Yesterday’s episode was a relaunch of the series, with a new actor (a new kind of actor, in fact) as Matthew Morgan, an exposition of the Revenge of Burke Devlin story so straightforward as to include a bibliography of its origins, an emphatic closing of the Who Failed to Kill Roger? story, and a checklist of the other narrative threads in progress. The relaunch continues today, with an established character re-introduced as a potential action hero.
That character is Bill Malloy (Frank Schofield.) Bill is first seen with Liz in her sanctum, the drawing room at Collinwood. She is approving his plan to dramatically improve the capital plant of the cannery without laying off any employees. He tells her about Burke’s investigations of the family’s debts. Regular viewers know that this investigation was a deep secret, and that only a capable businessman could have learned what Bill knows about it. The scene itself makes it clear that it is difficult to get Liz to face facts about the threat Burke poses, and that Bill is equal to that challenge.
Roger is at the Evans cottage, demanding Sam back out of painting Burke’s portrait, hiding in the bathroom and listening at the door when Burke comes and poses, emerging to threaten him after Burke leaves. Sam is helpless to get rid of Roger, Roger is helpless to control Burke, Burke is helpless to get Sam to start talking. Burke leaves the cottage to meet Bill at the restaurant.
The restaurant is in the Collinsport Inn, Burke’s home base. So far Burke has maintained the upper hand in most encounters there. Even when Matthew came to the restaurant yesterday and informed Burke that he might kill him, Burke kept his wits about him. But when Bill and Burke sit down together, Bill drives the conversation from beginning to end. Bill asks Burke to leave town, and declares his opposition to whatever plan he may have to harm Liz, Carolyn, or David. In return for Burke’s backing off, Bill offers to help him clear his name, presumably at Roger’s expense. Thus Bill breathes new life into the Revenge of Burke Devlin story- no longer is it a static confrontation between dashing but stymied Burke and charismatic but despicable Roger. Now the action is coming from a third, independent, corner.
Back in the Evans cottage, Sam and Roger are reprising their mutual helplessness, when Bill walks through the open door. Roger has just been yammering on at length about the information he doesn’t want Sam to give Burke. As the credits start to roll, we are wondering how long Bill was standing there and whether he has already learned everything Burke has spent all this time trying to uncover and Roger to hide.
Dark Shadows Commentary 