411 - (Lara Parker) - A seance has been held in the great house at Collinwood, a seance which has suspended time and space and sent one girl on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the year 1795. There, each of the Collins ancestors resembles a present-day member of the Collins family, but the names and relationships have changed, and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger in a sea of familiar faces. The Collins mausoleum at Eagle Hill Cemetery has been chosen as the final resting place of Barnabas Collins. On this night, two people have made a secret trip to the mausoleum. One has come as an unwilling servant, the other is there to ensure her own survival, for she alone knows that Barnabas will soon be one of the living dead.
Ben listens intently at the secret room door, straining to hear what's going on in there. Barnabas awakens to find Angelique about to stake him and grabs her throat. Angelique cowers against the door as Barnabas closes his coffin. What was she doing? Barn demands. Where are they? She tries to get him to return with her to the Old House for explanations (I guess she figured she'd escape), but he continues to stalk her around the coffin, scaring her quite badly. He keeps asking questions, which she refuses to answer--he'll know all soon enough! She says in a trembling voice. He starts figuring it out for himself, remembering her curse, and the bat--she knew he was going to die and return! She assures him she tried to save him, but it didn't work. Yes, he agrees harshly--she failed to stop him from dying, so instead came to finish him off in a different way. What is she afraid of, what he's become? She's afraid of him, he realizes, so she has no power over him. He demands she tell him everything, and she reveals he's now one of the living dead, who will only live at night and be confined to the coffin during the day. He remembers the other part of the curse, and gleefully says, "Anyone who loved me would die."
She failed to lift the curse, and he knows why she tried to stop him from rising--she knew she was going to be the curse's first victim--unless she lied all those times she told him how much she LOVED him! All her powers of witchcraft can't save her now! he cries. She screams her denial of his accusations, but he strangles her, one-handed, against his coffin, and slowly, eyes staring, wide and dead, she falls to the floor. Barnabas is pleased with his first kill. He looks around himself, recognizes the secret room and opens the panel. He finds Ben waiting in the mausoleum and tells him he killed Angelique.
Ben is surprised; he thought her indestructible. She was going to kill me, says Barnabas, but she was too late. Ben has a few bad moments as Barnabas mulls over the realization that the convict knows about him, and no one must know he has returned--so Ben must die. Ben swears to keep silent and loyal, as he always has; Barnabas was good to him and he owes him. Barnabas isn't sure, although he knows the human Barnabas would accept. . .Ben reminds him he'll need protection during the daylight hours, and Barnabas finally agrees to let Ben serve him. First thing they must do it get rid of Angelique's body. Ben says he'll bury it deep in the woods. Barnabas hears someone coming. We see it's Joshua, heading for the tomb. Barnabas immediately returns to the secret room, and Ben, still outside, closes the door behind him. Joshua is furious to find Ben there, and refuses to believe the man was there paying his last respects to Barnabas, saying a prayer.
He's also angry to realize Ben watched the workmen bring the body to this place, but Ben assures him he won't tell anyone. (Joshua is still so cruel to this good man, it's heartbreaking to listen to him threaten to thrash him.) I heard voice, insists Joshua--who was here with you? No one, Ben says, I was talking to himself-I was alone, I swear! Joshua insists in checking the secret room. Ben tries to stop him, eliciting more wrath from the master of Collinwood. A bat flies out, scaring Joshua; how did that get in there? he asks, unnerved. Joshua checks to make sure the secret room is empty; he orders Ben to close the panel and come with him. Ben asks if he can stay a little while, finish paying his respects to Barnabas, who was so kind to him. Joshua agrees, his hard shell seeming to soften a bit, but tells Ben to report to him in the morning for his new duties and not try to run away again. Ben promises.
After Joshua leaves, Ben enters the secret room and finds Angelique in the coffin, her eyes still open, staring at nothing. Outside the tomb, Barnabas appears before Ben, seemingly out of thin air, and, with combined revulsion and awe, tells him he is learning he has some strange, remarkable powers. Ben tells him he buried Angelique and that Joshua knows nothing. Dawn is coming, says Barnabas, they must go inside the mausoleum. Ben notes with concern that Barnabas' mouth and clothes are stained with blood--is he all right? Yes, I am, says Barnabas sorrowfully, but I attacked some poor villager. He realizes he needs human blood to survive, and painfully says there will be talk of an attack in the village the next day. The marks will make it look like the attack of a wild animal, but I am the guilty one. . .I needed blood!
Ben covers his face, tortured, trying to comprehend. Barnabas miserably wishes he'd let Angelique kill him--he'd rather be dead than go through eternity as what he's become. . .
