Old Faces, New Names

EPISODES 471-475

I wanted to do a quickie before I go on a short trip where I hope to -though not realistically- watch at least one episode per day. Now ain't that some determination!

It's all about the dum dum
 duh dee dum dum..

*It was about time Mrs Johnson got a bit of history established for her except that she is a mourning, meddling, gossiping spinster. It turns out she has a son that she's been keeping hidden from people and for good reason: He's just come out of prison!! Very cliche, very soap operish, very Burke Devlin. But unlike Devlin, the guy is hardly charismatic cause Vicki gave out a half arsed hoop the moment she saw him. Oh, he also happens to look exactly like Noah Gryffindor (seriously what was his last name again?), the guy she killed in the 1795. This guy's name is Harry Johnson and probably has no relation to Noah. He will also stay in Collinwood during his visit (aww @ Mrs Johnson asking Liz for this favour and Liz giving it right away) but the man has a weakness for money (extra cool points to Mrs Johnson for that finger gesture) and he couldn't have picked a worse place to rip off. We all remember what happened to the last two people, Jason McGuire and Willie Loomis, who tried to get some.

*So Roger and the mysterious painting was the center of attention and worry in Collinwood when he suddenly disappeared with it into the night. Vicki and Barnabas were certain it was Angelique's curse that made Roger act the way he did (attempting to kill Dr. Lang for instance) but the biggest shock came in flesh and bones, just as I wished in the previous post. Roger, now seemingly normal, returned with a new wife: Cassandra Collins aka Angelique in an awful wig!!!

Hair may be fake but the eyes
are unmistakable

I liked the way they played it for a whole episode. Since old faces from the past were returning as new characters, it could have easily have been that Mrs. Collins was an innocent, brand new person. Actually, I kinda hoped the revelation would come a bit later and we would be left doubting for a while if she was indeed Angelique. But at the end of the episode, she did that signature giggle and it was settled.
Barnabas and Vicki are certain that she is Angelique, though the former isn't so vocal about it in order to hide his own secret. I like how characters are now openly talking about supernatural things matter-of-factly; it'd have been boring if the characters were to pull a Scully whenever something unexplainable happened. I mean they are still initally skeptics but they also leave an open door to the alternative.

Angelique, Liz & Cassandra

*Liz and "Cassandra" have an honest talk, just like the way Liz likes 'em. There is some tension there and I hope they play it out well. It looks like Liz isn't very friendly with her sister-in-laws when the shit hits the fan. Speaking of which, I'm enjoying the fact that Laura is still acknowledged. Her and Roger are still legally married and her mysterious death is once again mentioned. Honestly, it was just an ordinary case of Fried Phoenix, why won't you just accept it, Liz?

*Just to clear any doubts, Cassandra/Angelique has Roger under a spell. There is no love. David, meanwhile, is in Boston right now and his reaction to his new mother is highly looked forward to. I'm also enjoying the more than subtle innuendos Barnabas throw at Cassandra when they talk. She is playing the innocent.

Barnabas receives the talisman

*Anyway so knowing that Angelique is bent on destroying him, Barnabas tries to take control of the matter and has Prof. Stokes, a scholarly expert on occult, lend him an anti witch-craft talisman. The thing seems to work when Cassandra pays Dr Lang a little visit and almost kills the man if it weren't for the talisman. The down side of it is that Angelique now knows about the existence of the thing. What action she will take against it remains to be seen.

*Aaaand finally, we get to learn a bit more about Lang's mystery project. It is not just a case of  Frankenstein complex but something a bit more extreme. He is making a man to transfer Barnabas' spirit/soul/essence/lifeforce/whatever into it. 

Not Dr. Frankenstein

He also asked Barnabas if he'd be interested in looking like Jeff Clark but whether that means the new creature will have Jeff's head or it's another project we don't know! What we know is the grossness of what Barnabas will do to Vicki if he does look like Jeff. I'm just sayin'.