Most people say that the early episodes in a show's lineup are usually the best ones, and even when the show in question is the Twilight Zone, I have to agree with this. The show had a lot of memorable episodes, even in its final season when it was clearly running out of ideas, but this early installment is among my favorites because it does what TZ is best at: providing a mysterious plot that contains some elements that simply can't be explained, as well as having a twist ending. The episode focuses on Walter Bedeker (David Wayne), a man who is convinced he is dying of some undiagnosed illness. He's mad at everyone for having wronged him in some way. He hates his doctor for not finding out what's wrong with him, he hates his wife for her alleged insincere affection towards him, and he hates himself because of his mortality. Even if there's nothing wrong with him, he'll still die one day. Another character named Mr. Cadwallader (Thomas Gomez) inexplicably appears in the room from out of nowhere, having overheard Walter's monologue about how he's frustrated that human lifespans are so short. Cadwallader turns out to be Satan and wants Walter to give up his soul in exchange for never being able to die. He also includes an escape clause in the immortality contract that says if Walter still wants to end his life for any reason, he can enact it by talking to him again. After the deal is complete, Bedeker puts his hands on a scalding radiator to test his newfound powers and discovers the devil hasn't slighted his request. Walter then uses his immortality to do normally suicidal things, like throwing himself in front of subways and drinking ammonia and rubbing alcohol. However, it's not long before Walter starts to get bored of being unkillable. He confesses to his wife that nothing thrills him anymore, and that at least when he was mortal, there was a certain excitement in knowing he could die at any moment. Walter says he's going to jump off the top of his apartment building just for the fun of it, and his wife tries to stop him, but she ends up falling off instead. Walter, wanting to give the electric chair a try, calls the police and admits to killing his wife. However, when he's actually convicted, Walter is given a life sentence without parole instead of death. Now realizing he's going to be in prison until it rots, Walter summons Cadwallader and says he wants to use the escape clause. Immediately after, Walter drops dead from cardiac arrest. This episode is really simple, but it shows that the simple ones are also the greatest. David Wayne portrays a man who has a very common complaint, that being life isn't long enough. He wants to have time to do the things he enjoys, and the devil answers his call. After Walter has his abilities though, he finds out that being immortal is basically torture. You have to put up with your family dying before your eyes, you have to witness humanity slowly destroy itself, and there is no point in doing healthy activities anymore. That's essentially all there is to Escape Clause, but the moral of this one is a saying that will always be relevant: be careful what you wish for.
Review of Escape Clause
