Fashion notes first. . .
Yay! New dress for Judith. And it's a snazzy one too. Green--always a good color for Bennett. Nice rich looking fabric and a great cut. Liked the upturned collar with the white frills beneath. Very flattering. Hell, this storyline is noteworthy just for her clothes alone.
I love Beth's jaunty little pill box hat. Not as crazy about her striped dress. Terry Crawford's quite tall and thin as it is. The dress made her look even more long-waisted. And what is with that enormous black bow on her derriere? Yuck. I prefer the navy silk with the scotch plaid details.
Poor Jenny, she deserved better than what she got and poor Beth. Not only has she been feeling like trash for fooling around with Quentin, but he kills her charge and then takes off leaving her with a dead body in her bedroom. Classy.
Kind of interesting to watch Quentin deal with all this. He clearly believed his own press, because he's obviously shocked to discover he has a conscience after all.
Just a question, by the way. How do you "accidentally" strangle someone? I mean, it takes some time and effort to strangle a person. It's not like a gun went off or you were struggling with a poker and "oops."
I really enjoyed the whole panicked cover-up. Some good performances all around. Although even then it would have been very easy to distinguish a strangling victim from someone who died from a blow to the head.
The desperate Quentin. As good as Selby is doing this, I can't help but dread this side of his character, because I got such a huge kick out of the devil-may-care insouciant rake. It's also too bad he turns out to be as bigoted as his brother and sister--we'll offer the gypsies $$$ and they'll go away even though they know damn well I killed their beloved sister. Uh huh.
Edward is pretty tacky and very cruel here. I mean, c'mon, at the least, he could have let Magda and Sandor know when the burial was going to take place. I've never been overly fond of Edward. On the other hand, you know there's a part of him who's totally enjoying Quentin's torment
On the whole, the dream sequences in 1897 are excellent. No one tops the one approaching written by the incomparable Violet Welles, but this one wasn't too bad at all. They do a much better job for some reason here in incorporating unreality into the nightmares.
I never cease to be amazed at the speed at which the Collinsport stonemasons get gravestones up and on the plots. Also find it odd that given their attitude, Jenny rated a headstone. It would have been more probable for them to dig a hole in the woods and toss her in. You'd think too, that since she does get a marker, that someone doing their "research" (Barnabas and Julia, I'm looking at you) would have come across it somehow.
Beth, sweetie, you have all the dirt on the family. You know (literally) where the bodies are buried. You just helped them out with a
major cover-up. This is where you politely remind Judith of this and suggest that either you still keep your job or that you deserve a hell of a lot more than two weeks severance.
I know this probably means I'm really petty and shallow, but I love all the family squabbling. Cracks me up every time.
Jenny's legacy is as pathetic as you will ever find: a rusty black dress (what
did they bury her in?) and two baby dolls. Speaking of which, I realize Quentin's got a lot on his mind, but you would think seeing these would register as a bit odd, wouldn't you?
And now we have Dorcas, slut wannabe. I really have to admire the construction of the Gruesome Greg and his willing acolyte plot, because the 1800s were a time of ecclesiastical fervor and you can sort of see why someone like Trask would have all these attractive women falling over him. Both the culture and his manner would have encouraged it.
You know Beth is doomed when she turns to
Rachel for help.
Okay, Rachel,
you don't understand it, but really maybe it's time you admitted that you're not exactly bright and it's better not to strain your brain and try. You worked for the family for a month or so and you didn't notice they were hipped on keeping up appearances? That certain relatives had a propensity for misbehaving? Sure, it's not moral or admirable, but it's perfectly understandable: the people whose help you need and who paid your check don't want scandal. Either leave town or learn to deal. Stop shouting about it because columnists who can't find their remote and have to listen to your whining and screaming don't deserve this kind of misery
Once again, I marvel at 1897 technology. Gruesome Greg threatens Rachel over the phone. Now, you wonder why I question this? Well, hey, it would have been a party line and I cannot believe that in all of Collinsport, there weren't gossips picking up instantly when they heard the ring assigned for the Collins phone. Ya gotta love it.
Dorcas, we hardly knew you.
The whole werewolf thing bores me, but anytime we get to see Selby's bare chest is a good time, so bring on the werewolf!
Luciaphil
