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I wanted to know the reveal of the latest Twilight Zone episode right away. I didn’t want to wait till the end to have Jordan Peele explain to me what I watched. The episode sparked those feelings because they wasted no time getting the episode started. Ginnifer Goodwin plays Eve, who is great at throwing parties, but not knowing things that happen within her house. She relies on her housekeeper, Anna (Zabryna Guevara), to take care of her children. Anna has been the housekeeper for Eve for many years, but Eve never bothered to know what country she is from and what her grandchildren’s names are. Anna still trusts Eve, even going as far as asking Eve if she can use her address so her grandson can go to a private school nearby since they live out of bounds. Eve doesn’t hesitate and says yes, but at that moment authorities come for Anna, taking her away, which we assume is for deportation.
After a trip to a grocery store the next day, Eve’s credit cards are denied, which she believes isn’t her fault and storms off stating that they will go to another grocery store. She is stopped in the parking garage by people similar to those who took Anna away and taken into custody along with her two children. She later meets up with her husband in a holding facility, who reassures her that everything will be fine. For Eve, it isn’t fine. Her husband and two daughters are released, but men in really nice suits are interested in keeping Eve around for more tests.
This episode is similar to last week’s episode, ‘Not All Men’, where it doesn’t have the strongest reveal, but instead it is built around suspense. The episode isn’t afraid to hide its twist or the metaphors involved. It is revealed fairly early on that Eve is from another dimension, who crossed over to ours seeking a better life. Anna was also a refugee, who fled from Guatemala, and now Eve and Anna have something in common. The tension for the episode is set up right away with viewers wondering why Eve was contained in the first place. Eve was introduced as someone who is narrow-minded and feels things should always go in her favor. This is hard for Eve to deal with when she is denied her freedom and must fight her way back home. Even when things start to look bright for Eve, the episode reminds us of Eve’s place in the world and the social aspect of it as well.
Moments that could end up being cheerful for Eve turn bleak in a matter of seconds. Eve eventually escapes the containment center and heads home only to find out that her family no longer wants her around since they have learned that she is not from this Earth. This episode had a lot to say about the status of illegal immigrants and how people view them. People who are comfortable in their life and ignore the world around them, may be similar to the immigrants without knowing it. Peele reminds us at the end of the episode that a lot of people are immigrants from somewhere, but in the Twilight Zone, it may be from another dimension.
The episode was focused more on its characters and metaphors rather than building towards a twist in the end. I was happy with how this episode turned how and what it had to offer on immigration issues. Ginnifer Goodwin gives a really bleak performance as she looks for hope but it is ripped away from her. I am excited for next week’s episode, ‘The Blue Scorpion’, which marks only two episodes left in Season 1. It has gone by too fast!
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Classic Twilight Zone Easter Eggs
- A box of cereal labeled ‘Frosted Kanamunch’ was a reference to the alien character Kanamit in the classic ‘To Serve Man’ episode. The box carried the tagline ‘To Serve Humans!’, and the Kanamit’s picture was on the box.
- The mask Eve’s interrogators placed on her was designed to resemble the hospital staff revealed at the end of the episode ‘Eye of the Beholder’.
- The Dingle’s Ice Cream truck that kept rolling through the neighborhood was a reference to the character played by Burgess Meredith in the episode ‘Mr. Dingle, the Strong’.
- And not a classic episode Easter egg, but the combination give to Eve was 1-0-1-5, a number that goes back to Episode 2’s ‘Nightmare at 30,000 Feet’ and has appeared in other episodes this season.
What did you think of this episode? Tell us in the comments below!
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