Dark Shadows Episode 295 - 8/11/67

Maggie stumbles into The Blue Whale. Vicki spots her first and tells Burke. While they stand, Barnabas remains seated. Maggie says no several times before fainting.

Burke holds Maggie while Vicki tries to speak to her. Barnabas says a terrible hoax has been perpetrated on all of them. Vicki notices she's coming around. She tells her she's all right, and Maggie asks who she is. Vicki asks if she recognizes her, and Maggie says she knows the name. Maggie asks where the little girl is, and Barnabas offers to go look for her. Vicki assures Maggie that she's safe. Maggie says she was in a place with doctors. Burke asks how she got there, and Maggie says the little girl brought her. Barnabas returns and says there's no one outside. Maggie explains that she's always disappearing. As Maggie drones on, Barnabas suggests that someone notify Sam. Burke offers to take Maggie to the doctor, and Barnabas agrees to get Sam and bring her there. Maggie stares at Barnabas and says she knows his face from somewhere. Vicki tells her that she knows all of them.

Woodard gives Maggie some pills and asks if she recognizes him. She says she's seen him somewhere before. She asks if she'll ever get her memory back. Burke asks to speak with Woodard privately.

Burke brings up that Woodard knew Vicki was alive all along. He explains that he did, as did Sam and Joe. He explains there was a great deal wrong with her when they found her, and they needed to treat her. Woodard says he hopes she'll remember who her kidnapper was before he comes for her again.

Maggie and Vicki continue to talk. She says she thinks she knows Vicki really well. She asks Vicki what happened to her. She asks who everyone is protecting her from, and Vicki says they're hoping she'll be able to tell them. Maggie says she was in a special room, with a special scent and special music.

At the main house, Dr. Hoffman is coming downstairs when Barnabas arrives to speak to her. He takes her to the drawing room and shuts the door. He tells her that she has betrayed him. Maggie Evans is in Collinsport. She got out of the safe place she was hidden in. Hoffman asks if her memory was back. He says it's coming back slowly. She asks if Maggie saw him, and he says there was a brief recognition. He tells her that she lied about offering him security, and that he may have to deal with Maggie himself. She begs him not to. He adds that she will go first. The phone rings, and it's Doctor Woodard. She asks him if she's said anything, and confirms she hasn't said anything specific about what happened to her. She tells him that no one must question her, and she wants everyone cleared out of his office when she arrives, so they won't see her coming and going. She hangs up and tells Barnabas everything is under control. She says when she's through with Maggie, there's no risk of her ever remembering what happened to her.

Woodard tells Maggie that Dr. Hoffman is coming. Maggie says she remembers her, but doesn't understand her at all. Maggie says she remembers that her father is Sam Evans. She remembers their house by the water, and a big window where her father paints. She remembers more and more. She says she remembers being a prisoner in an old house, with a man who hates her. She can't make out his face at first, and as she's about to say who, Hoffman enters and tells her not to say another word.

Maggie tells Dr. Hoffman she remembers everything. Woodard points out that she was about to identify the man who kidnapped her. Hoffman admonishes him for questioning her. She tells Maggie to do exactly as she tells her. She then asks Woodard to leave them, and he reluctantly agrees. When they're alone, she asks Maggie what she remembers. Maggie says she remembers everything. A cemetery, being out in a coffin, and being locked in a room by Barnabas Collins. She says it was horrible—that he's a creature from the world of the dead. Hoffman tells her that she believes her, and says she needs to bring her back to normalcy. She hypnotizes Maggie with a necklace she's wearing.

Woodard is outside his office when Hoffman invites him back in. Maggie explains that she remembers everything. He asks her what happened to her, and she says she remembers going to bed not feeling well, and the next thing she knew she was in his office. Woodard looks at Hoffman who dismisses him.

Our thoughts

John: Holy gothic color, Batman! I think I'm really going to miss the gravitas that the black and white presentation gave the show, since the color palette seems to be deeply entrenched in the late 60s-early 70s greens and oranges. Being shot on video, the color has not aged as well as the bright and clear pastels of Batman, which was shot on film.

Christine: The B&W format is ideal for enhancing the dark shadows and providing a gothic feel. While it's a difficult transition to make, we'll soon be used to the tacky 60s color scheme. It will lend another scary element to the show.

John: I do love the soap opera cliche of Maggie remembering everything, including her kidnapper, right as Hoffman bursts in and stops her. It's almost like that moment in Twin Peaks where Dale Cooper tells the sheriff he found out the identity of Laura's killer in a dream, and that it could wait until morning, only to have forgotten by the morning.

Christine: That was fun to see how close Barnabas came to being outed. Julia's success at wiping Maggie's memory will surely build up his level of trust for her.

John: You would think this would be the last straw for Dr. Woodard. There can be no doubt that Hoffman is responsible for Maggie's convenient forgetting about what happened to her. Will he mention this to anyone else?

Christine: We've seen how Julia handles Dr. Dave. He'll threaten and bluster, but won't be able to do anything about his suspicions without any absolute proof. It's good to have Maggie Evans back in Collinsport, and she seems happier than she's been in a long time, so Dr. Hoffman will be able to claim her work a success.