I'm not sure what kind of punishment is for Flora to have to raise Harmond after how she treated him as a husband. It would've made more sense that she simply was left penniless.
@@melissacooper8724 I agree, I think that it would have been better had Flora been left with no money or inheritance. Who's to say that she simply won't leave and find another rich husband?
Major kudos to the makeup department for successfully aging Patrick O'Neal, only 38 at the time, to resemble an elderly gentleman. I honestly thought he was old the very first time that I watched the episode.
This ending presents a way better logic than the "Uncle Simon" one. We can see how the lady will raise her "husband" like a mother raises her son, using his money to have fun and meet guys her own age while Hubby plays the baby-with-a-cigar with his babysitter.
Could you please do these as part of FanScription • What if The Fairy Godmother wasn’t in Disney’s Cinderella (1950movie) • What if The Great Prince of the Forest had died instead of Bambi's Mother (Disney’s Bambi) • What if Disney’s Robin Hood 2 happened? • The Incredibles vs The Sinister Syndicate (Beetle, Boomerang, Hydro-Man, Rhino and Speed Demon) • What if Blue Sky’s Epic 2 happened? • What if Aurora’s curse passed on to Prince Phillip (Disney’s Sleeping Beauty 2) • What if Hans wasn’t in Disney’s Frozen? • Batman vs Doctor Octopus • Spider-man vs The Penguin • What if Stromboli (from Pinocchio 1940movie) had won? • What if we fixed Planet of the Apes (2001movie)
I always thought that the ending, while predictable, had flawed logic. Flora could easily find another sugar daddy, plus forcing a self absorbed shrew like her to raise a child would likely mess him up in the long term. Though hopefully, her brother in law will prevent that from happening, and will protect Harmon.
I’m sorry but this is nuts; why do I keep seeing the Addams Family Musical as people’s profile pics!!! I know it’s a great musical but it’s just so weird and kind of cool since that was my high school musical!
@melissacooper8724 Yeah, but what's stopping her from low-key pretending the kid got into an accident or something while actually putting him into a foster home while pretending to go the widow route. This is why even the guy on the video said the guy was being way too trusting to have that woman raise her now de-aged husband.
The reason Cora doesn't leave is because she's so use to a luxurious life style where she didn't have to do much due to having access to her husband's money and having him do everything for her. If she divorced him, she would only get a portion of the fortune (as divorces usually go) thus would be forced to go get a job in order to maintain some of that wealth, which golddigers and sugar babies never want to do. Even if she left and found herself another sugar daddy, there's no guarantee he'd be just as or more rich. Heck, there'd be no guarantee he'll be just as generous or kind, or living a luxurious life style (most rich people actually don't live in luxury). It's better to chase a good known that a better unknown; the grass isn't always greener on another side.
Not to mention at that time, she wouldn't be able to have a checking account without her husband's approval and I suspect she would have difficulty signing a lease on any better than a hovel without having a man co sign.
Also, ya know, this episode was released a literal decade before women could open bank accounts without their husbands' signature, and guess who now is too young to sign anything?
@@rainpooper7088 Uh, this was around the time women were allowed to vote, get an education and work alongside men. It wasn't the 1800s. Women who were single could open their own accounts. But, in order to get access to the husband's money, she would need his signature - unless they had a join account in which case she wouldn't need to.
I remember listening to the radio drama of this story with Adam West, I think that one and the passersby were the first of the radio dramas of the twilight zone I heard. It was very interesting
This is an episode where neither of the main characters are sympathetic. Harmon is a rich idiot who probably only married a woman for her youth and beauty and never thought about divorcing her ass and Flora is a selfish bitch who only married the man for his money and never thought about finding someone younger. Still, the premise is fascinating, and the ending is well-deserved for both of them.
I know that Flora had to get her comeuppance, but I'm surprised that she would be that greedy to agree to be a mother to Harmon just so she wouldn't be without a penny! If she was so horrible to Harmon as a husband, I can't imagine how she would be to him as her child! Somebody better place him up for adoption ASAP!
I haven’t seen this one so I probably have to watch the rest of the season now Youth is always been involved with the devil or a genie sometimes in the zone
This actually makes less sense than Uncle Simon. The niece took care of her uncle since she was 15 and may have had to deal with beibg beaten down verbally for years. Despite her anger, she might not know anything more about the world, so her fear and complacency is more justified. Here, could the wife not claim her husband disappeared, eventually get him declared legally dead, and just inherit everything? If the brother tries to prove his side, he'll land himself in hot water. And who would believe that anyway without more solid proof?
