History Recap / TheTwilightZoneS3E88TheLastRitesOfJeffMyrtlebank

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_last_rites_of_jeff_myrtlebank_4067.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:How did he light that match? Maybe it's [[{{Pun}} best]] not to ask...]]

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Time, the mid-twenties. Place, the Midwest - the southernmost section of the midwest. We were just witnessing a funeral, a funeral that didn't come off exactly as planned, due to a slight fallout - from the Twilight Zone.

In the mid-1920s, Jeff Myrtlebank (James Best) rises from his coffin during his own funeral, causing the townspeople to flee the church in terror. Jeff follows them, angrily demanding to know why he was put in a coffin and who was responsible. Only Jeff's little sister Liz and his girlfriend Comfort Gatewood (Sherry Jackson) are brave enough to approach him, and they confirm that Jeff is not the living dead. Everyone testifies that Jeff had a terrible fever and the town doctor had declared him dead. To save face, the doctor makes up a disease that causes suspended animation and proposes that Jeff caught it, to which everyone accepts.

A few days later, Jeff's family have grown concerned. Before his "death", Jeff was a slacker, but now he's been working furiously on mending the fence and other chores. Jeff soon visits Comfort at her house to give her some freshly picked flowers, but they suddenly blacken and wilt at his touch. Frightened, Comfort won't let him touch her. This gets Jeff angry, as everyone's been avoiding him since his revival, and it would seem that she's no different. As Jeff tries to leave, Comfort's brother Orgram, who always hated him, orders him to never come back. Jeff refuses to give in to his demands, but Orgram boasts about how he always beat him up when they were younger. To their suprise, Jeff takes him out with a few punches before leaving.

The town holds a meeting to discuss Jeff's situation. An angry Orgram reminds everyone that Jeff had previously been a wimp compared to him. The doctor insists that he was ''sure'' Jeff was dead, having poked his corpse with a pin and held a mirror to his lips to check for breath. After some debate, the people conclude that Jeff's body must have been possessed by a demon. Jeff is taking a walk when Comfort runs up to him, warning that the townspeople have formed an angry mob. Jeff thanks her and proposes marriage, but before she can answer, the mob arives, demanding that Jeff leave town. Jeff says that his decision depends on Comfort's answer. Comfort accepts the proposal, so Jeff tells the mob he will stay. If he ''is'' Jeff Myrtlebank, they have nothing to worry about. But if he ''is'' a demon like they say, they'd better leave him and Comfort alone, under the threat of hellish plagues:

->'''Jeff''': I might raise my right hand and send a swarm of locusts on your crops! I might raise my left hand and dry up all your wells! And I might snap my fingers... and burn a barn or two!

Terrified, the mob leaves Jeff and Comfort be. When they are alone, Comfort asks Jeff if he can actually do those things. Jeff replies that he was bluffing and lights his pipe, starts to smoke... without striking his match. A shocked Comfort asks how he did that, to which Jeff says she's just seeing things. Jeff, or perhaps the demon possessing his body, takes his fiancee's hand and and leads her home, the gate closing by itself behind them.

