Recap / Tales From The Crypt S 3 E 6 Dead Wait

Dead Wait

A boy meets "pearl" story.

Crypt Keeper: (wearing tourist clothes and typing on a typewriter; sitting under a sign reading "Crypt Keeper Travel") Welcome aboard, fright-seers! Looking for a little hell-iday fun? You've come to the right place! We specialize in all sorts of hackage tours! (cackles) So what will it be? A few days in a scream park? Or would you like me to book you into a nice, quiet dead and breakfast? Or perhaps you'd like to go treasure haunting like my friend, Red. He wants to steal a priceless black pearl in a tasteless tidbit I call: Dead Wait.

Red Buckley (James Remar), a naturally red-headed crook, gets into an argument with his partner Charlie (Paul Anthony Weber) about their plans to steal a priceless black pearl from Emilie Duvall (John Rhys-Davies), a rich plantation owner. The tropical island where Emilie lives is gripped in a violent civil war, leaving the thieves with a limited amount of time before the revolutionaries take over. Incensed when Charlie mocks his (low) intellect, Red shoots him dead and sets out to take the pearl by himself. He is soon hired by the sickly Emilie after a chance meeting at a bar, as well as his younger wife Kathrine (Vanity). She is easily able to seduce Red, leading them to make an alliance to kill Emilie and steal his pearl together. If that isn't enough, Red is also being watched by Emilie's employee Peligre (Whoopi Goldberg), a voodoo practitioner who has her own plans for him.

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Tropes:

