The Crossing
"There dwells in this parish, a modern day apostle and master builder, who lists among his tools of trade: a Bible, a rosary, and a calculator. His name: Father Mark Cassidy. Age: 42. A fair and noble man who's about to discover one of his accounts is still open. That account is labeled "Guilt" and it's concealed in a ledger stored — in the Twilight Zone."
Father Mark Cassidy (Ted Shackelford) is a priest of St. Timothy's Church, currently aiming to gather enough funding to construct a new children's wing of the local hospital. Overtime, Mark becomes haunted by visions of a red car driving by the church with a woman inside, which crashes and goes up in a large explosion. The local Monsignor, Perrault (Gerald Parkes), appears to be aware of Mark's visions, but suggests that he take a vacation while he takes over construction. Eventually, Mark realizes that the woman in the phantom car is his former girlfriend Kelly. He had been driving the car on the day of the accident, and failed to save her because of his fear of the flames. Believing that the apparitions are a chance to redeem his failure granted to him by God, Mark vows to do what he should've done long ago.
Tropes:
- The Atoner: Mark's girlfriend Kelly was killed in a car accident caused by his reckless driving over 20 years ago. She was trapped inside the car after it sailed off a cliff, but Mark was thrown out of it. He could have saved her, but he was too afraid of the flames to get close enough to try. Mark was so guilt-ridden by the incident that he became a Catholic priest in order to atone for his sin. Although he spent two decades working on behalf of St. Timothy's and the wider community, he still feels as if he hasn't atoned for Kelly's death. When her spirit keeps driving by the church, he eventually gets behind the wheel, driving to his death as he was meant to.
- Bittersweet Ending: Mark allows himself to die in the car accident he originally caused, but in doing this, he eases his pain. He also manages to finish approving the children's wing of the hospital he was hoping to build, which is named in his honor.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Mark smokes heavily to calm his nerves, since he's stressed juggling his visions of Kelly's and his attempts to raise money for the children's wing of the hospital.
- Dirty Coward: Mark was too afraid of the towering flames the car accident in his youth produced, which kept him from saving Kelly's life. He manages to redeem himself by taking the full brunt of the accident with her.
- Drives Like Crazy: Mark was a pretty wild driver before he entered priesthood, to the point where he accidentally got his girlfriend Kelly killed. He's still haunted by the experience over 20 years later, primarily his failure to save her.
- Friend to All Children: Mark is noted to have a strong soft spot for kids, as he spends the episode trying to build up $2 million for a new children's wing at the hospital.
- Good Shepherd: Mark is extremely dedicated to his parishioners. When he first arrived at St. Timothy's, it was on the verge of bankruptcy, and only managed to survive because of his efforts. Mark has also spent the last two years fundraising for a new children's wing at the local hospital, getting the necessary $2 million from every available source. When the wing is finally opened, it's named in his honor.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Mark gets a second chance to die with Kelly thanks to the spirit of his old car, and he hops in the driver's seat so he can drive off the cliff and die with Kelly, relieving him of his burden.
- Invisible to Normals: Mark repeatedly sees visions of his old car being driven by Kelly away from St. Timothy's and crashing at the bottom of a cliff. When he tries to get help, he realizes that he's the only one who can see the accident.
- My Greatest Failure: Mark's greatest trauma is when his reckless driving got his girlfriend Kelly incinerated in a horrifically violent crash and was too afraid to save her.
- My Greatest Second Chance: Once he decides that enough is enough, Mark gets behind the wheel of the phantom car, letting himself die in the accident with Kelly.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Mark is haunted by the apparition of his old car, containing the ghost of his long-deceased girlfriend Kelly, sailing off a cliff and exploding. The original accident happened more than 20 years earlier and was caused by his careless driving, and he himself was too scared of the raging fire to pull Kelly out of the car. He's been trying to atone for the incident ever since, which is why he became a priest in the first place. He finally realizes that the ghostly car keeps appearing to him so he can get into it and die in the crash, thereby gaining peace and salvation. Several days later, Kelly's ghost is seen at his funeral, placing a rose on his casket as it's being carried out of the church.
- Rule of Three: The apparition of the car in which Mark's late girlfriend Kelly is riding appears to him three times, and he finally figures out that he's supposed to get into it on the third occasion.
- The Voiceless: Kelly never speaks throughout the episode.
- Workaholic: Mark has spent two years working tirelessly in order to secure funding for a children's wing of the hospital. His housekeeper Maggie Dugan and Monsignor Perrault are concerned that he's putting himself at the risk of overwork and suggest that he take a break, the Monsignor even commenting that Mark hasn't taken a vacation in the 20 years that they've known each other. When the children's wing is opened, the bishop orders Mark to take some time off. It's gradually revealed that the reason he works so hard is because he feels the need to atone indirectly causing the death of his girlfriend Kelly, who died in the car he was driving 20 years earlier.
"Blessed are the pure in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." "A message delivered from thousands of pulpits to millions of people yearning for peace, including one local parish priest, whose road to peace and salvation crossed right through — the Twilight Zone."
