Dark Shadows Before I Die: Dark Shadows Episode 535

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Vicki is in the drawing room when Julia returns to Collinwood. She says she thought it would be Barnabas, and Julia says he's on his way to see her. She asks why, and Julia says he knows how much she's suffering trying to protect him. Julia tells her she can't tell him the dream if she's not there, and they go upstairs to pack a bag. As they are about to go upstairs, Barnabas enters. He says he can't allow her to torture herself. She runs into the drawing room and closes the doors. Julia tries to stop him from going in, and she says she can call professor Stokes. He says if she calls him in, she'll have to tell him things that he should not know. He says his fate was sealed when Angelique returned. Julia tries to block the door, but moves when Barnabas tells her to.

Vicki cowers against the wall. Barnabas says he's ready. She says she'll never tell him the dream, and he must go away. She says she won't until Cassandra gives up. Barnabas assures her she will never give up. Barnabas asks her what happened to him in the dream. She says she doesn't want to see him... die. He asks if she saw him die at the end of the dream, and she says no. He knows she's lying. He implores her to tell him what she saw.

She asks what Angelique has against him. He says it must be that he's a direct descendant of Barnabas. Vicki says the history books say Barnabas went to England, but he didn't. He stayed in Collinwood, and died in the old house after marrying Angelique. She says that's what the riddle means. Barnabas says he has loved very few things in his lifetime, but he loves her, and he will go to his grave before he sees her life destroyed. He sits her down, and she begins to tell him the dream.

Barnabas leaves the drawing room, and Julia realizes Vicki told him the dream. He says Vicki is crying, and asks Julia to comfort her. She says she wants to stay with him, and he tells her to tend to Vicki. He leaves and Julia goes to Vicki. She tells her she won't feel frightened any more. Vicki asks if they can do anything for Barnabas. Julia says time has always been Barnabas' greatest enemy. More cruel than any witch. Vicki points out that Julia was close with Barnabas. Julia assures her she had to do what she did.

Cassandra enters and asks why Vicki is crying. Julia walks up and slaps her across the face, and leaves. Cassandra tells her she'll regret that. Vicki tells her she deserved more than a slap in the face, and goes to her room.

In the old house, Barnabas takes a pill. Julia enters and says he looks calm. She offers to give him a pill to keep him awake, and he tells her he took a pill to help him sleep. She says as long as he's awake, there's a slim hope. He tells her he has instructed Willie what to do. He will assist Julia when he reverts to what he was. Willie will bring a wooden stake and a hammer for her to drive through his heart. He gets her to promise him that she'll do it. She does, and he drifts off to sleep. She sits in a chair and watches him.

Barnabas dreams. There's a knock at the door. He answers it, and it's Cassangelique. He tells her he knew it would be her. She leads him to a door. He tells her he doesn't fear her, or what is in the room. She locks the door behind him. He asks her which door to take, and she will have won. He hears her speak the riddle.

He hears Josette's music box, and opens his first door. He sees the wide-eyed skull. Behind the next door is the skeletal bride. The third door he opens is the guillotine. He approaches the fourth door, and opens it to see the blazing sunshine. He goes in, and again we see the exterior of the old house. Barnabas enters through the double doors. He says he has come to the point of return, and is ready. Barnabas bolts up, saying Cassandra's name.

Julia asks if he's alright, and he says he doesn't know. She asks if he had the dream, and he says he did, and that nothing happened. He doesn't understand. It was just as Vicki described it, up to the point where he was to find his body, and then he woke up. Julia says there must be a reason the dream was different. Barnabas says he survived the dream, and he is now completely free of Angelique. He says something went wrong with her curse, and he's sure it's all over now.

He tells her to go get Willie. She doesn't want to leave him alone, but she does. There's a knock at the door. He asks who it is, but there is no answer. He steps outside and sees no one. A bat shadow appears and he screams, clutching his throat.

Our thoughts

John: Gotta love Barnabas. Standing in the doorway of Collinwood, looking so cool. And then he hits himself with the door, trying to close it behind him!

Christine: That's what makes him so lovable. It was quite the tender moment when he told Vicki that he loved her.

John: Nice bitch slap, Julia! I only wish Vicki had doubled down on it!

Christine: It certainly was a nice delivery. I would have liked to have seen Vicki rip off her wig and stomp on it. It's mystifying that Cassandra continues her pretense that she's not Angelique to the characters who all know that she is, even in Barnabas' dream! I wonder what she'll do now that she's finally satisfied her thirst for revenge. Will she and Nicholas take off on their brooms, or stick around to torment the Collins family for the heck of it? I guess she has to get Julia back for that slap, while Nicholas is poised to put the moves on Maggie Evans.

John: So we arrive at the end of the dream curse. And Barnabas was dumb enough to think he survived it, which, let's face it, after all this time would be quite anticlimactic. But shame on the filmmakers, who stumbled along the way creating the menagerie of nightmare fodder for the dream curse, to have not even gone to the expense of the bat-puppet on a string to close this episode out.

Christine: My thoughts exactly. Was the bat by Bil Baird out on tour and unavailable to perform in this episode? That truly would have been the point of return. What a let down to end the dream curse that way. On the other hand, thank goodness the dream curse has finally run it's course!