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No. 28 - "Dark Angel" 4/11/97Cast:
Guest Starring:
Writer - Robert Masello Director - Michael Kelisch |
| Seventh episode of the Second Season. Many thanks to loyal viewer - Tami - for writing this long description and list of credits! Angel Island Rachel is telling Alex that she is spending the night at the castle. She has some things she has to go over with Nick regarding a case they are working on, and he had to go into San Francisco to find a part for his car. The two of them are joking about it. Dark Stretch of Road Nick, meanwhile, is driving down a dark road. In the distance, we see a young girl running across a field, a shadowy figure behind her. She is panicked, screaming for the figure to leave her alone. She climbs over the fence and darts out in front of Nick's car. In the rain and darkness he doesn't see her and hits her, even though he tries not to. He gets out of the car and runs to her, apologizing and she begs for his help. She says there is a man following her, trying to kill her. Angel Island Nick drives up in a hurry, honking his horn. Alex, Rachel and Derek meet him at the door. He comes in carrying the girl, and Rachel asks who she is. He says he doesn't know, and tells her about the accident. Rachel examines the girl (who tells them her name is Mary). Her leg is injured, not broken. Derek offers her the use of the phone, but she is agitated, trying to leave. Rachel decides that Mary should stay the night due to her injury and the storm. She then asks Mary about the man chasing her. Mary tells them that she just saw him following her and ran away. She got off the ferry at Angel Island when she realized the man was on the ferry too, and when the boat pulled away, she noticed that the man had also disembarked. She becomes agitated, fearing the man is right outside the castle. Derek insists that she stay the night, and Nick will take her back into town in the morning. She doesn't want to, but finally agrees. Nick shows Mary to her room. As he shows her around the room, her manner changes. She calms down and thanks him for saving her life. He jokes with her about it ("First one is free of charge") and as he goes to leave, he tells her that his room is just down the hall. He wants her to call him if she needs anything. She persists in thanking him, telling him she 'owes him' and he leaves, looking a little interested, but uncomfortable at her boldness. Mary dumps her bag out, revealing many religious artifacts. She grabs a crucifix and places it on the bed. She then takes holy water and begins praying for protection, flinging holy water all around the room. As the thunder crashes outside, she has a vision. She is arguing with an older woman, obviously her sister. The sister calls her Emma. Emma is arguing that the sister deliberately kept Emma away from someone, presumably a parent. Then, a flash of someone (the sister) and breaking glass. Then Emma dropping a silver hairbrush and looking horrified. As the visions fade, she begins the prayers again. Downstairs, Alex is reporting to Derek that there is nothing on the monitors or remote cameras to indicate another person is on the island. Derek has doubts that Mary Rodgers is being chased, or is even who she says she is. Rachel advances the theory that Mary may think she's being chased, a figment of her imagination or a delusion. Mary's terror appears genuine to Rachel. Derek says that could be the case, or she could know exactly what she was doing. Using this 'man chasing her' ruse to get into the Legacy House. Mary/Emma has gone into the bathroom and takes some pills out of her bag. She hears a woman's voice repeating "I'd sell my soul.." and flings back the shower curtain. There's no one there. She opens the pill bottle and takes the pills. (They're Diazepam – for stress – prescribed by a Dr. S. Praetorius) As she swallows them, she hears a man's voice saying, "Time is running short Emma." Did she remember to say her prayers? Emma panics and throws the glass at the mirror, crying "No! It can't be!" As the glass hits the mirror, she sees a woman's body falling through a window and Emma looking terrified. Nick is writing in his journal when Emma runs to Nick's room and enters, pleading with him to let her stay. She's afraid to go 'back there'. He tells her she can stay as long as she wants to and she begins kissing him. Startled, he pulls away, telling her he'd like to, but she's been through a lot, and he doesn't want to take advantage of that. She tells him she knows what she's doing, and tries to kiss him again, but he firmly set her away from him explaining "I don't." He tells her she can have the bed, and he'll take the couch. He leaves to get pillows and blankets and she picks up the journal he has set down. In the mirror, there is a man sitting behind her and he tells her she can run, but not hide. In a flash of lightning, he disappears and she looks terrified. Angel Island – Next Morning Emma wakes up and meets Nick working on his car. He offers her a ride back into town and she tells him she's in no hurry. She asks him what "this place" is, really. He wants to know why she wants to know and she tells him that last night's attempt on her life isn't the first time it has happened. She's been running for her life