Exactly! No judge in the world is going to believe that kid is her husband now de aged to the form of a child. And even if the brother did manage to prove it with hard evidence, I'm fairly sure even back then there were laws against experimenting on people without the approval from some government agency so he'd definitely land himself in some heat. If anything, she could even fake ignorance about the whole situation to sway public opinion in her favor if word got out.
I don't think the twist is as predictable as you say. I honestly rewatched this AS I went along, and for some reason remembered and expected him to grow so old he'd die. The flipping was a pretty simple alternative and honestly serves for a really good ending.
6:01 That speech makes me wonder, does that mean Harmon's mind regressed into that of a toddler? Or Harmon still remembers Everything, but his physical body Would affect his mind, even if he tries to remain faithful to his wife turned mother figure Because, if the former, it would be pretty tragic that Harmon, in his attempts at becoming younger to please his ungrateful wife, basically "died", and was replaced by his younger incarnation who would barely even know the people around him (maybe at best vguely recognizce his now older younger brother) If the latter, it would still suck for Simon. As even if he remembered eveything and still loved his wife romantically, and even if she became a nicer person, it would be tragic for him that she can't love him romantically at all and now loves him but only as a son or as a Little brother figure
Also on the latter, growing up as a kid but mentally with the experiences and memories of an adult. That’s gotta be two identities to reconcile, the rites of passage of growing up plus the culture shift to factor in. It’s like if an adult now had to go through high school as it is today, the change would be a culture shock.
Why would the deageing process stop there and not keep continuing to escalate further? How is he so sure that Harmond would start to grow up normally from that point? That seems like a pretty major plot hole.
Had the deageging process continued to escalate further than Harmon would simply disappear from existence! I'm not sure how Raymond knew for sure that Harmond will start to grow up normally from that point, but if he disappeared, Flora would have to have him declared legally dead in order to get his wealth.
The serum was already being tested on animals, presumably another serum that stopped the effects has already been developed and was administered. A dark thought is that Raymond knew what would play out as a way to give Flora her just desserts, willing to use his brother to do so (even if this was giving his brother a new lease of life in the process).
@jbcatz5 That would make sense that Raymond would have another serum to stop the effects before Harmon would cease to exist. Raymond was with Harmon in the bedroom during his deageging process. And we never got to see what went on in there! Not to mention that Raymond had said to Harmon that he would make Flora pay for her mistreatment to him!
So does he still retain his memories or has his mind regressed? Feels like this premise had interesting directions it could’ve gone in. Like maybe Flora wanted a kid and Raymond was too old so she was bitter? Or maybe Raymond’s brother injected Flora w the serum too as punishment or something? Or maybe tell the story in reverse with Flora raising a kid and being crap to him, the brother hounding her about raising him, and the twist being the kid is her missing elderly husband that used drugs to deage but it went to far. I don’t know but it had potential 😝
@@claytonrios1 as long as they’re both adults, and it’s reasonable, not a 18 year old or something, then who the hell are you to judge people trying to find love?
I think a modern lens ruins the horror. Divorce around this time was either illegal or frowned upon. Shirley Temple infamously got divorced from her abusive husband and the press blamed her and said she should've stayed with him. He took her money, beat her, drove drunk, cheated, and was a US soldier. She got put through the ringer. The wife in this episode would get heat since if word got out that her husband tried to be with her only to turn young, she would be blamed. As a wife, her duty is to stay with him no matter what. He was rich, so he must be well known. The brother has all the power in the end due to societal norms. The horror is that she can't get out. The karma is that she is now in her husband's shoes.
I remember that Raymond had pointed out to Flora that she now has to give Harmon lots of love and attention the way he did for her before he grew young.
At that time, women couldn't get checking accounts without their husband's name on it. I also suspect she couldn't get a lease on an apartment without a man's co signature.
You seem to not understand how many people have great difficulty with change. That they will hold onto whatever they knew as stable even if it is a terrible situation.
@@jbcatz5 not entirely, but yeah I can see your logic in that. In this case they are keeping life manageable and stable. They don't have to face the unknowns of the world so will latch onto toxic situations they lived through.
Watching this I couldn't help but feel the younger brother might have had a secret desire for the wife and he hated himself for it. The way he looked at her was more akin to crushing on a jerk and fighting that crush while also being concerned for his brother
This sort of reminds me of the Tales From The Crypt episode, The Switch, directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and starring William Hickey. It's not identical of course, but the story of an elderly man wanting to be youthful is very much there!
He’s not promised anything on Batman Beyond as a follow-up to BatMay, and has been on record for how intensive making both BatMay and this have been. Walter has earned a break.
