Dark Shadows Episode 912 12/24/69

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Upstairs, Amy tells David to make Quentin go away. She hears a deep breathing behind a door. She tells David she won't let him frighten her again. She goes into the room where the breathing is coming from and screams.

Barnabas comes to the antique shop looking for Megan and Philip. Alex comes downstairs and Barnabas commands him to come. He does not. He says Megan and Philip are gone, and Barnabas says he's there to see him. He asks why he let Amy into his room. Alex asks who told. He then says it was David and throws something. Barnabas tells him to pick it up, and Alex tells Barnabas to pick it up. Barnabas tells him that when he is grown, he will do what he says, but for now he's a child, and he will do as he's told.

Barnabas says David is looking for Amy, and asks why he did it. He says he hates her, and that she won't say anything as long as she's scared. He says Barnabas is not in charge of him, and he tells him that he is. He says that Haza and Oberon entrusted Alex to him. He asks if he'd like to be locked in his room. Alex says Megan and Philip wouldn't let him do that, and Barnabas explains that he tells them what to do. Alex says he understands, and confirms that he will not let it happen again. Barnabas tells Alex he will be locked in his room, and he leaves to undo what Alex has done. He takes the Leviathan box with him.

Amy knocks on the door of the cottage where Chris has been staying. There's no answer, so she lets herself in.

Stokes shows Julia the portrait of Amanda that was under the landscape. She says she found another, and shows him the landscape attributed to Harrison Monroe in 1968. He says Osmund tells him Tate died 10 years ago. He asks about her obsession with Tate, and she asks him to see if Osmund knows anything about Harrison Monroe. Stokes asks her why Chris is interested in late Victorian art. Once again, she leaves Stokes with less information than he'd like.

Chris returns home and finds Amy by the fire. She runs to him and he asks her what's wrong. She can't speak. She cries. He asks if it's David, and she shakes her head. She grabs a pen and paper and writes a note: SHOP. He tells her to write more and she throws the note into the fire. There's a knock at the door. Chris lets Julia in, and tells her she can't talk. He says she wrote one word—SHOP. Julia tells him to go to David and demand that he tell him what they did in the antique shop with Alex.

Chris leaves and Julia tells Amy to relax, and then she'll be able to speak. Julia asks if it had to do with Alexander and she turns from her. Julia asks her to write down what Alex did and she refuses. Julia tells her that she doesn't like Alex. Barnabas walks in on them. He asks Amy if she's alright, and she doesn't reply. Julia says she's not well and was about to examine her. He says he's come to see Chris, and would like to wait for him. Julia tells him to come back later. Barnabas asks Amy again what's wrong, and she says water. Barnabas tells Julia to get her water, and she refuses.

She tells Barnabas to get the water for her. He goes to do that, and Julia tells her not to speak until Barnabas leaves. Barnabas returns and asks if they're exchanging confidences. Amy drinks the glass of water. He asks if she's feeling better, and she doesn't respond. He touches her face, and says he's sure she'll feel better. She lies down and falls asleep. He tells Julia to tell Chris he was there. He says he has other things to do. He says Amy will be much better when she wakes.

Chris returns. Julia asks if he talked to David. He says that he and Alexander were at the house. He describes how Grant came into the shop while they were playing hide and seek, and she must have thought he was Quentin. Amy wakes up and Chris asks her what happened. She says she saw Quentin. Julia says that she saw Grant Douglas. Amy is sure it was Quentin. She says there was something else, but she can't remember what. Professor Stokes arrives and says that the second landscape was also painted by Tate. He got an address for Monroe, a recluse. Julia says she'll go to see him.

Barnabas shows Alex the Leviathan box. He asks Barnabas how he knows it works. He says Amy is in the intermediary stage, and she won't know what happens until she walks into the room. Alex says that when she's with them, she will open the box.

Chris brings Amy back to Collinwood, and then leaves. She finds Alex in the drawing room. She walks past him to the box, and opens it. She then hands him the photo of Carolyn and apologizes for taking it from him. He says she will follow orders now, and she agrees that she will. She leaves him alone with Barnabas in the drawing room.

