Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Dark Shadows Episode 353 - 11/1/67

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Carolyn stares at the portrait of Barnabas, and thinks to herself that she will help him claim Vicki as his eternal bride. Vicki comes downstairs and finds her lost in the portrait. She asks Carolyn if she'd like to go to a movie with her, or something else to get out of the house. Carolyn suggests that she go to the old house to see Barnabas, to begin working on the restoration of the West Wing. Carolyn notices her reluctance and Julia walks in. Vicki tells Julia she had a dream about her last night—they walked to an old house where Vicki was frightened. She didn't want to go in, and that's when she woke up. Julia dismisses it as nothing.


Vicki goes upstairs, and Carolyn points out it's a strange coincidence that after she and Vicki took a walk together, a walk that Vicki doesn't remember taking, she had a dream about taking a walk with Julia. Julia suggests Vicki is absent minded thinking of Burke Devlin. Carolyn looks at her suspiciously. Julia asks her why she's being hostile to her. Carolyn says they're both helping Barnabas, so why would she be hostile. She leaves the room, and Julia thinks to herself that Carolyn suspects her. She expresses concern that if Barnabas finds out she hypnotized Vicki, she'll be in trouble.

In the garden, Carolyn looks at the sunset and thinks of Barnabas. Joe finds her and says he's been thinking about their talk from the other night. He says that perhaps he was unreasonable. He says he's willing to go back to the cemetery to search for the secret room. She says it's no longer necessary. She tells him that she went to the old house, and after Barnabas showed her around, she's convinced that it's all David's imagination. Joe points out that she saw Sarah. Carolyn denies it. He points out that both Maggie and Sam have seen Sarah. She reiterates that she was wrong. David is disturbed, Barnabas is not guilty, and he should forget everything she said. He asks if she'd like him to join her on her walk. She suggests that instead he go in and talk to Vicki. He watches her as she walks away.


Barnabas is in the old house when Carolyn enters. He says he's been expecting her. She explains she had to get rid of Joe. He wanted to go to the Collins family mausoleum, and she convinced him that wouldn't be necessary. He asks if she spoke to Vicki. She explains that she told her to come see Barnabas, but she seemed reluctant. Barnabas asks why she would be reluctant to see him. He says if there's a reason for that, he must find out what it is and do something about it.


Joe tells Vicki that Carolyn was trying to get rid of him. She was acting remote, and Vicki says she noticed that, too. She attributes that to Carolyn's concern for David. There's a knock at the door, and it's Barnabas to see Vicki. Joe exchanges pleasantries, and excuses himself. Barnabas inquires about Burke. She says she hasn't heard anything. Barnabas offers to finance a private search party. He explains that her happiness is all that matters to him. She says she can't accept it. The authorities are already working hard to find him. Barnabas tells her that she can turn to him for anything. He reaches for her and she recoils. He tells her to consider his offer, and turns to leave. In the doorway, he turns back to see her looking frightened.


Carolyn finds Vicki in the drawing room. She asks if Barnabas had arrived. Vicki explains that he had been there, but he already left. She says that she was embarrassed for being frightened by him.


Barnabas asks Julia why Vicki might recoil from him. She replies that it might just be her focus on Burke, and her sensing Barnabas has feelings for her. Carolyn enters, and he dismisses Julia. Carolyn confirms that Vicki told her she was afraid of him. Carolyn thinks Julia has something to do with it. She tells him about the walk they took that Vicki doesn't remember. Barnabas tells Carolyn to watch Julia's every move. He says if Julia is impeding his relationship with Vicki, she has signed her death certificate.



Our thoughts
                                                                
John: I have to admit that was a nice looking sunset they cut-away to when Carolyn was in the garden. It actually one of the most convincing looking slides they've used to convince us they're not in a studio.


Christine: I am convinced you are being sarcastic.

John: I wonder how many people picked up on Barnabas making a proposal to Vicki, and Vicki her using the words I do in their exchange regarding his hiring a private search party.

Christine: I did pick up on the proposal, but not the 'I do', which is funny, since after listening to it again, I realized she said it three times. She said "I do appreciate the offer," and after he said "I want you to feel like you can turn to me for anything," she responded, "I do," and after the touch of his cold, clammy hand made her jump she said, "I do apologize."

John: Carolyn's performance isn't exactly convincing. And not just to us, everyone she interacts with can tell something is wrong. Wouldn't it be more convincing if she acted naturally when under Barnabas' spell? More like Willie did. And speaking of Willie, I guess we assume he's hanging on at death's door while the hospital searches to find a new doctor to attend to him in the wake of Dr. Woodard's death.

Christine: Woodard said that Willie was on his way to the funny farm in Episode 329, so I don't think he was still under his care at the time of the good doctor's death. It may be quite some time before we see Willie again. I would think that Julia would hightail it out of Collinwood, knowing that Carolyn's suspicion puts her in danger.


3 comments:

Paul Haney said...

IMO, Carolyn's "performance" is not meant to be 100% convincing. Of course, she's trying to be convincing, but she is under the spell of a vampire, so she's not going to act exactly the same, no matter how hard she tries. A wonderful balancing act by Nancy Barrett. I always thought that she was the most talented actress on the show.

Christine said...

Barnabas did warn her to be careful since others would notice the change in her. It is interesting to compare the differences between Willie and Carolyn's reaction to vampire servitude and wonder why it is that Carolyn has become completely dedicated and lacking in fear, whereas Willie had the opposite reaction. Is it because she's young and finds it thrilling to have a sense of power? Or is it because women are dumb, emotional creatures (according to Barnabas) who could easily be controlled? It certainly makes for an exciting storyline!

Hey Paul, what happened to your love for Kathryn Leigh Scott? ;)

Paul Haney said...

Still love me some KLS, but she hasn't been around lately!