426

Millicent sees Barnabas in the cemetery.
== Synopsis ==
Teaser
: A séance has been held in the great house at Collinwood, a séance which has sent one woman on an uncertain and frightening journey to the past, back to the year 1795. There, each of the Collins ancestors resembles a present-day member of the Collins family, but the names and the relationships have changed, and Victoria Winters finds herself a stranger in a sea of familiar faces. And this night, a night which began with bright moonlight, has turned dark, and a woman has thrown herself from a cliff, the victim of a witch's curse, the agony finally over for her but just beginning for those she has left behind.
Barnabas Collins returns forlornly to the Collinwood mausoleum. Ben Stokes asks if he killed Josette. Barnabas explains how Josette became frightened of him and threw herself off of the cliff at Widow's Hill. He will have to spend eternity without his beloved Josette.
Act I
Ben believes Josette will return even though she died. Barnabas says because of Angelique's curse no one who loves him will be allowed to live. She caused Josette to hate him and even now Angelique is watching him. Barnabas vows to break the curse by going to his father and allowing him to drive a stake through his heart. As he turns to leave the mausoleum, the door swings shut and will not open. Barnabas and Ben hear the sound of Angelique laughing. Barnabas cries out to her that he will never love again; she will not have to kill again because the curse is over. He banishes her to her grave. The door unlocks and slowly swings open. Barnabas leaves but orders Ben not to follow. Angelique begins to laugh again.
Act II
Naomi Collins joins Joshua Collins in the drawing room. She is mourning the death of Josette. Millicent Collins joins them. Joshua tells his cousin the news of Josette's death. She is unmoved and begins rambling about love, death, and how men change. She begins to leave but Naomi is concerned with her safety alone, at night. She leaves as Naomi implores Joshua to go with her. He declines, believing she will return shortly. Barnabas is at Eagle Hill Cemetery visiting the grave of his uncke, Jeremiah Collins. Millicent is surprised to see him; she believed that he was in England.
Act III
As Millicent is preparing to ask a favor of Barnabas, she turns when she hears Ben calling for his master. When she turns back to Barnabas, he has supernaturally disappeared. Ben denies that Millicent saw Barnabas. He wants to take her back to Collinwood but she has come to choose her final resting place. She insists that Ben show her around the mausoleum. She chooses to lie beside Sarah Collins and wants Nathan Forbes to know that she considers this to be the day of her death. Even though Ben doesn't understand, she believes Barnabas will. Ben continues to insist that Millicent did not see Barnabas in the cemetery and asks her not to tell Joshua she saw Barnabas.
Act IV
Naomi joins Joshua in the drawing room and asks to see the letter he has written to Josette's father, André du Prés, in New York but Joshua has already sealed it. He changes the subject to the upcoming trial of Victoria Winters. It will begin the next day and Joshua's sister, Abigail Collins, has agreed to represent the family. Naomi would like to represent the family but Joshua denies her the opportunity. He is concerned with the family reputation but Naomi is worried about Victoria's life. Millicent runs breathlessly into the drawing room asking if they have seen Barnabas. She wants him to defend her honor in a duel with Nathan Forbes. She tells them that the deceased Suki Forbes is Nathan's wife, not his sister as they were led to believe. She saw Barnabas at the cemetery although Ben denies it. She insists that Joshua find out the truth and he agrees. A dog howls in the distance.
== Memorable quotes ==
: Barnabas:  I called to her. She looked at me, frightened. She knew what I had become. She turned, ran from me. She died...hating me. I saw Josette’s crushed body on the rocks below. She is gone from me...and I have eternity without her.
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: Millicent: The more one learns, the worse one feels. I did not realize life was like that, but probably it was a well-known fact that no one bothered to tell me.
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: Millicent: I have been ill all my life...but I've never been alone...until now.
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: Millicent:  I love the night. The darkness lets you see only what you want. You need see nothing ugly unless you choose.
== Dramatis personae ==
* Joan Bennett as Naomi Collins
* Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins
* Louis Edmonds as Joshua Collins
* Thayer David as Ben Stokes
* Nancy Barrett as Millicent Collins
* Lara Parker as Angelique Bouchard Collins
= Background information and notes =
=== Production ===
=== Story ===
* TIMELINE: Day 171 begins, and will end in 429. Josette died a few hours ago. Victoria's witchcraft trial begins in the morning.
== Bloopers and continuity errors ==
* In Act I, Jonathan Frid flubs a line: "You need no...kill no one else."
*When Barnabas tries to leave the Collins mausoleum and Angelique locks him in, why doesn't he change into a bat and fly over the door? Or simply disappear as he has done before? Or use his superhuman strength to break the gate open? [While the preceding is a good point, it can simply be assumed that Angelique's spell prevented Barnabas from doing anything other than what he did.]
*Nancy Barrett flubs a line. She says, "...and dear cousin Barnabas returned from England, and who knows what he would return as?" She was probably supposed to say "...and dear cousin Barnabas has left for England...". [Addendum: This is not a flubbed line. Millicent is responding to Joshua, who says, "Poor Josette had very little to look forward to." Then Millicent says, "Until [not "and"] Cousin Barnabas returned from England. And who knows what he would return as?" This makes sense in context of responding to Joshua.]
==External Links ==
Dark Shadows - Episode 426 on the IMDb
Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 426 - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 426: Men change, and seldom for the better
Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 426: 2/12/68
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