Dark Shadows Episode 649 - 12/19/68

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Findley finds the storage room, and the entrance to the secret room. She crawls in and says she can feel their presence. The door slams shut behind her. She asks who's there, and why they are haunting this house. She demands that they make their presence known, and the Victrola begins to play.

She says she wants to help them, and the music stops. She assures them they need her help, and asks them to let her help them. She offers them peace. She says if they won't let her help them, then she demands that they let her leave. She assures them that she's not afraid, and lights a candle. She senses that someone died in the room. The candle is blown out, and she says that they exist in darkness. She says she'll wait for them, but they must appear to her.

Julia tells Liz that Roger will be fine. Julia says that Roger claims someone tried to kill him. Liz says there wasn't any wire on the stairs. Julia suggests Madame Findley may help them understand what's going on. Liz says she's worried that she's been gone for hours, and Julia reminds her it's a large house.

Unable to leave Quentin's room, Findley asks why they want her to stay in the house. She lights the candle again, and sees the cradle begin to rock. She asks whose child it was. The phone rings, and she picks it up. She can hear someone breathing, but they don't speak to her. She then realizes that the phone is not connected.

Liz says she's going to look for Findley. Julia asks her if she's supposed to interrupt her work, and Liz says, no, but it's been too long.

Findley tries to convince the person at the other end of the phone to speak to hear. She then walks to the cradle and rocks it. She smells a woman's perfume, and decides a woman's spirit exists in the room. The phone rings again, but she refuses to answer. She demands that they appear to her.

Julia goes upstairs as Liz comes out saying she can't find Findley anywhere.

The phone continues to ring. She picks it up and tells them to leave her alone. They say something and she responds that she's not going to die. She says her will is stronger than theirs. She steps in front of a mirror and sees the reflection of a skeleton.

Chris Jennings paces in his room thinking about the dead waitress. He goes to the window and looks up to the sky. He realizes the moon will be full tomorrow, and thinks he can't let it happen again. There's a knock at the door, and it's Joe. He lets him in, and Joe denigrates the place he's staying in. Joe tells him he may be leaving town for good. Chris asks why. Joe explains that he thinks it might be best if he was somewhere Maggie wasn't. He says he applied for some jobs in Boston. Chris says he was hoping Joe and Maggie might get back together. Joe suggests the odds of that are slim. Joe tells him he saw Amy. He tells Chris that he should try to get up there more often. Joe then points out he ran into a medium at Collinwood who told him he would die soon. He says Amy saw a pentagram on his face. Chris is disturbed, but tells Joe not to worry and promptly kicks Joe out of his apartment. He says he can't let it happen to Joe tomorrow night.

Liz gets off the phone and tells Julia that Stokes hasn't heard from Findley either.

Findley gets stir crazy, locked in the room. She pounds on the door, cries, and calls for help. She says she can't be frightened and the chandelier starts to swing. The Victrola starts to play again, and she asks what it means. A desk lid slams shut, and an empty chair turns to face her. She screams.

Chris Jennings arrives at Collinwood. Liz says Amy is in bed, and he tells her he's there to see Julia. He says he needs medical help. He says he'd like sleeping pills, and she says he can get them without a prescription. He says he needs something stronger—something that would last more than 24 hours. He says that it's vital that he sleeps tonight. She tells him he looks rested, and he says he's desperate to get the pills. She says when someone is desperate for sleeping pills, she's hesitant to provide them. She says she can give him something to give him the sleep he needs.

Liz comes in and says Findley's car is still outside. Julia points out she's at the top of the stairs. Findley doesn't respond to her, and tumbles down the stairs. Liz and Julia scream, as Findley comes to rest at the bottom of the stairs.

Our thoughts

John: I get that they need to move the story along, but I didn't buy that Findley would break so quickly. At least not without a close encounter with a ghost like she finally got towards the end of the episode. I think she'd be too excited to be in such a spiritually-rich environment to lose interest and go stir crazy so quickly.

