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The Twilight Zone (1959) S5E5: "The Last Night of a Jockey"
(aka: The Twilight Zone S 5 E 125 The Last Night Of A Jockey)

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The Last Night of a Jockey

The Twilight Zone (1959) S5E5: "The Last Night of a Jockey" Recap
Grady gives himself a good talking to.

Rod Serling: The name is Grady, five feet short in stockings and boots, a slightly distorted offshoot of a good breed of humans who race horses. He happens to be one of the rotten apples, bruised and yellowed by dealing in dirt, a short man with a short memory who's forgotten that he's worked for the sport of kings and helped turn it into a cesspool, used and misused by the two-legged animals who've hung around sporting events since the days of the Coliseum. So this is Grady, on his last night as a jockey. Behind him are Hialeah, Hollywood Park and Saratoga. Rounding the far turn and coming up fast on the rail is the Twilight Zone.

Air date: October 25, 1963

Michael Grady (Mickey Rooney), professional jockey, is sitting alone in his room after finding out he's been permanently banned from horse-racing after participating in the illegal doping of racehorses. While ranting to himself, Grady notes that all he ever wanted was to be respected. He curses a reporter who's written of his misdeeds in the paper, then attempts to drown his depression in alcohol while thinking of what his life will be now. Suddenly, he hears his reflection in the mirror talking back to him; his alter-ego. Grady argues with the alter-ego, trying to justify his life and his actions while lying about his crimes, which the alter-ego knows better than to believe. Grady is offered the chance to change his life with one wish, so he tells the alter-ego that his greatest wish is to be big.

After Grady wakes from a nap, he finds that his wish has been granted, having instantly grown taller. Ecstatic, Grady calls up his ex-girlfriend to prove to the alter-ego that size does matter, but she angrily wants nothing more to do with him, causing him to scream over the phone at her. Grady remains undaunted, boasting that he can easily find more girls that will actually appreciate his newfound height. The alter-ego remains unimpressed, feeling that Grady hasn't made good on any of his promises. Confused, Grady asks the alter-ego what he really is and what his business is all about. The alter-ego tries to explain to Grady that he's the "last gasp" of goodness in his very being, criticizing the ex-jockey for his dumb and "cheap" wish while giving him better ideas and suggestions for what he could have wished for, like winning the Kentucky Derby or performing a heroic act, but as it stands, Grady wished to be a "big man".

While Grady defends his wish, a call from the racing commission informs him that he has been reinstated and can jockey again. At this, the alter-ego laughs relentlessly, as it's revealed that Grady has grown even larger, barely fitting in his own apartment and no longer able to ride a horse. Wrecking his room in sheer rage, Grady pleads with the alter-ego to make him small again, to which the alter-ego replies: "You are small, Mr. Grady. You see, every time you won an honest race, that's when you were a giant. But right now, they just don't come any smaller."


Tropes:

