Yesterday, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard overheard her brother Roger Collins having a conversation with the portrait of wicked witch Angelique. When Roger told the portrait that he murdered not only Angelique herself but also Liz’ daughter Carolyn, Liz stormed into the room. Roger then strangled Liz and stuffed her corpse under a window seat. Today, he is in the room fretting about what to do with Liz’ body. It strikes him that his brother Quentin is currently a fugitive from justice, suspected of three murders, including those of Angelique and Carolyn. He decides to pin Liz’ murder on Quentin as well.
Angelique has come back from the dead and is impersonating her identical twin sister Alexis, whom she herself murdered in #1001. She has persuaded Quentin that his new wife Maggie, whom he does not seem ever to have liked very much, is a witch, Quentin now believes that Maggie, by use of the black arts, committed all of the murders. Maggie has looked at the publicly available evidence and concluded that Quentin has gone insane. She believes that he, by use of his hands and some sharp objects, committed at least some of the murders.
Roger has figured out that “Alexis” is really Angelique. They have a couple of awkward conversations. He asks the portrait why he can talk so freely to it when he is so stilted in his interactions with “Alexis,” since they are “one and the same.”
Maggie has started getting everyone to evacuate the house. When she goes to her room to pack, she finds Quentin waiting for her. He is holding a handkerchief monogrammed “ECS.” He tells her it was Liz’. He demands that she tells him where “the doll” is. She has no idea what he is talking about. He looks directly at her and says in a slow, level voice that he will kill her. She runs away, somehow not persuaded of his innocence.
Maggie flees to the room where Roger killed Liz. She finds Roger there, and tells him Quentin is in the house. Roger locks the door to keep him out. There is no telephone in the room; they talk a bit about how to get across the hall so they can call the police. Maggie falls into Roger’s arms and starts crying. He starts burbling about all the terrible things that have happened. He mentions that Liz was killed in the room. Maggie looks up and says Liz was found in a different room, and that the police think she was killed there. Roger tries to say he was just rambling, but Maggie puts two and two together. She realizes Roger is the murderer, and he realizes that she has realized it. We end with his hands on her throat.
Louis Edmonds is simply amazing as Roger today. The rest of the cast gives him first-rate support, but it is a magnificent turn. If the Daytime Emmys had been around in 1970, this was the episode they should have sent to Academy voters to get him his award.
Dark Shadows Commentary 