The Card
"The Devil, they say, having so far failed to destroy the human race with nuclear weapons, toxic waste, or elevator music, has finally devised his most cunning weapon: long term credit, with fine print — written in the Twilight Zone."
Linda Wolfe (Susan Blakely) is a mother of three and a compulsive shopper who has had every credit card she's ever gotten revoked. To this end, she goes to the offices of "The Card", a special credit company that people with no other resort turn to, signing the company's contract without reading the fine print. She soon becomes late on several payments after needing to make emergency purchases, prompting her pets and even her children to become "repossessed" by the company as collateral for her debt, erasing peoples' memories of them from existence. Growing frantic and terrified, Linda tries to find any means necessary to pay off her debts and get her family back.
Tropes
- Affably Evil: Catherine Foley, manager of The Card's offices, cheerily discusses her business' practices, which involve taking away the loved ones of those who fail to pay their debts. She becomes more sinister as the episode progresses, bordering on stoic-but-cartoonishly villainous when the heartbroken Linda confronts her for taking her children.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The opening narration is spent calling the credit economy the latest tool of the Devil, who has failed to eradicate humankind thus far with nuclear weapons, toxic waste, and elevator music.
- Awful Wedded Life: It's implied with Linda and Brian, who have had arguments in the past about Linda's spending addiction. They keep arguing when Linda is the only one to remember the pets and kids.
- The Bad Guy Wins: If they intentionally take peoples' loved ones away to be evil, then Catherine and the rest of The Card get off scot free for "repossessing" Linda's family, her house, and Linda herself.
- Bait-and-Switch: Given that Linda is established as a compulsive spender/shopper, the viewer is likely expecting her to go nuts purchasing stylish and expensive things and get punished by outside forces. This does happen, but she's actually punished because she is forced to spend money she doesn't have on desperately needed things, like a new fridge and repairs for her car.
- Big "NO!": Linda utters one at the end of the episode, after Brian reveals that he canceled the check from their joint bank account and ruined her last chance to save her kids and herself.
- Cassandra Truth: Linda is unable to convince Brian that the family owned a cat named Boris and a dog named Scooby, who have disappeared after she was late on payments and only she can remember them. Brian, on the other hand, thinks that she should see a psychiatrist because of these delusions about non-existent pets. The situation becomes even more serious when their children Matt, Evan, and B.J. disappear, having been acquired by The Card. Brian tells Linda that they never had any children, trying in vain to calm her down and becoming even more convinced that she's having a breakdown.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Linda signs the contract Catherine gives her without even looking at it. Had she actually taken a minute to read it, she would've learned the insanely disproportionate penalties for missing a payment. Catherine even dresses her down for it in her rebuttal to her, using it as well as her spotty financial records to demean her as a compulsive spender.
- Credit Card Plot: Wife, mother, and compulsive spender Linda Wolfe is given a strangely accessible credit card after having all her others maxed out, only to find out that the consequences of not covering her purchases is to have the company repossess her pets, and then her children, who don't even remember who she is. She desperately tries to buy them back using a check from her joint checking account, but her husband Brian cancels the payment, thinking she's losing her mind because he doesn't remember their kids. With the check bounced, the episode ends with Linda unable to do anything else but watch helplessly as Brian, her house, her entire life, and ultimately she herself are repossessed from the face of the Earth, leaving not a trace that she was ever alive, save for the now-nameless credit card.
- Deal with the Devil: The Card as a company is heavily implied to be a front for Hell's demons, considering their status as a "last resort" company who take away peoples' loved ones and family members for being late on their payments, and the opening narration calling credit itself a tool of the Devil.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The Card's penalties for missing even one payment are immeasurably strict. In Linda's case, they take away her pets, children, husband, house, and Linda herself for failing to pay back her debts.
- Double Take: Linda has a completely non humorous one when she realizes her kids have disappeared also:Linda: So you could drag BJ and the boys out to a gas station? I've had a enough to deal with.