Julia goes to see Harrison Monroe, and a voice tells her to go away. She says she has a message for him from Charles Delaware Tate. The door opens and she goes inside.

Our thoughts

John: This kid who plays evil Alexander is really pretty good, all things said. It does look like they provided him with cue cards for his longer speeches, but he's able to hold his own in adult conversations with Barnabas and the like. Impressive for a kid his age.

Christine: I loved the way he talked back to Barnabas. It's not always clear what the Leviathan chain of command is, but it sounds like Barnabas is the boss until the Leviathan child comes of age.

John: Why would Barnabas discuss traveling through time so cavalierly in front of Amy?

Christine: Probably because he knew she was in the process of making the Leviathan transition and it wouldn't matter what she knew. Another great Barnabas-Julia close talking face off today.

John: I can't wait to see old-age makeup on Roger Davis, who surely has to be the embodiment of the modern-day Charles Delaware Tate/Harrison Monroe!

Christine: I can wait.

Dark Shadows Episode 911 12/23/69

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Julia takes Quentin to his room to listen to his song play. He laughs and asks why they're listening to an old song. She accuses him of being Quentin. He asks her why she thinks that.

David wakes in the middle of the night, feeling the presence of Quentin. He hops out of bed.

David goes to the West Wing, where he hears Quentin's music playing.

Julia hears someone approaching and turns off the Victrola. She tells Grant to hide. David comes in and asks what she's doing. He says that he sensed that Quentin is back, and heard his music. She says she was looking at paintings. David says she's hiding him, and says Quentin made him do things before, even if he didn't want to.

He sees the shoes of a man hiding in the room. He tells her he can't stay, asks her not to play the music, and runs out. Grant asks if everyone knows about Quentin. She confirms that she, Barnabas, and the children are familiar with him. She asks him to stay behind her as they leave the room.

David comes downstairs and into the drawing room. Julia sneaks Grant downstairs and out the front door as David watches. At the front door, he reminds Julia she owes him a full explanation. He leaves, and she goes back upstairs. David wonders why Grant looks so much like Quentin.

Julia arrives at the antique shop and Alex tells her there's no one that can help her. She asks if Megan and Philip will be back soon and he says they will, so she decides to wait. She asks if he enjoyed Collinwood, and he says that he likes the house. She says that Mr. Stoddard was upset with him. She asks if he saw a girl at Collinwood, and he says he saw Amy. She asks if he saw a girl with pigtails, and he denies it. She says he knows about it. He gives her a nasty look.

Elizabeth comes in with David and Amy. David introduces her to Alex, who demands to be called Alexander. Elizabeth tells Julia that they can go through storage and look at pictures. Julia says she wanted to see Megan, and Elizabeth says she's at the department store, and they can go now. Julia asks if they can leave the children. Alex yells at Amy for picking up a doll. Julia notices a mark on his wrist. She and Elizabeth leave.

Alex thanks David for coming. Amy picks up a photo of Carolyn as a girl, and says Alex stole it, and has a crush on Carolyn. Alex tells him to get the photo from her now. David tells her to put it down. Amy says it's not his, and he took it without asking. Alex goes to get it and David asks him to let him handle it. Amy asks why he's afraid of someone smaller than him.

Elizabeth brings Julia into the storage room with the paintings. She says that when they left the shop, Alex looked at her as if he had outsmarted her. Elizabeth says she's thinking of him as an adult. Julia asks Elizabeth not to let the children play with Alex again. She says she feels strongly about it. She goes to look at the paintings and Elizabeth gives her a nasty look.

David warns Amy that if she doesn't do what Alex asks, something bad will happen to her. She asks what, and he says he'll send Quentin after her. She says Quentin is gone, and David says he's back. She runs off and David tells Alex to follow her and make sure she doesn't come back for a few minutes. He picks up the phone to make a call.

Julia finds a painting that looks like her Tate, signed by Harrison Monroe in 1968. Elizabeth says she got it at a charity auction, and Roger had her put it in storage immediately. Julia says it's inconceivable that two artists work could be so similar. She asks if she can share it with Professor Stokes, and Elizabeth agrees.

