The Twilight Zone (TV Series) The Blue Scorpion (2019) User Reviews

Really enjoyed this episode (apart from one thing)

[Hitchslapped · 7/10 · 24 May 2019]

Well, this was the first episode where you didn't immediately know what's going to happen after 2 minutes. The acting was great and the mystery actually staid mysterious throughout the episode. It probably won't blow your mind but it's far better than any episode so far.

Right after the main story, however, there's a little ending sequence where Peele does his usual outro narration. I guess nobody was able to write anything even remotely clever so they just read some fortune cookies. The episode basically ended with Peele telling us some pretentious drivel that was barely connected to the episode. Just skip the narration if you don't have anything to say.

The Blue Scorpion

[bobcobb301 · 6/10 · 1 June 2019]

Chris O'Dowd is one of my favorite comedic actors and he played his part well here, but once again the show struggled to figure out how to handle this plot.

If this was cut down to about 20 minutes it would have been good, but the long runtime leads to so many unnecessary scenes here.

So tell me Jeff....

[leefoo-1 · 6/10 · 8 July 2019]

While I appreciate your shooting the burglar, what WERE you doing outside my house at night? That, and the stupid tacked on ending. They should've ended it at the burglar shooting and left the rest to our imagination. These writers have no clue how to write a good TZ ep.

First one to not seem overly political...until the very end.

[micaiahjohn · 6/10 · 16 July 2019]

I actually liked this one. It was great. It kept me on my toes. It made me wonder what was gonna happen next, kinda like an old fashioned TZ. The only thing was that I thought they were gonna teach a big old "guns are evil" message, and was really surprised when the gun saved his life. I thought that was a great ending! Then the last 5 minutes happened. He throws the gun into a like (why?), and two kids find it and start playing with it, then Peele talks about how guns are pretty much bad and how people value them more than humans and that's the end. WHAT?! The gun SAVED HIS LIFE, and was ultimately a good guy in it. I guess that it was originally written as a "You should hate fire arms" episode, and it got changed but the ending stayed the same Remove the last five minutes, and this episode is actually pretty good

Best story in this series

[eberkerbatur · 7/10 · 22 November 2019]

Generally my favorite subject in the series. The array handles a different event in each section, like the same old array some sections are getting nice some not I obviously didn't like it except the first 2 episodes but this episode nice

Example of why TZ viewership crashed

[random-70778 · 27 January 2020]

TZ gone from 3,500 people rating episodes to 1,000 because of nonsense like this. I suppose a handful of gun ban nuts will like this. they prefer fiction and emotion to data, but typical TZ fan will feel as if they are treated as idiots

Best one yet

[skinsfan-89392 · 7/10 · 25 May 2019]

I'd argue it's been the only good episode. Some were average, mediocre, and just plain terrible (Wunderkind & Not All Men).

My Name is JEEEEEFFFFFFF

[southdavid · 5/10 · 30 April 2020]

Despite a decent turn from the always engaging Chris O'Dowd, "The Blue Scorpion" again fits the trend for this season as a run of shows that has the hook, the one central idea, but then doesn't really go anywhere with the story.

Following his father suicide, Jeff (Chris O'Dowd) discovers amongst his possessions a legendary pistol, emblazoned with blue scorpion. Already upset about his marriage ending, the grief over his father sends Jeff to a mental tipping point, and during a drunken session he sees the ghost of the guns creator who explains that the scorpion can solve all his problems, provided it's not left in the dark.

Bit of a mixed message with this one, you'd presume "guns are bad" is the overall message, and that's certainly clearer from the coda at the end, but prior to that Jeff does actually solve all his problems by shooting someone, so.... pass.

Earlier in the episode it looked more the like message was going to be about valuing objects and possessions over people, but again... that didn't really become anything. There were lots of aspects of the story that I felt might end up being the narrative thrust, such as the idea of upsetting the gun by leaving it in the dark which isn't really explored, I'm not convinced how Jeff's shooting someone really clears up all his other problems and why his ex-wife isn't concerned that he was sat outside their house in the middle of the night with a loaded gun. There's a suggestion at one point that the gun is having an effect on his mental state, but again, it's not really explored.

Like so many episodes of this run, it just drifts to an underserved conclusion.

The best in a sad series

[Jacobs43 · 8/10 · 16 June 2019]

I've rightfully panned every other episode of this series but this one actually told an interesting story and (almost) didn't try to inject politics. The outro tries to conclude with a moral statement that has a whiff of politics to it, but since it is completely vague and unrelated to the episode, it's not worth any attention. As usual, though, this would have been phenomenally better as a half-hour show instead.

The best effort of the season except the narrative.

[dangrape · 7/10 · 7 June 2019]

After a whole season of setting the bar lower after each episode, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The actor did a great job in his role and the way that the episode went was different from what I expected. It was a nice touch that it took place in the finger lakes area like many of the older ones. I feel like the episode would have been better served if it ended with him throwing the gun in the lake, but that is just my opinion.

