382 - (Joan Bennett) - A seance has been held in the great house of Collinwood, a seance which has sent Victoria Winters on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the Collins family who lived in the year 1795, where the doomed love of two people caused wave after wave of mystery and horror and death.
Vicki comes in from visiting the post office bearing more wedding presents for Barn and Josette. She muses that if she ever gets back to her own time, she'll never again want to know anyone's secrets. Natalie enters and says the gifts will have to go back. How long have you known about Jeremiah and Josette plans to elope?, the Countess demands of Vicki, who denies knowing anything.
When Natalie, citing the terrible, tragic things that are about to happen, demands that Vicki admit she knows the future and changed the cards, Vicki denies everything.
Naomi drinks in her room. She hides the bottle when Abigail knocks at her door. Her sister in law comes in and begins to blather heatedly, hatefully, on and on about the cat, the devil, and Naomi's drinking. Naomi suggests Abigail must be quite an authority on the devil by this time and SHE drinks as a tonic for her shattered nerves. She thinks she and Abigail should bond together instead of arguing. Josette and Jeremiah were drawn together by lust, spits Abigail. Natalie joins the hen party; she agrees with Abigail that the devil is at work here, in the form of a minion--a witch.
Yes, and it's Vicki, Abigail insists. Natalie tells the other women she wants Naomi to question Vicki about the future, and that if she doesn't, she's inviting tragedy.
The cat is sitting on Vicki's bed, balefully moving its tail, as Vicki gazes at Sarah's photo in the Collins family album. She remembers how much she used to enjoy looking at the book, and now, here she is, living with them! It's horrible to know their fate but to be unable to do anything about it. Abigail knocks on Vicki's door and Vicki scrambles to hide the book. Naomi wants to see her, says Abigail, and what is that cat doing in your room? Foolishly, Vicki says she likes cats, but Abigail insists she hates them. Vicki wants Abigail to leave her room when she does, but Abigail reminds her they own the house and can go into any room they want. She tells Vicki to tell her master that she, Abigail, is his enemy, and orders Vicki to go to Naomi. After Vicki leaves, Abigail informs the cat it won't stop her, and she begins searching Vicki's dresser drawers. There is a horrific screech, a puff of smoke and the cat disappears;
Joshua, confused and dazed, is sitting on Vicki's bed in its place! Abigail promptly faints in her brother's arms.
Naomi questions Vicki about her past life, and Vicki says she wishes she could tell her everything--but can't. Natalie says Vicki WON'T tell, and hasn't explained away her clairvoyant remarks, such as stating that Josette wouldn't marry Barnabas, but Jeremiah (Vicki put this one down to being confused about all the new people and new names), but is satisfied that Vicki was trying to be kind in each instance.
Naomi doesn't like the way Natalie is interrogating Vicki--a good woman who has offered acceptable explanations as far as she is concerned. Natalie thinks it's a good way to ward off suspicion, but everything comes to a halt when Joshua comes in and Naomi hugs him, delighted to see him. He wasn't even aware of being away a week! Abigail orders Vicki the witch to tell Joshua what she did to disrupt the household, and screeches to her brother that Jeremiah and Josette eloped. Naomi says they don't know that for sure, they disappeared, just as Joshua did. Yes, but he didn't take his clothes, as they did, Natalie reminds her. Joshua is appalled at this terrible news. Abigail maintains that witchcraft made it happen, and Vicki is the witch! See, the cat is gone! Natalie tells Joshua she's glad he's well. Naomi asks Vicki to order cook to prepare some broth for Mr. Collins (nah, give him a nice fat mouse), and Abigail follows Vicki out of the room--she's gonna watch her closely! Joshua tells his sister the witchcraft-Vicki business will wait for now. (Joshua does ask about how Barnabas is taking all this, so he does care.)
Abigail and Natalie, who predicts the cat will never be seen again, search Vicki's room. They find her shocking outfit, as well as a Zodiac bracelet. Abigail is horrified to see a devil depicted in one of the charms and hastily drops it. She tells Natalie she's going to send for Reverend Trask, expert witchhunter from Salem, to help them. Natalie looks pleased to hear this.
