Discuss - Ep #1106

[Watching Project]

Robservations #1106

[Lydia]

I hope Grayson Hall jumped up and cried "Hosanna!" when she read this script, because it was a great one for her.  For us viewers, too.

It's just wonderful that Roxanne is the vampire.  Barnabas is caught between his old Sweet Young Thing, Maggie, and his new Sweet Young Thing, Roxanne - who, of course, isn't Sweet, and probably isn't so Young, but might reasonably be called a Thing.  And on the fringes of this triangle - making it into a pentagram - are Julia and Sebastian.  Sebastian is in love with Maggie, and Maggie showed a distinct interest in Sebastian before Roxanne maliciously interfered by biting Maggie.  And Julia is in love with Barnabas, and nobody, not even Barnabas, would have blamed her if she had let Willie go ahead and stake Roxanne.  But Julia nobly stayed Willie's hand.  What a fascinating tangle!

I assume that Sebastian knew enough to put silver bullets in his gun.  But can he shoot Roxanne?  Clearly he was previously bitten by her.  The victimizing effects of a vampire's bite wear off over time, but can they wear off to the point that the victim could kill the vampire?  If Sebastian is able to do it, then Roxanne has been a fool for not biting him regularly.  And I don't think Roxanne's a fool.

There was so much to see today - Julia agonizing over whether to stake Roxanne, Julia holding her cards close to her vest as she talked with Sebastian, a few side remarks between Julia and Willie about "how Barnabas is",  Barnabas not fazed by Roxanne's attempt to bite him, Julia fiercely telling Barnabas that Roxanne was dangerous!  It was glorious.  And meanwhile the coffin-sitting duties have doubled.  Roxanne must be watched to make sure nobody lets her loose, and Barnabas must be watched to make sure nobody stakes him.  You need a scorecard to know all the vampires.

Incidentally, we've heard no more about the man whom Tad and Carrie saw at the cemetery a few episodes back - attacked by the then unknown vampire and apparently killed before he could die of blood loss.  There has been no word of terror in the town.  I wonder, did he leave a widow and a passel of orphaned children?  Did he work at the cannery?  When Willie kept saying that Roxanne was vicious, he was absolutely right.  On the other hand, Roxanne is the first vampire we've seen besides Barnabas who has had an interest in passing as an ordinary human being.  No wonder he's not willing to give up on her.

[tragic bat]

Julia annoyed me in this episode--of course Barnabas can go in there and tell Roxanne that they are the same.  She is not somehow more vicous than Barnabas is--hearing Julia say that makes me wonder if she was hypnotized to lose her memories of the past--but even now Barnabas finds a way of "eating."  Imagine the story Roxanne must have--she was probably not confined to a coffin for centuries, but led a rich, full life (see Anne Rice novels for examples--I want to see flashbacks of her living in Italy in the 19th century.)  Not talking to her is the death of imagination, and we won't get to know Roxanne better by leaving her alone in a coffin in an empty room, Julia!  And I don't imagine there is really much risk of Barnabas being bitten; what could happen?  Barnabas and Roxanne could live together, share their existance and their curse.   RT Roxanne needs character development, not cliche. 

[Lydia]

tragic bat, I think you want to indulge yourself at the expense of some fictional characters.  This course of action may sound perfectly reasonable to you, but how can you be so sure that you yourself aren't a fictional character and therefore liable to be treated in the same way by a character higher up the fiction chain?

Our-time present-day Roxanne is a fantastic character, and, from my vantage point, I would love to see more of her, but from Julia's vantage point, Roxanne is dangerous, and certainly more dangerous than Barnabas.

Barnabas was vicious in the past, but it is not certain that he is vicious now.  Julia apparently had no trouble getting bottles of blood for transfusions for Maggie, so I figure she finds it just as easy to get blood for Barnabas.  He's probably not killing random people, as Roxanne must be doing (I think it's safe to assume that the corpse found by Tad and Carrie in the cemetery was the work of Roxanne, not Barnabas), and he's not attacking people out of spite, as Roxanne attacked Maggie.

Not talking to Roxanne may the death of imagination, but not staking her could mean the death of some people whom Barnabas claims to love.

[tragic bat]

If Barnabas had his way, Maggie would be already be dead, several times over; so I don't buy his 'love' here, especailly if she were to regain her memories again.  I don't agree with Barnabas/Julia that it is good and mercifull to kill other vampires, either; Roxanne might enjoy being what she is, and who knows what deeper kind of arrangement she and Sebastian could have had that he violated to make her do this.  After all, Roxanne showed that she was interested in setting up an Institute for the study of the paranormal (or something along those lines) to benefit all of humanity; Barnabas could fund her project, and help encourage the human side of her.    Perhaps I am indulging myself here, but I'd desperately love to derail where the plot is (apparently) going and explore some other possibilities instead. 

[MagnusTrask]

That's a pretty blunt stake, Willie.  You'll be pounding all day to get that thing in.

Does Roxanne's attack on Barnabas prove that [spoiler]she really doesn't remember him from the past, as unlikely as that seems?[/spoiler]   Or can vampires feed on each other?   In some movies, that's treated as a friendly act....

[Lydia]

Does Roxanne's attack on Barnabas prove that[spoiler]she really doesn't remember him from the past, as unlikely as that seems?[/spoiler]

I've concluded that[spoiler]in the version of 1840 with which we are dealing in 1970, Barnabas did not bite Roxanne.  It is conceivable that the staircase through time took Julia to an entirely different time band, and that I Ching, willing as ever to help Barnabas, took Barnabas to Julia's new time band.[/spoiler]This theory generates other complications, of course, but I can dream up a few subtheories to deal with them.  If all else fails, I'll destroy the complications with a blunt stake.

[Taeylor Collins]

Great posts and points by everyone! Nice Thread!

9/21/70
It sure looked much lighter at Collinwood than it did at the crypt!

OMG—it’s Roxanne “give me your hand” Drew!  I love the eyelashes they use on Donna Wandrey! They are fabulous! 
“This one ain’t like him…she’s vicious!” Willie “I guess we both understand how things effect him!” Willie

I suppose in the DS vampire don’t sense one another although I think Barnabas said something about feeling a kindred spirit in Roxanne.  I just thought he said that because she was like the PT Roxanne. Perhaps he did feel something but he didn't zero in on the fact that she was a vampires! [spoiler]It would have been interesting to see how they dealt with Roxanne had the show continued![/spoiler]

Are there two Petofi boxes?  One on the Old House shelf and one in Collinwood?

I for one have to give it to Julia for not driving a stake through Roxanne’s heart.  She showed a lot of strength and resolve.  She showed how much she does love Barnabas and that she wouldn't do anything to hurt him.  I think this is another example how loyal Julia was to Barnabas. He has to know she loves him.  I think deep down he has a love for her he just doesn't see it yet.  I have read some great fan fiction though with him realizing he loves her. And not just slop, but really good stuff. One story I read he compared Julia to the flowers in his garden that keep finding their way into his garden although he keeps trying to keep them out.  The garden was like his heart and the flowers represented Julia.  The flowers were beautiful to him they just didn't go with what he previously planted.  It was a very beautiful analogy!