So it turns up that for the first time Barnabas is the prey.
The original Parallel Time story lost momentum early. Because Frid and Hall, and most of the cast were making the movie, we ended up with a placeholder plot. Remember Damien Edwards? Hannah Stokes? They were there keeping the 4 o'clock slot opne until the return of the full cast, and not all of us had the patience of it Also, the fact that Edwards and Hannah just disappeared made those who had become invested in them have a letdown.
On the other hand the Parallel Time story brought two welcome changes. One the pairing of Karlen and Barrett. They turned to be one great couple, and we got to see them do it again.
Then it was the time when Barnabas learned to fly under the radar. His attack on Buffy was the moment when he learned it. He leaves her alive, with minimal trauma, and makes sure that when she falls down she falls on the bed. After that there are no more mentions of vampire attacks - not in Parallel Time, nor in regular time when they are back home. This is good because a vampire hunt sucks the air out of any other storylines. I just decided that Barnabas learned to fly under the radar much earlier.
The other incursion of Parallel Time had a more intriguing premise, the Lottery, by which the family brought peace for themselves for a while through the sacrifice of one of their members
It is basically the story of the teind - the tithe paid by Faery to Hell. Every seven years one of the Fae was given to Hell as payment - and that was the price that Faery paid to be the magical place it was. So every seven years a Collins must die so that the rest of the family can thrive...
And the changing room is a way to lure Collinses from a different reality to be offered.
