Dark Shadows never really stuck to the soap opera tradition calling for Friday episodes to go at a whirlwind pace, build to a shocking revelation, and end with a cliffhanger that brings the audience back after the weekend. The practice of giving a single writer responsibility for a full week more often meant that Friday was an anticlimax that showed his exhaustion. Episode #95 last week was Ron Sproat’s first Friday episode, and in it he tried to play by those usual rules. Today, he doesn’t have enough story to keep things moving very fast, but there is a cliffhanger.
In #95, well-meaning governess Vicki realized that the fountain pen she found on the beach at Lookout Point belonged to dashing action hero Burke Devlin, and jumped to the conclusion that Burke dropped it there while murdering beloved local man Bill Malloy. Today, Vicki has learned that Burke didn’t have the pen the night Bill died. Rather, it was in possession of high-born ne’er-do-well Roger Collins. She has re-jumped, now to the conclusion that Roger killed Bill.
Vicki dashes from her home in the great house of Collinwood to see Burke in his hotel room and tells him what she thinks. She no longer has the pen, and it occurs to her in the middle of the conversation that the pen doesn’t actually prove anything about Bill’s death. Burke is frustrated that Vicki isn’t ready to go to the sheriff, but eventually agrees that they don’t have enough evidence to move against his enemy Roger.
The scene between Burke and Vicki goes on for a long time, and does not lead to any definite conclusions. It would have no place in a conventional Friday episode. It is important, though. Burke is a hot-headed fellow who rarely admits that he is wrong about anything, least of all about a topic that relates to his bête noire, Roger. Not only does Vicki get him to do that, she also shares an intimate scene with him in his kitchen where she makes coffee. After that, he keeps touching her. The sequence leaves little doubt it is just a matter of time before a Vicki/ Burke romance takes hold.
Back in Collinwood, flighty heiress Carolyn is quarreling with strange and troubled boy David Collins about Burke. Carolyn has a dinner date with Burke tonight. David regards this as unfair. Burke, whom David idolizes, is the sworn enemy of the Collins family. Therefore, David’s father Roger and his aunt, reclusive matriarch Liz, forbid him to see Burke. If he cannot spend time with his favorite person, he does not see why his cousin should be allowed to go on dates with him.
When David tells Roger about Carolyn’s date with Burke, Roger tries to forbid her seeing him as well, but he has little authority where Carolyn is concerned. In the course of their argument, Carolyn mentions that she told Vicki about Burke’s pen. Roger realizes that this means that Vicki will now suspect him of killing Bill. We’ve seen Roger do cruel things to protect himself, and know that he wants to get rid of Vicki. Indeed, at their first encounter he startled her while she was standing on the edge of a cliff, nearly prompting her to fall to her death. So now that he sees her as a potential accuser in a murder case, we must regard him as a danger to Vicki.
Acilius on Dark Shadows 