Monday, August 13, 2018

Dark Shadows Episode 556 - 8/12/68

Amazon Prime members can stream today's episode free!

Vicki wakes up in a strange room. She finds the door is locked and calls for help. She listens and hears the ocean, but has no idea where she is.


Blair goes to the basement where Angelique's coffin rests. He tells her she may arise again, and opens the coffin lid. Inside, we see she has the fangs of a vampire.


Upstairs, Angelique asks Blair why he would do this to her. She says she would prefer death to being a vampire. Blair says he's sure Barnabas often felt the same, and describes it as poetic justice. He reminds her that she disobeyed him. He tells her that she is his slave, and she will do only what he decides. She will only attack the victims that he specifies. He warns her to stay away from Barnabas.


She asks about his plan, and he tells her that as his slave, she is not supposed to ask questions. That said, he says he'll tell her because even just contemplating his plan brings him pleasure. He says he intends to create a race of super-beings who will serve his master and control the world. He says he will accomplish the goal through Adam. He says Adam will have sons and propagate the race, just as the biblical Adam did. Angelique points out that this Adam has no Eve, and Blair doesn't know how to create human life. He assures her that Barnabas will convince Julia to help him with that.


Vicki continues to call for help.

There's a knock at the door, and Angelique answers. It's a deputy looking for Blair. He says he has some questions about Thomas Jennings, the man who was attacked. She says she knew him slightly. The deputy says he understands Jennings was working at the house the night he was attacked. He notices she's staring at him funny, and she says it's because he's handsome. He tells her she's the best looking secretary he's seen. She tells him to come closer, since they're obviously attracted to one another. She starts to make a move on him when Blair interrupts them.




The deputy says he came to ask some questions about Jennings. He says he's in a coma and not expected to make it. Blair tells him when Jennings left, and said he assumed he was going home. The deputy leaves, and Blair reminds Angelique that he will choose her victims, not her. He points out that she defied him at her first opportunity, and says that if she disobeys him again, he'll deprive her of her coffin. He then tells her to go to Vicki, and terrify her.


Vicki's in her room when Angelique enters her room. Vicki says she can't be real, because she's dead. She claims she must be a ghost, and Angelique tells her to touch her. She takes her hand to prove she's flesh and blood. Vicki says she died in 1795, and wonders if she's gone back in time again. Angelique says it's possible. Vicki asks who's keeping her there, and Angelique says she can't tell her. She says Vicki is not dreaming. Angelique says she might be caught in a pocket of time.


Angelique says if Vicki gives her her engagement ring, she will get it to the man she loves, who will come to find her. Vicki says it's her last link to reality, and she won't give it to her. Angelique says she'll face eternity in the room since she declined her help. Vicki stops her and says that she doesn't trust her, but she'll give her the ring. She does, and Angelique says she'll take it to the man she loves, and he will come find her. Vicki says to give it to Jeff, and Angelique says there is no Jeff, only Peter Bradford. Angelique leaves with the ring and closes the door behind her. Vicki hears her laughing.


Blair finds Adam in the woods. He gives Adam Vicki's ring, and tells him to give that to Barnabas to prove they have Vicki.


Barnabas wonders where Vicki is, and if she's still alive. Adam appears and admits to kidnapping Vicki. He tells Barnabas she's safe, and gives Barnabas her ring. Barnabas reminds him that Lang created Adam, and Julia brought him to life. Adam says if they don't help him, Vicki will die. Barnabas says he should let Vicki go and kill him. Adam says he has until tomorrow night to decide, and if he doesn't agree to create a mate for him, Vicki will die.


Our thoughts

John: Did anyone else have a Bela Lugosi Bride of the Monster flashback when Blair was telling Angelique of his plans?



Christine: If I'd seen that movie, I might have, though Blair was a little more subdued in his delivery. He says, "the mistakes made with the original Adam will not be made again" during his balance scale lesson with Angelique, claiming that he wants to restore balance to 'his' side. Is he suggesting that evildoers are in the minority? That's quite a claim on a show overrun with vampires, witches, warlocks, overzealous witchfinders, opportunistic blackmailers, and reanimated corpses. It's a wonder that Angelique did not point out the flaw in his plan: What if either Adam or his undead bride-to-be are sterile?

John: What the hell is Angelique doing answering the door? Has she forgotten that she's a dead ringer for Blair's missing sister Cassandra? Blair has to be smarter than that, even if she's not.

Christine: He did tell her that she was his slave. Also, she said in her Dear John note to Roger that she'd left for parts unknown, never to return, so as far as they know, she's not a missing person. I like how Deputy Dog was ready and willing to start making out with her on the couch. I don't think any vampire persuasion was needed.

John: Poor Vicki, they're just playing with her head now. By the time she is free, she may doubt Jeff's identity, and her own sanity.

Christine: Granted, that was pretty messed up, but hardly the most terrifying moment of her life that Blair demanded. I expected more. So, are witches more powerful than vampires or not? How is it that Angelique is Blair's slave? Why can't she put the bite on him and make him her slave?


1 comment:

Grant said...

"What if they're sterile?"

I wonder if that ever occurred to Frankenstein himself. I'm pretty sure one of his biggest reservations about giving the Creature a Bride was the idea of them starting a "race" that would terrorize a huge number of people, as opposed to somehow doing that completely on their own (in spite of the Creature's promise that they'd be peaceful).