Fashion notes first . . .
Carolyn has on a sleeveless two piece dress. Very cute.
Her evening outfit is a tight short-sleeved ribbed sweater and skirt. The sweater is belted. Very cute. I suspect my brother would approve. His famous comment about Vicki in a sweater: "Boy, is she stacked!"
My sense is that somebody got Orhbach's to pony up with some more and better clothes.
Roger's outfits have gotten distinctly more upscale. He's got on that double breasted blue suit jacket with the brass buttons and looks less like a homeless person with good posture and more like the snide snob he's supposed to be.
Vicki is back in the sweater and skirt combo.
Onto the show . . .
Still Day 5
I have to tell you these days when I put in one of these tapes my main wish is that time passes quickly and that they're going to give me a bit more to comment on than my crackpot theories about telephone placement and weird subtext between Bill Malloy and Sam Evans. Sigh.
We're not off to a good start when we get another one-sided phone call. I'm starting to realize that this and bad food writing is a sign that Art Wallace wrote the episode. I checked my handy-dandy DS book and damn it, I'm right. Yet again. I'm always right. Oh, yeah, the phone call. So Maggie's at the diner making it, why I forget, but I think it's to Sam and it's her typical cheery "tell me you haven't choked to death on your own vomit" call o' the hour.
Okay, okay, I take it back. Finally Burke orders real food appropriate to the time and setting. For those of you who care, he opts for orange juice, coffee, bacon and eggs. Later the prop guy supplies him with a piece of toast. Was that so hard, Art? Really? It's not like I'm demanding you show me the man's scrambled eggs, just tell me he got some and I'm a happy person.
People are still looking for Bill. Basically, that's everyone. If they're not looking for Bill, they're reassuring the people looking for Bill that Bill will turn up. Except not. Someone even says it in these two episodes "Bill Malloy isn't the type to get lost." I may have misquoted--coffee spilled over my notes--but that's the gist of it. Very good line too.
I always like it when Burke shoots Maggie down, not that she lets that stop her or even notices really. Joe pops in. I knew there was a reason that I liked Joe (well, other than his general hotness). Maggie says something like "you take your coffee black" and he says "always." Kind of like, "What? Are you on crack? Of course, I take it black. Everyone should. Who wants cream or sugar interfering with the general greatness of the coffee?" Or maybe I'm reading way too much into this. Probably. Maggie does a little flirting with Joe. Ah, and so it begins. Oh, and there's more about Bill. Burke offers a truce in order to locate Bill. Joe, who has good reason not to spit on Mr. Devlin should he ever be on fire, is not so interested.
And with her impeccable timing and ability to read difficult situations, the Reason comes bouncing in. She has car trouble. I would sympathize except Carolyn's mechanic promises to have it done in an hour. Yeah, when I need to have the car fixed, it's an all day affair and involves begging rides from friends and family. Joe is snarling at her when she can't shut about Burke. She gets impatient. Too bad sweetie, he's gone and you don't have your wheels to go track him down right now, do you?
Casa Evans. Burke's out there looking for Bill. If I hadn't looked up who wrote the episode, I would know it was one of Art's by the excessive dialogue about coffee. Sam, for a change, is sober. Lots more about Bill. I can understand the concern. Frankly, I'm heartsick about it. I get why Liz and Joe are worried. And I totally get why Burke is freaking. After all, Bill all but promised him he could clear his name and hand him Roger's head on a plate, but Burke's being excessively combative about this with people who don't deserve to be treated this way. Joe and Maggie were literally kids when he was sent to prison. Sam is a sad, pathetic drunk. If you're so all fired concerned, go to the police. That's their job
Segue-way back to the coffee shop. Joe and Carolyn are bickering in front of Maggie. I'm sure that must be fun to watch. Joe theorizes that Burke knows something about Bill and Carolyn, predictably, gets upset. Finally, Maggie takes off leaving the coffee shop in their hands.
Now there's responsibility for you. Bear in mind that Carolyn points out she's got to leave shortly and Joe isn't exactly chiming in promising to cover till she returns. In her absence, they make up briefly. The conversation turns serious as Joe reports David's predictions. He's not exactly the Amazing Kreskin, folks. He's a nine-year-old brat. But I get it. They both know that the relationship is ending and it's as good a mechanism as any to use to explore that.
