background What is Afterthought? Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10 Episode 11 Episode 12 Episode 13 Contact Episode 3 - Politix

Afterthought is a TV series that explores a main character’s reactions to the certain knowledge of their impending death.

Each episode begins with a different main character seeing their death in a dream, a vision, or a nightmare.

The main character of the episode then meets Jake, a main character of the series. Jake appears to each episode’s main character immediately following their vision of death. He assures them that their premonition is true, and advises them to use their remaining time wisely. He counsels the main character, offering direction and suggestions at various points throughout the episode.

Each episode deals with death in a different manner, because each character is unique, responding to the full awareness of their certain death in a different way as influenced by their personality, cultural or religious upbringing. We see how they confront or avoid unresolved issues in their lives and how small actions can have a great influence on the course of events.

Some characters will fight their fate, but will find that it becomes harder to change the outcome as their story accelerates towards its climax. Other characters will accept their vision as destiny; and, yet others will surprisingly be able to bear their fate and live with a renewed sense of life and vigor. In either case of life or death, the main character of each episode faces deep and fundamental challenges.

Each main character introduces Jake to, or conceals his existence from other supporting characters. Some main characters will have to explain the existence of Jake without revealing who he is. Some will want to reveal Jake’s identity. Some supporting characters will be jealous, distrustful or may misunderstand who Jake actually is.

Supporting characters from one episode may reappear later as the main character in their own episode, creating a “six degrees of separation” effect. As the series unfolds, Jake crosses paths with previous characters.

There are 3 reappearing main characters in every episode:

Death
Death’s Friend – Jake
Death’s Secretary – Dotty


Death is a woman in her 60’s. She is beautiful but severe, with a well-polished, no-nonsense style, blended with a sense of European sophistication. She has an element of pomposity, which Dotty is constantly testing. The only time we see Death is in her office. She is always addressed as Sir, and is always in, because Death never sleeps. Death took Jake under her wing 20 years earlier, and they have developed a complex working relationship.

Death’s Friend – Jake is a 40-something, sophisticated-looking man with a morose, understated quality and a dry wit. He usually appears well groomed and well dressed. He has the supernatural ability to blend into any scene, appearing as a different character to fit his needs. He can be a bartender in one scene, and then reappear as a TV newscaster or policeman in another scene. Jake is not only a specific character, but also a mythological archetype, the Gatekeeper and Ferryman who guides the souls of the soon-to-be or newly-deceased. Being Death’s Friend is a serious job which sometimes involves imparting some “wisdom of the ages,” but because he is also human, idiosyncratic, and sometimes mischievous, this tension between the eternal and the temporal is expressed in his character. Jake is not supposed to intervene or save a main character. He is familiar with death and its workings, but has little or no influence on death itself.

Death’s Secretary – Dotty is a large, flamboyantly dressed Southern woman who is always perky and eccentric. Her relationship with Jake is friendly and flirty, while her relationship with Death is full of badgering and bantering. She is constantly redecorating her desk in elaborate themes that threaten to take over the office. Each episode will feature a different theme.

As Season 1 progresses, more details are revealed about Jake and who he was before he died. He died 20 years ago, on the way to his wedding, leaving his pregnant fiancée waiting at the altar. His body disappeared without a trace, leading her to think he abandoned her and she vowed to never again speak his name. She went on to raise their daughter, who becomes a huge Hollywood star in Episode 11 – Hollywood Couple.

Jake’s fiancée appears in Episode 7 – Rube Goldberg Suicide as the owner of the small town hardware store, and again in Episode 13 – Jake’s Girlfriend, where she recognizes Jake and angrily confronts him about leaving her at the altar. In a surprising turn of events, she returns in Season 2 as Jake’s Boss, a consequence of him breaking the rules in Episode 12 – Nursing Home, in which he tries to save the Main Character, his 80-year-old mother. 

Jake’s daughter grows up to be the Main Character in Episode 11 - Hollywood Couple. Since her mother refuses to talk about her father, the daughter hires a private investigator to find him. The attempt is unsuccessful. Instead she unexpectedly finds her grandmother, Jake’s Mother, living in the nursing home featured in Episode 12 – Nursing Home.

Afterthought Episode Structure

Each episode of Afterthought consists of three parts – Premonition, Lead-Up, and Afterthought.

Premonition – The Main Character sees their death through a dream, a vision, or a nightmare, immediately followed by a meeting with Jake.

Lead-Up – The Main Character lives their life with the certain and full knowledge of their impending death, up to the familiar scene itself.

