Kingdom of the Dead, Parts 3 & 4

Finishing up the second season of Dark Shadows full-cast audio dramas, Part three of Kingdom of the Dead sees Lysette Anthony's villainous Dr. Rankin return and set her sights on the inhabitants of Collinsport. Having been drawn together, Barnabas, Angélique, Quentin, Maggie, Willie, and David are all assaulted by their worst fears. It's a harrowing an effective sequence, especially when an old telephone appears in David's hands and his trauma at the hands of Quentin's ghost returns.

Cleverly, Rankin is ultimately defeated by unleashing a creature upon her that cannot feel fear: the werewolf. Although I've often found that using Angélique to cast a spell and defeat a villain has been used too often in the audio plays, here her powers are put to clever effect. Having Angélique bypass the power of Quentin's portrait and transform him into the werewolf again is something I could easily see happening in the TV series.

Once the enemy is finally defeated, events hurtle to a climax in Part four. Quentin, having fallen in love with Susan Griffin, co-owner of the Blue Whale with her husband Ed, discovers she has become a victim of Barnabas'. Meanwhile, Angélique has enlisted Ed to be her servant.

Interestingly, as Maggie learned the truth about Barnabas earlier in the storyline, so David is also afforded the chance to discover that Angélique is, in fact, his former stepmother Cassandra. David makes a ruthless deal with her in order to rid Collinsport of the creature from the point between life and death that Barnabas and Quentin first encountered in Part one. Reverend Trask does the job for them, however, by murdering Susan and the being is banished.

With things back to normal--or as normal as they can possibly be at Collinwood--a distraught Quentin decides to leave town again just as Carolyn Stoddard returns. Barnabas, meanwhile, after a blistering confrontation with Maggie, also departs... Albeit not for good. His mission is to find Dr. Julia Hoffman with the hope that she might cure him of his vampirism again.

Kingdom of the Dead finishes on one hell of a cliffhanger as David and Carolyn are reunited, with the former carrying a familiar disembodied hand. Both Carolyn and David have been possessed by Count Petofi!

Over the second season has been a can't miss success. It's one hell of a ride, with the actors giving it their all and bringing these beloved characters back to life so brilliantly. I'm excited about the prospect of the malevolent Count Petofi returning, which was an idea bandied about for the final TV storyline. I do wonder if season three will see recasts for Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Roger Collins, and Dr. Julia Hoffman, all hinted at to be coming back.

Also, it's worth mentioning that Kingdom of the Dead sees the first blatant continuity nod with the first Dark Shadows audio drama, Return to Collinwood, with Willie Loomis meeting his wife from that play, Jessica, portrayed by Marie Wallace.