Dark Shadows Episode 932 1/20/70

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Julia, Grant and Amanda go into a room where Julia says there's a portrait of Quentin by Charles Delaware Tate. Grant asks her if it looks like him. She says she hasn't seen it. She says the professor has removed a landscape painted over it. Julia asks him to look at the portrait. He agrees. Julia uncovers it, and upon seeing it, Amanda screams. She runs out of the room, leaving Quentin to look at it. It's of a withered, 100 year-old, sore-ridden Quentin Collins. Quentin turns away from it.

Outside, Olivia wonders if that's how Quentin would look if not for the portrait. She wonders if she too should look the same. She turns to go back to him and finds Mr. Best waiting for her. She says she still has five minutes, and Quentin may remember her. She asks him to let her go back to see if Quentin knows her.

Julia tells Quentin if the painting means nothing to him, he can look at it. He agrees to examine it more closely. He says he remembers the day the portrait was painted. He says the portrait is as he truly is. He's surprised she can still look at him. He calls her Julia, and says that's what he called her when they first met. He remembers Amanda, and then that Olivia is Amanda.

Mr. Best says she must come with him, and promises her that it shall not be unpleasant. She says she'll never see Quentin again, and he tells her she doesn't know that. She pleads for one moment with Quentin.

Julia asks if he still loves Amanda, and he says he always has. Julia says he must tell her, or she will die tonight. He runs outside.

Quentin calls for Amanda, and finds her handkerchief on the ground.

Mr. Best leads Amanda into his waiting room, and she asks him not to close the door. He says no one can leave by that door, they can only enter. He asks her if the place is pleasant, and she asks if this is what death is. He describes it as a passing through place, a hotel. He tells her he has others to meet, and she asks him not to leave her. He says it has been so long since anyone begged him to stay, but he must not fall prey to human emotions. He leaves through the door.

Amanda tries to get out the same door, but cannot open it. A bellboy appears with a key and says he can let her out. She takes the key, but it doesn't work in the lock. He says he's fooled a lot with that trick. He confirms she can't get out by that door. She asks if there's another way. He says there is.

She offers him a trinket, but he says it's of no value to him. He remembers her from 70 years ago. He says she was lucky to be let go back then. He says he's there to show her to her room. She cries as he tells her that he'll give her a nice room.

In Amanda's room, Quentin realizes that he'll never see her again. He asks Julia why she didn't tell him who she was. She asks if it would have helped, since he didn't know who he was. He tells Julia that Amanda asked him if he loved her, and realizes that if he had said yes, it might have saved her. Julia tells him that he has to start thinking about... when he interrupts her and tells her to leave him alone. Quentin takes a letter opener to his throat and says he will be with her again when Mr. Best enters and tells him to stop. He explains that while it was Amanda's time, it's not his. Quentin goes to attack him, but is unable to. Mr. Best says he is impervious to attack. He's surprised to find that Quentin loves her. Quentin asks him to make a wager with him for her life. Best tells him he knows that he's alive thanks to Count Petofi. He asks Quentin if he would stay with Amanda. Quentin says he would, and asks Best if he'll do it.

Best returns to his 'hotel' with Quentin. Quentin asks if he'll have to stay there forever, and Best says only if he can't get out. Best leads him to a door. Quentin opens it. Thunder and lightning flashes. Best tells him that the door is the way out. He says it's seldom used, but every now and then he gives someone who impresses him a chance to escape. He says it takes courage and cunning. Quentin asks what's out there—if it's a trap. Best says it's many traps, and asks him if he wants to try. Quentin says yes, with Amanda.

Best tells him that if they touch each other, she will be lost to him forever. If they both reach the outside world, they will be together for eternity. He adds that if he loses his way, he will be lost, too. He offers Quentin candles, and bids him good luck. Quentin picks up the candles and goes to the door. He opens it, and Olivia appears behind him. She reaches out to touch his shoulder.

