‘Tales from the Darkside’ Retro Recap: ‘Grandma’s Last Wish’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One thing that we can all agree upon, is that everyone on this tiny blue ball we call home is afraid of something. Some of those fears, are quite specific in nature. Such as not being able to be near a spider or other creepy crawlers. Or some just outright fear the dark and what could be lurking within its shadows. While other fears are a touch more meta in nature, such as whether or not we’ve lived a good life or if we’ve done enough to make an impact upon this world. But whatever fear you subscribe to, there are a handful that we all share in. For instance, we all fear death in some capacity, and we all fear the prospect of getting older.
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Because we can see through our parents and others in our lives that are years ahead of us, what time does to the human body and mind. Since we see them struggle to walk as they get older or we see their minds slip and of course, they eventually become frail and weak and in need of care from the very young people that once needed their care and well… seeing our loved ones get old hammers home a few things. One, that life is finite, and our time will come. Two, that we will lose those we love whether we like it or not and finally…. that we are next to go through this process and well, the thought of being weaker in our bones and our minds growing softer really is terrifying and sadly… that fear is so deeply rooted and so horrifying, that it motivates us to treat the elderly in a bad manner.

If anything, this fear and our subsequently poor response to it is top of mind today, simply because it was put on full display in the next episode of Tales from the Darkside. A feat that ‘Grandma’s Last Wish’ accomplishes by plunging us into the Rollins household, at a time when the family is at a crossroads. For their beloved grandma, who lives with them, is getting up there in years. To the point where there are concerns that she might need around the clock care and might become a burden to the household. Which prompts them to prepare to send her to a nursing home. A move that grandma has little say in and is genuinely hurt by. Which prompts her to make quite the wish when the opportunity arrives, one that will teach the family quite the lesson regarding how to properly respect one’s elders.

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Which involves… rapid aging. Wherein the family that is ready to ship grandma off loses their sight and their wounds don’t heal quite as fast, so they can experience firsthand what grandma is going through and how hard life can be in our later years, especially when we come to realize… that few care about the elderly. For we do just ship them off and try to keep them out of sight and out of mind to not face our fears and we use every excuse in the book to not see them after that. A move that also helps us to not deal with the reality that they are near the end of their lives. Which makes grandma’s journey… a different kind of horror story, one that focuses on the terror that accompanies growing old and being a subject of ageism and that honestly… makes for one scary episode.

Because we genuinely feel her fear, the kind grounded in being cast out from the world and life she knows and feels safe within, and we also feel the coldness and prejudice her family sends her way. When it is obvious that she isn’t some useless person that needs to be shoved aside. She deserves her family’s love and respect and time since they can learn a great deal from her. Which is another message that resonates, since ageism is indeed a problem in this day and age and is perhaps worse than ever with a generation currently aging before our eyes, and that makes for one brilliant and visceral tale. One that once again subjects us to real world horrors in a direct and dynamic manner.

Granted, it still has that wicked Darkside twist that the series is known for, since there is something to be said about seeing this cruel family be at an advanced age at the end of this tale as penance for treating grandma akin to everyday garbage. But outside of that, this is just another bold tale from a series that really tapped into some special stuff in its first season, and it was once again ahead of the curve here. Since this was something rarely discussed back in the 1980s, but this series put it front and center no problem, and it deserves a round of applause for that and for hammering home a simple point. In that, we can’t fear getting old, nor can we fear it for our loved ones. For it is our destiny. So, rather than cower in fear over what it is to come, we can instead… relish in the moments with our elders and learn from them and cherish them until their time arrives… so they don’t head into the darkness feeling neglected and unloved. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.

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