Dark Shadows - The Ring

 

Got to give to Maggie for using whatever is available to her to try and get some sort of help her way, considering she's stuck in a cell (no longer in a bride dress, now wardrobed in black with impeccably curled hair and madeup quite beautifully despite days of imprisonment and stress) with very little option for escape. Barnabas has just turned into an asshole by this point, seemingly enjoying walking away from the cell as Maggie begs and reaches from the limited room of the door window in desperation. Maggie has a ring, a large diamond with an inscription. She tries to get Barnabas to get the ring to her father, claiming she would capitulate her devotion to him if he would. Barnabas is just too wise for that bit of cat and mouse, so she capitalizes on Willie's avarice--no matter how he might show signs of humanity, he's still a greedy stooge when it comes down to it--and he bites. She wishes to offer the ring to Willie as a token of appreciation for saving her life, and manipulates him by mentioning how it would probably bring quite a sum. He keeps it but when tossing out David (yep, the writers dusted off the character, freeing him from the mothballs for an appearance) from the Old House--David promised Vicky he'd not leave the property of Collinwood, proving that he's anything but trustworthy--Willie loses the ring. David picks it up and that carrot I often mention when bringing up how the writer's tease you with a potential for escape for Maggie is dangled and snatched back: Vicky sees him with the ring, asks to look at it, Barnabas arrives (of course), mentioning to Vicky that the ring is a family heirloom he meant for Willie to sell. So Barnabas fortunately arrives at the Big House, secures the ring when he sees it in Vicky's possession, and neither David or Vicky is none the wiser. And just to pour ice water on Maggie (who picks up that damned music box and pretends to be succumbing to the sound), Barnabas returns with the ring, telling her he'd keep it. So Barnabas has kept Maggie in a cell, will never let her out, threatens her, will not let her even provide a memento to her father letting him know she's alive (because he knows it would just encourage an inspired , reinvigorated search), and rubs her face in the knowledge that seemingly her final hope of escape is dashed. Man, Barnabas keeps reemphasizing how evil he is. You'd be hard pressed to like that guy at all or even conceive that he was once a decent man. Instead, what gets emphasized is how couldn't Josette not want to jump from Widow's Hill considering how evil Barnabas is. 4/5 

***Episode 253