1000 - Cyrus, Alexis and Quentin gaze down at the body of Angelique Collins, a corpse who REALLY looks as if she's asleep, rather than dead. Astonishing! says Cyrus. Dead over six months, yet the body is perfectly preserved, says Quentin--it's impossible--how has it happened?--you're a scientist, Cyrus, explain this. There is no scientific explanation, says Cyrus, no chemical explanation for a body this perfectly preserved. You always shared Angelique's fascination for the occult--is it possible she found some way to survive after death? asks Quentin. I don't know, says Cyrus. Close the coffin, Quentin, says Alexis. Not yet, he says, we can't simply let this matter drop--Angelique is dead, but her body remains perfectly preserved--for the sake of her rest and our peace of mind, the body must be destroyed. Destroyed? asks Alexis--how? I'll have it cremated, says Quentin hesitantly. You can't, insists Alexis, it would be wrong! Cyrus agrees--what's happened here is beyond the realm of human understanding, and the only thing to do is destroy the body. Angry, Alexis says, I won't allow it--and I can legally fight you, she tells Quentin--I have seen her will, and the law says you must respect her wishes--Angelique is dead, no matter what condition she's in now, no matter what anyone else thinks, she is dead. And how many people will believe that? asks Quentin, after they find out we've seen here? They'll all believe it after we swear ourselves to secrecy, says Alexis, we can announce that we opened the casket, and Cyrus and I were your witnesses, that we saw Angelique's remains, and you are now satisfied she is dead. The men look unsure. I don't agree with you, says Quentin, but will think it over. Close the casket now, says Alexis. The men do so as Alexis stands in a corner, back turned. Should we put it back inside? asks Cyrus. We'll leave it like this, says Quentin--no one else ever comes in here. Quentin, do you have anything else to say to me? asks Alexis. What do you mean? Quentin asks. You've forgotten why you came here tonight--all the doubts you had about me? she reminds him. He looks ashamed. I no longer have any doubts, nor will I have again, he says--you are Alexis, and I'm very sorry to have disturbed you--I hope you'll forgive me. (He didn't sound sincere.) Alexis looks at him and says, of course I forgive you--we should all go back to Collinwood. They leave the tomb--after we get another shot of the coffin.
Trask is stirring up the fire at Collinwood when a window blows open. He seems afraid to close it, but finally does. He hears a door slam and goes to check it out. Amy stands there. Why aren't you at the Loomis house? he asks. I don't want to go there, she says, it's lonely, no one to talk to or play with. Mr. Quentin will be angry if he sees you here, warns Trask--I'd better take you back, he'll be blaming me. I don't want to go back there! whines Amy. Don't be difficult, not at a time like this, he says. Like what? she asks--what's wrong, Trask? Nothing, he says. You've changed, notes Amy, you act like you're scared or something. I'm not, just tired, he says, he's been working very hard. He starts to lead her back to the Loomis house. Trask, she asks, did Quentin find out anymore about Dameon? What makes you ask about him? queries Trask. I was just wondering, that's all, she says. That's not all, shouts Trask--you've seen him again, haven't you
--where did you see him?--tell me--where! He shakes the poor little girl, frightening her.