I guess the reason for Flora not simply leaving was because this was written at a time when folks were still getting used to the idea of women having direct control over their own lives, though from what I've seen of this show I think I can safely say that the writers would immediately agree with this criticism if it was laid at their feet.
I do think a lot of season 5 seems to suffer from the shortened episode length. There's so many where you just want to see the concept fleshed out more.
6:22 Yeah. The script is too focused on punishing Flora and give her her "karmic retribution that is actually self-imposed" when she could just leave and find another sugar daddy and learn nothing. The script would work better if the main relationship was the relationship between the brothers. Say something that Harmon always did everything he could for His younger Brother Raymond, wasting his youth in the process and that leaving him vulnerable to people to manipulate him for his need of love (Flora being an example). And the ending now being about the now older younger brother Raymond taking care of his younger older brother Harmon.
I will hand it to the team, it was not the twist I expected, I honestly expected Harmon to suddenly start rapidly aging and turn into a mummy in front of them. I think you forget, Walter, that when this episode was made, a woman couldn't get a bank account or even sign a lease on a decent place without her husband's approval, that's probably why she doesn't just storm out. However, a sharp little gold digger like her likely has a nest egg somewhere.
This episode reminds me of an early episode of Star Trek the Next Generation, where an admiral used a similar process to de-age himself to relive his glory days. Yet by the end of the episode, he was brought back to his older self having learned to appreciate his many years. I think it's a similar idea better presented on that show.
Inside Job did a youth serum episode where Rand wanted to show he still had it. He physically regressed to a baby, and everything in his system killed a bunch of vampires. It’s that kind of show.
That elderly age makeup isn't the greatest...maybe I've been spoiled by (90s and beyond) Star Trek and it's sci-fi contemporaries, but immediately I could tell at the start of the video. Edit: Though I do like the second stage makeup. Reminds me of Fred Rogers when I was the appropriate age.
I would just have the brother take his now toddler older brother and take everything with him leaving Flora alone and with nothing but the knowledge that she should have been nicer to her husband.
Personally I would have had the doctor be the SON of Harmon. The story could be that Harmon was widowed years ago and in a fit of loneliness married the younger woman. This would give the doctor a more defined reason to hate Flora
There is such an easy fox to Flora's issue here but thankfully she is not smart enough to do it. She could gift all of the money to someone else or buy investments. That would take it away from being linked to the agreement and she would be free to leave the child. She is a terrible person but at no point should she have to raise a child she did not agree to.
Also, if Harmon only physically regressed, his mind should still be intact. Yeah, he would need a legal guardian since the whole world thinks him a child, but he still should have the mental faculties of a grown man and not need to be "raised"
Why would she leave, she could just hire a Nanny to raise him and enjoy his money. Leaving him poor when he is old enough? Sure she will become geriatric but he will be broke as a young man.
@@WILTHEWOLF18 I still think the script is flawed because Is the typical "sacrifice the plot coherency for the sake of the story's intention" (in this case karmic punishment to flora). If the script was more about Harmon being more of a tragic figure and focused on the relationship With the brothers (even if at the cost of Flora leaving) it would be a better story overall
I think it would have been better if Flora had to take an injection of her own, or needed to be involved in the process somehow. Then, as Harmon grows younger, Flora begins rapidly aging, until they've effectively swapped ages, with Harmon now being the young stud, while Flora is the old bird. With this being Harmon and Raymond's plan to get back at Flora for how she's treated him all these years. Feels more Twilight-Zone karmic to me.
I agree that the end with Flora having to raise the kid is just weird. And yeah sure, like you say, we can believe that the lure of money could keep her in check, but at the same time, who's to say that she *won't* find a younger guy somewhere because she remembers that Harmon's fortune's not the only one out there? (And it puts me in mind of a Disney movie Ruta Lee was in where she's broke and wants to have her rich nephew murdered so she can take his entire fortune.) Definitely needed more of a solid reason with all loose ends tied up to be believable, but it's a very interesting premise as an episode.
It depends on whether the brother goes public with his human experiments. If he doesn't , she could say her husband left upset saying he would kill himself. After a decade or so of him missing she would inherit it all. Assuming she didn't spend it all before then
I remember that she was planning to walk out the door after she discovered that Harmon has now regressed into a toddler. Raymond stated that if she left all she would get to keep was the clothes on her back. She did state that there are plenty of fish in the sea. Raymond pointed out that she wasn't married to the other fish. She happened to be married to Harmond.
I remember that cartoon! Donald didn't really regress to an egg. He used a crocodile egg to trick his nephews to think that he did! Mama Crocodile was upset that Donald had stolen her babies!
