Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone reboot is going strong. Halfway through the season, it’s still trying to find its footing but so far it has mostly impressed in its return. With that return, though, also comes the return of the secrets and details often hidden in episodes. A lot of details are impossible to catch the first time around and if you don’t have the time to sit down and re-watch the episodes, never fear Def Pen has got you covered. Every episode this season, we’re going to be doing a deep-dive, combing through scene-by-scene to discover anything Peele and Co. may have hidden in plain sight. This week, ‘The Wunderkind.’
‘The Wunderkind’
On this episode, the rebooted Twilight Zone tried its hand at political satire to middling results. John Cho plays a disgraced political manager named Raff Hanks who tries to get an 11-year-old boy, Oliver Foley (Jacob Tremblay), elected as President of the United States. Through YouTube and social media, Oliver seems to be capturing the hearts of the nation but, after flopping at a debate it seems like his campaign is dead. Raff comes up with a solution, again using YouTube to his advantage and Oliver ultimately ends up winning the election. But, Raff soon finds out that having a child lead the nation isn’t a good idea and Oliver’s ballooning ego doesn’t help. When Raff goes to voice his concerns to Oliver, the young Commander-in-Chief accuses him of treason and has him shot by secret service.
Check out our full recap of the episode here, if you missed that last week!
This week, most of the easter eggs and hidden details come to us in the form of news coverage following Oliver’s campaign. That’s where Whipple makes its return. The sinister corporation has appeared in most of the episodes this season, hinting that there may be something more going on with them.
Speaking of Whipple and their news coverage, every time it is shown the time is always a series of repeating numbers. (11:11, 7:07, 4:44, 8:08) It doesn’t really seem to have any bearing on the episode other than to just intensify the creepiness of it all.
Also in the news coverage, (I told you it was a lot of news coverage) we get a look at some other policies that Oliver tried championing during his campaign. For example, check out the ticker at the bottom of the screen, seems like video games are much more popular that spaghetti.
Finally, rounding out the news coverage screenshots, this just gives us a clear look at Oliver’s last name, Foley. This is a reference to Helen Foley, the protagonist of the classic episode ‘Nightmare as a Child.’ Seems appropriate considering Oliver’s behavior in the second half of ‘The Wunderkind.’
Either Busy Bee expanded to more locations or these episodes are more intertwined than we first thought. While Oliver is preparing for a debate, he can be seen drinking out of a ‘Busy Bee’ branded drink. The Busy Bee Diner is where Nina Harrison started her trip into The Twilight Zone during the episode ‘Replay,’ from earlier this season. It’s also where the events of the classic episode ‘Nick of Time.’
Bonus:
This week we finally got the payoff for this easter egg hidden in ‘Nightmare at 30,000 Feet.’ When Justin is shopping in the airport before his flight, the above magazine cover is visible, foreshadowing Oliver’s rise to the highest office in the country.
The Twilight Zone is available exclusively on CBS All-Access.
