Dark Shadows Episode 427 - 2/13/68

Amazon Prime members can stream today's episode free!

Abigail and Trask make their claims that Victoria Winters is a witch, and must be tried before she can speak to her master—SATAN!

Peter comes into Vicki's cell, and she asks him what's wrong. He can't bring himself to say. She says she knows something has happened, and he tells her she's going to court today. She thinks that's good, because she's innocent, and he doesn't agree that it's good. He tells her that Josette died last night after jumping from the cliff on Widow's Hill. She says she tried to help her. Peter tells her the fact that she knew about her death in advance doesn't help her case. Vicki says that Naomi is going to testify on her behalf, and Peter says he received a note from Joshua Collins saying his wife will not be attending the trial. She's thankful she still has Peter, and says she's ready to go to trial.

Vicki stands accused in the courtroom. She pleads innocent. Trask offers her one last opportunity to denounce her master. Peter angrily says that Vicki denies having any such powers. The judge tells Trask to limit his editorializing. He agrees, and calls Abigail to the stand. Trask asks her to describe Vicki's arrival in Collinwood. Abigail describes how they were expecting a governess to arrive, and she never did. Her carriage overturned, but she was never found. Her nephew Barnabas was to pick up the governess, and while waiting for her, he was approached by Miss Winters, who recognized him and called out his name. He invited her into their home, setting off the horrible chain of events.

Trask asks her to describe Joshua's disappearance. She goes on to describe how Joshua disappeared, replaced by a cat, and a few days later, he returned in a puff of smoke as the cat disappeared. Trask then asks Abigail to describe the exorcism. Bradford interrupts to request a chance to interview Trask, since he performed the exorcism. He asks what exorcism accomplishes, and Trask said it will drive out the evil. Trask describes the exorcism and says Vicki ran out, proving she was a witch. Trask yells, Bradford yells, Abigail yells, Vicki yells... and the judge calls for order.

The Countess testifies that she asked Vicki to end the spell on Josette, and she refused. She begged Vicki for any information, or to see the book again, and she says she told her what would happen on the day Josette died. She mentioned losing a ring that she says she knew Josette did not have, but when she returned to Collinwood, she saw Josette had the ring. Then Josette lost the ring, and everything happened as Vicki had described. Vicki tries to explain that she only knew what happened because she read it, and the judge silences her.

Trask points out that the book Vicki mentioned claimed to come from 200 years in the future—as Vicki did. She says that's true. He asks where the book is today, and she explains that it had been in her room, but one day she saw Vicki in her room—at a time when she was locked in jail—and the book and Vicki disappeared. She says that they went to the jail and found Vicki was there. If she was in both places at once, she is clearly a witch. Bradford interrupts him to say that he let Vicki out of jail that night, and he knows how she got out of the room. Trask says that if it were true, then he must be relieved of his post immediately. Vicki interrupts them all to plead to the judge. She says she's done enough without hurting anyone else and Trask jumps on that as an admission of her being a witch.

Peter and Vicki sit in her cell. He says they can't admit they have the book. She says that if Naomi would testify for her, or Barnabas, who knew she was innocent. She says Ben knew, too. Peter asks what she means. She says that when Ben was assisting her, he told her that he knew she wasn't the witch. Peter thinks that Ben may have more information. He tells her Ben is going to help them, and leaves to go find him.

Our thoughts

John: An interesting departure for today's opening. I was kind of hoping that Abigail and Trask might break into a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody!

"I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me."

"He's just a poor boy from a poor family."

Christine: I was wondering why that seemed so familiar. It also reminds me of the time Vicki arrived in 1795 in the dark.

John: It sounds like Peter missed a few important lessons in law school. I'm surprised the judge didn't toss him into the slammer with Vicki for contempt of court.

Christine: I don't think I've ever seen such a screamy TV trial and I've watched a lot of Perry Mason. Everyone was yelling their lines from the get go, with the exception of Grayson Hall, who was unusually subdued.

John: Once again, Vicki's big mouth gets her into even worse trouble, and this time, it might be the worst—not to mention last!

Christine: Poor, naive Vicki thinks that because she's innocent, she'll be proven innocent. How can she teach David history if she knows no history herself?

I'm sure they'll give her a fair trial.