Brian: (completely confused) Who's PJ?
Linda: Including this moron driving the tow...(stops dead as she realizes what Brian just said. She turns her head towards him slowly, as if she's having trouble accepting what she heard, then says calmly but nervously)"Who's PJ"?
(Brian just stares at her blankly.)
Linda: (Completely horrified) BRIAN, "WHO'S BJ?!?" Oh no! Oh my God... - Downer Ending: After losing her cat, dog, and kids for being late with her payments, Linda tries one last time to pay back her debts with a check from her and Brian's joint checking account. Unfortunately, Brian, who has spent the latter half of the episode thinking that Linda is losing her mind for insisting they have pets and children that he doesn't remember, calls the bank and cancels the check. An agonized Linda can only watch in horror as Brian and all her belongings disappear one by one, to the point where the whole house and she herself are erased from existence. The final shot has the now-nameless and cut-up credit card falling in the empty lot where her house once was.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Though we don't hear their voice directly, it seems that the agent informing Katherine over the phone of Linda using the card while delinquent was reluctant to repossess Linda's children. Katherine coldly responds "No. No, We have no choice. Do it now." And they do. They do give Linda a chance to get her children back, and assure they will be at least placed with a new family rather than erased from existence.
- Face Palm: Brian does when Linda freaks about her children disappearing, as since his memories of them have been erased, is to him just another in her multiple string of delusions of nonexistent loved ones they have.
- Fatal Flaw: Linda's compulsion to shop and buy stuff. The opening scene alone has her state that her personal bank account is overdrawn and every credit card she's gotten has been canceled. She tries to control this rampant spending during the episode, but is forced to use her new credit card for necessities and emergency finances.
- Foreshadowing: In the opening scene, Linda watches a young woman and her baby exit a door labeled "Acquisitions" and enter a room labeled "Disbursements". She later watches her children go the same way when The Card repossesses them, revealing that the woman and baby from earlier were taken from someone else who didn't pay in time.
- From Bad to Worse: Linda attempts to restrain herself with her new credit card, but sure enough, there come moments in the episode where she needs it to have essential things in her life, like repairs for her car. With every payment she misses, the family pets and her children are erased from existence as "collateral" for the missed debt.
- Informed Attribute: Linda is said to be a compulsive spender, to the point where all her credit cards have been maxed out and her bank account is overdrawn. Despite this, we rarely see her spending frivolously, as she's instead screwed over by spending money she can't pay back on necessary purchases like a new refrigerator and car repairs.
- Karma Houdini: Catherine and the rest of The Card's employees aren't punished for wiping Linda and her family out of existence, as they are implied to do this to everyone who can't pay them back.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As the pets and children disappear, Linda's husband Brian thinks she's going crazy by claiming to remember them when he clearly doesn't. In the end, when Linda tries to use a check from his and her joint bank account to pay her debts, Brian calls the bank and cancels it. As a result, the last moments of the episode have him, the whole house, and Linda herself ceasing to exist.
- Read the Fine Print: Linda is given a contract detailing The Card's terms by Catherine, signing it without reading the fine print. As a result, she is caught off-guard that the penalty for missing a payment is having a loved one repossessed. Catherine even calls Linda out for signing the thing without taking the time to look over and understand the company's terms, using it to prove her point that she's a compulsive spender of the worst kind.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Catherine tears Linda a new one when she demands her children back, rebuking her for her dismal financial records, spotty credit rating, compulsion to spend frivolous money, her overdrawn bank account, and especially for neglecting to read and understand the initial contract she signed.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Catherine is wearing a red jacket and black business suit when Linda barges into her office, demanding her children back. It's at this point that she's essentially revealed to be a representative from Hell who takes peoples' loved ones away to be evil.
