Tales from the Darkside: “The False Prophet” (S1E23)

Season 1 of Tales from the Darkside closes with a zesty little morality tale in The False Prophet, a blend of retro kitsch and cautionary fable that taps into themes of fate, technology, and blind belief. It’s an amusing and ultimately unsettling entry, with just enough weirdness to earn its place among the show’s memorable episodes.

Plot Summary

Meet Frannie, a naive, overly superstitious woman who depends on astrology and fortune-telling machines to guide her every decision. She’s on a bus trip to start a new life with a man she hasn’t even met yet—just a pen pal she believes fate has chosen for her. En route, she stops at a diner where her beloved fortune-telling machine “Horace X” (yes, it has a name) delivers cryptic predictions about her future.

But Frannie doesn’t like the answers Horace X gives her.

Just across the room, another machine stands, newer and flashier, calling itself “Prophet 9”. This machine gives Frannie a more flattering fortune, promising her success, love, and happiness. Dazzled by Prophet 9’s promises, she ditches her old oracle and follows the new advice.

However, things take a sharp turn. Prophet 9 isn’t just a machine—it may be something much darker. As Frannie blindly follows its instructions, reality begins to bend. By the end, she finds herself literally absorbed into the machine, becoming just another lost soul consumed by her devotion to false prophecy.

What Works

Strong Central Performance

Frannie is portrayed with a perfect mix of vulnerability and absurdity. While her decisions are laughably irrational, there’s a sympathetic quality to her that keeps you invested. She’s not just comic relief—she’s a tragic figure of her own making.

Classic Vending Machine Horror

There’s something inherently creepy about fortune-telling machines—those mechanical oracles with blinking lights and cheesy wisdom. This episode plays that up wonderfully, giving them a voice and a strange malevolent agency.

Twilight Zone Flair

The plot owes a clear debt to The Twilight Zone‘s 1960 episode “Nick of Time,” but with a more overtly supernatural twist. Fans of vintage anthology TV will feel right at home here.

Satisfying Twist

The ending, where Frannie is literally taken by the machine, is both chilling and poetic. It brings the episode full circle in an eerie, karmic way.

What Doesn’t Work

One-Dimensional Protagonist

While Frannie is fun to watch, her characterisation doesn’t evolve. She starts naive and ends naive, with no real arc. That may be the point, but it limits emotional depth.

Outdated Stereotypes

Some of the humour and gender dynamics feel a bit dated, particularly the way Frannie is portrayed as irrational simply because she’s a lonely woman looking for love. It flirts with caricature.

Budget Limitations

The machines themselves are charmingly lo-fi, but they may not inspire dread for modern audiences. The idea is spooky, but the execution, particularly the final effect, feels more silly than scary.

Themes: Gullibility, Fate, and the Dangers of Belief

This is a morality tale at heart. Frannie is the embodiment of blind faith—not in religion, but in manufactured destiny. She never stops to think or question. The irony is that she actively ignores the warning signs from the very thing she believes in. It’s a cautionary tale about surrendering too much of your agency to something or someone else.

It also plays on our relationship with technology. Prophet 9, the sleek new machine, is a false god that represents our tendency to trust the shiny and new over the tried and true.

Final Thoughts: A Fitting, Fable-Esque Finale

The False Prophet wraps up Season 1 of Tales from the Darkside with a clever, ironic fable. It might not be the scariest episode of the bunch, but it embodies the series’ love of moral twists and off-kilter logic.

Frannie is both the protagonist and the warning sign. She’s the person who checks their horoscope five times a day and lets a Magic 8-Ball decide whether to break up with someone. Her downfall isn’t because she’s evil or stupid, but because she gave up her own will. That makes her story a little sad—and a little funny.

Who Would Enjoy This Episode?

• Fans of ironic, fable-like horror
• Viewers who enjoy tech-gone-wrong themes
• Anyone who likes vintage, low-fi storytelling with a moral twist

Who Might Not Enjoy It?

• Those looking for visceral horror or suspense
• Viewers sensitive to dated portrayals of gender or superstition
• Fans who prefer complex character development

Final Verdict: A Mechanical Morality Tale with Bite

The False Prophet is fun, weird, and just a little unsettling. It may not be the season’s strongest story, but it’s a good reminder of what Tales from the Darkside does best: taking small, everyday fears and turning them into strange, ironic nightmares. A solid end to a creatively uneven but fascinating first season.