for months now and being there with him was the first time she's felt safe. Nick asks her who the man is, and what is it she's running from. They can't help her if she won't tell them the truth. She says that maybe they should start with her real name. Inside – Library Alex has researched phone records and realized that Emma made a call late in the night to Hadley Bay – a monastery run by an old friend of Derek's family – Brother Brendan. Apparently Brother Brendan has worked on Legacy matters in the past. When Alex called the monastery, she was told that Brother Brendan was seriously injured when an old rotting beam and wall fell on him. When she asked them what Mary had to do with them, the other monks had no idea who she was. Rachel instigated a search in the area for the name Mary Rodgers. What she found was ' bizarre'. Outside Nick and Emma are walking. She is telling him the story. He asks why she didn't stay there – she was safe. Emma says she has to keep going to find someone who believes her. She loved her sister very much, and says she tried to save her. She asks Nick if he believes her….he doesn't answer. Inside – Library What Rachel discovered is that Mary Rodgers died a week ago in a sanitarium. From this same sanitarium, a young woman named Emma Scott recently escaped. Emma had been committed after being declared incompetent to stand trial for the murder of her sister. Emma claimed an intruder burst into their house and killed her sister. There was no evidence to back up this claim, no marks on the body. Rachel called her doctor, Dr. Praetorius, and he is concerned for Emma's well being. Derek says he's more concerned with Nick's. He asks Rachel and Alex where Nick is, and Rachel says she doesn't know, but she'd bet he's with Emma. Outside Nick says he's sure the police are looking for her and Emma tells him she's not afraid of the police. He asks her about her doctor – surely he can help her. Emma tells Nick the doctor tried and failed. That's why she ran away. She laments that everyone who tries to help her fails. She'll be running for the rest of her life. "It's not fair" she tells him and he reaches out and holds her. As she looks over his shoulder, we hear her voice calling her sister 'evil'. Then we hear her say "I'd sell my soul to see you dead" and see a body flying through a window. Control Room Nick walks in and finds Rachel and Alex working. He's looking for Derek to find out what he intends to do about Emma. Rachel tells him that he doesn't know the whole story yet, but he cuts her off, telling her that Emma told him the story. He says that the man who killed her sister is going to try to kill her unless someone stops him. Alex asks him why he doesn't find it weird that Emma keeps changing her story. Rachel points out that there is nothing to back up her story, and Nick says there's nothing to prove it wrong either. The three argue – Rachel introduces the theory that Emma could be delusional. She thinks that if there actually is a mad killer stalking her then this is a matter for the police. She tells Nick they can't help everyone. He is determined to help Emma. Later – Dining Room Emma, Nick, Rachel, Alex and Derek are seated over a meal. Emma is answering their questions. They want to know why she didn't tell them the truth in the beginning. She points out that they don't believe her now – she was afraid they'd turn her away. Derek tells her Brother Brendon wouldn't have sent her to them if he hadn't known they would help her. Nick is angry about the 'inquisition' they are putting Emma through. Suddenly the butler comes in and tells them that there is a visitor. Following him is a man, introducing himself as Dr. Praetorius, Emma's doctor. He has come to get her. As soon as she sees him, Emma begins to panic. Crying that he is there to kill her, she stands up and grabs Nick, who is trying to calm her down. Using Nick as a shield, Emma rushes from the room, dragging him with her. Rachel introduces herself to Dr. Praetorius, who apologizes for showing up unannounced. As he helps himself to a glass of water, he explains that he felt it necessary to get there right away after Rachel's call. He hopes to avoid the police and so he didn't notify them of Emma's whereabouts. They adjourn to the living room. Upstairs / Bedroom Nick takes Emma upstairs where she begs him to help her. He assures her that they will help her and she explains she wants HIS help: the others don't believe her. He assures her that no one is going to make her go anywhere she doesn't want to. She tells him that the man downstairs isn't the real Dr. Praetorius, he's a monster, here to kill her. Nick asks her why and she admits that she made a deal with him, and now he's come to collect. Nick asks what kind of deal and Emma says she doesn't know. Nick tells her that she has to tell him the truth – all of it – or he won't be able to help her. So Emma tells him that her sister was very sick, in constant pain, and Emma did everything she could to help her. Emma was with her night and day, and she couldn't stand to see the suffering. One night, while she was praying, she said that she would do or give anything, including her own soul, to stop her sister's suffering. And now, the man was here to claim it. Downstairs / Living Room Dr. Praetorius is explaining