Afterthought – The Main Character meets with Jake again, and together they revisit the important people, places, or issues in the story.

Alternate Ending – Each episode will have an alternate ending. In one ending the main character dies, in the alternate they do not, or vice versa. Viewers will be able to call or text a phone number while an episode is airing to choose the ending. Subsequently both scenarios will be viewable online and on the DVD.

Episode Connections – Although there is a different Main Character in each episode, some secondary characters go on to become Main Characters in later episodes.

Afterthought Episode Listing – Season 1

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Episode I – The Office Guy

Premonition:
The Main Character takes a last walk down his office hallway a few minutes after being fired, carrying a box of his belongings. He takes the elevator to the parking garage where a van explodes, killing him. He wakes up from this nightmare in his bed. Jake is in his bedroom and tries without success to convince him that his nightmare was a real vision of his death.

Lead-Up:
We follow the Main Character through several days leading up to his vision. He is skeptical that his vision is anything more than a dream until he starts to recognize details of it coming true. The more familiar his vision becomes, the harder he tries to change his fate. In the process, he is forced to confront the path his own life took. He struggles to come to terms with the feelings he has for his assistant and her son. At the same time, competition with a coworker highlights his insecurities.

Afterthought:
The Main Character escapes death because his actions trigger a police investigation of his office building. The explosion is prevented and the Main Character lives. During the arrest, it is revealed that one of the bombers is the Main Character’s Assistant’s Son.

Alternate Ending:
Jake takes the Main Character to his own funeral, where he hears his coworkers speak about him. Next, they go to his office where more details of his death unfold, including the revelation that one of the bombers is his assistant’s son.

Episode Connections:
The Son of the Main Character’s Assistant stars in his own episode The Troubled Youth in Season 2. The competitive coworker returns as the Main Character of Episode 6 - Guru Meltdown.

 

Download Afterthought - Episode 1 - The Office Guy (Pilot)

Episode 1 - Office Guy

Afterthought Episode 2 – The Elevator Slumlord

Premonition:
A 68-year-old man sees his death as the result of a fatal malfunction on his decrepit office elevator – a character in itself, with a grinding motor and elevator music playing through a broken speaker. He wakes up from his dream and meets Jake. Convinced he can change his death if he changes his surroundings, the Main Character moves his office to a building with no elevator.

Lead-Up:
As the office relocation unfolds, we see growing concern from the Main Character’s wife. She notices a change in him and thinks it’s because he’s moving from his first and favorite building. She decides to surprise him by remodeling his original top-floor office for their 50th wedding anniversary. On the big day she playfully blindfolds him and takes him to the newly-remodeled office. He happily goes along with the surprise until they step into the elevator and he hears the all-too-familiar sounds. His mounting panic escalates into a quarrel between the couple which ends with her leaving him alone in the penthouse. Because of unfinished construction, the stairs are blocked, leaving the man to face his last elevator ride.

Afterthought:
Jake takes the Main Character to see his wife handling his business affairs. She is surprised to find out what a slumlord he was. She tries to make amends with all his tenants by making long needed improvements and repairs to the properties.

Alternate Ending:
The Main Character goes to the stairwell and finds it blocked with debris from the renovation. He looks around at his new surroundings in panic and calls 911. Just then, the doors open and his wife steps out of the elevator. They make up and wait for the fire department to clear the stairwell. The fireman issues him a ticket for blocking the stairwell which is the beginning of him becoming a responsible landlord.

Episode Connections:
The Main Character employs Guido from Episode 5 as a thug to collect past due rent from his tenants. A Gambler from Episode 4 is one of the Main Character’s tenants. The Gambler’s wife visits the Main Character to try and get a break on their rent.

 

Episode 2 - Elevator Slumlord
Episode 3 - Politix

Afterthought Episode 3 - Politix

Premonition:
The husband of a matriarch of a prominent political family sees his death in an exploding limousine during his brother-in-law’s presidential campaign. In his meeting with Jake, he reveals that his own political career is over, and expresses the belief that his own death might result in a victory for his brother-in-law.

Lead-Up:
The Main Character is a once-idealistic, failed politician who married into a very powerful political family. During his brother-in-law’s election campaign he must come to terms with his own failed political career. His domineering wife constantly reminds him of his shortcomings. To add to his problems, their twenty-something year old son is a rising star in Hollywood whose rebellious behavior makes him a constant source of embarrassment to the family. Knowledge of his impending death is comforting to him because he knows his problems will soon be over. On the night of the acceptance speech the candidate realizes he left his lucky cufflinks at home. The Main Character offers to go back to the house to retrieve the item, and steps into the familiar limousine from his dream.

