Gaslight Me, Roggy

Old girl’s on one of her spiels tonight.

It’s always especially awkward when Vicky’s narration carries on across multiple characters. The less referential ones click better, probably because it’s harder to pretend the things actually happening on screen carry some big dramatic weight.

Anyway, this is an episode where nothing happens. There have been many episodes like this over the course of the series and there will be many, many more. That’s how soaps are. The worst of them are immediately forgettable and have you ruing ever investing your time, but the salvageable ones usually find something to hold a viewer’s interest.

In this episode, that special something is ham and cheese, guest starring Victoria Winters, I guess. Of the four characters in the following 21 minutes, three of them butcher their lines on a regular basis, and the fourth ends up demonstrating a heretofore unseen pluck that may or may not originate in suffering through her co-star’s beatiful flailing.

But mostly, if you’ve watched Episodes 4, 18, 20, 35, 37, 46, 51 and the last two, you can safely skip this one.

This seems like a strange promise given this episode begins on a bold promise from the previous one:

Sam Evans want to talk to Burke.

It seems like Sam is tired of running away and has decided to voluntarily fess up to the man he has been lying to and living in constant fear of for, count ‘em, 12 and a half weeks. This is significant because if Sam confesses Burke will finally be confirmed in what he has long believed: that Roger is the person responsible for killing that inexplicably unimportant man in that hit and run 10 years ago.

We expect a bold confrontation. A theatrical confession up to par with the standard Dave Ford has led us to expect.

Promising start.

An overriding principle of soaps that applied more then than now is that almost nothing can ever be expected to happen on a Tuesday. I say it applies more then than now because now nothing is likely to happen on any particular day of the week.

Perhaps the biggest exception to this rule on Dark Shadows was ten episodes ago when that ghost thing happened, but even then it happened in such a way that no other characters noticed it, it didn’t end the episode as a cliffhanger, and we have gone two weeks without a single reference being made to it outside of a little fakeout gag last week.

We do get lots of poetic talk this episode, courtesy of Sam, who is probably already drunk.

When asked why he ran out the back door of his house the first chance he got, Sam gives us the following:

So like most of Sam’s dialog, in the mouth of any other actor, that would sound like pretentious gibberish. Which it is. But Dave Ford gives us a graceful and elegant cadence that has you believe in the sentiment, if not the structure, of the words.

And, as Dark Shadows will go on to prove to us again and again…things do happen in cycles. But those cycles matter more than Sam gives them credit for.

Burke, naturally, has no patience for poetics of any kind unless it’s him doing it. He presses Sam to get to the point and any hope we might have of this episode being half the event of the last two is swiftly dashed…

Who among us hasn’t fled a dinner party in a cold sweat, terrified that one of the guests would begin asking personal questions?

Are…is the script commenting on Dave Ford’s weight? He never ran before? What?

So Sam claims he ran. He ran so far away. Until he stopped and, I guess, felt self-conscious or something.

In his defense, this happens to me approximately once every three days, so maybe it’s no wonder he seems to be pissing himself between every word.

Back at Collinwood, Victoria attempts to get right to bed…

Roger was waiting up for her for the sole purpose of interrogating her about that dinner date he wanted very badly to convince her he wasn’t concerned about.

I would never advise any of you as to how to go about commiting and covering up a crime, suffice to say, you don’t want to do anything that Roger Collins does, short of drive your own version of the Batmobile, though I think that’s since been destroyed.

Victoria admits the party wasn’t quite a party, which Roger takes as an excuse to rub in her face that he told her not to go, which I don’t think is going to make her more forthcoming.

Victoria attempts to go up the stairs, at which point Roger puts a restraining hand on her arm.

He basically shepherds her into the next room, prefacing this all as pleasant conversation.

All of their chats seem to end in either vaguely sexual threats or half-weeping about ghosts so I’m not sure what he’s talking about. Then again, he’s Roger, so for him these must count as rare positive interactions.

I have to imagine Vicky anticipated she’d be in for an interrogation like this which is why she was so quick to head up those stairs, but Roger Collins never sleeps. Don’t believe me? Every other person in this house will get a bedroom set (however crappy) before he does. He just perches in the drawing room with a snifter like an alcoholic raptor bird.

