Dark Shadows Episode 720 - 3/28/69

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Beth brings Dirk a washcloth for his head. She asks him what Jenny hit him with. He says he doesn't know, and asks if Judith has found her yet. Beth says she's left the West Wing, and is in the East Wing somewhere. She adds that she's concerned someone else will find Jenny.

Jenny wanders through the house.

Beth says Judith never should have involved Dirk. He says now he knows about the big dark secret. She says he'd better keep it, and he says he will because he's being paid to keep it. Dirk asks how long she's known about Jenny. She says since the beginning, since her breakdown when Edward locked her in the tower room. He asks if she knows what caused her breakdown, and she unconvincingly denies it. He says she was her personal maid, and must know, as Jenny slips out the front door behind them. They see her, and head out after her.

Quentin comes to see Barnabas. He says that Magda says he is marked for death soon, and asks if Barnabas knew that. Barnabas says he doesn't understand what he's talking about. Quentin says that Barnabas knows more than he's saying, and suggests they lay all their cards on the table. Quentin details the things Barnabas seemed to know about, such as Quentin stealing the will, and it showing up again. Barnabas says he's interested in hearing more about his being marked for death, as he's concerned about his well being. Quentin says he does not want his concern. Barnabas says he intends to stay at Collinwood. Quentin tells him he need not worry about the gypsy's death threat, and threatens him not to interfere with his plans. Barnabas offers Quentin a warning about Angelique. Quentin is surprised he knows about her. Barnabas says that if he trusts her, he's a fool. Quentin is curious how Barnabas could know about her, and says he's going to find out about his secrets, He leaves the old house, and Jenny emerges from the woods.

Beth arrives at the cottage looking for Jenny. She searches around but does not find her. She lights a candle when Quentin returns. He says he didn't think she'd come to him voluntarily. She says she didn't, but won't say why she's there. He says that on her way to grandmother's house she ran into the big bad wolf. He says they were meant to be together, and kisses her. She breaks away from him and runs off.

Barnabas hears a noise outside and finds Dirk outside. He makes up a story that one of the children is missing from Collinwood. Barnabas asks which child. Dirk says it was Jamison. Barnabas offers him the opportunity to search the house, in case he came in the back way. Barnabas says that if they don't find him, he'll help him search. Dirk is nervous, and tells him it's not necessary. He adds that everyone is already searching, and they may already have found her by now. Barnabas presses him. Dirk says he's worried. Barnabas tells him to come with him to check the house.

Quentin sits in a chair by the fire when there's a knock at the cottage door. He's sure it's Beth, but when he opens the door, he's shocked to see Jenny. She tells him that he's the one. He says no one told him she was still there. She says she was singing that night, and he saw her and brought her here. She says that he left her. He tells her that he came back, like he always intended to. She says that his name is Quentin. He asks what happened to her. She says her name is Jenny, and she thought they would be happy together. He tells her that they can be—she's still his wife.

She asks why he left her, and he says they can talk about it on the way back to Collinwood. She doesn't want to go, and he says it's alright. She says she knew he was back because she heard the music in the room they keep her in. She says he always came to the cottage to meet other women. He denies it. She asks if he still thinks she's pretty, and he says she is. She tells him to kiss her, and he does. She tells him that he won't go away any more, or lie to her.

Dirk asks if they should check the cellar, and Barnabas says there's no other way down there. He says he'll rejoin the search, and Barnabas says he has some things to do and will join him later. Dirk leaves the old house, and Barnabas watches him through the window.

Beth returns to Collinwood when Jenny calls to her. She tells Beth she visited someone she knows. Beth asks who she visited. Jenny asks about her babies, and Beth says they're downstairs where she left them. Jenny says that Quentin is gone. Beth says he's been gone for a long time. Beth takes her inside with her.

Dirk explores the cottage, and almost trips over Quentin's body. He's lying on the floor with a knife in his chest. Dirk gets up and turns to find Barnabas in the doorway. He tries to get by him, but Barnabas says he's going to stay and answer a lot of questions.

Our thoughts

John: Ah, there's the patented Roger Davis head grab we've been waiting for! Granted, he was applying a washcloth to his forehead...

Christine: Yes, but he was hit on the back of the head, which would have been a more appropriate place to apply a cold compress, so he appears to be employing his signature move rather faithfully here.

John: We finally got our long-awaited face off between Quentin and Barnabas. I had always assumed that they would be allies, so it's interesting to see them pitted against one another.

Christine: Quentin seems to be one of those uncomfortable close talkers. I'm surprised it didn't tempt Barnabas to give him a little nibble, though Barnabas has not really engaged in many of his usual vampire behaviors since rejoining the ranks of the undead. At least not onscreen anyway.

John: Wow! Could Quentin actually be dead? Of course not, but I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from here!