Quentin, Cyrus and Alexis return to Collinwood to find Trask shaking Amy, hurting her arm, continuing to badger her about having seen Dameon. Trask, what are you doing? demands Quentin. Amy runs into his arms--I didn't mean anything! she cries--I asked about Dameon and Trask got mad at me! Quentin holds and comforts her, leads her into the drawing room and closes the doors--I'll be in to talk to you in a moment, he promises. He turns to Trask and asks, have you lost your senses? I'm sorry, says Trask--I'm afraid I lost my head--the atmosphere in this house, there's an evil presence here, sir, I feel it everywhere, ever since Dameon got back. Alexis grows upset. Get hold of yourself, orders Quentin. Trask again asks forgiveness. How did Amy get here? asks Quentin--who brought her? She came of her own accord, says Trask, I told her she'd have to go back and was getting ready to take her when you came in. Oh, you were? asks Quentin sarcastically--I'd never have guessed that when I walked in--you will take her back just as soon as I have a talk with her. Quentin enters the drawing room and closes the doors. Alexis tells Trask, Quentin and I put aside any doubts about Angelique's death--we went to her grave and opened her casket--and viewed her remains--Dr. Longworth was there, too. She asks the latter, tell Trask what we found. There can no longer be any speculation about Angelique's death, says Cyrus--her body is in the tomb, at rest. I see, says Trask. I think we've all become so preoccupied with ghosts, says Alexis, smiling slightly, we think the house is filled with them--and it isn't. I believe what you told me about Miss Angelique, says Trask, but you will never convince me there's no evil spirit in this house--I feel it! You can believe anything you want, says Alexis sternly, but there's no point in discussing it any further. Whatever you say, ma'am, he responds, and goes to the kitchen. The poor man is so frightened, there's no reasoning with him, says Alexis. I don't want to shock you, says Cyrus, but I agree with Trask--I have something important I'd like to discuss with you--can I take you up to your room? Yes, agrees Alexis. Trask watches them head upstairs.
Angelique's room - Cyrus, what do you want to talk to me about? asks Alexis. Angelique, answers Cyrus--I know she was your sister, but how well did you really know her? I'm afraid we were never close, the way sisters are, says Alexis--I suppose that the truth is, I never knew her at all. Then it's possible that we at Collingsport (sic), who were closer to her, knew her better than you did, suggests Cyrus. That's possible, agrees Alexis, what's your point? She and I shared a common interest in the occult, says Cyrus, but her knowledge of it was far superior to mine--being a scientist, I was always reluctant to accept anything supernatural--she kept saying all the time, she could come back from the dead, which is why she didn't fear dying--she had an uncanny rapport with the unnatural, but I never once believed she could survive death--until tonight. You don't know what you're saying, says Alexis. What we've seen here tonight, continues Cyrus, goes beyond the realm of anything logically possible--it's simply not physiologically possible for her to have survived death--and yet she has!--and that being true, I submit anything is possible, even her eventual return. Alexis, sickened, says, I can't believe that would ever happen. Whether you believe it or not, he says, you had better consider Quentin's suggestion
--for everybody's concern, I think the body must be destroyed (Alexis shakes her head, no), or we will never know what the consequences might be.
Drawing room - I'll do anything you tell me, promises Amy, but I don't want to go back to the "Willis" house. Quentin takes her hands in his--you keep on saying you don't want to go back, but haven't given me a good reason--I know what you told me, but I thinks there's more to it than that--what is it, young lady? You won't believe me, anyway, says Amy--you'll say I'm imagining things. I promise not to do that, he says--trust me, go on and tell me. Not having a playmate doesn't bother me that much--what does is the spooky feeling in that house. In Will's house? asks Quentin. Something is happening there, says Amy, but not something you can see--something is going on that makes me more frightened than I've ever been!
Gently, Quentin says, Amy, you can't just say something like that without trying to explain. But I don't know how to explain, says Amy. Try, urges Quentin--all people have a reason for their fears--usually it's not too hard to find, you just have to think about it. I have, she says. Has there been any particular time of the day or night when you've been most afraid? he asks. She thinks it over--I feel it all the time, she says, whenever I'm inside that house. I don't understand, says Quentin. Neither do I! says Amy--it all seems normal enough--Carolyn hardly spends any time there, and Will's so busy writing his new book... New book? interrupts Quentin, that's odd--Will hasn't done any writing for over five years. He's so busy writing now, he hasn't time for anything else, says Amy--I've stood in the doorway of his study, watching him, and he hasn't even noticed me--yesterday I went in there when he wasn't there, and I found two pages in the wastebasket. You still have them? asks Quentin.
