Thursday, September 28, 2017

Dark Shadows Episode 329 - 9/28/67

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Barnabas asks Sam to let him know if he can do anything for him or Maggie. There's a knock at the door, and the sheriff says that must be his deputy. It is—and he says Willie is coming out of his coma. The sheriff asks Sam if he wants to join him, and he says he's going to go back to Maggie. Barnabas asks if he can tag along, and the sheriff allows it. He says he wants to hear Willie explain what happened, as he's sure he's innocent.


Woodard tells Julia Willie's heartbeat is almost back to normal. He says the transfusion must have done the trick. He says he's sorry he had to give him a sedative, as now he'll be out for several hours. Woodard tells Julia he thinks the sheriff is right—he doesn't think Willie abducted Maggie. He asks Julia to watch Willie while he steps out for a minute. Julia thinks to herself that if Willie talks, he'll expose Barnabas AND her. She'll never practice medicine again. She thinks it would be so easy to silence Willie permanently. She reaches down to the needle in his arm, and stops when Woodard comes back in. She makes an excuse that he was starting to move.


The sheriff and Barnabas arrive at the hospital, and the sheriff asks Barnabas to wait outside. Barnabas says that he might get more information if he allows Willie to speak to him first. The sheriff says that's not possible. He says that no one will talk to Willie before he does.


The sheriff enters Willie's room. Woodard says Willie is doing much better, but he'll be unconscious for a few hours. He says he'll wait. He asks Julia what she's doing there, calling her doctor. Woodard explains that he told the sheriff the truth about her. He also tells the sheriff that she's been helping him. The sheriff points out that he found a ring in Willie's room. Julia says Barnabas must be upset, and the sheriff explains that he is, and that he's waiting outside, upset that he couldn't come in to see Willie.


Barnabas paces in the hospital when Julia comes out. She says that Willie is under sedation. He says that she must see to it that Willie is silenced. She says she couldn't kill him.


The sheriff and Woodard watch over Willie.

Julia and Barnabas wait in the hospital lobby.


Willie starts to stir and moan. Woodard points out that Willie's coming out of it. Willie says everything hurts. Willie doesn't recognize Dr. Woodard. He reiterates that everything hurts. The sheriff asks why he was trying to get into Maggie Evans' bedroom last night. Willie asks them not to hurt them. He then asks if it's dark outside. He says he's afraid of the night. The sheriff shows Willie the ring and asks him to identify it. Willie says it's his ring. The sheriff tells him he stole it from Maggie Evans. Willie repeats her name, and then says he's afraid, and he knows why.


Barnabas points out that the sun will rise in half an hour. Julia tells him not to panic.


The sheriff and Woodard come out. They say they know the truth about Willie. He's hopelessly insane. Woodard says his mind snapped. They said he kept saying he was afraid of a voice from a grave. Julia asks if the case is closed. She asks what will happen to him, and Woodard says he'll probably be committed. Barnabas asks to see him, and he and Julia go into his room.


Willie doesn't recognize Barnabas. He asks if he's a doctor, and Barnabas says that he is.


Our thoughts

John: Dana Elcar is back! I thought for sure we were losing him, but it appears his replacement was just called in for yesterday's episode.

Christine: Strangely, he is not back. Today is Dana Elcar's last appearance as Sheriff Patterson. Vince O'Brien will return to the role in Episode 503. It must have been filmed out of sequence, which is a weird thing to do when you're introducing a new actor. I wish we still had the opening slates.


John: Smoking in Barnabas' house was bad, but what the hell was Julia thinking smoking in Willie's hospital room?


Christine: Barnabas did tell her to kill him. I wonder if Willie has acquired the ability to heal rapidly as a result of being bitten by Barnabas.

John: It's a bit of a cop-out to have Willie wake up with no memory of who everyone is. I don't know why Woodard didn't just tell Julia he'd end up at Windcliff under her care. I can't imagine it will last long, but I was hoping the writers might have come up with something fresher than amnesia.

Christine: Perhaps Willie is faking amnesia/insanity to save himself. I'm surprised Barnabas didn't give himself away by having such a loud conversation with Julia in the waiting room about being discovered for what he is. I hope we'll get to see him grab Willie's IV bottle and chug it in tomorrow's episode, but I guess that's too much to hope for.

Hey, Kool-Aid!

1 comment:

Paul Haney said...

I remember going to see my doctor (a pediatrician) in the early 1970s and he had a full ashtray on his desk! It was a different world back then for sure. I love how Julia blows the smoke right in Woodard's face...showing him who's boss!

I also love Karlen's high pitch voice here. It must have been very hard for the others to keep a straight face when Karlen was on his game.