Afterthought:
The brother-in-law wins the election by a landslide. The Main Character is memorialized as a campaign casualty. The wife uses the death of her husband to further her standing in the public life she leads.

Alternate Ending:
The wife sends the limousine driver back to the house for the cufflinks. After the explosion the Main Character leads an investigation into the bombing and exposes corruption and infiltration by the opposition within the campaign. He gains a key position in the Brother-in-law’s administration and starts to feel better about his life.

Episode Connections:
The Main Character’s son is the Husband in Episode 11 - Hollywood Couple. He also appears with his wife at a retail grand opening in Episode 10 - Big Box Store Trampling.

 

Episode 4 - Guido Marriage Proposal

Afterthought Episode 4 – Guido Marriage Proposal

Premonition:
Guido, a loan shark and thug, proposes to a woman in an Italian restaurant just as a car careens through the front windows, killing him and leaving an engagement ring spinning in front of the woman, who looks relieved. He wakes up, has a long talk with Jake, and is convinced that his death is inescapable and is ordained by God.

Lead-Up:
Guido is a single father of one son, and he knows he needs to find someone to care for him after he’s gone. He turns his attention to an old childhood friend, herself a child of the mob. She has cut her connections to the mob, and is surprised by Guido’s sudden interest and affection. As he persists, so does her apprehension about reviving their past relationship. Although Guido’s first priority is to find care for his son, his dream causes him to re-evaluate his tough-guy way of life, and a genuine interest in his friend begins to develop.

Afterthought:
Jake and Guido witness his son’s reaction to losing his father, and observe the intended fiancée who took the boy in. We learn that she is relieved at not having to face the prospect of marriage to Guido. We see her and Guido’s son grow closer.

Alternate Ending:
A nervous mobster with a lifetime of habitually watching his back, Guido is hyper-sensitive to his surroundings. He sees the car coming and quickly pulls himself and his girlfriend away from the table before the car crashes through the window. She is so enamored with Guido for saving her life that she begins to fall in love with him and they soon marry. Seeing this as his second chance at life, Guido starts to soften and change his ways.

Episode Connections:
Guido is employed by The Elevator Slumlord from Episode 2 as a thug to collect past due rent from his tenants. He also tracks down The Gambler from Episode 5 and an employee in Episode 10 – Big Box Store Trampling.

 

Episode 5 - Gambler

Afterthought Episode 5 – Gambler Horserace

Premonition:
A man sees his death at the racetrack when Guido, a loan shark, stalks him around the grounds during the year’s biggest race. The man dies of gunshot wounds but sees the winning numbers to the race.

Lead-Up:
A poor man, his wife and two small children struggle to make ends meet. He’s a gambler who would rather place a bet than pay a bill.  Now, as a result of his vision of death, he knows the outcome of the biggest horserace. He single-mindedly begs, borrows, steals, pawns and swindles money in order to place a bet at that race. His wife opposes his gambling and thinks he needs help, but she obediently goes to the race with him and their two children. When the man sees a loan shark that he owes money to, he hands the money to his wife and tells her how to bet the money. She obeys, but sticks some of the money into her purse for bills. The loan shark continues to stalk her husband as the race proceeds.

Afterthought:
Jake takes the Main Character to see as his wife watches the big race, clutching the soon-to-be winning tickets in her hand and looking around concernedly for her missing husband. As the race ends, the wrong three horses have won and she throws the tickets down and walks away hugging her kids. Suddenly there’s an announcement that one of the winning horses has been disqualified, thus changing the order of the winners and giving her the big win. She and the kids rush back to pick up the winning tickets for their long-shot win.

Alternate Ending:
The Main Character convinces the loan shark to give him more time if he splits the profits from the win with him. They watch the race and the disqualification. They find his wife and all celebrate together. He starts going to Gamblers Anonymous meetings.

Episode Connections:
The woman works as a nurse in Episode 12 - Nursing Home. The Elevator Slumlord from Episode 2 is landlord in the building the family lives in. Guido from Episode 4 is the Elevator Slumlord’s thug.

 

Episode 6 - Guru Meltdown

Afterthought Episode 6 – Guru Meltdown

Premonition:
Haji the competitive coworker from Episode 1 – The Office Guy returns in his own episode, in which he is the leading speaker of a self-help seminar cult. He dies when a former member returns dissatisfied with her results, confronting and shooting him in the middle of a seminar. He wakes up nervous. He tells Jake all about this troubled woman, whom he vividly remembers from previous seminars.

