Dark Shadows Episode 465 - 4/5/68

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From the old house, Barnabas tells Vicki to go to the portrait and listen.

Vicki wanders into the foyer and stares at the portrait of Barnabas. She hears his voice tell her he will come for her that night, and they will go away together, never to return to Collinwood.

There's a knock at the door of the main house. Vicki opens it, surprised to see Joe. She asks if he's there to see Carolyn, and he says he's there to see her. She seems apprehensive, and he asks why. He gives her the charm bracelet Maggie gave her for her birthday.

Vicki asks if he found it in the old Collinsport courthouse. He asks how she knew, and she says that was the last place she saw it—at her trial. Joe doesn't understand what she's saying. He says there hasn't been a trial in there in more than 50 years. He was looking for fixtures for Mr. Collins. He asks what she was doing there. She says that it's possible someone stole it from her and dropped it in the courthouse. She tells Joe something strange and terrifying happened the other night. He says it's unlikely someone would have stolen it from her, and asks if she was in the courthouse recently. She tells him she was there, but not recently. A long, long time ago.

Vicki is passed out in a chair in the drawing room. She dreams of Peter, hearing his voice asking where she is, and calling for help. In the dream, a present day Vicki appears outside of Peter's cell. She tells him she'll find someone to tell the truth and get him released.

Vicki then appears before Nathan Forbes. He appears to be drunk. She tells him they're going to hang Peter Bradford, and he can prevent him from being hanged for a crime he didn't commit. He starts to hit on her, and she pleads with him to help Peter.

He tells her it's not possible for him to help. He tells her that he can't sway the court, because like her, he is dead. Vicki tells him they're both alive. He reminds her she died by hanging, and tells her he died by strangling. She runs away from him.

Vicki returns to Peter's cell, but it's empty. She finds him on the gallows. He tells her that they'll find a way to be together. The executioner puts the rope around Peter's neck, places a hood over his head, and he is hanged as Vicki watches.

Waking, Vicki calls out to Peter. Barnabas is with her, and asks who Peter is. She says he's someone she knew long ago. He tells her she must forget him. He asks if she's ready to leave, and she says she is not. She says she has something to do first. She asks Barnabas if he wants her to be happy. He says he does. She tells him they must go to the Collins mausoleum. If she goes there, and there is no secret room, then it was just a dream. But if there is a secret room, she'll know she lived in the past.

Vicki drives Barnabas to the cemetery. He has second thoughts about making the trip. He says they must be on the ship and settled before the sun rises. He asks her again who Peter is. She says his name was Peter Bradford, and he defended her when she was tried for witchcraft. He helped her escape, and hid her in the mausoleum.

Barnabas tells her it's a dream, because she wouldn't know about a secret room. She tells him Ben Stokes showed it to her. She describes him as kind, and Barnabas agrees. Barnabas sees someone step into the road. Vicki sees that it's Peter Bradford and swerves, crashing the car.

Our thoughts 

John: I'm sorry, did we miss an episode where Barnabas visits his travel agent? What boat are they getting on, and exactly where will it be taking them? And who's going to move the coffins? So many questions.

Christine: I was thinking it was a stretch to assume that Vicki's bracelet had been languishing in the old courthouse undisturbed for nearly 200 years with Joe Haskell being the unlikely person in all that time to find it first, until Vicki suggested that someone may have stolen it and redeposited it there. More clues that the witch is at work? Perhaps that's what prompted Roger to send Haskell out scrounging for fixtures from a condemned courthouse.

John: It's been a long time since we saw two characters squished in a car! Barnabas looks more cramped than he does when he's in his coffin!

Christine: Poor Vicki and her doomed, tragic love life. The dream sequence with dead drunk, Nathan Forbes was delightful, though I can't help wondering if he is right about Vicki also being dead. 

John: I'm sorry, what the hell were they thinking, dropping Peter Bradford in the middle of the road, waving like an idiot? I can't wait to hear how the writers justify this. Unless it was a hallucination, they'll have some explaining to do...

Christine: That is one of the more amusing images I've seen on DS. Almost as good as Naomi pulling off a bloody mannequin arm. Perhaps Vicki is still dreaming. I would love to hear how the photo below should be captioned.

John: How about, "Mr. Curtis, I'm ready for my close-up!"?