Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Dark Shadows Episode 1177 12/29/70

You can stream today's episode free on TubiTV 

Julia continues to search Quentin's lab when she hears footsteps. She realizes that someone's coming down the stairs. She sees Professor Stokes, and smiles. He comes downstairs and says he's half as amazed as she was. He says what he read in Flora's journal must be true. Julia asks where he found it. He says it was in the ruins of Collinwood. He read that Barnabas disappeared, and his body was never found. He asks how long Barnabas has been missing, and she says it's been a week. He says they must change the course of history and find him. She asks how he knew about the staircase, and Stokes explains that Barnabas told him about it. He says he was waiting in the playroom for 36 hours when the doorway appeared. She says he hopes he doesn't regret it, and he says it's an adventure. He asks if Gerard is there, and she says he's the master of Collinwood. She explains that Quentin and Desmond have been accused of being warlocks, and they believe Gerard is responsible. She says she'll introduce him as a professor friend from Pennsylvania. She'll say he hasn't met Barnabas, but has corresponded with him, and came due to an old invitation from him. He asks if Gerard suspects her and Barnabas, and she says that he does. 

Gerard calls from outside, demanding that she unlock the door. She does, and he asks if she's alone. She says she was reading aloud. He looks around, and asks if she's sure no one else is there. He pulls back the curtain, revealing the staircase. No one is there. She says she was ensuring there was no more incriminating evidence against Quentin or Desmond. He asks why she locked the door, and she explains that she didn't want to be disturbed. They head upstairs together. 

Gerard asks Julia if she'll see Quentin today. She says she may not have time. She tells Gerard that she just got a letter, and a friend is arriving from Pennsylvania. Professor Stokes. He asks if he's related to Carrie, and she says he is Ben Stokes' nephew. Gerard says he's surprised he didn't come to Ben's funeral. He goes to tell the servants to prepare Ben's room as Angelique comes in. They go into the drawing room, and Julia tells her a friend has arrived from 1970 to help them. He points out that in the future, he introduced Angelique to Collinwood. Julia says that he won't understand how they're married, and make up a story about Angelique traveling through time because she has an obsession about Barnabas. 

Stokes wonders about the obsession about Barnabas. He says he's afraid of doing the wrong thing, or saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. He says seeing Gerard in Quentin's lab made him feel quite vulnerable. She says that when she arrived in 1840, Ben Stokes helped her like she's now helping him. Stokes asks if Daphne came with Gerard, and Julia goes into great detail about Quentin's wife Samantha being in love with Gerard, and their getting married on the day that Quentin and Tad showed up after having been thought lost at sea. She then describes all of the twists and turns in Collinwood soap opera history circa 1840. She says they may have been wrong to blame everything on Gerard. He asks who is to blame, and she says Judah Zachery. She's surprised to see that Stokes recognizes the warlock's name. He reminds her that occult history is his academic specialty. He says he was beheaded, and his severed head had strange powers. Julia says Desmond found it, and it possessed him, then Leticia, then her. She says Quentin is accused of being possessed by it, though she's sure Gerard is. He asks what evidence the state has against Quentin. Julia lists the circumstantial evidence, including the series of dead bodies he was discovered with. Stokes asks what Barnabas' involvement is. Julia says Gerard and Trask are trying to involve him, and Barnabas disappeared when he was going to testify on Quentin's behalf. Julia tells him how to plan his arrival at Collinwood. Stokes asks about Daphne, and Julia says she's in love with Quentin, not Gerard. 

Julia is sleeping in the drawing room when she dreams that she's hearing Roxanne's voice. She gets up and sees her ghost, telling her that Barnabas is dying, and she must follow her. Julia does. Outside of a brick building, Roxanne tells Julia to hurry, and then Angelique wakes her. Julia says she was taking her to Barnabas, and Angelique has ruined it! Angelique says it's a sign, if she said he's alive. She asks if they know the place. Julia says Stokes will be there any moment, and Angelique asks her which is more important. Julia agrees that Barnabas is, and they leave together. 

Stokes arrives at Collinwood, and Gerard lets him in. Gerard introduces himself, and asks if his journey from Baltimore was successful. Stokes corrects him, saying Philadelphia. Gerard says he's surprised he didn't ask for Barnabas. Stokes asks if he's there, saying he looks forward to meeting him. Gerard explains that Barnabas is missing, and there may be foul play involved. He asks Stokes if he can tell him about Julia.

Julia and Angelique arrive in at the location from her dream. She says this is the room Roxanne led her to, and she knows Barnabas is here somewhere. She calls for Roxanne to help. Angelique joins her in calling, and says they will wait. 

Downstairs in the basement of Trask's Memorial Chapel, Roxanne waits outside the brick wall wondering why Julia hasn't come, when he has so little time.



Our thoughts: 

John: Eliot Stokes steps right out of the Disco in Saturday Night Fever into 1840! What impeccable timing to arrive while Julia happens to be in Quentin's lab!
 
Christine: Thank goodness he wasn't wearing the platform shoes and Angels Flight pants I was expecting! I can't help but wonder how he would know Barnabas if, according to what he read in Flora's journal, Barnabas disappeared and was never heard from again. Wouldn't that mean that they never had the chance to meet? 
 
John: Here we go again. At her first opportunity, Julia starts making up stories about Stokes, giving Gerard plenty of ammunition to use against him. And while I loved Julia's ridiculously detailed explanation about everything going on in 1840, it becomes quite clear to viewers how little any of it makes sense. Stokes is dead-on when he describes it as a complicated crossword puzzle.
 
Christine: That was a nice little recap for those just tuning in and wondering what the heck is going on, though it would seem unnecessary. Isn't it just us die-hard fans left watching at this point? 

John: Roxanne is one lazy ghost. She'll come to Julia in a dream, but not bother to step outside to drag her downstairs to where Barnabas is bricked in. Of course, I can't wait to see how a ghost, a witch, and a 1970s doctor are going to break down a brick wall!
 
Christine: Maybe Roxanne has a little bit of an attitude after Angelique poked her doll, resurrecting the vampire curse on her, and then fed Julia to her, though I guess she wouldn't take that out on Barnabas. Perhaps the fog obscured her ghostly vision and kept her from knowing where they were.



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