Yes, she says, taking them from her pocket--do you want to read them? Yes, says Quentin. He takes them, sits down in front of the fire and reads: "In October, 1965, I wrote what I believed was the definitive biography of Barnabas Collins, but certain facts of history have recently been brought to my attention, facts which have proved to me that the life of Barnabas Collins as I constructed and recorded, are pure fiction and nothing more. Providence has now afforded me a second chance--I shall endeavor in these pages to set the record straight and tell the true and shocking story of the life of Barnabas Collins. Seeing a puzzled look come over his face, Amy asks Quentin what's the matter. I don't know, he replies, I read Will's original book on Barnabas Collins, and it's hard to see how he could have found out anymore about the man--I'll have to talk to him and ask him.
Angelique's room - Alexis stares up at her sister' portrait. Trask enters--you want to see me? he asks. Yes, she says--has Mr. Collins retired for the night? I believe he's working in his study, says Trask. I have something for you to do that I don't want Mr. Collins to know anything about, she says--I want you to drive me back to the cemetery to visit my sister's tomb again. It's rather late, points out Trask. I know, says Alexis, but I don't want to wait until tomorrow--I have my reasons. Whatever you say, he says--I'll have the car waiting in front in 10 minutes. Alexis looks up at her sister's portrait again.
Back at the tomb, we see Angelique's headstone. Trask, return to the car and wait for me there, orders Alexis. You shouldn't be there alone, he protests. I'll be all right, she assures him. The storm isn't far off, he says, I'll go get you an umbrella in the car. No, she says, just wait for me in the car; I won't be long. All right, ma'am, he says, and leaves. Alexis enters the tomb (they play some really scary music here) and opens her sister's coffin. She looks down at the seemingly slumbering visage of Angelique and wonders, what was your secret? She touches her arm--why do you still look as you did in life?--I only know that it is wrong--it goes against the natural order of things--I don't want to do what I have to do now--Quentin and Cyrus are right--your body must be destroyed.
The woman in the coffin opens her eyes and, with a slight smile, says, "My dear Alexis, you are always so right--someone must be destroyed--but it won't be me--it will be YOU."
NOTES: One of DS' coldest, scariest, most utterly terrifying moments! Alexis opens her sister's coffin, touches her, and voila--she comes to life! What is to come is even creepier, but that sure was a great start! Lara Parker is given credit for both roles today, as Angelique and Alexis. There is no doubt now that there are two different women, and Angelique's first act is to threaten her sister without even a hello.
Now Quentin knows Will is writing another book, about Barnabas Collins, and he's perplexed--why write about the same subject twice? And as I said before, Amy feels something is off-kilter at Loomis house, no surprise, with Will releasing Barnabas every night to conduct his interview with the vampire. Paging Anne Rice! Poor Amy, no wonder she's finding Loomis house so scary.
Now things are going to get considerably more interesting, I assure you! If they would only get rid of Sabrina this storyline might have some potential!
1001 - In one of the very best special effects ever utilized on DS, Angelique confronts her terrified sister, Alexis. There is almost perfect symmetry as we watch this battle to the death. We've seen cheesy special effects on DS, but it's obvious that this most important scene was done with care--and it shows. These scenes still have the power to raise goosebumps rise on my flesh.
Angelique sits up, smiling. Alexis, her face twisted with disbelief, gazes at her twin with terror, insisting, "No, this can't be happening, it isn't possible!" "But it is happening, dear sister, thanks to you," says Angelique. "You were dead!" Alexis moans. There were always so many things that didn't interest you, says Angelique, laughing, taunting--"you were always the innocent one, so content with life as it was, but I have always known that life is much much more than it seemed to be--I was able to master secrets you never dreamed existed!" We see the sisters face to face now, Angelique stripping off the long, white gloves she wears in her portrait as Alexis holds her coat closed in abject fear. The dead cannot live again, insists Alexis. "They can, to help the living," insists Angelique--how my body remained preserved, that will remain my secret, but I always knew that my spirit would never die, that someday someone would have to come and open my casket, and all that would be needed was the touch of a human hand--you gave me that! The warmth of your touch brought the life back into my body!" Angelique is stunning, exultant, but Alexis still doesn't believe it. That's what's happening now, and of course you don't believe it, mocks Angelique, but it is happening--you can feel that, can't you? It's so cold, whispers Alexis. And you will become colder, and colder, until all the warmth is gone from your body and you die! promises Angelique--I must have your warmth to sustain myself! No! protests Alexis. "Keep looking into my eyes, Alexis," commands Angelique. No, please! begs her sister. "You cannot resist me--you will keep looking into my eyes!" cries Angelique. "NO, I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" screams Alexis. Your time has come, says Angelique cruelly, and you must face it, you must accept it, you have only a few moments left, and in that time, you're going to tell me all I need to know before we change places. Change places? asks the shivering Alexis. You will take my place in the coffin, says Angelique, advancing on her sister, and I will take yours at Collinwood. NOOOOO! howls Alexis futilely.
Thunder rolls and lightning flashes overhead as Trask returns to stand outside the tomb, musing, she's been in there a long time. (He doesn't hear the screams?) What is she doing, anyway, how long does she expect me to wai?t--maybe something has happened to her, I'd better make sure she's all right--no, she made it clear she didn't want me in there--I wonder why?
Alexis, now wearing Angelique's blue gown, lies dead in the coffin (she even managed to change her hairdo). Angelique kneels beside her and says, how peaceful you look--and I'm so grateful to you for making my plan work so perfectly--you always were the considerate one--now you are me, and I'm you--and all that remains to be seen whether anyone discovers the switch we've made. Outside, Trask calls Alexis. Angelique says to her now-dead sibling, "Why, it's Trask--good, faithful Trask, he's become worried about you because you've been gone so long." Angelique responds to Trask. I know you told me to wait, he says, but... I'm coming now, she assures him. She closes the coffin. Trask enters the tomb--are you all right? he asks. Don't I seem to be? she asks. I don't know, he says, that's why I approached the gate, I heard you talking, I thought. You did, she says, I was saying a final prayer for my sister. Of course, says Trask, may she rest in peace. Angelique repeats, "May she rest in peace." Are you ready to return to Collinwood? he asks. Yes, I'm looking forward to it very much, she says. We get another look at the coffin, which now contains the body of Alexis, murdered by her own sister.
Collinwood drawing room - The window blows open and the chandelier sways. Quentin gazes around, calling to Dameon--is it you?--try to communicate with me--what do you want here, why have you come back? Dameon! Who's responsible for your coming back--Angelique? You know the secret, don't you, that the body isn't decayed--is that the reason for your presence here? The lights flash off and on, the chandelier stops swaying. Trask returns with Angelique, who looks proprietarily around the house. She thanks him--that will be all, she says. She enters the drawing room, where Quentin greets her--I thought you were spending the rest of the night in your room. No, says Angelique, I decided to go for a short drive. He invites her in--there's something we must discuss. She gazes lovingly around the room. Is something wrong? he asks. No, I just can't believe how very lovely this room is, she says. I know how painful it is for you, he says--but we must discuss the matter of Angelique. There's no longer anything to discuss, she says---I'ves just been to my sister's tomb, that's where I asked Trask to drive me. Why did you go back there again? demands Quentin. I was so confused, she explains, and disturbed after my first visit there, I felt I should go there again, think things over very carefully--and now that I have done that, I have decided you and Cyrus are right--Angelique's body must be destroyed--and the sooner, the better--she gives an evil RT Angelique smile into the camera.
Quentin enters the drawing room and asks Trask, were you able to reach Cyrus? Trask, placing glasses in the bar, says, Sabrina said Cyrus would return about three. Quentin checks his watch-- it's after that now, he notes, I'll try reaching Cyrus. What will you be wearing to dinner at the Conway's this evening? asks Trask. I won't be able to make that dinner engagement, I have other plans this evening, says Quentin--cancel on Mr. Conway, tell him I'm going out of town. Yes sir, says Trask. Quentin picks up the phone and calls Cyrus. Engrossed in his work, Cyrus is annoyed at the interruption. Quentin apologizes for bothering him--I know how busy you are. Is anything wrong? asks Cyrus. Meet me at the Collins tomb at sundown, says Quentin--I can't discuss it over the phone, but will tell you when we meet--can you make it? Yes, I'll be there, Cyrus promises. Quentin thanks him; both hang up. Cyrus is again interrupted by a knock at the door upstairs--Chris. Cyrus unlocks the door and let him in--I hope it's something important, says the doctor, I'm very busy. You're becoming the absent minded professor, jokes Chris--you sent me a note this morning containing several instructions and said if anything wasn't clear, I should come and ask you--I canceled an appointment to come here. I'm sorry, says Cyrus--that note did slip my mind, was there something you didn't understand? I'm baffled by you request that I take five thousand dollars out of your account and put it into a new account under the name of John Yaeger. That's correct, says Cyrus. Can you tell me more--is it some pseudonym you're planning to use? asks Chris. No, says Cyrus, John Yaeger is an acquaintance I met recently who is going to help me with my experiment. Five thousand dollars, says Chris--you're not the kind of man who can pay that kind of money to someone you hardly know.
I may not have known Yaeger very long, says Cyrus, but I know him very well. Are you in some kind of trouble with him? asks Chris. Trouble? repeats Cyrus evasively. You've been very secretive about your experiment, points out Chris--is there something that would be awkward if it came out into the open? In other words, says Cyrus, annoyed, is John Yaeger trying to blackmail me?--the answer is no. I wish you'd tell me more, says Chris, I'd feel better. Nothing more to tell, says Cyrus, I want the money deposited in the bank in Yaeger's name. I'll do it, agrees Chris, but I want Yaeger to come to my office--I'll need signatures if I'm to open a bank account, besides, I want to meet and judge him for myself. I'll send Yaeger around to see you, says Cyrus. I'm looking forward to meeting him, says Chris, and tiredly leaves the room. The clock strikes. Cyrus removes his lab coat and puts on his somber jacket.
Cyrus meets Quentin. I'm very grateful to you for coming, says Quentin. They enter the tomb. What's this all about? asks Cyrus. We must destroy Angelique's body--tonight, says Quentin--Alexis has given her complete approval--we'll take the coffin outside and put a torch to it. WE? asks Cyrus, I don't understand. We don't have any choice, says Quentin--we can hardly go to the proper authorities and say my wife had been dead over six months, yet her body hasn't yet decomposed. I see the problem, agrees Cyrus.
We can't afford to let anyone else learn what we have found out, says Quentin--we must go ahead with it. We must destroy the body, says Cyrus, but I'm afraid we might be seen. We've got to take the chance, insists Quentin. All right, let's do it, says Cyrus. I want to take one more look at Angelique, says Quentin. He opens the coffin and looks down upon what he doesn't know is the body of his sister-in-law. She's still as beautiful as she was, he marvels--well, my dear, says Quentin, goodbye forever this time. Cyrus watches closely as Quentin closes the coffin and says, "Let's take it out." Together, they lift it up.
Cyrus stands at the head of the coffin and Quentin takes a torch and sets it aflame. They watch it burn.
In her room, Angelique is trimming flowers when Trask enters--you wanted me to let you know when Quentin returned, he says--his car just came in through the front gate. Thank you, she says, handing him the cuttings wrapped in paper--please dispose of them. He doesn't go. Do you have something on you mind? she asks. Forgive me, ma'am, he says, it's just--it's good that you've gotten to be so much at home since you've been here--sometimes, it's as if Miss Angelique never died. She smiles. He leaves.