• Age-Gap Romance: The young Kathrine is married to the much older Emilie. Red lampshades this as she seduces him.
• As You Know: Charlie's tirade towards Red reveals how the duo are plotting to steal Emilie's pearl. Similarly, Emilie's conversation to Red establishes the civil war that's gripping the island.
• Bad Guy Bar: Averted. The bar where Red meets Emilie is filled with soldiers, but they're working to stop the revolutionaries.
• Berserk Button: Telling Red that he's a moron and shooting down his ideas is a sure-fire way to get him to shoot you dead, as his former partner Charlie finds out the hard way.
• Betty and Veronica: Emilie (the Betty) and Red (the Veronica) over Kathrine (the Archie).
• Bittersweet Ending: Emphasis on the "bitter" this episode:
  • Emilie, Kathrine, and Red are killed, and the priceless pearl that Red's been trying to get his hands on is lost. Peligre is the only character who scores victory, taking Red's severed head and his red hair to her village for her own purposes.
  • The revolutionaries are also said to have seized the capital of the island, effectively taking it over and plunging it into anarchy. Emilie does assure Red early in the episode that the army will regain control soon after, so they won't be in power for long.
• Blatant Lies: Red tries to get a job on Emilie's plantation by saying that he grew up on a farm. Emilie can tell he's lying by feeling his hands, which are rather smooth for a farmer. Despite this, he's still hired, if only because Kathrine finds him amusing.
• Blind Shoulder Toss: Peligre does this to the black pearl that Red has been attempting to nab throughout the episode.
• Body Horror: Emilie's body has been infected by water worms, which have left visible tunnels by crawling through his skin. When he's killed, it's shown that he's so infected that his innards are crawling with them.
• The Chessmaster: Peligre is revealed to have been playing everyone in the episode like a fiddle, protecting Red from Emilie and Kathrine solely to protect his hair, as its red color is a symbol of life to her people. After luring him to her village, she lops his head off and takes it so she can use the hair for her own purposes.
• Cheater Gets Cheated On: Emilie is married, but he cheats on his wife with his younger mistress Kathrine, who eventually cheats on him with Red.
• Citywide Evacuation: When the rebels seize the island's capital, the army begins forming convoys to escort citizens to the airport so they can be evacuated while the army regains control. Emilie tells Red to take Kathrine to the airport and look after her, being too sickly to run there himself.
• Civil War: The island where the episode is set is in the midst of a violent revolution, and it's hinted that the army is coming out on the losing end.
• Delicate and Sickly: Emilie is constantly being eaten from the inside by water worms, having visible worm-tunnels on his skin and walking with a strong limp.
• Disappointed in You: Presumably, Emilie could tell that Red wanted his black pearl, but despite treating him with kindness and even giving Kathrine to him, he still tells Red how disappointed he is with him, saying that they could've been friends.
• Double Entendre: From Red to Kathrine, as he seduces over a game of chess: "Red king takes black queen".
• Exact Words: When asked about where his pearl is, Emilie says that he "cannot, right at the moment, put [his] hands on it". Red eventually realizes that the sickly old man swallowed the pearl to keep it safe from the revolutionaries.
• Face Death with Dignity: When Red holds him at gunpoint, Emilie doesn't change his stoic demeanor, having likely expected this to happen. He expresses disappointment with Red for doing this, but he's stoic and brave to the end.
• Fan Disservice:
  • The scene where Red awakens in his bed in a red speedo, next to a headless chicken.
  • Kathrine being impaled through the abdomen via Peligre's voodoo doll.
  • The extraction of the pearl from within Emile's dead, worm-filled body.
• Fanservice: Kathrine and Red's sex scene, like many on this show.
• Fiery Redhead: Red. He easily shows his temper by murdering his partner for questioning his brain power.
• For Want Of A Nail: If Red had just done what Charlie told him to do and not shot him in a blind rage, their plan to nab the pearl would've likely gone off without a hitch.
• Gender Flip: Red's accomplice, who winds up murdering him for his red hair, was a man named Kulu in the comic. Here, she's a woman named Peligre.
• Genre Savvy: After spending years working with him, Charlie knows full well that Red isn't the brightest bulb. This is proven by the easy way he's manipulated by other characters later in the episode.
• Gold Digger: Kathrine clearly married Emilie for his money, and seduces Red to help her get the black pearl.
• Great Offscreen War: Although the island's citizens are revolting and fighting the government, much of the military action happens offscreen. Despite this, there are sounds of gunfire, the roaring of military jeeps, and the whooping and hollering of anarchists.
• Gross-Up Close-Up: The scene where Red slices Emilie's chest open, revealing hundreds of water worms wriggling throughout his innards.
• Homage: The Crypt Keeper's outro has him appearing on a replica of the set of The Late Show with David Letterman, where he interviews Whoopi Goldberg about her winning her Academy Award and her role in The Color Purple (1985).
• Hotter and Sexier: The plot is very similar to the original comic, except for the subplot with Kathrine.
• Hypocrite: Red asks Kathrine if she's interested in Emilie or his money. Kathrine rolls her eyes and call Red out on it, since he himself is out for Emilie's black pearl.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Kathrine meets her end via impalement, thanks to a voodoo doll used on her by Peligre.