Lead-Up:
Haji knows that his death is imminent, but his popularity as a self-help guru continues to grow. His growing fear of death plays on his nerves and he begins to have breakdowns. He decides he’ll escape death by retiring, but succumbs to temptation when he is offered a huge bonus to do one final seminar which will be filmed and aired live. We learn that a woman who spent all her savings on Haji’s seminars without results has developed quite a hatred of him and we see her grow more unbalanced as the episode progresses. Haji is constantly in the media and the continual reminders of his existence send her over the top. The Main Character from Episode 8 – Revenge is also at the seminar where the shooting occurs. His wife and best friend are there with him, intending to tell him they are leaving him for each other. The wife gets shot in the crossfire, setting up the later Revenge episode.

Afterthought:
Jake and Haji watch as the police shoot his killer. They stand over her as she is dying. Because she is dying, she can see and speak to them. Haji confesses his disbelief in the rhetoric he’s been teaching.

Alternate Ending:
Haji recognizes the woman in the audience and knows his life is on the line. He calls upon all his seminar wisdom and charisma and talks the woman down before she uses the gun by getting the audience to accept her in true self-help seminar fashion. Then he signals for security to take her down. In the end, he is shaken by the experience and realizes he doesn’t believe any of the stuff he’s been pitching.

Episode Connections:
The competitive co-worker from Episode 1 – Office Guy returns as the Main Character of this episode. The Main Character from Episode 8 – Revenge appears with his wife and Best Friend from the same episode.

 

Episode 7 - Rube Goldberg Suicide

Afterthought Episode 7 – Rube Goldberg Suicide  

Premonition:
A middle-aged widower wakes up from a dream about how he would build the perfect Rube Goldberg-style contraption to kill himself. As he thinks about it, he becomes more excited and more engaged in the idea of building the contraption. Jake is amazed at the man’s enthusiasm.

Lead-Up:
We learn that the Main Character’s wife and children died when the car he was driving malfunctioned. He never forgave himself for not being able to foresee the danger and prevent his family’s death. He lives in a small town in the remote northwest, continually tinkering with ingenious but ultimately unsuccessful inventions. The Rube Goldberg-style contraption soon takes over his house, his life, and his every thought, causing consternation amongst his neighbors. Obsessed with ordering obscure parts, he takes to perusing catalogs at the local hardware store. A friendship develops with the female owner of the store, who is the Main Character in Episode 13 Season Finale – Death’s Friend’s Girlfriend.

Afterthought:
After his death, the Main Character expects to be reunited with his wife and kids. Jake explains that this is not always so and tries to console the man with a series of his best memories. The man continues to be optimistic that he will meet his family again.

Alternate Ending:
The hardware store owner mistakenly orders a wrong part for the Main Character’s contraption, which when installed, renders the machine non-functional. The man’s life is saved and he realizes that he doesn’t need to die to find love; he’s found it right in front of him with the hardware store owner.

Episode Connections:
The owner of the hardware store comes back as the Main Character in Episode 13 – Death’s Friend’s Girlfriend. She returns in Season 2 as Jake’s newly appointed boss.

Episode 8 - Revenge

Afterthought Episode 8 – Revenge

Premonition:
The Main Character sees his death in an airplane crash when an improperly secured plate begins to break loose mid-flight. Upon awakening, he decides to take revenge on his best friend, whom he blames for his wife’s death. He is confronted by Jake, who warns that revenge is never the right solution and that there could be serious consequences.

Lead-Up:
In Episode 6 - Guru Meltdown, the Main Character’s best friend and wife took him to a self-help seminar to tell him they were having an affair and that she was leaving him. When an assassin shot the guru, his wife was killed in the crossfire and he has never forgiven his best friend. Now that he knows he’s going to die, taking his friend down with him seems like the perfect way to take revenge. The Main Character proposes a vacation with his friend as a way to mend fences. Once confined to the airplane cabin, he reveals his true intention. Throughout the scene on the plane, we see a piece of the airplane start to slowly rip away from the fuselage.

Afterthought:
Jake ponders the question of how revenge has affected the Main Character. At first he feels pleasure at what he has done until he realizes his wife is still dead and now, so is his best friend. He sees how he has wasted his last few days alive.

Alternate Ending:
The Main Character confronts his best friend on the plane and tells him all about his dream and plans for revenge. The best friend listens and tries to justify his actions, then fakes a heart attack forcing the plane to turn around mid-flight. It lands safely and the malfunction is discovered. The men walk off the plane together. 

