In Vicki's room, Jeff tells Blair he doesn't believe Vicki was sleepwalking. Blair says that now that Vicki is home and his sister is back, everything is back to normal, including the painting, as he pulls it out and shows that it is no longer faded. Jeff says he doesn't understand how paint can fade and come back. Blair bids them goodnight.
Vicki says the painting has add an odd effect on so many of them. Jeff tells her she wasn't sleepwalking, and Blair knows it. He shows her the button she had in her hand, and says that it's from Blair's jacket, so he's involved somehow. He adds that if he truly is Cassandra's brother, he may be related to Angelique. He tells her he'll go to see Professor Stokes tomorrow. He kisses her, promising her a fresh start.
In the drawing room, Nicholas congratulates himself on his night's work. Jeff rushes in and tells him to stay away from Vicki. He says he knows he had something to do with her disappearance. He points out Blair's missing button. Jeff produces the missing button, telling him that he found it with Vicki. She was clutching it in her hand when he found her in the woods. Blair says he must have lost it when walking in the woods. Jeff offers up a veiled threat, and Blair smiles at him.
Adam reviews words in the dictionary. He and Stokes converse, and Stokes asks him the first thing that he remembers? Adam says Barnabas. He describes straps and a table like a bed. He says Dr. Hoffman, and then hurt. Stokes ask where he lived, and Adam mentions a house where Willie lived, and how he was chained to a wall. He describes breaking the chain and running to escape. Stokes asked what Barnabas did to him, and he says he hurt him. The doorbell rings and Stokes sends Adam to his room.
Stokes prepares to hypnotize Jeff. He asks Vicki to return to Collinwood. She leaves the two of them alone. Stokes hypnotizes Jeff with his eyeglass. Stokes asks his name, and he says it's Jeff Clark. Stokes asks before that, and he describes waking up and seeing Dr. Lang. Stokes asks what he was doing, and Jeff says Lang was going take his face. He told Jeff he was a murderer. Stokes mentions Barnabas and Hoffman were always in Lang's laboratory.
Stokes asks if he'd recognize the body of Lang's creation. He thinks he could, and Stokes calls out Adam. Jeff is shocked to see him. Stokes sends Adam away. He stops hypnotizing Jeff, who asks him to tell him who he is.
Stokes and Vicki are in the drawing room discussing Jeff. Stokes says he has come to see Julia. Vicki says she's not home. She says she asked Cassandra where she is. Stokes is shocked to hear Cassandra has returned. He asks when, and Nicholas Blair enters, telling him she returned yesterday. Stokes tells him they have met before, when Blair was selling an antique dealer the painting that Vicki bought. Blair denies it. He says he's never been to Collinsport before, and excuses himself to retire upstairs. Blair says he'll tell his sister Stokes was asking after her, and he encourages him to do so.
Stokes asks where the picture is. She says it's upstairs. He asks if the painting has been restored. She says yes. Stokes tells her she must leave Collinwood tonight, or she will have the dream, and Barnabas will be next.
Our thoughts
John: I was disappointed that Jeff blew his chance to pin down Blair with the missing button. Blair got off too easy.
Christine: I had to laugh at Nicholas delivering his third person soliloquy to his brandy glass, telling himself he's free to leave and let Cassandra make more mistakes, as he strangely wags his pointer finger back and forth. Since Blair acknowledged he had rescued her again, I wonder if the first time was after Sam had aged her portrait, or if he was also responsible for rescuing her after Barnabas strangled her in the mausoleum. Perhaps Nicholas is the reason Angelique can take a licking and still keep on ticking.
John: I'm curious what Stokes' endgame is with Adam. He's gotten him to be much more communicative, and he's getting information from him. But how much does Adam really know? Will Stokes soon realize that Barnabas is a vampire?
Christine: I can't imagine that Stokes is teaching Adam solely by reading him words out of the dictionary and drilling him with flash cards, which would seem to quickly bore his childlike mind. I prefer to imagine he's tucking him in and reading him bedtime stories from the Brothers Grimm to help develop his vocabulary. I like how Jeff Clark recognized Adam from the severed arm he had procured for Lang's creation.
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| Yep, that's definitely Adam. |
John: Interesting twist to hear that Blair sold the painting of Angelique to the antique shop! I do love how he suggests there must be someone else who looks just like him, as if he doesn't have a unique look.
Christine: That was pretty funny. He must have been selling the portrait at Angelique's behest to help her gain access to Collinwood, but why would he do so? I want to know more about the coven of two and the strange bargain they've struck. I wonder what makes Stokes think that Vicki can avoid the dream curse by leaving Collinwood. Let's hope he's wrong and that we'll be adding to the Round Robin Nightmare tracker before the end of the week.
Dark Shadows Before I Die Round Robin Nightmare tracker (bold appearing in this episode):
- Wide-eyed skull
- Guillotine
- Lang's Headless creation
- Skeletal bride
- Educational Bat-footage
- Giant spider-web
- Mounted wolf's head
- Carolyn's tombstone
- Maggie with Sam's coffin
