1060 - Maggie struggles against Stokes. There's no use resisting, he says, you shouldn't scream, or you'll be very sorry. She frees herself from his grasp. Where is you husband? he asks. Why do you want to know? she asks. Just answer the question, he orders--you'll find I'm easily provoked. He's with the police, she reveals. And where is poor Angelique? he asks. She's dead, you know that, says Maggie. She's dead, but is she gone? he asks--has he had her body cremated yet? I don't know, please just let me go, begs Maggie. Stokes mutters, I never loved her, never understood her or appreciated her, if I had, she wouldn't have died. He begins to cry, grabs Maggie's arm, and says, in some strange way, his failure was even greater than mine--his was negative, brought about by his indifference and stupidity, which he will pay for me. And he drags her away--come with me! he commands..
Loomis House - Barnabas paces, then stands over and down at the sleeping Roxanne. She dreams: She sees a lamp, Barnabas standing there, promising "my darling, "--very soon we will be in another time, a time you never knew exited, that belongs to us--I will take you there. But I did know that time existed, she says, I didn't know how, just as I knew you existed, even though I'd never seen you, heard your name, oh I knew we'd meet someday... He disappears. Where did you go? she asks--don't leave me! She runs upstairs, calling to him over and over. She reaches Angelique's room and throws open the doors; Barnabas is in there, trapped in a wall of flames, trying to reach her. She screams.
Barnabas holds out his arms, but can't get to her. Roxanne awakens to Barnabas asking, what's the matter? She stands and runs into his arms, crying, you're here--I'm glad you're all right. She describes her nightmare about him being trapped in a burning room--I thought I'd lost you. That will never happen, he promises--you will never lose me. They hug.
Stokes ties Maggie, who calls him insane, to a chair in Collinwood's drawing room, chortling, I wish Angelique could see you now--but her spirit will rejoice tonight. What will you do to me? she asks. There comes a time to pay the piper, says Stokes, and your husband will pay tonight with his life. He laughs at her misery-filled face.
Loomis House - Barnabas gazes out the window, then asks Roxanne, what are you thinking about? That dream I had, she says. You can't dwell on it, he insists. i can't help it, she says, you told me about that other time, said you were going to take me to it. I am, very soon, he promises, smiling. Tell me about the other time, she asks, what is it like?--who will I meet there? It doesn't appear different from this time, he explains, but it is--the people that exist in this time have counterparts in the other time--they look the same, but their personalities are different, their destinies are different--for example, Timothy Stokes is a college professor in that time, kind and gentle man. It's all so hard to understand, she says, it sounds too good to be true. It is true, he says, you'll be much happier in that time, I assure you. He hugs her--it's been over an hour since Julia called, he says--Maggie should be here by now--I'm going to check it out, and will return very soon. He leaves.
2:40 - Roxanne sits in a chair, awaiting Barnabas' return. Julia and Quentin enter. Julia introduces him to Roxanne. Where are Maggie and Barnabas? asks Julia. Maggie never came back after you called, reveals Roxanne. This greatly concerns Quentin. Barnabas got worried about her and went to look for her. Something must have happened to her, says Quentin. Would she have any reason to go to Collinwood? asks Julia. No, says Quentin, she was going to come directly here. The phone rings. Quentin answers. It's Stokes, who says, I didn't expect you to answer. What do you want? asks Quentin. I'm calling to extend an invitation to you, says Stokes. How did you know I was here? asks Quentin. Your wife was on her way to Loomis House, says Stokes--I assumed it would be just a matter of time before you joined her there--but of course, she didn't get there, did she? Do you know where Maggie is? asks Quentin. She's with me, says Stokes. Where are you? asks Quentin. I've done nothing to her and will do nothing more to her, says Stokes, until you get here. Stokes, where are you? Quentin demands. I have her at Collinwood, says Stokes--listen carefully--come here alone and unarmed, is that clear? Yes, quite clear, says Quentin, and hangs up, frightened. Stokes brandishes a gun, grinning with pleasure.
Loomis House - Quentin, wait for Barnabas to return and take him along, urges Julia. Stokes said to come alone, says Quentin, and unarmed. That's insane, says Julia. If I don't do as he wants, he may kill Maggie, says Quentin. If you do what he wants, he may kill both of you, counters Julia. I've got to go, says Quentin--I have no other choice. He leaves. How long ago did Barnabas leave to look for Maggie? Julia asks. About half an hour before you got here, replies Rox. We'd better hurry before we're too late, says Julia. The two women hurriedly exit the house.
