Dark Shadows Episode 469 - 4/11/68

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Someone sneaks into the Collins's family mausoleum.

Julia and Vicki approach the mausoleum and enter it. Vicki gasps when she sees a man lurking in the shadows. She calls him Peter. Julia asks who he is, and he introduces himself as Jeff Clark. He's not clear how he got there. 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. He doesn't understand why, but all the talk of guns and secret rooms is bothering him. Julia asks Vicki where the secret room is.

Vicki points to the wall that moves. She says that one of the secret panels moves, but 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.

They go inside and explore the secret room. Vicki is convinced she did go back in time. She asks Jeff if the coffin means anything to him. He says no. She asks how he knew how to open the secret door, and he tells her it just came to him. Vicki suggests Julia knew about the room before tonight, because she did her best to keep her from returning to it. Julia denies it, saying she would have no reason to hide such knowledge.

Jeff tells her she found what she was looking for, so they can leave now. Vicki says she's starting to remember what happened to her. Julia asks her what she remembers. She says that in a dream, Daniel was being strangled by Nathan Forbes, and then she woke when he Daniel ran in, saying he was being chased. Daniel went to get help, and when she heard him screaming, Vicki says she went out with the gun Peter had given her. That's when she found Noah struggling with him, and shot him. Julia asks her about the secret of the room. Vicki says she doesn't remember, but the coffin wasn't present when she was hiding in the room. Jeff opens the coffin, and it is empty.

In the hospital, Barnabas sits up in his bed. He calls for Doctor Lang.

He gets out of bed and goes out on the balcony. He hears dogs in the distance. He continues to call for Lang, who comes in. Barnabas tells him he felt as if someone was watching him. He says he also had the urge for blood. He says it has since passed, but wants to know why he felt that way. Lang says that until he completes his tests, he doesn't know how often or long relapses will last. Barnabas says that he lied to him. Lang explains that he will occasionally feel like he's slipping back. Barnabas realizes that he could revert to his former self. The doctor says it won't happen if he works with him and does as he says. Barnabas explains that he tried that once before and the results were disastrous. Lang offers him a cure that will last forever.

Julia visits Lang.  She apologizes for bothering him, but says it's very important. He saw her at the hospital earlier, and said he's surprised it took her so long to come see him. She asks if he promised Barnabas a permanent cure, and he confirms that he did. She asks for details, but he refuses to share his plan. She suggests she could help him. He asks why she's so interested in the welfare of Barnabas. She says that he has been her patient, and he asks if that's the only reason. She warns him that she will try to stop him if she thinks he's going to harm Barnabas. As she's leaving, Jeff Clark enters. It's clear that Lang and Clark didn't want anyone to know about their association.

Jeff tells Lang it wasn't the first time he saw Julia that night. They were all at the cemetery. Lang asks if they saw him digging. Jeff explains he was at Eagle Hill cemetery. Lang tells him he was supposed to go to Stanhope cemetery, clarifying there hasn't been a burial at Eagle Hill in 50 years. Lang tells him to go back to Stanhope and finish his job. Jeff says he doesn't want to. Seeing Vicki, he was ashamed. Lang says he won't have Jeff seeing Vicki any more. Lang explains that Barnabas is in love with, and wants to marry Vicki Winters. He doesn't want Jeff to interfere with that. He tells Jeff to get back out to the cemetery. Jeff says he'd rather go to the sanitarium, and Lang corrects him, calling it an institution for the criminally insane. Lang says he'll do what he's told, because he doesn't want Vicki to know that he's a murderer.

Our thoughts

John: Whose coffin is that in the secret room, anyway? Barnabas' should be in the old house, right? Unless there are spare empties scattered around Collinsport.

Christine: It's Barnabas' coffin in the secret room. He showed it to Julia in Episode 317 when he first brought her into the secret room and shared his fear that he might be chained forever in his coffin. It's fair to assume he had Willie knock together an exact replica in the basement of the Old House, and likely that he didn't want to rest in the same fetid coffin he'd spent almost 200 years in.

John: Isn't it great to see Julia in Dr. Woodard's position? Now she knows how it feels to be the outsider, longing to be included in the plans. I hope for her sake that she doesn't suffer the same fate he did!

Christine: I don't see it that way. She may not like that he's usurped her position as vampire healer, but she has reason to believe he does not have Barnabas' best interests at heart, which makes her right to press him for details on the lure of a permanent cure that he promises. At least she had the satisfaction of having the upper hand by finding out that he and Jeff Clark have something going on together. It really must have thrown Clark for a loop the way he was sweating bullets.

John: I'm very excited to see Dr. Frankenstein, I mean Dr. Langenstein... Scratch that—Dr. Lang has entered our story. We haven't yet reached the point where I originally entered the world of Dark Shadows in syndication, but this storyline is the first one I recall seeing. Can't wait to see how things develop in the weeks and months ahead.

Christine: I'm very impressed with Dr. Lang! He cured Barnabas of his urge to strangle, which is what he would have done in the past over his disappointment in finding out he wasn't completely cured, making the assumption that his dear doctor had lied to him. I love how Barnabas is screaming his head off in the hospital and Dr. Lang shows up and asks if something is wrong. Very astute physician at work! It seems there was a competition for best facial expression in today's episode.

First runner up: Barnabas' fangless thirsty face.

Second runner up: Julia's lying eyed grimace.

And the winner is...Dr. Lang! With the unsmiling smile. So devious!