Aw. I wonder if Roger has ever told Sam that in between calling him a useless lout and threatening to kill him.

Recall how, in the last episode, Vicky finally had enough and called Burke a bully? Well this episode’s biggest redeeming quality is that she keeps that same energy for Roger, who has berated, bullied, and bothered her on a regular basis for all five days and six nights since she came to this place.

TELL HIM, VICK.

Notice how she has seamlessly dropped her earlier (absurd) assumption that Roger didn’t want her at Sam’s because Sam might tell her something about herself. Forget that she did, kind of, learn something about herself, sort of, and luxuriate in the fact that she is right now, and she isn’t sitting on being right, but throwing it in this lizard’s face.

Roger clearly didn’t expect her to show any fight, but Vicky has gained a level in New York after every one of these repetitive confrontations, and now she’s ready to rumble.

Roger pretends not to be interested in the details, but still “casually” (for a certain very obscure definition) prods Sam’s account of the story out of Vicky, presumably to ascertain that Sam didn’t veer from the party line.

What this ends up being, besides redundant, is the first time all the details of the case have been presented to Roger’s face.

He’s this close to moralizing about the dangers of drunk driving.

What we call protesting too much. It’s much easier to believe Roger was passed out drunk in the backseat with his head in his future beard-er-wife’s lap than valiantly attempting to wrest control of the vehicle from Burke. But if Roger had any concept of keeping a low profile, he wouldn’t be in this situation.

So Roger appears entirely reaffirmed, totally assured that his cover maintains and Vicky has no reservations about what happened that fateful night ten years ago…

For Christ’s sake, Art.

Burke has caved in and gotten Sam a drink. Maybe the ghost of Bill Malloy told him that was the only way he’d talk.

Hm…I wonder what an alcoholic Burke Devlin Special is? We know it’s a “bunch of fruit juices mixed together”, I bet you could add a touch of gin or rum and have a party.

Burke repeats his insistence he wasn’t driving the car at the time it hit Inexplicably Unimportant Man.

It’s around this point where these two’s performances begin to go up like kindling. but it makes this slog more watchable, so there’s that.

Sam continues to maintain he knows nothing about the accident. He came here for another reason.

As opposed to future history. History of future past, if you will.

Sam makes the cogent point that fixating on the past will do nothing for Burke now. Which is mostly correct. Burke doesn’t need vengeance. He’s rich and comfortable and apparently sexually desirable (eh), he doesn’t need this stinking town.

But revenge is inexplicable by default.

I love that word. Inexplicable. There will never be a moment in your day when there will not be a use for that word.

But that also isn’t what Sam is here to say. I think he’s really here to eat up the clock, even though I’m fairly certain this is supposed to be the “things happen” half of the episode.

Sam’s final appeal against Burke going around town telling people he was connected to the manslaughter thing?

His reputation. Because nothing is more important to the local alcoholic than knowing people aren’t saying shit behind his back.

He meant “talk me into saving your neck”. But he said the line with such a straight face. There is not a flicker of uncertainty there.

Sam insists it isn’t himself he’s worried about. Think about the (working, voting and marrying age) children!

But Burke doesn’t give a damn about Maggie’s feelings and practically brags how he told all his suspicions to her and Vicky before.

I…er…I think he meant in front of, or in my daughter’s eyes or something. It’s isn’t his daughter Burke’s interested in destroying.

In any case, Sam seems genuinely torn at the prospect of Maggie losing whatever faith in him she still has. It’s this, and nothing else, that gets him into a true, raw and emotional state of distress. Just as Maggie only has him, he only has her. And unlike Maggie, he doesn’t have his whole life ahead of him. Indeed, he appears to have pissed that whole life away long ago around, oh, 10 or so years back.

We get another (I’ve lost track) denial of involvement in the manslaughter case before Burke pivots to the matter of Malloy which, of course, is why he stormed over to the Evans place from the Sheriff’s in the first place.

Oh yeah. That.

Sam had been expecting that question, and he prepares a much more controlled and forceful denial than he has for any of the other stuff.

