The Hitch-Hiker

Description: Season 1, Episode 16

Air Date: January 22, 1960

Plot Summary: While driving from coast to coast, a woman notices she is being followed by a mysterious man hitchhiking.

Review: Well, here it is: my all time favorite episode of the Twilight Zone and so soon. On my movie blog I had a post that mentioned this episode in my list of top 10 TV show episodes. So yes, I consider this the best episode of the series, hands down, and count it as one of the single best episodes of any television show ever produced period. With that said, I have to obviously acknowledge the original writer, Lucille Fletcher, since it's her work that allowed the episode to come to life originally in a radio show format. I also want to mention that I found it interesting that in her original story the protagonist was a man, but Mr. Serling wrote the lead as a woman. Another thing worth mentioning is that the lead character, Nan, is played by the beautiful Inger Stevens who many feel, having a troubled life and early death, enhances the emotions of the episode. While I do think that sounds morbid, I can't help but agree nonetheless. Whatever your stance may be on the fate of Ms. Stevens, one cannot deny she completely carries the episode and does an amazing job throughout. You feel this raw emotion and power in her performance with each longing stare and frightened expression. Even when she's doing her own narration, you hear that sense of dread in her voice. Ms. Stevens did star in another episode (The Lateness of the Hour), but it wasn't as memorable of a role and she's not really the main character.

The episode begins with Nan having her car fixed up after an accident that she has miraculously endured unscathed. Nan is traveling from the east coast to the west (of the USA), but we are never given a clear reason as to why. While paying for the final work on the car, she notices a peculiar man behind her beckoning the hitchhiking hand gesture. It's important to understand that Nan feels a certain unease from the hitchhiker that isn't inherently addressed within the episode but will make sense by the end. Nan asks the mechanic about the hitchhiker, but they assume he must have been picked up. As she travels the endlessly stretching roads, she notices the hitchhiker is always just ahead of her on the road and always motioning toward her. In two scenes that are typically cut for modern TV airings, Nan talks to a diner owner who mentions that the roads are dangerous for a hitchhiker to walk, because there are no lights and people drive fast. In the other scene, that I'm glad is usually cut, the hitchhiker approaches Nan's car while she is stopped at a portion of the road under repair or something; in this scene the hitchhiker asks where Nan is heading and him speaking at this part takes away from the mystique slightly especially when factoring in the ending.

As Nan travels forward, she is stopped at a railroad crossing as she sees the hitchhiker once more ahead of her. She tries to peel away but finds herself stalled on the tracks. Only narrowly backing her car up before the train passes by, and the hitchhiker has disappeared, Nan comes to the realization that the hitchhiker is malevolent and wants her to die. In a way, she comes to terms with the fact that he won't stop following her and this fills her with immense dread. Nan ends up taking a back-road in the hope that she will slip the hitchhiker, but she runs out of gas instead. Luckily coming along to a gas station, Nan tries to wake the grouchy owner who is sleeping nearby. Hey, I have to give this guy some credit, douche or not, it takes a lot of mental fortitude to turn down a pretty girl especially back then. Although, Nan trying to describe the hitchhiker stalking her would need a rework nowaday since she claims he wants to rob her; psh, she'd be screaming rape at the top of her lungs in today's crybaby era. After being turned down, Nan is startled by the appearance of a sailor on shore leave. Nan desperately wants the sailor guy to accompany her to which he gladly obliges and gets the gas station owner to give them gas.

Once they're driving again, sailor man tries to kick it to Nan, maybe a bit creepily, as she attempts to steer the conversation toward the hitchhiker. But speak of the devil, the hitchhiker appears once more on the side of the road and Nan swerves to avoid him. Confused about what is going on, sailor man claims he didn't see anyone on the road just as Nan attempts to run the hitchhiker over upon seeing him a second time. Pulling over, Nan explains she was trying to kill the hitchhiker prompting sailor man to say goodnight. It's amusing that Nan tries to offer herself to sailor man to get him to stay, he looks her over a few times in consideration, but says nah. Priceless. Nan stops at another Diner that has a payphone she uses to call home--needing any form of comfort. Hoping to speak to her mother, the person answering is a woman Nan does not know, and this same woman claims Nan's mother is in the hospital. Wondering what is happening, the mystery woman says that the mother suffered a nervous breakdown after the death of her daughter...who is Nan. Oh shit! Nan suddenly finds herself disconnected and numb--free of any human sensation yet fully aware. She realizes the horrible truth and what the hitchhiker wants from her. Getting back in her car, Nan notices the hitchhiker is in the backseat and says he believes she's going his way. In case you're confused, Nan has been dead all along and the hitchhiker is the physical representation of death trying to take her to the afterlife. Finally, Mr. Serling closes us out by saying that Nan was traveling across the country but didn't make it due to her detour into the TZ. Truly haunting and quite fitting.

As I addressed in that other blog post, that mind-blowing revelation people felt when watching "The Sixth Sense" was how I felt when watching this episode for the first time; seeing this episode was one of the ways I already knew the ending to that film ahead of time. It really is a masterful twist and presented excellently. While there are some holes in the concept at a glance, it actually opens up speculation regarding the episode. Does Nan being dead mean the people she interacted with were dead as well? I'd say there is evidence of that for sure. Was it her denial and belief she was alive that allowed her to continue interacting with reality? It's tough to say really, but it's fun to think about. The unique music for this episode also stands out for being especially chilling toward the end when Nan realizes the truth. Everything just comes together and works so perfectly with this episode, and it resonates with me on some philosophical level. I love it. The only downside is that we've reached the highest point in the series (for me) already. But that's okay, there are still plenty of great episodes to come, with a few nearly equaling this episode in sheer awesomeness, as we journey deeper into...the Twilight Zone!

Ms. Stevens looking onward to what awaits: