love her, he loves Maggie, he protests--he doesn't even know her. She tells him her name is Angelique and his is Joe, and that's all they need to know about each other. He turns away; he doesn't want to be there, he HATES himself for being there! Ang assures him he won't feel that way for long--come to me and put your arms around me, she wheedles, holding out her arms and smiling. He refuses. She tells him it's useless to resist. "Come to me," she says, and Joe, looking like a man entranced, comes closer. She slides her arms around his neck and bites into his throat. (Weird, isn't it, how some vampire victims can't wait to give their blood to their attacker, while others protest, as Joe does?)
Once again, Joe awakens, his neck dripping blood. Angelique kneels next to him and asks how he feels. He doesn't know. He thinks he's all right. He's happy, and so is she. "Your eyes," he says, "I can't look away from them."
She tells him he belongs to her now and he must remember that and never try to resist her again. He wants to, he says, but he can't. Why? she asks. He shouldn't be here, he protests, there are other places he should be. He belongs with his cousin, he says, at the hospital--Tom Jennings will come out of his coma and I should be there. Angelique says, "Tom Jennings will die. That's the way life is. We die." Joe leans on the mantel. He should be with Maggie. Ang tells him to forget about her--he will in time. I'm in love with Maggie, he says. Angelique reminds him, "You need me." Joe admits that's true. In time his need for her will prove stronger than his love for Maggie, promises Ang. Joe wishes he could think when he's with her, but he can't. Don't think, it's useless, she tells him, just as resisting me is useless. She asks what interfered with him coming to her earlier, and he tells her he came across Willie Loomis in the graveyard.
Nicholas asks Joe what Willie was doing in the graveyard, and Joe asks where he came from. "The other room," says Nick. Did you hear what we were saying? demands Joe, wide-eyed. Nicholas overheard part of their conversation and found the last part quite interesting. Joe is angry that he was eavesdropping, but Nick insists it's his house. Angelique asks Nicholas for a few moments alone with Joe, but the warlock sends her to her room--he must talk to Joe. Joe doesn't want to speak to him--he wants Ang to stay, and, as he tells Angelique, "We don't have to take orders from him." Angelique tells him she must, and promises to see him again soon, very soon. She glides away, and Joe asks what right Nick has to give her orders--what's his power over her?--what's the power of this house? Nicholas tells him HE asks the questions. Joe doesn't feel he has to answer them, but Nicholas says if he doesn't, he can't see Angelique again; he can only see her when Blair says he can. "Your power over her is that strong?" asks Joe, and Nick says yes, and therefore his power over Joe is strong, too. Answer a few simple questions, orders Nick, and Joe agrees. He tells Nicholas Willie was digging up a grave, and he warned him he was going to the police.
Did you do that? queries Nick, and Joe says no, not yet. Nicholas is pleased, and Joe wonders why, but Nick says "Never mind." Instead of doing to the police, says Nicholas, you will do something I will tell you to do, and if you wants to see Ang again, you will obey. Joe looks horrified. Even though Nicholas' orders make no sense to Joe, after Nicholas urges, "Just do it," Joe reluctantly agrees. Joe asks when he'll see Ang again, and Nick says do what he told him to do--then he can see her. "All right," says Joe, and leaves. Nick is smiling.
Willie's suitcase clumps down the stairs and he firmly tells Barnabas he's getting out. Barnabas tells him he isn't going anywhere. When someone knocks at the door, Willie is sure it's the police. Barnabas tells him to go upstairs, he will handle this. It's Joe Haskell, not the police. He tells Barnabas he saw Willie in the cemetery at Eagle Hill, digging up a grave. Joe was about to report it to the police, but he chose to come to Barnabas first. Barnabas puts a friendly hand on Joe's shoulder and confidentially tells Joe he's very worried about Willie, whose behavior is, at times, very irrational. Barnabas is sure Willie is basically harmless, which is why Joe decided not to report him to the police. He owes Willie for saving his life, he explains to a relieved Barnabas, and doesn't want to give Willie more problems with a police record.
Barnabas promises to keep an eye on Willie and asks about Joe's speedy recovery after being so ill this morning. I wasn't as sick as I thought, replies Joe. Barnabas asks what Joe was doing in the cemetery, and Joe responds he was visiting a friend and took a shortcut through the woods. Willie races downstairs, overjoyed. He wonders why his employer isn't happier, and Barnabas says he finds Joe's behavior very strange.
