Dark Shadows Episode 830 - 8/29/69

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Charity runs into Magda in the woods. She asks her for help, saying that Quentin will die in twelve days, on September 10th. Magda asks how she knows, and Charity says she saw it in a vision. Magda says she's crazy. Charity says she has visions all the time, but she only sees death and destruction. Magda takes her back to Collinwood.

Trask returns to Collinwood, and tells Quentin that Judith's condition has improved. Quentin suggests that Trask could put some arsenic in her tea. Quentin tells Trask that Jamison and Edward have returned. Trask is surprised to hear they both recovered, and says he prayed for their recovery. Quentin says he prayed for their deaths, but he won't be the master of Collinwood now. Trasks asks where Jamison is, and Quentin tells him to stay away.

Magda returns with Charity, who is in tears. She runs off and Quentin tells Trask to take her the next time he goes to the sanitarium. He leaves them.

Trask wonders why she is still possessed. Magda says that she should be institutionalized. Trask says Charity wouldn't hurt anyone, and Magda says the woman possessing her would. Magda tells Trask what she said about Quentin, when Charity returns and threatens to kill anyone who comes between her and Quentin. She stomps upstairs, and Trask says that perhaps he should take her to the sanitarium. From the top of the stairs, she tells him he can do so over her dead body.

Charity listens to her music on the Victrola. Magda watches over her as she lies in bed.

Trask tells Quentin he wants to settle the matter between him and his daughter. He asks what his intentions are, and Quentin says he has none. Trask says that young ladies do not act as she has unless encouraged by a man. Quentin says that Charity is Trask's problem, not his.

Magda comes in and tells Trask that Charity wants to see him. He goes up to her room. Quentin calls Magda into the drawing room. He says they need to think of something to do, as there will be a full moon tonight. He says he can't live through it again. She says that Petofi might be able to help him. Quentin says he had a dream of a woman after an attack. Magda tells him that Petofi doesn't hate him, as they are both afflicted by the curse. Quentin says that while Petofi hasn't hurt him specifically, he hasn't helped him either. He tells Magda that there's only one way to prevent him from hurting anyone. He opens the door and finds Trask outside. He asks how long he had been eavesdropping, and Trask denies it. Quentin goes upstairs.

Trask asks Magda to watch over Charity, and to keep her in her room, by force if necessary. She leaves Trask alone in the drawing room. The windows swing open, and the doors swing shut. He hears a voice he thinks is Minerva say, "I have come back to warn him." He begs her to leave him alone. It says the beast that walks like a man is in the house, and he should beware the full moon. The doors to the drawing room swing open again.

Quentin goes to his room and sees a figure in the shadows. She says she will be with him tonight. He begs for mercy, and then sees she is gone. He sits down to write a letter. Magda comes in and asks why he was yelling. He tells her the curse is about to end. He says he's writing a farewell note to Beth. She asks what he's talking about. He tells her there will be no change tonight, because there will be no Quentin. She says if they can get through tonight, they'll have a whole month to cure him.

Trask looks at the clock.

Magda chains Quentin to a post, and says she will watch over him. He asks if she has a pentagram, and she shows him. He tells her to go to his desk and open the drawer. She does. He tells her to take the gun, and explains it contains six silver bullets. He asks her to promise to shoot him if he starts to get away.

Trask comes in, and Quentin yells at him to leave. He tells Quentin that he'll stay. He takes the gun from Magda and says he'll wait for the moon rise to see why Quentin is chained up, and why the gun is loaded with silver bullets.

Our thoughts

John: I wonder where Charity got the record with her theme?

Christine: She probably found it among Carl's effects. I believe Robert Cobert has more in store for us when it comes to variations on Pansy's theme.

John: I couldn't understand why Trask thought the ghost was Minerva, when the voice was so clearly not hers. Of course my assumption was that they didn't bother to get Clarice Blackburn to do it today.

Christine: Yes, that was completely out of whack. I was thinking that since Trask knows the heat is on him for his wife's murder, he readily assumes any haunting would originate from her, despite the obvious difference in voice.  Tessie had the scariest ghost makeup I've seen on the show yet. Enlarge the photo of her above for full effect.

John: Not exactly the most challenging game of CLUE going on, and yet it seems to have stumped Trask. The beast that walks like a man is in the house. I think he can eliminate himself from the running, which leaves Edward, Jamison and Quentin. Hmmm.... who could it be??? Of course, had they just gone to the mausoleum again, they could have avoided all this...

Christine: Can he eliminate himself? Trask is also a beast that walks like a man. It might have been more prudent for Quentin to go to another location rather than chaining himself to a post in the house. I guess that full moon was rising fast.

