1086 - As Tad and Carrie stand on a mysterious staircase, beseeching them, come into the room!, David asks Hallie, take my hand. No, she says, we mustn't go to them. They're calling us! objects David. And while the two of them argue what to do, Tad and Carrie disappear. They're gone, says David, where did they go?--and he tries to dart into the room. No, David, we mustn't, insists Hallie, pulling him out and dragging him from the room. Outside the room, David asks, were we going to follow? You started to, she says, and you wanted me to go, too. Yes, says David, upstairs, Carrie and Tad. He goes to the door again. Don't, says Hallie. The staircase, says David, where did it come from? He opens the door, but all they see is a linen closet--the staircase is gone--where are Carrie and Tad? What happened?
Quentin pours a drink in the drawing room. Liz enters--do you know where Julia and Barnabas are? she asks. The Old House, he says, pouring over some books and papers. I didn't want them to overhear me, she says--I didn't want to encourage them in their ridiculous prophecies. What might encourage them? he asks, sipping his drink. Nothing very important, she says, but I must admit, I feel a sense of something in this house. Like what? asks Quentin, rather sharply. I can't explain it, she admits. But you do feel a presence or something? he asks. No, nothing like that, says Liz. Have you seen or heard anything? he asks anxiously. Please save the ghost stories for Julia and Barnabas, says Liz, annoyed. All I'm trying to do is find out exactly what you're talking about, says Quentin, less impatiently. I read something in my horoscope for today that made me uneasy, says Liz--it said that a loved one would meet a stranger. Oh, what kind of a stranger? asks Quentin. It didn't say, says Liz, sometimes it's all so ambiguous.
Yes, like life itself, notes Quentin. A loved one could be anyone in the house, says Liz--a stranger--Quentin, you haven't seen any strangers on the grounds today, have you? Quentin guiltily considers her question--no, no one, he lies, and takes another swig of his drink. Notching how weirdly he's behaving, Liz asks, are you sure? I haven't seen anyone today or tonight that I haven't seen before, he says--"I swear it!" He drinks, knowing he lied by omission.
In David's room, the Java Queen on the desk, David tells Hallie, the important thing is, we didn't follow them. But we almost did, says Hallie shakily, and if we had...do you realize what would have happened? Yes, says David, we'd have been lost from our own time forever, where no one could ever find us. Oh, David, what are we going to do? she asks, wringing her hands. Nothing, he replies--we can't do anything, I know that now. Yes we can, she says, we can run away. (Jack and Diane, watch out.) Yes, from Collinwood, Collinsport, says Hallie, far away where we can't find or follow us! But they would, says David. No they wouldn't, insists Hallie, not if we were far away from the playroom--and the stairway, from the rooms in this house--David, please, we've got to! Do you really think it would work? he asks. We've got to try, she says desperately, there's nothing else left! Come on, he says, and be quiet. His door locks by itself. Somebody locked the door, he tells Hallie. Both kids are terrified.
Hallie sits on his bed, crying. Don't cry, urges David, and tries the door again. It's still locked, we know it is, sobs Hallie. Maybe if I bang on it, somebody will hear is, suggests David. We can't, says Hallie. I'm not gong to stay in here, says David. But how are we going to explain it? demands Hallie, who are we going to say locked the door, the ghost of Miss Daphne, or Carrie, or Tad?--no, David, we can't! I'm not going to stay locked up in here! he says. It won't be for long, she sobs--they'll come to us, tell us what to do--and we'll do it. You can wait for them, but I'm not, insists David. He walks determinedly to the window--I'm going to unlock the door. HOW? wails Hallie. I'll climb out the window to the next ledge and down the latticework, then I'll come around and unlock it, he says. He clears the sill and the table in front of it. David, don't! begs Hallie. I can't just stand around doing nothing, he insists. He opens the window and looks out, and we see a crooked image that reminds us of when Maggie considered jumping in PT. It's dangerous, warns Hallie--let me come with you! No, he says, you might fall. But I don't want to be alone in this room! she wails. Don'[t worry, I won't be long, he promises, and begins to climb out. Please don't go! she begs--please be careful, please! He sets off on his way, Hallie watching. Alone in the room now, she smells the scent of lilacs. The camera pans away from her, making the room look huge, and Hallie small, as she speak to the air: You're here, aren't you, Daphne? she asks, I can smell the lilacs--you're going to punish us, but we didn't run away--we couldn't--you can stop us from doing anything!--we can't do anything, we're lost--we're lost! She sinks onto David's bed and cries. Liz overhears Hallie's sobbing and calls in, "Hallie, is that you?--are you in there" Hallie tries to compose herself, responding, "Yes, Mrs. Stoddard." Why are you crying? asks Liz--open the door. Hallie rises from the bed--I can't, she says--it's locked from the outside. Liz unlocks the door, joins Hallie and asks, who locked you in this room? Hallie turns away, scared. Who locked that door? demands Liz. No one, blathers Hallie. That's ridiculous, says Liz, someone had to lock you in here, and I insist on knowing who it was--was it David?--answer me--was it David? Yes, Hallie admits, it was David.
