592 (Nancy Barrett) - Time passes at Collinwood, and life goes on, but only from moment to moment, its fate dependent upon the frightening game of life or death being played out in the Old House on the Collins estate. There, on this night, a bizarre experiment is about to be performed.
The juxtaposition in the re-taping of the final scene was wonderful, moving from Carolyn to the clock to the creation and back--really well done!
Barnabas doesn't understand--if the life force is being drained from Carolyn into the other body, why isn't it showing any signs of life? Julia doesn't know. Barnabas orders her to shut down, they can't allow Carolyn to die. Adam demands to know why they stopped. Barnabas explains that they're proceeding as they did the first time. Adam wants Julia's answer, and she says she must check the bodily functions. Adam asks why they're both so still, but she asks him to wait. He agrees, reluctantly, petulantly. Julia prepares a shot for Carolyn, perhaps the only way to revive her. She injects Carolyn, then unstraps her. Adam asks what's happening, and Julia tells him Carolyn is unconscious and she's doing what she can to make sure she wakes up. Carolyn lies still. Barnabas, Adam and Julia watch her. Nothing. Julia checks Carolyn's pulse and Barnabas notes it's taking quite a while. Her pulse beat is decreasing, says Julia, and Barnabas becomes upset. Julia says recovery should have started and Adam gets angry--it isn't over, his mate isn't alive yet!
Julia tells Barnabas there's no point in further stalling--they had to stop because the experiment wasn't working. Adam accuses them of failure. Barnabas says Carolyn was in danger, that's why they stopped. Adam warned them that if something has happened to Carolyn. . .--she isn't breathing. It's faint, but she's breathing, Julia assures him, and she will do everything to make sure she recovers. Adam wants to take Carolyn upstairs, but Julia warns him he can't. Adam wants to take her where it's warm, but Barnabas reminds him he isn't a doctor and they must do what Julia wants. Adam tells him he's through listening to both of them, and moves to take Carolyn from the table. Barnabas orders him to leave her alone, but Adam reminds him he said she'd be all right, but she is now in danger--I won't keep her in danger, insists Adam, lifting her--I'm taking her upstairs and she will never be in this room again. Barnabas bars his leaving, but Adam screams for him to get out of his way. Julia advises Barn to listen to him, and Barnabas reluctantly steps away. Adam slowly carries Carolyn upstairs.
Julia tells Barnabas Adam shouldn't have been allowed in the lab, but Barn says Adam won't listen to reason. Julia notes Adam showed no concern at all for the mate, but Barn says he will once he knows Carolyn is all right--and she WILL be all right, won't she? Julia isn't sure. They're talking about something unique, and she doesn't know the effects of the experiment--Carolyn reacted differently from Barnabas. Could Carolyn die? asks Barnabas, and Julia replies yes, if she stays unconscious, her chances of survival are very slim. Barn tell Julia to go upstairs and save her, but Julia says the injection should have revived her--there's nothing else she can do. Go up and be with her, urges Barnabas; if Carolyn dies, there will be no stopping Adam--he will turn Collinwood into a blood bath!
Adam takes Carolyn up to Josette's room and places her limp body on the bed. He covers her with the infamous all-over-the-place crocheted quilt and tells Carolyn she's safe now--he'll stay with her and they won't hurt her anymore. Carolyn comes to with a start. Adam assures her she'll be all right, he won't leave her. He brought her upstairs, he explains. She asks what happened. The experiment? She remembers now. I never should have let you do it, he laments--I had to stop it, something was happening to you. She realizes it didn't work and is sorry he doesn't have a mate.
He doesn't care about anyone; as long as she's alive, he's happy. She feels terrible, sharp pain that lifts her body off the bed; she asks him not to leave her. It's better, she says. The experiment. "I was alone somewhere," she says, "in a room, a cold, empty room. No way out." She envisions the two tables in the lab, side by side. "I cried out for someone, but no one could hear me. And then the walls began to crack, big cracks all around! And the walls fell down." Adam doesn't understand. "The walls fell down and disappeared." Different body parts begin to drift through her vision. "Outside, there was fog, I couldn't see anything, the fog was so thick, I was frightened. I tried to run, but I couldn't move. Then I saw something in the fog, hazy forms floating in the air, it began to take shape, a collection of dead things, disconnected, coming toward me, wanting something from me, wanting life, MY life! They want to take my life from me!" Adam tells her he won't let them do it. Growing hysterical, Carolyn goes on, "I felt it in that room, I felt life being drawn out of me!" She writhes in agony and he begs her to let him get Julia. The pain won't stop, she tells him, until it's all over.
