‘The Twilight Zone’ (2019) Recap: ‘Replay’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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​I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am a huge fan of Jordan Peele’s brand-new iteration of The Twilight Zone and my love for this series, stems from the simple fact that it is downright brilliant. For the two hours series premiere provided the audience with a pair of thoughtful and powerful tales, the kind that were grounded in uncomfortable reality when it comes to our world and how mankind currently operates. And the sheer brilliance of these opening stories left me anxious in the right kind of way to see exactly where this series was going to take us with its no-holds barred social commentary in the weeks to come, meaning that I was flat out counting down the days and the minutes until the next episode.

Thankfully my long and torturous wait came to an end yesterday, since the new TZ premiered a brand new episode in its regular Thursday time slot and well, ‘Replay’, was absolutely and utterly worth the wait, simply due to the fact that this particular tale, was filled to the brim with a devastating and stunning take on our world. For in this story, we came to meet a woman named Nina who was celebrating quite the important and bittersweet day. Because on this day, she was seeing her son, Dorian, off to college, where he hoped to study film so he could change the world with his work. But, a chance encounter with a violent police officer named Lasky, brings the trip to a terrifying halt. But not all hope is lost, for a camcorder that Nina’s father once owned, has the power to alter time, and hitting the rewind button will transport her and her son away from trouble, and the only question facing Nina now, is whether or not she can use that rewind button, to change what appears to be a dim and ugly fate for her beloved son…

So, when it comes to that plot, there’s no point in beating around the bush, because this one, lays it on pretty darn thick when it comes to its message about racism being alive and well in America, and while that statement makes it seem as though I am about to lambaste this story for holding nothing back in pointing this out, that is simply not the case. In fact, I praise this episode for not sugarcoating a single thing, and that it took the time to point out that sometimes, kindness and understanding don’t help the situation when it comes to racist idiots like Lasky. They will hate, and they will do what they must to satiate their ridiculous fears and the anger that burns within and well, that made this episode extremely uncomfortable to watch when all is said and done. Because the icy and remorseless nature that this man exhibited when it came to his interactions with Dorian and Nina, were a little too real at times.

Yet, what’s equally impressive about this tale, is that it had plenty more fascinating moments to accompany its powerful commentary. For this tale also served as a parable about the importance of facing our past, and making peace with it, since there was no progress or hope for Nina until she finally took the time to return home and make amends with yesterday, allowing for her to have the strength to face a potentially dismal future, and the episode did also offer up quite the intriguing answer on how we could possibly put an end to the wanton bigotry that seems to be making a comeback in America. For it took unity from the group of people standing outside of Dorian’s school, and one hell of a dressing down from Nina, to get Lasky to back down at last, and while it may seem too easy and almost silly to know that unity and truth might be the answer to what ails us, it’s the only answer I’ve seen popular media offer up at this point, and all of that might serve, as quite the positive start.
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But what matters more about this particular tale, is that it is inherently clear that it wanted everyone who watched it, to understand what it means to be Black in America, and that’s quite the sobering message for this episode to provide us with, especially when one considers the gravity of the ending of this devastating story. If anything, this was hands down some of the smartest and boldest television I’ve seen in years, and this one definitely gave me great pause after it came to an end, because of the powerful experience that it provided me with, and well, this was the kind of story that leaves one speechless to a certain extent because, there’s no silver lining that I can offer here as a writer. I can only point out that this story was ugly, and angry and uncomfortable and that’s what great television does, it moves us, it leaves us thinking and that’s definitely ‘mission accomplished’ when it comes to this episode and I do hope that this series continues to expose us to the parts of the world that so many people don’t like to think about or talk about much, because it’s high time we start discussing the fact that things are not always rosy in our world, in order to kickstart a little change. Until next time. 

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