Christine: I completely agree with you on that. It was very entertaining watching her take charge of the situation at the beginning of the episode and disappointing to see her fall apart so easily. It does lead me to wonder about the ghost of Quentin Collins.Why did he feel the need to lock her up and torment her when she only expressed a desire to help him? I guess he's just a mean old ghost.

John: Does anyone understand how the moon works in Collinwood? A full moon every couple of days? Either a werewolf's best friend or worst enemy, depending on their disposition. Of course, if you thought your cousin was at risk, wouldn't it be easier for you to just skip town for a few days?

Christine: Yes, I'm also having trouble understanding the lunar calendar in Collinsport. Perhaps that's why we always see the high tide in the opening titles. As I recall, Chris' past practice was to head up to the mountains during that time of the month, so it's odd that it wouldn't occur to him to do that now.

John: Nice, albeit obviously a stunt-Findley tumbling down the stairs. Still, it was nice stunt work. Julia's screams, on the other hand, could use some work. Too bad Liz' more accomplished screams couldn't drown them out.

Christine: Oh, c'mon! You didn't find her chimpanzee-like screams terrifying? I'm assuming Findley's wide eyed stare indicates that she's dead, but did she die from the fall, or was she dead already when she showed up at the top of the stairs? The impressive stunt work was carried out by Alex Stevens, who we last saw diving through the window of the Blue Whale in Episode 640.

Dark Shadows Episode 648 - 12/18/68

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David and Amy try to tell Quentin that a lady is coming to look for him. David asks what they are supposed to do. Amy says Quentin doesn't like to see anyone he hasn't sent for. As they start to go, the Victrola begins to play again.

Liz asks Madame Findley what she found in the house. She says there are signs of Astral disturbances upstairs. She says that two forces seem to be battling one another. Findley says she's pulled back to the drawing room, and then asks if there's someone connected with the family or house whose name begins with M. Liz says she doesn't think so. Findley asks to be left alone, and Liz goes to wait in the study. Findley tells her there is a curse on the house.

Findley calls upon the help of M, and says she will help in the fight against the spirit she opposes. She senses M's presence, and asks her to speak to her. She hears the spirits are confined to a single room in the house. There is a pounding, and the spirit presence disappears.

Joe Haskell arrives at Collinwood to see Amy. Liz tells him to wait in the study while she gets her. Findley comes out and asks if there are parts of the house that are closed off. Liz says there are, and offers to let her explore them. They go upstairs together.

David asks Amy if she understands what she is to do. She says she thinks so, and she'll do it just as Quentin told her to.

Joe asks Amy why she's not glad to see him. She says she's waiting for someone, and he tells her Chris isn't coming today. Amy asks if Joe saw a woman while waiting for her, describing Madame Findley. He says he hasn't. He asks if Amy likes staying at Collinwood. She says she does, though she'd prefer to stay with Chris. Findley comes in, and Amy introduces her to Joe. She comes in and picks up the Tarot card. Amy asks what she's going to do with it, and she says she's going to use it as bait. Amy then notices Joe has a pentagram on his face, but no one else can see it.

Joe asks Amy to get Liz. Findley tells Joe that she saw the pentagram, too, and she suggests that he not ignore it. She explains it can be a good or bad omen. He assumes his was bad, and she tells him to be careful. He asks what he's supposed to avoid, and she says an animal that walks as a man. He says they don't have many of those around there. Liz tells Joe he can go up to see Roger. Findley asks if Amy can show her to the West Wing. Liz explains that Amy wouldn't know where the West Wing was, and offers to take her herself.