David and Alex have a book labeled for Grant Douglas. David tells Amy they're going to play hide and seek with Alex. He tells her to close her eyes and start counting. She does as they hide.

Grant Douglas walks in and Amy sees who she thinks is Quentin. She screams and runs upstairs. David comes out and says she's afraid of strangers. He says he has the book Grant left there. Grant asks if the girl is also a Collins, and he explains that she's a Jennings, but she lives at Collinwood.

Upstairs, Amy tells David that he's won and begs for him to come out. She hears a deep breathing behind a door. She tells David she won't let him frighten her again. She goes into the room where the breathing is coming from and screams.

Our thoughts

John: Interesting that while the music didn't mean anything to Grant, it got David's attention. It's not clear why he didn't have a reaction similar to Amy's, just accepting that this stranger in town looks exactly like Quentin.

Christine: I'm confused. Does Leviathan David go dormant? He was afraid when he saw Grant's feet in the room with Julia, as David would be, but in the shop he was unfazed to see him.

John: I'm going to take fate into my own hands and continue to refer to Alexander as Alex. He is a nasty little kid, and exerts his control over David. Of course I don't understand why anyone would find it acceptable to leave a kid that age in charge of the antique shop, or to leave two other kids in his care without any adult supervision. Julia should have been more suspicious of Elizabeth's willingness to do just that.

Christine: I love how Elizabeth says they'll be perfectly alright unattended right after they got into a fight. The Leviathan kid sure knows how to dress for success. That's a pretty groovy tie he's sporting. A sure sign that the 60s are coming to an end.

John: Talk about a perfectly timed plot! David manages to contact Grant and get him to come to the store just as Amy opens her eyes...

Christine: What was the point? To punish her for not giving up the kid Carolyn photo? Or was it to force her upstairs where the Leviathan child could make her go out of her mind by revealing his true form? Why does he want to keep the photo of Carolyn at his age? He's bound to reach her current age within the next few weeks.

Dark Shadows Episode 909 12/19/69

Amazon Prime members can stream today's episode free!

Alex runs out of Paul's room. Paul searches for him upstairs, and hears a strange breathing behind a curtain. He pulls it open to find a young girl. He asks if she's playing games with the other children. She doesn't say anything. He demands an answer, and she says, "Why did you do it, daddy," and runs away.

Paul searches for the girls downstairs, and asks Julia if she saw her. Julia says she saw David, but no one else. Julia asks if it was Amy that he saw, and he assures her it wasn't. He continues his search, and Julia leaves.

 In the drawing room, he sees the picture album. He flips through it and sees the photo of Carolyn at 8 years old—the girl he just saw upstairs. He wonders if she's a ghost, but realizes she must be dead to be a ghost. He then wonders if they conjured her to torment him. He's determined to find her.

Olivia tells Chris that she's been unable to get a hold of Julia. He tells her she's been dealing with an amnesiac in the hospital. She asks his name, and Chris says it's Grant Douglas. She tells Christ to tell Julia that the owner of the gallery is coming to town. Chris asks if she'd like to have the painting back, and she says she would, until the gallery owner sees it. He tells her that he'll ask Julia.

Julia tells Grant they're going to try and find out who he is. They go through the items he had the night of the accident. Julia asks him about a key. He says it's for a locker, but he doesn't know where it is or what's in it. He fiddles with a wooden puzzle, and she asks if he often does that when he's upset. She tells him that if he cooperates with her, there are ways of waking his mind. He asks what they need to do. She suggests hypnosis.

Paul has had no luck finding the little girl. He wonders if he's crazy. The young Carolyn comes into Collinwood. She tells him that she hates him for what he did. She goes into the drawing room. He follows her, but when he gets in the room is empty.

Julia prepares to hypnotize Grant. She has him look at a medallion. She asks him who he is. He screams that he doesn't know. He says he is waiting to leave; that he must go away right now. She asks him why he must leave. He says it's because of Frederick Thorne. She asks who that is. He says that it's all over. She tells him that he's right, and snaps her fingers.

He wakes, and he asks if she has a full biography. She asks about Frederick Thorne, and he says he's never heard of him. She tells him this is just the beginning, and asks him to put things in her hands. She offers to pay for his expenses. He asks if she thinks she can find out the truth about him, and she tells him that she hopes so.

