Dark Shadows Episode 442 - 3/5/68

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Nathan asks Trask if he delivered his letter to Millicent. Trask mumbles about seeing Abigail and Maude. Nathan points out they're both dead, and Trask says he saw them with his own eyes. Nathan asks about Millicent's reaction to his letter. He says she was pale, and appeared to want to stop Naomi from tearing it up. Nathan admits the reaction was as good as an answer to the letter. He then asks if Trask is still troubled by his dream. He says Abigail gave him instructions he doesn't understand. She told him to go to the old house on the Collins' estate. Nathan says it was just a bad dream he should forget. He says she'd never tell anyone to go to that place. Trask says the mention of the old house seems to frighten Nathan. Nathan tells him to forget about it, and Trask asks him why. Nathan asks if he'd still go if he knew it meant his certain destruction. He warns Trask to beware unseen forces tempting him to his doom, and stay away from the old house.

Ben asks Barnabas what he plans to do to Trask when he arrives. He says he will reward him. Ben asks if he's going to kill him, and Barnabas says that he will give Trask darkness, but not the darkness of death—yet. He tells Ben to build a fire, and bring a paper and pen to the room downstairs. He says they have other preparations to make. Barnabas goes outside and summons Trask.

Trask hears voices calling for him to come to the old house. He tells her he will obey, and leaves.

Trask approaches the old house. The door opens for him, and he enters. He calls for Abigail, but no one answers. Once he enters, the door slams shut and locked behind him. He hears the chandelier swaying, and begs Abigail not to torment him. He asks her to appear, and notices a book flip open on a desk, revealing a letter. He takes the letter and reads it aloud.

"The wind will speak his name, and the clock will strike the hour, but ere it strike again, he will know the darkness of the tomb, and he will beg for the darkness of death.  If you wish to know the name of the man, listen to the wind"

A voice calls him name and he screams. All becomes quiet as the clock strikes midnight. Then the voice calling his name resumes. Trask makes his way to the basement door, and asks why he has been summoned. He goes downstairs to the room with a coffin. He approaches it, hearing the sound of a heartbeat. He again asks why he has been summoned. Barnabas appears and tells him he has been called at last to a richly deserved reward.

Trask tells Barnabas he is dead. He says it must be his imagination, like the voices that brought him there. Barnabas asks if it sounds like this, and the disembodied voice of Abigail is heard again.

Barnabas asks him why he tried to destroy Victoria Winters. Trask says she's a witch, and Barnabas tells him he has no idea what a witch is, and what evil she has at her command. Trask says he only did his duty, and Barnabas says he set out to destroy someone for his own ambition.

He tells Trask he will show him no mercy. He shows Trask his tomb. Trask screams, and Barnabas tells him he will have an unending lesson in darkness. Trask says he was wrong about Miss Winters, and he'll help free her. Barnabas asks him to submit his confession to paper. Trask agrees, and writes that Vicki is not a witch. Barnabas reminds him to sign the paper. Barnabas takes it, and Trask asks if he may go. Barnabas drags him to where he intends to wall him in, and Trask cries out.

Nathan knocks on Trask's door, calling for him.

Barnabas builds a brick wall over the space where Trask is tied up.

Nathan bursts in and tells Trask to wake up, only to realize he's not there.

Barnabas has walled up Trask except for a single brick in front of his eyes. He tells him to look at the light of his candle, and then he places the last brick in place as Trask screams.

Our thoughts

John: Did Robert Cobert take the day off? We got some wacky music when Barnabas was summoning Trask.

Christine: Robert Cobert has provided over 300 music cues for Dark Shadows, so you should expect some surprises. Please refer to "Cue 85: Little Faster Spooky Tension - Confusion" on Disc 3 from The Dark Shadows Soundtrack Collection.

John: I love how Trask tries to have rational conversations with Abigail's disembodied voice.

Christine: It's hard to believe that Trask would communicate with the dead after claiming it was the sort of thing a witch would do at Vicki's trial.

John: So was Ben working the audio board when Barnabas calls for him to playback the Abigail tape?

Christine: Speaking of audio, I love the echoing "NNNOOOOOO!" and "You CAAAAN'T!" from Trask that immediately cuts out. I also enjoyed the way Barnabas growled his dialogue today. He was so wonderfully menacing.

John: Who knew! Nearly 50 years before Poe wrote "The Black Cat", Barnabas Collins was burying someone behind a brick wall! Of course it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy than Reverend Trask! We'll see if his confession does any good in the mysterious absence of the good Reverend.

