Episode 211 - 4/18/67

Willie removes the chains from the coffin and pries it open. His look of excitement turns to terror as he gazes upon its occupant, who reaches up and clutches his throat.

The next day, Liz is unhappy to hear that Willie is not gone. Jason says he technically is gone, despite his things still being there. The fact that he didn't get the money Jason promised him is a good indication that he's not gone for good. Mrs. Johnson enters and says that Willie's things are still in his room, so she couldn't make it up.

Liz leaves, and Mrs. Johnson says she's not surprised he's not gone, as he was prowling around the tool shed last night. She says she'll be sorry to see him go. While she disapproved of him thoroughly, she did enjoy talking to him. She says he was interested in her telling him family things. Jason asks if she means her family, and she clarifies that he asked her about the Collins' family. She says he asked all about Barnabas Collins in the portrait. He was disappointed to find out that Barnabas had moved to England and died there. Mrs. Johnson says that the jewels were likely what fascinated him the most. She says he was also interested in the legend that some family members, like Naomi Collins, took their jewels to the grave. He asks where she was buried, and Mrs. Johnson says that's just what Willie asked. She tells him she's buried in the cemetery a few miles from Collinwood. Jason grabs his coat and heads out to look for Willie.

The caretaker comes across the open Collins family tomb. He steps inside and says he can feel evil in the air.

Jason makes his way through the cemetery when the caretaker approaches him, telling him to go away. Jason says he's looking for a young man. The caretaker says he was here, disturbing the dead. Jason asks what he did. The caretaker says the man said he was a Collins, coming to pay his respects. The caretaker shows him that he broke into the crypt. He also tells Jason that evil hovers there. Jason says he'll take his chances. He inspects the crypt, and says nothing appears to have been disturbed. Jason suggests that if Willie had been there, there would have been more evidence of that. Jason spots a cigarette butt that Willie left behind, and is more puzzled as to why the crypts are undisturbed.

Jason returns to Collinwood, and tells Liz he still hasn't found him. He goes upstairs, and Mrs. Johnson tells Liz that she finds it strange that Jason doesn't know what happened to Willie. Liz goes upstairs, and Mrs. Johnson answers a knock at the door.

A man claiming to be Mrs. Stoddard's cousin from England has arrived to see her. He offers to wait in the foyer when Mrs. Johnson goes to fetch her. The stranger, standing before the portrait bearing a striking resemblance, tells Mrs. Johnson that she can tell her that his name is Barnabas Collins.

Our thoughts

John: There's no sign of Willie in today's episode, short of the recap of the climax of the previous episode. If I didn't know better, I'd believe he was the latest in the ever-growing list of casualties in Collinsport.

Christine: Isn't he though?

John: The fact that Mrs. Johnson is not completely repulsed by Willie certainly colors her character. I wonder if we're past her running to Burke Devlin with updates on the Collins' clan.

Christine: Mrs. Johnson talks like she's been with the Collins family a long time and knows all their history, when she's only been with them a short while. Maybe she reads the Collins family history books on her smoke breaks. How else would she know so much about the ancestors? Funny how she refers to Barnabas as the "young man" in the portrait. I guess it's all relative.

John: Jonathan Frid makes his first full appearance as Barnabas Collins (we can assume it was his hand that made the cameo appearance in the prior episode), and things are unlikely to ever be the same in Collinwood!

Christine: You may note he's no longer sporting the vintage ruffly sleeve we saw framing the hand that gave Willie's neck a squeeze, and is now wearing a more contemporary suit. He has somehow acquired the services of a haberdasher to update his style.

This may be the last time we see Willie smile.

You've gotta love the Caretaker. He takes care of the dead.