He could have been Pope, Ted! But the fecking Jesuits, they have it all tied up!
After one bottle of household cleaner too many, Father Jack has finally passed on. Much to the surprise of the remaining Craggy Island priests Jack had squirrelled away a small fortune and left it to them both. But first they must hold an all-night vigil with him the night before his funeral. Cue Ted and Dougal playing games, discussing the afterlife and reciting poetry before a loud voice sends them both into a swoon...
Tropes
- And I'm the Queen of Sheba: Dougal annnounces that if the female solicitor actually is a solicitor then he's Boy George. Cut to him singing Karma Chameleon.
- Author Appeal: Dougal mentioning the names of Italian footballers Alessandro and Roberto Baggio when performing the last rites stems from Graham Linehan and Ardal O'Hanlon being fans of Football Italia.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: The episode ends with Jack telling the viewer to "feck off!"
- Call-Back: In "And God Created Women" Ted puts The Commitments on the shelf. The film of the book was referenced here.
- Canis Latinicus: Dougal giving the Last Rites to Jack:Dougal: Totus tuus minimus canus, Costacurta, Baggio, Roberto...
- Cannot Talk to Women: Dougal again.
- Captain Obvious: Dougal and Sister Monica, who has been staying at the parochial house, share a few moments of awkward silence before Dougal decides to break the tension:Dougal: So then, you're a nun?
- Characterization Marches On: This was the first episode written and Graham Linehan has noted that it has some rather weird out-of-character moments, like Ted reciting poetry, Dougal swearing and Ted and Dougal seemingly plotting to kill Jack at the end.
- Curse Cut Short:Ted: The language! You wouldn't hear it from a docker.Dougal: Oh you would, Ted. They use terrible language.Ted: Effing this and effing that.Dougal: It was worse. She was saying f-Ted: Dougal!
- Delayed Reaction: Dougal passes out a few seconds after realising Jack is alive.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Ted and Jack are shown in a flashback playing chess. After Ted makes a good move, Jack sweeps the pieces off the board and punches Ted in the face.
- Fainting: Happens to Ted twice and Dougal once.
- Gilligan Cut: As noted above, when the female solicitor arrives to discuss Jack's will.Dougal: If you're a solicitor, then I'm Boy George!
[cut to Dougal sitting in the crypt]
Dougal: [singing] Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon... - Isn't It Ironic?: Dougal sings Karma Chameleon in the crypt. Boy George wrote that song about his struggles with being gay in 1980's Britain, and the Catholic Church has historically been anti-homosexuality.
- Lampshade Hanging: Ted wonders how Dougal even became a priest.Ted: Dougal, how did you get into the Church? Was it "collect twelve crisp packets and become a priest"?
- Literal-Minded: Dougal:Solicitor: When is the funeral again?Dougal: Again? We haven't had the first one yet.
- Mistaken for Foreigner: Sister Monica is praising the efforts of the Church in Africa to a black priest who is actually from Donegal.
- Mood Whiplash: Ted interrupting their vigil with a game of charades, and later Jack coming back to life during Ted's sombre poem.
- Noodle Incident: Father Jack running off with Sister Imelda, "the blue nun".
- Not Quite Dead: Jack manages to shake off the symptoms of death including having no heartbeat and decomposition.
- On One Condition: The priests will inherit Jack's wealth only if they spend the night before his funeral with his body.
- Properly Paranoid: Father Jack was worried that he might get buried alive, and so had his will include a condition whereby Ted and Dougal had to spend the night watching over his body. Downplayed in that Jack recovered long before the funeral and so was never in serious danger of being buried alive, but his fears evidently weren't as ridiculous as they might have seemed at first glance.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here:Mrs Doyle: Father Crilly, there's a woman here to see you.Ted: A woman, Mrs Doyle? I think you mean a nun.Mrs Doyle: Oh no, it's a woman alright. With a skirt.Dougal: I'll be off then.
- Sore Loser: Jack can’t stand the thought of losing chess, according to a flashback.
- Sinister Minister: We see in flashbacks that Jack was very much this, terrifying young children with fire and brimstone sermons whenever he wasn't thrashing them.
- The Talk: Ted wearily starts giving this to Dougal. Not for the first time, it seems.
- The Unintelligible: Father Fay makes his first appearance. He speaks in ape-like nonsense but everyone understands him.
- Whole-Plot Reference: In retrospect, Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews noticed that the plot was very similar to that of the Fawlty Towers episode "The Kipper and the Corpse". Despite being fans of the show, they only noticed the parallels afterwards, and would likely have abandoned the episode if they had seen them earlier.
- You Bastard!: Jack yelling at the viewers at the end.
SHUT THE FECK UP!