"He has presumed influence over the powers of darkness, while all the time, his darkness has been the darkness of ignorance and ambition. Darkness, I promise, will be his. But not the darkness of death. At least not yet." -Barnabas

Dark Shadows Episode 441 - 3/4/68

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Trask stands outside his room, and decides to return to prove he's not afraid of the witch. He lights a candle and walks through the room, shocked to find the dead body of Maude lying on his bed. He approaches the body when there's a knock on the door. It's Nathan Forbes, saying it's urgent. Trask covers the body with a sheet and lets him in.

Forbes says he has a letter he needs to have delivered to Millicent Collins. Trask says it can wait until the morning. Nathan sees an arm hanging out of the bed and excuses himself. Trask tells him she was there when he returned, and she's dead—strangled. Nathan goes to her and sees that it's Maude. He says he tried to warn her, and Trask asks about what. Forbes asks why her body was put here. Trask says he doesn't know, and Nathan says when the authorities find out, people will talk, and his image in the community will be changed. Trask asks what if they don't find out. Nathan asks what he has in mind. Trask says he will not be the subject of gossip, but he'll need Nathan's help. Nathan says he's willing to do whatever he can, if the price is right.

Trask says he cannot pay him, and Nathan says he wasn't thinking of money. He asks what Trask wants, and suggests he wants the body removed without being seen—breaking the law. Nathan says hell do it as soon as his letter is delivered to Millicent.

Nathan tells him as soon as that's done, he'll be back to move the body. Trask gives him his letter back and says he'll take care of the body himself. Nathan says since he doesn't have a choice, he'll be back with someone to remove the body.

Millicent deals out Tarot cards. She talks about punishing Nathan. Naomi enters and asks who she's talking to. Millicent says she's talking to Nathan, who will get her message through the cards. She describes it to Naomi, explaining that the card representing her will not rest until the lover—the card representing Nathan—is dead.

Naomi answers a knock at the door. Reverend Trask says he's there to see Millicent alone. Naomi says she's sure Millicent won't mind if she stays, and Millicent agrees. He says he has a letter for her, and Naomi asks who it's from. Trask says she'll know when she reads it. Millicent says she wants to know, and Trask says it's from Lieutenant Forbes. Naomi takes it and tears it up. She says Trask isn't going to repay his debt to Lieutenant Forbes testifying against Vicki at Millicent's expense. Trask tells her she should not have done that, and leaves. After Naomi leaves, Millicent picks up the pieces of the torn letter.

Trask is asleep in bed when a woman's voice calls to him. He asks if it's Abigail. In a dream he is led to the old house to find a secret. He opens a door to expose Maude's dead body.

She asks why he let them throw her body into the water. She says that soon everyone will know she was dead in his room. Trask calls for Abigail. She appears to him, and he says he didn't put the body in her room. She says she doesn't know what he means, and he asks what secret she refers to. She says only he can destroy her wicked secret, and if he doesn't destroy it, it will destroy him and many others. She points him to the old house, and tells him that's where he must go to learn the secret of the witch.  The disembodied hand appears, beckoning him, when he wakes with a start. He realizes that he must go to the old house.

Our thoughts

John: Nathan, you idiot! You held ALL THE CARDS! You had Trask with a dead body in his room, and talking about moving it. All you had to do was get someone else's attention and Trask was done for. Of course, you were also an idiot for making a deal to move the body for his delivering a letter. How about something a little more important, like getting the wrongly convicted Vicki off the hook?

Christine: Nathan is not the kind of guy that will do something to help others, but I would have expected him to ask for more than simply delivering a letter, and also would have expected him to call Trask on his threat to move the body himself. 

John: Once again, it's nice to see Naomi showing some of the strength we've grown so accustomed to seeing in her not-quite-direct-descendant Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. I loved how she sent Trask on his way, his objective seemingly unfulfilled. I wonder what Nathan will do when he finds out.

Christine: Barnabas has an interesting ability to influence people's dreams. He did it today with Trask and has also inspired bad dreams for Maggie and David. 

John: Well, I think it's safe to say the scariest thing we now know about Reverend Trask is that he has dreams about Abigail.

Christine: A note on the Dark Shadows tarot readings: Millicent states, as the Countess has before, that the tarot cards never lie. The cards may not lie, but the reader's interpretation may not be very reliable. Millicent claimed that the card that represents her at the top was the High Priestess, but she is actually pointing to the Queen of Cups. The Countess also claimed this card was the High Priestess representing Josette in Episode 368. Either card would not be a good representation of Millicent. She'd be better represented by The Fool. I do find it interesting that the show goes to the trouble of showing the card layouts in detail and then does not provide accurate descriptions, though it's to be expected that the readings are all misinterpreted as doomsaying messages for the purposes of drama. While it may be trivial, I expect we'll continue to see the symbolism of the tarot played out in the series, which may have inspired someone to create a tarot deck based on Dark Shadows.

