Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Dark Shadows Episode 453 - 3/20/68

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Peter and Vicki make their way through the woods. Vicki stops to rest, but Peter tells her they have to get to the old house.


Nathan relaxes in the drawing room when Daniel comes downstairs. Daniel asks Nathan what happened to his sister, and why he can't see her. Nathan tells him she's not well. Daniel says she's being treated like a prisoner, and Riggs told him that Nathan said she was to be kept under lock and key. Nathan tells him those were the doctor's orders. He tells Daniel that she's no longer a rational person, and she may not even recognize him. Nathan points out that as long as Millicent is incapacitated, he is Daniel's legal guardian. Daniel tells him that he's changed. Nathan threatens Daniel - telling him that he will make all the decisions for him moving forward, and he can make it quite difficult if he doesn't cooperate.


Peter and Vicki make it to the old house. Ben enters and Peter tells him they need his help. He explains that he helped Vicki escape. Ben notices Vicki has been shot, and tells her that he will take care of her. Ben tells them after he fixes up her wound, he'll prepare a place for them to sleep and get them some food. Peter says it's not safe for them to stay in the old house, and he tells them he knows of a place where they'll be safe. There's a knock at the front door, and Daniel calls to Ben. He opens the passage to the secret room Vicki recognizes, where Matthew will trap her a few hundred years in the future.


Ben answers the door and asks Daniel what he's doing. Daniel says he was wandering around, and he heard voices. Ben tells him he should go home, and Daniel finds Vicki's sleeve, and drops of blood on the floor leading to a bookcase. Daniel asks Ben if he's hiding someone, and Daniel opens the secret panel. He sees Vicki and Peter. She begs him not to tell anyone he saw them. Daniel agrees. Ben says it will take 20 minutes for them to get to where they're going. Daniel asks where, and Ben tells him to go back to Collinwood. Daniel says he'd rather go away with them. He says something happened to his sister, and Nathan won't let him see her. Vicki doesn't understand. Daniel says they were married. He says he used to like Nathan, but he's changed, and he doesn't know why. Vicki tells him that everything will be all right in Collinwood, as his cousin Naomi will take care of him. He hugs her and Ben sends him on his way.


As Ben leads Peter and Vicki away, Daniel follows them. They make their way to the mausoleum, where Ben shows them the secret room. Ben shows them how to open the door from the inside. Ben assures them they'll be safe until Vicki's arm heals.


Outside the mausoleum, Daniel watches.

Daniel returns home, and Nathan asks him where he was, and who he met. He asks if he met Vicki. He says the constable was just there and said they escaped. He points out the blood on Daniel's clothes, and accuses him of having run into her. He warns Daniel that if he knows about Vicki's whereabouts, he had better not withhold that information.


Peter and Vicki are asleep in the secret room in the mausoleum. Vicki dreams of a coffin. A man opens it, and it is empty. He then proceeds to put on white gloves, and she sees him put his hands around Daniel's neck. She sees the man's face—it's Nathan Forbes. She wakes up screaming Daniel's name.




Our thoughts

John: When did Daniel meet Vicki? Is he experiencing deja vu from David's familiarity with her in the future?

Christine: Vicki was governess to Sarah and Daniel played with Sarah which is how he met Vicki. You may recall the future stories he heard from her and related to Trask in Episode 432. I'm surprised Daniel didn't say anything about Angelique's portrait hanging over the mantle.


John: Boy, Nathan sure is set up to be the equivalent of the ultimate evil stepfather. Sucks to be Daniel.

Christine: I would expect Naomi and Joshua to do a better job of looking out for the boy, not to mention Millicent, who is under lock and key at the direction of Forbes. Ben did a pretty lousy job of bandaging Vicki the way she dropped blood and gristle everywhere in the Old House. The blood leading up to the secret room reminds me of the footsteps Vicki found leading up to it back in Episode 115.




John: Pretty soon everyone is going to know about all the 'secret' rooms in and around Collinwood! If Vicki makes it back to 1968, I wonder if she'll remember it all...

Christine: Was that a dream sequence or a deleted scene from Magical Mystery Tour? Clearly Vicki has lost a lot of blood. Is there some symbolism to the white gloves that is lost on me? Kudos to David Henesy for crossing his eyes and making it look especially freaky.


2 comments:

Grant said...

I know what you mean with the Magical Mystery Tour reference. But I never get tired of those "psychedelic" dream sequences.

Christine said...

The dream sequences with a psychedelic overlay are truly special. I can't help hearing "Purple Haze" when I see them. It's interesting that the show rarely has any references to popular culture like this, which gives it an otherworldly and timeless appeal.

I just realized we are finally getting to see Nathan out of uniform in Vicki's dream. Could the black robe be a representation of Death, or could it indicate that he's worn that uniform so often it should be blackened by filth?