- Ret-Gone: Linda receives an invitation from The Card, a credit company that specifically caters to people with bad credit ratings who have had their previous cards canceled. When she misses the first payment, she finds that her cat Boris has disappeared and she is the only one who remembers that he ever existed. The following week, Linda misses another payment and her dog Scooby disappears. After learning this, Linda vows never to use her new card again, but she is forced to do so when her car breaks down. When she gets home that night, she discovers that her children Matt, Evan, and B.J. have disappeared. The next day, Linda goes to The Card's offices and demands to speak to Catherine. While there, she sees her children, who no longer recognize her, being led into a room marked "Disbursements." Catherine explains to her that they may be returned to her if she writes them a check. Linda does so, but Brian tells her that the bank called and he canceled it. At that moment, Brian disappears and household items begin to vanish in front of Linda. In a last desperate act, Linda cuts the card in half, only for her empty house and herself to cease existing, the ending shot showing the halves of the card landing in the empty lot where her house once stood.
- Ridiculous Repossession: The episode plays this very darkly. Linda signs up for the titular credit card because she has maxed out all her other ones. When she fails to pay the debts, the company takes her pets, her children, and her husband. She ends up cutting the card in half in a desperate move, but the company then repossesses the whole house and herself. The last shot is the two pieces of the card landing on the vacant lot where the house once was.
- Ripple Effect Indicator: After Boris ceases to exist, his bowl and cushion disappear from the front porch. Linda initially believes that Brian and the children are pulling a prank, but it later becomes apparent that they don't remember ever having a cat. The same thing happens to Scooby the dog, whose food disappears from the cupboard. After The Card takes the children away, Matt and Evan's room has turned into a study, while B.J.'s nursery is used for storage. Brian's image later disappears from a photograph of him and Linda, and her name on the card changes from "Wolfe" to "Wilson." After Linda herself disappears, the card is entirely blank.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Linda is the only person outside of The Card who remembers that she had a cat named Boris, a dog named Scooby, and three children named Matt, Evan, and B.J. after they disappear because of her delinquent account. Brian worries that she may be having a mental breakdown until he himself disappears.
- Shout-Out: The Wolfes' dog is named "Scooby". When he's erased from existence, Linda naturally has a hard time convincing her family they had a dog with a name like that.
- Spanner in the Works: Over the course of the episode, Brian believes that his wife is cracking up by claiming that she and him have pets, and later kids, that he doesn't remember. His suspicion regarding his wife's manic behavior and her ignoring his advice to see a therapist leads him to cancel the last-ditch check she was using to pay The Card back, which directly results in him and Linda ceasing to exist.
- Take That!: The episode is a highly-unflattering picture of the then-recent credit economy, with the opening narration outright calling it a tool of Satan meant to destroy mankind.
- Wham Line: Brian has two of them: "Who's PJ?" and "I cancelled the check!"
The Junction
John Parker (William Allen Young), a coal miner, is kicked out of his house when his wife Melissa learns that he had an affair. The next day, John heads off to work at the junction, a part of the mine that hasn't been used in years. John soon gets trapped in a cave-in, and it's there that he meets another miner with a broken leg named Ray Dobson (Chris Mulkey), who he doesn't remember being in his team. The two men start discussing their lives, and after he shows interest in John's digital watch, his lighter, and his helmet-mounted flashlight, John learns that Ray comes from 1912. Using this to his advantage, John asks Ray, should the pair ever escape alive, to write a letter for Melissa to find in 60 years, intending to warn her about the situation and apologize for cheating on her.
Tropes
- Abandoned Mine: The junction is presented as such, John's co-workers declaring it to be over 100 years old, picked clean before any of them were born, and it only takes a few strikes of a hammer on a stake to get the tunnel to collapse.
- The Atoner: John begs Melissa's forgiveness for cheating on her, insisting that it was a one-time thing and the woman he slept with meant nothing to him. She finally forgives him when he's rescued from the cave-in, thanks to Ray's letter.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Ray, a Caucasian coal miner from 1912, is initially highly reluctant to let John, an African-American miner from 1986, touch him. Ray also notes that he didn't know there were "colored" working on his shift. When John suggests that Ray talk to his union rep, as he only makes $50 a month, Ray angrily tells him that the only union men down in the mine are dead ones.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: John manages to gain rescue from the collapsed cave and reunites with Melissa, having apologized for cheating on her and sending for help by having Ray write a letter on his behalf.