NOTES: Trask! We all know that name well, don't we, at least those of us who have watched the series before? He's going to stir the pot!
Why didn't Vicki better hide her things from 1967? She should have known they would only get her into trouble.
383 - (KLS) - A seance was held in the great house of Collinwood, a seance which has sent Victoria Winters on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the Collins family who lived in the year 1795, where a strange, haunted honeymoon followed the marriage which cannot logically be explained.
Josette and Jeremiah Collins, wearing matching wedding rings and pitchforks on their hands, make love, over and over, at the Collinsport Inn. They consider staying in that room, where they've been since they were married 2.5 days ago, raising a family and living to be old, but after making love, Jeremiah sleeps and Josette sits staring into the fireplace. She hears her father and Barnabas chastising her, asking her how she could have done this to everyone. Barn's voice accuses her of not loving him, and she denies this. When Jeremiah awakens, her entire mood, once lighthearted, passionate and flirtatious, has changed--she wants to go back to face the music at Collinwood. She's crying, wishing she had told everyone before they eloped. He reminds her they tried to fight it, but it didn't work. When he tries to touch her, she orders him not to, but he reminds her they're married (so that gives him the right to, I gather).
"Take me back, tonight, now," she demands. She tells him about hearing Andre's and Barnabas' disapproving voices, and feels they have no right to happiness. Does he love her, she asks, and he assures her he does. They must not forget they love each other, they agree, but when he kisses his wife's hand, the pitchfork love brand is gone!
Andre and Barnabas have a talk in the study. Josette told him how much she loved him, Mr. duPres assures Barnabas, who was concerned that Josette had changed her mind about him after arriving in Collinsport. Nevertheless, Barnabas refuses to consider that his uncle and fiancee ran away together. Joshua comes in and announces he, Natalie and Abigail think Josette and Jeremiah were the victims of witchcraft--and that Miss Winters is the culprit! Reverend Trask will be there shortly, and he will ferret out the witch! Barnabas defends Vicki staunchly,
but his father orders him to keep out of it--and if he does protect Vicki, as he threatens to do, he will consider his son an enemy, too.
Jeremiah enters the drawing room and greets Riggs, who is dusting. He sends him to find Joshua. Jeremiah finds the brand has disappeared from his hand, too, so the spell is broken for now. Josette comes in and he reminds her he told her to wait in the carriage. Their feelings for each other have clearly evaporated, which she realizes when she clings to him and he behaves coldly toward her. Though they now realize they feel no love for each other, they resolve to try to be kind. Andre enters and hugs Josette, and Joshua, calling Jeremiah "the prodigal brother", demands to know what's what.
When they hear that the couple have married, they are both stunned. Andre reminds Jeremiah of his promise to keep away from Josette, which clues in Joshua to the fact that he knew something was going on between the pair. Jeremiah has no explanation for their actions, but they are fully prepared to leave town. No, says Joshua, there will be no grist for the gossips--they are family and will live under the Collins roof, presenting a united front! Barnabas walks in on this upsetting tableau.
Joshua immediately reveals that they are married, and Josette quickly turns away, unable to face her former fiance. "No," Barnabas says, and demands that Josette admit it. It's true, she says. "Why?" he asks. He didn't know her, was wrong about her! Jeremiah can offer no explanation for why he stole Josette from his nephew; they simply couldn't fight what they felt. "Then you will fight me," Barnabas announces, and slaps his uncle across the face. "Choose weapons!" Joshua forbids a duel, Andre tells his daughter it's between men now (!), Josette screams, "No!" and Barnabas turns to her and tells her she lost the right to ask anything of him. They are going to duel, he firmly tells his father, and he can't stop them!
NOTES: Loved the high drama, but didn't Barnabas look totally betrayed? By the way, Jeremiah didn't kiss Josette with anymore passion than he kissed Vicki.
Love, Robin