Episode Connections:
The Main Character and his best friend return from Episode 6 – Guru Meltdown. The Plane and Pilot return in Season 2 in Airplane Malfunction.

 

Episode 9 - Dog Saves Owner

Afterthought Episode 9 – Dog saves owner

Premonition:
A middle-aged woman and her dog awaken at 4 am. She gets up, showers and dresses and takes the dog out jogging with her, running through an affluent neighborhood and stopping only for the dog to relieve itself. As they cross the street a car runs a red light, running over them both. The dog wakes up and sees his owner. He looks around and sees Jake, who starts talking to him. He looks back to the woman getting ready to take him for a run.

Lead-Up:
The dog goes along hesitantly on his morning run, slowing the woman’s pace. They both watch as a car runs through a red light at the same intersection of the dog’s vision. We then follow the dog through his routine with the woman. He goes to work with her at the Nursing Home from Episode 12. He starts to act differently about going on walks and runs with the woman and chews up one of her running shoes. When the woman buys a replacement pair, the dog buries them in the backyard. When she finds the shoes and puts them on, the dog is reluctant to go on their last run. As they approach the familiar intersection the dog cuts in front of the woman, tripping her and saving her from death, but her momentum throws the dog into the path of an oncoming car.

Afterthought:
The dog sniffs around his new surroundings while listening to Jake as they take a walk in the clouds. They see his favorite park with a bunch of dogs. He barks loudly, but no one hears him. They visit the nursing home where he says goodbye to his favorite resident. We then see him at the funeral of the woman who meets up with Jake and her dog.

Alternate Ending:
While at the Nursing Home, The Hollywood Couple from Episode 11 – Hollywood Couple visit the wife’s grandmother, who appears as the Main Character in Episode 12 – Nursing Home. They see the dog and recruit him for their next movie. He goes on to lead a pampered Hollywood life.

Episode Connections:
The dog reappears in Episode 11 – Hollywood Couple. The Hollywood Couple appear in Episode 3 – Politix, Episode 10 – Big Box Store Trampling, and Episode 12 – Nursing Home.

 

Episode 10 - Big Box Store Trampling

Afterthought Episode 10 – Big Box Store Trampling

Premonition:
We see an immigrant lined up with a dozen other employees of a big box retail store. The store manager is yelling at everyone not to mess up on the biggest shopping day of the year. The manager tells a man to unlock the front doors. As he unlocks the door the crowds push through, trampling the man to death. He wakes up in his bed with his wife. Because he is a Hindu, he sees Jake as Shiva the Destroyer and is convinced of the truth of his vision.

Lead-Up:
We follow the man and his family from a plane through customs and then to a special immigration job placement office where he and his family are assigned jobs at the big box store in his vision. The whole family works under an abusive store manager who gets his way by threatening to fire and deport anyone who opposes him. Everyone working for him fears for their jobs and immigration status. The Main Character has no idea what Black Friday is or what to expect. On the shift leading up to Thanksgiving, he is forced to work 16 hours when his boss locks the employees in the store after-hours until their jobs are done. The store is scheduled to open at 4 am for The Black Friday Sale. When he is assigned to the front door and sees the crowd of people in front of the store, he begins to panic.

Afterthought:
Jake and the man watch as the man’s wife and daughter stand up to the store manager and form an employee rights organization, exposing all the wrong-doings in their store. The store manager gets fired by his boss in front of everyone.

Alternate Ending:
The man stands up to the store manager and denies him his power. The store manager at first escalates the confrontation, but several other employees also stand up to him, forcing him to back down. He’s fired when his boss inspects the store after complaints from all the employees.

Episode Connections:
Guido from Episode 4 – Guido Marriage Proposal stops in the store to shake down one of the employees. The Hollywood Couple from Episode 11 make a guest appearance at the store for a promotional event.

 

Episode 11 - Hollywood Couple

Afterthought Episode 11 – Hollywood Couple

Premonition:
A couple is quarreling while driving a car around the Hollywood hills. The car skids over the edge of the road, rolling over and bursting into flames. The couple wake up simultaneously and look at each other in horror. They realize they both had the same dream of the car crash. They both see and talk with Jake and refuse to see their deaths as inevitable, thinking they can escape death by changing their ways.

