Jordan Peel's Twilight Zone

[Jim Kelly]

The third episode is what we want from Jordan Peele. Maybe a bit on the nose in its message, but a really frightening tale. Maybe Peele didn't want to put this one first, for fear it could pigeon-hole him as someone who only presents African-American horror stories.

[choptop]

Did you watch "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet"? It was much stronger than "The Comedian," though to be honest, I liked that one well enough too. If they had just shaved the run time down closer to twenty five minutes it would have been a lot better.

It still wasn't very good and had a random ending.

[David Walton]

So what did people make of the ending of "Replay"?

spoilers:

I'm seeing reviews that take it as a given the son died when he went for ice cream, but I thought the ending was intended to be ambiguous, conveying the anxiety that he might have died when she hears the sirens.

end of spoilers

[choptop]

Man replay wasn't very good I can see what they were going for but in the end it was just stupid and pandering.

[Jim Kelly]

Goes to show how people can have different reactions to the same thing. I thought "Replay" was miles ahead of the first two. There was a real sense of inescapable danger. And I thought the stuff with the brother was profound. It almost seemed to go too far at one point, but then it pulled it back at the end and went out with the right touch of ambiguity.

[Sacred Knight]

My favorite is still episode 2. If anything what I loved most about it was the cinematography. The lighting and the style...there was a uniqueness there that I felt was a suitable replacement for the old appeal of the black and white. Replay was a bit heavy-handed for me. Not like the original didn't have its heavy-handed in-your-face entries, but even there I always preferred the ones where the message was a little more nuanced, and better submerged within the sci-fi/fantasy.

As for the ending, I definitely think the intent was ambiguity. That without the camcorder, just hearing a siren now would forever leave her in a state of near-panic if the son was not within eyesight.

[Jim Kelly]

In the first two, I just wasn't invested in the outcomes of those characters. I could see where the stories were headed and I just wanted them to fast forward toward the obvious ending rather than drawing it out. With the third one, I was invested in the outcome. Even if I could predict where it might go, I wanted to be on that journey. It was heavy handed only in the way that life is heavy handed. The constant number of stories of young black men being killed in the Untied States by cops is unfathomable to me. If I didn't know the news was real, I would think someone was making this up--it can't keep happening like that, can it? And yet it does. So showing people trying to escape that fate is really terrifying, like a horror story should be.

[Arfguy]

So far, I've enjoyed all three episodes. I am really liking this show so far.

[choptop]

Goes to show how people can have different reactions to the same thing. I thought "Replay" was miles ahead of the first two. There was a real sense of inescapable danger. And I thought the stuff with the brother was profound. It almost seemed to go too far at one point, but then it pulled it back at the end and went out with the right touch of ambiguity.

It just didn't make a whole lot of sense and that's what killd it for me.

[HowitzerJoe]

Sadly, the series for me has been treading water. It just doesn't feel like the same vision that Serling had. Replay I thought was the worst episode thus far. I hope the show get's better, and I'm going to stick with it a while longer. Still, I expected better.

[David Walton]

In the first two, I just wasn't invested in the outcomes of those characters. I could see where the stories were headed and I just wanted them to fast forward toward the obvious ending rather than drawing it out. With the third one, I was invested in the outcome. Even if I could predict where it might go, I wanted to be on that journey. It was heavy handed only in the way that life is heavy handed. The constant number of stories of young black men being killed in the Untied States by cops is unfathomable to me. If I didn't know the news was real, I would think someone was making this up--it can't keep happening like that, can it? And yet it does. So showing people trying to escape that fate is really terrifying, like a horror story should be.

My favorite is still episode 2. If anything what I loved most about it was the cinematography. The lighting and the style...there was a uniqueness there that I felt was a suitable replacement for the old appeal of the black and white. Replay was a bit heavy-handed for me. Not like the original didn't have its heavy-handed in-your-face entries, but even there I always preferred the ones where the message was a little more nuanced, and better submerged within the sci-fi/fantasy.

As for the ending, I definitely think the intent was ambiguity. That without the camcorder, just hearing a siren now would forever leave her in a state of near-panic if the son was not within eyesight.

I think "Replay" was the best episode, because it did have the clearest character arc and I felt more emotionally invested in the outcome.

That said, I'm absolutely agreed that "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" had the best cinematography. It truly felt as if you'd stepped into another dimension.

Ideally they'll find a way to combine the surreal quality of "Nightmare" with the emotional impact of "Replay."

At any rate, I've enjoyed all three episodes, and I feel like the best is yet to come.

[Michael Watkins]

out of curiousity, did any of you watch the last two Twilight Zone series? this new one might be lackluster. but it hasn't reached the cheese level of some of the other two. best you can hope is for 2 or 3 really great/memorable episodes. that's just how anthologies are. over the course of a month, I watched every season of the 90s Outer Limits. it averaged one good episode per season. this is just for context.

[David Walton]

out of curiousity, did any of you watch the last two Twilight Zone series? this new one might be lackluster. but it hasn't reached the cheese level of some of the other two. best you can hope is for 2 or 3 really great/memorable episodes. that's just how anthologies are. over the course of a month, I watched every season of the 90s Outer Limits. it averaged one good episode per season. this is just for context.

Oh, definitely. Anthologies are hit or miss.

I think expectations are going to play a factor. Television doesn't need to be memorable to be enjoyable. There are plenty of shows I've watched that were both fun and forgettable.

Serling's Twilight Zone is the gold standard of anthology series so it's hard to rise to that level. But it's worth noting that Serling was actively involved in every episode. My understanding is that Jordan Peele has taken a more hands-off approach. I believe the director of "Replay" said he only offered input on something in the final scene. So people hoping that every episode has Peele's distinct signature on it might be disappointed.