Eye of the Beholder

Description: Season 2, Episode 6

Air Date: November 11, 1960

Plot Summary: A disfigured woman attempts her 11th surgery to look "normal" in a world where not all is what it seems.

Review: Once again we come to one of the classic, and more legendary, episodes. There are actually quite a few different themes going on here, and I'll try and address each one. But I think we all know this story, right? A woman is believed to be unbearably ugly to the point that she will be removed from society if her last surgery doesn't create a change. Surprise, surprise, it is revealed that she is actually beautiful, by our standards, and everyone else in the world looks grotesque. The twist is presented excellently--with a fantastic buildup coupled with superb editing and lighting trickery. It's a timeless tale, and the episode itself never specifies when or where this story could be taking place--just somewhere out in the Twilight Zone. A great touch to a great episode.

The first thing I want to examine is the title itself: eye of the beholder. On the surface, this is self-explanatory as beauty is subjective and this weird world doesn't see beauty as we would. Going deeper, we see that beauty in this world is shaped purely by society rather than any kind of innate attraction. This is interesting as beauty is a shifting idea and can change quite easily. I don't necessarily agree that society completely shapes what is beautiful, but definitely allowing others to determine beauty will create unusual outcomes. Modern society is trying, in vain, to skew what others should find attractive despite there being innate factors at play that are biological. Though, most of these kind of debates will always break down into a nature vs. nurture situation. I'm not sure when plastic surgery would have become a mainstream phenomenon, but TZ was probably ahead of the game in presenting this idea. Although, the episode mentions that they're more experiments than surgery.

It's important to note that this TZ world values normalcy above any kind of personality traits an individual has; essentially, this is as shallow as it comes. Normalcy is also seen as synonymous with conformity as this world is under some kind of totalitarian regime; I suppose this could be interpreted as a shot at communism with a Stalin-esque leader. At the same time, the desire for one, ideal look could be similar to the nazis and the aryan traits. Regardless of the intention, I think most would agree variety is preferable to one (or technically no) choice. I'm just surprised TZ didn't go the extra mile and say non-normal people would be eliminated rather than being dumped in a commune of some sort.

With so many interesting plot elements being presented at once, it's no wonder this episode would stand out among the others. There are numerous philosophical aspects to consider as well as being a grim interpretation of a world comprised of conformity run rampant. After all, you can't control what would be considered the desired traits or what would be the general consensus of normalcy. Besides being a cool story (bro), the technical aspects were well done. These innovative approaches were usually present in the best episodes and is what makes them timeless and relevant.

The Howling Man

 

Description: Season 2, Episode 5

Air Date: November 4, 1960

Plot Summary: A stranded traveler stumbles upon a monastery with a suspicious individual being locked away.

Review: I don't know what it is about this episode, but I've always found it interesting. Maybe it's the grand scope of the story despite the episode only involving a handful of characters discussing the world. It makes you want to know more about the back story, and what's going on, while maintaining accessibility to audiences in light of the setting taking place nearly a century ago. There were also a few, subtle themes to consider that aren't explicitly mentioned.

The story starts off in, I guess, 1960 as we see the main character, Ellington, as an old man telling his story to someone off screen. In the years following WWI, Ellington was wandering around Europe as he became lost and sickly; I'm really not sure what's wrong with the guy since he can't be thirsty and he shouldn't be that hungry after one day. Ellington seeks shelter at a hidden monastery, of sorts, but the brothers there want to turn him away. When Ellington's request to stay is rejected, he passes out and is taken care of by these monks against their better judgement. Although Ellington believed he was hallucinating, he realizes that he keeps hearing a man howling from within the monastery. For no particular reason, this howling man is being locked in a cell right out in the open; you'd think they would lock this dude up as far from human sight as possible but contrivances, right? This howling man looks like some kind of POW and tells Ellington that the brotherhood is full of crazy people, and he needs help escaping. Somewhat skeptical of the howling man's story, Ellington is approached by the leader of the monastery who decides to disclose the bizarre truth.

