Dark Shadows Episode 512 - 6/12/68

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In the basement of the old house, Trask has placed Barnabas in the opening in the wall where he had been previously walled in.

Julia returns to the old house and calls to Barnabas, but there is no answer. She thinks he should have returned an hour ago.

Trask looks at the unconscious Barnabas hanging behind the brick wall. He says he will soon decide his fate.

Sam examines Adam's face with his hands. He tells him it's amazing he survived the jump from Widow's Hill. Adam says, "man" and "jump," and Sam is impressed as they haven't studied those words yet. Sam continues training Adam to speak. He gets him to say, "my name is Adam." He then shows Adam a paintbrush, and suggests that if he can teach Adam to paint, the two of them could be a huge success. Adam cries out in pain and throws down the brush.

Wrists tied above his head, Barnabas wakes and calls for help.

Adam feels his wrists. Sam tries to understand what's upsetting him. Adam mentions that he's hurt, and then says "Barnabas." Sam asks what he's talking about, and Adam says that Barnabas is hurt. Sam tries to get Adam to sit down. Joe arrives, and Adam storms off, knocking Joe to the floor.

Sam asks Joe if he's alright. Joe asks who that was, and Sam says he's not violent. He says the man was hungry and tired, and Sam gave him food and a place to rest. Joe says if he could see how the man looked, like his face went through a meat grinder, he would feel differently. Sam says that Adam is as handicapped as he is. He says he was innocent and afraid. Joe says he matches the description of the man who kidnapped Carolyn Collins. Joe thinks he might be the same man, and Sam says he realized that yesterday. Joe says he should notify the police, and Sam tells him Adam is neither dangerous nor harmful. He needs friendship and understanding. He adds that before he left, he said that Barnabas was hurt, and he wonders if he sensed trouble at the old house. Joe asks if what he was trying to say was hurt Barnabas. He says he's going to the old house to warn Barnabas, just in case. After he leaves, Sam steps on and picks up the paintbrush Adam dropped.

Joe knocks on the door of the old house, but there's no answer. He looks in the window and sees no one. He gives up and leaves.

In the basement, Barnabas struggles. He calls for help, wondering where Julia and Willie are. Trask reappears and tells him that no one can hear his pitiful wailing, just like no one heard his own. Trask tells him he cannot avoid his own judgement day. Trask says that others like him have not rested for 200 years. All the innocent victims who died by his hands. Barnabas calls the ghost of Trask a hypocrite, and Trask tells him to be silent.

Trask says he will give Barnabas a fair trial before punishing him. Barnabas says he will not be condemned again. Trask says he will convene a jury of the dead, and Barnabas will have a chance to defend himself. Trask summons Barnabas' first victim, Jeremiah Collins, followed by two prostitutes he killed, Suki Forbes, and Nathan Forbes. Last but not least, he summons Ezra Simpson to preside over the court. Trask announces that the Trial of Barnabas Collins will now begin.

Trask asks Barnabas for his plea, and he says he is not guilty. Trask says Barnabas can speak in his own defense. Trask calls his first witness, Nathan Forbes. Barnabas complains that he has lied under oath before. Trask asks Forbes how he and Suki died. Nathan says they both died by strangulation by Barnabas' hand. Barnabas objects, saying he can't speak for others. Trask asks Nathan about the prostitutes, and he confirms Barnabas strangled them as well.

Trask tells the judge the prosecution has proved beyond all doubt that the accused is guilty. Barnabas says he was told he would be given a chance to defend himself. Trask allows him to proceed, but Forbes disappears as Barnabas calls to him. Trask says that Forbes has spoken for the other members of the jury, who have arrived at their verdict. Trask declares Barnabas guilty, and says his crimes are punishable by death.

Julia returns to the old house and calls to him once more. She picks up and puts down the letter he left, and as she's about to leave, she hears maniacal laughter downstairs. She makes her way to the cellar, and calls to him. She notices the wall where Trask's skeleton was found has been bricked up.

Our thoughts

John: Sam has done a pretty good job teaching Adam. Too bad it was for selfish reasons. Did he really think that he was going to be able to channel his painting skills through his new naive friend?

Christine: Sam's relationship with Adam is...interesting. I wonder if Sam rubbed off that piece of skin that was flaking off his cheek in Episode 508 by feeling up his face. It's odd that Joe told Sam he should call the police, but then doesn't call the police himself to report Carolyn's kidnapper, even though he suspects he may have gone to hurt Barnabas.

John: How many times is Julia going to pick up the damn note she left for Barnabas? She's fixated on it.

Christine: She must be thinking it's a sign that he hasn't returned yet, which means that nobody will bother to go looking for him. Or it could be that she's just annoyed with him for not reading her note. It will be interesting to see what she makes of the repaired wall.

John: Gotta love today's Trial of the Living Dead! While it would have been nice for some of the other corpses to speak, particularly Jeremiah, I get that Joe/Nathan was the only one paid to speak today. Tough for Barnabas that his jury was not made up of his peers, but his victims. Talk about a tough crowd to convince. And what's with Ezra Simpson? He was introduced like he was someone we should have been familiar with, but I don't recall seeing or hearing about him previously.

Christine: It was great to see Barnabas' victims paraded before him in Trask's kangaroo court. He looked like he was about to cry, either because he was forced to reckon with his past misdeeds, or because he knew Trask was going to entomb him for the second time in his life. I was also wondering who the heck Ezra Simpson was. I found information about him on The Dark Shadows Wiki that confuses me more, as it says that Joshua Collins found out he was a traitor in the American revolution and committed murders in Collinsport. I do not remember any episode where that information was shared. It's funny that Barnabas says he was never a judge, when he was one of the judges presiding over Vicki's trial for witchcraft, though not as mystery man, Ezra Simpson.

Of course you remember Ezra Simpson.

Timothy Gordon, last seen as Jeremiah's ghost in Episode 462, returns with his dangling eyeball.

Maude Browning and Ruby Tate, played by new actresses.

Jane Draper returns as Suki, looking angry about being killed off after only 4 episodes.

Scalawag Nathan Forbes is destined to wear that uniform for all eternity.

It's not my fault. They made me strangle them.

Is Adam's psychic connection with Barnabas his only hope for rescue?

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 
7. Mounted wolf's head 
8. Carolyn's tombstone