DARK SHADOWS 602

Adam to Blair: (!) “When men try to handle me, I don’t trust them.”

“You must trust me about Barnabas Collins.”

Marie. It is a cold, clear night.

Nicholas Blair voice over. He wonders when Barnabas will learn it is useless to fight him. Now, it’s Blair’s turn to stab the table. Is it long before Adam will do the same thing?

Adam can’t find Angelique. He grabs Nicholas who threatens Adam. No reprise.

Adam says, “This is not a time for you and I to test each other.”

Blair says, “May that day never come.”

“It will,” Adam says.

Blair tells Adam that Barnabas Collins is more afraid of Angelique than of Adam, she will chill him to the bone. Adam doesn’t believe that but Blair says, “Simply because you do not know enough yet.”

Adam wants to take care of Barnabas and picks up the knife and jabs it into the table when Blair says no. Adam wants to go get/abduct Victoria Winters physically to stop Barnabas.

Blair does not want suspicion to come to this house. He tells Adam of Angelique’s powers. Adam balks, “I always hear of your powers, now it’s hers!”

Adam vs Blair. Adam laughs that Blair doesn’t even know where Angelique is. Blair plays with his ring again. It is on his right hand. Adam wants to see what Blair can do and will not leave the room as Blair wants.

Blair tells him, “Learn one very important lesson, Adam. Nothing is exactly as it appears.”

Blair voice over as he sets up the mirror to find Angelique, Adam demanding to see his powers to do so: Blair even lets him stay in the room to watch even though he, at first ordered Adam out.

They see Angelique in Jeff’s apartment room or house (later, when visiting Jeff, Blair says the landlady let him in). Amazed at this power, Adam asks if he can see anyplace, any time.

When they see Angelique with Jeff, Blair says, “Not a particularly pleasant surprise.”

The scene moves into the mirror in an effective special effect. Jeff tells Angelique he cannot help her, “IDK what happened to the equipment.”

Angelique ends up trying to bite Jeff but Blair stops her, appearing right in the room. He kicks her out, then makes Jeff sit and tell him about Angelique, how they met.

Blair then makes Jeff forget Angelique using the “hear my voice and obey my commands,” thing. He makes Jeff get on the bed (!) and go to sleep first. There appears to be a version of an Afghan on the bed.

When Jeff wakes up, the scars from the previous Angelique bites will vanish. He leaves but comes back when Jeff wakes up, telling him that the landlady let him in.

He wants to go out and have a drink with Jeff, patting him on the back.

SINCE WHEN DID JEFF EVEN LIKE BLAIR??? Have they even ever shared ONE scene?

NOTE: Astredo is VERY very good in this. His look as he leaves the room after making Jeff lie down is priceless conceit.

Also the room seems to be the one used for every other room in other places other than Collinwood and the Old House and Maggie’s Cottage. I think it’s been used as Stokes’ place and maybe Joe’s place and possibly first used as Roger’s office at the cannery and I think it will be where Adam kills Eve.

And it was used maybe as the jail office in 1795?

Here, Jeff seems to laugh with him and want to take him up on having a drink with the man/demon. WHAT? WHY? Or is it just part of the spell? Although Blair didn’t say, unless I wasn’t paying attention: “Jeff, you are now my best friend and drinking buddy!”

Eve calls Adam a child, “You’re such a child.”

Adam obsesses over the mirror. Eve wants to go look at the ocean but worried about Barnabas’s plot (“Barnabas could be outside watching the house now.”), Adam forcibly takes her to the cellar.

As he does, Eve yells that she will kill him. Despite her claims, she isn’t. She does say she remembers this place and Adam asks how. Her answer: “I don’t know. I know it.”

In the basement, Eve remembers something and tells him she will not go back. She thinks he took her down here to send her back. Maybe she’s channeling Leona’s spirit memories inside her. This is very inconsistent. She might have had an encounter with the ghost of Phillipe here.

First, a few episodes ago, she spoke French as if she recalled it all and told Phillip’s spirit she would not go back. Then, she seems to NOT remember much of Leona/Daniel’s experiences or memories. WTF? Pick a plot and go with that.

