Unsettling tales in sophomore season of ‘Twilight Zone’ flawed but never less than compelling
Jordan Peele hosts “The Twilight Zone”
Are you ready to take another journey back to that strange dimension between light and shadow, where science and superstition meet? Tomorrow, the second season of “The Twilight Zone” reboot, first telecast in 1959 on CBS, begins its 10-episode run exclusively on HBO Go. This time, it is produced and hosted by Jordan Peele (“Get Out”).
This thought-provoking showcase of spine-tingling tales often delivers an alluring trifecta of tension, relevance and a measure of implausibility. But a project like “The Twilight Zone” or, more recently “Black Mirror,” becomes indubitably scarier when it drags that sense of the macabre closer to reality.
Indeed, what happens when man’s deepest fears are brought to life by his dark impulses and recklessness?
In the case of creator Rod Serling’s acclaimed series, the huge draw is often related to the unsettling ironic fate befalling its beleaguered protagonists, whose situations force viewers to examine a plethora of themes related to their everyday lives.
It doesn’t hurt that actors worth their salt are called in to vivify these stories, imbuing their dramatic sequences with convincing believability, insight and gravitas.
Topher Grace (left) and Kylie Bunbury in “Try, Try”
Season 2, for instance, features the consistently viewable likes of Joel McHale (in the episode “8”), Damon Wayans Jr. (“A Small Town”), Gretchen Mol (“You Might Also Like”), Jurnee Smollett-Bell (“Ovation”), Morena Baccarin and Tony Hale (“Downtime”), Jimmi Simpson (“Meet in the Middle”) and Topher Grace (“Try, Try”). We’ve seen three episodes of the show’s sophomore season, so far—and while some of them aren’t as cohesive or completely satisfying, they’re never less than compelling because of subject matter that shoves terrific actors out of their comfort zone.
Christopher Meloni (left) and Jenna Elfman in “A Human Face”
In “A Human Face,” directed by Christina Choe, Jenna Elfman (“Dharma & Greg,” “Fear the Walking Dead”) and Christopher Meloni (“Oz,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”) portray grieving parents Robert and Barbara, whose world is turned upside down when their teenage daughter Maggie (Tavi Gevinson) dies unexpectedly.
Joel McHale in “8”
But their woes boil over after they inexplicably find Maggie in their attic, looking perplexed and disoriented. Has she been resurrected by the solar flare they just witnessed? And if she isn’t who she says she is, why is Maggie talking about domestic problems they conveniently swept under the rug when she was still alive?
Billy Porter in “The Who of You”
“The Who of You,” helmed by Emmy winner Peter Atencio, has a more odd and uncanny tale: It follows what happens after jobless actor Harry Pine (Ethan Embry) performs terribly at an audition. Thereafter, he gets into a huge fight with his girlfriend, upcoming theater star Morena Brue (Carmel Amit), who tells him she’s had enough of his irresponsible behavior after their electricity was cut off, following Harry’s failure to pay their overdue bills.
Things go from bad to worse when Harry decides to rob a bank—a “role” he’s pretty sure he can pull off because of his heightened appraisal of his ability as an actor! At the bank, however, Harry’s situation quickly goes south when his “intensity” allows his consciousness to jump from one person to another.
Harry’s body-swapping “victims” include psychic Keane (Billy Porter) and Detective Reece (Daniel Sunjata) who, he later finds out, is actually more than just an acquaintance!
Sophia Macy (center) in “Among the Untrodden”
Tayarisha Poe’s “Among the Untrodden” is the most satisfying of the three episodes we’ve seen. Like David Yarovesky’s 2019 horror flick “Brightburn” and Amazon Prime’s cautionary web series “The Boys,” the episode tantalizingly turns the superhero genre on its head.
In the story, nerdy transferee student Irene (Sophia Macy) forges an unlikely partnership with high school bully Madison (Abbie Hern) after she helps bring out the latter’s psychic and telekinetic powers.
But things don’t go well when Madison warns Irene about the dangers of “getting too close” to the mean and manipulative girls in her circle of popular friends. Will Irene learn her lesson the hard way?
You’ll get the answer when you step into “The Twilight Zone.”
