‘The Twilight Zone’ (2019) Recap: ‘You May Also Like’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season two finale of ‘The Twilight Zone’.

One thing that television fans love in regard to their favorite shows, is outright consistency. Because knowing what you are going to get from said show on a regular basis, offers comfort to one’s mind and it just so happens that the newest iteration of The Twilight Zone worked to make that happen in season two. For this year’s tales offered up a consistent balance of either the fantastical or the cerebral, or if the opportunity presented itself, a lovely combination of both elements. But while it is nice to know what we can expect from this series going forward, what’s truly surprising about this series, is the sheer fact that it apparently has plans for a specific type of tradition in regard to its season finales.  

For if you recall from last year, ‘Blurryman’ was a finale that was supremely meta in nature. For not only did it work hard to break the fourth wall, it also featured a lot of in-franchise Easter Eggs and references before ending with the return of Rod Serling in digital fashion. Which was quite the unique way to wrap up the season, and offering up a story that is meta and/or unique and off the wall, and pays tribute to the show’s past, is apparently what is going to become the new tradition for finales from this franchise. Because ‘You May Also Like’ is a season finale that features an homage to the past, and is about as quirky as they come. And it accomplishes those respective feats by introducing us to a woman named Mrs. Janet Warren, who is desperately waiting for her life to change by way of a heavily advertised product known as ‘The EGG’.

However, while the advertisements for this product tout all kinds of wonders, Janet is clueless as to what The EGG actually does. And despite her best efforts to uncover its secrets, she can learn nothing about why this product is important and why exactly she needs it. But there is a specific reason as to why there is such mystery surrounding this product. Because it turns out that interstellar beings are behind its invention and that kind of knowledge could cause trouble, as would the discovery of this product's true purpose. For it is meant to end all of mankind in violent fashion, and the grand reveal of which species of alien is behind this intricate plan to end us all, is what allows for this episode to pay tribute to the show’s rich history. Because the Kanamits, who popped up in the original series episode ‘To Serve Man’, have created this horrible device, for one unsettling reason.

For they firmly believe that mankind has gone from a delicious side dish, to the scourge of the galaxy and eliminating us by appealing to our desire to own everything is the best way to make that happen. Something that these brainy aliens called correctly since everyone and their mother is desperate to have an EGG in their home, and oddly enough, that means there is a little bit of commentary present in this tale. The kind that digs deep into modern consumerism and our belief in how we need to have the latest and greatest thing, regardless of what it does, and it was nice to see the show find a way to sneak a little commentary into the story. But let’s be honest, it was way cooler to see the return of the Kanamits and enjoy their supremely goofy nature and it was equally as slick to learn that George Takei voiced one of these unique creatures. 

But there was mention of this episode being quirky as well, and that was handled by way of the visual aesthetics in this story and its overall structure. Because  ‘chapter breaks’ are definitely something you don’t see in this franchise all that often, and they managed to create a jarring experience, one akin to a nightmare. A notion/element that is reinforced by the sanitized nature of how this world looks in this episode and really, this is just a fun tale when all is said and done. One that just lets loose and embraces the strange and it’s obvious now that going forward, we should expect the weird from this series when we reach the end of the season, and one has to wonder how on earth, the season three finale of this series is going to top the quirkiness of this particular story. Until next year.

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