Sam's brief experiment in sobriety ends. Are we surprised? He's impatient with Burke as am I. Bullying Sam is going to get Burke where exactly. Go to the police. Then Maggie comes in.
Okay, [rant]I totally get that this is supposed to be a small town and all. I understand that the coffee shop isn't exactly SRO. And if Maggie had taken off to go to the ladies' room or check the front desk, or hell even run down to the drug store for some aspirin, I would understand. But her house is not in the heart of Collinsport is downtown. Hell, it's not even in town. You either have to take a long walk or drive. So she has left her employer's restaurant with the cash register in the hands of a spoiled teenage heiress and her boyfriend--both of whom have stated they cannot hang around. Would you hire this woman? I think not. [/rant]
Mitchell Ryan has a cold and is relentlessly reading the Teleprompter.
Maggie is trying to get anything out of Sam in reference to Bill. Ha! Sam instructs her to go back to work. About bloody time. She's not paying much attention, but finally obeys. Where are they headed? Sam intones "Headed towards death." Nothing like being overly dramatic to get your point across.
At least time appears to be advancing a bit quicker, because suddenly it's nighttime. Vicki and Carolyn have gone out in the dark for a walk. I really do not get why everyone gravitates to Widows' Hill after hours. It's a non-illuminated top of a cliff without a guard railing. Should one oh, go a few paces too far, that person has a long journey down culminating in some nasty looking rocks below. As neither Carolyn nor Vicki has proved themselves to be particularly shrewd, I can't say that I'm totally surprised.
Carolyn waxes on romantically about ghosts. At this point in the series, Vicki is the skeptic. More about Bill. Carolyn looks at her watch--a birthday present from Joe. This will be more pertinent in a bit. Right now it just serves as a bridge to her dilemma about Joe. The creepy effect of the wailing widows starts up.
Our Little Monster is suffering from insomnia and bad dreams. I can sympathize. Lately, I've been having this recurring dream about how I'm trying to wallpaper my office closet. But first I want to take down the wallpaper that's up there, and there are people underneath. It's not fun. Also, why would I be wallpapering my closet in the first place?
Anyhow Davy wants Aunt Elizabeth to come and clear out the "things in his room." For once, she's not in the mood. Come back later, kid, Aunt Elizabeth is playing depressed agoraphobe right now. Then the girls come in and she relents enough to help him.
Tea again. Because caffeine is the universal sleep aid.
Elizabeth is frustrated; I get the sense that Carolyn's relentless cheerfulness does not help. She starts in on the legend of the 3 people and Liz blows her stack. Carolyn flees upstairs in tears. I got no sympathy for the Poor Little Rich Girl. You're not helping and you know it. Liz apologizes to Vicki and tells the story
In the 130 years since Collinwood was built (putting that at 1836, two people have fallen to their deaths from Widows' Hill. The legend has it that a third will go soon. This is contrary to the one that they tell later on--the one about the three widows, but whatever.
Poor Vicki heads upstairs to bed (lots of luck with the tea in your system) and finds DEATH scrawled across her mirror. This seems to be the end of the kinder, gentler Vicki, at least for the moment. She literally drags David into her room and chews him out. His response is typical: the widows must have done it. They'd been his room and all just now. Vicki cynically tells him that they have the same handwriting as he does. Hehehe. Then she plays the "I'll tell your father" card. Amazing how fast the Little Creep wipes that mirror clean.
Carolyn has lost her watch and she and Vicki plan on going out again to find it.
Roger returns home and attacks a chicken sandwich. He's in fine form. Really, I think he's starting to figure out that there are certain advantages in dealing with a woman who won't leave her property. Namely, he can avoid her all day long and she can't do jack. He tells her he went out to see Bill's cousins. No Bill. She calls him on Bill's visit to Collinwood. Typically he hones in on the fact that Vicki must have told Liz. He starts spinning a story, which she clearly does not believe.
Vicki and Carolyn head out to the cliff. David prophesies that they will find death.
Next shot is of them screaming as they look down on what appears to be (and is) Bill Malloy's body. Waves crash around him. No musical cues and what a good choice. Much, much creepier.
Requiescat in pace, Bill Malloy.