Our thoughts

John: I was pleased to be right about the portrait, but it's probably more telling about the writers' lack of imagination then any grand insight I have. That said, even I wasn't expecting quite so derivative of the portrait from the 1945 film The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Christine: It could have been a lack of imagination on the part of the writers, but I prefer to consider it a tribute to an enduring tale and a great movie moment.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

John: It seemed to me that Death's Bellhop showed up on set of the wrong show. What was with that accent? It was telling that his credit was presented on a blank background cut into the credits over the set we're used to...

Christine: I think it was trying to be a cockney accent, and I'm still trying to work out why Death has a bellboy to begin with. The fact that he got an afterthought end title rates him higher than some other folks who have appeared without any credit at all. We will be seeing this lad again later this summer.

John: Ah, Mr. Best is a sporting man. That always makes for good drama. But couldn't they have done a bit more to setup what it was Quentin would need to do to 'escape' his hotel? This is even more frustrating than the lack of a visible Leviathan creature. Though it would be funny if tomorrow's episode starts with Amanda touching Quentin's shoulder and being whisked away into the abyss... Looking forward to seeing that one, since it's my official birthday episode of Dark Shadows!

Christine: Once again, we are expected to employ our imaginations to make up for the lack of detail provided. Hopefully you'll get something exciting in the episode that aired the day you were born. Since the leap year has still got us out of sync, we'll have to wish you a Happy Birthday today!

Dark Shadows Episode 931 1/19/70

Amazon Prime members can stream today's episode free!

Paul smells something that reminds him of the room upstairs. He hears a breathing outside the door. He thinks it's his imagination, and then realizes it isn't. He thinks the creature is coming for him, and he has nowhere to escape. The noises outside the door grow louder. He picks up a chair to defend himself.

Megan watches from upstairs, smiling.

The door falls open. Paul drops the chair as the creature enters the room. He screams.

Barnabas comes in and tells it to drop him. He tells Paul not to move. The breathing is labored. Barnabas grabs Paul. He tells the creature that it will follow him from the room, and says when it is human it will never do it again. He tells it to forget Paul. He then leads it out of the room. Paul cowers in fear. Barnabas demands that it obey him.

Megan is shocked to see what Barnabas is doing. She hides.

Barnabas leads it to its room, and tells it that it is not to leave. The creature starts to disobey, but Barnabas manages to get it back into the room. He locks the door.

Paul leaves the basement.

Barnabas calls Megan. She asks what he wants. He asks if she heard nothing. She says she heard something and knew it was out, but she was too frightened to do anything. He tells her that she should never have unbolted that door. He says she is to stay there and do nothing until he has taken care of Paul.

Paul comes out of the antique shop and runs into Julia. He's speechless.

Barnabas returns to the basement to find that Paul is gone.

Stokes says Paul's clothes appear to be rotting away. He also comments on the smell. He adds that his arm hairs are singed. Julia tells him that he's in a state of shock. She says with Amy, it was the same way. She had been in the shop, and the next time she saw her at Chris' cottage she was in shock and couldn't speak.

Stokes suggests they call the police and she says they can't. Stokes asks if it's because of Barnabas. Stokes agrees to wait until Paul can speak, and asks Julia what happened with Amy. She says she thought Grant was Quentin, but she didn't have any of the other signs Paul has. Stokes says she may not have gotten as close to whatever Paul experienced.

Julia checks Paul's pulse, and says she needs to get her medical bag from Collinwood. Stokes gets a call that the painting will be complete in a few hours. Julia tells Stokes that he can't leave Paul alone. She says she'll tell Carolyn where he is, and Stokes asks if she should. He reminds her that Carolyn works in the antique shop.

In the antique shop, Megan wonders if they can trust Barnabas.

