Dark Shadows Episode 437 - 2/27/68

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Vicki asks Peter if he got the book, and he says he did last night. She thinks it's going to make things worse. He tells her she has to tell the truth, since nothing else has worked. He says the judges will deliver a verdict today, and if they don't try something, she'll be convicted and hung.

Nathan arrives at the court, and Trask invites him in and closes the door. He asks Trasks why he sent for him. Trask makes him sit down, and tells him he's going to call him to testify again. Trask tells him the verdict is coming, but before that he's going to testify that he didn't help Vicki because of his loyalty to Barnabas, but because he was bewitched. He refuses, but Trask reminds him that his future is not yet certain, and he will do as he's told.

Vicki considered being convicted and hanged. She describes to Peter how when she used to have bad dreams, and realize they were only dreams, she wouldn't wake herself up until the very last minute. She tries to wake herself up, shouting that it has got to stop. Peter slaps her as she becomes hysterical, and then she hugs him.

Trask questions Nathan Forbes again, reviewing his prior testimony. Trask asks him if there was another reason he helped her, and Nathan says that he doesn't think he did it because of Barnabas. He said it was as if he had no choice. Trask asks if he felt powerless to resist. Nathan agrees, and says perhaps he had been bewitched. Vicki asks him why he's lying, and the judge intervenes. Trask asks how Nathan feels, and he says he's positive he was bewitched by Vicki.

Peter cross examines Nathan and asks him to look at Vicki. He asks Nathan if he finds her attractive, and he says yes. Peter asks him about the first time they met, and the weakness he mentioned before she slapped him when he tried to kiss her. Trask objects, and the judge overrules it. Peter asks if his uncontrollable weakness led to his helping her, since he was attracted to her. Nathan doesn't deny it. He stops to look at Vicki as he leaves, and hangs his head in shame.

Peter calls Vicki to the stand. He asks her to tell the court the year in which she was born, and Vicki tells them 1946. He asks her to repeat it, and she does. He asks where she grew up, and she mentions the foundling home in New York. She says she left in 1966 to work as a governess for the Collins family. He asks how she came to be there, and she describes how she was in the drawing room, and then everything went black, and when she awoke she was in the woods. She describes how everyone she ran into looked like people she new. She says she's just as mystified as everyone else. He asks if she had any possessions, and she describes the book of the Collins history. Peter presents the book as evidence. The judges are impressed at the quality of the paintings in the book, which Peter explains are photographs - according to Vicki. Peter asks Vicki one last question—if she's a witch, and she says she is not.

Trask points out the book was a handy thing to bring with her. He asks what she was doing before she was whisked back in time, and she says they were having a meeting. He asks what kind of meeting, and she says she was participating in a seance. Trask asks her to tell the court what a seance is, and she says it's when a group of people try to contact the spirits of the dead. Trask says by her own admission she was calling up the dead. He asks if this was the only time she did that, and she admits it was not. Trask tells the court that through her own mouth, she has admitted to being a witch, and she must die.

Peter says it's good that the judges haven't yet rendered a verdict. He then tells her he loves her.

Nathan tells Trask he never thought he'd meet a preacher whose specialty was blackmail. He says he's thinking about telling the judge how he made him lie on the witness stand, and Trask reminds him that he will be the one who suffers if he does. The judges enter, and Nathan tells Forbes he hopes they free her.

Vicki is brought forward to hear the verdict. The judges find Vicki guilty of witchcraft, and sentence her to be hanged until dead.

Our thoughts

John: I love how Vicki's first instinct was to hug Peter after he slugged her.

Christine: I love how Trask rolls his eyes up into his head for that tried and true fanatic look. It's especially wonderful in B&W, as it makes him look like a zombie.

John: It's amazing how for once, Vicki was smart enough to omit details that could only serve to get her into trouble, by not bringing up the seance that sent her back in time. Of course, she couldn't keep her mouth shut when Trask pressed her on what she was doing, and just like that—guilty.

Christine: You'd think she might be able to think of saying they were having a prayer meeting rather than admitting the damning truth. Of course, the whole admission of time travel was a poor idea to begin with, and if she hadn't bewitched her lawyer, she may have had a better defense.

John: So here we are. Vicki's long walk to the gallows begins. How soon before she is hanged, and more importantly, will that be the event that catapults her back to the future?

Christine: At least Peter has promised to love her no matter what happens to her. That ought to make up for the lousy representation that got her convicted.

I'll love you no matter how long your neck gets stretched, baby.