Christine: Angelique warned Barnabas that his presence in the past could change history, so there is a possibility that Quentin really is dead. He certainly looks dead. I am confused by his assertion that Jenny is his wife. Does that mean he married her while she was still married to Edward? I wasn't expecting that.

Dark Shadows Episode 719 - 3/27/69

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Magda tells Quentin he is worse than a gypsy—using a child for his black magic. Quentin assures her that he'll be fine. He asks if she still sees the mark of death, and she does. A skull superimposes over his face. He asks her to tell him how he's going to die, and who will try to kill him. He asks if it's Barnabas. She tells him that she knows he believes in her power. He admits it, and grabbing her hand tightly, asks her about what she saw.

She tells him he always tries to get his way by hurting people. She suggests that he smile more. She then tells him that he might try to hide the knives. She says she can see more if motivated, and he hands over a stack of cash. She then reads his palm, and says a woman is holding the knife.

Jenny talks with Judith in a closed off room, saying she doesn't disturb the children while napping. Judith asks her if she's happier in this room, and she says she is. Jenny doesn't remember who Judith is. She then asks what she should name her children. Judith suggests that they are awake now, and Jenny picks up the two dolls and talks to them as if they were alive.

Quentin tells Magda that of course a woman is going to kill him. He plays his Victrola and tells her he thinks of himself when his music is playing, and tells her it's his theme.

Jenny says the children have fallen back to sleep. She then seems irritated, hearing Quentin's music. She screams that he's back. She tells Judith that she couldn't wait to tell her. She says he's come back to be punished. Judith says the babies are crying in order to distract Jenny, and then leaves the room and locks the door. Inside, Jenny tells the dolls that they don't hear the music.

Magda tells Quentin she's tired of hearing his theme. Judith comes in and tells him to stop playing the music. She tells him it's driving her mad, and he responds that perhaps that's why he plays it. He tells her to get out of the room. She reminds him that it's her house. He brings up the will. She tells him to stop playing the music, and to get Magda out of there. She leaves, and he slams the door behind her. He tells Magda to continue reading her cards.

Judith tells Dirk she has a way for him to make some more money. He asks for details, and she tells him to follow her.

Jenny dances while singing Quentin's theme. Then she stops and tells the children that it wasn't her dancing.

Judith explains that Quentin can't know that Jenny is in the house. She opens the door and Jenny tries to run out. Dirk grabs her, and Judith slaps her when she gets hysterical. Dirk drags her back into the room, and Judith tells him that he must see to it that she never leaves the room again.

Quentin tells Magda to look into her crystal ball. She takes it out and he asks her what she sees. She describes the full moon. He asks when the next one is coming, and she says it's in two days. He asks who is trying to do this to him. She tells him the woman was once very beautiful, but she can't see the name. She says the name of the woman who will kill him begins with J. He asks if it's his sister Juidth, and she says she didn't say that. She gets up to leave, and he asks if she's going to run back to Barnabas and confide in him. He threatens her, telling her not to do anything that would make him angry.

Judith brandishes a key when Quentin and Magda come downstairs. He sends Magda off, and invites Judith into the drawing room. He asks her what her solutions are for his life. She says she offered him money to get out. He says that was Plan A, and he wants to hear Plan B. He tells her that his next thought would be murder, and asks if she's ever considered murder.

Dirk brings Jenny coffee, but she knocks it over. As he starts to clean it up, she bashes him over the head with a tray. She picks up his keys.

Quentin tells Judith that if she starting thinking about murder, he would come back to haunt her.

Jenny wanders through the house, finding herself in Quentin's room. She picks up a knife and brandishes it, swinging it through the air in a stabbing motion.

Our thoughts

John: The Nutty Jenny act is wearing thin. I hope we soon find that there's more to her than this two-dimensional portrayal.

Christine: I'm wondering why they are keeping her presence secret from Quentin. I look forward to having him discover who the J lady with the knife really is.

John: Wow. Rather heavy handed in declaring Quentin's theme as exactly that. I almost expected them to superimpose a title suggesting that you run out and buy your own copy on vinyl!

Christine: It was delivered seriously, but I wonder if it was a bit tongue in cheek, especially after Magda said she was tired of his theme, and Judith claimed it was driving her mad. Did you know that Cobert originally created the tune for Curtis' version of Jekyll and Hyde?  You can hear him talk about it in the following interview. I wonder how he feels about the Andy Williams' rendition.

John: Dirk, like his other Roger Davis cronies, is dumb as a bag of rocks. He fell for the old, 'turn your back on the prisoner and see what happens' routine. Of course, when your only criteria about a taking on a potential job is whether it pays, should we really expect a higher caliber person?