Angelique sits, radiantly happy. Nicholas says she shouldn't--he just talked to the hospital, Tom Jennings is coming out of his coma, and if he says anything about seeing her coffin, they will both be exposed. Angelique looks appropriately dismayed, and Nicholas is downright grim.
NOTES: Superior performance from Joel Crothers today as the tortured Joe, and watching Nicholas and Angelique together is like watching a pair of black widow spiders spinning a web. We KNOW Tom Jennings isn't going to fare well!
Sometimes vampire victims seem almost in love with their attackers, other times they protest the attachment. Strange how it's different for almost everyone.
563 - Angelique asks Nicholas if she has time to go to Tom now. No, says Nick, he'll go in the morning as a concerned visitor. What if Tom speaks? asks Ang. Nicholas assures her it will be taken as the ravings of a confused man. What if they won't let Nick see him, asks Ang, and he says that would be a shame for himself and Tom--then he'd let Ang take care of him. She'd like that, wouldn't she? Yes, she indicates hungrily. Nick predicts a climax for Tom Jennings tomorrow that his doctors won't expect.
Collinsport Hospital - Nicholas walks the hall, but when he starts to go into Tom's room, claiming to be his lawyer, the nurse refuses him entrance. I must see him, insists Nicholas. Maggie interrupts, bearing flowers. The nurse tells her Tom is improving and allows Maggie into the room. Nick tries to follow, but she bars his way. Maggie has permission from the doctor, the nurse informs him. Maggie arranges a beautiful bouquet of red and pink roses on Tom's desk. Tom looks pale, his neck bandaged. Maggie tells him she and Joe have been visiting daily--they're so glad he's getting better. He looks at her, says her name. She asks if there's anything Joe can bring him, and indicates they're relieved he's going to be all right. He says, "Coffin-room, room with a coffin!" Maggie thinks it's a nightmare, but he says not. The nurse comes in to escort Maggie out, but Tom tells her to get Joe--there IS a coffin in the house. The nurse injects Tom with something that sends him to dreamland, and Maggie urges him to rest.
Out in the hall, Nicholas waits. Maggie comes out. You waited for me, she notes, glad he did. Nick is annoyed that visitors can't get any info from the staff of this hospital--is Tom out of his coma? Yes, says Maggie. Nick says that's great--but has something new developed? The accident happened after Tom left his house, and he feels responsible. Maggie says Tom isn't behaving like himself, but now he's talking about coffins. Nick is all ears to this. Maggie explains that Tom kept saying, "Room, coffin," over and over. Do you think he really saw a coffin? asks Nick, and Maggie suggest perhaps it's a terrible memory. He and Joe are cousins, she says, and Tom will tell Joe all. Nick says not to worry, he's positive "her" Joe will take care of everything.
Dusk, Blue Whale - Joe sits at a table, twisting his fingers around each other. He drinks, covers his face with his hand, very preoccupied. Maggie comes in. He points out that she's late; She's furious with him that he didn't show up or call last night. She wasn't even going to come, but wanted to tell him about Tom. He apologizes for not showing up, but she wants an explanation. Then she says to forget it, she doesn't want to be one of those women who force men into making excuses.
Joe tells her he fell asleep, he laid down after work and fell asleep--until 2 AM. She was worried about him, she tried phoning him! He didn't hear the phone. He glances at the door and she asks what he was thinking. It's getting dark, he says. He asks about Tom. Maggie promised him Joe would come to visit him tonight. Joe rises and looks out the window, miles away. Maggie asks about it, and he complains it's gotten dark so quickly. He lights the candle on the table and Maggie asks what's bothering him. "Nothing!" he shouts, banging his fist on the table, making her jump in her seat. "Nothing"!
Angelique sits up in her coffin, a rose clutched in her hand (that's strange!). Her fangs descend, ready, and she calls to Joe in her mind. "Where are you, Joe?" The man she is calling rubs his face. Maggie says, sarcastically, "All right, nothing is bothering you." He asks if she wants to finish her drink, and she says they have lots of time before hospital visiting hours--is he listening to her? Sure, he replies, but is unable to repeat what she just said correctly. She's annoyed that he isn't listening to her, and he screams at her again, "It's hard enough as it is!" Maggie is perplexed.