With this one you have to go back to the 1950's style when this was written in, the writers assumed that flora would bow to motherhood because shes a simple woman, and thats what women did back then. sexism of the time and all
To be fair, I've seen husbands treat their wives like their mothers! In fact, I remember an Our Gang short where Darla's father had called his wife "Mama!"
@@melissacooper8724Yeah or how wife’s call their husband daddy and flirt by talking like a baby. I seen one girl who wanted boyfriends to hold and when he didn’t she throw a tantrum like toddler. People are just weird I guess.😂
I mean their are a lot of younger people go after lonely rich older people. Pretend to love them get their money and alienate them from their family. Some of them are just old man or woman fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Others are just perverts like you said.
I just saw this episode today. It is both one of the worst and one of the best Twilight Zone episodes at the same time. At first I really wasn't liking it for the very reason you were saying. But then I found the twist ending to be incredibly hilarious.
What did you think of A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain?
I enjoyed it immensely, though the twist was a little predictable.
If I can make a suggestion, after you have finished reviewing the Twilight Zone, ever considered going over Alfred Hitchcock Presents?
I'm not sure what kind of punishment is for Flora to have to raise Harmond after how she treated him as a husband. It would've made more sense that she simply was left penniless.
@@melissacooper8724 I agree, I think that it would have been better had Flora been left with no money or inheritance. Who's to say that she simply won't leave and find another rich husband?
@@trinaq I'm sure she probably would've found her another rich husband to take advantage of.
Ruta Lee is still alive at 89 yo.
She was/is one of those brainy gorgeous bombshells that survived show biz.
@@cherylcampbell9369 Wow, I had no idea that she was still alive. She must have incredible genes.
@@trinaqwikipedia has a good entry about her. It's very interesting.
Besides this, I mainly knew about her from Scooby Doo and the Ghoul school, so it's fantastic to see she's still alive.
What an adorable little tot though!! I hope his included a no child abuse clause because I wouldn't trust Flora at all not to try something
Raymond will see to that Flora will be punished if she dared neglect or abuse Harmon.
The twilight zone marathon on STFY it’s always a great time to watch it around this time of month
@@eerieeric834 Precisely, I always enjoy watching TZ, Buffy or Twin Peaks marathons during October.
Major kudos to the makeup department for successfully aging Patrick O'Neal, only 38 at the time, to resemble an elderly gentleman. I honestly thought he was old the very first time that I watched the episode.
Whoever the makeup artist was did a fantastic job! I actually believed that he was actually an elderly man!
It’s even more impressive when he goes on to play Diz in the Stepford wives and he was probably in his 50s looking like a guy who’s in his 60s
@trinaq If you saw it on Blu Ray, then you would not be making this statement.
This ending presents a way better logic than the "Uncle Simon" one. We can see how the lady will raise her "husband" like a mother raises her son, using his money to have fun and meet guys her own age while Hubby plays the baby-with-a-cigar with his babysitter.
"Mocks him for not being able to keep *up* with her". Ouch. That was a particularly stinging and suggestive barb 😶
Could you please do these as part of FanScription
• What if The Fairy Godmother wasn’t in Disney’s Cinderella (1950movie)
• What if The Great Prince of the Forest had died instead of Bambi's Mother (Disney’s Bambi)
• What if Disney’s Robin Hood 2 happened?
• The Incredibles vs The Sinister Syndicate (Beetle, Boomerang, Hydro-Man, Rhino and Speed Demon)
• What if Blue Sky’s Epic 2 happened?
• What if Aurora’s curse passed on to Prince Phillip (Disney’s Sleeping Beauty 2)
• What if Hans wasn’t in Disney’s Frozen?
• Batman vs Doctor Octopus
• Spider-man vs The Penguin
• What if Stromboli (from Pinocchio 1940movie) had won?
• What if we fixed Planet of the Apes (2001movie)
I always thought that the ending, while predictable, had flawed logic. Flora could easily find another sugar daddy, plus forcing a self absorbed shrew like her to raise a child would likely mess him up in the long term. Though hopefully, her brother in law will prevent that from happening, and will protect Harmon.
She could also just get a divorce, and take the community property
She could just hire a nanny to raise him full time.
I’m sorry but this is nuts; why do I keep seeing the Addams Family Musical as people’s profile pics!!! I know it’s a great musical but it’s just so weird and kind of cool since that was my high school musical!
@lainiwakura1776 Raymond didn't even want Flora to stick him with a nanny! I think he told her that she would be neglecting him if she did.
@melissacooper8724 Yeah, but what's stopping her from low-key pretending the kid got into an accident or something while actually putting him into a foster home while pretending to go the widow route. This is why even the guy on the video said the guy was being way too trusting to have that woman raise her now de-aged husband.
