Episode 212 - 4/19/67

Barnabas removes his coat as Liz comes downstairs. She is shocked by his uncanny resemblance to the portrait. He apologizes for not giving her advance notice of his arrival. She says that she thought Barnabas died in England with no heirs, and he explains that Barnabas married and had a son, who was his great, great grandfather. Liz is excited to hear about a whole branch of the family she was not aware of. He explains that he is the last in the family line.

She asks if he came to America for a bride. He says that's not his only goal. He's considering settling in Collinsport. She says he has several other cousins to meet. She apologizes that she can't offer him a place to stay in the house. He says it's just as he remembered it, and she points out he's never been before. He says he's familiar from stories, and talks of the old house. He says his roots, and perhaps his destiny, is in Collinwood.

Vicki and David come downstairs talking about Willie. David goes out to play, and Vicki enters the drawing room. Liz introduces Vicki to Barnabas. She tells Vicki that Barnabas is clearly related to their relative in the portrait. Barnabas sweet talks Vicki, saying he cannot bring himself to call her Vicki, and will not surrender a single syllable of Victoria. Barnabas lets himself out, and Liz and Vicki discuss Willie. Vicki says she saw Willie leave with a bag, and Liz wonders what he took, since he left his bags in his room.

David plays in the old house, and is surprised by Barnabas. He recognizes him from the portrait, thinking he's a ghost. Barnabas says he's not a ghost, but his cousin. David is very excited to hear that. Barnabas asks if he'd be afraid if he were a ghost, and David explains that he talks to ghosts. He shows him the portrait of Josette Collins. David explains that he doesn't need to be afraid, as Josette would protect him. David offers to show him around, and Barnabas explains that he knows all the house's secrets from stories he was told. David mentions a view from the house where he could watch the sunrise, and he notices that Barnabas seems sad thinking about it. Barnabas looks around the old house and smiles.

David returns home for dinner and asks if Willie came back. He says he ran into cousin Barnabas at the old house. David said he thought it was the ghost of the man in the portrait, but he was disappointed that it was only his cousin. He says Barnabas knew all about the old house. He also says that he speaks funny, and Liz says speaking correctly isn't funny, and David should speak correctly, too. David says he doesn't look like the portrait. He says the man in the portrait looks angry, whereas his cousin seemed more sad.

Barnabas looks up at the portrait of Josette, and asks why she didn't protect him. He claims the house as his, and says that any power she had has now ended.

Our thoughts

John: Welcome Barnabas the charmer! Might he be the first visitor to Collinwood who will be universally loved?

Christine: Considering the fact that he was initially brought on the show for a short term role and was to be killed off in a few weeks, it's funny that he tells Liz that for the moment he considers his stay in Collinsport a visit, but it's likely he'll be staying permanently.

John: I love how Barnabas carefully navigates the waters of familiarity with Collinwood with the fact that he's supposedly never been there before. It makes for great interplay with not just Elizabeth, but David as well.

Christine: Jonathan Frid was truly the right choice for the part. As he says, at times he tends to romanticize and indulge in fanciful attitudes. He's so wonderfully wistful when David describes seeing the sunrise from one of the rooms in the Old House, and quite pitiful when asking Josette why she didn't protect him when he was turned into something that even his own father loathed.

John: While Liz explains that they don't currently have room to house Barnabas in Collinwood, she doesn't bother to ask him where he's staying. Not that he'd admit to staying in the family crypt, of course. It is interesting that Barnabas appears comfortable with contemporary society despite only having been exposed to it for a few hours. I wonder how he paid for that new suit without any cash. Perhaps he opened an account at Ohrbach's in Collinsport.

Christine: She tells Vicki that he preferred "more independent quarters in town," so she must have assumed he was staying at the only place to stay in Collinsport. Little does she know that he's claimed the Old House as his own already. He must have had Willie pawn some jewelry for him to afford the suit, though he probably had to make a trip to Bangor or beyond to find an Ohrbach's. 

Nice fade from the portrait to Barnabas in the present.