NOTES: That is so SAD, so painful to watch! We care about these characters. Trying to deal with Joshua's anger, sorrow and cruelty toward Ben, Ben's own horror and sorrow, Barnabas' realization of what he is and what it means to the outside world--great episode, perfect performances, especially from Frid, David and Edmonds.
It rarely gets as good as this on DARK SHADOWS, at least IMHO!
412 - (Alexandra Moltke) - A seance has been held in the great house at Collinwood, a seance which has suspended time and space and sent one girl on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the year 1795. There, each of the Collins ancestors resembles a present-day member of the Collins family, but the names and relationships have changed, and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger in a sea of familiar faces. She has learned that history is not always written down as it actually happened. Thus far, two members of the Collins family have died under mysterious circumstances, and soon someone in the great house will attribute one of those deaths to Victoria Winters herself.
At Collinwood, Josette crisply informs Natalie that she's going to the gaol to tell Miss Winters that for not saving Barnabas when she begged her to, she's going to ensure that she is convicted and hanged as a witch.
At the gaol, Peter stays while Josette verbally attacks Vicki, accuseing her of pretending not to know Barnabas is dead--news which genuinely shocks Vicki, who must already be wondering from where the Barnabas in her time originated. Barnabas went to England, insists Vicki. Josette calls the Collins history a book of sorcery--Barnabas said he knew the identity of the witch, but didn't say who. Vicki denies being a witch, but Josette says the book has convinced her, and she wants to use it as evidence against her in when her trial begins. Vicki desperately points out that Barnabas was going to help her, so why would she do such a thing, but Josette doesn't listen--she's going to testify against her and make sure she's punished for taking away the one person she most cared about. And if the book is right, and she is going to die by her own hand, she'll make sure Miss Winters hangs first!
Josette leaves, and Vicki is crestfallen and miserable. All these people she's trying to help, she laments, and look at the result! Peter assures her he still wants to defend her, that believes her innocent. That book will convict her for sure, says Vicki. Peter feels sure he can discredit Trask, but Vicki believes that if she doesn't get that book back, she has no chance of acquittal. She asks him to let her out so she can go to Collinwood and retrieve the book; I'll come back, she promises. He offers to go in her place, but she says she knows where to look. He allows her out of the gaol and goes with her on the quest.
Trask comes to Collinwood and tells Natalie and Josette he had a meeting with the town elders about the two attacks on women in the last two nights. He told the elders he feels the witch, Vicki, is responsible and advised that her trial date be moved up, which they are considering in order to end the senseless terrorism. Natalie tells him Josette wishes to testify, plus they have damaging evidence against her. Trask and Josette exchange satisfied smiles.
Upstairs, Collinwood - Vicki searches Josette's room.
Josette describes to Trask the printed book of Collins history, which foretold Josette's death, but not Barnabas', and how Vicki refused to save Barnabas even though she begged her to. Trask wants to see the book, so Natalie goes upstairs to get it.
Vicki has finally located the book in Josette's desk, but she is caught red-handed by Natalie, who shouts for Trask when she spots her.
Vicki gazes around, trying to figure out what to do. Trask enters the room alone despite Natalie's protests of danger, but he finds it empty. Josette checks for the book, but it's gone, too, so they know Vicki took it.
At the gaol, Vicki tells Peter the Countess caught her, but she escaped through the secret panel in Josette's room. She gives Peter the book, which he hides in his stand-up desk, then hustles her back to her cell and locks her in. Trask is pounding at the door and it takes Peter a while to get Vicki back in her cell and the book secreted away, so he pretends he'd fallen asleep at his desk as his reason for taking so long to answer. Trask accuses Peter of allowing the witch to escape, but Peter denies it--she was in her cell since Josette's visit earlier. Trask insists Miss Winters used witchcraft and demands to see her. Natalie insists she saw Vicki holding the book at Collinwood. Trask returns to report that Miss Winters is asleep, in her cell, and, grinning, he says the book is no longer necessary. He asks Peter if he'll testify, under oath, that Miss Winters was in her cell all evening, to which Peter replies of course. Well, says Trask, he, Josette and Natalie will testify they saw her at Collinwood--and everyone knows only a witch can be in two places at once! Trask happily assures the ladies there will be an early trial, conviction and hanging death for Miss Winters, then curtly wishes Peter a triumphant good night.
NOTES: Uh oh, this isn't good! Amazing how Trask can twist everything to his own ends, isn't it? So in its way, the Collins family history book will ensure Vicki's conviction and execution. Peter should have gone himself, with the knowledge of the secret escape panel provided in case he was caught.
What is going to become of poor Vicki now?
Love, Robin