Lead-Up:
We follow the everyday life of one of the top celebrity couples of Hollywood. An example of opposites attracting, the Husband flaunts a bad-boy image while the Wife is idolized as a good girl. Both of their careers are at their peak. In response to their dream, he tries to straighten out and clean up, while she does the opposite, trying to shed her good-girl image. She hires a private investigator, who unsuccessfully attempts to find her father, instead discovering her grandmother living in the nursing home featured in Episode 12 – Nursing Home. The Husband is the son of the Main Character in Episode 3 – Politix. The couple constantly bickers, blaming each other for the car accident as if it had already happened. They do not seem to get along, but stay together for the sake of appearances and their careers.

Afterthought:
The couple continues to argue about whose fault the accident was even after they’re dead. Jake feels like a marriage counselor who is not necessarily adept at handling the couples constant squabbling.

Alternate Ending:
In a moment of clarity and honesty they realize they are bad for each other, break up, and sell the car. They both find new partners right away, but have to begin shooting a new blockbuster movie together with a similar automobile scene as in their vision.

Episode Connections:
The Husband is the son of the Main Character in Episode 3 – Politix. He and his wife are also in Episode 10 – Big Box Store Trampling and Episode 12 – Nursing Home where we find out she is Jake’s Daughter.

 

Episode 12 - Nursing Home

Afterthought Episode 12 – Nursing Home

Premonition:
The Main Character turns out to be Jake’s 80-year-old Mother, alive and living in a nursing home. She watches as a nurse’s jealous husband comes in to the nursing home to confront his cheating wife. He has firearms and is intoxicated. Suddenly all sounds fade away and Jake’s Mother hears her son’s voice telling her to “Get out!” She gets up, goes into her room, and hides in the closet and watches as the husband goes on a shooting spree, hitting some of the patients. When the shooting is over, she looks around to see who survived. Jake’s Mother wakes up in her bed at the nursing home. Before she even sees her son appear as Jake, she talks to him as if she knows he guided her to safety.

Lead-Up:
In the days leading up to the shooting, Jake‘s Mother starts telling others about what she saw in her dream. Her friends and the staff think she’s delusional and pay no attention to her warnings. She confronts the nurse about her abusive husband, and the nurse breaks down in tears. Jake’s Mother gets a visit from the granddaughter she never knew she had (the Wife from Episode 11 – Hollywood Couple), and tells her all about what her son was like before he died.

Afterthought:
Jake visits his Mother after the shooting in her dreams. He explains he shouldn’t have saved her. She accepts that it’s her time to go, and assures her son it is okay to let go. She is curious about what he’s been up to since he died 20 years ago. The next morning she doesn’t wake up.

Alternate Ending:
When the abusive husband comes in to yell at his wife, Jake’s Mother rallies the other patients to overcome him.

Episode Connections:
The Wife in Episode 5 – Gambler Horserace is a nurse in the nursing home. The Woman from Episode 9 – Dog Saves Owner works at the nursing home. Jake’s Daughter is in Episodes 10 - Big Box Store Trampling and Episode 11 – Hollywood Couple.

 

Episode 13 - Death's Friend's Girlfriend

Afterthought Episode 13 – Jake’s Girlfriend

Premonition:
Jake is already in trouble with the Grim Reaper. The Main Character is Jake’s Girlfriend, whom he left at the altar pregnant, because he died on his way to the wedding. We see the Main Character with her eyes closed, daydreaming in the sunlight coming through the window of the hardware store from Episode 7 – Rube Goldberg Suicide. The beep of her register scanner wakes her up. She starts to smile, then quickly angers when she sees Death’s Friend and recognizes him as her fiancé of 20 years ago.

Lead-Up:
The woman confronts Jake about leaving her at the altar, pregnant. She explains their daughter grew up to become a huge Hollywood star. Jake explains how he died on the way to the wedding, but she isn’t letting him use that as an excuse; it’s been 20 years and she can’t change overnight. We learn about both the woman and Jake as they reconnect.

Afterthought:
The episode ends with Jake having to meet his boss, Death, who is highly displeased with his bending of the rules when he saved his Mother in Episode 12 – Nursing Home. She condemns Jake to complete annihilation, then changes his mind and makes Jake’s Girlfriend his boss and tells Jake to teach her the ropes. This sets the stage for Season 2 with Jake fighting to get his job back, while having to answer and kiss up to his eternal fiancée and new boss.

Alternate Ending:
Jake does get annihilated by Death and Jake’s Girlfriend becomes Death’s Assistant in Season 2.

Episode Connections:
Jake’s Girlfriend returns in Season 2 as Jake’s newly appointed boss.

 

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