"A dawn obscured by mists from the sea slowly creeps towards Collinwood. Through the morning mist a man emerges from the darkest pit a man can know." Victoria narrates the introduction of episodes she's not in. I wonder if she will be the narrator for many future episodes. So begins episode 219 of Dark Shadows.
Willie appears at dawn. Through the front door. It makes me wonder why for such a large estate, why there aren't any other entrances one might sneak into. Jason McGuire is waiting to confront him. He wants to know one thing, and one thing only: why he went to the cemetery. Will he get an answer?
"You were looking for the jewels, Willie." Contrary to my hunch that Jason McGuire had caught on to the fact that Willie is a vampire, he believes he is simply in it to rob the jewels that are supposedly buried in Barnabas Collins' coffin.
Personal feeling: I am happy to be watching these episodes, but saddened to think I will very quickly remember almost nothing of what I have seen. I will use this blog as an external hard drive. Perhaps the experience of typing these blogs will help me remember. I went to Cub Scouts with Jack tonight and we built a birdhouse. I was completely unprepared for the experience, but I remained calm, and we managed to finish it. I was proud of us. Back to Dark Shadows.
Willie sees a way to deflect suspicion from his real malady and agrees he was looking for the jewels. Jason insists he will now leave town on the next bus. Willie insists he is sick and returns to bed.
Roger Collins confronts Willie in the early afternoon and demands he leave. He applauds Willie's "performance." He does not believe Willie is sick. Jason McGuire tries to convince Roger Willie is suffering from a strange illness, and they agree to bring in a doctor.
The sheriff calls wanting to see Roger Collins. But he will not mention why he wants to see Roger.
Jason calls the doctor.
What I learned: There IS a phone at Collinwood.
Roger's meeting with the Sheriff does not go as expected. He is told the animals from many local farms have been drained of blood. The reason Roger would be consulted is because the Collins family owns many of those farms.
Meanwhile, the doctor gives his diagnosis of Willie. He is not sick. He is suffering from a loss of blood. An enormous loss of blood. Why the doctor doesn't consider this an illness makes no sense, but what am I, a doctor?
The episodes without Barnabas Collins seem more like they exist more to move the story forward and provide details than anything else. This one was slightly dull.
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"There are those who walk the path of darkness. Those who can never be good."
So opines Victoria Winters in the introduction to episode 218 of Dark Shadows.
Will Barnabas Collins return in this episode?
The question is answered early in the episode as Barnabas has his eyes on Jason McGuire after he exits the Collins crypt where Willie Loomis seemed to disappear.
Meanwhile at the New House Roger and Elizabeth discuss inviting Barnabas to stay, unaware he has been staying at the Old House all along.
As they discuss Barnabas, he arrives at the door, and Roger asks him where he has been staying. They invite him to stay at the New House, but he counterproposes that he'd like to stay at the Old House. They say it in in decay and uninhabitable. Barnabas disagrees. Barnabas gives an impassioned speech about his branch of the family and he feels such a connection to the Old House.
Barnabas encourages Roger to talk Elizabeth into letting him stay at the Old House. Meanwhile, she has gone to ask Jason McGuire about Willies' whereabouts. She tells him she is going to end the nonsense, but he once again threatens her with going to the police. What is the secret they are hiding in the basement?
Roger Collins withdraws to get an address for a shipyard Barnabas intends to visit, and Jason McGuire enters the room. He meets Barnabas, and insists the two have met before. Have they?
Jason remarks he has head some unusual stories about Barnabas Collins the ancestor. Barnabas asks what sort of stories, and Jason says he was supposed to have been buried with all his jewelry. Jason slyly insinuates that someone buried with such a cache of jewelry might invite a grave robber, seeming to indicate he has put two and two together and suspects Willie Loomis may have disturbed Barnabas' coffin and fallen prey to his vampirism.
Will the two become foes? If so it seems Jason McGuire is destined to get the short end of that stick. But who knows.
Vampire rules: In one scene Barnabas exits the tomb and places his hand upon a stone cross. Does this violate the vampire's terms of service, or does the cross only apply to certain situations?
Overall, a very weighty and entertaining episode. I learned that Roger claims he, Barnabas, and Elizabeth Stoddard are the three remaining members of the Collins family, although I am sure in future episodes more appear. Where do they come from? I guess I'll find out. On to episode 219.
Question: Will Barnabas Collins ever appear in two consecutive episodes?
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