5:50 - David sneaks quietly into the house, closing the door softly. Quentin, drinking in the drawing room, seems pretty drunk by now. "A stranger!" he says, coughing on a sip, I wish you were a stranger, Daphne, I wish I'd never seen you--oh, but I know when the scent of lilacs comes, I shall be lost to you--perhaps I am the stranger--I wonder what Quentin would be doing now--would he be silent?--I wonder if I'm Quentin or a stranger. David, overhearing this off soliloquy, comes in and asks, who are you talking to? The dregs, David, he says, the dregs of this glass--that's where all the answers are (how many alcoholics believe that?) What did you mean by a stranger? asks David. Oh, says Quentin, well, I'm in immediate danger of becoming a stranger to my glass, but that can be easily remedied--he refills his glass again and drinks. Ah ha ha! he chuckles drunkenly, friends again, he says, tapping the glass and swilling more. Good night, says David. Yes, says Quentin--good night to all of us. He calls to David as he's heading upstairs and asks, are you all right? Yes I am, David assures him, and goes upstairs. Quentin drinks.
Hallie, asks Liz, why did David do this cruel, stupid thing to you? (he wanted to lock a love slave in his room, Liz). Can't you tell me exactly what happened? asks Liz. He just locked the door, that's all, says Hallie, desperately striving for lies. But you're trembling, says Liz, there must be more to it than that! There isn't, says Hallie--there isn't, please, there isn't! David enters the room. Come in here, Liz orders--there's something very strange going on, and I want to know what it is. David and Hallie stare at each other, her lips trembling.
David, Liz asks, did you lock Hallie in this room? Yes, says David. Why?--didn't you see you frightened her? demands Liz. I didn't mean to, says David. That's right, I was being silly, says Hallie. Please, says Liz, I don't want you to make apologizes for David--why did you do it? It was only a game, answers David. A game? asks Liz, I can't believe my ears--do you realize what a cruel and stupid thing you did? Hallie is gazing at David, silently begging him to go along. Yes, Ma'am, says David. I can't imagine what kind of person would do such a thing, can you? asks Liz No, says David. Game or no game, says Liz, I'm shocked and disappointed--Hallie is our guest--and we're supposed to do everything we can to make her life pleasant and comfortable while she's here--now. David apologizes. Apologize, orders Liz. (little dialogue slip-up). Please, begs Hallie, it was my fault as much as his--I was playing the game, too. I'm sorry, Hallie, says David, you don't know how sorry I truly am. I do, she assures him--I know you would never do anything to hurt me. The intensity of their statements to each other makes Liz look from one to the other for a few moments--well, off to bed, both of you, she says--and David, I don't want to find you outside this room again tonight--is that clear? Yes, he says. Almost to herself, but aloud, Liz murmurs that probably safer, having him in here alone, away from strangers. Hallie gazes at her, puzzled. Liz bids them good night and leaves the room. Hallie says, "'Strangers'--what does she mean, do you think she knows?" I don't know, says David--Quentin said something about strangers earlier. We've got to be careful, says Hallie, they must not ever find out. I wish they would, says David. But they won't--ever--says Hallie, because we won't tell them! She starts to leave, but David stops her--look, on the mast, there's a flag, he says. Hallie looks
--a pirate's flag, she notes. That wasn't there before, says David. I know it wasn't, says Hallie. Then who put it there? asks David. I don't know, she says, and don't want to know. She leaves his room. David stares at the flag.
