We open with well-meaning governess Vicki and flighty heiress Carolyn screaming as they look down from a cliff at a corpse on the beach a hundred feet below. Returning to the drawing room of the mansion where they live, they tell reclusive matriarch Liz and Liz’ ne-er-do-well brother Roger what they saw. Liz and Roger refuse to believe them, and send gruff caretaker Matthew to investigate. Since we had a clear view of the body, the audience is likely to be exasperated at Liz and Roger’s unwillingness to face the facts Vicki and Carolyn have brought them.
After Matthew reports that he found nothing on the beach, Vicki asks Carolyn if he would have a reason to lie. Separately, Liz asks Roger the same question. Vicki and Carolyn resolve to go back to the cliff to see for themselves. Liz goes to Matthew’s cottage to talk to him about it. It comes as quite a relief to see that Liz and Roger’s reflexive denial won’t be the end of the story.
Liz’ visit to Matthew’s place is the first time we’ve seen her out of the house. Matthew is startled to see her at his door, and regular viewers are startled to see her venturing into a place which, for all it may be her property, is someone else’s territory. She and Matthew talk about the prospect, unwelcome to both of them, that word might get out about what the girls saw, bringing visitors to the estate and adding to the legends surrounding it. Further, they are both worried about what may have happened to plant manager Bill Malloy, who has been missing for more than a full day.
Liz and Matthew go to the cliff, and see nothing but seaweed. Back at the house, Liz tells the girls they needn’t go back out. Vicki nonchalantly mentions to Roger that his son David had looked into his crystal ball the previous day and announced that Bill Malloy is dead, that he was killed, and that Roger is the killer. Roger is stunned by this news.
The episode moves along quickly enough to be interesting on a first viewing. The second time through the series, it is considerably more interesting. Knowing how the mystery will be resolved, we keep an eye on the characters who know more than they are letting on. It becomes like Columbo or another “inverted mystery” where we see the story from the villain’s point of view and find ourselves rooting for him to come up with some new dodge to fool the detective and keep the story going. After the vampire is introduced, of course, Dark Shadows will adopt the villain’s point of view, eventually going to an all-villain cast. For now, though, the central figure is still the virtuous Vicki.
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