457

Nathan tells Naomi that at night Barnabas is really the Collinsport Strangler. She then sees Barnabas bite Millicent.
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: A séance has been held in the great house at Collinwood, a séance which has suspended time and space, and sent Victoria Winters on an uncertain and frightening journey into the past, back to the year 1795. As that journey nears its end, one more person will soon pay the price for learning the terrifying secret of the Collins family.
Naomi Collins opens the coffin, looks down at it, and allows it to slam shut with tears in her eyes. Ben Stokes enters the room and tells her that she shouldn't have come and slowly leads a stunned Naomi out of the tower room.
Act I
In the drawing room, Ben tells Naomi that Barnabas is under a curse, like a sleeping sickness, and that he must remain in the coffin until the curse is lifted. He tells her that Mr. Collins went to Boston to find help to get rid of the curse. He also tells her that Angelique was the witch. Naomi asks if it is true that Barnabas has not left the coffin since the day he died. Ben's answer relieves Naomi as it shows Lt. Forbes lied about Barnabas being the strangler. When Ben finds out that it was Forbes who told her about Barnabas, he threatens to follow through with his promise to kill him. Naomi orders Ben to stay here. Naomi tells Ben she can handle Nathan now. She asks Ben to get a carriage and leave Daniel in the village with Reverend Bland to keep him safe. Ben asks if Riggs can take him because it will soon be night. Naomi insists that Ben does it.
Act II
Ben is alone in the drawing room when Nathan enters the house. Ben tells Nathan that he is taking the boy into the village to keep him safe. Ben wants Nathan to try to stop him so Ben can kill him in retaliation. Nathan doesn't try to stop him but just watches helplessly as Ben goes to get the carriage. Millicent comes downstairs, and Nathan tries to convince her to tell Naomi not to send Daniel away, that they agreed that Nathan would become his guardian but Millicent believes there is wisdom in what Naomi is doing. Naomi enters the drawing room and announces that Daniel is gone.
Act III
Naomi wants to talk to Nathan. She tells him that she now knows the truth, and that the lie he told about Barnabas is even worse than the lie he told about Miss Winters in court. She tells him to leave Collinwood without Millicent. She and Joshua will take care of Millicent and Daniel. Nathan realizes that Naomi still does not know the entire truth about Barnabas. He tells her what he saw the night Barnabas attacked Maude Browning. He tells her to go again to the tower room, but at night, and look in the coffin then.
Act IV
In the tower room, Barnabas leaves his coffin. He feels a great need to leave the room, no matter what the danger. He mentally calls out to Millicent to meet him. Millicent walks down the stairs into the foyer, stares at the portrait of Barnabas, and says she will come to him. Meanwhile, Naomi is in the drawing room, trying to decide whether she should go to the tower room now that it is night. She hears Millicent talking in the foyer. Millicent tells her she is going out for some air. Naomi follows her and arrives at the garden in time to see Barnabas bite Millicent on the neck. She screams at the sight.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Ben: (to Nathan) I thought I met a fine collection of scum when I was in prison--thieves, cutthroats, blackmailers, mean, murderous, evil men all of them. There was none of them that could compare to you. You dress fancy and talk better, but down inside you're the foulest one of the lot.
== Dramatis personae ==
* Joan Bennett as Naomi Collins
* Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
* Joel Crothers as Nathan Forbes
* Nancy Barrett as Millicent Collins
* Thayer David as Ben Stokes
== Background information and notes ==
=== Production ===
* This is the first time that series creator Dan Curtis directs an episode.
* There is a tape edit during Barnabas and Millicent's scene in the garden.
* Millicent Collins is the second character played by Nancy Barrett to fall under Barnabas' vampiric influence.
=== Story ===
* INTERNAL MONOLOGUE: Naomi: It can't be true what Nathan told her; Barnabas: Summoning Millicent.
* TIMELINE: It was later the same night when Barnabas killed Maude after attacking her (he attacked her in 439 and killed her in 440).
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* Joan Bennett flubs a line when giving instructions to Ben: "I want you to take him to the Reverend Bland’s. You must leave him there. I want to stay he... I want him to stay there.”
* At the start of Act III, Joan Bennett waits a second before closing the drawing room doors, visibly waiting for her cue.
* Early in Act III, when Naomi tells Nathan he is making all the mistakes, there is a strange off-stage noise, a spinning sound.
* The Collinsport Fly buzzes around Naomi's face while she talks with Nathan.
==External Links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 457 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 457 - Misdirection
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 457: I will meet you
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 457: 3/26/68
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