Last week, Jordan Peele’s reboot of The Twilight Zone tried its hand at political satire with Jacob Tremblay playing an 11-year-old president. Unfortunately, though, it mostly missed the mark, adding it to the growing list of episodes that have that distinction this season. Luckily though, the rebooted series was picked up by CBS this week for a second season. So, even though they’ve had a rough time getting off the ground, CBS is giving Peele and Co. an opportunity to refine their concepts. But to their credit, regardless of content, every episode has been immaculately shot with easter eggs out the ass. (Check out all the details you may’ve missed in last week’s episode here.) We’ve also still got five episodes left this season so there’s a very good chance it picks up in the coming weeks. This week, The Twilight Zone goes back to its sci-fi roots and takes the story to space in ‘Six Degrees of Freedom.’
If you missed last week’s episode, or just need a refresher, check out our recap for that here.
”Six Degrees of Freedom”
This week’s episode stars DeWanda Wise as Commander Alexa Brandt. Commander Brandt is the leader of a colonization mission to Mars as Earth becomes uninhabitable. The episode starts with a voice recalling the mission before jumping into the report. The crew of the space shuttle is prepping for launch when a frantic voice comes on the PA system and tells them North Korea has fired nuclear missiles at the U.S. After some debating, the crew resolves to continue their mission instead of waiting for the missile aimed at them to make impact. They launch and after some debating in orbit, they decide to continue their mission to Mars.
However, everyone is on edge for obvious reasons as everyone they love has most likely died. Tempers flare and it takes some time for everyone to come to terms with their situation. It’s especially tough on the ship’s engineer Rae Tanaka (Jessica Williams), who ends up sleeping with the ship’s pilot, Casey Donlan (Jonathan Whitesell). Brandt discovers them and reminds the crew that their supplies are rationed and they can’t handle an unexpected pregnancy. After that, everyone seems to have reached a point of civility and understanding. Well, everyone except for their specialist, Jerry Pierson (Jefferson White).
Pierson has been lurking around the ship for a few weeks, taking secret measurements as he looks over his shoulder. No one else notices though as the ship’s surgeon Katherine Langford (Lucinda Dryzek) helps Tanaka and the rest of the crew plan a surprise birthday party for Brandt. During the impromptu celebration though, Pierson reveals the source of his strange behavior. He’s convinced himself that it’s all just a simulated flight to test their endurance and mental fortitude. As he’s making his case though, the ship finds itself in the path of a solar flare. Although the rest of the crew tries their best to convince him to take shelter in the cockpit, Pierson refuses, instead opting to open the ship’s airlock as the flare passes.
Pierson’s theory is proven wrong as he dies and the crew tries their best to clean up and move on. A few more weeks pass by and the four remaining crew members finally land on Mars. They find both relief and sorrow though as it’s finally proven that Pierson really had snapped. Or had he though? After the crew lands safely on Mars, it’s revealed that the voice from the beginning was tied to some extraterrestrial race watching the events of the mission played back. A naked, slimy Pierson wakes up groggy before smiling as he stares down at Mars as the strange beings claim humanity ‘deserves to be saved.’
Overall, this episode ranks near the top of the season for me. It’s got the perfect mix of sci-fi, weirdness, and just a touch of horror that makes the best Twilight Zone episodes. It does drag awkwardly a bit at times, but that’s been a common theme this season so I don’t really hold that against it. ”Six Degrees of Freedom” also ditches some of the more ham-fisted approaches of recent episodes to deliver a subtler tale with a much more ambiguous ending than we’ve gotten so far.
Up next, Taissa Farmiga in ‘Not All Men.’
The Twilight Zone is available exclusively on CBS All-Access.