Quentin reads through his ancestor's diary at the drawing room desk. NO! he says firmly, putting it down. Liz enters--what's wrong? she asks. Nothing, he says, I'm just reading a diary I found for Julia. I'd like to see it, says Liz It's just some ravings by a mad ancestor of ours, says Quentin, his name was Quentin Collins--of course, he chuckles, he happens to be a great grand uncle of mine. Now I am curious, says Liz. It's all rather ridiculous, honest, says Quentin. I still want to see it, she says. He reluctantly gives it to her. The entry, says Liz, is the same date as today, but it's 1840. Yes, says Quentin. Is this what you were reading? she asks. Yes, he answers testily. Perturbed by what she reads, she asks Quentin, what does it mean? Exactly what it says, I suppose, responds Quentin. Liz reads, "Tomorrow, we bury Carrie and Todd (Tad)." Quentin, a smudge of dirt on his cheek, looks morose.
David lies asleep, the ship right next to his bed. Liz, in a pink robe, enters, noting to herself--he's asleep, safe, no strangers to trouble his day--the day is over and nothing happened--he's all right, and I thank God for it. She kisses him and leaves his room. (She adores this child so much, always has, even when he was very, very bad.) David dreams: His door opens and a man, dressed in 19th century clothing, stands in the doorway. David leaves his bed and goes to the man, walking slowly. He meets Gerard in the corridor outside his room; they communicate silently. Hallie joins them. Gerard walks away. The children follow. The scene is shot Batman-style, weird angles that make the viewer feel disjointed. David and Hallie go downstairs, where Gerard waits in the foyer. They hear a horrific rattling noise--an approaching carriage?--and run upstairs and kneel on the landing, looking down. Liz, dressed in 19th century clothing, comes running in, calling to Quentin, begging, tell me where they are, take me to them! Quentin, also dressed in period clothing, comes out of the drawing room--you can't go in there, he says. I must see them! she says, be with them. They enter the drawing room. We hear screams, then sobbing. Elizabeth, says Quentin, we did all we could. The kids stand and come downstairs. They hear Liz and Quentin exiting the drawing room and hastily hide in the kitchen area. Quentin comforts Liz, who is crying and holding a handkerchief. Some things in this world we can do nothing about, he says, and helps the crying woman upstairs.
Hallie and David leave their hiding place and go into the drawing room, giving each other a frightened glance. They open the door and are shocked at what they see: Carrie and Tad, laid out on biers, dead.
David awakens, screaming, "No, no!" He climbs out of bed and into the corridor, where he meets Hallie and learns they had the same dream of a horrible looking man leading them downstairs. Please, I know, she says. Who was he? demands David. Carrie points behind him--look! It's Gerard himself, smiling. He advances toward the children.
Hallie screams and runs away, but David, seemingly locked into communion with the ghost, stands firm.
NOTES: We have contact! Gerard has appeared to kids, first in dreams, now for real. He already appears to be doing something to David's mind. This is the stranger Liz read about in her horoscope, and they met him after she had already checked him while he was asleep, having no idea that until midnight, it's still the same night, and David and Hallie have met a most dangerous stranger.
Quentin is feeling angry, guilty and impotent, so he's drinking a lot, which we all know never solves anything. One wishes he would get hold of himself; this isn't the Quentin we came to know and love in 1897. Do they have to dumb and water down a character when he becomes a good guy? Quentin used to have an edge, but he's lost it here, and he's no fun. I did like the scene where he made friends with the glass filled with booze, but it wasn't and isn't a good message to send to kids.
Tad and Carrie are dead. What does that mean to David and Hallie? We realize that Tad and Carrie were calling to the kids, urging them to hurry, because they knew they were going to die, and they wanted Hallie and David to save them somehow, probably by giving up their own lives to save those of their 1840 counterparts. Creepy, creepy stuff, for sure, but at least Hallie prevented David from going--which he really wanted to do.
