A night of intrigue on the great estate of Collinwood, for Gerard now knows that Samantha has written the notes to Daphne and Quentin that seemed to be coming from the ghost of Joanna Mills. He sets in operation a plan to convince the judges that Quentin, on trial for witchcraft, is trafficking with the dead. And so Gerard sends Samantha, dressed in Joanna's cape to the oak tree, and takes Trask there to see what he will think is the ghost of Joanna Mills bringing a message for Quentin. Now, Gerard congratulates Samantha on a job well done.
Samantha, confused, admits to Gerard that she did not leave the letter in the oak tree and wonders if Joanna has come back from the dead.
Act I
Samantha begins to panic and senses Joanna's presence in the house, convincing herself that she has come to kill her. Gerard wonders why Samantha is so afraid of her, but before she can answer, there is a knock on the door: it's Charles, who has a court order to search Quentin's laboratory. Samantha leaves with Charles, and then Leticia arrives. She begins asking many questions about Barnabas' whereabouts, which only infuriates Gerard. He truthfully says he doesn't know where he is, but non-verbally implies he knows something happened to him.
Later, Charles returns from the lab with a stack of books and papers (it is implied that Gerard planted the evidence). Gerard tells him that Leticia is becoming an issue and will need to be "dealt with."
Act II
The next morning at Rose Cottage, Leticia learns that she has been called to testify at Quentin's trial. Desmond wonders what the defense might ask her about, and concludes it might revolve around the Head of Judah Zachery or her second sight.
At Collinwood, Gerard prepares for his day in court. Samantha is still frightened about the prospect of Joanna being nearby and asks Gerard to leave Collinsport with her. Gerard promises they will leave town once the trial is over.
At the courthouse, Desmond informs Quentin that Lamar caught Daphne placing his letter in the oak tree. Quentin wonders if the defense will bring Daphne into the trial, but Desmond says she has yet to be asked to appear in court. The judges call the court to order as a nervous Quentin looks on.
Act III
Leticia is called to the witness stand and Charles begins asking about Leticia's involvement with the occult. She initially denies knowing anything, before Charles unveils the Journal of Judah Zachery. Desmond immediately objects, but is overruled. Leticia admits she has heard the name and knows Judah was a warlock who was on trial. Charles reads an entry from the diary from one month earlier that says "Leticia is the one to help me, I must will her to me." Leticia begins to panic as Charles asks if she has seen the Head of Judah, and confesses she once had possession of the Head and it took possession of her. Upon further questioning, she says Desmond brought the Head to Collinsport as a gift to Quentin. Leticia is dismissed and Desmond is called to the stand as Charles smiles.
Act IV
Desmond admits he brought the Head to Collinsport as a curiosity gift to Quentin, and also says he was possessed by Judah. Charles asks the judges to have Desmond disqualified as Quentin's lawyer and charged with witchcraft. After a brief discussion, the judges honor Charles' request and place Desmond under arrest.
This episode was recorded out of broadcast sequence. The previous episode to be recorded was 1176.
An expected pre-emption for Christmas Day programming occurred here, which was shown instead of Dark Shadows. This episode is "double numbered" with the next one 1175 (1174/1175), in order to keep the production numbers balanced with the calendar, i.e. Friday episodes ending in a 5 or 0.
Tom Markus replaces Carl Nicholas as the 3rd Judge, who was last seen in 1166, i.e. the one who sits on the judges' bench to the right of Judge Vail.
Leticia has been a resident of Collinsport for about 8 months. She first met Quentin when he returned from sea.
In the The Journal of Judah Zachery, the first entry is dated July 18th, 1688, four years before Judah was beheaded, and the last entry is dated November 15th, 1840. An entry dated October 5th, 1840, said to be one month ago from the present date, reads:
"Leticia is the logical one to help me, I must will her to me."
Judah's body was destroyed in an old cemetery somewhere between Collinsport and Rockport, (as seen in 1138).
TIMELINE: Day 434 begins, and will end in 1178. Barnabas has been missing for two days. 1:20am: Charles returns from Quentin's laboratory. It's morning.
Bloopers and continuity errors
The 3rd Judge is now played by another actor, assuming they aren't playing the same character, as they share no physical resemblance, it would be highly irregular for a trier of fact to have not been present for part of the testimony.
Judah's last name is spelled "ZACHERY" on the journal.