Which scores him a lot of points.

Burke doesn’t seem to notice that change in manner, but what do you expect from a man who is himself incapable of understanding the term “inside voice”?

Burke and Sam relitigate Sam’s alibi, which he already gave the Sheriff last week. This is a banner episode for saying things we’ve already heard.

Burke fixates on Sam leaving for the meeting very early, wondering if he seized on the chance to take the extra time and handle Malloy.

Yeah, sure, whatever he said.

The pivotal and game changing moment in this interrogation is when Burke springs mention of the phone call Malloy is said to have received 15 minutes before he died, accusing Sam of having made it.

Sam’s denial is quiet and quite surprised. It’s easy to believe he’s never even heard of the phone call before, which is borne out by what we’ve seen on screen. He’s the last of the three guys at that meeting to have been told about it. Surely that means something, yes?

It was, except it was a pocket watch. Patterson made a big deal of showing Burke this. He could just as easily have used the word “watch”.

Sam comes off as very exhausted at this point and can you blame him? You try defending erself against the same accusation four different times in a 10 minute period.

There is one break in Sam’s composure when he grabs Burke’s like the lapels, all film noir, and insists, his voice breaking…

Burke doesn’t seem convinced but Sam appears beyond caring. As he departs, he gives Burke a final statement:

Shit. And there it is. Sam, whatever his flaws, his failings, his screwy morality…is a humane person. While he may lie and cower to protect himself, he can’t hurt another human being.

He’d sooner die.

And on that cheery note, back to the Most Innocent Man in the World.

Roger forces Vicky to defend which story she believes, as if she would tell him that.

He might as well be contemptuously puffing a cigarette in an ebony holder like Cruella de Vil.

We get even MORE RECAPS with Vicky being made to discuss Burke’s discussion of the meeting. Like every other redundant recap in this episode, it serves up a single (1) relevant detail, in this case Vicky telling Roger she was “made” (although she kind of volunteered it unprompted) to tell Burke about that phone call she partially witnessed Roger making at about the time Malloy would have received his telltale call, which it currently looks very unlikely Sam was responsible for, thereby leaving literally one person.

You’ll recall that Roger made a big deal of his phone call to the “Coast Guard” for a “weather report” in his testimony to the Sheriff, also adding that he didn’t leave Collinwood for the meeting until about five minutes after Malloy would’ve died.

He neglected at the time that at least half of that already piss-poor defense could very easily be disproved by his son’s babysitter who, for whatever reason, has not yet been interviewed by Sheriff 2: The Squeakuel, despite being one of the two people to first see the Dead Man at the Foot of Widows’ Hill.

This was certainly beneficial to Roger at the time, but Victoria is tired and fed up and knows what she saw, so she isn’t here to be gaslit.

If you don’t spend much time on the Internet and/or watching old movies (but you’re reading this, so you do both), ‘Gaslighting’ is a term derived from a classic noir film (1944) starring Ingrid Bergman and Some Guy. A husband uses a gaslight to convince his wife of things that are untrue. Also, Angela Lansbury is in this, if you want an idea of what an institution she is.

Roger is attempting to gaslight Victoria, not with any handy stage prop, but by whinily insisting that what she saw and heard didn’t happen. It might be more convincing if Victoria weren’t the only 100% sober character in the episode.

Well, Burke is sober. In-universe at least.

Vicky tells Roger she didn’t hear the whole thing, except it was about a “meeting” of some kind.

I have to believe her smiling as she says that (also knowing about the meeting by now) indicates that she knows very well the kind of difference it makes and what that means for Roger’s case, and is just fine knowing that information.

Atta girl.

We then get a significant correction on Roger’s movements, provided by Victoria, who we are given to believe over Roger because she has nothing to lose except her shitty boss.