Countdown to Quentin's death: 12 days

Dark Shadows Episode 809 - 7/31/69

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Charity finds Quentin's unconscious body in the woods. She goes to get help him, and screams when she sees a bloody woman on the ground next to him. The woman stirs, and calls Quentin's name.

Charity finds a bloody handkerchief in Quentin's hand, and realizes that Quentin is the animal that has been attacking people. He comes to, and she tells him she knows. He asks what she knows, and she points to the bloody woman. He denies having done it, and Charity hands him a bloody handkerchief. She says they must help the woman. He's surprised she's alive. He says he can't let her go to the authorities. Charity says the woman will die, and he threatens to kill her if she tells anyone about him. He sends her back to Collinwood, and tells her to go to her room and stay there. He says he'll take care of the woman.

She leaves him. Jamison shows up and says Quentin's in need of help. He says they both could make use of this unfortunate occurrence.

Charity returns to Collinwood, and is interrupted by her father as she goes upstairs. He invites her into the drawing room for a chat. He tells her the Collins family is strange, and they have been sent there because they are needed. He says there is a strain of madness in the Collins', and they must take care of it. She says she wishes they could leave Collinwood. He tells her that before the week is out, she is to marry Quentin. She refuses.

He tells her that he is not asking. She says he doesn't know what Quentin is like. He says she wasn't averse to it before, and tells her it's her duty to save him. Jamison bursts in and says there's a woman in the woods, dying. Charity cries. Trask tells him his tall tale won't prevent him from being punished. Jamison says the woman was attacked by an animal on the path to the old house. Charity implores her father to go. Trask is suspicious of Jamison, but goes to investigate.

Charity asks Jamison if the girl was alone. He tells her she was, and asks who she would be with. He smiles as she heads upstairs.

Charity meets Quentin on the stairs, and she says he told her he would take care of the woman. He reminds her of what he threatened to do if she told anyone.

Quentin argues with Petofi about the manner in which he's possessing Jamison. Suddenly, Jamison sounds like himself again, rather than an adult. He tells Quentin there's a paper in the room that is important to Quentin. He says it will be like insurance for him, once he finds it. He says it reveals the secret of Reverend Trask. Quentin asks for clues, and Jamison says it's where the paper wants to be. Quentin rifles through the papers in the desk drawer, and says there's no paper there. Jamison tells him to look again, and he finds the confession from Evan and Trask.

Trask enters with the bloody woman and tells Quentin to call a doctor and the police. He asks if she has been conscious, and Trask says that's an interesting question, but tells him she has not. He goes to make the call.

Trask stands over the bloody woman. Charity comes in and asks if she'll live. Trask says he doesn't know, but she must if they are to capture the vicious animal that attacked her. Charity asks him what if it's not an animal. The woman stirs, and Trask asks if she can tell them what happened. She tries to talk, and says, "Quentin Collins." Trask asks why she mentions him. He sends Charity to get Quentin. He asks again what Quentin has to do with it, but she passes out again.

Quentin listens to his theme when Charity comes down and tells him the woman is calling for him, and her father wants him to go upstairs. He does, leaving Charity listening to his theme.

Trask says the woman called Quentin's name, and he wants to know why. He asks if he knows the girl, and Quentin says he saw her at The Blue Whale. Trask says he'll be gentler than the police, who will be there soon. Quentin says he forgot to call them. Trask says he will call them, and goes downstairs. Quentin stands over the woman. She wakes and is frightened by him. He tells her he didn't mean to do it. She collapses.

Trask tells Charity to call the constable and tell him to come at once. He leaves her, and as she calls the police, Quentin comes out from a secret panel and hangs up the phone. He tells her the woman is dead. Charity says that he killed her, and she's going to tell her father everything.

Our thoughts

John: I wasn't sure if the woman in the woods was a victim of the werewolf, or if she had a bad time trying to apply her lipstick on the carriage ride up to Collinwood.

Christine: So...Quentin is still keeping ladies on the side while professing his love for Beth. It seems rather foolhardy to go cruising for babes on a full moon night.

John: I got a good laugh out of Quentin ruffling papers and saying there were no papers. That magic confession sure gets around!

Christine: I love how Petofi-Jamison gave him multiple rhyming clues before finally giving up and pointing out the desk. Here they are for record:

Clue #1: Twice burned, once torn, but still intact, and fear is born.

Clue #2: The secret of the Reverend Trask reveals the face behind the mask. 

Clue #3: He's hidden it for none to see, the paper's where it wants to be.  

