"The Twilight Zone (2002)" Retro Recap: "Cradle of Darkness"

​Written by Scotty

If you were able to travel back in time and change something horrendous that happened, would you do it?  Most people would say yes, since there have been so many tragedies over the years and if you are able to save a handful of lives, it would be worth it.  But what if you give it another thought, what if what you do will cause the tragedies to happen?  It is one of those things that nobody seems to think about when this topic comes up, you could be the cause rather than the solution. 

Andrea Collins is being sent back in time with one purpose and one alone, to kill Adolf Hitler before he is even able to walk.  With the right DNA structure to travel back in time, she is on a one way trip to change history and save sixty million lives.  She has no regrets for what she is about to do and will make sure she accomplishes her task at all costs.  But when she arrives in a little town outside of Germany, her attitude begins to change. Arriving at Alois Hitler’s home, Andrea is masquerading as his new house keeper to get close to the child.  Finding out that Alois has already lost three children, his newest baby will not be with someone he does not trust.  As Kristina is the baby’s primary care giver since Klara Hitler has become ill, Andrea needs to find a way to get close to the baby and put an end to his tyranny before it can even begin.  Trying to suffocate the baby, Andrea is confronted by Klara and finds out all of the trouble that has taken place in the house, especially with the spirits.  Thinking that Klara is off her rocker, Andrea retreats to her room and makes a plan for the next day.

Only having two days to accomplish her task, Andrea is against the clock and when an opportunity to go see Richard Wagner is dangled in front of her, she has an even better idea.  Convincing Alois to take Kristina with him instead, Andrea will have enough time to take care of the baby without anyone being able to stop her.  But when entering the room and seeing the eyes of the other Hitler children that have died, she has a break down and has to change her approach once again.  Heading downstairs and seeing Klara reading in the lounge, Andrea begs the baby’s mother to take her son and leave the country.  Klara does not believe a word that her new house keeper is saying and dismisses it as a crazy rambling. 

Her final day before the real house keeper arrives upon her, Andrea has still not been able to carry out any of her plans, so she is down to the wire.  When Alois Hitler is having his higher ups over for dinner, Andrea hears the baby crying and knows that this will be her last chance.  Telling Kristina to care for the guests while she will care for the child, Andrea does the only thing she can think of.  Taking the baby under her arm, Andrea runs to the nearby bridge and jumps in to the river killing herself and the baby.  Beside herself, Kristina has to find a way to bring a baby back to Alois or she will be dead as well.  Needing another baby, Kristina has little options but to improvise to save her own skin for the Hitler family, but will someone else’s child make that much of a difference?
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An intriguing take on something that has been talked about ever since I can remember, and probably even longer.  If Hitler could have been killed before he took power, would it have changed the world so drastically?  I am up in the air about this subject and this episode says no since there is another baby that is invited into the Hitler family that turns out to be the Führer that changed the world.  With Alois’s teachings and rantings about how bad the country has become, it is easy to see where Adolf got his values.  Starring Katherine Heigl as Andrea, James Remar as Alois Hitler, Nancy Sivak as Klara and Jillian Fargey as Kristina, this cast delivered something that I rarely see in a television show, the emotions of what could happen if you truly wanted to change the world.  Each character does their part, but you never get to see any sympathy towards the Hitler family and why a situation like this could be so difficult to go through with.  

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