Air date: May 22, 1964
Floyd Burney (Gary Crosby), the "Rock-A-Billy Kid", arrives at a small town in search of a new song. He is directed to a dilapidated shop in the woods run by a reclusive old man (Hank Patterson). After his offer of money in exchange for an original song is rebuffed, Floyd hears a voice singing and wanders off through the woods, not seeing a nearby tombstone inscribed with his name.
Next to a lake, he encounters a pretty but mysterious woman named Mary Rachel (Bonnie Beecher), who reluctantly plays a song for him about two lovers who meet in the woods and are torn apart by tragedy. Floyd offers to purchase the song rights from her, but she claims it isn't for sale. As he tries to seduce her, a jealous young man named Billy Rayford (John Bolt) shows up with a rifle and confronts Floyd. Billy intends to take Floyd back to his brothers so that they can deal with him, but Floyd resists and kills Rayford.
Mary Rachel's song reflects the event and foreshadows a future attack. As Floyd runs off, he looks back and sees that Mary Rachel's clothes have changed; she is now dressed in black, with a black shawl, mourning.
Soon, Billy Rayford's brothers arrive to chase after Floyd. As he prepares to flee, Mary Rachel begs him to stay, hoping things will be different "this time". She implies that these same events have occurred before. Ignoring her, he runs away and finds himself back at the shop in the woods. The old man declines to help him hide and, in his anger, Floyd kills the old man, then hides among the old musical instruments in the shop.
Billy Rayford's three brothers arrive at the shop, see the old man's body and when Floyd bumps a music box, the brothers close in on him and shoot him. The camera returns to the image of the tombstone in the first scene, thus fulfilling the prophecy within the song that Floyd would die.
Come Trope with Me:
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Mary Rachel tells Floyd she'll always love him while dressed in black.
- Cassandra Truth: Mary Rachel can't get Floyd to believe that the situation keeps repeating. Even though she expresses what's going on more vaguely than she could have, she has evidence to back up her claim that something weird is going on, but Floyd thinks it's some kind of con she and the Rayfords are running on him.
- Dirty Coward: Possibly Floyd Burney's biggest flaw, aside from being a self-centered sleazeball in general. When Billy Rayford's brothers come calling, Mary Rachel suggests that he can break the "Groundhog Day" Loop by staying loyal to her and standing his ground. Instead, Floyd chooses to try to save himself at all costs, which seals his fate.
- Downer Ending: Floyd Burney dies, as he always does, leaving Mary Rachel heartbroken once again. She implies that Floyd can change his fate if he ever becomes brave enough to at least hold his ground after killing Billy Rayford (and therefore prove his love for her), but he hasn't so far.
- Foregone Conclusion: As he leaves the shop, Floyd passes his own grave. He later accidentally kills Billy Rayford, whose three brothers kill him out of revenge. The loop then starts over again.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Implied. Mary Rachel tells Floyd that certain things always occur and suggests they try to change the outcome by doing something different. Unfortunately, she may have a memory of past loops, but Floyd doesn't.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Floyd really isn't that great of a guy. First he goes around claiming other people's songs are "public domain" and thus not actually theirs- and then turns around and offers them a pittance to "buy" the song from them so he can get famous off of them. Then, of course, he seduces Mary Rachel for her song and it's obvious he's just playing along with her feelings and would have likely ditched her as soon as he could. He kills two men, one could be argued as self defense but he had no reason to strike down the old man. He also abandons Mary Rachel to save himself, despite her pleas and warnings (and his own promise). Mary Rachel sure can pick them...
- Minimalist Cast: This episode features only four actors: Gary Crosby, Bonnie Beecher, Hank Patterson and John Bolt.
- Murder Ballad: "Come Wander with Me" includes verses about Floyd killing Billy Rayford and the fallout from it.
- Prematurely Marked Grave: Floyd wanders past his own gravestone without noticing it. Probably the reason why it's there, despite Floyd still being alive, is that the events of the episode keep happening over and over.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Mary Rachel is seemingly the only one who realizes that events are repeating themselves.
- Runaway Fiancée: Mary Rachel is supposed to marry Billy Rayford, but she doesn't seem very enthusiastic about it. She readily agrees to run off with Floyd when he promises her faithful love.
- Title Drop: The title of the episode is also part of the song that plays a big part in it.
- Trouble Entendre: When Billy says his brothers will "deal" with Floyd, it's pretty clear he means something violent.
- Two First Names: Mary Rachel is a rare female example, with both her first and last names being popular names for women.
