Peter knocks on the door at Collinwood. Millicent answers, and he asks for Ben Stokes. She says he's at the cemetery at Eagle Hill, digging Josette's grave. She asks him if he sees Barnabas Collins on the way to the graveyard to ask him to come see her. He tells her Barnabas Collins is dead, and as she laughs hysterically and walks off, Peter closes the doors.
Millicent looks at the portrait of Barnabas, amazed that someone would think he was dead. There's a knock at the door and she answers it. Nathan forces his way in, and she is not interested in hearing from him. She says she's no longer the innocent girl he deceived. He tries to convince her that his love for her is sincere.
She tells him he will face the consequences of tarnishing her good name. She is going to ask her cousin Barnabas to defend her honor by dueling him. Nathan tells her Barnabas is in England. She says she and Ben have both seen him. She fondles a dagger on the desk as she says that if the family chooses to keep Barnabas from her, she will defend her honor herself. She tries to stab Nathan, who holds her back until Joshua arrives. As he goes to take Millicent upstairs, he tells Nathan to stay there, as he has something to discuss with him.
Joshua says that had Millicent killed him, the loss would not have been missed by a single member of the family. Nathan says he doesn't know the whole story. He says Suki came to tell him the papers for their divorce were being prepared. Joshua points out that Nathan had everything to gain if Suki were to die. He says he was after Millicent's money, and his wife was the only thing in his way. Nathan admits to hating his wife, but could not have killed her. Joshua asks why she pretended to be his sister. Nathan tells the story, and Joshua suggests at every turn that he could have been working towards his own gains. He ultimately believes that Nathan wasn't capable of killing his wife. He tells him he is not welcome on any of his property—including the shipyard, and if he is found trespassing, he will be shot on sight. Nathan points out that his role in the Navy requires him to be at the shipyard, and Joshua tells him that's the Navy's concern, not his.
Peter finds Ben in the graveyard. He recognizes that Peter was the one who represented Vicki. Peter says that Vicki told him Ben said he knew she wasn't a witch. He asks him to help Vicki by telling the court why he knows she's not the witch. He also mentions that Abigail testified that he told her he was stealing something on behalf of a witch. He demands to know if Vicki made him do it, and Ben says no. Peter tells him that he has to testify.
Ben says if he tries to help Vicki, he'll be in trouble with Joshua Collins. Peter says he thinks Ben is afraid of something else. Joshua appears, and asks what Peter is doing there. He tells Joshua he came to ask Ben to testify. Peter also says that he thinks Ben has been sufficiently intimidated by Joshua—and others. He leaves, and Joshua tells Ben he has to talk to him about Barnabas.
Ben and Joshua enter the family crypt. Joshua says that several people have claimed to have seen Barnabas. Ben says that's impossible because Barnabas is dead. Joshua says there must be something to it. He also points out that he has evidence of his own—he opened Barnabas' coffin, and found that it was empty. He asks Ben what he knows about it. Ben says he hasn't been around and Joshua says he knows he's been out at the mausoleum. He says Millicent told him he saw Ben there. Ben suggests that everyone has been imagining things. Joshua asks if he imagined an empty coffin. Ben says dead bodies don't walk away. Joshua tells him to follow him into the secret room. Joshua tells Ben to open the coffin, which he reluctantly does. Joshua is shocked to see Barnabas' body in the coffin.
Our thoughts
John: Why would Peter blurt out that Barnabas is dead? Even if he knew from Vicki, he also has to be aware that it's a secret...
Christine: How would he know it's a secret? I don't think Vicki knew it was a secret.
John: Nathan hasn't had an opportunity for a big dramatic scene in a while. He gets a good one today in his argument with Joshua. I wonder if we'll see him again before we return to the future, and if we'll see him get shot.
Christine: I wonder if we'll ever see him out of that uniform.
John: How close is Joshua to finding out the truth about his son? Will Ben close the coffin before he has a chance to inspect the body, or before Barnabas wakes and starts clutching at throats? It's only Wednesday, so anything is possible!
Christine: If he looks closer, he may realize it's not Barnabas' body at all. Peter Murphy plays another one of Barnabas' parts today, as it is his toes sticking up out of the coffin in the mausoleum.
1 comment:
So, no official inquiry into the death of Suki Forbes? Perhaps it's still coming. If it does, Nathan has some splainin' to do.
I thought the painting and the stand-in (sleep-in?) at the end of the episode was a very clever way to get around Frid not actually appearing in this episode.
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