Rendezvous in a Dark Place (The Twilight Zone)
Encyclopedia
Rendezvous in a Dark Place is the sixty-first episode (the twenty-sixth episode of the third season (1988–1989)) of the television series The Twilight Zone.

Opening narration

Plot

Barbara Lemay, an elderly but seemingly mindful woman, gets great joy out of attending funerals, even those of people she did not know in any way. As she leaves one funeral, the priest is befuddled when she openly reveals she knows no one there, but "it was still a very lovely service." As Barbara discusses the last service she attended with her son, Jason, he becomes upset and claims it's wrong of her to keep attending funerals of people she doesn't know. She just goes on dreamily about the funeral and planning her own. Jason claims she revels in talking about death and he says he loves her and wants her to see his children grow up. She reassures Jason everything will be alright and he leaves for his plane.

Late that night, a storm rages and a man breaks into Barbara's home. He is apparently injured and bleeding. After he passes out, Barbara tries to comfort him, learning he must be the one who knocked over a liquor store on the news, but she thinks he is dying. He begs her not to take him to the hospital, but also not to let him die alone. Soon, another man comes in to the room. It apparently is Death, come for the robber, Trent. Barbara is excited and talks excessively about seeing him before and knowing him so well. Then she begs Death to take her instead of Trent. She explains how she knows the beauty of death and goes on incessantly, poetically about him. Death denies her saying that he cannot take life where there is none. She embraces him while others run from him. So, Death takes the robber and leaves in an instant.

After the police come and the situation with the robber is over, Barbara decides to await Death once again. He comes and tries to comfort her. She tries to explain why she embraces him, that he took all of those she loved, so she became jealous and her love transferred to him. It's just the way of the universe, he claims. She says yes, but it's something else. They were out of pain, sadness, and loss. In the end, Death is all anyone has. After her husband died, she considered suicide. Death tells her ultimately there are always possibilities. He offers his hand and he takes her where she is "most needed". They appear in a hospital, where Barbara, now dressed in black, comes to a man who is dying, offers him comfort...and takes him. Death commends her on doing so well...

Closing narration

Themes

This episode is a reversal, but similar to the original series episode Nothing in the Dark
Nothing in the Dark
"Nothing in the Dark" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:A lonely old woman, Wanda Dunn, will not leave her seemingly abandoned, dark basement apartment because she's afraid "Mr. Death" is waiting for her outside. There is an altercation outside;...

, starring Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...

 and Gladys Cooper
Gladys Cooper
Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, DBE was an English actress whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television....

, where an old woman is convinced she knows "Mr. Death" when she sees him and can stay alive as long as she keeps everyone out of her tiny apartment and never goes out.

See also

TV.com, "The Twilight Zone (1989): Rendezvous in a Dark Place"

External links

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