Maggie, terrified, watches Stokes pet his gun. "You're going to kill him, aren't you?" she asks. Let's just say that once this evening is over, all our little scores will be settled, promises Stokes. Quentin, don't come in! screams Maggie--he's got a gun! Quentin, true to form, bursts in anyway, running to Maggie's side--are you all right? he asks. I am, she assures him. Whatever our differences, Stokes, it's between the two of us, says Quentin--let Maggie go, I'll stay. Quentin, objects Maggie. You'll both stay, says Stokes--has Angelique's body been cremated yet? Yes, says Quentin. You must feel very satisfied, says Stokes. I don't feel anything, says Quentin, I'm just glad it's over. It's not over yet, says Stokes, I intend to finish what Angelique started--I restored her to life, she was determined to resume her rightful place as mistress of Collinwood--unfortunately, now it's not possible for her to be with you--but it's quite possible for you to be with her. Quentin, he's going to kill you, says Maggie in a hushed voice. Don't be a fool, says Quentin---you'll never get away with it. I'm not trying to get away with anything, says Stokes, I have nothing to lose, and very little to gain except the satisfaction of seeing you dead
--in life, they say a man's is judged by his achievements--my crowning achievement was the restoration of Angelique, and you destroyed it! He closes the doors and holds the gun on Quentin--I live now, Quentin, only to see you die, says Stokes.
Stokes stands very close to Quentin, pointing the gun at his face. The doors abruptly blow open, distracting Stokes. Maggie screams. Quentin karate chops the gun from Stokes' hand. Barnabas comes out from behind the drapes, announcing, "There has been enough killing, Stokes." Holding his hurt wrist, Stokes backs away from Barnabas--"Don't come near me," he says, "I know what you are, I know about you, stay away from me." Roxanne enters the room. Stokes grabs the opportunity and takes her by the throat, threatening, in one twist, I can break your neck, so stay where you are. Stokes drags Roxanne away with him and locks Quentin, Maggie and Barnabas in the drawing room. We must get out of here and catch him, says Barnabas--Quentin, take care of Maggie. Quentin unties Maggie. The front door is wide open, and Quentin announces, Stokes must have taken her out of the house. That's what he wants is to believe, says Barnabas--I'm going upstairs. Maggie insists they search outside. Quentin volunteers to take Maggie to the Loomis House to stay with Julia (notice how he's suddenly not calling her Hoffman?) Take the pistol, you may need it, orders Barnabas. Quentin and Maggie leave.
Stokes exits the kitchen area, holding a can of kerosene in one hand, covering Roxanne's mouth with the other.
Woods - Julia, now dressed in that hideous tweed suite, meets Barnabas in the woods and smiles at the sight of him. Have you seen Quentin and Maggie?--they're at Loomis House, they told me Stokes has Roxanne. Yes, says Barn, you saw no sign of him? No, she replies. He must be out here somewhere, says Barn, perhaps we'd better go to the main house and search there. Do you think he'd keep her there? asks Julia. He's out of his mind, says Barn, capable of anything. They head off together.
Roxanne, furious, asks Stokes, why are we waiting here? They'll all be coming back soon, he assures her, my dear Roxanne, and when they do, I'm planning a little surprise for them. What are you going to do? she asks. I want you to be surprised, too, he replies. Hearing the front door open, he clasps his hand over her mouth, stopping her scream--you see, he whispers, I was right, they're here! Julia, we'll begin with the West Wing, says Barnabas, and they head upstairs. Barnabas Collins and Dr. Hoffman, says Stokes, we needn't wait for Quentin--destroying them will be revenge enough. He takes the can of kerosene in his other hand and begins to spill the flammable fluid on the floor. I've lost everything, he says, now Quentin will lose everything, too-- his beloved Collinwood reduced to ashes! Barnabas and Julia will be trapped upstairs, Roxanne reminds him. Precisely, says Stokes, and burnt to a cinder! He finishes pouring the kerosene and takes out a pack of matches. Needing two hands to light the match, he is forced to let Roxanne out of his grasp, and she flees. "Very well, go!" he cries, lighting the match, tossing it down on the floor. Flames and smoke begin to fill the room.
Stokes goes into the foyer and yells up to Roxanne, who is running across the landing, "None of you will leave this house alive!" He pours more kerosene on the floor, trailing it around the table. The flames sound hungry as they devour the house. Stokes lights a second match, tosses it onto the foyer floor, then bursts into insane laughter.
