Back to disappointingly underbaked for the fourth episode of the second season of "Twilight Zone".
Jasmine Delancey (Jurnee Smollett) is a busker and struggling musician who life is changed when Fiji (Sky Ferreira), the most popular performing artist of the moment hands her a gold coin, before walking out into traffic. After performing at an impromptu memorial, Jasmine lands a gig on a TV talent show that catapults her to superstardom. Though this puts an immediate strain on her relationship with her sister Zara (Tawny Newsome) it's not until the crowds are stalking her every movement, and the standing ovations come regardless of how good she is, that Jasmine begins to question the validity of this fame.
It's not the worst premise for a "Twilight Zone", in fact we've looked at unearned fame at personal cost before - nor is it badly performed, Jurnee Smollet was one of the stars of 2020, Newsome is a good comic performer and there are smaller roles for Paul F. Tompkins and Thomas Lennon. The problem with the episode, again, is that it's a 'premise' and not a 'story'. We don't see her for long enough, or her career go high enough, for Jasmine to plausibly accept that the coin is behind it. She wins the relatively crappy looking music contest and that's about it from what we see. She far too quickly becomes a reclusive artist at the "Evil Dead" shack before immediately suffering a psychotic break and wreaking revenge on her replacement. It's all too quick and unearned by the story. The twist in that ending too is one that you'll see coming from miles away too and when you think about it with any depth, doesn't really make sense.
Another disappointing entry in a series that overall is sinking from patchy to poor.
Jasmine Delancey (Jurnee Smollett) is a busker and struggling musician who life is changed when Fiji (Sky Ferreira), the most popular performing artist of the moment hands her a gold coin, before walking out into traffic. After performing at an impromptu memorial, Jasmine lands a gig on a TV talent show that catapults her to superstardom. Though this puts an immediate strain on her relationship with her sister Zara (Tawny Newsome) it's not until the crowds are stalking her every movement, and the standing ovations come regardless of how good she is, that Jasmine begins to question the validity of this fame.
It's not the worst premise for a "Twilight Zone", in fact we've looked at unearned fame at personal cost before - nor is it badly performed, Jurnee Smollet was one of the stars of 2020, Newsome is a good comic performer and there are smaller roles for Paul F. Tompkins and Thomas Lennon. The problem with the episode, again, is that it's a 'premise' and not a 'story'. We don't see her for long enough, or her career go high enough, for Jasmine to plausibly accept that the coin is behind it. She wins the relatively crappy looking music contest and that's about it from what we see. She far too quickly becomes a reclusive artist at the "Evil Dead" shack before immediately suffering a psychotic break and wreaking revenge on her replacement. It's all too quick and unearned by the story. The twist in that ending too is one that you'll see coming from miles away too and when you think about it with any depth, doesn't really make sense.
Another disappointing entry in a series that overall is sinking from patchy to poor.