‘Tales from the Darkside’ Retro Recap: ‘I’ll Give You a Million’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It has often been said that money is the root of all evil, and there is a lot of merit to that particular phrase. Because time and time again, we’ve seen money and those who acquire a ridiculous amount of it, succumb to its wonder and transform before our eyes. To the point where they find themselves detached from reality and in a strange place, mentally. As though they now have power over other people because they have what everyone wants and sadly… they do. Because money also makes the world go round, and when one has an excessive amount of it, one can use that money to buy what they please since every man has a price for their soul and their morals and for the majority of folks, that price is lower than we might think.
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After all, just look at the fine ‘gentlemen’ in Washington that will gladly take a handout and do as their investor asks without giving it a second thought, which has great impact on the everyman since the government official in question answers to the dollar, not the people. Not to mention, the rich are often so warped by their earnings, they’re happy to do whatever it takes to make more bread and for proof… we could talk for hours about drug prices these days. But we know these things and we are infuriated by them, and at this point we also know we are badly overdue for change when it comes to this norm. But while we wait for the proud day when balance is restored to this problem, the time is now to start planning on how to prevent this problem again, by examining the root cause of such madness.

For there has to be a reason as to why a person becomes detached in this manner and it just so happens, that one potential answer as to how things got this bad, was explored almost forty years ago, courtesy of the next episode of Tales from the Darkside. For ‘I’ll Give You a Million’ introduces us to a pair of filthy rich, white dudes named Duncan Williams and Jack Blaine and well, they spend their days enjoying their riches through fine liquors and by toying with one another’s finances by way of ridiculous bets and wagers. Because they have the money, so why not flaunt it? But even that kind of freedom, bores Duncan to tears and one day a wild idea pops into his head. In that, perhaps he can take investing to a whole new level, if he offered his own friend a million bucks for his soul. A deal that Jack agrees to because hey… it’s a million.

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But of course, things go awry, and Jack dies before the contract can be fulfilled properly and that leads to a ghostly and horrifying encounter… one that puts Duncan face to face with the ultimate financier and debt collector from beyond. Which is… quite the story for certain. One that does a wonderful job of reminding us of and perhaps warning us, that this is what being rich in America looks like in the 20th and 21st Century and it is awful and disgusting, in its presentation here. Since we are indeed privy to the joy that comes out of exerting power over others through money and the cruelty that Duncan exhibits when the deal starts to go sideways because of Jack’s health, is disturbing to watch. Since it really does remind us of how far detached the filthy rich are from humanity and well… that really is the root cause of the problem.
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Because when one can buy the services of people and tuck oneself away in a ridiculously large mansion full of the finer things in life, said person is insulated from the realities of life and the hardships and the struggles that everyone else is going through and that… robs one of their humanity… plain and simple. Which means the only way to prevent this from being a standard down the line, when the rich finally pay the piper and the reset button is hit… is to find a way to keep them connected to humanity, and how we do that… is tough to say the least. Because it’s something that capitalism and modern America have never tried to do, because we praise the dollar over anything else. And perhaps our praise and value of it the dollar is where the change starts, because if we no longer cherish it above all things, there’s no real need to collect as much of it as possible.

Which are observations that make this… a shockingly philosophical episode for certain. One that ponders upon a lot of difficult notions and topics… to the point where we haven’t even discussed the quality horror elements just yet. Which means now is the time to praise them because they are soild. After all, the setup to the final meeting between Jack and Duncan is delightfully eerie and ghost Jack and his soul are as creepy as they come and hey… you can’t go wrong with that gory surprise at the end, courtesy of the Devil and well, in the end, this is just another impressive Darkside episode. For this one is prophetic in nature and relentless in its spicy and direct commentary and it will be quite interesting to see what other in-depth social commentary awaits us as we continue our journey through the Darkside. Until next time, try to enjoy the daylight.

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