Anniversary Dinner
Henry and Elinor Colander (Mario Roccuzzo and Alice Ghostly) are a seemingly-kindly old couple who live in the mountains, and are preparing to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. As Elinor misses having "the children" around, they take in Sybil (Fredrica Duke), a drifter escaping from her abusive boyfriend, to simulate the sense of having a family again. Sybil grows to enjoy her new hosts' company and their hot tub, but little does she know that there's more to Henry and Elinor than meets the eye, and that they're planning to serve a rather horrific meal for their special dinner.
Tropes:
- Affably Evil: In spite of being unashamed cannibals, Henry and Elinor act like a typical old married couple, showing their love for one another while even having their little squabbles, which they continue doing even as they cook Sybil, who they spent the episode treating with utmost kindness.
- Ambiguous Situation: The nature of the Colanders' skull collection, as well as the whereabouts of their children. Are the skulls actually those of the children, or of passing strangers that Elinor has called "the children"? If the latter is the case, what did happen to the children?
- Cannibal Clan: Henry and Elinor are revealed to be cannibals, having eaten at least six other people (either their own children or passing strangers) before they met Sybil.
- Creepy Souvenir: Henry and Elinor are shown to collect the skulls of their victims.
- Domestic Abuser: Sybil's boyfriend Mark is strongly implied to be abusive to the poor girl. While initially planning on meeting his friends somewhere, Sybil tells the Colanders that Mark ditched her when his friends weren't there.
- The Drifter: Sybil is mentioned to have run from home early in the episode, not having seen her parents in two years. She and Mark even spent the night in the Colanders' orchard before formally meeting them.
- Empty Nest: Elinor clearly misses having "the children" around the house, which is why she takes such a shine to Sybil.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He and his wife may be cannibals, but Henry loves Elinor with all his heart, and he doesn't hesitate to point the barrel of his shotgun in Mark's direction when he mocks her.
- Evil Old Folks: The Colanders may be sweet and charming, but they're also cannibals.
- Foreshadowing: Elinor's remark to Sybil about how one's children never really leave them, instead becoming "part of them".
- I'm a Humanitarian: Henry and Elinor are shameless cannibals, having invited Sybil into their home so they could make her their dinner.
- Irony: One could say this episode explores how Henry and Elinor may be cannibals, but they're a loving couple who've maintained a healthy marriage 25 years in the making, especially when compared to Sybil who may be normal but had a toxic relationship with her boyfriend before she broke it off.
- Karma Houdini: Mark is said to have ditched Sybil after the opening act of the episode, so he's most likely gotten away with any abuse he dished out to her.
- Let Them Die Happy: Henry believes that killing an animal in the "wrong" way has their meat "poisoned" by their fear. As such, he and Elinor prefer to let the animals they cook and eat die as happily and comfortably as possible, without having them suspect their deaths. This also includes the people they lure into their home, like Sybil.
- Like an Old Married Couple: Henry and Elinor are an old married couple, so they fit this trope to a T. They even keep up the act as they kill Sybil and cook her.
- Meaningful Name: Henry and Elinor's name of "Colander" is modeled after a cooking implement, foreshadowing that they're cannibals.
- Rewatch Bonus: Henry and Elinor's hospitality towards Sybil isn't centered just on the latter's desire to be a family again. As any farmer can tell you, happy livestock produce better meat when cooked.
- Stewed Alive: Sybil, a young drifter ditched by her abusive boyfriend, takes shelter with the Colanders, who invite her to relax in their hot tub with a glass of Henry's homemade Sherry while they prepare dinner. At the end of the episode, Elinor enters the room and starts throwing vegetables into the hot tub. Sybil passes out from the superheated water and drugged wine, drowning as the Colanders keep throwing vegetables and pour cooking wine into the tub, having invited her to the house to turn her into stew.
- Too Dumb to Live:
- While lounging in the Colanders' hot tub, Sybil has no idea that Henry and Elinor are cooking her alive, even as they toss vegetables and pour cooking wine in the tub. Of course, her relaxed state was brought on by a combination of getting drunk on Henry's homemade booze and spending many, many hours in the superheated water, so it's somewhat justified.
- Similarly, none of the Colanders' (assumed) children apparently noticed that their parents were eating them one by one.
