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Which character least deserved their TZ fate?

posted 3 years ago by strntz (10775)
19 replies | jump to latest

This occurred to me while watching Willoughby. I always thought and continue to think that Gart Williams had a happy ending by escaping to a bucolic paradise perfect for his dreams. Others think he simply died in an ironic TZ twist.

Two things happened when thinking about Willoughby. I honestly considered the sad scenario as argued by others and can see their point, or at least understand now why they think it's sad. It's not clear cut so I won't argue the point, and that's the reason for this post.

Second, because if the sad ending is what the writer had in mind, it got me to thinking that this must the character that least deserved getting royally screwed over by fate. Normally, it's the evil, greedy, perverted, etc. characters that get their just desserts, not good people.

So, is there a character that really got hosed in the TZ and didn't deserve their fate?

[–] rndgurl (129) 3 years ago

Mr Bemis did in the episode "Time enough at last."

[–] wrlord (1079) 3 years ago

Agreed. I never understood why Serling did that to him. Was it because he was a bit of a misanthrope? He had good reason to be.

[–] g-bone (531) 3 years ago

Sam getting put in the Earth creature zoo in “People Are Alike All Over.”

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

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[–] Tristan_Booth (403) 3 years ago

I agree with all of your spoilers aplenty.

I always thought it was outrageous that Millicent was taken away when she hadn't done anything illegal and she hadn't been a danger to anyone.

"Death Ship" is one of my favorites. It seems to me that the other two astronauts might eventually just rebel and refuse to follow his commands, especially if they believe they're dead anyway.

"Elegy" is another favorite (because I love Cecil Kellaway), but I never understood why he had to kill them. Even if we agree that "where there are men there can be no peace," these are only three men, and surely the Glades people make periodic trips there, so these men could have been picked up and taken home eventually.

Obviously neither Chambers nor any other earth people deserve to be "served." I'm wondering how many people heard the woman yell "it's a cookbook" and understood what she was talking about. Did the Kanamits grab her right away to keep people from finding out? Had she already told people back at the agency?

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

I think people did hear the woman yell out. The attendant sure did back away in a hurry. However, even if people became aware, their fate was sealed. Surely the Kanamits would return to get more people to serve. I also wondered if humanity became a farm like we farm cattle and chickens.

[–] GirlNamedSue (232) 3 years ago

Sam in People Are Alike All Over is another good answer! He seemed like a good guy.

[–] GirlNamedSue (232) 3 years ago

Good question. Most characters who are bad get dealt with harshly, and the good souls usually have happy endings. I'm going to go with the three astronauts in Elegy who were essentially embalmed alive. I first thought of the guy in Time Enough At Last but realized his character flaw is that he actually preferred reading to human interaction. He actually was enjoying the post nuclear world being alone with his books until he broke his glasses.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

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[–] GirlNamedSue (232) 3 years ago

No doubt his fate was way too harsh. Twilight Zone usually points out a character flaw and exploits it. In this episode, Henry was understandably upset when he discovered he was the lone survivor of the holocaust, but then delighted in it when he realized that no one including his wife or his boss would be able to interfere with his reading.

[–] doug65oh (205) 3 years ago

Least deserving of their fates? I'd have to say without question the astronauts in "And When The Sky Was Opened."

[–] Blondie7000 (182) 3 years ago

The Hitch-Hiker. That episode is so sad and Nan Adams certainly didn’t deserve what happened to her.

[–] BourbonKing (5612) 3 years ago

All the people under the control of the demon child Anthony in "It's a Good Life" but I always felt bad for "Dan" who ended up as a Jack in the Box toy in the cornfield where Anthony sent most of the people who hurt his feewings.

[–] Xcalat3 (3701) 3 years ago

The guys from Elegy sure did not deserve to die like that.

[–] bozo_500 (12162) 3 years ago

Bob Wilson

[–] AngularTurnip (3333) 3 years ago

The characters in The Midnight Sun.

[–] Colorado_Kid (209) 3 years ago

The guy walking down the street and getting shot dead by a scared neighbor in "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street".