THE TWILIGHT ZONE (S1E9) “The Blue Scorpion”: Taking Aim At Gun Violence

The penultimate episode of The Twilight Zone’s first season takes on the topic of gun control. It also raises some fascinating questions about how much we value inanimate objects, namely how much people value objects like guns over the lives they take.

A Whole Lotta Jeff

Chris O’Dowd stars as Jeff Storck, an anthropology professor whose marriage is falling apart despite his efforts to try and make it work. Jeff currently lives with his father Otis because he moved out when his wife Anne (Amy Landecker) asked for space. One day when he returns home, he discovers his father’s dead body.

Otis died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, which baffles Jeff because his father was a hippie who hated guns. As the camera pans over the scene of the crime, we see the name OTIS engraved across the bullet casing, but then the letters mysteriously vanish. What’s even more perplexing is the fact that the suicide note reads, “I love him more than you.”

Jeff doesn’t know where the gun came from, but it’s sleek and its grip is adorned with the titular blue scorpion. While sifting through his father’s belongings, Jeff finds a bullet clip inside a black heart-shaped box. When he ejects the first bullet, he sees the name JEFF inscribed on it. The following day, he starts hearing the name Jeff everywhere. Whether it’s people on the street or someone calling for their dog, suddenly it’s as though everyone’s name is Jeff.

When Jeff stops by his old house to collect his mail, Anne thinks he’s an intruder and points a gun at him. Upon realizing who he is, Anne explains that the gun is for protection since she lives alone now and there were recently two home invasions in the neighborhood. Jeff receives a package from the police, containing his father’s gun. Anne suggests he sell it to pay for a divorce attorney. It turns out she’s leaving him for another man, whose name also happens to be Jeff.

Wanting nothing to do with the pistol, Jeff calls a gun dealer to try and get rid of it. The dealer explains the legend of the Blue Scorpion, ominously reciting “You don’t find it. It finds you.” Later, Jeff gets stoned and hallucinates that the gunmaker is standing in the corner of his room. The man tells him that the Blue Scorpion loves him more than anyone and all it asks for in return is light because the gun is afraid of the dark.

Gradually, Jeff falls under the Blue Scorpion’s spell. He transforms into a man who loves his gun more than anything or anyone. Nonetheless, there’s still a bullet with his name on it. It’s easy to assume that Jeff will meet the same fate as his father. But ever since Jeff found the bullet, almost everyone he’s met shares the same name. The mystery is which Jeff the bullet is meant for.

Under the Gun

Gun control is a pretty controversial topic, but writer Glen Morgan achieves the tricky task of appealing to both sides of the debate. It’s refreshing to see an episode of The Twilight Zone that isn’t so heavy-handed, but the message here feels entirely too muddled. Rather than make a powerful statement about gun laws, the episode focuses more on the consequences of people caring about objects more than other people’s lives.

“The Blue Scorpion” refutes the claim that “guns don’t kill people, people do.” If the name Jeff is engraved on the bullet and nearly everyone’s name is Jeff, then it doesn’t matter who the victim is. All that matters is that the gun fulfills its goal. A person might be responsible for pulling the trigger, but that doesn’t change the fact that a gun’s sole purpose is to fire a bullet. This episode of The Twilight Zone argues that guns actually do kill people because that’s what they were created to do regardless of whether people use them for good or evil.

Down the Rabbit Hole

This episode’s use of music is noteworthy and effectively mirrors Jeff’s character. Most notable is the use of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.” Having grown up with a hippie father, it’s no surprise that Jeff’s taste in music would veer toward psychedelic rock. Not only is the song a fitting choice for the character, but it cleverly alludes to Jeff’s imminent descent down the metaphorical rabbit hole.

Craig William Macneill’s direction and Mathias Herndl’s cinematography work well together. When Jeff gets stoned, Herndl creates a hazy, amber atmosphere that effectively captures that feeling. Even if we didn’t see Jeff smoke or hear him talk about being stoned, it would have been clear from the cinematography alone. The lighting helps make the Blue Scorpion visually appealing. The way the light reflects off of the shiny, gold-plated pistol makes it looks like a highly-covetable and alluring item, despite the fact that it’s a gun.

The performances are competent, but nothing spectacular. Chris O’Dowd’s portrayal of a man grieving over his father is convincing, but his downward spiral in the second half of the episode becomes slightly over-the-top. However, this isn’t enough to detract from the episode.

“The Blue Scorpion” has a tighter runtime and better pacing compared to previous episodes. Although the setup of a man who stumbles upon a seemingly cursed or evil object seems familiar, the twist is actually unexpected. But the twist is part of what makes this episode feel thematically confused. It doesn’t feel as though “The Blue Scorpion” takes a strong stance in the gun-control debate. It also doesn’t feel like it packs an urgent message, but it does succeed at being thought-provoking.

Conclusion

At this point in the season, it would be pointless to expect anything extraordinary from The Twilight Zone. “The Blue Scorpion” isn’t as overbearing as prior episodes, which is a nice change of pace. It also strives to appeal to both sides of the gun-control debate, which causes its themes to get a bit murky. Despite a scene at the end that feels tacked on, the episode’s main twist successfully subverts expectations. “The Blue Scorpion” is yet another underwhelming episode of The Twilight Zone, albeit not one of the worst ones.