- Eldritch Location: The titular junction is hinted as being one, as it hasn't been used in years and apparently leads to different points in time.
- For Want Of A Nail: The miner who hammers a stake into one of the decrepit arches holding the junction up is the reason why it collapses. The events of the episode wouldn't have happened had he not struck that arch for no given reason.
- The Future Is Shocking: As he comes from 1912, Ray is amazed by John's digital watch, the flashlight on his helmet, and his lighter. His reaction to these items helps John realize that he's been sent back in time.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Melissa spends the majority of the episode continuously reminding John about his one-time affair, intending for him to move out after his shift, even as he lampshades that he can't be expected to apologize for a single mistake for the rest of his life. After he's rescued from a cave-in, she's given Ray's letter by Reverend Bailey and gives him another chance, and the two head home with a much better relationship.
- Relationship-Salvaging Disaster: Melissa discovers that John cheated on her with another woman, and the next morning, after John has spent the night on the sofa, she tells him that she'll be packing his things and expecting him to move out once his shift is over. John pleads for forgiveness, asking if he has to apologize for one mistake for the rest of his life, but she is too hurt to listen. Shortly afterwards, John becomes trapped in a cave-in and is transported back in time to 1912, where he saves the life of another trapped miner named Ray. In return for John saving him, Ray writes a letter intended for Melissa to receive in the future, and tells her through said letter that John was only thinking of her, as well as how much he hurt her, in what he thought would be his last moments. After John is located using the information in Ray's letter, Melissa is delighted to see him. She tearfully accepts his much more heartfelt apology and takes him back home.
- Settle for Sibling: After he and John are trapped in the junction, Ray attempts to keep John distracted from their situation by telling him about how he got married. He meant to propose to a girl named Abby in 1907, who had an identical twin sister named Sarah. Sarah opened the door when he came to visit, however, and since he thought she was Abby, Ray proposed to her instead. Although it wasn't his intention, Ray still went on to marry Sarah, since she's the one who said "yes".
- Stable Time Loop: After he becomes trapped in a cave-in on September 16, 1986, John realizes that he's not alone. He finds that another miner named Ray is trapped with him, and after talking to Ray for a few minutes, John realizes that he has been sent back in time to September 16, 1912. While they are waiting to be rescued, John and Ray pass the time talking about their respective wives, Melissa and Sarah. In 1986, Melissa receives a letter from Reverend Bailey, which was supposed to have been delivered to her the previous day. After Ray is rescued, he discovers that John has disappeared, having returned to 1986. Knowing what's at stake for John, Ray writes a letter to Melissa and entrusts it to the church. Ray's plan to alter history fails, as John being sent back in time is always meant to happen, since Ray would have died if he wasn't down there. Fortunately, the letter contains John's location, allowing the rescue team to find him in time.
- Time Travel Episode: John becomes trapped in a mine after a cave-in on September 16, 1986. He soon meets another trapped miner named Ray, who tells him that it's September 16, 1912, prompting John to realize he's been sent back in time.
- Tuckerization: John and Ray work for the Cassutt Coal Company, which is named after series writer Michael Cassutt.
- Write Back to the Future: Despite clearly being uncomfortable at being stuck with the African-American John at first, Ray is extremely grateful to him for saving his life. To return the favor, he writes a letter to John's wife Melissa and leaves it with the church, giving them instructions that it be delivered on September 15, 1986, the day before John became trapped. Although Reverend Bailey had every intention of delivering Ray's letter on the day in question, he was called away for something and forgot to do so. By the time he gets the letter to Melissa, John is already trapped. However, Ray's letter includes the location where he and John were trapped in 1912, allowing a rescue crew to save John in time.