He promises not to let it happen, but she says no one can. She must go to Collinwood, she says, she wants to tell them to take care of Adam. Adam doesn't want anyone, only her. She's so cold, she says, and she lifts her head and says, "Adam. . ." Carolyn falls onto the pillow. Adam calls her name, then takes her limp body into his arms. Julia comes in and asks what happened. He's rocking her, crying, telling Julia Carolyn was awake. They spoke to each other. He told her she'd be all right, he wasn't wrong, was he? Julia wants to examine her, but Adam doesn't want to let her go. He finally releases her after one last hug and keeps caressing her hair as Julia listens to Carolyn's heart. Julia, horrified, walks away. "She's dead," she says. "Dead," repeats Adam in disbelief. "Carolyn's. . .dead?" He orders Julia not to say anything more to him. He stands and leaves the room. Julia asks what he's going, and he just turns and looks at her, his eyes looking nothing less than monstrous. Julia turns to look at Carolyn, lying dead on the bed.
Barnabas stands in the basement, his face bathed in red light. Adam comes downstairs. Barn asks why he isn't with Carolyn--what does he want down here? Adam won't respond, then finally says, "Carolyn is dead." "Oh my God," says Barnabas. "You killed her, you and Dr. Hoffman," accuses Adam. Barnabas says it isn't true, and Adam says it is, and Barnabas will pay for it: "You will pay, Barnabas." Barnabas says, chillingly, "You think no one else will miss her, only you, because you think it is YOUR loss. Well, it isn't! She is part of ME, not you, she is one of MY family, and I feel as deeply about her as you THINK you do. YOU were the one who wanted her as the life force. If anyone killed her, it was you!"
Adam reminds Barnabas he told him what he was going to do if anything happened to Carolyn--"first Vicki, then everyone in your family!" Adam starts to go, but he and Barnabas get into fisticuffs, and grapple on the stairs. Adam smashes Barnabas on the head and sends him tumbling down the stairs where he lies unconscious at the bottom. Julia comes downstairs, looking exhausted. She sees Adam leaving, calls his name, but he doesn't respond. She closes the door after him. Barnabas lurches upstairs and tells Julia Adam is insane--he tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen--he's heading to Collinwood to make good on his threat. They must go after him. Julia, trying to support him, cries, "No!" They must stop him, he says, grunting in pain. She leads him to the drawing room and helps him into a chair. We must warn them at Collinwood, insists Barnabas, but Julia says he'll never make it to the front door--she'll go to Collinwood. Barnabas says he can't just sit there, and painfully insists he must go, Julia couldn't stop Adam once before, in the woods. She tells him she'll give him some medication and orders him to sit and wait. He leans back in the chair, gasping in pain. Julia rushes upstairs to get her bag and is stunned to find Carolyn's body has disappeared!
NOTES: Where did Carolyn's body disappear to? Adam left empty-handed. Was this another case of Julia mistakenly declaring someone dead who is actually alive? Or did someone else show up and steal Carolyn's body? Do dead bodies get up and walk away? As Sarah Collins once said, sometimes they do!
In any event, this was great stuff! Loved Barnabas' retort to Adam about just WHOSE loss this is--Carolyn is Barn's relative, granted, but a few generations removed. Adam sure seems to adore Carolyn, and her death might send him on a deadly rampage.
593 - (KLS) - The shadow of death hangs over the great house at Collinwood. On this night, at the Old House on the Collins estate, two people live with the fear that all those who live at Collinwood may be destroyed before sunrise.
Julia races back downstairs to inform Barnabas that Carolyn's body is gone. Barnabas says that's impossible - a body can't just disappear. (Since when is that unusual around Collinwood?) Did Julia make a mistake? Julia insists that Carolyn was DEAD. Barnabas thinks Adam must have taken the body, but Julia says no, she saw him leave the house. But IF he did take it, then that means he didn't go to Collinwood, and they have more time than they thought to warn the family. Julia meanwhile insists that the reluctant Barnabas take some stimulant pills. (that Julia, always ready with the drugs. This really IS the 60's, isn't it)?
Willie arrives to complain that he and Maggie are both going stir-crazy in the mausoleum's secret room. Barnabas isn't interested--they've got a bigger emergency here. Carolyn died following the attempted experiment, and Adam's gone to Collinwood to destroy the Collins family. Willie says Adam can't be at Collinwood, because he saw him sitting alone under a tree in the woods (aw, poor guy, but it's nice that he put his killing spree on hold to mourn Carolyn a bit).