Angelique's room - If I could find them, says Barnabas, I would deal with Stokes and bring you and Roxanne back here and wait for the room to change. I smell smoke, says Julia. Barnabas looks out the doors--the place is on fire! Stokes must have started it, says Julia. And Roxanne is with him! Barnabas cries. Julia points to the flames--"Look!" she yells. They realize they are trapped in the room. How will we get out of here? frets Julia. (can't Barnabas just turn himself into a bat or disappear and appear elsewhere)? I don't know, says Barnabas. He hears Roxanne calling his name and calls back to her, shouting, give me your hand! "Julia, I can't reach her!" he cries, frantically clawing at the air--"ROXANNE!" "BARNABAS!" Roxanne wails back. "ROXANNE!" he screeches again, probably breaking his vocal cords. Barnabas! Julia calls.
The room abruptly changes around them. "No!" moans Barnabas--"We've come back, and Roxanne is still in her time-oh, Roxanne, Roxanne..."
NOTES: Oh, boy, that was a lot of violence for one episode of DS, and I must say, they gave a great impression of a big fire without having much of the real thing, if any.
So, Barnabas has been separated from his dear Roxanne, returned to his own time, safely away from the flames. I still say Barnabas could have morphed into a room where there were no flames, saved Roxanne, but perhaps he didn't want to leave Julia alone. It was a huge error on the part of the DS writers and directors not to remember that Barnabas COULD have escaped the fire and probably saved both lady love Roxanne, and Julia.
Amazing performance by Thayer David as Stokes, who will probably be burned to death in his own conflagration. His insanity, crafty and loony, was cool to watch. His attempt to hold Roxanne while lighting a match gave me a chuckle.
I guess we assume Maggie and Quentin lived happily ever after with the few family members who are left. One last scene between them would have been nice, but we can imagine it.
Well, where do Julia and Barnabas go from here? Stay tuned, folks!
1061 - We see an unfamiliar photo of Collinwood and hear a voice we haven't heard in a long time-Mrs. Johnson-who tells us, Timothy Stokes has died in the flames of the fire he set in 1970PT.
Standing in the bleak darkness of what was once Angelique's room, now back in RT, Barnabas despairingly tells Julia, I've got to return to parallel time and find out what happened to Roxanne. You can't go back, says Julia--Angelique's room doesn't exist in parallel time anymore, it's been burned, destroyed. Barnabas, bereft, realizes, I will never be able to go back. Fumbling with a button on her jacket, speaking in girlish tones, she assures him, if there were anything I could do, I would, but I'm just as helpless as you are. I've got to see her again, moans Barnabas, she's the only woman who ever made me forget my dear lost Josette. (Ouch, Barn, why not just stick a knife in Julia's heart right now and give it a twist or two?) The moment I saw her, so still and helpless, says Barnabas, I felt a love I hadn't felt since I first met Josette--I thought there was hope I could be cured and happy, live the life I wanted to live for so long--the life of love, tenderness...with her. (I felt so badly for him during this speech.) Oh, Barnabas, says Julia, her green eyes filled with her own helpless, unrequited love for him. He sighs--it's been snatched away from me again--why is fate so determined to offer me a chance for happiness, then destroy it right before my eyes? You forget, she says, how rare a life of love can be--you're not the only one who's had so little hope--it's something one learns to live with--we can get used to anything if we have to.
He looks into her eyes, finally, seeing something he can't or won't acknowledge, and walks away. As long as I exist, he says viciously, I'll despise this room for what it has done to me. It seems so different, remarks Julia. Yes, agrees Barnabas, what is it?--so damp-the smell of decay. They wander around the room. Something has happened, says Julia. Barnabas, gazing into the hallway, calls, Julia, come here! They look outside Angelique's room, where beams and walls have come down, trees have, impossibly, invaded the corridor--the house appears to have been completely destroyed!
