Dark Shadows Before I Die: Dark Shadows Episode 411

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In the secret room of the Collins family crypt, Angelique opens the coffin and prepares to drive the stake through Barnabas' heart. She raises her mallet when he opens his eyes, reaches out and clutches her throat.

Barnabas closes the coffin as Angelique cowers in the corner. He asks what she was about to do.

Outside, Ben hears them and realizes Barnabas has come back from the dead.

Barnabas wants to know what's going on, and Angelique says she can't. He recalls being in bed, delirious with fever and afraid he would die. He realizes he was in the coffin because he was dead. Angelique confirms that he's returned from the dead. He asks how and why, and she says he'll know soon enough. He recalls how she cursed him, and the bat that attacked him. She says she tried to prevent his death but failed. He realizes that she came to prevent him from returning. He asks what she's afraid of, realizing she's now afraid of him, because she no longer has power over him. He tells her she'll use her powers for the right purpose after she tells him what she has done to him. She says the curse has made him one of the living dead, but he must live at night, and return to his coffin by day. He asks about the other part of the curse—that anyone who loved him would die. He says she'll be the first victim of that curse, and he strangles her to death.

Her lifeless body slips to the ground.

He pulls the lever to open the door and finds Ben outside the secret door. He explains that Angelique made him come there. Barnabas tells Ben that he killed her, and closes the door behind him. Ben says she told him that Barnabas would rise from the dead. Barnabas tells Ben that he's no longer really human. The rest of the world thinks he's dead, and no one can tell them otherwise. Ben assures him that he's always been loyal to him, and would never harm him. Ben says he can help Barnabas, protecting him during the day, and will keep his secret. Barnabas accepts his help. He says the first thing they have to do is dispose of Angelique's body. Barnabas hears someone outside.

Joshua approaches the family crypt.

Barnabas enters the secret room and leaves Ben in the crypt. Joshua enters to find Ben and asks him what he's doing. Ben says he came to pay his respects to Barnabas. Joshua said he heard voices, and asks who he was with. He says he was saying a prayer for Barnabas. Joshua says they could be hiding in the secret room, He tells Ben to stand aside and he opens the door. A bat flies out into the night. He asks Ben how it got in there. They look into the secret room and find it empty. Ben asks if he can stay to pay his respects, and Joshua agrees, telling him that he's to report to the new house first thing in the morning.

Joshua leaves, and Ben re-enters the secret chamber. He opens the coffin and finds Angelique's body inside.

In the cemetery, Barnabas appears before Ben. He says he has new powers. Ben explains he's been digging a grave in the woods. Barnabas says he must return to the mausoleum, as it will be dawn soon. As they enter the secret room, Ben notices Barnabas' mouth is covered with blood. Barnabas tells him he cannot survive without blood. He tells Ben he'll hear stories tomorrow about a woman attacked by an animal, but it was him. He says he should have let Angelique drive the stake through his heart.

Our thoughts

John: Pretty smart of Joshua to have built the secret chamber in the family crypt. I'll bet he never knew it would come in this handy.

Christine: In the last episode, Ben said that Joshua had it built during the war to hide guns. He also said he brought Ben there his first day of work and told him to clean it up, as it should always be ready. It makes no sense that he would share that secret with a convict who he had just met, but I am curious to know what he wanted that room to be ready for, and why it was so messy to begin with.

John: How come the candles were lit in the secret room? Was it so the crew member sitting in the corner wouldn't be scared?

Christine: After all the time we've spent in the darkened secret coffin room, the addition of a candelabra was truly ludicrous, especially since it wasn't there yesterday, so I think your supposition must be correct.

John: If Barnabas felt so bad about being a vampire, why not let Ben use the stake and mallet Angelique left behind to finish him off? Of course I'm glad he didn't.

Christine: Barnabas really woke up on the wrong side of the coffin, with a drastic change in his demeanor. I think he he didn't ask Ben to stake him because he is secretly enjoying his newfound power and is probably anxious to reconnect with Josette. We've come a long way from seeing part of Jason McGuire's corpse from afar after Barnabas strangled him in Episode 276, to seeing a close up of Angelique's wide-eyed death stare today. Bloody great episode today!