Dark Shadows Episode 498 - 5/22/68

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Barnabas returns home to find Willie sitting on the stairs, looking morose. Willie tells Barnabas he's afraid. He's going to have the dream. He says David came by this morning and told him about it. Barnabas realizes that Willie will have the dream tonight, bringing it one step closer to him. Willie tells him he's afraid to have the dream. Barnabas reminds him that none of the dreamers have been the target of the curse; it's him that she's after. He says that his multiple attempts to kill her have all failed. Even after he thought he had killed her, she traveled through time and space to find him. He brings up the portrait Vicki bought, since that seemed to foretell her arrival. He says that either Cassandra controls the portrait, or the portrait controls her. Barnabas tells Willie he can avoid the dream. He tells him to go to Collinwood to steal the portrait. He will unlatch the drawing room window. He says that after Willie brings the portrait to the old house, he'll have Willie deliver a message to Cassandra to have her come to the old house tonight. He has a plan for sending her back to the 18th century.

Adam listens to the recording of Dr. Lang on the tape deck. After the music resumes, Barnabas brings him his supper. Adam then says, "if both live."

Barnabas is shocked to hear Adam speaking a sentence. He asks where he learned those words. Willie comes downstairs with the portrait, and Barnabas leaves Adam with his food. Willie shows Adam the painting of Angelique and he recoils in terror.

Barnabas says he knows evil when he sees it. He gives Willie the letter to bring to Cassandra, and tells him he will be back in two hours. Willie goes into Adam's cell and cleans up the mess he made. Willie taunts him. When Adam trips and falls, Willie worms his way out of the cell and locks it, laughing at Adam.

Barnabas stops in to see Sam Evans. He says he as a request for work that must be completed tonight, with no questions asked. He offers him $500 in cash to do the job. Barnabas hands over the first half of the payment, and then shows him the portrait. Sam asks some questions about the person in the painting, and Barnabas reminds him of their arrangement. Barnabas says Sam is to age the woman in the painting—slowly and over the evening. He also asks that he use a brush with hard, sharp bristles. He tells Sam that he cannot start until 10:15pm. Sam asks how far he should go in the aging process, and Barnabas tells him he can stop when she looks about 200 years old.

Cassandra comes to see Barnabas. He says that she's late, and Cassandra says she was helping Vicki look for her portrait which had gone missing. Barnabas asks if she thinks someone stole it. He suggests that only she knows its true value. He says she made a mistake letting it go so long. She asks what he's talking about, and he says she let the curse linger when it could have ended at any time she chose.

Sam approaches the painting and begins working on it.

Cassandra grabs her face, describing a sharp pain in her eyes. He explains that there will be another, and another, and another.

He calls her Angelique, and she denies that it's her name. He says he finally found a way to get rid of her forever. He says she will get older and older until she shrivels up and dies. He tells her to look at her hands and she screams when she sees they're the wrinkled hands of an old woman.

Our thoughts

John: Do you think they skipped showing David tell Willie about the dream just to save having to pay the kid for one more appearance?

Christine: Yes. But at least we know that Willie is set to have the dream any day now. Too bad Barnabas didn't connect Adam's sudden language acquisition to the tape he listens to repeatedly, and investigate to find out if he's hearing more than Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.

John: I love how Barnabas waits at the top of the stairs until Lang's voice on the recording is replaced with music. And Willie has definitely returned to his old ways. And here I thought he was going to be a nice, obedient, servant, and that everyone was going to get along.

Christine: How delightful to see that Willie and Adam are experiencing sibling rivalry. Adam becomes upset when Barnabas praises Willie and pats him on the shoulder for the first time ever, and then Willie messes with Adam like an obnoxious big brother. It should be interesting to watch the monster family dynamic develop between Willie, Adam, Julia and Barnabas.

John: Interesting way in which Barnabas works Dorian Gray into the storyline! I wonder if we will be seeing more of Dick Smith's handiwork tomorrow.

Christine: What a wonderful turn of events! Barnabas hits back at Angelique and does some damage. Surely we can expect her to rally since she's died and come back twice already. It's been quite some time since we've seen David Ford. He last appeared as André duPrés in Episode 394, and Sam Evans hasn't been seen since Episode 342. The last time Sam messed around with a supernatural portrait, he suffered severe burns. He may regret his agreement not to ask Barnabas any questions about the work he's been commissioned to do. I can't wait to see the result of his work on the portrait.

Dark Shadows Before I Die Round Robin Nightmare tracker:

1. Wide-eyed skull
2. Guillotine
3. Lang's Headless creation
4. Skeletal bride 
5. Educational Bat-footage
6. Giant spider-web