The Twilight Zone Review: Replay (Season 1 Episode 3)
On The Twilight Zone Season 1 Episode 3, “Replay,” Nina finds herself stuck in a loop, one where the consequences are always dire.
Through the Groundhog Day-like storytelling, there’s a larger narrative of race in America to be made, and “Replay” does so with the right level of care. It’s still an episode of The Twilight Zone, however, and does not lose its sense of curiosity and inventiveness in the process.
The restaurant being the starting point of each reversal is a unique choice, a quiet moment between mother and son before she intends to let him go off into the world on his own. The episode is a compelling allegory of letting go, where replaying the same events over and over will always lead to having to let go.
The closeness between Nina and Dorian is the main draw, the chemistry between Lathan and Idris so much fun to watch. Their lighthearted banter, the love between their two characters, is the heartbeat of the episode, and is what helps make so much of it work. It’s an incredibly strong and believable bond.
It’s why the ending, where Dorian still faces certain doom and without a way to replay, is so devastating. No matter how hard Nina tries, the world is against her son, waiting for the time to snatch him away. It’s a powerful statement, and it’s a statement that resonates large in the world we live in.
The episode is a larger comment on racism in America, about the injustice done and the racial profiling placed upon someone simply trying to get to college with his mother.
It’s where “Replay” finds so much of its power, in the need to succeed by just passing through a gate, something everyone else in the scene can do without worry. It’s where Nina takes a stand, and so powerfully declares Officer Lansky as the one with fear, not her.
The fact that Officer Lansky does not stop, and keeps coming despite the instance Nina and Dorian find themselves in, makes the episode a gripping sci-fi infused thriller.
Glenn Fleshler is remarkable in his performance as Officer Lansky, so menacing and his presence so foreboding. Every look and glance produces nerves, because you don’t know what he’s thinking, and he never really lets his true thoughts come to the surface. He’s all threat, an impossible force.
The episode struggles a little in its final stretch, falling into pseudo-science ideals when everything before that never really delved much at all into the how rather than the why. The lengthy tunnel and back alley sequence, too, goes on a little longer than necessary.
The Twilight Zone Season 1 Episode 3, “Replay,” is a powerful allegory for the fears of American life today. That its weapon of protection is a camcorder, the thing that can record and preserve, and is a relic of the past rather than a brand new cellphone with a perfect picture, is a unique perspective to take.
Even with some minor bumps in its storytelling, “Replay” does a remarkable job at creating a mother and son relationship where doing something so simple becomes a compelling arc of the lengths some must go through to do what others take for granted.
What did you think of this episode of The Twilight Zone? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Twilight Zone streams on Thursdays on CBS All Access.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.