Dark Shadows Episode 253 - 6/14/67

In her cell, Maggie tells herself that she mustn't give in. She hears the door being unlocked, and when Barnabas enters, she pleads with him to stay away. He asks why she's so frightened. He says that she's the one who tried to kill him. He says the only thing he wants to hear from her is that she will cooperate.

He brings her the music box and opens it. He says it will help her, and she threatens to smash it. He says he's offering her a second chance, and she should not expect a third. She tells him to leave it with her, and she'll try.

She tells Barnabas she could cooperate more readily if her father knew she was alive. She wants to get him the ring she's wearing. Barnabas asks if she thinks he's a fool, sending her father a signal that she's still alive. Barnabas says he'll give her father the ring, but only after she becomes his bride.

Vicki tells David she doesn't want him to go out in the dark. He begs her to let him go, and she agrees he can go outside as long as he stays close to the house.

Willie brings Maggie food, but she doesn't eat much. She tells him she's grateful he saved her. She offers him her ring, and he's excited by it. She tells him it's worth a lot. She gives it to him, and he's truly mesmerized by it.  He accepts her gift and thanks her.

David goes to the old house, and when there's no answer at the door, he sneaks in through an open window. He wanders around clumsily, bumping into things, and calling to Josette that he's come back. He starts upstairs when Willie finds him. He yells at David and says he's not supposed to be there.

Willie grabs him by the arm to throw him out, and David threatens to tell his cousin and father. David stops him and says he knows what Willie is doing for his cousin Barnabas. He says they're doing something to Josette. David says he knows Josette is there because he's seen her. Willie picks him up, takes him outside, and throws him. From outside, David says he'll come back, and Willie won't stop him. David sees a ring on the ground and picks it up. He tells Willie he has something for him, and through the door Willie tells him to beat it. David admires Maggie's ring.

Vicki scolds David for not staying close to the house. She asks what he's got, and he says it's his. She asks where he found it, and he says the ground. She presses him, and he says he found it, so it's his. Vicki says it has initials on it, and tries to read them.

There's a knock at the door, and it's Barnabas. David says he's going upstairs, and Barnabas stops him saying he needs to apologize to him. He says that he told Willie he wanted privacy, but he didn't intend for it to be enforced so harshly. Vicki asks if that's where David was. David says he was invited, and Barnabas says the legend of Josette persists. Vicki asks if that's where he found the ring, and Barnabas asks to see it.

David says he thinks it fell out of Willie's pocket. Vicki points out there's an inscription, Barnabas says he recognizes the ring as one he gave to Willie to sell with some other family heirlooms. Vicki is very upset with David, but Barnabas is more forgiving now that the ring is back in his possession. Barnabas suggests that David steer clear of Willie, and thanks him again for finding the ring, as it's quite valuable.

Maggie hears someone coming downstairs, so she opens the music box. Outside the door, Barnabas says she's pleased that she's enjoying the music, and that she has a renewed spirit of cooperation. He reiterates that her only way of escaping is into the character of Josette.

He then adds that he he saw Vicki, who had a ring with an inscription that David found after Willie dropped it. He tells her he's sure she'll be glad to hear that he retrieved it before she was able to read the inscription inside. He adds that since she's so careless, he'll keep it in a safe place where no one can find it. He walks away and Maggie returns to her bunk, closing the music box.

Our thoughts

John: I thought for a second that Maggie's ring was going to be Burke Devlin's pen all over again. But Barnabas managed to nip that one right in the bud.

Christine: Apparently Barnabas made Maggie remove Josette's wedding dress and gave her a plain black robe to wear instead. A symbol of her descent into darkness, perhaps? Barnabas is off his nut to insist that Maggie unwillingly play the part of Josette for him. I suppose he's just a lonely vampire looking for love in all the wrong places.

John: Wouldn't you think that with all the time they spent together, Vicki would have recognized Maggie's ring?

Christine: You'd think so, wouldn't you? Maybe she'll recognize it in retrospect. Vicki is an irresponsible governess to allow David to break curfew and go outside to play at night.

John: Based on the events that transpired today, I think Willie's got a fresh beating coming...

Christine: His love of jewels is so intense it made him forget who he serves.