It would appear the howling man is, in fact, the devil in the flesh. Oh shit! During the height of WWI, the leader of the monastery happened across a peaceful village amidst the turmoil where the devil was attempting to wreak havoc. The devil is presented as an active force of evil that roams around causing trouble wherever he can, but this guy saw through the human appearance. Although it's severely glossed over, this leader managed to capture the devil with a magic staff. Yeah...umm, if you want to convince someone you caught the devil you might want to give a little more than you used your magic staff. Anyway, with the devil contained, WWI ended and the world was given a reprieve from the horrors of the devil. Certainly not believing this ridiculous tale, Ellington once again talks with the howling man who emphasizes the madness of the monks to believe he's the devil. However, Ellington is interrupted and locked in a room while he is asked to sleep. Of course Ellington lets the curiosity get the better of him as he escapes his confines and talks with the howling man one last time. Ellington resolves to free the man but is hesitant upon realizing that the only thing blocking the howling man's escape is this so-called magic staff. Shrugging this off, Ellington removes the staff and plans to escape with the howling man only to realize he really was the devil! There is a pretty cool transformation effect as the howling man goes from prisoner to cliched devil attire. I really liked that there was a subtle look of relief on the leader of the monastery's face; it was as if to emphasize that looking after the devil was no longer his problem. Ellington comes to terms with the fact he was deceived and decides to hunt down the devil over the years. It is explained that this release of the devil is what caused WWII as we cut back to old man Ellington. Somehow Ellington managed to capture the devil himself and was explaining this story to his maid who we can infer was questioning the howling. Big shock, when Ellington leaves, the maid releases the devil yet again. Mr. Serling closes the tale out by mentioning an old saying about how you can catch the devil but you can't hold him for long.

Besides the usual morality tale about curiosity, I think we could throw in the notion that the path to hell is paved with good intentions. Furthermore, the ending is bleak as we could assume the episode is saying the devil is released once more to create a WWIII; this may have been a nuanced jab at the growing Cold War sentiments. I wish we could have been given more back story about where this magic staff came from and how the hell one goes about capturing the devil. As it stands, this is a cool episode that leaves the imagination swimming with ideas. It also addresses the feeling that the world wars were so horrific that, surely, they were the work of the devil--a far cry from the glamorization we see in modern society. Finally, if a tale such as this were even halfway realistic, then the devil must be on the loose again, because this world is a nightmare!

A Thing About Machines

Description: Season 2, Episode 4

Air Date: October 28, 1960

Plot Summary: A grouchy man believes his appliances are out to get him.

Review: I really don't know what to make of this episode; it's like a cross between "Maximum Overdrive" meets an episode of "The X-Files." The story doesn't appear to have an inherently noticeable theme unless it's something more relevant to that specific era. Maybe it was meant to be a statement of "get with the times" to the old people of 1960? Or maybe I'm way off and they're taking a shot at post-WWII consumerism? I don't think that's the case though since the main character, Finchley, is a rich snob who appears to be deep, deep in the closet; that scene of Finchley calling up "girlfriends" must have really been for the lulz. Anyway, I would think a direct shot at consumerism would be more aptly demonstrated through middle class America; besides, TZ has already addressed this topic to a degree.

So we meet Finchley who is such an utter asshole. His snobbish behavior is almost comical in the cliche nature of his superiority complex. At first I thought they were trying to be funny with this episode, but they appear to be playing the story straight. There's a brief cameo from Barney Phillips who is fixing Finchley's TV for the millionth time as we learn Finchley doesn't take care of his shit very well. Finchley hates appliances and contraptions for whatever reason despite having a house full of them. It's not long before we see that the machines are quite literally after him--I guess because they hate douchebags too. Finchley ends up annoying his assistant to the point that she quits on him, and he's left alone with the deadly machines. Gradually Finchley is tormented until he runs out of his home and is chased around by his car. This was kind of painful to watch since you see a driver in just about every shot. Eventually, Finchley is chased to his pool where he drowns himself out of fear of coming to the surface. The episode simply ends with the grouchy son of a bitch being found dead the next day with the mention of neighbors noticing him running around like a lunatic. I suppose this means it was all in Finchley's head, but that only emphasizes the pointlessness to this tale. Eh, your guess is as good as mine as to what was going on here. I mean, hell, the episode is called "A Thing About Machines." What is the thing?! I think it's safe to mark this episode under the forgettable section.