Ben prepares matching coffins for Barnabas and Josette. Barnabas checks in on him, and asks what's taking him so long. He explains he needs two coffins that night when he leaves Collinwood. He explains that the other coffin is for Josette. Ben reminds Barnabas that he promised to leave Josette alone. Barnabas tells him they love one another. Ben asks if he's told her about the coffins, and Barnabas insists it's what she wants. He says he won't be a party to harming Josette. Barnabas reminds him that he is his servant. Ben says he can't make him, and while Barnabas agrees, he tells Ben he can kill him right now, and clutches his throat.
Ben reluctantly agrees to help. Barnabas tells him to have a closed coach ready to take them away that night. After Barnabas leaves, Ben decides that he'll tell the Countess, so she can take Josette away before it's too late. He tries to leave, but the door is locked. Angelique's floating head appears and tells him that he will not interfere in Barnabas' plans. She says she would not allow them to be together in life, and she will similarly not allow them to be together in death.
The Countess asks Josette how she's feeling. Josette tells her that she's relaxed. The Countess says there's little chance of the prophecy coming true. She says that in two hours it will be midnight, after which she should be safe. She asks Josette about last night. Josette assures her that there was no one with her. The Countess then asks why she went to the old house, and why she was calling for Barnabas when Joshua and Nathan found her. Josette realizes that her ring is missing, and the Countess remembers the significance of her losing the ring that Vicki had mentioned.
Josette gets up to go and search the old house for her ring. The Countess tells her she can go after midnight. Josette says she must have the ring when she sees Barnabas. They struggle and they knock over a lamp. The Countess says the sound of breaking glass was part of the prophecy. The door swings open. When they cannot close it, the Countess goes to find Riggs. The door then slams shut behind her. In her room, Josette hears her music box playing. She hears Barnabas' voice asking her if she's ready to leave.
She tells him she lost the ring and his disembodied voice tells her that he has it. His voice tells her to come to him on Widows' Hill. She leaves through the secret panel, and we hear Angelique's evil laugh.
Barnabas inspects the coffins Ben has prepared, and asks him to bring the coach around. He leaves, and Barnabas hears Josette's voice. She calls for him to come to her on Widows' Hill. He is sure he's hearing Angelique's voice. He calls out to Josette not to go to Widows' Hill, and not to let Angelique trick her.
Riggs helps the Countess break into Josette's empty room. He suggests that she must have left through the secret passage. The Countess realizes she's gone towards Widows' Hill.
Josette makes her way through the woods to Widows' Hill. She tells Barnabas she's there for him. She hears Angelique's voice say that he'll be there soon. Angelique tells her she's come to warn her. She explains that Barnabas is evil, and that she must not go with him. She says that he's planning to kill her, and then bring her back to life, but not as the beautiful creature she is now, but as a bloodthirsty monster. She tells Josette to look over the cliff to see what she'll become. Josette looks out over the cliff and sees herself as an undead creature. She opens her mouth, baring fangs with blood trickling down her chin.
Barnabas arrives, and Josette tells him to stay away from her. She says she'll die before she becomes like him. He grabs her but she turns and throws herself off of the cliff. Angelique's cackling laugh fills the night.
Our thoughts
John: As excited as he was about Ben's craftsmanship, I don't think those coffins are big enough—at least not big enough for Barnabas.
Christine: Those were travel sized coffins. You can't expect them to be roomy and luxurious like the monolith housed in the secret room of the mausoleum.
John: Considering how they went to great lengths to add the detail about Josette losing the ring to the Collins family history, it sure seems like it turned out to be a Maguffin.
Christine: The ring will surely find its way back to Barnabas. The image of vampire Josette was one of the scariest I've seen on Dark Shadows thus far. I don't know why her shoulder is bleeding and her hair is blowing, but it doesn't matter because it's creeptastic.
John: So much for her professed love for Barnabas. She was still going on about that after he had snacked on her neck! And what changed her mind? A jealous competitor for his affections, of all things! Women!
Christine: You forget that Angelique cursed anyone who loved Barnabas to die. It didn't make sense that Josette would suddenly change her mind once she saw that she wouldn't make a cute vampire, but Angelique's powers are limitless, and I think it was her witchy influence that changed Josette's mind.
4 comments:
I have to add that there was a heck of an emotional wallop in this episode. My God - poor Barnabas! Poor Josette! How sad that their love was always doomed. This is a great episode that hit me very hard as a kid and it still works today.
I still want to know how he got his ring back. Angelique was the one that said he had it back not him.
I think we can assume that Angelique magicked it back to him so he could have a reminder of his painful, tragic loss. Angelique was using Barnabas' voice to speak to Josette, so from her perspective, Barnabas was the one who said he had the ring back. We know otherwise.
We still don't know how Barnabas got his ring back.😢
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