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!!The Last Tropes of Jeff Myrtlebank
* AffablyEvil: Assuming that the title character isn't the ''real'' Jeff, the demon who possessed Jeff's dead body counts. He's hard-working, affectionate towards Comfort, and rather than use his hellish powers to enslave them, he arranges a peaceful co-existence with the townsfolk (they don't bother him ''or'' Comfort, and he won't bother them).
* AmbiguousSituation: Did Jeff actually return from the dead bearing supernatural powers? Or is he actually possessed by a demon who wants to turn him into a better person? It works either way.
* BackFromTheDead: Jeff appears to rise from the dead during his funeral, but whether it was actually ''him'' that came back is the mystery...
* BatDeduction: The people of Jeff's town conclude that he was possessed by a demon pretty fast. For all we know, they could've been right.
* BullyingADragon: Jeff points out that if the townsfolk are right and he truly ''is'' some sort of monster, they had better be nice to him, because he's powerful enough to ruin their crops, slaughter their livestock, and burn down their buildings.
* CameBackWrong: Whether it's really Jeff, or a demon wearing his skin, ''something'' clearly changed about him after he came back from the dead.
** In contrast to the usual use of the trope, Jeff seems to be a better "person" after he comes back. He works harder, eats less, fights better, and is more confident. It's this change in personality that convinces everyone in town something isn't right.
* CurbStompBattle: When Orgram warns him to stay away from Comfort, Jeff manages to whup him with little effort. Before Jeff's death and resurrection, Orgram had been pounding him ever since they were children.
* DemonicPossession: It's strongly hinted that this happened to Jeff. If it's the truth, he's a surprisingly well-mannered demon, all things considered.
* DumbMuscle: Comfort's brother Orgram has muscles, but very little else. The official episode guide describes him as "[having] a force-field of stupidity around him".
* TheLastTitle: Jeff's last rites make up the title of the episode.
* MakeThemRot: The fresh roses that Jeff picks for Comfort die within minutes in his grip. This causes her to worry that the townsfolk's fears that Jeff CameBackWrong are justified.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Is there something truly supernatural about Jeff? The episode doesn't give a definitive answer until the end, where it's definitely the case.
* PlayingWithFire: In the final scene, Jeff lights a match without striking it. He tells Comfort that it was just her imagination when she asks how he did it.
* PossessingADeadBody: The townsfolk certainly believe that Jeff is being possessed by an evil spirit. Whether it's true is never clarified, though ''something'' clearly happened to him.
* TorchesAndPitchforks: The townsfolk form a mob to get Jeff out of town. They aren't able to do much once Jeff reminds them, if he's ''really'' a demon like they think he is, he can do a whole lot worse to them than they can to him.
* {{Tuckerization}}: One of the mailboxes has the name "M. Pittman" on it, a reference to the episode's writer and director, Montgomery Pittman.
* WhereAreTheyNow: In the closing narration, Rod Serling notes that Jeff and Comfort are still alive today, and their only son, a United States senator, is regarded as "an uncommonly shrewd politician."
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->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Jeff and Comfort are still alive today, and their only son is a United States senator who's noted as an uncommonly shrewd politician - and some believe he must have gotten his education in The Twilight Zone.

->'''Jeff''': I might raise my right hand and send a swarm of locusts on your crops! I might raise my left hand and send the buzzards to steal your chickens! And I might snap my fingers... and burn a barn or two!

Jeff Myrtlebank (James Best) sits up at his own funeral, causing the townspeople to flee the church in terror. Jeff follows them, angrily demanding to know why he was put in a coffin. Only his little sister Liz and his girlfriend Comfort Gatewood (Sherry Jackson) are brave enough to approach him, and they confirm that Jeff is not a zombie. Everyone testifies that Jeff had a terrible fever and the doctor declared him dead. The doctor, to save face, makes up a disease that causes suspended animation and proposes that Jeff caught it. Everyone accepts this and goes home.

After a few days, Jeff's family get concerned. Before his "death", Jeff was a slacker, but now he works furiously on mending the fence and other chores. In addition, his eating habits are different.

Jeff visits Comfort at her house. He tries to give her some freshly picked flowers, but they suddenly blacken and wilt. Frightened, she won't let him touch her. Jeff gets angry; everyone's been avoiding him since his revival, and it seems she's no different.

As Jeff tries to leave, Comfort's brother Orgram, who always hated him, orders him to never come back. Jeff refuses to give in to his demands. Orgram boasts about how he always beat him up when they were younger, but Jeff takes him out with a few punches before leaving.

The town holds a meeting and discusses Jeff. An angry Orgram reminds everyone that Jeff had previously been a wimp compared to him. The doctor insists that he was sure that Jeff was dead, he poked his corpse with a pin and held a mirror to his lips to check for breath. After some debate, the people conclude that Jeff's body must have been possessed by a demon.