Emma's case to Rachel, Alex and Derek. He says he originally diagnosed her as schizophrenic and, until this last episode, had thought she was near recovery. Upstairs / Bedroom Nick wants to know why this "man" expects to receive Emma's soul, when the bargain is obviously off – her sister is dead. Emma explains that she was tricked. That's how the "man" eased her sister's pain: he threw her out the window. Nick, still trying to get it straight, asks if the "man" downstairs is really a devil sent to seal the bargain. Emma tells him yes – that's why she needs his protection. Nick tells her he'll do whatever he can to protect her, but he can't exactly just "go down there and pop the guy." Emma gets angry and tells Nick he better learn how, because this devil is here to kill her, and he'll kill all of them if they get in his way. Downstairs / Living Room Dr. Praetorius is explaining about Emma's troubled background. Her father died in an accident six years ago. Her mother lost all touch with reality. Her older sister Cora became the 'caretaker' and Emma rebelled against it. She has a history of running away and delinquency. Derek points out that murder is a big leap from that, and Rachel agrees. Dr. Praetorius says that's why Emma can't face it. In a moment of absolute rage, she lost control and pushed her sister out a window. Since then, she's denied it, to the world and to herself. Derek points out that Emma claims that Dr. Praetorius himself did it. The doctor says that when he first started working with her, Emma claimed that the bogeyman did it. She claimed that her sister conjured up a devil and lost control of it. They called in a religious advisor, Brother Brendan. Derek says they know him and Dr. Praetorius thinks that's quite a coincidence. Dr. Praetorius mentions that Brother Brendan is a fine man, and at that moment, Derek looks at the doctor and has a vision of Brother Brendan, a roof beam falling on him and Emma looking up at a dark shadow of a man, terrified and screaming. Dr. Praetorius asks if Derek is all right and Derek stands up suddenly and says that he is. Upstairs / Bedroom Nick heads downstairs to find out what is going on. Emma pleads with him to be careful, and he promises he will be. He tells her to scream if she has any trouble and he'll be right there. Downstairs As Nick sneaks into the dining room, he overhears Dr. Praetorius saying that it is part of Emma's illness to make up new stories to fit the constant changing of her circumstances. When Nick gets into the dining room, he finds Dominick cleaning up. As Dominick reaches to take Dr. Praetorius' glass, Nick stops him, and Dominick offers him his handkerchief. Nick takes the glass to the control room and joins the others in the living room. Living Room Dr. Praetorius wants to take Emma with him. He says she's been without her medicine for too long as it is. Nick suggests that maybe she just needs to be left alone. Rachel gently reprimands Nick. The doctor knows what is best for Emma. Nick points out that that isn't the way Emma sees it. Alex says that Emma is a very disturbed young woman, and Nick asks her if she's sure about that. He then asks Rachel for her opinion. She says that Emma lies a lot, and no one knows what she really wants. She asks Nick if he does. Nick says he knows she wants to stay alive. Derek breaks in and says she will. Dr. Praetorius says that it is time he looked in on her, and Nick blocks his way. Rachel reprimands Nick again, explaining that Emma needs medical care right now but Nick shows no signs of moving. Derek calls Nick and takes him into the hallway. Rachel asks the doctor to forgive Nick; Emma has blinded him in some way. Dr. Praetorius agrees, as Emma is a beautiful girl. Hallway Nick tells Derek he doesn't trust the doctor and Derek agrees. There is something going on that they don't understand yet. Nick comments, "I knew you'd see it my way…..kidding." Derek says that he wants Nick to check out the doctor. Nick wants to know why they don't just throw Dr. Praetorius out and Derek quotes 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.'" Nick goes to the control room and Derek goes back into the living room. Upstairs / Bedroom Emma is packing to run again. She glances in the mirror and sees the demon/Dr. Praetorius in the reflection, telling her he'll be right up. She starts to panic, then flashes back to Cora telling her that the house is Cora's now – and her telling Emma to get out. They argue, as Emma has been cut out of the will. Upstairs, Emma bullies Cora, calling her evil. Cora picks up a silver hairbrush to defend herself. Emma backs Cora against the window saying "I'd sell my soul to see you dead." We see the window shatter and Cora's body fly out. Emma looks frightened, picking up the hairbrush. There is a dark shadow of a man, and a deep voice saying, "You're mine now Emma." Control Room Nick and Alex are bantering about how they are each searching for the truth, but Nick is trying to prove Emma right, while Alex is trying to prove her wrong. It turns out that the glass that Dr. Praetorius drank from has only one set of fingerprints on it: Dominick's. As Derek walks in, Nick asks what kind of human can drink from a glass and not leave a mark on it? Derek's humorous remark of "Dr. Praetorius" is followed by