Angelique calls to Joe to come to her, he needs her, as much as she needs him. Come to the house by the sea, she calls, and Joe's eyes widen. Maggie finds his expression a puzzle, his behavior is very peculiar. Then he stands and says he has to go to the hospital, now. She says they won't let him in now, but he leaves, anyway, and Maggie sits down with a sob, leaning her head on her hand in despair. Nicholas finds her sitting there, looking downcast, and says he's completed the diagnosis of her problem--a lover's quarrel--he saw Joe storm out and offers her a shoulder to cry on. She isn't crying, she says, and he suavely offers her a confidant. She doesn't know what to say, but he does--he'll sit there and charm all her problems away. Maggie smiles and says she'd like that. Nicholas sits down, removes his gloves, and grins at her like she's going to be his dinner.
Maggie is smiling broadly as she watches Nicholas pull his handkerchief off another tall drink. She protests she shouldn't, she doesn't drink that much. He says this evening they should do everything they don't normally do, break all the rules! If she hates to swim after dark, they'll swim. If she's always home till midnight, they'll stay out until dawn. The camera focuses on his eyes as he tells her he's trying to take advantage of her, and she says she doesn't believe him. She promises him she'll see, and he says he likes women who have a sense of themselves. She isn't sure she does, but he says she must, since she didn't chase after Joe when he left. She isn't sure she ever wanted to have that much of a sense of herself. Nicholas is caressing the fruit in his drink with his ring finger and she says she's taking herself too seriously. I like serious women, purrs Nicholas, observing she feels guilty about sitting there with him. Nope, she says. You will, he predicts, after we have dinner. Are we doing that too? she asks. He says the evening hasn't turned out at all as she expected, has it?--do you mind? he asks. She answers that she should, but. . . Nick says if he were a magician (and he illustrates with the straw from his drink), she would be carefree and smiling. She says he IS a magician (honey, you don't know the half of it!), in a way, and he agrees. She says she'd love to have dinner with him, no guilt--she's tired of staying home, waiting--"Let's have some fun!" They raise their glasses in a toast to each other, and smiling, drink.
Joe enters the house by the sea, where Angelique waits. He tells her he doesn't understand why he comes there, he should be at the hospital visiting Tom, with Maggie. What's wrong with me? he asks, rubbing his head in confusion. She says he'll see Tom tonight--both of them will visit his cousin. Why, asks Joe, then it hits him--she did this to Tom, didn't she? He grabs her by the arms, shakes her. "DIDN'T YOU?" he demands. She nods. "No," says Joe, and she pulls him into her arms and feasts on his blood again, changing his mind as only she can.
In Tom's hospital room, Joe tells his cousin he's glad he's feeling better, they were worried. Maggie told him they were both coming tonight, says Tom, but Joe says she couldn't make it. Tom tells Joe to go to the police and tell them he isn't the kind of person who lies--it sounds strange, but it did happen, and to him--Blair, that's when it started--he saw the coffin. Joe says he knows Nicholas Blair well and there's no coffin there. Tom insists there is, and Joe must help him. Tom explains that he left Blair's house and was walking through the woods. It was dark, and it really happened--this beautiful girl, blonde, strange eyes, silent, wings like a bird, and there she was, standing there looking at him. She came toward him, her arms outstretched, and he couldn't move--she did this to him, she DID this to him!
He can tell Joe doesn't believe him, although he says, in a neutral voice, that he does. Tom begs him to go to the police if he believes him, and Tom fears Joe is only telling him he believes him. Joe promises to go and he'll see him tomorrow. Tom is delighted to hear his cousin is willing to help him. Joe opens the blinds, then the window. Tom asks what he's doing. It's hot in here, says Joe, but Tom disagrees. Joe suggests his cousin get some sleep. The relieved Tom leans against the pillow. Joe turns out the light over his bed, bids him good night, and leaves.
2 AM - Tom sleeps. A dog howls. The curtains blow in the wind. Tom moans in his sleep, twisting against the sheets. We hear the squeaking of a bat. Tom pulls off the bandage covering his throat. Angelique stands in his room.
Slowly, she approaches the bed, her fangs exposed. She leans down and feasts on Joe's cousin's throat, oh, so happily, draining him.
NOTES: Imagine the guilt Joe feels, knowing he was setting up his cousin for death--and after falsely promising to help him! Of all the terrible things the bad people do in this show, this is one of the worst--getting between Maggie and Joe, forcing Joe to participate in the murder of his cousin! It's really nasty, and both are only in it for their own ends--Angelique, to sate her vampire hunger and keep her secret, Nicholas so he can work on Maggie and cause dissension between the once-happy couple.
Nicholas is surely the smooth one, working on Maggie after her argument with Joe, putting the make on her while she's vulnerable. He's a snake, but a good-looking, charming snake!
And now, Tom will die, and another vampire will stalk Collinsport. Who will his victims be?
Love, Robin