The reason Cora doesn't leave is because she's so use to a luxurious life style where she didn't have to do much due to having access to her husband's money and having him do everything for her. If she divorced him, she would only get a portion of the fortune (as divorces usually go) thus would be forced to go get a job in order to maintain some of that wealth, which golddigers and sugar babies never want to do. Even if she left and found herself another sugar daddy, there's no guarantee he'd be just as or more rich. Heck, there'd be no guarantee he'll be just as generous or kind, or living a luxurious life style (most rich people actually don't live in luxury). It's better to chase a good known that a better unknown; the grass isn't always greener on another side.
Even if she did try to divorce Harmon, how is she going to explain the situation to the judge?
Not to mention at that time, she wouldn't be able to have a checking account without her husband's approval and I suspect she would have difficulty signing a lease on any better than a hovel without having a man co sign.
Also, ya know, this episode was released a literal decade before women could open bank accounts without their husbands' signature, and guess who now is too young to sign anything?
@@rainpooper7088 Uh, this was around the time women were allowed to vote, get an education and work alongside men. It wasn't the 1800s. Women who were single could open their own accounts. But, in order to get access to the husband's money, she would need his signature - unless they had a join account in which case she wouldn't need to.
Is raising a kid so bad that it's not worth it for the wealth? It paints a pretty bleak perspective on parenting. She can just hire a nanny.
Having just watched The Substance a few days ago, it's really interesting seeing a similar plot tackled all the way back in the 60's
I love this episode. Ruta Lee as Flora is a legend in this one. Every word of dialogue from her is amazing.
I remember listening to the radio drama of this story with Adam West, I think that one and the passersby were the first of the radio dramas of the twilight zone I heard. It was very interesting
This is an episode where neither of the main characters are sympathetic. Harmon is a rich idiot who probably only married a woman for her youth and beauty and never thought about divorcing her ass and Flora is a selfish bitch who only married the man for his money and never thought about finding someone younger. Still, the premise is fascinating, and the ending is well-deserved for both of them.
Twilight-tober is awesome! Keep up the good work
I know that Flora had to get her comeuppance, but I'm surprised that she would be that greedy to agree to be a mother to Harmon just so she wouldn't be without a penny! If she was so horrible to Harmon as a husband, I can't imagine how she would be to him as her child! Somebody better place him up for adoption ASAP!
That aging makeup is really well done.
It's not so many times that good work stands out.
This is another tale of immortality and youth gone terribly wrong.
Jeez, we seem to have a lot of those.
I haven’t seen this one so I probably have to watch the rest of the season now
Youth is always been involved with the devil or a genie sometimes in the zone
Watch Womb (2010) starring Eva Green if you want to see a movie about a woman being forced to raise her husband.
It's wild lmao
Happy October, Channel Awesome 🎃
This actually makes less sense than Uncle Simon. The niece took care of her uncle since she was 15 and may have had to deal with beibg beaten down verbally for years. Despite her anger, she might not know anything more about the world, so her fear and complacency is more justified. Here, could the wife not claim her husband disappeared, eventually get him declared legally dead, and just inherit everything? If the brother tries to prove his side, he'll land himself in hot water. And who would believe that anyway without more solid proof?
Exactly! No judge in the world is going to believe that kid is her husband now de aged to the form of a child. And even if the brother did manage to prove it with hard evidence, I'm fairly sure even back then there were laws against experimenting on people without the approval from some government agency so he'd definitely land himself in some heat. If anything, she could even fake ignorance about the whole situation to sway public opinion in her favor if word got out.
Love this episode
5:27 the way camera pans and the way he says it is funny to me for some reason
I don't think the twist is as predictable as you say. I honestly rewatched this AS I went along, and for some reason remembered and expected him to grow so old he'd die. The flipping was a pretty simple alternative and honestly serves for a really good ending.
She still gets his fortune, she's basically a very rich, young, attractive single Mother. Win, win.
6:01 That speech makes me wonder, does that mean Harmon's mind regressed into that of a toddler? Or Harmon still remembers Everything, but his physical body Would affect his mind, even if he tries to remain faithful to his wife turned mother figure
Because, if the former, it would be pretty tragic that Harmon, in his attempts at becoming younger to please his ungrateful wife, basically "died", and was replaced by his younger incarnation who would barely even know the people around him (maybe at best vguely recognizce his now older younger brother)
If the latter, it would still suck for Simon. As even if he remembered eveything and still loved his wife romantically, and even if she became a nicer person, it would be tragic for him that she can't love him romantically at all and now loves him but only as a son or as a Little brother figure
Also on the latter, growing up as a kid but mentally with the experiences and memories of an adult. That’s gotta be two identities to reconcile, the rites of passage of growing up plus the culture shift to factor in. It’s like if an adult now had to go through high school as it is today, the change would be a culture shock.
