"The Twilight Zone (2002)" Retro Recap: "Dead Man's Eyes"

Written by Scotty

Emotions can be a powerful thing in our lives, for some even more so than others.  Some people are able to control their emotions and only let them show when they want to, others are able to shut them down completely, while there are still others that cannot control them, no matter how hard they try.  I am in the first group when it comes to this, I have taken many years to get control over my emotions and sometimes they come creeping out when I least expect it, but most of the time, they are in check.  This is not something that comes to us over night, it is something that you need to learn how to control and for the people that have little to no control over them, you know exactly what I mean. There is nothing wrong with keeping your emotions on your sleeve, but they can wind up turning you into a crazy mess if you are not able to lock them up for a small part of your day.

In court Laurel Janus is waiting to hear the verdict of her husband’s killer, Stanley Coe. When the judge hands down a sentence that is no less than fifteen years and no longer than life, Laurel is full of rage and wants Stanley to be truly punished for what he did to her life. Before exiting the courthouse, Laurel asks the DA for her husband’s effects, just to have them.  Although this is a strange request the DA complies and Laurel walks out with her husband’s watch and the glasses he was wearing that night. Trying to keep her cool before driving home, Laurel sees a glimmer in the glasses and cannot figure out what is causing it. Putting them on, she sees her husband sitting in the car and she knows there is something strange happening.

Taking with her best friend Becca at the house about the case, Laurel tells her about what she saw in the glasses.  While Becca believes that Laurel is losing her mind, she suggests that Laurel should distance herself from what has become her obsession over the past two years.  Laurel thinks that this is a good idea and cleans up all of the newspaper clippings, articles and all of Nick’s effects, everything but his glasses.  Seeing the glimmer again while in the garage, she puts them on and sees Stanley Coe standing before her, yelling at Nick about embezzling money from their company.  Knowing that Stanley is the killer, Laurel does not have to go on with the vision and with her head starting to hurt, she takes off the glasses.

Telling Becca what she saw, her friend is worried that Laurel is back on the booze and drugs that she has always fallen back to, but Laurel has been straight for over sixteen months and will not go back to her old ways.  Becoming curious of why Nick’s body was not found in the kitchen where she saw the altercation in the glasses, Laurel gives them another shot.  Seeing her husband and Stanley fighting, she sees that Stanley walks away after he has defeated his new foe.  Being called by the DA, telling her that she will have to testify again, Laurel tries to get the case reopened with her new information, but they will not allow her visions to be part of the case, so once again, she heads back home to see what really happened.  Putting the glasses on in the bathroom where Nick was found, Laurel sees the killer come up behind him, but hears him call out her name, Becca.  Finding out that Becca and Nick were sleeping together, Laurel loses it and tries to get her best friend to admit that she is the killer, but Becca loved Nick and would not do anything to hurt him, so one more time, Laurel finds herself in the bathroom with Nick’s glasses on and finds out who the killer has been all along.

Laurel has a rough backstory, she was in and out of rehab for months and even though she loved her husband, he was getting tired of the babysitting. Stealing money from his company was supposed to help him get away and when that was found out by his partner, Nick could not defend his actions.  Even though Stanley wanted to kill his friend for ruining him, he walked away from the situation knowing that he had what he needed, but Laurel could not walk away with what she discovers. Hearing her best friend’s name being called out by her husband, Laurel became enraged and took matters into her own hands and made sure that she would never lose anything of hers to Becca again.  Starring Portia de Rossi as Laurel, Kristin Lehman as Becca, William DeVry as Nick and Dion Luther as Stanley Coe, this episode turned into the ultimate love triangle gone wrong.  Laurel might not have been in the wrong for doing what she did, but seeing herself covered in her husband’s blood made her crazier than she would admit to being.  If you find yourself in an emotional situation, you might want to take a breath before you react.  It could feel like the right thing to do at the time, but you may end up hurting someone you truly care for without thinking about it.

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