I've finally come to the final episode of the 1991 show.
I once said a few episodes back that Vicki's being sent back to the past had to have altered certain events.
First we know that Phyllis Wick had died from the fever, so there had to have been no witchcraft trial at all...and no need for Barnabas to see revenge and retribution against Reverend Trask. Peter would not have been shot (and very likely killed) trying to save a condemned woman...but here's the tricky part....
Vicki worries that Daniel will end up dying, thus ending the Collinses line and snuffing out the existence of the Collins family of 1991. But Daniel HAD to have ended up being okay since the family of 1991 did ended up coming to be.
However, we see Angelique's spirit at work, both in the past and the present. Taking Barnabas' advice, Julia has Maggie Evans exorcise the spirit of Angelique from her. She succeeds...however Angelique simply flees from Julia and takes over Maggie. And as Maggie, Angelique turns off the life support machines that are helping Miss Wick to survive, hoping any minute that the girl will die....and thus dooming Vicki to her fate in 1790. In the past, we see Angelique erasing the confession that Barnabas coerced Trask into writing concerning Vicki's innocence and hypnotizes the judge into forgetting Peter's visit, the confession, and his promise to act in freeing Vicki.
We see both Daniel and Sarah, having witnessed Barnabas attacking Abigail at the Old House, running through the woods in the storm....they are brought back to Collinwood, both on the brink of death. Sarah succumbs first. I must say I found her death scene in Barnabas' arms heartwrenching. As sad as it was in the OS, I found it even more heartbreaking in here. I think Ben Cross did an excellent job portraying his anguish and grief after Sarah as passed on in his arms.
And as I've said, Vicki and Peter both fear that Daniel will be next, thus eliminating the Collinses family of all time. I've wondered though, if in the original timeline, it had been Sarah and Sarah alone who witnessed Barnabas' bloody attack...and Angelique's tampering in both eras in time simply altered to the point that resulted in Daniel being with Sarah in this time.
Vicki mentions that she sees Angelique wanting to destroy both her and the Collins family, and rewatching the show a bit more thoroughly this time, I can see that this most certainly is the case.
Vicki also puts 2 and 2 together on another events....the bloody attacks of 1790 correspond with the attacks in 1991....and how much the 'original' Barnabas resembles the Barnabas of present day and how he was falling in love with her...Peter tells her how the Countess had suspected Josette of being attacked by a vampire, and how she had been calling for Barnabas....and Millicent too. Daniel also had been found muttering Barnabas' name. Horrified, Vicki and Peter both come to the conclusion that Barnabas must be the vampire...and Vicki realizes that the Barnabas of the past and the one in the present are one and the same.
The next morning, Peter and Vicki expect her to be free at any moment. Unfortunately, the judge, his memory of the previous evening's events wiped out thanks to Angelique, insists he never had any conversation with Peter concerning Trask or freeing Vicki and insists she will have to hang. This angers Peter, but his anger annoys the judge who remains unmoved.
We next get to Peter vowing to Vicki he will find her again. Now I understand that Michael T. Weiss was to return as Joe's twin had the show continued, and Adrian Paul was rumored to come as Quentin and be sort of a rival to Barnabas for Vicki's affections....if that was going to be the case then I think Peter's vow to be with Vicki again in here was meaningless.
Julia comes to the room and notices the life support machines have been turned off....and that 'Maggie' was the one to do it. She struggles to resurrect Ms. Wick back.
Vicki is led to the gallows. The rope is placed around her neck. Peter is shot trying to stop the execution, to Vicki's horror. Very quickly, the hood is placed over her head and the level is pushed and Vicki goes plopping down in less than 5 seconds....I guess they were afraid that 'the witch' might strike out at them for having shot her lawyer.
That moment, in the present the lights go off. Barnabas, Elizabeth and Roger watch as Julia continue to try and save Ms. Wick when it goes dark. The lights go back on....and they are astonished to see that Vicki is now back, in the bed and we see that Ms. Wick has taken Vicki's place in the gallows, just like in the OS. Vicki wakes up and is relieved to see she is back in the present. 'Maggie' is dumbstruck (and no doubt a bit peeved as well). Vicki hugs Elizabeth then she sees Barnabas....with terror in her eyes. Barnabas sees this, as does Julia and they both no doubt realize that Vicki knows the truth about Barnabas....end of episode, end of series.
It was a very exciting finale, and it's too bad we will never got to see any resolution to this or see where else the story could have lead us to. But there was so much to enjoy.
I liked the goodbye scene between Barnabas and Joshua just before he prepares to destroy him. Joshua, unable to keep his promise to his son that he would put him out of his misery, decides to chain him in his coffin instead. On the surface, I know that keeping Barnabas chained rather than killing him and give him eternal peace might seem cruel, but this WAS his son, no matter what he had become. I can understand why Joshua, much like in the OS, simply could not bring himself to kill his own flesh and blood.
We see Daniel recovering from the fever, very fortunate for the generations to come.
Poor Naomi has been driven to madness after discovering Barnabas is still alive, thanks to Angelique's treachery. But I am glad they didn't repeat the suicide schtick from the OS. And I can understand why Joshua wouldn't have wanted to send her to an asylum. Mental hospitals in those days, from what I hear, were a hell to be in.
Well, I have finished the 1991 series. A bit more enjoyable this time around, though some of the peeves I had the first time are still there, I am glad though that I gave it another chance.
