As Fenton points out several times, he got decorations for treating the Japs the way he was told to: as animals. It's a dark little tale about the damage war inflicts on the humans who wage it against a backdrop of the ephemeral reaso ns for waging it. Sorry, ahem - " What Are Little Girls Made Of" hiccup there.
#The encounter twilight zone pro#
That's it, Ruk! Logic! You can't! pro tect! someone who's trying! to destroy you! I like "locked in mortal embrace." I guess it's a common enough expression, or something not created for this episode. Convinced the sw ord is possessed, Arthur screams "Banzai!" and leaps through the window to his death. But then he loses it altogether: (" I've been pushed and pulled this way and that way until I hate everybody! You dirty little Jap!" ) They struggle, and the sword, sharp-end-out, becomes wedged in the table. Fe nton says he was just following orders. They continue to have flare-ups that almost spill over into violence, the sword all the while providing them both with " Day of the Dove"-style hallucinations and adrenaline. (" He signaled the planes he told them where to drop their bombs.") Arthur receives a flash of psychic insight - Fenton didn't find the sword he killed the officer who tried to surrender - and Fenton needles Arthur into admitting his father was actually spying for the Japanese. The words mean "The Sword Will Avenge Me." And the sword seems to influence both men as they drink their beer. When Fenton returns he says he had the inscription translated on the spot, when he took it off a dead Japanese officer. Fenton alternates between calling him Arthur, Taro, Takamori, and "boy," which as intended provokes Arthur.Īrthur begins to suspect that Fenton might be a dangerous type when he shows him the sword.Īrthur pretends not to be able to read Japanese, but when Fenton leaves to get more beer, he holds the blade aloft and says to himself (almost astonished) " I'm going to kill him. Not wanting to be impolite to his new employer, Arthur accepts.Īfter needling Arthur about his Anglicized name, Arthur responds that he's just as American as anyone but admits his birthname was Taro, he just changed it to Arthur.
He too is out of work and has shown up at Fenton's house on a tip from his neighbor that Fenton might be looking for some gardening work.įenton agrees and invites the young man up to the attic for a beer. He finds a samurai sword and hurls it angrily against the wall.Īrthur is an American-born child of Japanese immigrants who at age 4 was a personal witness to Pearl Harbor. He's up in the attic, taking stock of the physical clutter of his life. Lost his job, lost his wife, unhealthy, and drinking too much. Let's walk through the plot and see why that was.įenton is a WW2 combat vet who's fallen on hard times.
"The Encounter" aired only a single time on May 1st, 1964 and then not again until January 1st, 2016. It's twenty odd years since Pearl Harbor, but two ancient opponents are moving into position for a battle in an attic crammed with skeletons, souvenirs, mementos, old uniforms, and rusted medals. " Two men alone in an attic: a young Japanese-American and a seasoned veteran of yesterday's war.
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