Dark Shadows Diary, Episode 40

Episode 40: "The Essence of a Man"
Aug. 19, 1966

Bill Malloy has let himself into Sam's home, claiming "You want privacy, you should keep your door locked."  He also seems to have confused his professional friendship with Liz as some kind of authoritative role in the business, chiding Roger for hanging out at Sam's place when he should be working. He begins an incredulous conversation about Burke Devlin, Sam's newfound success as a portrait painter, and some other stuff that's all about one thing: Screwing with Roger Collins. It's a wonder this guy didn't get himself kacked a lot sooner.

Roger gets the hint and excuses himself, and even asks Malloy for a lift back to his car. Malloy has other business with Sam, though, and Roger leaves with his tail between his legs.

Carolyn's transparent ploy to manipulate Burke into another date comes to fruition. He calls to let her know he found the ring she strategically left behind during their last conversation, and he lets himself be talked into something that looks a lot like a date. I can't imagine why, seeing as how he a.) Wants to destroy her family, and b.) Has about a much romantic interest in Carolyn as ... shit. I was going to make a joke about Morrisey but couldn't figure it out. That's what happens when you write these things at 5:30 a.m.

Just to make Roger's day better, he bumps into Burke at the inn's restaurant. Burke needles him about David's automotive interests, then flaunts the ring Carolyn left as "date bait." As it turns out, Roger gave the ring to Carolyn on her 16th birthday and isn't amused by Burke's antics. Roger runs home (does this guy EVER go to work?) and returns the ring to his niece, and makes one small request: Stay away from Burke Devlin. It works about as well as you might think. Her "date" is a bust, though, because Burke has business in Bangor. I'm too tired to turn THAT one into a joke, too.

Meanwhile, back at the Evans place, Sam waxes pretentious about the nature of art, saying the goal of an artist is to capture "the essence of a man." Even though it's still early in the morning, Malloy hits up Sam for a "stiff drink," which suggests he's about to drop a serious bombshell on the artist. He downs the drink with a quickness that would impress Oliver Reed, then asks for another.

He outlasts Sam, though, who winds up drunk and chatty, even despite his many years of experience as a booze jockey. "You can't paint without a soul," he says during a drunken monologue that Edgar Allan Poe might have enjoyed were he not already dead. Sam begins to blab about the conspiracy but doesn't provide much in the way of detail. At least, not enough to tell Malloy or the audience to understand what the hell really happened ten years back.

"I'm the only thing that stands between Roger Collins and a prison sentence," Sam reveals, and then blacks out. Malloy has confirmation that SOMETHING happened between Roger, Sam and Burke, but he (and we) still don't know what.