• Irony: Red kills his partner Charlie by shooting him. Near the end of the episode, Kathrine pulls a gun on him, putting him in his former partner's position.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Charlie tears into Red in the beginning, calling him a moron who needs to focus on their plan for stealing the pearl, angering Red to the point where he's shot dead. Just as Charlie says, Red is a moron, easily being seduced by a gold-digging mistress and being lured by a voodoo priestess to his death.
  • Peligre, who wants Red's hair for her own purposes, also takes the time to warn him that Kathrine can't be trusted.
• Macguffin: Emilie's black pearl, which drives the actions of most of the characters. In the end, when Peligre collects it, she tosses it away in favor of Red's hair.
• Meaningful Name: Red's hair is naturally red. Emilie tells him that hair like his is a very rare sight on the island, and Peligre tells him that the color is a symbol of life in her culture.
• The Mistress: Kathrine, as sultrily played by Vanity.
• Ms. Fanservice: Emilie's wife Kathrine, who spends most of her time wearing slim-fitting outfits, and spends one scene completely unclothed. Being portrayed by Vanity doesn't hurt at all.
• Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Despite being a native of a tropical island, Peligre speaks in Whoopi Goldberg's American accent.
• No Honor Among Thieves: Kathrine and Red work as a team to steal the black pearl, but as soon as Red gets his hands on it, Kathrine holds him at gunpoint and demands that he fork it over.
• Off with His Head!: Peligre beheads Red with a machete after luring him to her village.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Red delivers one to Charlie before he shoots him:
  Red: Gotta hand it to you, Charlie. You're the one with the brains, alright. But if you're so fuckin' smart... (whips out a pistol and shoots Charlie in the chest)... how come you're the one that's dead?!
• Properly Paranoid: Charlie notes that Red, stupid as he is, is very likely going to screw up their plans to steal Emilie's pearl. He's proven right when Red shoots him and then ends the episode by getting himself killed, proving that all their work was for naught.
  • Similarly, Peligre's claims about Kathrine being dangerous are proven true when she pulls a gun on Red and demands the pearl from him.
• Race Against the Clock: Red essentially needs to find the pearl and escape the island before the rebels storm the capital.
• Red Is Violent: Clever wordplay notwithstanding, the naturally red-headed Red is a violent thug, and Peligre lures him to her village so she can lop off his head, the color red being a sign of life to her people.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Emilie tells Red that due to the civil war, most people are trying to get as far away from the island as possible.
• Smart People Play Chess: Red opens the episode playing a one-player game of chess, insisting that it's meant to boost a person's intelligence and strategy. Emilie even asks Red if he plays, inviting him to a game sometime.
• Sleeping with the Boss's Wife: Or mistress in this case. Red is hired to work for Emilie, and soon has an affair with Kathrine behind the old man's back.
• Stomach of Holding: Emilie swallowed his priceless black pearl to safely carry it off the island. Red manages to get it anyway by slicing his corpse open.
• Stupid Evil: Red, the easily-tricked and seduced main character. Charlie even lampshades his partner's dimness in the opening scene.
• Taxidermy Terror: Peligre hangs a ram's head on the wall of Red's room, ostensibly to protect him from spirits. Considering the amount of blood on the wall and the flies surrounding it, it can be safe to say that the ram was a fresh kill.
• Treasure Chest Cavity: Red ultimately finds the pearl by slicing Emilie's corpse open and retrieving it from his worm-filled torso.
• Villain in a White Suit: Emilie wears such a suit in his introductory scene.
• Villain Protagonist: Red Buckley, a dimwitted thug who aims to steal the black pearl owned by Emilie.
• Voodoo Doll: Peligre stabs one in the gut to do the same to Kathrine, stopping her from killing Red.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Charlie, Red's partner, is angrily shot dead by Red after calling him a moron. The thing is, though, Charlie's completely right about Red being an imbecile.
• Wilhelm Scream: The scream is heard by Kathrine and Red as they overhear the rebels firing their weapons through the window.
• Worthless Yellow Rocks: Peligre has no use for the pearl, so she tosses it away, choosing to have Red's hair instead. Even before she kills him, she tells Red that if she did want the pearl, she could've taken it at any time.

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Crypt Keeper: (wearing a suit and seated in a replica of the set of The Late Show with David Letterman) Oooh. Talk about being headed off at the pass. (cackles; the camera zooms out to reveal Whoopi Goldberg sitting next to him) We've got a guest, kiddies. Whoopi! It's a pleasure to meet you. I want you to know that I loved your movie "The Killer Purple."
Whoopi: That's Color Purple, Crypt Keeper.
Crypt Keeper: Oh! Right. Well, um, congratulations on winning that Academy A-weird.
Whoopi: Well thanks, but it's actually called an Academy "Award".
Crypt Keeper: Whatever. Look, it's a pleasure to meet a big star like you.
Whoopi: Now, you're a pretty big star. I mean, I'd love it if you would be in my next film.
Crypt Keeper: Really?
Whoopi: (pulls out the machete that Peligre^note her character used to decapitate Red) Yeah, it's just a bit part.
Crypt Keeper: I'm flattered!
Whoopi: But you don't know what bit I want.
Crypt Keeper: Well, as long as I don't wind up on the cutting room floor! (cackles and pounds the desk)
Whoopi: (puts on a fake smile, then suddenly points the machete at him) Okay!
Crypt Keeper: (gasps in shock)
Whoopi: (smirks to the camera)