A horror anthology where the protagonists all star in a series of non-canonical stories based on wishes they made.
Tropes
- All Just a Dream: The episode ends showing Murdoch, Brackenreid and Violet standing around the station house, deciding not to go to the fair after all once Julia is unable to attend.
- Ambiguous Situation: We don't really get told what the horrific ingredient of Maggie's Pies actually is. The segment establishes that Toronto has a problem with both prison overcrowding and rats, and Brakenreid's wish to clear the city of "vermin" might be interpreted either way. Although the fact the butcher's name is Todd McSweeney is a bit of a hint...
- It is also left ambiguous whether or not Susannah is being influenced by Sissy to help her kill Murdoch, or if she is genuinely unaware of what she is doing.
- And Then John Was a Zombie: Violet is transformed into a zombie in the final moments of her segment.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Each of their wishes:
- Julia: "I wish I could leave all responsibilities behind." She ends up in an asylum, all her responsibilities stripped from her.
- Violet: "I wish that I could blend in just like everyone else." She becomes just another member of the Zombie Apocalypse.
- Brackenreid: "I wish this city could be free of vermin." His wife starts putting them into pies.
- Murdoch: "I wish that I never put Susannah into danger again." Susannah gets an evil doll that doesn't mean her any harm ... but wants to kill him.
- The Bus Came Back: James Gillies returns, albeit non-canonically, for the first time since his execution in season 10.
- Call-Back: Violet's story begins with her and Isaiah walking out of Thomas Edison's production of Frankenstein, with Violet commenting on how the events of the play are scientifically implausible. This mirrors the opening of "24 Hours Til Doomsday" with Murdoch and Julia walking out of A Trip to the Moon, and likewise, Murdoch and Violet's respective complaints set up the events of the episode.
- Creepy Doll: Sissy, in Murdoch's story.
- Driven to Suicide: Watts begs Violet to kill him rather than let him transform into one of the zombies. Unfortunately, it doesn't pan out.
- The Ghost: We never see the man who gave Sissy to Susannah.
- Halloween Episode: Although Halloween itself isn't specifically referenced in the episode, Julia comments that it's the 31st and it aired in Canada the day before Halloween.
- Here We Go Again!: The episode ends with Henry deciding to go to the fair, excitedly looking forward to meeting the automaton that can grant wishes.
- The Horde: Isaiah is confronted with a horde of zombies at the end of Violet's segment, led by Violet herself.
- Horror Host: The automation presents each segment, taking ghoulish relish in what's about to happen.
- I Ate WHAT?!: Brakenreid's reaction when he tracks down the ingredients of Margaret's pies.
- In-Scene Title Text: One for each of the character's wishes, in the style of old movie credits.
- Jackass Genie: The main driver of the episode: an automaton that grants your one wish, and does so in the most horrific manner possible.
- Out-of-Genre Experience: While most of the show's Halloween episodes have still basically been whodunnits, this returns to the concept of "Sir. Sir? Sir!!", a non-canon episode that's just a horror movie.
- The Secret of Long Pork Pies: Brackenried's segment shows him discovering that his wife's delicious meat pies have a horrifying #.
- Shoot the Dog: Violet is forced to kill Watts to stop his transformation into a zombie.
- Shout-Out: The episode references many different horror properties.
- The different episode segments presented by a mysterious Horror Host are a homage to various horror anthology properties, most notably Tales from the Crypt and The Twilight Zone.
- The title of Julia's segment, "The Brain That Won't Die" is a reference to The Brain That Wouldn't Die.
- Violet and Isaiah are seen walking out of Frankenstein.
- Violet ends her segment revealing herself to have been transformed into a zombie and screaming at Isaiah, much like Matthew Bennell in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
- The name of the butcher Margaret gets her (likely human) meat from is Todd McSweeney.
- Susannah's doll Sissy is clearly based on Tina from The Twilight Zone's "Living Doll". Her speedy movement and use of a knife as a murder weapon also bring Chucky to mind.
- Through the Eyes of Madness: For most of Julia's story, we see what she sees, rather than what's happening.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Possibly. While Murdoch is begging Susannah to help him, she shows no reaction to his pleas and instead allows Sissy to take the knife back; though it is left ambiguous whether or not she was aware of what she was doing.
- Variations on a Theme Song: The opening theme song gets some spooky sound effects.
- Vignette Episode: In the Style of an Amicus Productions Anthology Film.
- Whole-Plot Reference: Brackenreid's segment about him investigating the mysterious meat inside Margaret's pies and discovering that the secret ingredient is (possibly) people is one to Soylent Green.
- Zombie Apocalypse: In Violet's story. We don't learn how it started; possibly the automaton just arbitrarily made it happen.
- Zombie Infectee: Detective Watts is bitten while defending Violet from one of the zombies, and slowly starts to succumb to the effects of the bite. The same ultimately happens to Violet.