Blair and Adam talk. Adam’s head hits the crystal on the chandelier again. Adam says Eve will hate me if they stay here BUT SHE ALREADY DOES!

Blair reminds Adam that the police are still hunting him but with a doctor he can trust he can have the scars removed and the danger will be over. OKAY DO THEY BOTH REALLY THINK THE SCARS will disguise him from the police???!!! Without the scars, the two think he will safe. Huh?

Nicholas stares at Adam like he’s examining him. ALSO: if Blair can remove the scars from Jeff using his powers, why can’t he remove the scars from Adam? Maybe because those scars weren’t supernaturally created?

Adam wants to go to the city and get a job. Adam leaves the room and Angelique comes in. Adam stares at her for a few moments.

Blair tells her that he is moved by her passion with Jeff. He also tells her that he is “almost happy”. She noticed that. Blair tells her he was going to give her something she wants and still will: and she guesses who he will let her attack next, “Barnabas Collins.” During the credits, the camera moves.

Review: Dark Nicholas Blair Shadows.

You know I thought I was going to hate on this but the truth is it’s very intriguing even though it’s mostly all talk talk talk. Astredo is excellent and seems to be the leading man now, even evil. He is also quite watchable and his character very powerful. His relationship with Adam has hit a new high: they are almost adversarial in a Joker/Penquin way with Blair placating some of Adam’s requests while also threatening him. Adam does not seem to be afraid of him. He also seems to relate to Angelique on a new level too, wanting to give her Barnabas and make her happy and he seems happy. His plans are all coming together.

The one low spot is Eve who seems to be, despite Marie being great in the role, all talk and no action. She claims she will kill Adam but seems to have a few opportunities to do that and does nothing. IS Eve as powerful as Adam was? If not, why not? We never know?

She also claims to kill but never does. She also is supposed to be the most evil woman at least the spirit within her but we see her fear a mere ghost. Is that the basement of the House By the Sea? Eve wanted to see the ocean.

Okay, so not a bad episode and one which furthers the plot. As a witch Angelique is very scary but as a vampire she’s even more so

Dark Shadows bloopers to watch out for:

There’s a camera glitch as the magic mirror pulls back to show Angelique approaching Jeff, making it look as if the mirror occasionally gets bad reception.

In the middle of Nicholas’ argument with Adam in act 3, the boom mic moves, and Nicholas’ volume drops for a few seconds.

Behind the Scenes:

Champion prop-spotter Prisoner of the Night explains today’s set:

“Jeff’s room was mostly recently Stokes’ apartment, which makes for at least the sixth incarnation of this set since it was first introduced as Roger’s office at the cannery in episode 45 back in August 1966, and it won’t be the last time we see this set redressed either. We first saw Peter Bradford when this set was dressed as the interview room of the Collinsport Gaol. Sometimes there was a fireplace in the right-side wall, and sometimes that part of the wall was just bricked over. In Jeff’s room, we’ll actually see the fireplace change from the right wall to the left at some point.

“The desk is from Jeremiah’s room at the Old House, where in episode 377 he’s seen sitting at a desk that is identical to the one in Jeff’s room — same color, height and width, with the shelving cabinet showing the same triple-pane window design, and the writing table itself fronted with the same design of letter slots.”

Christine: This is quite a pickle! If Angelique gets to Barnabas before he can kill Eve, Eve will kill Adam, Barnabas will revert to the vampire he once was, and Angelique won't have the pleasure of bringing Barnabas under her control. Though perhaps she'll have another chance for romance with Barnabas with both of them being vampires.

John: Blair seemed so intent on keeping Angelique away from Barnabas, and now he's going to basically hand him over to her? Something tells me that his plan is going to backfire.

Christine: I hope Roger collected a security deposit from Nicholas before renting to him. I have a feeling a lot more furniture is going to be stabbed during his stay at the House by the Sea. I'm surprised Adam didn't notice that Blair's magic mirror was the same one from his room in the West Wing. Incidentally, has anyone ever looked so happy to be bitten by a vampire as Jeff Clark?