Why would the deageing process stop there and not keep continuing to escalate further? How is he so sure that Harmond would start to grow up normally from that point? That seems like a pretty major plot hole.
Had the deageging process continued to escalate further than Harmon would simply disappear from existence! I'm not sure how Raymond knew for sure that Harmond will start to grow up normally from that point, but if he disappeared, Flora would have to have him declared legally dead in order to get his wealth.
The serum was already being tested on animals, presumably another serum that stopped the effects has already been developed and was administered. A dark thought is that Raymond knew what would play out as a way to give Flora her just desserts, willing to use his brother to do so (even if this was giving his brother a new lease of life in the process).
@jbcatz5 That would make sense that Raymond would have another serum to stop the effects before Harmon would cease to exist. Raymond was with Harmon in the bedroom during his deageging process. And we never got to see what went on in there! Not to mention that Raymond had said to Harmon that he would make Flora pay for her mistreatment to him!
So does he still retain his memories or has his mind regressed? Feels like this premise had interesting directions it could’ve gone in. Like maybe Flora wanted a kid and Raymond was too old so she was bitter? Or maybe Raymond’s brother injected Flora w the serum too as punishment or something? Or maybe tell the story in reverse with Flora raising a kid and being crap to him, the brother hounding her about raising him, and the twist being the kid is her missing elderly husband that used drugs to deage but it went to far. I don’t know but it had potential 😝
That story goes hard !
Or Raymond’s older years go to Flora, making her the old person in the relationship after how she’d used age barbs on Raymond.
love this concept personally
The radio play version with Adam West was fantastic. I prefer it to the TV episode
Age gap romances can be either really creepy or a cautionary tale. With a fountain of youth so to speak the latter is all the more common.
All romances have an age gap
@@NickBurns-ey6od But some are wider than others
@@claytonrios1 as long as they’re both adults, and it’s reasonable, not a 18 year old or something, then who the hell are you to judge people trying to find love?
@@NickBurns-ey6odNot in school, they aren't. Unless you're counting differences in days or months as "age gaps".
@@jlev1028 i do count days and months as age gaps
I love this The Twilight Zone video!
Thank You😊
One thing has got me thinking, though.
*Did Harman's mind also regress in the same way as his body?*
Great question!!
It's a shame that we never get the full answer to that question!
5:07
Twist
I think a modern lens ruins the horror. Divorce around this time was either illegal or frowned upon. Shirley Temple infamously got divorced from her abusive husband and the press blamed her and said she should've stayed with him.
He took her money, beat her, drove drunk, cheated, and was a US soldier. She got put through the ringer. The wife in this episode would get heat since if word got out that her husband tried to be with her only to turn young, she would be blamed. As a wife, her duty is to stay with him no matter what. He was rich, so he must be well known. The brother has all the power in the end due to societal norms.
The horror is that she can't get out. The karma is that she is now in her husband's shoes.
I remember that Raymond had pointed out to Flora that she now has to give Harmon lots of love and attention the way he did for her before he grew young.
At that time, women couldn't get checking accounts without their husband's name on it. I also suspect she couldn't get a lease on an apartment without a man's co signature.
Your series is awesome. I always look forward to them ❤
Even after all this episodes, still great quips at the end to get back into...The Twilight Zone
Great video.
"That's crazy!" Crazy? I was crazy once. They locked me in a rubber room....
….I died there, then the worms came….
Ruta Lee is one gorgeous woman!
You seem to not understand how many people have great difficulty with change.
That they will hold onto whatever they knew as stable even if it is a terrible situation.
A sunk cost fallacy
@@jbcatz5 not entirely, but yeah I can see your logic in that. In this case they are keeping life manageable and stable. They don't have to face the unknowns of the world so will latch onto toxic situations they lived through.
One word to the younger bro of Herman: Plastics
I thought this episode would have a 7 in the title for a second 😆
Ditto, they seemed fond of including episode numbers in the titles, for some reason.
Watching this I couldn't help but feel the younger brother might have had a secret desire for the wife and he hated himself for it. The way he looked at her was more akin to crushing on a jerk and fighting that crush while also being concerned for his brother
This sort of reminds me of the Tales From The Crypt episode, The Switch, directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and starring William Hickey. It's not identical of course, but the story of an elderly man wanting to be youthful is very much there!
