(Context: I started this series from episode 200, with plans to go back and watch the first 200 episodes as a prequel.) I love this show so much, and this is by far my favorite episode yet! The nightmarish atmosphere of the series is flat out amazing. The bleak darkness and misty atmosphere give one the feeling that they're walking around in someone's head, while they lay dreaming about the goings-on. I've never watched anything like it. Since it's technically a soap opera, each episode gives the characters/story time and room to breathe and grow. It's "slow" points don't detract from the quality. If anything it adds to the charm. For the length of time the viewer is in Collinsport, you feel as if you are living with residents. An immersive experience that I'm glad to have finally found. This suspenseful episode gives us the run of the cemetery of Eagle's Hill, while our vampiric victim is about to fall pray to these "dark shadows". I had a blast watching it, and I cannot wait to see where else the story leads.
[Sidenote: being a cinephile and horror fan, I don't mean this as overtly negative; but I believe a big part of my excitement for the show also stems from the fact that it contains something greatly missing in modern media. An immersion that doesn't feel tacked-on or synthetic. Rather organic unbelievable. By 'Dark Shadows' very nature, it's something special.]