1. 8:00 – 9:00:
   1. Burke sees Malloy at the Blue Whale. Malloy tells him about the meeting and the “hole card” that’ll be waiting there.
2. 10:00:
   1. Malloy sees Roger at Collinwood at around 10:00 to make him go to the meeting. It is apparently a 10 minute trip from Collinwood to the cannery, presumably by car.
   1. Malloy next goes to Sam to tell him about the meeting.
3. 10:10: Malloy leaves Collinwood.
4. 10:15: Roger makes a phone call, asking somebody to meet with him. This is observed by Victoria. He will later lie and say this call was to the Coast Guard.
5. 10:20: Malloy gets home at 10:20, per Mrs. Johnson the housekeeper.
6. 10:30:
   1. Burke is still at the Blue Whale. He is observed by the bartender and “one or two” other patrons.
   1. Sam leaves home and heads to the cannery on foot.
   1. At about this same time, Malloy is at home. Mrs. Johnson observes him taking a phone call. He departs within the half hour.
7. 10:35: Victoria hears the front door slam. It is assumed this is when Roger leaves Collinwood.
8. 10:45:
   1. Burke drives from the Blue Whale to the cannery.
   1. Presumed time of Malloy’s death, judging by his stopped watch.
9. 11:01: By now, Roger, Sam and Burke are all at the cannery for the meeting.
10. 11:20: Elizabeth calls Malloy and gets no answer.
11. 11:30: Burke goes in search of Malloy, to no avail.
12. 12:00: Roger returns to Collinwood. Liz is waiting up for him.

Vicky places Roger leaving the house 15 minutes before he claimed to the police and 10 minutes before Malloy would’ve died, which certainly gives him enough time to do the moider.

Roger’s response? To tell Victoria that she’s wrong.

That’ll do it.

A…a fetish? And, yes, that word meant what you think it means in 1966 too. I guess Roger really enjoys Swedish clocks.

Act IV is more or less a footnote, taking up the last three or so minutes of the episode, beginning when Roger, having just dismissed Victoria, finds her TALKING ON THE TELEPHONE.

Ye gads.

She was calling Maggie to see if her father had ever gotten back, which he hasn’t. Naturally, the sight of Vicky being a good friend is repellent to Roger, who immediately suspects subterfuge.

You frigging tell him.

This chatty, snappy, talk-backy Victoria Winters is a breath of the freshest air. I’m tempted to call this the Emancipation of Victoria Winters, but I know very well that it won’t last.

Still, it’s nice while we’ve got it.

Then, in yet another script-and-direction callback to that other Tuesday episode five weeks ago, Roger stops her from going up the stairs in a huff and begs her indulgence for what must be the fifth time, and that’s a conservative estimate.

I hope, in your life, you have somebody who has told you to allot people only a certain number of chances to apologize before they keep doing the same fuckery. Perhaps you didn’t need someone to tell you this. Congratulations.

In any case, Roger seems to understand he is on tenuous ground with a woman who has the power to destroy his entire alibi with a single phone call to either the police or his lantern-jawed ex or both to make a party out of it.

Because of this, he has created a foolproof strategy to get rid of her.

Well, he intends to make good on six straight days of gaslighting, verbal abuse, and lewd come-ons with…

AN ALL-EXPENSE PAID TRIP TO FLORIDA

Did you think I was being sarcastic? No, Roger’s plan is to ship her to the Unusual Felony State to work for some heretofore unknown “friends” of his. He frames it like a delightful getaway full of sun and surf and pleasure and not like the human trafficking scam it almost certainly is.

And what does our almost emancipated Vicky Winters tell him?

Time after time, she’s been told to leave. A few times, she almost has. But now, that she isn’t just told to leave, but promised indulgences if she does, she looks the snake right in the eye and refuses the poisoned apple.

She came here for a reason. She came closer than ever before to that reason tonight. There’s no going back now.

There’s also a little closer for the Burke and Sam end of things, with Burke finally being convinced, at least, of Sam’s innocence in Malloy’s murder, if not of his involvement in the events of 10 years ago.

Fat chance.

This Day in History-  Tuesday, September 20, 1966

The Motion Picture Association of America changes its film classifications for the first time in over 30 years,declaring that the new designations for an “M” rating film (there was literally nothing between “M” and “G”, for General Audiences) would include, among other things, “Evil, sin, crime and wrongdoing shall not be justified”, which is as good a barometer as anything I guess.