Dark Shadows Diary, Episode 17

Episode 17 : "Words That Never Get Said"
July 19, 1966

David is beginning to feel a little guilty about trying to murder his father. Remorse is a new emotion for him, and he reacts like a dog does when you blow in its face: he knows something's not right, but he can't quite figure out what the problem is.

His first warning sign? When he tries to jump out of his bedroom window during a bout of night terrors. Liz walks in as the little maniac is climbing over the window sill while trying to "escape." He makes Liz swear not to tell his father about the incident, and she's exactly the person you want protecting your secrets.

What's curious is that David didn't prepare for failure. I think he'd have been dandy had the Butterscotch Bastard (my pet name for Roger) been killed in the wreck, but he goes from feeling guilty to terrified when the prospect of prison is raised. Frankly, if David went to the slammer, I'd feel sorry for his cellmate.

This episode sees the return of busybody Bill Malloy. His spider sense warns him that Roger's car wreck was the work of foul play, and he decides to take a closer look at what's left of the car. Roger insists the car's brakes were working just fine when he left home but, like the career of Channing Tatum, their malfunction was a recent phenomenon that makes no sense. (Note: it's during this dialogue that Louis Edmonds makes the famous blooper, saying the wreck happened "100 miles" from home. It's actually pretty amazing how well he bounces back from the mistake.)

It's during Roger's visit with the doctor that we learn the tiniest bit more about Burke Devlin's manslaughter conviction. The doctor apparently treated the victim 10 years ago, and Roger was somehow involved with the incident ... despite his protestations that he had nothing to do with it. But they still haven't disclosed what "It" is, yet.

Malloy figures out what caused Roger's wreck and gives him (and the audience) a quick lesson on how to repeat the process at home, on the off chance there's someone whose presence you'd like to permanently rid yourself of. He even draws a map to illustrate the role the part (a "bleeder valve") plays in the brake system.

Presented with this information, Roger moves to roust Victoria Winters out of bed (what the hell time is it, anyway? It's got to be 3 a.m.) to question her. Malloy, who isn't in the habit of storming into women's bedrooms uninvited in the middle of the night, doesn't think this is the greatest idea. Roger being Roger, though, he mostly ignore him, loads up in liquid courage and prepares to find out what the governess knows about the plot to kill him.