Alex's revelation that the doctor is dead. His body was found in the bay that morning. At that moment, the exterior sensor alarm goes off. The camera reveals Emma trying to run away. Derek looks to Nick and tells him that he believes Nick and Emma. He wants Nick to go get Emma, take the launch to the city, and find Brother Brendan. Only he will be able to stop this demon. Meanwhile, the others will distract the demon/Dr. Praetorius. Outside / Dock Nick catches up to Emma and they jump in the launch and head for the city. Inside / Living Room The doctor is preparing to leave and take Emma with him, but Rachel is trying to detain him by arguing with his original diagnosis of Emma. She unknowingly gets it right by saying that Emma may have wished her sister dead and then when someone actually killed her, Emma created this "demon" so that Emma could be a victim, rather than live with the guilt of wishing her sister dead. The discussion goes back and forth when Derek walks in and invites the doctor to stay. There is a storm moving in, and Derek wouldn't be a good host if he allowed the doctor to leave in potentially hazardous situation. The Doctor begins to laugh, telling Derek he thought that such an esteemed member of the Legacy could do better than that. Derek asks who Dr. Praetorius really is and the doctor replies, "Didn't Emma tell you?" Derek says that Emma thinks that the doctor is the Devil himself, but Dr. Praetorius replies "Well that's a bit much, don't you think?" Then the lights dim and the skull shows through and the eyes glow red on the doctor's face. He asks Derek, "That a bit more familiar?" He taunts Derek telling him they've met before and that the demon knows Derek's father quite well. He says he sees Winston Rayne quite often in fact. Would Derek like him to pass on a message? Or would Derek like to see his father himself? Derek grabs the demon/Dr. Praetorius by the lapels and throws him against the wall. He's left with only the Dr.'s coat as the demon disappears laughing, "Leave Emma to me." Alex, Rachel and Derek jump in the chopper and head for Hadley Bay, but have trouble getting there due to the storm. Monastery / Hadley Bay Nick and Emma run to the monastery and gain admittance to Brother Brendan. He's very ill and tells them that Emma's soul is still in danger. The demon is getting closer. He asks who Nick is, and when he tells Brother Brendan his name, Brother Brendan says that Derek has spoken of Nick often, saying Nick was his right hand man. Brother Brendan tells Nick that he must finish the ceremony. Chapel They get into the chapel and find the book and the prayer. Emma keeps telling Nick he has to hurry – even as he is speaking the words of the prayer for her to repeat. The demon arrives just after they have begun and as they try to continue the prayer, the demon himself begins to recite it and then he causes the book to burst into flames. The demon says that Emma made a deal, and he's here to collect on it. Emma cries out that he's lying and Nick tells him the deal ended when he killed her sister. The demon laughs that that was when the deal was sealed, or didn't she tell him? Emma wished her sister dead with all the malice her heart could muster, all the malice needed to summon him. Nick pushes Emma behind him while Emma asks the demon what he wants. He wants only what she wagered: her soul. She begins crying out for the demon to take Brother Brendan instead. Take all the priests at the monastery. The demon begins laughing and the chapel begins to shake and crumble around them. Emma shouts for the demon to take Nick instead - just leave her alone. The demon disappears only to reappear right in front of Emma, causing her to fall. As she looks at him, he laughs and sticks his wickedly long forked tongue out at her. Emma panics and runs from the chapel. As Nick tries to go after her, yelling that they can stop the demon, flames rise, blocking the door. The demon says that they may win an occasional battle, they'll never win the war. He appears in the flames and suggests that Nick save his strength for someone who deserves it. Emma belongs to the demon. He laughs, his skull repeatedly replacing his face and suddenly the flames disappear. Nick walks out to find it has stopped raining and the others have arrived. He tells them he lost her, but Derek tells him that Emma was lost long before they met her. The prayer of penitence is only words to express a feeling of remorse, something Emma didn't have. Until she did, she'd always be on the run. We see Emma running and hear the demon taunting her, then switch to Nick's journal. He says that he "never realized how easy it was to fill the heart with evil. When something is empty you just fill it up with whatever is available. Evil is always there for the asking, win, lose, or draw." - direct quotes from the episode are copyrighted to MGM/Showtime/Trilogy. |
Copyright on my web page design, original graphics and descriptions. © 1996, 1997, 1998 Clarianna Demonbreun. All rights reserved. This and all the episode descriptions are for your personal use, not for posting on other webpages. Thank you! "Poltergeist: The Legacy" was created by Trilogy Entertainment (executive produced by Trilogy partners: Richard B. Lewis, Pen Densham and John Watson) with Showtime and MGM/UA |