Idle Thoughts--I Don't Care if the Sun Don't Shine (Episodes 756-759)

Fashion notes first . . .

Nora's dress was adorable. The detail that is so often missing on the costumes of the grown women, was visible on her dress and Nickerson really did look charming in it.

I know our Nicky hates it, but I'm really rather fond of Angelique's poison green dress. It's a difficult shade to wear, but on her it looks stunning. The hair, however, is blah. Not accurate to the period and kind of dullsville (still it's a damn sight better than the Swiss Miss braids she sports in an upcoming storyline).

David Selby, not that there was any question about it, is one good looking man. Even playing a drunkard convincingly, he was damned sexy.

Laura's yellow dress. . . words fail me. Next commentary I'll say more if I can keep from gagging.

Onto the show. . .

Interestingly, Ben Stokes apparently died in 1816. In light of what's to come, big time continuity error

Hugely enjoyable confrontation at the graveyard. Frid was appropriately sinister; Millay was delightfully determined and Roger Davis . . . well, Roger Davis was Roger Davis, but less so than usual.

Heh. Laura neatly sidestepped Dirk's question on whether he was going to get to go away with her too. Chump.

By the way, time to trot out my theory again that I really don't think the Phoenix and Laura are one and the same. Yeah, I know Barn put the hypnotic eye on Nora, but somehow . . . I'm convinced that the Phoenix spirit has taken Laura's physical form and has some of the memories but isn't the same person. Not really.

[Barnabas is]"Rather different than the others" [Collins']
men] Put down the crack pipe, Angelique. Who the hell do you think you're kidding? Wake up and smell the coffee, toots. He's just like the others. Take away the vampire thing and you've got a Collins' male. And you, sweetie, witch or no, are a classic Collins' wife.

Oy. Is Angelique oblivious or what? Quentin's got his head in his hands, moaning, could obviously care less about her, Barnabas or her problems and she's just going on and on and on. Uber-witch there is quite the uber-bitch too. "How dare you go put flowers on your sister's grave when you should have been protecting the man I'm stalking, who wouldn't need protecting if I wasn't the woman they probably based Fatal Attraction on" (or the abridged version: "It's all about me."

Ya know, I watch Judith in these scenes and I watch Quentin and Angelique manipulating her and I really think that Judith knows a lot more of what's going on than they give her credit for.

I did love that scene with Angelique and Quentin: "You'll be first." "It might be you." Hehehe.

Some really good performances all around and some surprisingly taut writing from Sam Hall.

I really like the whole doppelganger concept, and these scenes really still do pack a wallop. There's something so brutal about seeing Dirk sitting on the floor like a broken rag doll with his throat bloodied.

However, (and you all knew there was a however), I'm still missing something with all these machinations. If Judith is supposed to be the conventional character everyone thinks she is, then

a)why is telling her the truth about Barnabas such a great strategic move?

b)how is it any kind of a substantial threat?

Luciaphil