The Passersby
| "The Passersby" | |
|---|---|
| The Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Elliot Silverstein |
| Written by | Rod Serling |
| Featured music | Fred Steiner |
| Production code | 4817 |
| Original air date | October 6, 1961 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"The Passersby" is the 69th episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.
As the episode starts, a group of Civil War soldiers are walking down a road as Rod Serling does his narration:
After some dialogue is exchanged by the Sergeant and Lavinia Godwin, Rod Serling resumes his opening narration:
At the end of the Civil War, a Confederate Army Sergeant (James Gregory), apparently wounded in battle, walks down a road aided by a wooden crutch. He carries with him a dirty bed roll and a homemade guitar. As the Sergeant limps along he sees a house. Once beautiful, the house and yard show obvious signs of the war; there is debris in the yard, and a large, dead tree stands in front of the house. It had once provided shade for its owners; now it stands there as evidence of the former beauty of the property. This is the house of Lavinia Godwin (Joanne Linville), whose husband had gone off to fight in the war and whose bitterness towards the Union still survives.
The Sergeant, seeking water and a place to rest, receives permission from Lavinia to refresh himself at the well, and then to sit on a bench under the dead tree. The Sergeant plays his guitar, singing a song that Lavinia identifies as one that her husband used to sing. They talk while he plays the guitar, and watch as a steady stream of soldiers, both Union and Confederate, passes by the house and continue on down the road. The Sergeant learns that Lavinia has been very ill, and that Lavinia's husband was killed in the war. The Sergeant and Lavinia interact with others who are traveling on the road, both Confederate and Union soldiers whose conversation and behavior imply that they are more than just wounded men.
The Sergeant begins to realize that this is not a normal road, and these are not just wounded soldiers. He tells Lavinia that there is something down at the end of the road, and that he has to find out what it is. As the Sergeant turns to leave, Lavinia moves in front of him and tries to persuade him to stay. Suddenly they hear a man's voice singing a familiar song. The man is Lavinia's husband, Jud.
Jud tells her that everyone on that road is indeed dead—including her. The Sergeant, understanding now, moves off down the road, but Lavinia refuses to believe that it is true. Jud tells her that there is nothing left for him in that house. Insisting that she is alive, Lavinia pleads with Jud to stay. Jud refuses and continues down the road, disregarding her pleas. As he leaves, Jud tells Lavinia that he will be waiting for her at the end of the road. Lavinia cries out to her husband, imploring him to stay. Dropping to her knees on the now deserted road, she begs Jud to come back.
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