Then & Now
John: And just like that, the real Matthew arrives! Time-wise, it seems like it's been forever since Liz pinned Roger's car accident on him, so it almost seems odd for her to bring up now. Except for the fact, of course, that Matthew hasn't appeared on the show for an even longer stretch.
If we didn't know better, I'd be concerned that Maggie lost her job at the diner because she hadn't shown up for work for so many days in a row.
Is it conceivable that the diner doesn't offer refills on coffee? Burke had to order two more from Suzie, which she delivered in new cups.
Christine: I wonder if Burke may have something going on with Susie. He seems to be very attentive to her. Perhaps the order of extra coffees was a flirtatious move, though you'd think Carolyn's green monster would have picked up on it.
John: I looked up Ned Calder to see if I had just forgotten who he was, and according to the DS Wiki, in the audio drama 'Return to Collinwood,' it is revealed that Victoria Winters was Liz's daughter from a previous relationship (duh!). Ned is the only prior relationship Liz ever acknowledged in the show, which would seem to identify him as Vicki's biological father.
Christine: Vicki says she doesn't believe the sobbing could be from a ghost, which makes me wonder if she thinks someone is actually locked in the basement. If that's the case, why doesn't she take the key from Liz and investigate for herself? Perhaps she's afraid she might end up locked in there and become part of the sobbing herself.
And then there's Carolyn, who tells Vicki that she hears it too and that Vicki should simply stay in her room and get used to the ghosts. Really? They all hear sobbing coming from the basement and just accept that it's a ghost?
Elizabeth says that they have 40 rooms at Collinwood and that the sobbing could be wind blowing through an open window in the deserted wing. Why would they leave windows open in the deserted wing? Wouldn't all that sea air cause damage to the house? That might raise concerns about a bat infestation, though that is something that will become considerably more pressing in the spring.
Shadows on the Wall
John: How can you keep track of all the basement goodies? Should the Rover Boys books be added to the Collinsport Library? And is David going to read them so fast that he needed an armload full of them?
Christine: The Rover Boys should get an honorable mention, though I don't think we'll hear of them again. Hopefully our fellow Dark Shadows detectives will help us keep track of the basement goodies and note if they show up elsewhere in Collinsport.
John: There's a brief cool shot of Liz in the basement with Vicki reflected in a mirror. I'm sure it was intentional, but I almost prefer to think it was a happy accident!
What did you notice this time that you had never noticed before?