Christine: Perhaps the real mistake was in bringing Jenny a huge pot of coffee. That could explain why she looks and acts the way she does. She's not crazy, she's just a caffeine freak.

Dark Shadows Episode 718 - 3/26/69

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Barnabas unlocks the tower room door and enters. He finds no one inside, and a damaged doll head in an empty cabinet. Behind him, he hears the door opening. He turns to see who enters... but there's no one there. The door slams shut. He says he knows Angelique is there. He tells her to appear before him. He assumes she is the one who has been living in the tower room. Suddenly the room is filled with her laughter, and she materializes behind him. She asks him to kiss her. He starts to says that the last time he was in the room... and she finishes saying she burned alive. She says her master's power is stronger than his flames. She says there is a way to change her—his love. He says that she put the curse on him. She says they're both strangers in a foreign century, and if he loves her, she can help him.

She says she has friends. He asks if she means Quentin, and asks if he knows about him. She says that Quentin is curious about him, and Barnabas says he is, too. Angelique asks how he plans to save David and find the secret of the werewolf. He can't believe she knows of the future events. She hugs him, and asks if they can begin again. He says he can never forget, and walks away from her.

She says he needs her help. He says he came to find out why the ghost of Quentin wants David. Angelique says he has already changed things, such as the governess. She says that she can change things to his advantage. She adds that he may never return to his own century. She asks him to look outside, and says it's his last day in the past. She opens a window and the sun is setting, but in the sky. She then describes a darkened room with a casket. She asks who's in the casket. A robed figure opens the casket, but we can't see inside it. The person raises a mallet and stake, and hammers it down into the coffin. She closes the window, and Barnabas grabs her, and asks her who will try it. She disappears.

Quentin asks Jamison where Barnabas spends his days. He says he doesn't know. Quentin tells him spy school is now in session. Quentin says he was a spy for the police in Egypt, and tells Jamison not to ask him any questions. Jamison says that he may be a mad doctor, or a murderer. Quentin says they can use those people. He asks Jamison to go on a mission. He says he needs something that is the personal property of Barnabas. Hey tells Jamison to bring him Barnabas' cane. He says if the cane is in the house, then so is Barnabas, and the gypsies are lying about his whereabouts during the day. Quentin tells Jamison he's like his father. Jamison takes offense. He asks Quentin why he hates Barnabas. Quentin tells him that Barnabas hates him, and cursed him to being poor. Jamison tells him he won't get caught, and runs off.

Quentin picks up a clay figure, and asks how he can make it look more like Barnabas.

Jamison tells Magda he wants to play with Barnabas. She says he's in town. She tries to send Jamison away. Jamison finds Barnabas' cane. He then asks Magda if she ever put a curse on someone. He says he'd like to find out how they are done. Jamison then says he heard something in the basement. She grabs the cane from him, and sends him back to Collinwood. She watches through the window as he makes his way from the old house.

Quentin admires the clay figure and tells it that Barnabas has a few more moments to live.

Barnabas interrogates Magda about sending Rachel to the tower room. He notices his cane is missing. She says she just put it on the table, but can't find it.

Quentin admires Barnabas' cane. He tells Jamison that he must fight Barnabas in any way that he can. He takes a pin and is about to poke the clay figure but Jamison stops him and Quentin hypnotizes him. Quentin tells Jamison that he has the greatest power—innocence. He holds the pin over the clay figure. Jamison says it must be silver, and Quentin picks up Barnabas' cane.

Barnabas asks Magda why Jamison would take his cane when he suddenly clutches his chest. Magda wonders if someone knows enough magic to make him feel this way, and runs off.

Jamison collapses. Quentin stands over him when Magda enters. He tells her to leave. She sees the mark of death on him, and a skull appears over his face.

Our thoughts

John: Oh, Angelique, even if you were being sincere with Barnabas, you understand you now have zero credibility, right? At least we've established that she is aware of future events as well as the past. So perhaps she will recognize that Evan resembles Nicholas the next time she sees him.

Christine: Angelique essentially tells Barnabas the way to destroy her is by loving her and yet he still can't bring himself to do it because he's not really getting how love conquers evil. If nothing else, didn't her master take out Nicholas Blair for the same transgression?

John: I think it's safe to classify Quentin's relationship with his nephew as 'unhealthy.'

Christine: That is an understatement. He's not a nice uncle for sure to be using him for the power he adds to his black magic. Also, Quentin was an Egyptian spy? That's an odd story.

John: Wow! The Mark of Death never looked so good! Nice to see the skull with eyeballs again, and the resemblance to Quentin is uncanny!

Christine: Now that was a thing of beauty! I especially like how the flip top cranium stood out by not having the same neon glow as the rest of the skull. I know I shouldn't ask, but if silver bullets can kill Barnabas, and the silver wolf's head applied to a voodoo doll can cause him suffering, then why doesn't his cane cause him some sort of pain by itself?