Chris is outside the room when Julia comes out. He tells her he overheard someone talking about something that happened in the X-ray department the other day. Someone had a painting x-rayed. Julia realizes that it must have been her Tate painting. She asks what Olivia is looking for. He says she called him, and wants Julia's painting to show a friend.

Paul comes downstairs and looks at the portrait of Barnabas before retiring to the drawing room for a few drinks. He sees young Carolyn pick up a book off the floor—Black Beauty. She tells him not to come near her, and runs into the study. Paul realizes that he's got her trapped.

Julia returns and Paul calls her to him. He tells her he's seen the little girl twice more, and now he's got her trapped behind the door so Julia can see her. He opens the door and Alex walks out holding Black Beauty. He tells Paul hello. Paul asks where she is, and Alex asks who he means. Paul looks in the room and sees she isn't there. Alex says there was no one else in the room. Paul says that Carolyn was there. He grabs Alex and asks what he did to her. Julia stops him.

He says it was Carolyn when she was 8 years old. Julia suggests that he go upstairs and rest for a while. She says she'll take care of Alex. He asks what Alex was doing in the room, and Julia tells him that she'll find out. He reluctantly goes upstairs. After he's gone, Julia asks Alex what he was doing, and he tells her he was reading, and holds up the copy of Black Beauty.

Grant continues to work on his puzzle when Julia returns. She tells him she has found him a place to live. He tells her that he's decided not to go with her. When she asks where he'll go, Olivia enters and says that he'll go with her.

Our thoughts

John: Well, that explains Alex wanting the photos of Carolyn as a child. Unfortunately for Paul, I think it's only time before he has a mental breakdown.

Christine: I was happy to see the return of Julia's hypno-medallion, and rainbow maker hypnosis.

John: I thought it was amusing that a big deal of Alex holding Black Beauty wasn't made while Paul was still downstairs—something that he should have noticed. Were audiences in 1969 so slow that they literally needed little Alex to hold up the book to Julia, just in case they missed it? Of course if he has the ability to appear as anyone, you'd think the Leviathans wouldn't have to go to such great lengths to make up excuses about who he is...

Christine: It could be there are limits to how long the Leviathan kid can make himself into a little girl.  Don't forget that the show was playing to a lot of young school children, so while audiences at the time may not have been slow witted, the writers probably wanted to make sure the kids got it. I wonder why they don't just bring Paul into the Leviathan clan, as they did David and Elizabeth.

John: One would think Olivia's coming to Grant's aid all but confirms that she and he are Quentin and Amanda from the past. Do you think Julia will try to use her painting as a bargaining chip to pry Grant from Olivia?

Christine: She may try and discover the secret of the painting herself before doing some wheeling and dealing. I hope we might get to check out the Hi Hat Lounge some day. It sounds like a very hip joint.

"The Hi Hat Lounge, which promises that if you go there, you'll forget all of your troubles."

Dark Shadows Episode 908 12/18/69

Amazon Prime members can stream today's episode free!

Elizabeth brings Alex to Collinwood. He asks if Paul is there, and she confirms that he is. Paul comes out of the drawing room, and Elizabeth introduces them. Alex tells her that they've already met. He then goes upstairs to find David, and tells Paul he will see him later. Paul tells her to get that child out of the house. She says he's there to spend the day with David. She tells Paul he can't distinguish between what's real and what's unreal.

Maggie introduces herself to Alex in David's bedroom. She asks Alex if he'd like a hamburger for lunch and he agrees. Once Maggie is gone, Alex shuts the door. Alex asks David about Carolyn and her father. David asks why he's asking, and Alex tells him he shouldn't ask questions. He tells David to bring him photos of Carolyn when she was young.

He steps out and Elizabeth comes in. Alex plays with a racetrack. She tells Alex Paul suspects him, and he assures her that he'll be alright.

