Perjury

Now this was an interesting and enlightening episode that actually says aloud what has been implied. Sam and Roger chat in the diner. Well, Sam wants to talk, while Roger would just as soon he not get anymore involved. Sam admits that they wrongfully accused Burke of manslaughter; their trial testimony was false and he went to prison for nothing. Dark Shadows Creative is trying to get Maggie Evans more involved; because Sam is such a psychological, guilt-ridden wreck, Maggie can become a key figure in Burke's story.  Maggie has a profound influence over Sam...he would probably have fled if she didn’t have a way of talking him out of such a drastic, desperate idea. Burke does seem to not know Sam’s deception, how he was in cahoots with Roger ten years ago. Roger’s callousness in being able to brush  aside what he did to Burke, at the same time incensed that Devlin might have gotten payback (the key is might) for his misdeeds, really reinforces his portrayal as a heel. I have a feeling he was looked on with quite a bit of scorn. I imagine there was plenty of disregard for his character; his treatment of sister Elizabeth and son David are such examples of how he can polarize those he is supposed to love. Burke, a man undeserved of 10 years taken from him, is considered a villain by Roger (How could he dare attempt to rig the car to crash! The great Roger Collins nearly done in by a missing bleeder valve!), the very one who sent him to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

 This episode has Burke and Maggie talking about her father (he never seems to indicate he knows Sam was a key figure in his trip to the slammer), and she is nervous about his intentions. That is the point that Dark Shadows Creative seems to make over and over: everyone is concerned of Burke’s motives. Is he sincere that he has no desire to cause harm to anyone? How could he not want to seek revenge? Does his smile hide sinister intent? Is he chumming up to everyone just to bury the knife in extra deep? No one seems to trust him; even Maggie, with whom he seems to have a certain fondness for, has slight reservations about him (this is basically because her father has gotten worse, his drinking, since Burke returned to Collins Port).

 There is a great scene—or, at least I dig it—where Burke commissions Sam to paint a portrait of him, one just like the old Collins paintings hung in the drawing room over the mantle. Sam isn’t keen on accepting but Maggie (as I just mentioned earlier) talks him into it. You can see how Mitchell Ryan conveys Burke's motivation...destroy the Collins not with violence but cunning and craftiness. Hit them by using his fear, guilt, paranoia; look what his mere presence in town has stirred up. This ultimately proves that Burke, who told Carolyn he’d be leaving in a couple of days, will not be out of Collins Port anytime soon.

Carolyn actually gets a bit coarse with Roger (their relationship, if I’m honest, gives me the creeps, the way he eyes her, always calling her kitten, a definite incestuous vibe I get when they are near and chatting all warmly) over his desire to put Burke away regardless if he has definite proof or not regarding the tampering of the bleeder valve. That deviousness is present here, the way he dismisses the part of “whether or not proof is there” just so he will fall back under her good graces, although he is more than willing to use whatever tactic is necessary to get rid of a thorn in his ass. Burke is a constant reminder of Roger’s perjury, so the only way to rid himself of this is to see that the thorn embedded in his ass is removed altogether. I have a feeling that Roger’s in for a rude awakening. He’s about to poke a sleeping giant…