Dark Shadows Episode 886 - 11/17/69

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Standing atop Widow's Hill, Josette hears footsteps approaching. She screams that she won't become what he is. But it's Natalie, not Barnabas. She tells her not to do it. She grabs Josette. She tells Natalie that she can't help her. She says that he will come to her. Natalie says she knows someone supposed to be dead is not.

Back at Collinwood, Natalie brings Josette to Millicent's room. She says she must go to tell someone who told her where she was that she is safe. She leaves, and Millicent asks her if Barnabas' death has really affected her that way.

Natalie comes to see Barnabas. He asks if Josette is safe. Natalie says that had he gone for her, she would have run from her and she would have died. She says that Angelique showed Josette a vision of herself as a witch. She says she saw him dead, and he cannot see Josette. She claims and understanding creatures such as him, and says he knows he's a ghost. He tells her to bring Josette to him. He says she will do as he says, and bites her neck.

Millicent tells Josette that Barnabas' death has not stopped her love for him. She says that she is afraid to love, as she's sure a tragedy will occur, as it did to her. She says when she's upset, she just doesn't think about it. She then finds a vial and ask Josette what it is. Josette asks for it and Millicent gives it to her. Natalie returns and tells Josette it's safe for her to return to her room. She sends her to her room and stays with Millicent, who says Josette shouldn't be alone. She asks why Josette thinks Barnabas is still alive, and then realizes Natalie is crying.

Josette returns to her room. Barnabas is waiting for her. He begs her not to be frightened of him. She says she knows his plan for her, and he explains that Angelique showed her that to try and ruin their love. He says they could have been together, but that is over now. He says there is another time, 100 years in the future, where he is still alive. He says he is free of the vampire curse then. He asks for her trust. He says they can be in another century tonight. He tries to impress upon her that he was in that time just hours ago. He asks her if she remembers Kitty Soames, or being in the old house. She says it was a dream, and he explains that it was not. She says that he is frightening her. He says there is more to their lives than she knows, and asks her for one last chance.

He says they can travel through time to be married and human. He tells her to go to the old house, and says that the secret is in the portrait. He asks if she still loves him and she says that she always will, and kisses him. He tells her to meet him at the old house at midnight, telling no one. He says she can write her aunt a note, and he will go see Ben Stokes to protect them. He promises to make her forget tonight. He leaves, and she sits down to write a note.

Barnabas is lost in the woods. He stumbles across a structure he's never seen before. He's sure it wasn't there earlier that night. He can't figure out how he could be lost in Collinwood. A woman approaches, and he asks who she is, and where he is. She waves her hand.

He turns and sees another cloaked figure. A man. They kneel and raise their hands to him. He asks what they want of him. They don't speak, but the man grabs him. Barnabas demands to be let go, and then tells himself he must disappear. But he cannot. He wonders who the strangers are, and what powers they have.

Josette is in the old house, waiting for Barnabas. She asks the portrait how it can be the key.

Millicent reads Josette's letter to Natalie. She says they must go after her. Natalie says they cannot fight him. Millicent refuses to give up, and runs out of the room.

Josette wonders where Barnabas is, as he has not arrived by 12:30. She wonders if he was lying to her about the portrait and time travel. She assumes that he plans to turn her into a creature of the night. She thinks that they will never have each other. She takes the vial from her purse and drinks the contents. She collapses, saying his name.

The two figures kneel at Barnabas' feet. He is unable to move. They rise and the man mentions the mother earth.

Josette lies on the floor, saying Barnabas' name one last time, before dying.

Barnabas is now lying atop the altar. The two figures approach him and the woman places leaves under his head. The man says he will know them when he rises from this sleep, and he will show them the way to a new and everlasting life.

Our thoughts

John: Well, I guess I got a definitive answer to the question of whether Barnabas is still a vampire. Julia Hoffman would have been so jealous of Natalie...

Christine: I understand that he's got to be famished by now, since he rarely consumed anybody during his stay in 1897, and that he's able to exert control over unwilling people by putting the bite on them, but he's quite the scoundrel to kiss Josette while the taste of her aunt's blood lingers on his lips.

John: Ah, Josette. Always ready to commit suicide at a moments notice. I wonder if Barnabas will even find out about it.

Christine: I'm not sure we can blame Angelique for this any more. Josette is in serious need of therapy. Or was. If only Barnabas had succeeded in transporting her to 1897 he could have set up a consultation for her with Freud. Oh well, too late now.  Will this be the last Josette reincarnation, lookalike or doppelgänger, or will we be going through this with Barnabas all over again in the future?

John: Double-wow! Who are these crazy cultists that appeared out of nowhere and know Barnabas? Could this be the Leviathans I have read about but never seen? I like the pre-Omega Man 'Family' vibe that they've got.

Christine: I think the sea monsters carved on the stone above the altar confirm that the Leviathans have landed, interrupting Barnabas' last chance to reunite with his long lost love. Nobody expects the Leviathans! Dig that crazy stone altar! It could be used for all manner of things. It should be an interesting week.