Dark Shadows Episode 540 - 7/19/68

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Blair tells Cassandra to find the intervening force by midnight. If he doesn't hear from her, their pact is off and he will dispense of her services. He gives her a taste of what failure will bring, telling her to look at her hand. She screams as she sees rotting bones where her fleshy hand once was.

Later, Cassandra walks into the drawing room with a bandaged hand. Blair suggests it was sensible for her to bandage it so the others didn't see it. She tells him he can't destroy her because he needs her if he's going to stay in Collinwood. Blair explains that even if he has to destroy her, he's sure Roger will let him wait in Collinwood for her to return again.

He tells her she has to find out why Barnabas is still alive. She says she doesn't know where to start, and he says that's her problem. She then realizes that Willie might know what happened, as he told Maggie that Barnabas was dead. She says she'll summon him, and asks if Blair will help her. He says she has to find out on her own if Cassandra Collins is to continue to exist.

David comes to the old house looking for Julia. Willie asks what he wants, and David says it's about the tape recorder. Willie tries to send him away when David asks him who Adam is. Willie stumbles over his words, and says he doesn't know any Adam. David says that Barnabas knows him, and there's some connection. Willie flips out and sends David away. David asks why he's so nervous as Willie slams the door on him.

Cassandra calls to Willie.

In the old house, Willie feels like he's being called somewhere.

Cassandra beckons Willie to meet her on the terrace at Collinwood. She tells him he has no choice but to obey her. Willie shows up, and is surprised to see Cassandra. She commands him to look into her eyes. She asks what happened to Barnabas after the dream curse. Willie says they found him, and he had no heartbeat. He tells her that they buried Barnabas, and they planned to go away. Willie then says when he returned to the old house, Barnabas was there, and he was alive. He says Barnabas told him he escaped the curse. She asks Willie if he's telling her the truth, and he says she can't lie. She tells him he can return to Collinwood, and forget that she had summoned him.

Cassandra is disappointed that Willie didn't have the details she needed. Blair shows up, and points out her latest failure. He reminds her that each tick of the clock brings her closer to her own destruction. She tells him she learned that her curse worked, and they buried Barnabas. Blair asks her why Barnabas didn't revert to what he was permanently, and how he escaped from his grave. She says she has to find the intervening factor, and remove it. She says she needs more time, and he reminds her not to plead with him.

She begs for more time and he says no. She keeps pleading and he says he has changed his mind, and won't destroy her at midnight. He says her pleas have annoyed him, so he won't give her until midnight. He tells her that she has one hour to find out what she needs to know, or to prepare for the moment of her destruction.

Cassandra stares at the clock, with only four minutes until Blair will be there to destroy her. David asks her to listen to the tape recording, and she tells him to leave her alone and go to bed. On his way up the stairs, he asks her if she knows much about Barnabas, and his affliction. She asks what he means, and he says it's referenced on the tape. She's suddenly interested, and rushes him to play the tape.

He does, and music plays. She says she doesn't have time to listen to music, and shows him how to speed it up. He does, and she then hears Lang say that Barnabas will be free and healthy as long as Adam lives. If Adam dies, Barnabas will be as he was before.

Cassandra realizes the connection between Adam and Barnabas is the answer. As the clock strikes 9pm, she sends David up to his room, and calls for Blair to appear.

Our thoughts

John: David tried to spill the beans on the tape, and Willie ignored him. I find it harder to believe that his next stop would be Cassandra, but the writers played that get out of jail free card for her. I guess she's lucky Vicki and Carolyn had the day off today...

Christine: Since Nicholas and Cassandra felt safe chatting about how Barnabas escaped her dream curse with the doors to the drawing room wide open, we can assume that everyone at Collinwood is out for the day. We know Liz is in the hospital, Roger is probably working, Carolyn may be in Bangor shopping, Mrs. Johnson could be off having a smoke somewhere, Harry Johnson is surely wandering lost in the West Wing, and Vicki must be off searching for her loser boyfriend, Jeff Clark. It's surprising that she would leave David in the care of Cassandra, knowing that she is the witch, Angelique.

John: Did the director not read the script? Cassandra tells Willie to look into her eyes, but they staged the scene so they're not even facing one another?

Christine: That was pretty awkward, but so was the way she bandaged her hand. I wonder if she wrapped a rock in there so she could bash Nicholas in the skull as a last resort to keep him from destroying her.

John: I was momentarily disappointed when Blair seemed to reverse course on Cassandra, and then he went and surprised me by not being more lenient, but by being even more harsh! That's the Nicholas Blair I've come to know and love!

Christine: He's so wonderfully ruthless. Their relationship is an interesting one, and he continues to delight with his domineering performance. He gives the impression that he is the experienced leader of the coven while she is still a novitiate. He may be a harsh taskmaster, but I wouldn't count her out if it came down to a battle between the two. She might not defeat him, but could probably inflict some damage, albeit through love potion or pins in the poppet.