Frid VO... I can see how 1897 starts to lose some DS fans at this point. I honestly don't know any long stretch of any DS storyline that doesn't have strange contrivances going on at some point, though. At least when Petofi ushers Aristede into the tiny room where Barnabas's coffin is, with South Seas type torches going in each hand, Barnabas calls Petofi "incompetent" (rather than calling for the Samoan dancers to come out), and actually smiles and relaxes a bit. There should have been a laugh track reaction. Was Aristede going to march through the streets of Collinsport and up the hill to the estate with those burning? Was he going to take a carriage or cab? ("Hansom", was that what a carriage-cab was called?) "Better step on it pal, before we all go down in flames!!" Were the torches magically made to burn forever? That part's possible at least.
Or was it a bit of theater for Barnabas's sake? Some "show and tell" to drive home his point, visually? That's silly, too. My image of Aristede walking for miles with torches in his hands may turn out to be a favorite DS memory someday, yet it never happened...
King Johnny takes Magda captive. Mr. Howell, stingy as always, takes his hand back, without explanation, which makes it especially strange. We know why, but I guess I put myself in Johnny's shoes here. Magda escapes, end. Given the limited number of sets, guess where they eventually end up...? Who played A Howell, I wonder, a writer I hope?