Amy returns to the drawing room to see Madame Findley. Findley asks her to tell her about the star she saw on her cousin's face. She tells her most people don't have them. Findley asks if she's ever felt someone in the drawing room that she couldn't see. Findley asks her what she thinks a medium is, and Amy says someone who looks for ghosts. She asks if Findley has seen a ghost, and she tells her that she has, and asks Amy if she has. Amy says she saw a man dressed as a ghost for Halloween. Findley asks her why she doesn't want to answer her question. She asks her again, and David comes through the secret panel. She asks where it leads, and David says it goes upstairs to the West Wing, but there's nothing up there. Amy agrees, and Findley says that Mrs. Stoddard said she wasn't familiar with the West Wing. David tells her she can't go up there, but she clearly understands that's where she needs to go. She suggests Amy is keeping a secret. She goes upstairs, and they try to stop her, but once she goes, they smile at one another. They close the door and pretend to play when they hear Liz coming.

Findley ascends the stairs.

Liz asks where Findley is, and David says she left. Liz asks if she said where she was going, and goes to check the study. David tells Amy to play the game.

Findley finds the storage room, and the entrance to the secret room. She crawls in and says she can feel their presence. The door slams shut behind her.

David and Amy listen on the other side of the closed door. They hear Findley say she's not frightened, and wants to help someone.

Our thoughts

John: What exactly is an astral disturbance? Maybe that's residual Jeff Clark/Peter Bradford angst hanging around Collinwood.

Christine: No doubt he adds to the psychic noise, but it seems our expert medium was able to tune him out. I sure like that Madam Findley. She's a real pro! It's quite entertaining to watch her work.

John: I wonder why Joe wanted to see Roger. Maybe he's going to try and get his old job back? If memory serves, shouldn't he still be at Angelique's mercy? She's been AWOL for quite a while now, so maybe he's gotten over her.

Christine: Diabolos either punished her or rewarded her, and I suspect in either case she no longer has power over Joe. It might free him up to try and reconcile with Maggie, though now that he's a marked man he may not have the opportunity to do so. 

John: While the kids appear to have set a trap for Findley, finding the room where Quentin is confined is exactly what she wanted to do. I guess we'll soon find out who emerges victorious.

Christine: Do you think Quentin was responsible for tripping her when she entered the room? I thought she was going down before the battle had even begun. Considering that the naughty kids have barricaded her in there, it doesn't seem she'll have a chance of emerging victorious or otherwise. I wonder if the terrible two will be burying another skeleton in the forest soon.

Dark Shadows Episode 647 - 12/17/68

Amazon Prime members can stream today's episode free!

Roger lies at the bottom of the stairs, bleeding. Amy brings Liz downstairs to help him. David stands by, watching. Liz tries to revive Roger. She sends Amy upstairs to get Julia. Roger stirs and sits up. He says he's alright. He says someone in the house tried to kill him. He says there was a wire stretched across the steps that he tripped over. He looks and doesn't see it. Liz helps him back to his room and says that doesn't make sense. Downstairs, David coils the wire. Amy comes back downstairs and tells him that Julia is getting dressed.

In his room, Roger tells Liz that he has to find out about the wire. He lies down and says he won't be able to make an appointment in London while strange things are happening in the house. Liz offers to fix him a drink. She goes to his in-room decanter, and next to it she finds a Tarot card. He doesn't recognize it, and says it wasn't there earlier. She's convinced it must be related to his accident. She says that she read that each card means something. She tells him that in the seance, someone warned them.

David comes in to check on his father. He says that Amy said he fell, and asks if he feels alright. He tells David he'll be fine. David asks if it means someone was in the house, like a burglar. Roger tells David he's perfectly fine, and gets up to fix himself a drink. He tells David he'll be fine in the morning, and David hugs him, telling him that he's glad.

Downstairs, Liz calls Professor Stokes to ask him about the Tarot card. He tells her that he was just reading a book about the Collins family. She asks if he'll come to see her in the morning, because she needs his help.

The next day, Amy is sitting on the stairs when David comes in the house. She asks where he has been. He tells her that he was outside. He asks her if she was upstairs again. She says that she was, and Quentin wants him to come upstairs to play the game. David says Quentin made him place the wire on the stairs, and says he won't go up there again. Amy says Quentin won't like that, and will do something. David asks what Quentin can do when there's a knock on the door. It's Stokes to see Liz. Liz comes downstairs and tells David to take Amy for a walk while she meets with Stokes.