I'm curious about something: once the original run review is over at the end of this month, do you plan to cover the many revivals?
I don’t think he is
He’s not promised anything on Batman Beyond as a follow-up to BatMay, and has been on record for how intensive making both BatMay and this have been. Walter has earned a break.
The Fountain of Youth?
I guess the reason for Flora not simply leaving was because this was written at a time when folks were still getting used to the idea of women having direct control over their own lives, though from what I've seen of this show I think I can safely say that the writers would immediately agree with this criticism if it was laid at their feet.
There should be a “Rod Serling episode name generator” or something haha
I meant Flora would effectively be in charge of his fortune. There's a lot she could do to basically abuse her position if it were her wish.
She’s got her BIL breathing down her neck to raise her husband though, she’s not going to have the freedoms she had when he was long past puberty.
I do think a lot of season 5 seems to suffer from the shortened episode length. There's so many where you just want to see the concept fleshed out more.
6:22 Yeah. The script is too focused on punishing Flora and give her her "karmic retribution that is actually self-imposed" when she could just leave and find another sugar daddy and learn nothing.
The script would work better if the main relationship was the relationship between the brothers. Say something that Harmon always did everything he could for His younger Brother Raymond, wasting his youth in the process and that leaving him vulnerable to people to manipulate him for his need of love (Flora being an example).
And the ending now being about the now older younger brother Raymond taking care of his younger older brother Harmon.
it feels like the only thing Rod was still passionate about at this phase of the show, was the title names
I will hand it to the team, it was not the twist I expected, I honestly expected Harmon to suddenly start rapidly aging and turn into a mummy in front of them.
I think you forget, Walter, that when this episode was made, a woman couldn't get a bank account or even sign a lease on a decent place without her husband's approval, that's probably why she doesn't just storm out. However, a sharp little gold digger like her likely has a nest egg somewhere.
This episode reminds me of an early episode of Star Trek the Next Generation, where an admiral used a similar process to de-age himself to relive his glory days. Yet by the end of the episode, he was brought back to his older self having learned to appreciate his many years. I think it's a similar idea better presented on that show.
I think you're mis-remembering the end of that episode...
@@THESCUMMBARyup, I think OP mixed "Too Short of a Season" from "TNG" with "Clockwork Incident" from "Star Trek TAS".
Inside Job did a youth serum episode where Rand wanted to show he still had it. He physically regressed to a baby, and everything in his system killed a bunch of vampires. It’s that kind of show.
Yeah , this is another episode that you kind of like forgot about , but I did see this one on a marathon
Amazingly Patrick O’Neal did actually look like this as he got older.
Wow this is crazy
Nice!👍
That elderly age makeup isn't the greatest...maybe I've been spoiled by (90s and beyond) Star Trek and it's sci-fi contemporaries, but immediately I could tell at the start of the video.
Edit: Though I do like the second stage makeup. Reminds me of Fred Rogers when I was the appropriate age.
I would just have the brother take his now toddler older brother and take everything with him leaving Flora alone and with nothing but the knowledge that she should have been nicer to her husband.
Personally I would have had the doctor be the SON of Harmon.
The story could be that Harmon was widowed years ago and in a fit
of loneliness married the younger woman. This would give the doctor a more defined reason to hate Flora
i agree with the review. it's... ok....
took me a bit to get the reference of the title lol
The Benjamin Button episode!
Next time Ninety Years Without Slumbering!
I love this episode anyways
There is such an easy fox to Flora's issue here but thankfully she is not smart enough to do it. She could gift all of the money to someone else or buy investments. That would take it away from being linked to the agreement and she would be free to leave the child. She is a terrible person but at no point should she have to raise a child she did not agree to.
The Encounter with George Takai? I want to see that review
Also, if Harmon only physically regressed, his mind should still be intact. Yeah, he would need a legal guardian since the whole world thinks him a child, but he still should have the mental faculties of a grown man and not need to be "raised"
A Short Drink From a Certain Fountain? I'll stick to grape 🍇 juice!!!
Oh, wow, I totally thought he was a real old guy.
If anything happened to Harmon, Flora would have been out in the cold no money. I liked the episode.
Cool
Why would she leave, she could just hire a Nanny to raise him and enjoy his money. Leaving him poor when he is old enough? Sure she will become geriatric but he will be broke as a young man.
Have we tried therapy... This the 1960s I will try dangerous experimental medicine before i discuss my feelings.
Was but a kid when I first saw this and didn't realize it at the time, but upon further review, GOD D@MN, Flora was hot!
