Episode 214 - 4/21/67

Vicki enters the old house looking for David. The doors slam shut behind her, and she assumes it's David's doing. She can't open the door when Barnabas comes downstairs, startling her. He opens the door without effort. He says it has a tendency to stick, and she asks how he could know on his first visit. He describes knowing every inch of the house from letters and stories. He says the house is more beautiful than ever, and it will last forever. He compares the old house to the great pyramids. Vicki doesn't think it's a reasonable comparison, although Barnabas makes a compelling case. Barnabas then details how family members fought in the house, which would in one case lead to the death of a son. He laughs. Vicki says the pyramids were designed to be tombs, and Barnabas agrees the house was not designed to be a tomb. With an added emphasis on designed.

Roger arrives home after a trip, and Carolyn reminds him that when she was younger, he always used to bring her gifts from his travels. Carolyn updates Roger that while Jason is still staying in the house, Willie is gone. She also mentions that there's another Collins in town—Barnabas Collins. She says she hasn't met him yet.

Vicki and Barnabas arrive at the main house. She brings him in to meet Carolyn, and finds that Roger is there as well. He introduces himself, and says he's so glad the family lives on.

Roger: "We're very much alive here."

Carolyn tells Vicki that she likes him. Vicki asks if she find him odd, the way he speaks about things as if they have multiple meanings. She describes how he talked about the old house when she ran into him there. She says he made her believe he had actually lived in the old house.

Roger shows off the family records and journals, and invites Barnabas to go through them. Roger offers Barnabas a drink, and he requests sherry. He points out the Amontillado was Jeremiah's favorite. Roger offers a toast to Barnabas' visit, and Barnabas suggests they drink to eternal health of the Collins family. Roger asks to see Barnabas' ring. He recognizes it from the portrait of Barnabas Collins in the foyer. Roger asks why Barnabas came to Collinwood. He says he was lonely in England, and since he could afford it, he thought he'd move closer to where the family originated. Barnabas asks Roger for investment advice. He says he's interested in ship builders, just like the previous Barnabas Collins.

Vicki and Carolyn talk about Barnabas, and she suggests that she'd like to have him spend some time with David. Roger and Barnabas come out of Roger's study and Barnabas bids them goodnight. Carolyn asks what she thinks of him, and Roger says he thinks very highly of him. He also points out that Barnabas is wealthy. He points out the ring in the portrait, and tells them Barnabas has the very same ring. Vicki points out the uncanny resemblance.

Barnabas stands alone in the woods as wolves howl around him.

Our thoughts

John: Barnabas waxes poetic about the old house in an epic monologue, and yet trips over his tongue as soon as he's in a room with more than two people.

Christine: He has been locked away in a coffin for centuries, so it's not unexpected for him to be a little tongue tied. I was surprised he was able to pull off this detailed description of the Old House so smoothly:

The foundations were made from rocks left behind by glaciers thousands of years ago. The beams and supports were cut from ancient local forests. The plaster walls were made from crushed clam shells and horsehair. Bricks were imported from Holland. That dusty chandelier brought over from France gleamed with hypnotic brilliance. That faded wallpaper was especially designed by a Belgian artist. The parquet floors were installed by an Italian craftsman. The cornices and moldings were the effort of a Spanish craftsman. It was a house to be envied by a prince. But in spite of all this, the total effort was an agony to man. Men were driven to their limits. What should have been an act and labor of love became a hateful thing. There were the crippled and the dead. Like the pyramids, one could ask: was it worth it?

I wonder if he made a lot of that up. He goes on to provide some clues to his life in the Old House:

This room saw much hatred. Saw families divide and devour each other. On this stairs a father and son hurled words at each other. Words that would lead to the death of the son. The death? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

John: While it's nice to see Roger take to someone so quickly for a change, it would be more impressive if it didn't seem to be predicated on the fact that their new found relative just happens to be wealthy.

Christine: That's what we'd expect from Roger. What was up with that unintelligible comment he made to Carolyn about Mrs. Johnson while pouring a drink: "She doesn't think that I'll be a father image to her, do you?"

John: Barnabas certainly brings a different flair to Collinwood. He's a smooth talker in a completely different fashion than others who have passed through Collinwood, so it will be interesting to see how he gets along with the likes of Jason McGuire, Mrs. Johnson, and Burke Devlin.

Vicki: The wind blew it shut.
Barnabas: The wind? Yes, the wind can do things like that.

Another fade from the portrait to present day Barnabas.