‘The Twilight Zone’ (2019) Recap: ‘Try, Try’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 209 of ‘The Twilight Zone’.

There is a prevailing and chilling belief about modern society in that, our carefully crafted world and all of the creature comforts that it offers us; are what keeps mankind from becoming outright monsters. Which is a fascinating thought for certain. For it would mean that mankind only abides by notions of good because of the rules that have been laid out by society, and to remove those rules would in turn remove the shackles on our non-existent conscience, allowing for lawlessness to ensue. But while that notion has merit, since there are people out there who play by the rules so they don’t get in trouble, it does leave one to wonder if conformity is indeed what makes people inherently good, or whether or not it is something we can embody, regardless of the situation.

If anything, this is relevant and quite important to today’s discussion, simply because the next episode of The Twilight Zone dives full bore into this conundrum, in the sneakiest way possible. For ‘Try, Try’ resembles a vastly different kind of story early on, in fact, it outright resembles something we never see in regard to this franchise; a love story. Because it doesn’t take long for a woman named Claudia King and a man named Marc Wheeler (Marc with a ‘C’, which is important) to realize that they share an incredible connection. Because they’ve just met, and they are able to finish one another’s sentences, and they share the same interests and beliefs and well, that kind of flawless compatibility speaks to the wonder of love, and their budding chemistry only reinforces the possibility that the surprise twist is going to be something supremely mushy. 

But thankfully, the series doesn’t betray its fundamentals and try to shock us by giving us an everyday love story. Instead, once Marc is pressed harder about his odd ability to seemingly know what is about to happen, we come to learn that he’s stuck in a time loop. One where he lives the same day out over and over again and because he’s been in this time loop for ages on end, he’s come to believe that he’s being punished by forces unknown. And the only way he will ever be free of this nightmare is by finding something of value on this specific day and his love for Claudia is what he believes will break the curse. Yet while that sounds noble and beautiful and meaningful for certain, there is just one problem with Marc’s plan in that… Claudia has only just met him, and she can in no way reciprocate that kind of emotion since they’ve only spent hours together and that, is when this grand exploration of what drives us to be good people gets underway.

Because it turns out that Mark (he lied about the ‘C’) is filled with ill intentions in regard to Claudia. For he comes to realize at some point during the loop, that he can do whatever he wants to achieve his respective goal, and if that means practicing the perfect moments that we see here, in order to manipulate Claudia into giving him what he wants, then so be it. And this particular revelation and the horrifying moments that follow it, help the audience to understand that being good isn’t something we abide by because it is pushed upon us. Nor is it something that would immediately fade away if the rules no longer applied. Because good people embrace righteousness, and they will do their best to spread its wonder to anyone that will listen, regardless of the situation. The problem at hand are the people who don’t like the rules, who want the world to conform to their line of thinking. For these are the folks, when given the chance, that will let loose and do whatever the hell they want with impunity, as evidenced by Mark’s confession and actions.

Which means that people like Mark, need help in understanding that not getting what they want isn’t a sign that the planet is against them and that they have to manipulate in order to get ahead in life. They simply need to understand that the world is a rough place, one that you cannot control in the slightest and that being a good person and doing the right thing and being kind to others, is the key to unlocking its secrets and that is quite the powerful message to inject into this particular tale. One that is quite frankly timely and fitting when we consider how the world is currently operating. In the end however, this really was quite the fascinating and engrossing tale for certain. Because it once again offers fans of cerebral stories and fans of the twist ending, everything either side could ask for and more, and now that the series is genuinely settling into this hybrid model of storytelling, where the best of both worlds exist, one has to wonder what kinds of surprises are going to await us, when we settle in to enjoy the season two finale. Until next time.

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