We see an electric candlestick, one bulb gone, lying amidst rubble in Collinwood's foyer. The grandfather clock is missing its top, completely gutted. Beams lie everywhere, debris covers everything. Julia, carrying a candelabra, walks carefully downstairs. She and Barnabas surveying the wreckage with horror. What could have happened? she wonders--where is everyone?--the place is deserted! No lights...Elizabeth? she calls in a child's voice...Carolyn?...is anyone here? Glass and plaster crunch under their feet. No, responds Barnabas. Where has everyone gone? asks Julia. I don't know, he replies. The wind in the corridor, says Barnabas. A war or hurricane? speculates Julia. She finds an unbroken crystal glass and, shivering, says, "It's as if it was left half-empty." Barnabas enters the drawing room, where more beams have come down, leaving it almost unrecognizable--there was no war or hurricane here, he says--it's as if the house was simply abandoned. Barnabas, in one month? she asks, astounded. The house is as still, quiet as the grave, he says--do you suppose that everyone we knew, all our friends--Maggie, Elizabeth, David--are dead? Julia horrified, says, I don't know. They continue to wander around. She finds and picks up some papers on the desk she'd left there the night she went to parallel time--look how they crumble at my touch! Perhaps, suggests Barn, radiation has sped up the process of deterioration. (Barn knows about radiation)? She gazes at the pieces in her hand--it could be, she says. What could have happened? he wonders. She finds another piece of paper that says, "We must leave Collinwood before the day is out--we must." It's a note in Liz's handwriting, unfinished, says Julia. Then they did leave for a reason, says Barn, walking amongst the rubble--but what is it? On the floor, he finds Liz' diary, which has been burned. I wonder why anyone would burn it? asks Julia. It's as though they wanted everyone to forget they ever existed, says Barn. Hearing a door opening and closing, they go to see who came in. The door bangs in the wind, but no one is there. Just the wind, says Barnabas. I'm not so sure, she says. Barnabas opens the door and looks out, noting, the trees have grown right up to the door. In just one month? she asks, disbelieving. Perhaps there was some disturbance warp in time, suggests Barnabas, and we've come back to another time--our own, but at some time in the future. I don't know, she says. That jungle out there, says Barnabas, it would have grown, but at a slower pace--it wouldn't have grown like this in a month or two! I'm frightened, says Julia, I feel like a child who's lost and will never find my way home. He gazes at her, concerned. She holds her collar tightly around her throat, berating herself for being silly--we've got to find out what all this means. Perhaps there will be some clue at the Old House or in the cemetery, Barnabas suggests. Do you think everybody is dead? asks Julia. Not necessarily, he responds, but I must find my coffin before sunrise--time, past or future, our time, parallel time--the curse is still with me, he says dejectedly (another super-depressing moment for us, too). We'll go there now, she agrees--more than any cemetery I've ever been in, this house is like a grave.
They leave. We get one last glimpse of the tree-choked house, the door off its hinges, the woodwork fallen over the fireplace, beams lying haphazardly, debris littering the floor--very creepy images, the kind that stay with you for years, as they have stayed with me. More than anything else that happened on DARK SHADOWS, these images of a Collinwood destroyed, marvels by Sy Thomashoff, have never left my consciousness.
Barnabas and Julia walk through the cemetery. I wonder what happened to the coffin in the basement at the Old House? she muses. With all the decay there, it's not surprising it's missing, he says. Julia finds a new grave, freshly dug. Read what it says there, says Barn. She does, aloud--Henry Beecham, 1967-1995 (remember, folks, this is 1971). This grave was just dug, says Barnabas. 1995! repeats Julia. Then there WAS some disturbance in the time warp, says Barnabas--25 years have passed!--no, I don't believe it! he cries--this grave here is not new, it's old, read it! David Collins, reads, Julia, born 1956, died 1970. David died 1970, repeats Julia, sounding as if she's going to cry. Barnabas picks up a bouquet of fresh flowers from the grave. Put them down, leave them alone, demands a woman's voice. An elderly, white-haired Mrs. Johnson stands there, demanding, what are you doing here, disturbing the peace of this poor child? Mrs. Johnson! says an amazed Julia. Wasn't his life a torment enough? demands Mrs. Johnson, reaching to grab the flowers away from Barnabas, without your coming from the grave itself to disturb his rest? Don't you recognize us? asks Julia. I've always tried not to believe in ghosts, says Mrs. J nervously, but now.... We're not ghosts, says Julia, we're alive! You disappeared 25 years ago, says Mrs. Johnson, and you look the same as you did then--how can you tell me you're still alive? It's too difficult to explain, says Barnabas. No, it's too easy! she cries, you disappeared and died, and now you've come back to disturb his rest. We haven't, Julia assures her. Mrs. Johnson gently places the flowers back on the grave, railing, I won't let you--I was with him at the end, and if ever a child deserves peace, it was David--she begins to cry--I won't let them trouble you, she sobs, I couldn't save you at the end, no one could, but maybe I could help you! Barnabas asks, "Save them--what are you talking about?" Suddenly coming back to herself, looking crazed, scared, Mrs. Johnson, says, I beg your pardon--Barnabas asks if David died. Now evasive, Mrs. Johnson says yes, he just died, that's all. We've been to Collinwood and know something terrible happened, says Julia--tell us what it was. Did it have anything to do with David's death? asks Barn. I don't know what you're talking about, she replies, frightened. You do, says Barnabas, tell us what happened. Nothing, she says, shaking. That's not true and you know it, says Julia. Please don't hurt me, begs Mrs. Johnson, I never hurt anybody, you know, I only tried to help. We're not going to harm you, Barnabas assures her, but you must tell us what you know happened at Collinwood and to David. Please, I can't talk about it, she says. Julia comfortingly holds the elderly woman's arms and reminds her, you were our friend, you know how we loved everyone at Collinwood, and now they're gone. Gone, yes, all gone, agrees Mrs. Johnson sorrowfully. Where and why? asks Julia. You must not ask and I must not tell (is this the military?), says Mrs. Johnson. Why not? asks Julia. Because it was too horrible, says Mrs. Johnson--why do you think I come here at night to put flowers on his grave, why can't I come in the day and see the sun and the grass and the flowers around where he is buried?--because no one is supposed to have anything to do with anyone named Collins--you're not even supposed to mention the name! Answer the question, says Barnabas--what has happened? --is there anyone in the family still alive? Tears running down her withered cheeks, Mrs. Johnson repeats, with a sad smile, "Still alive-the Collins family...the Collins family...alive..."
