A Quality of Mercy

Description: Season 3, Episode 15

Air Date: December 29, 1961

Plot Summary: At the end of WWII a group of wary soldiers are tasked to kill wounded Japanese troops.

Review: While this is an average episode with a commendable message, it's not hard to see why they almost never air this episode anymore. So the story begins by showing us a bunch of tired and worn out American soldiers stationed in the Philippines; interestingly enough, one of the soldiers is played by a silent Leonard Nimoy. A group of Japanese soldiers have retreated into a nearby cave, and the Americans would rather avoid an unnecessary conflict. However, their new commanding officer has shown up, and he's trying too hard to make himself appear important. Played curiously by Dean Stockwell, the commanding officer wants the men to attack the cave despite the futility and pointlessness of the battle. The commanding officer demonstrates a disregard for life as he doesn't care about anything except his job of killing.

This is when the PC crybabies will lose their shit as the commanding officer is then turned into a Japanese soldier being ordered to attack wounded American soldiers. I'll admit, they didn't need to apply makeup effects or use Engrish to get the point across, but it was '61--what do you expect? Anyway, it's not as though they were mocking Japanese people. In fact, the moral of the story is to show how it's easy to dehumanize the enemy, but when the tables are turned you realize the value of human life. After experiencing the other perspective of the war, and hearing the Japanese officer utter the same words he had said, the commanding officer returns to being an American. At the same time, there is a radio communication that explains that the war is essentially over anyway. There isn't explanation much in the way of why the events unfolded, but, eh, it's the Twilight Zone. Overall, this is an okay episode. It will not stand up well in today's environment, but the themes are sound.