  • All Take and No Give: Grady's alter-ego feels this way about Mr. Hanchek, after he made big money by betting on Grady after bribing him to rig the race, then refused to give Grady a cut of the profits.
  • Angel Unaware: Grady's alter-ego initially claims to be the jockey's conscience, but whether this is a lie or an analogy, it's quickly disproven when he grants Grady's wish to be taller. When asked again, he tries to give a simplified explanation that he's the personification of the strength that comes to all men in their most desperate moment, and that means he can work miracles for some men, which means that Grady's desire was just a poor aspiration. Again abstract, but it implies that the alter-ego might have been an entity whose duty was to grant people their aspirations on their darkest days. After a call that reverses Grady's ban on racing, he begins to brag and rejoice that he'll be riding horses again. The alter-ego laughs mockingly and makes Grady even bigger, making him realize with horror that he won't actually be able to ride again. The implication was that the alter-ego wasn't working in Grady's best interests, or perhaps it was a different kind of angel.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: Grady tells his alter-ego that his greatest wish is to be big. After taking a nap, he wakes up to find that he's become seven or eight feet tall, leaving him thrilled. At the end, he then becomes ten feet tall, after the racing commission called to let him know that his lifetime ban has been overturned. He is momentarily overjoyed until he realizes that his new size means that he's too big to ride, putting an end to his career as a jockey.
  • Bottle Episode: The entire episode takes place inside Grady's apartment.
  • Byronic Hero: Grady is an unscrupulous race jockey with a short temper, and his actions eventually lead him to ruin. In his misery, he refuses to reflect on his actions and life, and instead displaces his woes onto his insecurities about his height, and how it's left him disrespected his whole life. When his wish to be big is granted, he's elated, but it swiftly becomes apparent that being taller isn't going to get him anything.
  • Comically Small Bribe: Grady was bribed into doping horses for a grand total of $8, equivalent to just under $68 in 2020. Apparently, this meager amount was enough to make him risk his career.
  • Domestic Abuse: Alluded to when Grady gets mad at his ex-girlfriend, threatening to slap her face off.
  • Downer Ending: Grady's charges have been cleared and he's allowed to ride again, but is now far too big to actually sit on a horse, leaving him a broken wreck.
  • Dramatic Thunder: The alter-ego's Evil Laugh is accompanied by a clap of thunder.
  • Every Man Has His Price: Grady was apparently convinced to start doping horses, resulting in a lifetime racing ban, for a mere 8 bucks. The alter-ego even lampshades it, saying that Grady comes really cheap.
  • Evil Laugh: When Grady says that he's going to ride again, the alter-ego laughs evilly to mock him because he's now too big to ride a horse.
  • Freudian Excuse: Grady claims that he's spent his whole life being stared at like a freak because of his height, which resulted in his insecurity and angry, bitter personality.
  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Grady has a really bad temper, constantly screaming at people and making threats against them, while throwing destructive temper tantrums.
  • Height Angst: Grady has spent his entire life being insecure about his size, and uses his wish to become a giant, which turns out to come at the worst possible time.
  • Jerkass: Grady is a bitter, rage-filled little man who cheated and took bribes when he was a jockey, deals with his anger by screaming at people and threatening harm upon them, and refuses to take any responsibility for his actions, instead blaming his problems on other people or his height.
  • Karmic Twist Ending: Grady ends up badly, as is customary for the Twilight Zone. However, he's such a Jerkass that he's clearly given what he deserves, not a sympathetic victim.
  • Large Ham: Grady, given that he's Mickey Rooney.
  • Literal Genie: Actually averted as the alter-ego gives Grady just what he wanted, but it turns out that it not only didn't make him any happier, but made it impossible to have what really would have made him happy.
  • The Man in the Mirror Talks Back: Grady's alter-ego talks to him through his mirror, but it also claims to live inside his head, and to be his conscience. He's not identical to Grady, as is normally the case with reflections, but is notably tidier and better-dressed. The alter ego lampshades this by noting that he represents the better parts of Grady's nature.
  • Minimalist Cast: This is the only episode across all four Twilight Zone series to have only one cast member.
  • Never My Fault: It soon becomes apparent that Grady had a role in fixing several races in a number of ways, but he refuses to take any responsibility for his role in any of them, nor did he act in any upright and responsible manner. It becomes pretty clear that all of his troubles are his own fault, and his refusal to take responsibility for them just leads him to keep taking risks, which has ruined his life.
  • No Honor Among Thieves: Grady calls Mr. Hanchek, the client he took a bribe from for one of his crooked horse races, an instance of the trope. Hanchek made big money betting on a race thanks to Grady's cheating, and tossed Grady aside when the latter asked for his cut of the money.
    Alter-Ego: Very unappreciative. Well, that's the breed. They take, they never give.
  • NO INDOOR VOICE: Grady. Big time. It's very rare that he talks without screaming.
  • Not So Above It All: The alter-ego isn't too proud to admit that it does enjoy the warm, bubbly feeling that comes with drinking alcohol.
  • Pet the Dog: Grady spends most of the episode being a loudmouthed jerk, but he does have one redeeming moment. When a man from the racing commission calls to tell him that he's being given another chance as a jockey, Grady is very grateful, promises he won't cheat anymore, and tells the man to thank everyone who went to bat for him.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: Grady qualifies as such due to his constant screaming, tantrum-throwing, and refusal to take responsibility for any of his actions.
  • Rage Against the Reflection: After Grady's alter-ego appears in the mirror and mocks Grady for a while, Grady gets so mad that he tries to shut him up by smashing the mirror with a trophy.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: After the devastated Grady wishes to be small again, his alter-ego tells him that he's already small, as quoted above.
  • Tantrum Throwing: Grady has a tendency to scream and break things like a child when he gets really mad.
  • Troll: Grady's alter-ego constantly mocks Grady and laughs at his misery.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: Mr. Hanchek. He bribes Grady to risk his career by cheating so Hanchek can bet on him in the rigged race and win a ton of money. Then, when Grady asks for a fair share, Hanchek brushes him off.
  • The Unseen: Every character except Grady and his alter-ego is unseen, with Grady only talking to them over the phone.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Grady has a temper tantrum after being given another chance to be a jockey, only to realize he’s now too big to ride a horse.
  • Would Hit a Girl: When Grady tries to win his ex-girlfriend back and she rejects him, he threatens to slap her.

Rod Serling: The name is Grady, ten feet tall, a slightly distorted offshoot of a good breed of humans who race horses. Unfortunately for Mr. Grady, he learned too late that you don't measure size with a ruler, you don't figure height with a yardstick, and you never judge a man by how tall he looks in a mirror. The giant is as he does. You can make a parimutuel bet on this, win, place or show, in or out of the Twilight Zone.

Alternative Title(s): The Twilight Zone S 5 E 125 The Last Night Of A Jockey

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