Whirlpool story
In a rather repetitive tale, Rolanda, a struggling artist for Tales from the Crypt, ends up being berated and fired by her boss, Vern, after presenting a particularly awful story. She returns to the office later that night and kills Vern in a drunken rage. After she is caught and gunned down by police when leaving the scene, only to wake up in her bed as if nothing has happened, Rolanda discovers that she is caught in a time loop, destined to relive the same day and the same tragic outcome over and over again, no matter how many times she tries to prevent it. Directed by: Mick Garris. Story by: Gilbert Adler.
12 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| time loop | choice | Rolanda was doomed to repeat her fateful final day of life ad infinitum. Somehow, and to some extent, she was aware of what was going on and tried to change it, to no avail. Only the manner of her death changed from day to day. |
| what if I repeated a portion of my life over again | choice | Rolanda was doomed to repeat her fateful final day of life ad infinitum. Somehow, and to some extent, she was aware of what was going on and tried to change it, to no avail. Only the manner of her death changed from day to day. |
| boss and employee | major | The climax of Rolanda's fateful day was when she murdered her callous editor boss and subsequently got killed by the police. |
| getting fired from one's job | major | Rolanda was doomed to repeat the fateful day of her firing from the Tales from the Crypt comic book publishing unit. |
| murder | major | The climax of Rolanda's fateful day was when she murdered her callous editor boss and subsequently got killed by the police. |
| punishment in the afterlife | major | Although it is never made clear, the tortuous cycle of repeats began shortly after Rolanda had just committed the mortal sin of murder and gotten killed by the police. We must ponder the interpretation that she was suffering a run-of-the-mill ironical punishment in the afterlife. |
| the desire for vengeance | major | It is insinuated that the repeating day began after Rolanda got drunk and shot her callous ex-boss because he had fired her earlier that same day. |
| the publishing industry | major | Rolanda was a writer for Tales from The Crypt, and the story largely took place in this magazine's offices. |
| drawing | minor | Rolanda, a comic book artist, received criticism from her editor Vern, who pointed out that her drawings lacked a certain "edge". |
| law enforcement | minor | Police showed up to kill Rolanda more or less on the murder scene. Later she got executed by a firing squad of police officers. |