Thursday, June 28, 2018

Dark Shadows Episode 523 - 6/27/68

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In the cellar, Blair finds Reverend Trask's skeleton. He asks where Angelique is, and tells Trask that he cannot be resisted. He commands Trask to come back from the grave. Trask's voice asks who summons him. Blair commands him to appear, and Trask reappears behind the brick wall.



Trask says that he knows who Blair is, claiming that he's the devil himself come to tempt him. He says he will not be tempted, nor listen to him, and Blair explains he has no choice. Trask tries to cast Blair back to hell, and Blair applauds at his efforts.


Blair demands to know what Trask has done with the witch. Trask explains that the demon has been exorcised from her. Blair demands to know where the exorcism took place. Trask refuses to tell him, and Blair says he will allow him to return to his grave in peace only if he does as he asks. Trask pulls a cross on him, and Blair cowers in fear. Trask disappears, and Blair screams he hasn't seen the last of him.


Blair returns to Collinwood and finds Carolyn in the drawing room. He sits down, and she explains that they might not be related by marriage much longer. He asks how his sister has aroused such hostility. Carolyn says if he wants to know why Cassandra alienated the entire family, he can talk to Tony Peterson. He asks if she's implying Cassandra and Tony were lovers. She says he couldn't resist her, and Blair likens it to her having some power over him.


Blair says he's going to visit Mr. Peterson, when Vicki enters. Carolyn introduces them, and Vicki is a bit shocked. Blair excuses himself, and Vicki asks her how Cassandra could have a relative.


Tony is working in his office when the doorbell rings. He opens the door, and Blair says he represents a corporation that will be suing the Collins family, and shows off a jeweled cigarette case that hypnotizes Tony.



Blair points out his extraordinary resemblance to Trask. He then asks Tony to tell him about Cassandra. Tony says he loves her. Blair asks where she is, and he says Collinwood. Blair tells him to clear his mind, and tell him the first image that comes to his mind. Tony describes a tree, and Nicholas tries to get him to identify the precise location of the tree. He leaves, and Tony gets up, as if no one had been there.


Vicki is in the drawing room, wondering about Nicholas Blair, when there's a knock at the door. It's Jeff, and she's thrilled to see him.


Jeff explains he still doesn't know who he is. He tells her he couldn't find out any more information from the police. She tells him he exists here and now, and that's all that matters. They kiss, and Jeff tells her he brought her a present.



He goes to  the car to get it. Trask appears before Vicki, and tells her to beware the devil.


Jeff returns and tells Trask to leave Vicki alone, because she's innocent. Trask disappears, and Jeff gets a headache. Vicki points out that the fact he recognized Trask means he's Peter Bradford.



Our thoughts

John: I have to give them credit - making Trask appear over the skeleton via chroma key was the most effective use of the technology yet.

Christine: I suppose so, if you don't pay attention to how the brick shapes cut out of his black robe don't quite match up with the wall. It was still quite good, though I should remind you of some other  impressive uses of the chroma key:





John: If Blair could get Tony to provide information about Cassandra that he didn't know, how come he couldn't just conjure it up on his own?

Christine: It would seem his powers aren't without limits. Blair says it must have amused Cassandra that Tony closely resembled Trask, but he should be as concerned as the rest of us with the fact that she's forced him to fall in love with her and has been playing around with him, suggesting that she's got the hots for Trask. She must have fallen for him when she learned he also likes to play with fire.

John: Interesting that Jeff recognized Trask, but more importantly, Vicki is skipping over the important detail Trask provided about the devil being a guest in Collinwood...

Christine: Devil shmevil, she's found her lost love! It's possible that Nicholas Blair might actually be Q. I love when he tells Trask: "You were a blind, overzealous fanatic, a bigot and a fraud, intolerant, cruel and unjust! A man after my own heart."




Dark Shadows Before I Die Round Robin Nightmare tracker (bold appearing in this episode):
  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 
  9. Maggie with Sam's coffin

2 comments:

Grant said...

I haven't see this in a long while, so there's one thing I'm not sure of. In the present, does Trask understand completely that Vicky was never a witch (along with all the other big things he's learned), and that he railroaded her completely? (Even though HE believed everything he said about her.)
If so, it's easy to imagine some almost comical "awkward moment" between them in this episode.

Christine said...

Julia explained to Trask in Episode 516 that he sent an innocent woman to the gallows, and that the witch he was seeking before he died is Cassandra Collins. Perhaps his showing up to warn Vicki about the devil in the house was some form of atonement. Too bad she was oblivious to it.