Meet in the Middle

The show takes a bit long to move along. But the end made it worth while

This has a great twist it's what they now refer to as a slow burn but worth it. The acting was superb and the lead actor is always great and this episode features a very difficult character to play and he does it oerfect!! Great story excellent directing , above average filming and the most important a greatvending!!!!

I did individual episode reviews for each addition to the first season of Jordan Peele's newly rebooted "Twilight Zone". Mostly those were a catalogue of disappointment, but here we are again, for the second season and this first episode was actually alright.

Whilst on a date that isn't going very well Phil Hayes (Jimmi Simpson) starts to hear a voice in his head. The voice isn't an inner monologue though, rather belonging to a separate personality, Annie (Gillian Jacobs) who seems equally annoyed as Phil about the situation. After coming to the belief that Annie is a real person, and not just a manifestation of a personality disorder, the pair bond and Phil falls in love, but as they plan to meet disaster strikes.

I felt that a lot of the first season's failings were because they chose to beat the message into you with a mallet. Here though, the subtlety was increased a bit and a story about not blindly trusting the messages and images people choose to present of themselves to you, was nicely done. The voice in the head was never explained, which is fine, it's just a science fiction-y cypher for social media. The story was pretty good, it sagged a little in the middle, with the "getting to know you, getting to know all about you" section running a bit long. Maybe we could have mined the dates with the shows two writers, Emily Chang and Sara Amini, a little more instead or seen the pair bond over something else, a work issue or something like that.

Jimmi Simpson has been nailing these "decent" guys with awful undertones for a while now. I liked the subtle nods to his buried racism on his first date, but he keeps the character building across the run and the ending that he gets too feels plausible, again, despite that conceptual tweak that has got him here.

Whilst it's not a classic, it's better than many of the episodes of the first season.

I was sorely disappointed in last years season, but got CBS access again for another reason and decided to try season 2 with lowered expectations.

The story slowed down in the middle but the overall premise is solid and the twist in the end was not as obvious as other ones from the last season. I would have rated this a little higher if it was shorter. Still not to the level of black mirror or the original twilight zone, but an respectable start to season 2 that stands alone well on its own and is an upgrade over anything that was in the first season.

Best episode of the series by far. Writers hit the nail on the head with this one. Engrossed and rapt the entire time. This is The Twilight Zone.