John: I guess they're holding the blackmail card to be played tomorrow. That should change the dynamic now that Quentin knows Trask and Evan's secret. And it's probably safe to assume that Trask will soon know Quentin's own secret!

Christine: Will this help Quentin evade a marriage with Charity or ensure it?

Dark Shadows Episode 808 - 7/30/69

Amazon Prime members can stream today's episode free!

Magda, Aristede and Jamison come up from the cellar. She begs them not to make her take them to Barnabas' coffin, but they insist.

Magda brings Aristede and Jamison to the room with Barnabas' coffin. She goes to leave, and Aristede tells her she has not been dismissed. She doesn't want to watch him die. Aristede picks up a piece of wood and a mallet to stake him. Jamison assures him that Barnabas is powerless. Magda again tries to leave, but Jamison says she can't leave, because they haven't seen what they came to see yet. Aristede opens the coffin. It's empty. He asks Magda where he is. She explains this is where he stays, and she doesn't know where he is. Jamison closes the coffin and says she's telling the truth. He believes she doesn't know where Barnabas is. He says Barnabas will come to Magda tonight, and tell her where his new hiding place is. Then, she will tell them, and they will take care of Barnabas tomorrow. Jamison suggests there could be valuable information at the old house.

Aristede comes downstairs with Barnabas' papers and diaries. He doesn't understand what the point is searching for them. Jamison says that somewhere in the house is something that can help him. He turns to his bookshelf. Aristede points out Shakespeare. Jamison finds the Collins' Family history, with a publication date in the future—1965. He says the book is what they were meant to find.

Aristede reads the family history, and doesn't understand how a book could be published in the future. He thinks that it's too detailed to just be a joke. Jamison explains that someone has traveled through time. And if he were to do the same, he could live forever. He sends Aristede to fetch Quentin.

Charity tosses and turns in her sleep. She dreams of Quentin. In her dream, she gets up when she hears him calling. She then hears a wolf howling. Next she hears Quentin's theme, and sees Jamison standing in front of the portrait of Quentin. She asks if the portrait changed for him, too. He laughs at her, and tells her Quentin is a lost soul. He tells her Quentin is hiding from her.

Quentin appears before her. He asks if she knows the truth. He asks if she wants to make him feel good, and tells her to sing for him. She does, and she transforms into Pansy Faye. She stops and can't find Quentin. She goes outside and finds him in the arms of another woman. She asks who the woman is, and she disappears.

Quentin leaves, and Magda appears, telling her to forget Quentin. She tells Charity that she knows his secret. Magda leaves and the other woman appears. Behind her, Quentin appears. She tells Quentin that she hates him as he kisses the other woman. She wakes from her dream, and decides Magda will know what it means.

Aristede drags Magda in to see Jamison. Jamison asks her who brought the Collins family history to the past. She tells him that she's never seen the book before. They press her, and she says that a girl named Vicki brought it from his own time: 1969. They ask why, and she says it had to do with a sick child in 1969. They ask how he traveled through time, and she says she does no. Jamison asks who else knows about Barnabas. She says that no one else knows. He says they'll have to convince Barnabas that it's better to travel with a companion.

Charity stumbles across Quentin's unconscious body in the woods. She goes to get help, and screams when she sees a bloody woman on the ground next to him. The woman stirs, and calls Quentin's name.

Our thoughts

John: I think Barnabas traveled into the future to read our blog. That, or for some other reason he was finally smart enough to put a back-up plan in place for his daily sleeping arrangements.

Christine: Since when did Barnabas ever sleep in a plain old, no-frills pinewood box anyway? In Episode 781, Trask marked his nice, plush, satin lined coffin with a cross and chained it up so he couldn't use it, but in Episode 784, it's in the cave where Evan Hanley finds him. It could be he left it there, but why would he leave his favorite coffin in the cave and keep his spartan backup at the Old House, instead of the other way around?

John: Again, I'm amused that Petofi waited 99 years and 11 months before he worried about coming up with a plan to survive. Does he really think time-travel will save his butt at this point?

Christine: I think his plan to survive was to get the Hand back, though he's not been very successful in that endeavor. Perhaps possessing the mind of a young boy is having a deleterious effect on his thought process.

John: I wonder if they decided to let Quentin's latest victim live long enough to say his name so they wouldn't have to depend on her staying still to play dead?

Christine: I wonder if Charity is obtaining some of Pansy Faye's mentalist powers from her possession. I initially thought Petofi may have sent her the dream, but he was too busy grooving on the Collins family history book and dreaming about time travel to have done so.