I can't believe Liz actually accepted the lame "game" explanation for why David locked Hallie in his room. Given their ages and hormones, you'd think she'd figure it was for sexual purposes, but of course, we aren't supposed to think of David and Hallie as sexual beings even though they should have been, and it would have made more sense if there was a hint of that--more fun, too. Liz DID give them a funny look, so perhaps she wasn't as convinced as she said she was. Despite her misgivings, the kids met that bad old stranger and she was none the wiser.
What is the meaning of the pirate flag appearing on the Java Queen? Was Gerard a pirate? That would be interesting. One more bad portent for the children, who, despite all the worried adults around them, truly are alone in their plight.
That was one scary dream David had. Carrie and Tad died--how?--and Hallie and David could have disappeared, too, and still might, if Gerard has his say. More mysteries here, and we're heading for a denouement that will lead us to another flashback which I, personally, enjoyed for the most part.
1087 - Gerard pursues David into his room. Who are you? demands David. He recognizes him as the same man in my dream--how could you be in my dream and here? Gerard grimaces, then grins.
Don't smile at me, begs David. Gerard comes toward him. Stay away! cries David tells him to stay away...don't...DON'T! he screams.
Hearing David's screams, Julia runs to his room. Gerard, disappears. The carousel music starts to play; Julia hugs herself against the chill. He's been here, he's been in this room, she insists, I can feel that he's been here.
Who? asks David. You tell me, she demands. No one's been in this room except for me, he says. Then why did you scream? she asks. I had a nightmare, he says, a terrible nightmare. Tell it to me, says Julia. It was about a war, he says. Don't lie to me, she commands. I'm not lying, he says--what right have you got to say I am? We always tell each other the truth, she reminds him. I am telling the truth, he says, I had a nightmare--he pours and drinks some water. Was there a man in your dream? she asks. There were lots of men in my dream, he says. I mean a man with dark hair and cold, evil eyes, says Julia. What makes you think you can describe a man from MY dream? asks David, it's awfully weird of you. Tell me, she says gently. There was nobody like that! he says. Are you sure? she asks. There were soldiers, he says, lots of them, and tanks, and airplanes, and bombs--they were bombing Collinwood and I was in it--and that's the truth. Is it? she asks. Yes, he says. If you're keeping something from me.... He walks away. Don't turn your back to me, she says, it's very important that I know of anything unusual going on. What's so unusual about a dream, or a kid having one? he demands angrily--I can't do anything around here without one of you jumping on my back, asking me about -- "unusual' things!" --well the unusual things around here are YOU, and Barnabas, and Quentin! His voice rises with fury. Be calm, says Julia. YOU calm down, says David--pretty soon someone's going to come in here and say, “David, why aren't you asleep yet?' How can I go to sleep in a house like this, with all of you people crawling all over the hall? All right, she says, I'll let you go to sleep. Thank you, he says, somewhat curtly. I hope you don't have another nightmare, she says. So do I, he says defiantly. She leaves his room. The carousel music begins to play. I didn't tell her anything, nothing at all, he tells the air, because I know you wouldn't want me to--listen, if I promise never to tell, will you not make me have dreams like that--will you? (Sad, pathetic, a riveting performance from Henesy.)
Quentin is with Daphne in her wreck of a room. What's happening in this house? he asks--you can tell me if only you would--I've lived in this place for so many years--why have you waited so long to come to me? She answers by kissing him. He holds her--when are you gong to tell me? he asks. She doesn't respond. Gerard enters, finds them in each other's arms, and glares at Daphne over Quentin's shoulder. Quentin can't see the jealous, enraged spirit.
Gerard's glare forces Daphne to push Quentin away. What's wrong? he asks--why the sudden change? She opens the door, dismissing him. You always expect me to come when you want me, he says, then dismisses me as child--but I'm not letting it go any further--you're going to tell me all the whys or else I'll do what I should have done before all of this started. She turns away from him, miserable, covering her face with her hands. He places his hands on her shoulders to comfort her--I wonder why I'm always so willing to give you another chance? he muses--but I'll give you one more chance! He leaves the room. She closes the door, where Gerard awaits her. He grabs her arm, forcing her to accept a feather pen from him. She glares right back at him.
