A Serpent's Tooth is the eighth episode of season 3.
Synopsis[]
A mother who feels unappreciated by her children comes into possession of a serpent's tooth that makes everything she says come true.
Cast[]
- Renee Taylor as Pearl King
- Louis Quinn as Myron
- JoAnn Willette as Madlene King
- Brett Marx as Marc King
- Ron Sloan as Barry
- Jared Rushton as Richie
- Paul Sparer as Narrator
Plot[]
Act I[]
Pearl King is obnoxious and overbearing, but loves her children dearly. She is concerned about their future ever since their father died. Her son Marc's shot at a stable career is fading away ever since he changed his major and her daughter Madlene wears revealing clothing and spends too much time with her dim-witted boyfriend, Barry. Her constant pleas and attempts to get them to listen to reason and get back on track in life fall upon deaf ears, until Pearl's friend Myron gives her the answer, an ancient serpent's tooth. This enchanted item, when worn by its owner has the power to make any wish or desire come true and it doesn't take long for Pearl to start using it to get her children on the right path.
Act II[]
Pearl tells Madlene that if she continues to wear high heeled shoes that it will cause her to break her ankle. Sure enough, that's exactly what happens. Pearl also tells her neighbor boy, Richie, to quit sticking his tongue out or it will freeze like that. He refuses, and his face freezes just like Pearl said. After the shock wears off, Pearl realizes that she now has power over her others for the first time in her life. She remarks at her happiness and then uses chicken soup to reverse all the damage she inadvertently caused. The following day, her children are now obedient to her wishes, as Marc has switched his major back to dentistry like Pearl wanted, and Madlene is dressing conservatively. Richie is also running Pearl's errands and is respectful to her. However, Pearl's children are only doing what she wants because they are scared of her and her plans to remake the world in her own image.
Act III[]
Pearl invites Barry to the house to convince him to be worthy of her daughter. However, Pearl accidentally turns him into a slice of bread. This greatly upsets Madlene, and Pearl does not do anything to restore Barry's body, although she is upset that she has caused harm to people and did not mean to. Richie arrives at the door and complains about the errands that Pearl has him running. Pearl remarks that he is having a conniption fit, and the serpent's tooth results in the child literally having a seizure. Myron arrives and tells Pearl that she should get rid of the tooth as she cannot keep a lid on its power. Pearl tries to, but she cannot resist the temptation of using it to keep her kids from acting out. Her children begin disobeying her requests again and Pearl gets upset, saying that if anyone ever loved their children as much as she loves hers she would turn into a pillar of salt. Sure enough, she does. The children then go about their lives, seemingly having become respectable people without their mother's influence. They kiss their salt mother goodbye, and Pearl's voice is heard, happily remarking: "It was worth it."
Analysis[]
The moral of the story is that young people should respect their elders and, in turn, parents should respect their children and give them space to make their own choices as they become adults.
Trivia[]
- The title of this episode comes from Act 1, Scene 4 of William Shakespeare's King Lear: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child". Myron quotes this line to Pearl while sitting in her kitchen.
- A Serpent's Tooth is one of the few episodes in the series that is lighthearted in tone and primarily a comedy.
- “A Serpent’s Tooth” can be called a humorous loose adaptation of W. W. Jacobs' famous short story “The Monkey’s Paw.”
- The setting for this episode is unclear, but gauging by the accents of the characters, it likely takes place in New York City, possibly somewhere in Brooklyn, or The Bronx.
- Madlene states that she is 21 years old.
- This is the sixth episode of Tales from the Darkside directed by Frank De Palma. He directed eight episodes of the series in total.
- This is the seventh episode of Tales from the Darkside written by Edithe Swensen.