The Shrine
Christine Matthews (Lorna Luft) travels to the house she grew up in, six years after she suffered a nervous breakdown and had a falling out with her mother Lucille (Colleen Gray), hoping to make amends. Christine soon finds that her childhood bedroom has remained untouched since she left home, as her mother has evidently been dealing with a severe case of empty nest syndrome. She also learns just how far her mother has gone when she meets Chrissie (Virginya Keehne), a malevolent spectre taking the form of her childhood self who her mother favors over the real thing, leaving Christine to try and get her mother to understand the real her before she and Chrissie return to the former's world forever.
Tropes:
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: Christine and Chuck's father is mentioned in an entry in Christine's diary, but he's not present in the present day. Whether this is because he left the house or died in the interim is unrevealed.
- Be Yourself: Christine wants her mother that she wants to be herself instead of an overachiever, after having spent all her life being a perfect angel in Lucille's eyes.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Chrissie, who mocks and insults Christine while shamelessly stealing her mother's affection from her.
- Chromosome Casting: Christine's brother Chuck is the only male character in the episode.
- Creepy Child: Chrissie, an otherworldly spirit taking the form of Christine's childhood self, summoned by Lucille's obsession with wanting Christine to stay as she remembers her, and wants to take her back to her spirit world with her.
- Creepy Children Singing: Twice by Chrissie:
- The first indication of her presence is when her voice is heard singing "Three Blind Mice", doing so after the opening scene and for a portion of the first act.
- She and Lucille later sing "Frère Jacques" for two solid minutes as Christine goes into her rant about throwing away all her trophies.
- Disney Death: Lucille appears to suffer from one at the end, but she thankfully awakens as her daughter gives her a hug.
- Disowned Parent: Downplayed. After her breakdown, Christine was convinced that her mother hated her for not being married, having a big house, or having kids, so she spent six years avoiding her at all costs.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Christine is able to get Lucille to love her for who she is now, and in the process, destroys Chrissie.
- Hearing Voices: Christine hears Chrissie's voice when she investigates her old bedroom, which she brings up to her mother, who insists that she left the radio on.
- Horrible Judge of Character: For whatever reason, Christine's mother idolizes Chrissie, an atrocious, insufferable little brat who taunts and picks on everyone around her.
- I Hate Past Me: Christine's childhood self, which "Chrissie" takes the form of, is a spoiled brat who mocks and insults everyone around her. Why Lucille fawned over her in this state is a total mystery.
- It's All Junk: During the climax, Christine declares that she and Lucille should throw away all of the former's trophies and her memorabilia of previous successes, to give them both a clean slate so she doesn't have to be perfect all the time, and they can share a genuine relationship as mother and daughter.
- It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: Christine arrives at her mother's house on such a night.
- Loving a Shadow: Christine's mother dotes upon Chrissie, who appears as Christine did as a little girl, instead of the young woman Christine has grown into now.
- My Greatest Failure: Christine's boyfriend breaking up with her, which triggered her nervous breakdown over the first non-perfect achievement she's had in her life.
- Nostalgia Filter: Chrissie is likely the result of Christine's mother shutting the adult Christine out of her life after her nervous breakdown broke her heart, wanting to be stuck with who she was before that day forever.
- Overly Long Gag: Lucille and Chrissie's rendition of "Frère Jacques" during Christine's rant, which goes on for two to three minutes.
- Parents as People: For as long as Christine can remember, she's lived under the pressure of being her mother's golden child, and things weren't the same between them when she had her breakdown. Lucille isn't painted as perfectly loving, either, as she starts fawning over and doting upon a demonic doppelganger of Christine as a little girl. Towards the end, Lucille gets better when she has second thoughts about following "Chrissie" into her world, and instead remains with her real daughter. Even if she previously wanted Christine to be perfect, she's finally learned that she'd rather have her daughter be happy and be herself.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Christine's reaction when Lucille appears dead after the climax.
- Trophy Child: Rather fitting for an episode of its title. Christine has lived her entire life as one in her mother's eyes, always perfect, always successful. This is greatly deconstructed when it's shown that this sort of lifestyle caused her to have a nervous breakdown when her boyfriend broke up with her, and has caused a sizable rift in their relationship.
- Winds Are Ghosts: Chrissie isn't really a genuine ghost, but she conjures fierce winds to stop Christine from ruining her plans.
