Dark Shadows Episode 468 - 4/10/68

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Dr. Lang checks Vicki's pulse. She asks if he'll release her today. He asks what the rush is. She explains that she was on her way to do something important when she had the accident. He tells her he's interested in the marks on her neck that she doesn't remember getting. She asks if they're better, and he's shocked to see that they're gone. He then says the cause of them has been eliminated.

Vicki checks her neck in the mirror. She seems surprised to see the marks are gone. She finishes packing her bag when Jeff enters. He asks if he's not Peter Bradford today? She says that he's not. He tells her that if he was, he'd surely remember her. He offers her a ride home. Doctor Lang enters, and she introduces him to Jeff. Jeff seems troubled to be in the same room as the doctor. Lang tells Vicki that Barnabas would like to see her, and after she leaves, he asks Jeff what he's doing there.

Jeff says no one saw him come in. Lang tells him to get back to work. Jeff says he's taking Vicki home, and Lang tells him he will not. Jeff says he's more a prisoner of Lang than he was... and trails off. Jeff says she thinks he's someone named Peter Bradford. Lang tells him that when he agreed to work for him, he did so willingly. He didn't care what his duties were then, and he says he had better not now. Jeff says Vicki may know something about him. Lang tells him to stay away from Vicki. Jeff says he's going to stay. Lang asks Jeff where he'd be, and what he'd be doing, if not for him. Jeff angrily storms out of the room.

Vicki returns to find that Jeff has left. Lang tells her he asked him to tell her he had an urgent appointment. Lang says he should be off duty in a few moments, and can then take her home. While he fills out a report, he asks about her family. He seems pleasantly surprised to hear she has none. He says he's got a feeling that she's destined to have a very unusual and very significant life. They leave together.

Carolyn is fondling her scarf when Julia enters. Julia asks if she's been to the hospital to see Barnabas. She says she has, and that he's changed. Julia points out she's talking to her the way she used to, before she and Barnabas became so close. Carolyn removes her scarf, and Julia points out the marks on her neck are gone. She asks what that means, and Julia says it means that he is as free as she is. And it must last. 

Carolyn tells Vicki that the man must be Peter Bradford. Carolyn says he must be a ghost. Vicki tells her that she's seen Sarah, and Jeff is not a ghost. She says she wishes she could believe her trip to 1795 was just a dream, but she can't. Carolyn says she has to find out where she was, and everything that happened. She tells her to call Jeff to see if he really is Peter Bradford, and just doesn't know it. Vicki agrees to call him. Vicki dials the Collinsport Inn. She says there must be a mistake, and asks that they check again. She thanks them and hangs up. Carolyn asks what happened, and Vicki tells her that no Jeff Clark had ever registered there. She says he's gone and she'll never see him again. Julia enters and asks if it's Peter. Vicki goes to the window and looks out into the rain. She says she can prove she was in 1795 by proving a place she was in back then still exists. Julia offers to go to the mausoleum with her. Vicki says she has to go alone. Julia promises not to say anything, but says she has to go with her.

Someone walks through the fog shrouded Eagle Hill Cemetery, and enters the mausoleum.

Julia and Vicki approach the mausoleum. They start to go into the mausoleum, and Julia asks if they must. Vicki leads the way, and screams when she sees a man lurking in the shadows. She calls him Peter. Julia asks who he is, and he introduces himself to her as Jeff Clark. Vicki says the last time she saw Peter safe was in the secret room in the back of the mausoleum. She asks Peter if he remembers, and he yells that his name is Jeff Clark.

Julia asks Vicki where the secret room is. Vicki points to the wall that moves. She says she doesn't remember how to get in. Jeff walks over to the back wall, reaches up, and pulls the lever in the lion's mouth. The door swings open, revealing a coffin inside.

Our thoughts

John: Doctor Lang doesn't know when he's off duty? He says it should be soon. For his sake, I hope he's right and didn't just start his shift when he dropped in to see Vicki.

Christine: Dr. Lang and Jeff Clark seem to be competing for guy with the creepiest vibe on the show. I wonder what kind of secretive work the good doctor is having him do, and what plans he has in store for Vicki that makes him seem so pleased to hear she has no family.

John: There seem to be a lot of smokers hanging out at Eagle Hill Cemetery tonight. And they all must have been laying around at ground level.

Christine: How interesting that everyone's bite marks have instantly disappeared now that Barnabas has been cured, though it's odd that Vicki and Carolyn have no memory of Barnabas giving them a bite. I wonder if long lost Willie, who hasn't been seen since Episode 329, has suddenly regained his sanity as a result.

John: We're left to ponder how Jeff knew how to open the secret door? I think the most likely scenario is that he read the script for today's episode...

Christine: So you're not buying the obvious hints dropped during his conversation with Dr. Lang that it's possible he could be Peter Bradford, who may have traveled to the future by noose the same way Vicki did? We have an interesting shot of an unknown ancestor's portrait in the drawing room reflected in the foyer mirror during end credits. You'll find it in the Dark Shadows Gallery.