Nice opening still of the Great House – no hint of 200 + years of horror and despair. Barn brings a captive, lonely & miserable Adam his supper. Adam speaks Barn’s name much to Barn’s delight, which in turn delights Adam. After Barn leaves, a distraught Adam breaks free and escapes the Old House. Meanwhile at the Great House, David and Roger chat in the foyer. We learn that David is now fond of Cassandra and has no memory of disliking her, this much to Roger’s confusion but much more importantly, his approval. Enter Barnabas looking for Julia. David runs out to play with the new pocketknife Cass bought him earlier. An icy Roger informs him that Julia is out and Liz is on her way to the Old House. Roger stops Barn from going after Liz so they can discuss a matter of discourse between them – Cassandra. Roger insists upon civility and Barn acquiesces to placate him. On the path to the Old House, Liz comes across Adam, scolds him as a trespasser, then sees his chain & shackle and flees to the Great House in fear. Liz tells Barn & Roger of her terrorizing encounter. Concerned for his son, Roger retrieves a gun and takes Barn into the woods to search for David. Meanwhile, Adam comes upon David as he plays with his pocketknife. David is friendly toward Adam and the two ‘play’ together until ownership of the knife comes into question – during the melee David twists his ankle and Adam picks him up to alleviate his pain but this freaks David out. David’s panicked shouts gain the attention of R&B and they find the boy. Rootin’ tootin’ Roger aims his gun at Adam but Barn is able to talk Adam into putting David down. Then in a moment of fear and confusion, Roger shoots Adam in the shoulder and Adam runs back to the Old House (with a determined Roger, a limping David & a concerned Barn all in hot pursuit) and takes to his cell wallowing in pain.
Afterthoughts: Adam’s a totally sympathetic – and dare I say, likeable character. Barn & Roger’s conversation – Barn pulls the ‘Liz’ card and Roger states that Liz hates rudeness more than he does. Loved it. I’ll give partial credit to the prop guys for making Adam look eight feet tall, they hid the rise very well but shrubbery continually blocking his feet would have made the effect so much better. Maybe the stage director is to blame for that. Frid is still coming across as quite unrehearsed to me. I am guessing that maybe he was doing a lot of promo work at this time. His Barnabas ‘look’ is very familiar as is seen in hoards of promo photos I seem to recall and I know the show is becoming a national phenomenon about this time. Well, that’s my theory anyway. Bennett looks great – I love that color green. Every time I see Roger now I am analyzing him per Magnus’s comments of late. I think the writers are doing a good job balancing the old Roger with the new Roger. I miss the entertainment value of the old Roger but I do take comfort in the new and improved Roger, especially since I’ve experienced JLM’s Roger in Shadows ‘12. BTW, I thought it was an interesting choice to have David run into Barn’s arms instead of his father’s. I guess this left Roger free to shoot Adam. And there’s nothing like terror to make you forget you’ve sprained your ankle, lol. Barn & Liz & Roger in the foyer took on the ambience of a Three Stooges skit to me. Not that is was funny or inane – it was just the rapid-fire delivery. (Still, I did crack up though.)
L: “But Barnabas, wait! He said your name!”
B: “My name?”
L: “He had a shackle around his ankle with a broken chain!”
R: “What?!”
L: “It’s true!”
R: “David!”
L: “Where is he?!”
R: “He’s Out playing in the woods!”
B: “Well, we must find him!
R: “I’ll get my gun!”
B: “Is that necessary?!”
R: “Well if he had a chain there must be a reason!” (This is where I laughed out loud)
L: “But if Barnabas knows him!”
B: “Elizabeth!” (This is where I hit the floor)
L: “Well, why did he say your name?!”
B: “Well, we’ll have to find that out!” (And now I’m rolling)
In a skit, I would have Liz announce, “I’ll make tea!” as the men left to find David. Today’s blooper: Adam knocking over the shrub, lol. Today’s ending credits are ‘fade and roll’.
