The Twilight Zone season 2 is now streaming on Voot Select. In late 2017, when Jordan Peele was introduced on to helm the status TV-era revival of The Twilight Zone — the sci-fi anthology collection created by the late Rod Serling within the fifties — there was appreciable pleasure, for the announcement got here within the wake of the success and the reward showered on Peele for his directorial debut: the social satire horror Get Out. Peele’s subsequent win on the 2018 Oscars a number of months later advised that CBS had discovered the appropriate candidate. But the primary season of the brand new Twilight Zone — which premièred in April final 12 months on CBS All Access within the US, however solely launched in India this March on Voot’s subscription-based premium tier, Voot Select — was a disappointment. Still, it was renewed for a second season halfway by way of its run.
Give them factors for consistency: The Twilight Zone season 2 — out there in its entirety Thursday, somewhat than the weekly releases final time round — remains to be very a lot a disappointment. It’s price noting that CBS solely gave critics (together with us) entry to a few of the full 10 episodes. The nature of an anthology collection, the place each episode is totally totally different — with totally different storylines, actors, writers, and administrators — means high quality can range extensively, but when these episodes are to be taken as an indicator of the entire, The Twilight Zone season 2 isn’t price a go to. One episode reveals a little bit of potential that it will definitely squanders, a second is intriguing however fails to stay the touchdown, and a 3rd units out not understanding what it is attempting to attain.
The largest failure of the season 2 lot is titled “Meet in the Middle”, from the writing duo of actresses Emily C. Chang and Sara Amini (Misery Loves Company), and cinematographer-director Mathias Herndl, who helmed final 12 months’s Ginnifer Goodwin-starrer “Point of Origin” episode. “Meet in the Middle” follows lonely single fella Phil (Jimmi Simpson, from Westworld) who discovers a telepathic reference to Annie (Gillian Jacobs, from Community) whereas out on a date with one other lady. As the 2 get to know one another, they grow to be happier and do issues they would not normally. It’s a generic meet-cute, besides the 2 are by no means really on display collectively. We solely see Simpson within the flesh, with Jacobs decreased to a voice function.
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Jimmi Simpson in The Twilight Zone season 2 “Meet in the Middle”
Photo Credit: Dean Buscher/CBS
Those two sides — an uninteresting scene-by-scene romantic story, and the presence of only one actor — mix to supply a Twilight Zone episode that is just too bland. For most of its runtime, you are simply looking at Simpson’s face, who can solely provide you with so many alternative expressions. “Meet in the Middle” wanted one thing extra to showcase the telepathic hyperlink between the 2; possibly an animated world inside their heads as in Pixar’s Inside Out, or one thing just like the astral aircraft from the X-Men collection Legion. At its coronary heart, it is about how folks can get in our heads — actually right here — once we’re susceptible and keen to compromise. But it appears like a brief movie idea stretched to 43 minutes, in unconvincing and boring ways in which make it a listless and forgettable entry.
Written and directed by Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter), “You Might Also Like” — an episode that feels like a take-down of algorithmic suggestion engines however is not — is a little bit of a step up, although it too has only one actor occupying the display for essentially the most half. Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire) performs housewife Jane Warren in a modern-day world that has a number of components carried over from the ‘70s. Like everybody round her, she’s wanting ahead to getting her arms on her household’s “Egg”, which is marketed with the promise of creating all the things higher perpetually. The episode makes an attempt to critique materialism, promoting, capitalism, and human nature, all rolled into one package deal. But it by no means actually manages to raise off as you may count on it to.
The story unfolds over a number of hours as sooner or later, Jane finds herself waking up in her mattress again and again, with no recollection of how she bought there. Her desires are seemingly made up of ads, one in every of them concerning the enigmatic and unknown factor that’s the “Egg”. Jane then begins to analyze, with the assistance of her aloof neighbour (Greta Lee, from Russian Doll). “You Might Also Like” is mysterious if not solely fascinating, partly due to the truth that it is essentially the most out-there of the three Twilight Zone season 2 episodes proven to critics. The intrigue carries over for two-thirds of the episode’s runtime, however the reveal of the twist — commonplace observe for The Twilight Zone — depends too closely on exposition. It’s a disgrace that Perkins could not see it by way of with a “show, not tell” strategy.
Billy Porter in The Twilight Zone season 2 “The Who of You”
Photo Credit: Dean Buscher/CBS
That leaves “The Who of You”, from director Peter Atencio (Key & Peele) and The Twilight Zone government producer Win Rosenfeld, making his debut as a screenwriter. It’s a lot better than the opposite two, mainly as a result of it does not neglect to have enjoyable with its instruments. The episode begins off unconvincingly, as failed actor Harry (Ethan Embry, from Sweet Home Alabama) makes a left-field determination to rob a financial institution, after a battle along with his live-in girlfriend that he thinks is solely about his lack of ability to earn. At the financial institution, Harry inadvertently finally ends up swapping his thoughts with the teller, proper earlier than the cops arrive and arrest him. Except he isn’t in his physique anymore. The lead detective (Daniel Sunjata, from Graceland) initially thinks Harry is performing, however not after he begins spouting issues he would not know.
Meanwhile, the true Harry discovers that he can body-swap with anybody by merely locking eyes. This turns into problematic for “The Who of You” on a number of ranges. It’s not possible to think about that Harry had by no means locked eyes with anybody in his life beforehand. Alternatively, it is by no means defined if he seemingly bought his body-swapping powers throughout the theft. The episode additionally stretches the suspension of disbelief and depends on narrative coincidence on the finish. For what it is price, there are some fascinating turns because the cop tries to meet up with Harry, together with at a fortune teller with visitor star Billy Porter (Pose). And the body-swap mechanic not solely contributes to a lot of the humour, but it surely additionally sits nicely with the allegory in play, about actors entering into the pores and skin of their characters — fairly actually.
Upon The Twilight Zone’s arrival in April final 12 months, The Atlantic’s Sophie Gilbert had gone to this point to say: “[It’s] hard to conceive that an artist as prodigiously talented and thoughtful as Peele is creatively involved at all.” Unfortunately, that also feels true of The Twilight Zone season 2. This second 12 months of the third revival of the famed authentic does have an episode written by Peele, his first; it is referred to as “Downtime” and it stars Morena Baccarin (Deadpool) and Tony Hale (Veep). Maybe that may present what the brand new Twilight Zone is able to. But whereas we maintain hoping for a brighter future for The Twilight Zone, it appears to be caught up to now.
The Twilight Zone season 2 is now streaming on Voot Select in India, and CBS All Access within the US.
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