Dark Shadows Episode 840 - 9/12/69

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Petofi shows Julia his hand, and introduces himself to her. She knows who he is, and he knows who she is. He tells her that before the night is over, he will leave to visit Collinwood of the future and she will help him.

She says she doesn't know why he thinks she can help him. He asks if her hair is short because of the fashion at the time. He points out that she was found wearing a ridiculously short skirt. Julia says that Quentin told him about her. She reiterates that she can't help him. He tells her that she will be unable to speak until he wants her to. He takes her to a cell.

Tate returns, wondering if Petofi knows he can conjure things that he paints. He asks Petofi what he was  before they met. Petofi says he was a mediocre painter, and he supplied him with talent. Tate asks if he gave him other talents. He brings up Amanda. Petofi says he's not interested in any relationship between his portrait and Amanda. He sends Tate home.

Quentin kisses Amanda, and asks her why she's staying in Collinwood. He accuses her of being there for a reason. He says she's strong enough without Trask's prayers. She asks him if he wants her to leave, and he says that he doesn't—he just doesn't want her mixed up with Trask. She says that she can't explain. She asks him to let her figure it our her own way. He agrees, as long as she meets him tomorrow, in the garden, away from Trask's prying.

Tate arrives, and Quentin says it's an odd hour for a visit. He says he needs to speak to Amanda. He says that Trask has asked him to paint her portrait. She asks Quentin to leave them. He does, and Tate tells Amanda why she doesn't know anything before March 11, 1895.

He tells her that he had a painting from that date of her. She points out that he didn't know her. He says it was a portrait of a face he wanted to see. She doesn't understand what he's saying, and he tells her that she came into being when he painted her. She says it's romantic nonsense. He tells her that he started to sketch, and then he added a vase, which appeared on the table. He decides to prove it to her. He tells her to watch an empty table as he takes out a pad and starts sketching. He quickly sketches a very detailed glass. He tells her to describe the glass on the table, and she tells him there is no glass. He doesn't understand. He tells her to come with him to his studio, and she runs away from him.

Quentin comes back and asks what he did. Tate tells him it began when he met Petofi, and he'll understand soon enough.

Petofi restores Julia's ability to speak. He asks if she'd like a further demonstration of his powers. He says he has enemies he cannot fight, and he must escape. He demands to know how she traveled through time.

He threatens to change her face by casting a spell on her. He brings his hand before her
face, and she tells him that she used the I Ching to come back in time.

Quentin once again drinks as he admires his portrait. Petofi arrives and asks him a small favor. He says he wants his I Ching wands. He assumes Barnabas used them to get there. Quentin says they're in the basement of the old house. Quentin says that's the last favor he'll do for him. Quentin tells him that he can take his portrait and go. Petofi offers to rid him of his conscience. Quentin tells him to leave or kill him, as he has no intention of doing his favors. Quentin threatens to kill him, and Petofi says he would punish him for that. He reminds him that he is now a slave of Petofi.

Petofi asks Julia if she has told him everything he needs to know about the I Ching wands. He throws them on the table and places them. She shows him the third hexagram in her book, suggesting great promise and success. She continues to read about it, and he stops her. He tells her to stand outside the door, and tells her that Aristede will kill her if she tries to escape. Julia tells him how to journey through a door with his astral body. He starts the process.

Petofi envisions the door with the I Ching hexagram. He approaches it and it opens. He steps through and it shuts behind him. He sees the gypsy scimitar slicing through the air.

Our thoughts

John: Petofi knows an awful lot about Julia, including her last name and occupation. I assume we're to believe that Quentin told him everything he knew about her, but other than knowing she was from the future like Barnabas, would he really have a copy of her resume?

Christine: I like how Quentin informed Petofi that Julia was found on the steps of Collinwood wearing "a ridiculously short skirt," especially because it was true.

Episode 837

John: I was beginning to wonder about Tate's special talent, and why some things he illustrated materialized while others didn't. Since Amanda didn't appear before him when the portrait was painted, perhaps the new glass he just sketched turned up in The Blue Whale...

Christine: I love when Tate said, "Look at me. Do I look mad?" Um...is that a rhetorical question? Tate's grabbing and groping of Amanda makes Trask's arm caressing move seem innocent.

John: Was I the only one who yelled at Julia to scatter the I Ching wands as soon as Petofi entered the trance? As much as I'd like to see him get his just desserts at the hands of the gypsy scimitar, I don't see him getting snuffed out in the darkness between the past and future...

Christine: Perhaps Julia didn't scatter the I Ching wands because she was worried he might get stuck in 1969, and then they'd be stuck with him once they returned to their own time. Quentin has learned nothing from his near death experience. While Beth may have been easily dismissed, I doubt Petofi will be able to save him should Angelique encounter him making kissy face with Amanda.