Liz and Stokes retire to the drawing room. Stokes asks if there has been another sign. Liz hands him the Tarot card.

David puts on his coat, and Amy says she doesn't want to go out. She says she thinks he's afraid of Quentin. She says Quentin calls him Jamison, because he looks like him. David says that's his grandfather's name.

Liz says she knows Stokes knows what the card means, and if he won't tell her, she'll go to the library to research it. He tells her that the card is a warning. He says it's the tower of destruction, which warns of the coming of great unhappiness to a house. She asks if he's putting it gently for her.

David and Amy return to Quentin's room. David asks if he can hear him. He says he's not going to do what he's asked to anymore, if it's like the last time. He says it's not fair. He asks if he understands, and the Victrola begins to play. Amy says he heard him, and that's his answer. David listens to the music, and then notices the cradle is rocking. Amy calls him Jamison, and says he does want to play the game again. David says he does.

Stokes tells Liz that he'll return with someone who can explain everything that has been happening in the house.

Madam Findley tells Liz that she doesn't want to be told anything about the house; either the history or her personal experiences. She explains that a medium has only her own sensitivities.

She says there has been an accident in the room recently, and asks Amy, on the stairs, if she knows. Amy says she found Roger, and Findley tells her to say no more. She wanders into the drawing room and recognizes that it is where the seance was held. She says there have been spirits in the room, and they left their mark. She goes into a trance.

David comes downstairs, and he and Amy approach the drawing room.

Findley screeches, and asks if there is someone there who can tell her the secrets of the house. She hears something, and asks who it is. She says she cannot hear them. She says they are not in the room, but they are in the house.

David and Amy eavesdrop.

Findley says she must find them, and says the house is a battleground. She asks who they are fighting, and then asks them to lead her to the room. She says they must show her. Stokes asks her if she's alright. Findley comes out of her trance, and says the fight goes on between them, but she doesn't know who yet. She says she will when she finds the room. Stokes ask Liz if she has permission to search the house, and Liz approves. Stokes leaves, and Findley tells Liz that she must find who started the war.

David and Amy rush upstairs and try to tell Quentin that a lady is coming to look for him. David asks what they are supposed to do.

Our thoughts

John: Roger seemed to get up a little too easily after his tumble down the stairs. If only he had asked to round up the usual suspects, he would have caught the guilty party red-(wire)-handed.

Christine: I can't figure out how David rigged that tripwire. I can see how he could have tied one end to the staircase, but how did he attach it to the wall in a way that would leave no evidence? Of course, with David's past history, Roger should have suspected him immediately, especially after his exuberant hug and fervent declaration of how glad he is that he's alright.

John: I'm still not clear if Amy is possessed by Beth when she tries to encourage David to remain Quentin's puppet, or if she's doing that of her own accord. It certainly seems like the latter, despite there being little explanation for that. It's not like we're aware of her having some supernatural predisposition, even if her brother is a werewolf.

Christine: Lest we not forget she only recently escaped a mental institution. I also don't think she's possessed, though it could be she's supposed to be. Regardless, while David is having a troubled conscience about trying to kill his father, she has no such remorse and is encouraging him to continue playing around with an entity that harbors murderous intent toward the family.

John: When Stokes said that he would be bringing someone who could explain everything, I was sure he was coming back with Dan Curtis or Art Wallace. And then I recalled that even those guys probably couldn't explain much of what has happened in Collinwood...

Christine: They really should invite Madam Findley to stay on at Collinwood. Having a medium on site would really come in handy, and I think she and Julia would make an interesting team. We last saw the Tarot featured in Episode 441 when Millicent was conducting a reading. It's rather funny that The Tower card showed up in Roger's room after he had just taken a tumble, considering the image on the card. Incidentally, I couldn't help wondering if Adam is still staying on with Professor Stokes, and if those loose ends will ever be tied up.

1JJ Swiss Tarot has been used in the past on DS