Jeff is taking a walk when Comfort runs up, warning him that the townspeople have formed an angry mob. Jeff thanks her and proposes. Before she can answer, the mob arives, demanding that Jeff leave town or else. Jeff says his decision depends on Comfort's answer. Comfort says yes, she will marry him and so Jeff tells the mob he will stay. If he ''is'' Jeff Myrtlebank, they have nothing to worry about. But if he ''is'' a demon like they say, they'd better leave him and Comfort alone... or else.

Terrified, the mob leaves. When they are alone, Comfort asks Jeff if he can really do those things. Jeff replies that he was bluffing. He starts to smoke... lighting his pipe without striking his match! Shocked, Comfort asks how he did that. Jeff says she's just seeing things, takes her hand, and leads her home. The gate closes by itself.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': Jeff and Comfort are still alive today, and their only son is a United States senator who's noted as an uncommonly shrewd politician - and some believe he must have gotten his education in The Twilight Zone.

* AffablyEvil: Assuming this is ''not'' the real Jeff, the demon who stole his way into Jeff's body counts for this trope. He's hard-working, affectionate towards his girlfriend Comfort, and rather than use his powers to enslave them, arranges a peaceful co-existence with the mob (they don't bother him ''or'' his girlfriend, and he won't bother them).
* BackFromTheDead: Though whether it was ''Jeff'' that came back is the mystery...
* BatDeduction: They go to 'possessed by a demon' pretty dang fast.
* BullyingADragon: Jeff points out that if the townsfolk are right and he's some sort of monster, they had better be nice to him because he's powerful enough to make their lives miserable.
* CameBackWrong: Whether it's really Jeff or a demon wearing his skin, ''something'' clearly changed about him after he came back.
** In contrast to the usual use of this trope, Jeff seems to be a little better after he comes back. He works harder, eats less, fights better, is more confident- and this is what convinces everyone in the town something isn't right.
* CurbStompBattle: When Orgram warns him to stay away from Comfort, Jeff manages to beat him up with little effort. Before Jeff's death and resurrection, Orgram had been whupping him ever since they were children.
* DemonicPossession: Hinted at. If it is, though, it's a surprisingly well-mannered demon all things considered.
* DumbMuscle: Orgram has muscles and little else. The official episode guide describes him as "[having] a force-field of stupidity around him".
* TheLastTitle: The title of the episode.
* MakeThemRot: The fresh roses that Jeff picks for Comfort die within minutes of his touching them. This causes her to worry that the townsfolk's fears that Jeff CameBackWrong may be justified.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Is there something supernatural about Jeff? The episode doesn't give a definitive answer till the end.
* PlayingWithFire: In the final scene, Jeff demonstrates this ability when he lights a match without striking it. He tells Comfort that it was just her imagination.
* PossessingADeadBody: The townsfolk certainly believe that Jeff is being possessed by an evil spirit. Whether it's true is never clarified, though ''something'' happened to him.
* TorchesAndPitchforks: They don't do much once Jeff reminds them, if he's really a demon like they think, he can do a whole lot worse to them than they can to him with a few torches and pitchforks.
* {{Tuckerization}}: One of the mailboxes has the name M. Pittman on it, a reference to this episode's writer and director Montgomery Pittman.
* WhereAreTheyNow: In the closing narration, Rod Serling notes that Jeff and Comfort are still alive and their only son, a United States senator, is regarded as "an uncommonly shrewd politician."
----

* DemonicPossession: Hinted at. If it is though, it's a surprisingly well-mannered demon all things considered.

Jeff is taking a walk when Comfort runs up, warning him that the townspeople have formed an angry mob. Jeff thanks her and proposes. Before she can answer, the mob arives, demanding that Jeff leave town or else. Jeff says his decision depends on Comfort's answer. Comfort says yes, she will marry him. Jeff tells the mob he will stay. If he ''is'' Jeff Myrtlebank, they have nothing to worry about. But if he ''is'' a demon like they say, they'd better leave him and Comfort alone... or else.

* PossessingADeadBody: The townsfolk certainly believe that Jeff is being possessed by an evil spirit. Whether it’s true is never clarified, though something certainly went wrong with him.