I need to look into the divorce laws of this time period because maybe she actually would’ve been worse off
Also the attitudes people had towards divorce at the time
@@ianr.navahuber2195 exactly we can’t look at this through a modern lens
@@WILTHEWOLF18 I still think the script is flawed because Is the typical "sacrifice the plot coherency for the sake of the story's intention" (in this case karmic punishment to flora).
If the script was more about Harmon being more of a tragic figure and focused on the relationship With the brothers (even if at the cost of Flora leaving) it would be a better story overall
@@ianr.navahuber2195 agreed, we could see if it’s genuine sibling love or a deeper plot for Harmon being the trustee controlling the money
I think around this time divorce was much more frowned upon.
Man, Ruta Lee was HOT
your mic is giving off a bit of static.
What? Did Harlan Ellison claim he was plagiarized on this one as well?
Oh yeah, I forgot: The Twilight Zone was kinda dumb at the end.
I think it would have been better if Flora had to take an injection of her own, or needed to be involved in the process somehow.
Then, as Harmon grows younger, Flora begins rapidly aging, until they've effectively swapped ages, with Harmon now being the young stud, while Flora is the old bird. With this being Harmon and Raymond's plan to get back at Flora for how she's treated him all these years. Feels more Twilight-Zone karmic to me.
I like your idea better than the ending of the actual episode!
Is it wrong to say he looks a lot more attractive older
I agree that the end with Flora having to raise the kid is just weird. And yeah sure, like you say, we can believe that the lure of money could keep her in check, but at the same time, who's to say that she *won't* find a younger guy somewhere because she remembers that Harmon's fortune's not the only one out there? (And it puts me in mind of a Disney movie Ruta Lee was in where she's broke and wants to have her rich nephew murdered so she can take his entire fortune.) Definitely needed more of a solid reason with all loose ends tied up to be believable, but it's a very interesting premise as an episode.
If she could she would’ve already.
It depends on whether the brother goes public with his human experiments. If he doesn't , she could say her husband left upset saying he would kill himself. After a decade or so of him missing she would inherit it all. Assuming she didn't spend it all before then
I remember that she was planning to walk out the door after she discovered that Harmon has now regressed into a toddler. Raymond stated that if she left all she would get to keep was the clothes on her back. She did state that there are plenty of fish in the sea. Raymond pointed out that she wasn't married to the other fish. She happened to be married to Harmond.
Plot holes.
Have you recommended and episode yet?
Donald Duck in "Don's Fountain of Youth" had exploited this idea already.
That's a great cartoon, love when the crocodile came in.
I remember that cartoon! Donald didn't really regress to an egg. He used a crocodile egg to trick his nephews to think that he did! Mama Crocodile was upset that Donald had stolen her babies!
So he is her married sugar daddy.
With this one you have to go back to the 1950's style when this was written in, the writers assumed that flora would bow to motherhood because shes a simple woman, and thats what women did back then. sexism of the time and all
ji
So far Walter doesn't seem too impressed with most of the episodes from season 5.😮💨
I guess we shouldn't be surprised that there wasn't a season 6.
She is awful, I'm sure, but that mean woman is incredibly hot and poised. Her voice is beautiful.
Having your wife turn into your mother is very disturbing… why do shows with de-aging do this?
To be fair, I've seen husbands treat their wives like their mothers! In fact, I remember an Our Gang short where Darla's father had called his wife "Mama!"
"So she has to raise her horrible husband."
"That's what most wives think they do anyway."-MST3K: Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders.
@@melissacooper8724Yeah or how wife’s call their husband daddy and flirt by talking like a baby. I seen one girl who wanted boyfriends to hold and when he didn’t she throw a tantrum like toddler. People are just weird I guess.😂
ask Sigmund Freud lol
Why would anyone want to live with Flora?? What an awful person.
I don't know why Harmond fell in love with her, but at the point of the story he was simply blind to her true intentions!
I dislike this episode. I dislike how the guy who sought out a trophy wife 40 years younger than him is - somehow - portrayed as a victim.
I mean their are a lot of younger people go after lonely rich older people. Pretend to love them get their money and alienate them from their family. Some of them are just old man or woman fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Others are just perverts like you said.
@stephonmanny7555 i think an age gap of 15 years would have been better 😊
I just saw this episode today. It is both one of the worst and one of the best Twilight Zone episodes at the same time. At first I really wasn't liking it for the very reason you were saying. But then I found the twist ending to be incredibly hilarious.
@@peterschadenberg9045 yeah ... as he points out in the video though the brother was taking a HUGE risk that she wouldn't smother the baby
Meh
Reading only the episode's title and never having watched it I thought it was gonna be about racial issues.
Naaah, she will be cougar when he came to age 😅