She bursts into tears as Julia and Barnabas exchange looks of fear, sympathy and concern.
They're all alive and quite well, reveals Mrs. Johnson, who has calmed down now. They are! says Julia excitedly. Where are they? asks Barnabas. Obviously making it up, Mrs. Johnson explains, Mrs. Stoddard is in Europe, she went to Rome and Mr. Roger's with her there, yes, they're quite well, and she writes to me, and from time to time, Mr. Quentin--he went to South America he got married and he's happy, he's fine..." Are you telling us the truth? asks Barnabas. Yes, the gospel truth, every bit, she says. It's hard to believe that people who have gone through this change can leave some unspeakable tragedy and be off as happy as you described, he points out. Well, maybe I exaggerated a little bit, she admits, but... Julia gently asks, tell us. PLEASE DON:T TORMENT ME! begs Mrs. Johnson, I've tried to forget, 25 years I tried to forget, I don't know whether you are real or not, whether I'm imagining or dreaming, but leave me alone, leave me be, I've suffered enough, I'm old and tired, I can't tell you anything. All right, agrees Barnabas, but isn't there someone who can tell us something? No, no one, says Mrs. Johnson. Let her go, Julia urges Barnabas. He reluctantly agrees. Mrs. Johnson starts to leave, then says, in a hushed voice, her lips trembling, "Frederick's, at Findley's Cove, the old shack at Findley's cove. She repeats it again. Julia repeats it to Barnabas. We get a close-up of David's gravestone with the flowers piled at the base.
We see a lighted green candle, the remains of an unfinished meal on a table--plate, cup, silverware. The camera pans on what looks like an antique store, filled with items from Collinwood and the Old House. Barnabas and Julia knock at the door of this home; when no one answers, they enter. The place was always empty, deserted, no one lived here, notes Julia. In parallel time, Roxanne lived here, says Barnabas--is she still there, is she all right? Julia gazes at him, fear on her face. Barnabas apologizes--I couldn't help thinking about her. She doesn't respond, just gives him a look. Everything here is from Collinwood, says Julia, who finds his portrait--whoever lives here knew Collinwood.
Yes, he agrees, but how did they know it? What are you saying? she asks. Perhaps these are the spoils of disaster, he says, perhaps the person who lived here is the one who caused it. We should know in a minute, she says--Barnabas, look, she says--the doorknob is turning.
NOTES: I remember being totally amazed at what Sy Thomashoff had wrought in this episode, it was so creepy to see Collinwood in ruins like that, and so realistically, too! Barnabas and Julia's tentative, terrified search of the house was very suspenseful as you wondered who--or what--would leap out at them. The idea of the forest encroaching on the front door gave me shivers.
We haven't seen Mrs. Johnson in a very long time, and Clarice Blackburn didn't appear in the 1970PT flashback at all, so to have her pop up again was like seeing an old friend, and very welcome. Her performance was sublime, her sorrow and madness mesmerizing. When she began to lie to Julia and Barnabas about what happened to the Collinses, you knew she was lying, trying to make it sound great to not only them, but herself, like a fairy tale she made up so she could deal with it without losing her mind completely.
And now, they find this cottage at Findley's Cove, filled with paintings and other artifacts from Collinwood, and they don't know who is living there--is it friend or foe, a Collins or someone who stole all these valuables from the house before tragedy struck?
This is a breath of fresh air after 1791, I thought so then and think so now. I feel awful for Julia, with Barnabas referencing Roxanne over and over, but it seems to be her unfortunate position in his life to clean up his emotions after he loses yet another SYT. I wouldn't have stuck around if I were Julia, but she's apparently a one-man woman.
Love, Robin