Collinwood - Sebastian Shaw sits at the desk in the drawing room reading something in Liz' horoscope about David. Julia enters and greets him--are you reading your own work? she asks. Mrs. Stoddard was puzzled by a phrase of mine, he says. Yes, says Julia, 'A loved one will meet a stranger.'--have you figured out who the loved one is? When I do figure it out, he says, I'll tell Mrs. Stoddard, not you. Embarrassed, Julia smiles--I seem to be intruding, she says, I understand the way you feel, but we are all very concerned. Julia, holding newspaper clippings and an envelope, explains, I've been reading up about you. A file on me! he says, gazing at what's in her hand. Yes, I have some friends in NY who are fascinated by the occult, she says--the McClellans, do you know them?--they sent me some articles--I'm very impressed--you've had a great deal of excellent publicity, and have made many predictions that have come true--you're quite in demand. You're surprised, he remarks. No, only that you're here in Collinsport and plan to stay, says Julia--why are you? Do you consider yourself a friend of mine, Dr. Hoffman? he asks. I barely know you, she says. Exactly, he points out, why should I tell you something even my closest friends don't know?--I chose to come to Collinsport, I chose to stay in Collinsport--do I need your permission for that, Doctor? Of course not, she says. Exactly, he says again, because I don't think I'd get it. You're wrong, you would, indeed, she assures him, if you would use your talent to help us. What makes you think I haven't? he asks. Because the other day you were playing the piano, she says, and you played a tune you said you made up, but you know there is only one place you could have learned that tune. Shaw nods his head, then looks down, grinning--I wasn't aware, he says, that there are only 12 basic tunes (and 12 basic faces, right?)--isn't it possible that I hit upon one that you'd heard? Speaking emphatically, Julia says, there are SPIRITS in this house, every time those spirits appear, that tune is heard--they're very vengeful spirits, and they want to destroy this place. How do you know that? he asks. I know... .I know! she assures him passionately--he will start with the children--you can see the horror in that--why won't you help us, why are you willing to have them destroyed? I'm destroying nothing! shouts Shaw. You are, says Julia--you aren't helping us by your silence and evasions--if you said one word to Mrs. Stoddard, she would take the children from this house! I have that responsibility? asks Shaw, me, a stranger?--something tells me that you're imagining all this, Doctor, and I've seen women like you before--hysterical women who imagine ghosts all over the place when there are none--you'll excuse me if I don't help you, Dr. Hoffman. He races from her presence. David, on the stairs, stops him from exiting the house. You did my Aunt Elizabeth's horoscope, right? asks David--I'd like to talk to you about something, please. Shaw looks guilty.
Up in his room, David questions Shaw about the stranger a loved one was supposed to meet per Liz' horoscope. Is that what you wanted to ask me, you're sure? asks Shaw. Yes, says David, they're all very worried about me. Are YOU, David? asks Shaw. I don't understand adults, says David, I think they really believe in horoscopes. And you? asks Shaw. I don't know, says David. I think you do, says Shaw, even more than the adults--tell me one thing, David--did you meet a stranger? No, answers David, just you, and that was today, not yesterday--"Nothing terrible is going to happen to me, is it?"
Why? asks Shaw. Everything is going to happen the way you told Aunt Liz, says David--you meant all that, didn't you? Shaw, looking guilty, says, I meant it. He leaves David's room without another word. David looks uncertain.
Evening - Gerard gazes malevolently through drawing room window at Quentin, who sits reading a note that says, "I will tell you all tonight--midnight--my room, Daphne." Julia enters and feels a chill, but Gerard is gone. Do you feel the chill, Quentin? she asks. He offers her a brandy, which he has located right on the table next to him. I came here to find Liz' horoscope, says Julia, she said I might study it--I'm afraid I made rather a fool of myself with Sebastian Shaw--I don't understand him at all. Quentin hands Julia her brandy; she thanks him. Is it necessary that any of us understand Mr. Shaw? asks Quentin. It may be, says Julia--I keep looking for some help. Julia, says Q, enlisting soldiers before war has been declared has never been a popular thing to do. She smiles--how alone Barnabas and I would feel without you, she says. I really haven't been very much help, says Quentin. No, but we can count on you, at least, says Julia, and that means a lot. Quentin, guilt on his face, walks to the sideboard and says, Barnabas should know I'm really not that dependable, in fact, it's not one of my famous traits. No one is fooled by your own version of yourself, laughs Julia, sipping her drink, complaining, I still feel cold--have you seen David this evening? No, why? asks Quentin. It's just so quiet here, says Julia, it's almost eerie--I think I'll go check on him. She leaves the room. Quentin gazes at his glass and says, twice, "Midnight." He checks the clock--9 PM.
