'Nightmares & Dreamscapes' Retro Recap: 'The Fifth Quarter'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Our failures in life, often times amount to much more in our minds. Not only can they drag us down and hammer away at our self esteem, but in a way, they become a type of emotional debt. For often times, our mistakes can affect those around us and the guilt that comes with hurting those we love and care about leaves us wondering if there is ever a way we can repay our 'debt' and make things right once again.

Normally, we can set things right. It may take some time, but when we are sincere about making amends, we find a way and eventually all is right in the world once again. But sometimes, our mistakes cross lines that create incredible damage in our relationships, the kind of devastation where there is clearly a divide between us and those we love and that's where the emotional debt in our mind seems insurmountable. The question that we face at that point is, how far are we willing to go to make everything right again, and it is a question that is explored, to the extreme of course, in the Nightmares & Dreamscapes episode; 'The Fifth Quarter'.

Willie Evans has not seen the last few years of his life go the way he expected them to. He's been locked up behind bars for years and at last, he will finally be getting out of jail to reunite with his family. But it doesn't take long for Willie to see what being imprisoned for so long has done to his family. There's a slight divide between him and his son and the relationship with his wife Karen is an absolute mess. But before he has the chance to start rebuilding his life, his best friend and former cell mate Barney appears in his home with a horrible gun shot wound to the gut. The bleeding doesn't seem to be stopping and in his final moments, Barney shares with Willie how he wound up getting shot...and why. Barney was working with three other guys to get a cut of $3.5 million. Each man was given a piece of a map to find the cash and instead of working together, one man hurt Barney to steal his piece of the puzzle. With that Barney dies, handing over his map to Willie and inspiring his friend to collect the rest of the map, not only to strike it rich, but to provide a better life to his family and make amends for his own mistakes.

Perhaps the best way to think about this episode is that it is a crime story with heart, and lots of it to be honest because Willie is quite the stand up character despite the circumstances that surround him once he gets out of prison. After all, in the middle of the mess with Barney, his worst fears are realized when Barney calls Karen, 'babe' and in that moment, one would think that this is Willie's chance to go rogue and screw over his wife for screwing his best friend. But instead Willie handles every single tragedy and revelation that comes his way in stride. Mainly because of the fact that he knows he's responsible for it all. Had he not gone to prison, things would be different and it's clear that Karen and his son are deeply hurt by his actions and carry a strong sense of abandonment toward Willie and it makes what comes next, thrilling on a different level.

Because Willie's quest to collect the cash goes beyond retribution and greed...it truly is about setting things right in his life. By getting the money he not only avenges Barney's death, but his wife and son will be set for life and you root for him the entire time as he begins to collect pieces of the map. You want to see the guy on easy street because those tired eyes show us a man who has simply had enough of the hand he has been dealt and it makes the ending all the more worth while. Because Willie's sacrifice is in many ways, his redemption at last. Sure he goes back to jail, and there is a good chance he will never see the free world ever again, but in those closing moments he seems to know that his wife will eventually figure out where the money is at, and he's content in the fact that she will finally be happy. It makes for a refreshing story, one that could have gone to dark and angry places and instead found a way to lift our spirits. Until next time.

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