Part Two of two continues with the tyrannical reign of Hepzibah in the Stephens' house and manages to be even better than Part One.
Still on a roll, Sargent and Connell are excellent stand-outs in this episode and play off of each other very well. Whether slicing through the air with that dangerous looking scepter (a great magical tool!) or wickedly enjoying knocking off another "demerit" (an inventive device!), Ms. Connell is so at home on this set and seems to be almost as good as Liz and Aggie when it comes to "freezing" and magical hand gestures. Sargent continues delivering the episode's funniest lines including the moment when Hepzibah gives him yet another demerit and asks him, "What do you say to that?" only to have him deadpan, "How about the eight ball in the side pocket?!" The only thing missing from Sargent's performance is when he's given Darrin's old "I love you for what you are" speech -- he still doesn't quite convey the deep-hearted sincerity or true love for Sam that Dick York was able to show so beautifully in moments that were similar to this in the past. Oh, well...
Speaking of the past, we DO have Samantha wearing the same Grecian pink thing she wore in "Charlie Harper, Winner" (stunning!) and reference is made to Samantha's old job as Queen of the Witches!
FAVE QUOTE: Tabitha: "(Hepzibah) picked Adam up from his crib to play with him and he made a no-no on her so he's not allowed to come down at all."
Darrin: "Darn -- I wish I'D thought of that!"
GUEST STARS: Cesar Romero (Mr. Hitchcock) was a major movie star in the 1930's-40's and went on to play The Joker in TV's "Batman."
CUT!: In the new syndication prints, an extremely important moment is cut at the end after The Happy Heppie announces cancelling the dissolvement of the marriage. The dialogue goes like this:
Sam: "Thank you, your majesty. And Darrin can come to Salem?"
Hepzibah: "Out of the question! No mortal!"
Sam: "You mean Earnest is one of US?!"
Hepzibah: "...and Darrin Stephens may come to Salem. Touche, my dear!"
Without it, the HUGE question of "can Darrin go to Salem?", that these two episodes hinge on is never answered! Jeez!!!
© Review Copyright 1997 by SCOTT VIETS