Olivia is at Collinwood when the phone rings. She answers it. It's Megan calling for Mrs. Stoddard. Olivia apologizes, and says that there's no one there. Megan leaves a message for Elizabeth to call her as soon as she returns. Julia returns, and Olivia tells her that Mr. Best has arrived in Collinsport, and she's sure that he'll come for her in a few hours. Julia tells her to stay in the hotel with Grant and do everything she can to get him to remember her. She says that Mr. Best will be coming for her. Julia says Quentin's portrait won't be ready yet.

Grant tells Olivia that she's changing. Olivia asks him who she is if not Olivia. Grant says he's the man without answers. She says that he must answer at least one. She tells him not to call her Olivia. He says he'd help her if he could. He asks her why she told him they had met before when she first brought him home. He asks where they met, because he too has a feeling they had met before. He asks her to help him.

She kisses him. She asks him if he could look at her that night and tell her that he loved her, and mean it. He asks if that's important, and she says it is. He says it would be easy to lie to her. He asks her how a man without a past knows if he's in love or not. The phone rings. Julia tells Amanda that the painting is ready, and tells her to bring Grant to see it immediately.

Stokes tries unsuccessfully to get Paul to talk.

Julia, Grant and Amanda meet at Osmond's house. They go into a room where Julia says there's a portrait of Quentin by Charles Delaware Tate. Grant asks her if it looks like him. She says she hasn't seen it. She says the professor has removed a landscape painted over it. He asks what secret they know. Julia asks him to look at the portrait. He agrees. Julia uncovers it, and upon seeing it, Amanda screams. She runs out of the room, leaving Quentin to look at it.

Our thoughts

John: No surprise that we once again didn't get a look at (or description of) the evil Leviathan. I did find it funny that the door just fell open, and outward rather than into the room.

Christine: Well, we did find out that the Leviathan kid is a stinky adolescent. The other afghan, last seen covering Michael as he faked his death, has made its way to Stokes' house to comfort Paul Stoddard in his trauma induced stupor. We can only wonder why Maggie's afghan was not employed in this instance.

John: I'm curious if the clues left behind on Paul (the stench, the rotting clothes, and the singed arm hair) will amount to anything to be developed in future episodes, of if it was just the writers being poetic. Sadly, the stench, rotting clothes, and singed arm hairs were all lost on the audience. Paul didn't really appear to be that much different physically than when he arrived at the antique shop.

Christine: I don't think those details were lost on the audience. They weren't lost on me. Some of us are still capable of using our imaginations, as was expected in the olden days.

John: So everybody place your bets... my wife thinks the portrait is of the werewolf. I'm sure it's going to be a Dorian Gray-like portrait of a 100 year-old withered corpse of Quentin...

Christine: I'm with you. If it were the werewolf, Grant would look surprised, but since he appears to be disgusted, I'm guessing it's a grotesque version of Quentin. The pertinent question is whether or not it will get him to remember his identity. Portrait watchers will note a first for the Mustache Man, appearing in two different places in one episode. He can be seen behind Stokes at his domicile, and later at Professor Osmund's place.

Dark Shadows Episode 919/920/921 1/5/70

Amazon Prime members can stream today's episode free!

Grant and Chris enter Tate's house. Tate tells them not to come any closer. He looks at Grant and calls him a liar. He says he's a young man, not Quentin Collins. Grant says he too looks young for an old man. Tate says there's a way to stay young. He then calls Grant Quentin, and says it's due to the genius of Tate. He says Quentin took Amanda Harris from him. He then starts his stupid laughing. Quentin throws a vase of flowers at him, and the body falls down. His head rolls along the floor. Grant runs out, and Chris picks up the head of Charles Delaware Tate. He says it isn't real. He puts it next to the dummy body. He says he's not leaving until he finds Tate.

He hears a man crying. He opens a curtain and finds a wrinkled old man. He asks if he's Tate, and the man says Tate died years ago, because he killed him when he got old and ugly. He says he made a new Tate who was young and handsome.

He picks up the head and says he's gone, too. He stares into the face of the dummy and tells Chris that he destroyed him. He tells Chris to go away. Chris says he wants him to paint his portrait, like he did for Quentin. He tells Tate that he's a werewolf, and says he's not leaving without a portrait. Tate says he can paint, but it won't help him. He says things were different then.