This is the Queen of Cups, not the High Priestess.

Dark Shadows Episode 432 - 2/20/68

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Abigail goes to the cellar in the old house, believing she might find Vicki's book. She unlocks the cellar door and goes downstairs. She finds a coffin in the basement, and decides to wait for Reverend Trask. The coffin lid slowly opens. She watches as Barnabas slowly sits up. He asks her what she's doing there, and she screams in terror.

She says he's dead, and he tells her that she's wrong about death. She tells him to stay away, and he tells her she has made that impossible. She mentions his father, and he says his father will never know. Abigail says the witch cast a spell on him, and she'll get Reverend Trask to help exorcise evil spirits from him. She refuses to believe he's dead, and says he's a vision of the witch. She screams that the Devil is testing her faith. She refuses to believe. Barnabas tells her she's right, there was a witch in the house. Abigail says Victoria Winters, and he tells her Angelique was the witch. She cowers from him and calls him a devil; telling him not to touch her.

She refuses to believe Angelique was a witch. He says it's true, and he had to kill her. He forces her to look at him, and says he will live for all eternity. She says he's just a ghost sent to haunt her. He says he will do anything to stop from being discovered, including kill. She refuses to look at him, and when he says she will, she turns to see him bare his fangs.

Daniel sneaks downstairs when his aunt Naomi stops him She asks him to play cards, and he says he has to go out and find Ben. She asks if Millicent said he could, which he says she did. She asks to talk to him about Millicent. She asks him if he'd like to stay with she and Joshua. She says she hasn't talked to his cousin Millicent, but she thinks the house needs a boy growing up in it.

There's a knock at the door, and Naomi allows Reverend Trask to enter. She goes to get Abigail, and reiterates that her sympathies lie with Vicki. Daniel goes upstairs, and Trask stops him, and says they need to chat. He says he knows Daniel has been touched by a devil, and he's the only one who can save him. He says Daniel has spent a lot of time with the devil. Daniel says that he is the only person he knows who looks like a devil. Daniel asks if he's being rude, and Trask tells him he's being honest, and he likes that. Trask asks him about Miss Winters the witch, and Daniel asks why he calls her a devil and a witch. Daniel says Vicki has been nice to him, and Trask suggests that of course she would. They discuss how his cousin Abigail has reached righteousness. Daniel says Abigail always acts like something she ate didn't agree with her.

Trask asks about Vicki, and Daniel says he doesn't want to talk about her. Trask asks what she taught him about God, and Daniel says she didn't talk about God. Trask asks if she prophesied things, and Daniel says she just said things that would happen in the future. Trask says she has Daniel believing in the impossible. Daniel tells him he doesn't want to go to court. Trask tells him he has the Devil's mark on him.

Naomi returns and Daniel asks if he has the Devil's mark on him. She says he does not, and takes Trask to task for saying such things to a young boy. Trask accuses her of being in league with the devil, too. Daniel runs outside and Naomi warns Trask that he will be the one that will have to answer when the time comes.

Daniel runs through the woods, and says he won't be afraid as wolves howl. He hears Naomi and continues running.

Naomi looks for Daniel and calls to him. Trask shows up and says the Devil himself is leading Daniel somewhere. Naomi tells Trask to go back to the house. He says no one is too young for the Devil to use.

Daniel comes across Abigail's body, and he calls for help. Naomi and Trask appear, and he points to Abigail's body. Trask touches her and she falls over, dead.

Our thoughts

John: Barnabas blabbers on and on to Abigail. Considering she was dead by the end of the episode, that sure seems like a lot of wasted exposition. Unless he literally talked her to death. If so, better her than us.

Christine: Au contraire, mon frère. He was building suspense, so the exposition was not wasted, as we were wondering if he would actually kill a family member, and if so, how he would do it. Did he bite her, strangle her, or, as you have so humorously suggested, talk her to death? Perhaps he did all three considering the way he felt about her. Barnabas is becoming quite diabolical.

John: I actually love that Trask doesn't pull his punches with Daniel. If that doesn't traumatize the kid, nothing will.

Christine: I'm sensing a Burnt Offerings connection when Naomi tells Daniel the house "needs a boy growing up in it." To feed off him perhaps? Is Naomi really Mrs. Allardyce? This gives me a whole new perspective on Collinwood. Elizabeth also fervently insisted that David remain at Collinwood when Roger wanted to ship him off to boarding school, and when his mom wanted to take him away.

