Count Petofi forces Julia to tell him that the I-Ching wands are the key to time travel. He uses them and is confronted by a disembodied arm with a sword.

Synopsis

The turn of the century at Collinwood, where a woman has journeyed from another time, from the year 1969, to help her friend. But unknowingly, she has been betrayed, and now in a mill near the great estate, she faces an enemy, an enemy she has never seen before this night.

Count Petofi has abducted and is holding Julia prisoner. He wants to know about the future and how Julia has travelled to the past. He tells her he knows how she was found at Collinwood and renders her speechless when he thinks he hears Barnabas coming.

It turns out to be Charles Delaware Tate. Petofi tells Tate that Petofi has supplied Tate with the talent he has. Tate conjectures that if he paints something, it is brought into existence.

Meanwhile, Quentin romances Amanda and wants to know why she is staying at Collinwood. Charles tells Amanda that her existence began when he first painted her. Tate attempts to demonstrate his power by sketching a glass on the table, but it does not appear as he anticipated it would. Tate warns Quentin against dealing with Petofi.

Petofi forces Julia to tell him that the I-Ching wands are the key to time travel. Quentin tells Petofi that he can find the wands in the Old House.

After Quentin threatens Petofi, Petofi warns that he will restore the curse if Quentin does not submit as a slave. Julia tells Petofi how to use the wands. Petofi throws the wands into the Kun hexagram. Petofi goes into an I-Ching trance and is confronted by a disembodied arm wielding a scimitar.

Memorable quotes

Julia: (reading from the I-Ching book) You have thrown the third hexagram, the Kun hexagram. It symbolizes difficult beginnings. The top line symbolizes the difficultly in advancing.

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Count Petofi (to Quentin): A conscience can be a very troublesome thing. Shall I rid you of yours?

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Charles (to Quentin): You've dealt with Petofi. Soon you'll begin to do things you can't explain, even to yourself.

Dramatis personae

• Grayson Hall as Dr. Julia Hoffman
• Thayer David as Count Petofi
• David Selby as Quentin Collins
• Roger Davis as Charles Tate
• Donna McKechnie as Amanda Harris
• Jim Hale as Executioner (uncredited)

Background information and notes

Production

• There are no cast or crew credits listed for this episode.

Story

• Count Petofi throws the I-Ching wands to show the 3rd hexagram (white, black, white, white, white, black), the Kun hexagram. It signifies great progress and success. The Kun shows how a plant struggles with difficulty out of the earth, gradually rising above the surface. But the top line is divided, meaning the horses of the chariot are obliged to retreat; there are weeping tears of blood.
• INTERNAL MONOLOGUE: Charles: I've got to find out if he knows; Quentin: (recalling Charles' words).
• TIMELINE: Quentin wants to meet with Amanda tomorrow night after dinner. Quentin guessed about the I-Ching last night (presumably when he learned of Julia's time-travelling.)

Bloopers and continuity errors

• When Charles tells Amanda about the day in 1895 when he created her, he says he painted a portrait of her. But in a previous episode, what he found was a sketch of her he did on that day in preparation for the painting, not a painting.
• When Amanda and Charles are talking, a camera zooms in on Charles wildly and out of focus.
• When Amanda runs upstairs to escape Tate, and when Quentin stops her on the stairs to ask what's wrong, they bump against the wall, which bows outward as if it's made of cardboard.
• Julia says that the top line is divided, but this is impossible. Every I-Ching wand can have only two states: white or black.
• As Petofi approaches the I-Ching door, the camera pulls back too far and shows the edges of the set.

External Links 

Dark Shadows - Episode 840 on the IMDb

Dark Shadows Everyday - Episode 840 - The Grown-Ups

Dark Shadows Commentary- Episode 840: A man who has betrayed a friend

Dark Shadows Before I Die- Episode 840: 9/12/69