Dark Shadows Episode 650 - 12/20/68

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Roger returns to Collinwood and tells Liz that the coroner confirmed Madame Findley died of a heart attack. Liz doesn't think it's as simple as that. She wonders if she saw something that frightened her. Roger assures her that there's nothing mysterious about it. Vicki comes in and asks if someone else can stay with the children tonight. She says she has to stay in her room, because Jeff is going to return to her room tonight. She says she had a dream where Jeff said he would come for her. She says she couldn't go on living if it doesn't happen. She runs upstairs, and Roger says she has to stop her grieving eventually. He suggests that Barnabas should talk to her. Liz says it's worth trying. He offers to go to the old house to get Barnabas before he leaves for his trip.

Vicki sits in her room and stares at Jeff's watch. She asks for a sign. When there is none, she starts to cry. She then realizes that the watch has started ticking again, and she thinks that means Jeff is in the room with her again. She begs him to come to her. A glowing light appears by her window.

Roger brings Barnabas to see Liz. He says he should have come to see Vicki earlier. Liz tells him that Vicki needs help, and she goes up to tell her that he is there.

Vicki speaks to the light in the window, asking him to come back to her. She screams that she loves him, and she hears his voice whisper her name. It says her love brought him back, but he can never return. She says she doesn't believe it, and their spiritual discussion is interrupted by a knock on the door.

Liz comes in and tells her that she heard from Jeff and he said he'll never return. She asks what she's going to do, and then tells Liz that she has to leave Collinwood. Liz tells her that she's part of the family, and Vicki acknowledges that they're the only family she has. She says the house has too many memories. Liz tells her they can talk later, and says that Barnabas is waiting outside to speak to her. She asks Liz to send him in.

Vicki says she's glad to see Barnabas. She says she needs to say goodbye, because she's going to leave Collinwood. She explains the the memories of all that happened at Collinwood will be unbearable. He tells her that she's making a mistake. He offers to take her away, so he can take care of her. He says he wants her to be his wife. He admits that he knows she doesn't feel for him as she did for Jeff, but he says he'll do anything to make her happy. He asks her to consider going away with him as his wife. She tells him that he's the kindest and most considerate man she knows, and she's honored he wants her to be his wife, but she must say no. She explains that while she feels something like love for him, Jeff isn't gone. Barnabas asks if she thinks Jeff will come back to her, and she says she knows that can never happen. She apologizes to Barnabas, saying that she will never stop loving the man she married. He asks her when she's planning to leave, and she says she plans to leave as soon as possible. He says it will be easiest if this is their final farewell. As he leaves, she tells him that she will never forget him, and he says the same of her.

After he leaves, she begins to cry, and asks why she has to spend the rest of her life without Jeff. She doesn't see him materialize behind her.

She's surprised to find him there. He says that he didn't choose to come back—her love brought him back. But he says she has to forget him. He explains that he (Peter) inhabited Jeff's body, but for only a short time. He then adds that he can only stay until 8, and then he will disappear. She tells him she will never stop loving him. She asks him to take her back with him. He says it's too dangerous. 

Roger asks Barnabas to help out around Collinwood while he's gone. As he leaves to catch his taxi, he tells Liz that he'll call her from London. Liz is surprised to find Barnabas in the drawing room. She says she just passed Vicki's room and heard him talking to a man, and she assumed it was him.

Upstairs, Barnabas calls for Vicki and ultimately breaks down the door just in time for he and Liz to see Vicki and Jeff disappear.

Our thoughts

John: So much for Madame Findley adding to the Quentin storyline. Three episodes and she's unceremoniously off to the land of Collinwood's forgotten dead.

Christine: Findley joins the cadre of fondly remembered characters who made a lasting impression in just a few appearances. Along with Buzz, Mr. Wells, the bat by Bil Baird, and Diabolos, she may be gone but certainly not forgotten. Liz admits that Vicki is disturbed and needs help. Isn't there someone with credentials on site to consult before going to Barnabas?

John: The way Peter was talking, it sounded like the real Jeff Clark was going to return, minus the spiritual possession of Peter Bradford. If Vicki were smarter, she could have stuck around and waited to hook up with the real Jeff Clark, and been done with all the time travel business once and for all. Because who are we kidding, she didn't really know either of them long enough to develop such a lasting relationship. It was always all about the looks, and that's the one thing the real Jeff Clark could have offered her. 

Christine: I'd say the only reason she was into Jeff Clark was because of her love for Peter Bradford, which was not entirely due to his appearance, but may have been partly because he was there for her when she was enduring a trial and had no one else to support her. Quite honestly, I'm not sad to see the current incarnation of Vicki go. Betsy Durkin is a lovely lady, but she just didn't have the right Vicki vibe.

John: I assume if Roger is off to London, we won't be seeing much of him in the foreseeable future. I hope Louis Edmonds got a nice vacation out of the deal.

Christine: Barnabas has impeccable timing as usual, asking Vicki to marry him when she's still married to someone else, and pouting when she refuses him.