Barnabas explains that Carolyn's body has disappeared. Julia theorizes that Adam must have changed his mind about getting revenge. Barnabas wants to know if Adam didn't take the body, who did? Willie says none of it's going to matter if Maggie gets out and tells the police about Barnabas. Maggie's discovered how to open the secret door, and he's only been able to keep her there when he leaves by chloroforming her. He can't keep doing it, and besides, he's got to get some sleep--sooner or later Maggie's going to get out and Barnabas will be finished for good. Willie's amazed that Barnabas doesn't act worried, but Barnabas is too preoccupied with the Adam-killing-everybody situation. Julia tries to convince Barnabas that Adam has probably changed his mind and that they should concentrate now on doing something about Maggie--she'll go hypnotize her. She tells Willie to come to the mausoleum in an hour to take Maggie home.
Maggie wakes up on the floor of the secret room and pulls herself upright by holding onto the coffin. Seeing that Willie isn't there, she slides aside the door--opening step-stone and pulls the lever. The door grinds open to reveal Julia standing in the doorway. Maggie's not thrilled, screaming at Julia to stay away and demanding to know what she's going to do now--kill her? Julia tries to calm her and assures her she's not going to die here. Maggie assures Julia that she remembers everything Barnabas tried to do to her--how can Julia be willing to help that monster? Julia explains that Barnabas regrets everything and he's changed now. Maggie's skeptical--he's not even human, he's an animal. Julia calmly tells Maggie that if she wants to be free to go home, she just has to cooperate. She pulls the hypnotizing medallion out of her bag and starts twirling it around. Maggie stares at the kaleidoscope colors as Julia soothingly repeats that it's the key to her survival--she's going to get very drowsy and close her eyes--close her eyes... Instead of closing her eyes, Maggie opens her mouth and lets out a crazed scream. She knows now why she forgot two months out of her life--Julia hypnotized her with that same medallion to make her forget what Barnabas did to her! (Uh oh, now only is Barnabas in serious trouble, Maggie's remembered Julia's role in her "forgetting," too!)
Julia says it was for Maggie's own good then and now--it's the only way for her to be set free. Maggie shouts that she'd rather DIE than forget what she knows--and Julia can just tell Barnabas that the whole world is going to know what he is! (Excellent acting on KLS' part, but both she and Karlen were totally brilliant during these scenes, which must have been physically grueling as well as emotionally draining.)
Barnabas is in deep thought in the drawing room of the Old House. The despondent Julia arrives and tells him that Willie did get back to the mausoleum, but Maggie's still there because the hypnosis didn't work. She's sorry, and Barnabas, a rarity for him, says it's OK--he knows she did what she could (what? He actually seems to appreciate something Julia tried--but failed--to do? Barnabas, you're getting better!) They argue a little about whether Maggie can or can't be kept longer in the secret room, but Barnabas says it doesn't really matter. He's feeling guilty--one family member is already dead and the others are in danger from Adam, all because of him. Julia's inclined to think that if Adam was going to do something, he'd have done so already--Adam wants a mate more than he wants to destroy the Collins family and knows they can try the experiment again.
So, says Barnabas, shall we risk somebody else by trying it again? He's made up his mind to go to Collinwood and tell them everything, including that Carolyn is dead as a result of the experiment She wants him to reconsider, but he snaps that he's prepared to accept all the consequences. She says he's committing suicide, but he insists that he doesn't want Julia to suffer any of the consequences--he'll do his best to exonerate her (the pre-1795 Barnabas would have tried to blame the whole mess on her; he IS changing for the better)! But he's sure he's doing the right thing. He exits the Old House, leaving the unhappy Julia to stare at the fire.
At the front door of Collinwood, Barnabas has second thoughts. He can't tell them Carolyn is dead and explain everything he and Julia have done--where will the explanations end? But he steadfastly decides he must tell them, no matter what happens to him. He knocks with the knocker, his head bowed and resting against the door. The door squeaks open slowly. Barnabas is astonished to see CAROLYN standing in the doorway!
NOTES: I still remember how this shocked, stunned and completely freaked me out in 1968. I half expected it, because I didn't think Nancy Barrett was leaving DS, but whoa, baby, she amazed me when she did that!
Imagine what would have happened if Barnabas had gone through with telling the family everything--it would have been such a shock, and surely would have led to Barnabas having to tell ALL.) Something has once again saved Barn's bacon, and Julia's too--but there's still Maggie to worry about, and what can be done about her? If she reveals what she's remembered, Barnabas and Julia are goners.
Love, Robin
