Dark Shadows Episode 645 - 12/13/68

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David knocks a panel in the wall open, and they see a door. He says there's another room, and is reluctant to open the door. Amy reminds him they're locked in the room. The door behind the wall opens, and they decide to go through. They see someone sitting in a chair, which spins around revealing a skeleton.

David says it must be Quentin. They agree that they should leave now, but find the door they came in is also shut. David says the skeleton can't hurt them, and Amy agrees. She complains that it's musty. David finds a candle and matches. He lights it, and music begins to play through a Victrola.

Liz visits Barnabas to let him know David and Amy are missing. She explains that she invited Amy to stay, and that she and David are missing. Liz says that she was hoping they might have snuck into the old house. Barnabas leads her upstairs to begin to search for them.

Amy asks how a phonograph would begin to play by itself. David says he doesn't know, and tries the door again. He suggests they look for something to break it down, and the music stops. They hear laughing, and the door opens behind them.

Barnabas comes into the drawing room and tells Liz they're not in the basement either. They leave for Collinwood together.

David and Amy are outside the old house, and are able to walk right in after Barnabas and Liz have left. David reminds her that they're doing what Quentin asked, because they promised him. They start up to the attic, saying that's where Quentin told them to find what he wanted. Amy tells David that he's changed.

Liz tells Barnabas that Roger is still searching the grounds. He asks her if they checked the West Wing. He tells her he'll go outside to join the search.

David brings a cradle downstairs. Amy asks how they'll get it into Collinwood without being seen. He says they'll get in the same way they got out.

David and Amy bring the cradle into the room with the skeleton. He says they were told to put it in the middle of the room, and they do. She says they should go downstairs before people worry about them. David smiles, and Amy asks why. He says he likes her. She asks again if they can go downstairs. He says they can, and be themselves again. As they prepare to leave the room, the cradle begins to rock. David tells Amy to go to the cradle. That she's needed.

Liz hears the front door. Barnabas enters and says there's no sign of them. Liz decides to phone the sheriff when David and Amy walk in. Amy is excited to see Barnabas, and gives him a big hug. He asks where they have been. David says they just went out. Amy asks David if she can tell them. Liz asks what she's referring to. Amy says that she had a frightening dream. She explains that she was afraid. She says David took her out to watch  the sunrise. After seeing the sunrise at Collinwood, she was no longer frightened. David apologizes to his aunt. Barnabas says it's odd that no one found them if they were out in the field for so long. Amy says that she can't say where else they were. David says they were in one of his secret hiding places. Barnabas goes to tell the others the kids are safe, and tells Amy they will have to get reacquainted, since it has been several weeks since they saw each other at Windcliff. After Barnabas and Liz leave, David says they can sneak back into the West Wing tonight after everyone's asleep.

That night, they sneak back in. Amy asks if he thinks they'll be waiting for them. David says he hopes so. They crawl into the room with the skeleton, and Amy says hello to Quentin.

Our thoughts

John: I'm curious why David and Amy opened a different panel in the wall today than they did yesterday. But more importantly, why did that room look cleaner than the one Adam stayed in. Shouldn't it have been just as cobweb-ridden?

Yesterday's episode.

Today's episode.

Christine: It looks like the same panel to me. Perhaps the camera angle is different, or the furniture has been moved. Yes, it's odd that Quentin's skeleton is not shrouded in cobwebs the same way the moose head was in the adjoining room. Is it possible that his skeleton is bustling about dusting when no one is looking?

John: Skully's back! Great to see him again (though we just saw him replace Eve on the operating table a few days back). You would think that finding a skeleton would be enough to scare the average person, let alone a skeleton that spins around in a chair on its own... but not these kids. Nerves of steel, I tell ya!

Christine: No kidding! Not even a gasp or a yelp. The way that skeleton spun around gave me a Psycho flashback.

John: So David and Amy got out, changed clothes, and made it to the old house and back without ever being seen by anyone looking for them. Maybe Quentin turned them into ghosts!

Christine: This was a really spooky episode with the snickering ghost, the hairy skeleton who turned to face the kids, the cradle that rocked itself, David's sudden change in demeanor, and Cobert's "Cue 295: Old Phono #1 - Quentin's theme" to underscore the unsettling atmosphere. The children seem possessed, or are at least working at the behest of Quentin's seemingly nefarious ghost, and we can only wonder for what purpose. Even stranger was the familiar way Barnabas and Amy greeted one another. Are we to assume that they were palling around during their time together at Windcliff? That seems rather odd, though perhaps she reminds him of his sister Sarah.