Six months ago, in the spring of the year 1840, a man named Gerard Stiles came to the great house of Collinwood bearing a sad tale. Quentin Collins, heir to the house and all the family’s fortune, had been washed off the deck of a ship at sea with his son, Tad Collins. Gerard had done what he could to rescue them, but Quentin and Tad could be presumed dead. Gerard was invited to stay at the great house as a guest, and that is where he has been ever since. Quentin’s widow Samantha has married Gerard, and Quentin’s father Daniel has said he thinks he should adopt Gerard. The couple stands to inherit everything once meant for Quentin, much to the dismay of Quentin’s younger brother Gabriel.
Now, Quentin turns up at the house, alive and well. The audience might have seen this coming, but the audience is familiar with the story of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “Enoch Arden,” either from reading it in school or from seeing one of the many plays and movies based on it. Since that poem won’t be published until 1864, the characters are at a disadvantage.
Enoch Arden saw how happy his wife was with her new husband and decided to slink off into the darkness, never telling them he was alive. Quentin is even more gallant, telling Samantha that he will respect whatever decision she makes. If she chooses to resume her life with him, he will do his best to make a go of it; if she chooses to stay with Gerard, she can go with his blessing.
Quentin goes to the drawing room, and sees a man whom he recognizes as a distant cousin recently come to the house from England. He has been told that Barnabas Collins is visiting, and that he is a dead ringer for the portrait of his late father that hangs in an upstairs bedroom. What he does not understand is why Barnabas reacts to the sight of him with a shocked exclamation of “Quentin!” He asks how he knows him, and Barnabas claims to have seen a drawing of him.
The truth is that Barnabas is a time-traveler from the year 1970. In that year, Gerard’s ghost will precipitate a disaster that will destroy Collinwood and everyone in it. He recognizes Quentin because Quentin looks just like his great nephew, another Quentin Collins who is a friend of Barnabas’ in that future time.
Another ghost who was prominent in 1970 but who has not yet been seen in this period is that of governess Daphne Harridge. In fact, none of the 1840 characters has heard of Daphne, and the governess at Collinwood is someone named Hortense. Returning viewers have been in suspense as to when we would see Daphne. That suspense is ruined today when Kate Jackson does the opening narration. Barnabas spots a figure skulking about in the woods at the end of the episode; he’s the only one who is surprised to see that it’s Daphne.