Dark Shadows Episode 717 - 3/25/69

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Judith goes to the tower room, where she finds Jenny brandishing a pair of scissors. She tells Judith that she's her sister, and Judith asks her to give her the scissors. She asks Judith if he told her she was a singer. Judith says she always sang for them, and Jenny begins to sing.

Jenny says she remembers someone who hated her—and it was her. Judith denies it. Jenny says she was jealous of her, and she locked her into the room. Jenny asks why she's trapped in the room while Judith wanders freely about the house, sometimes wearing her green dress. Judith says it's not true and shows her a closet full of clothes.

Jenny comes at her with a knife until Beth calls her name. She tells her to listen, and Jenny says she hears it. Beth tells her they're crying, and to go to them now. Jenny goes to the cradle and begins to rock it. Judith sneaks out of the room. Jenny picks up two dolls and tells Beth she's a very good mother. Beth agrees with her. Jenny begins to sing to the dolls.

Judith finds Rachel about to go outside. Judith tells her that she should go to bed soon. Judith says that she thinks Rachel hears and sees things that don't really exist.

She leaves, and Beth comes downstairs. She says that Jenny put the babies down. Judith says that they're not babies, they're dolls. Beth says all Jenny fears is that she'll take her dolls away. Judith says she must go, and Rachel is beginning to suspect Jenny, and no one must.

Rachel arrives at the old house and knocks on the door. Barnabas answers, and she tells him that someone tried to kill her.

Rachel tells Barnabas the story, and says that Beth and Judith both lied to her and denied that it happened. He tells her that he believes her. He says the ladies seem to be hiding a great deal, and he intends to find out why. He tells her they must not know they're working together, and he adds that in Collinwood, no one is what they seem. She points out that it's true of everyone but him.

Beth asks Jenny she threatened Judith with scissors. Jenny says they all lied to her. Jenny pontificates on the color of lies. Beth says if she does it again, Judith will send Jenny away. Jenny says Judith is a nobody, and Beth clarifies that Judith gives the orders now. She says that Jenny has to be good and quiet, or she'll be sent away. Jenny asks if she'll let her take her babies, and Beth says that of course she will. Beth begs her to be good, and Jenny says she will. Jenny tells Beth that she knows what color a lie is—it's red like blood.

Barnabas and Rachel arrive at Collinwood and discuss her plans. She asks if he'll be there when she comes out, and he tells her he will. She kisses him on the cheek, and he sends her in to get the key to the tower room.

Rachel sneaks in after midnight, and Judith stops her as she makes her way up the stairs. Judith asks her about the children, and then invites her to have a glass of sherry. They share a toast.

Barnabas paces outside while he waits for Rachel to return with the keys to the tower room. He looks up and notices the light going on in the room.

Judith pours herself one more glass and says she'll be going up to her grandmother's room, and then corrects herself to say her room. Rachel tries to excuse herself, but Judith stops her and asks her if Nora and Jamison can sing. As Rachel starts to elaborate, Beth walks in. Judith interrupts Rachel and suggests they finish their discussion in the morning. Rachel leaves them in the drawing room.

Barnabas sees the light go out in the tower room. He considers that he could break in, but decides it best that he wait for Rachel. She comes out and gives him the key. He tells her to go to her room and stay there, no matter what happens.

At 3am, Barnabas sneaks into the house.

Judith paces outside the tower room. Beth exits and locks the door. Judith asks if it's all finished, with no slip-ups, and Beth confirms it. After they leave, Barnabas unlocks the door and searches the tower room. He finds no one inside; only a damaged doll head in an empty cabinet. Behind him, he hears the door opening. He turns to see who enters...

Our thoughts

John: Rachel tells Barnabas that she hid the key to the tower room in her bedroom. The last time we saw them, Jenny tossed the keys from the top of the stairs after locking Rachel in the tower room!

Christine: I guess we are supposed to think she went and retrieved the key after regaining consciousness, even though Judith would have certainly hidden any keys after finding out she'd snuck into the room. What was the point when Barnabas said he didn't need a key to get in anyway? It was odd for Barnabas to stop and remark on how lovely Rachel's hand is, and then wonder who would want to harm her, when he knows the answer to that very well.

John: I'm beginning to think that Eve/Jenny's trademark is her crazy hair.

Christine: The medusa ringlets on her forehead certainly add to the intensity of her crazed expressions.

John: Hmmm. If not the tower room, where has Judith moved Jenny to? I can't imagine Edward will be happy to find out that she's lurking around Collinwood.

Christine: Well, there are forty rooms at Collinwood, so she could be anywhere, and as long as Edward doesn't run in to her, he probably doesn't care too much. Can't wait to see who followed Barnabas into the Tower room.