Tate tells him to leave or he'll set his dogs on him. Chris demands that he give him the key to the room they're in. Tate pulls it out of a drawer. Chris takes it and locks them in. Tate grabs the dummy head and starts to cry. Chris tells him to get out his canvas and paint. He explains that there will be a full moon tonight, and he's not leaving until Tate completes his portrait. He suggests that he complete it before the moon rises.

Carolyn is cleaning up at the antique shop when someone puts his hands over her eyes. She tells Alex not to do that, and then realizes it's not Alex. Michael introduces himself to her, and gives her a story about an accident that resulted in his coming to stay with his cousins. He says he'll be happy with them because she's there. She says he must say that to all the girls, and he tells her not to laugh at him.

She gives him a task to do in the shop, and explains that she wouldn't ask a child to do that. He does the task and finds a locket. He tells her that he's got a present for her. He hands her the locket. She says it's Megan's. He says she gave it to him, and he's giving it to her. Philip comes downstairs and says they seem quite involved. Carolyn gives Philip the locket to return to Megan. Michael tells Philip to ask Megan and see what she says about whose locket it really is.

Grant wanders through the woods, wondering why he ran away from Tate's. He wonders who Amanda Harris is. And who he is. And why Tate kept laughing at him.

Tate takes a break from working on the portrait, and Chris reminds him that he doesn't have time to rest. He resumes his work on the portrait.

Michael leers at Carolyn in the antique store. She is clearly uncomfortable, and tells Philip that she's going for a cup of coffee. Michael offers to go with her and Philip stops him. She leaves, and Michael tells him that he's making her uncomfortable by staring at her.

Philip tells him not to try and rush things. He says he's endangering things by moving things too fast. Michael says he has no right to talk to him like this, and Philip says it was stupid for him to give Megan's locket to Carolyn. Michael stomps upstairs, and reminds Philip that he won't always be small.

Grant is compelled to return to Tate's house.

Tate puts the finishing touches on Chris Jenning's portrait. He tells him to take it and leave. Grant drops to his knees and cries out in pain. Tate reminds him that he told him it wouldn't work. He says he did as he was asked. Tate asks for the key, but Chris doesn't respond. He turns into a werewolf.

Grant arrives back at Tate's only to hear his screaming from outside the door.

Our thoughts

John: They didn't go with the Dick Smith school of old age make-up for Old Man Tate, and it shows. I think even Dead Jeremiah Collins looked better!

Christine: They had to show why he would make a young dummy of himself, and then cry when it got broken. He is pretty hideous. It is certainly nowhere near the realistic aged appearance Dick Smith gave Barnabas in Episode 350. It looks a lot more like what happened to Angelique after Sam messed with her portrait.

Episode 499

John: We've met a new breed of creepy stalker on Dark Shadows! And to think, Michael is just a kid. Will this evil man-child continue to drool over Carolyn as he gets older and older in the days and weeks ahead?

Christine: It can only get worse.

John: If you can't afford to bring in another actor to play the full werewolf, you go with the wolf's paw! So if Tate was right, he didn't paint fast enough. And if Chris was right, he didn't give Tate enough time to finish his masterwork before the moon rose. Whatever the case, I wonder if this will signal the return of Count Petofi to sprinkle some magic fairy dust on the new portrait to make it a magical werewolf mirror.

Christine: It seems to me that Tate no longer has the powers bestowed upon him by the Hand of Count Petofi, which would explain why he didn't just paint a youthful portrait of himself instead of making a lame imposter dummy, and why he told Chris that painting a portrait of him would not help, since things were different when he painted Quentin. It might also suggest that Petofi did not survive his ordeal with Blackwood in Episode 883. Was the wolf's head in the antique shop foreshadowing Chris' transformation, or signifying Michael's wolfish behavior, drooling over Carolyn?