John: Will Trask's latest behavior be the final straw that convinces Naomi to testify on Vicki's behalf?

Christine: Was Trask attempting CPR on Abigail? Most people go for the shoulder shake to see if someone is dead or just sleeping, but he seems to be going straight for the chest. Maybe the devil made him do it.

Just checking to see if her heart is still beating.

Dark Shadows Episode 431 - 2/19/68

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Barnabas is in the basement of the old house with his coffin. Ben comes downstairs and tells him it's time to go back to the mausoleum. Barnabas explains that he caused Josette to rise from the grave, but he has sent her back, never to be seen again. Barnabas explain he learned his lesson after seeing Josette's face in death. Ben tells him he can't stay in the old house, and Barnabas says he must be where he and Josette were happy. Ben says he'll keep folks out of the old house.

Daniel Collins wanders around outside the old house. Abigail calls for him but doesn't see him hiding behind a pillar. He sneaks into the old house.

Ben locks the basement door in the old house when Daniel stumbles across him, asking what he's doing. Ben says he's locking a door. Daniel asks him what's in the cellar, and Ben says nothing. Daniel asks him why he locks it if there's nothing there. Ben tells him to go and play, and Daniel says there's no one to play with since Sarah died. Ben grabs him by the arm and says he's taking him home. Daniel breaks free of Ben and runs away.

Daniel makes it out of the old house, but Ben grabs him by the neck. Daniel threatens to tell his uncle Joshua, and then says he'll tell Ben what he's doing. He explains that he's running away. Ben points out that he doesn't appear prepared to be running away. Ben tells him that he should make a list and prepare what he needs before he tries to run away again.

In the new house, Daniel comes downstairs. His aunt Abigail asks him where he's going. She says she spent the entire morning looking for him. She grabs a list from his hands. She reads it and asks him what it's about. He tells her it's what he wants for his birthday. She doesn't believe him, and asks him to join her in the drawing room.

He sits down and she asks him about a bracelet. She asks where he's seen it, and he says it belongs to Miss Winters. Abigail explains that she's in jail, and only she has a bracelet with heathen symbols. Abigail asks if Vicki asked him to get down on his knees and worship the devil, and Daniel tells her she's silly. He tells her he likes Vicki. Daniel describes some of the things from the future Vicki told him about. Abigail suggests that he should testify that at Vicki's trial. Daniel says he likes Vicki. She was nice to he and Sarah. He complains about how others treat him, and says Ben won't let him go to the old house any more. Abigail asks when this happened, and Daniel says it was this morning, and Ben was locking the cellar door. Abigail tells him they'll continue their talk later. Daniel tells her not to go to the old house now, because it's dark, and she explains that she's not afraid of the dark.

Abigail confronts Ben outside the old house. She tells him to go to the new house, and tell Reverend Trask to meet her at the old house when he arrives. Ben tells her that the old house is haunted. He offers to get her whatever she wants from within the old house. She tells him she thinks he's still in league with the witch. She sends him away and goes inside.

Abigail heads straight to the cellar, believing she might find Vicki's book. She unlocks the cellar door and goes downstairs. She sees the coffin in the basement, and decides to wait for Reverend Trask. While she does, the coffin lid slowly opens. She watches as Barnabas slowly sits up. He asks her what she's doing there, and she screams in terror.

Our thoughts

John: Amusing how they act as if Daniel has been around the whole time Millicent has been in Collinwood.

Christine: Just because we didn't see him didn't mean he wasn't around. There are a lot of rooms at Collinwood, so not everything can be on screen at the same time.

John: Geez, Vicki. You even told Daniel about the future? At this point, I say burn the witch.

Christine: I would like to think that Daniel is embellishing the truth when he said Vicki told him that someday he wouldn't have to learn arithmetic because it would be done by machines. Vicki is clearly not the person you want teaching your children.

John: Well this is certainly an interesting development. Will Barnabas do away with his nasty Aunt Abigail once and for all?

Christine: What choice does he have? He can't have her blabbing about his alternative lifestyle to his dad or Reverend Trask. Barnabas really showed his true colors today by making it clear he only loved Josette for her beauty. I'm willing to bet he would have kept her around had her face not been so busted up. He claims he learned that it's wrong to want to bring the past alive, but it's pretty obvious he forgot that lesson when we last saw him in 1967.

"Why do we never learn to leave the past alone? Why does each of us want so to...to bring it alive? I learned this night how wrong it is even to think of it." -Barnabas


John: Additions to our 1795 scorecard:

Present Day/1795

• David Collins/Daniel Collins