As they enter Collinwood, Quentin remarks, Cyrus, you were very quiet on the way back--are you still concerned someone might have seen us? I shouldn't have come with you, says the doctor, I have a lot of work to do at the lab. You work too hard, Quentin protests--I insist you stay and have a drink with me and Alexis--before you get back to work. Just one, agrees Cyrus. Quentin goes upstairs to get Alexis. Cyrus sits down in the drawing room and nervous taps his hand on his knee.
Angelique is gazing up at her own portrait when Quentin enters and reports, it's all over--the coffin has been burned. I hope we did the right thing, she says. I know we did, he says--there will be a big change in the atmosphere around here. You've been through a terrible ordeal, she says.
"No less than you have, but the change will be good for all of us, and I hope that it will bring Maggie back, where she belongs," he says. Maggie? asks Angelique, as if forgetting who he's talking about. She remembers and says, "Oh, yes, I'm so anxious to meet her." (And kill her, add her flashing eyes.) "Under more favorable circumstances, I mean." I see no reason you can't become good friends, says Quentin. No reason at all, she agrees. I'm glad you came along to the mausoleum and opened the tomb, says Quentin. Are you?--why? asks Angelique, not sounding at all like Alexis now. It takes a big load off all our shoulders, he says, especially yours, and that pleases me very much--because as long as you're at Collinwood, I want you to be very happy. "Yes," she says, grinning, "you were right about opening the tomb--I feel like a different woman now that the burden has been lifted--I've become very fond of you, Quentin." I almost forgot, he says, Cyrus is waiting downstairs, I promised him a drink--do you want to join us? No, not tonight, she replies--I just want to be by myself tonight. He goes. She stares up at her face in the portrait.
The clock strikes the quarter hour. Cyrus comes out to the foyer to check the time. He wanders the drawing room and gazes into the fire, then is suddenly beset by terrible pain. He flails around, gripping the mantle in agony, and is horrified to see that his hands have become the hairy-backed ones of John Yaeger. He runs to a mirror to see he has turned into Yaeger, from head to toe! Hearing Quentin heading downstairs, assuring Alexis, "I'm sure Cyrus will understand," Yaeger hastily closes the double doors and locks them. Finding the doors locked, Quentin calls to Cyrus-- "Open the door!--are you all right?" Yaeger, trapped, standing with his back against the doors, freezes, his eyes darting back and forth.
NOTES: Will Cyrus be able to turn back into himself? He should run over and sign Chris' papers so he can have that five grand, huh? Chris is trying to look out for Cyrus, but the good doctor is not playing it safe. Re: John Yaeger--his nose is Cyrus' own, his hair looks much better and the mustache isn't quite the same (as bad) as the last time we saw it. He has changed without the potion, however, like an acid flashback that keeps on giving. It reminds me of when Chris started to turn into a werewolf without benefit of full moon. When you think about it, Yaeger has stolen Cyrus' body from him, in a different but equally creepy way as Angelique stole her sister's body/life force from hers.
Angelique cold-bloodedly killed her own sister and took over her life at Collinwood. You sense she still wants Quentin and already has evil plans for Maggie. That scene in which Angelique forces her sister to trade places with her is one of my own personal scariest moments on DS, beautifully done, by the standard of the day, using special "twin" effects. I can already see the huge difference between Angelique and Alexis, and wondered why Quentin didn't catch on, just a little bit--the gleam in Angelique's eyes sure was a giveaway to me! Excellent performances by Parker in both roles. Now Alexis is dead, without the benefit of a funeral, her body just burned to ashes. Very sad ending for a good, kind woman who didn't deserve it, and whose only folly was to be the sister of an evil, disturbed, murderous bitch. When Alexis cries, "I don't want to die!", I just shiver.
I believe this is the last episode in which we see Don Briscoe; Chris will never be seen again. Over the years, I've heard it said that Briscoe was suffering from depression and eventually left acting altogether. There are many of his devoted fans out there, and I know he is missed.
Now things will definitely heat up a bit, folks! Angelique is back in the house!
Love, Robin