Maggie comes downstairs and welcomes Paul to Collinwood. He tells her that she's responsible, having arranged for Carolyn to meet him. He asks her into the drawing room, and asks what she makes of Alex. She says he seems nice, and Paul warns her that he's dangerous. He says he needs someone to believe him. He says he understands if she thinks he's mad like all the rest. She asks him what's wrong. He says there's a plot against everyone in the house, and Barnabas, the folks in the antique shop, and the boy are all a part of it. He says she can get the evidence he needs. He encourages her to talk to them and find out what they're doing. She agrees to help him.

Outside, Alex eavesdrops on their conversation. Paul pulls the door open and grabs Alex. He says he was just looking for David. Alex runs off, and Elizabeth asks what he was doing. Maggie tells Paul he should calm down. She asks him to tell her exactly what he wants her to do. She says she can't question Alex, since he was clearly listening to them.

Elizabeth apologizes to Alex, who is crying. David comes downstairs and asks if he's alright. She says he will be. He says she shouldn't have let anything happen to him. Alex is pleased that David found the photographs of Carolyn he requested.

David comes in to the drawing room to show something to Paul. David closes the doors, and shows him some photographs of Carolyn when she was growing up. Paul thanks him, and takes the album. David watches as Paul flips through them. David points out a photo he assumes was taken about the time Paul left. Paul clarifies that it isn't.

Maggie tells Elizabeth that Paul was very upset. She asks Maggie if she believed him. She says she doesn't, but she couldn't tell him that.

Roger returns to Collinwood, and David rushes to greet him. He introduces his father to Alex. Roger tells David he brought him something from Bangor. He gives him a transistor radio. He turns it on and it plays the greatest hits from The Blue Whale. He thanks his father. Roger goes into the drawing room, and Alex says that he wants it. He tells David that he's going to keep it. He makes David give it to him, and David reluctantly does. They're unaware that Maggie was upstairs watching. She wonders if Paul is right.

Roger comes in and asks Maggie if there's more mail for him. He spots Paul upstairs and asks what he's doing in the house. He excuses Maggie and Paul comes downstairs. Paul tells him that Elizabeth insisted that he move in. Elizabeth enters and confirms it. Paul leaves them to quarrel. He says he'll await word on who the winner is.

They go into the drawing room, and Roger says she's mad. She tells him that Paul tore up his check. Elizabeth says she's interested in Carolyn's happiness. Roger says he's going to find out why Paul came back.

Paul goes up to his room. He hears a noise and asks who's there. Alex comes out from behind a chair. He says he's playing hide and seek with David. Paul asks him how long he'll be in town, and then if Philip is really his uncle. Alex breaks free of his grip and runs out of the room. Paul searches for him upstairs. He then hears a strange breathing behind a curtain. He pulls it open...

Our thoughts

John: It's pretty cool how quickly Alex started coordinating things. I just wish we had a better sense of his plan. I'm curious what the goal of showing Paul photos of young Carolyn. Wasn't she a newborn when he left?

Christine: Haven't you noticed that Alex has an unusual interest in Carolyn for a toothless seven year old? Couple that with the fact that Barnabas told Paul that she was his most precious possession and you may begin to decipher Alex's plan. I think the goal of showing him Carolyn's photos is to remind him that he gave her up to the Leviathans, and is going to lose her, after missing out on seeing her grow up.

John: I don't know if Alex's pressuring David out of his new transistor radio is going to be enough to convince Maggie that Paul may be right. It's funny that rather than thinking Alex was a brat for doing what he did, her real shock came from David's response (or lack thereof)!

Christine: Well, it is quite shocking that David, who is much older, would allow some pipsqueak kid to bully him out of a rare, prized gift from a father who is not free with his affection for him. It's especially cool that it receives a Bob Colbert station.

John: I do like that Paul has no qualms about being rough with this strange boy, grabbing him and tossing him about several times.

Christine: It is very much the same way Roger treated David when he was a naughty little boy, attempting to murder him, though I was surprised to see that it made Alex cry. I expected the Leviathan child to be made of tougher stuff. So, do you think the heavy breathing indicates that Alexander has reverted to true Leviathan form? Paul's face didn't appear very shocked, so I'm guessing we'll be disappointed tomorrow to see that he found little boy Alex before David could, spoiling their hide-and-seek game.

Episode 31