Julia, in David's room, examines the pirate's flag on the ship. David enters--what are you doing here? he angrily demands. She points out the flag--it was never there before, she says. I don't think that's your business, he snaps. I was just curious, she says. You have no right to be here! he insists. David! she says. I have a right to some privacy, don't I? he asks--do I have to put signs up? There's no reason to be this angry, she says. You can just get out of here, he says, and you don't have to come back until you're invited--and I can guarantee you won't be, because I'm tired of all your questions and snooping--tired! I'm sorry, says Julia, and leaves his room. David gazes at the pirate flag on his ship.
Gerard lifts a heavy piece of rope and winds it around his hands. Daphne sits by. He pulls it tight, looking at her with satisfaction.
10:30 - Julia sits in the drawing room, reading a book. David comes downstairs and enters--are you still looking for Rose Cottage? He asks. Yes, she responds. Julia, says David, (he usually calls her Dr. Hoffman), I shouldn't have talked to you the way I did before--I'm sorry. It's all right, she assures him, I understand, it was wrong of me to come to your room when you weren't in there. You aren't mad, he says--I'm glad, because I don't like when people are mad at me--what if something happens? Like what? she asks. Like what if something happened and I never got a chance to make up? he asks. Julia rises from the sofa and puts her hands on his shoulders--you'll have lots of chances and lots of fights and I will have, too, I hope, she says. That's all I wanted to say, he says, good night. She offers to go with him--I left Liz' horoscope in your room. He offers to go get it--maybe you'll find out where Rose Cottage is tonight. That can wait until tomorrow, she says, putting her hand on his shoulder. It can? he asks. Yes--why can't it? she asks. I don't really know why I said that, says David, I really don't. Julia follows David upstairs.
In Daphne's room, she shakes her head at Gerard, who cruelly grabs her throat and touches her face, then kisses her. (Don't they have an odd relationship?)
Quentin is drinking again. Five more minutes and I'll know, he realizes, looking at the clock. Julia comes in to show him something fascinating from Liz' horoscope tomorrow--it says an enemy will become a friend. Good, we can always use new friends, says Quentin. It doesn't make any sense, insists Julia, Liz has no enemies. I'll think about it on my way to bed, says Q. Julia stops him--I'll have a brandy with you, she offers. Another would keep me awake, says Q. Stay, she urges, Barnabas will be back in a few minutes and will want to see you. Then you and Barnabas can figure out the mysteries of Collinwood yourself, he says testily. I don't understand you, she says, you're our leading nice person, and here you are. . . I've changed, Julia, he says curtly, haven't you noticed?--good night. He hurries away, leaving Julia gazing after him, puzzled. It's exactly midnight.
Quentin goes to Daphne's room, closing the door behind him. Daphne, are you here? he calls--please let me see you, I want to know so much! Daphne, I have got to know. From the window, Gerard appears, the rope gripped in his ghostly hands, about to slip it around Quentin's throat!
NOTES: Gerard wants to kill Quentin, probably out of jealousy, and Daphne wants to stop it, but Gerard must be the stronger of the ghosts. Will she save him or will Gerard throttle him? Or will his portrait make it all moot?
David had every right to be angry at Julia's intrusion in his room, but she has his best interests at heart, and it was nice that they made it up. She's become like a second mother to him, Liz being the first. He is a big boy now, and he is chafing at all the adults interfering in his life--but he and Hallie need it desperately. His make-up scene with Julia was sweet.
Nice scenes between Quentin and Julia, too, but I WISH he could tell her what's really going on!
Quentin's in big trouble now. Will his portrait show those rope burns on his neck?
Henesy's acting is top-notch here. You feel his desperation, his sensation that he's losing control of everything.
Love, Robin