The biggest downfall is the narrative where Jordan Peele may as well have said "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, every episode is supposed to be political. Guns are bad, have a nice day".

Best effort of the season in my opinion.

Semi-interesting. Then the ending happened...

[ErikMovieNerd · 2/10 · 25 May 2019]

So this episode had an interesting premise. A supernatural gun that can predict who it's gonna kill next? Pretty cool. The legend surrounding it? Intriguing. I was hopeful that this episode would live up to its fascinating setup. It didn't. The dialogue was poorly written, and often cringey. "I said BASICALLY." The fact that everyone he meets is named "Jeff" doesn't tie into the story at all. Its only purpose is to make the audience wonder which Jeff it's gonna be that gets shot. Otherwise, it means nothing. A lot of the episode is funny, but I really don't think it was trying to be. Much of it is so bad it's good. Regardless, I was mostly on board... until the last minute.

After the gun saves his life, Jeff decides to throw the gun into the river. Why? This gun saved his life. It makes no sense. And even if he didn't like the supernatural effect it was having on him, why would he throw it into the river to potentially be found by someone else? It is not only stupid, it's irresponsible. Then, out of nowhere, two children find the gun, load it, and begin pointing it at each other like morons. This closing scene, and the narration that follows, is so irrelevant and unconnected to the story, it's baffling. The writers must've realized that this episode wasn't a blatant political statement like most of the others, and quickly threw in a last minute "moral" about the danger of guns.

They ALMOST had it. They almost got through an episode without cramming leftist politics down our throats. They were THIS close. Then Peele said, "As long as objects are valued over lives, tragedy will forever be manufactured..."

Does it connect to the story in any way? No. Not even remotely. It's unbelievable how stupid these writers are. It's truly baffling. They just had to throw in that last political jab. It's almost hilarious. Like, I'm imagining a group of writers sitting around going, "Dude, we forgot to make this episode straight up propaganda. What do we do?"

"Oh no! We don't have time to rewrite the script... I guess just make the closing narration all about how guns are bad and the rednecks value them over human lives. That oughta do it."

And if that was supposed to be the moral, WHY would the story resolve itself by the lead's gun saving him from a home invader? I don't know about you, but that seems pretty pro-gun to me. It shows that guns, under the right circumstances, are a tool for good. So how in the world can this episode suddenly become anti-gun in the last couple minutes? The writing is so inconsistent and one dimensional.

It's mind boggling. This show is so bad. I would like to sincerely apologize to Rod Serling for this abomination of a series. He's rolling in his grave.

Best one yet

[mjb301086 · 8/10 · 24 May 2019]

Easily the best episode so far which isn't saying much really

"The legend is, you don't find it, it finds you."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 15 May 2023]

The politically correct agenda this rebooted Twilight Zone series was going for came up with a mixed message in this one. Instead of carrying through with its anti-gun point of view, the story effectively demonstrated how a gun can save a life in a desperate situation, and Jeff Storck (Chris O'Dowd) didn't even have to pull the trigger. The 'Blue Scorpion' handgun seemed to have a mind of its own and instinctively shot the mugger who attempted to rob and do bodily harm to Jeff. Prior to that, Jeff had to deal with the suicide death of his father, a divorce from wife Anne (Amy Landecker), and repeated phone calls from a weapons dealer who wanted to purchase the rare Blue Scorpion. All this while confronting a myriad of instances in which characters with the name 'Jeff' kept intruding into his sphere of influence. The phrase 'I love him more than you' was a repeated refrain in the story, written on the suicide note left behind by Jeff's father, but it didn't seem to have any bearing on the outcome of the story. Too cryptic for any definitive interpretation, but the writers did find a way to emphasize the way a bullet with a name on it could find its appropriate target.

Promising start. Fell completely apart at the end.

[dhenderson-9 · 3/10 · 23 May 2019]

So far my reviews of this show have been extremely negative, but only because the stories themselves have been so incredibly bad. I've seriously seen commercials with more depth. But this one started strong.

This episode had a lot of potential. First, Chris O'Dowd is awesome. The story began as a strong mystery. Then it escalated. The gun seemed alive, indwelt with some sort of sentience or spirit. Then there was the talk of anthropomorphism that aligned with what we knew. Finally, a Twilight Zone, a real authentic Twilight Zone worthy story. And I was happy until... the last few minutes.

It got a bit dopey when he was playing with the gun at the range. Those places discourage trick shots (over the shoulder, behind the back, etc.), but I chalked that up to dramatic license - a non-offensive term meaning filmmakers don't get the real world so we should cut them some slack. Then he started playing with The Blue Scorpion at home. Maybe this is how the son of a hippy would behave if he was suddenly in possession of a firearm. Maybe just more dramatic license. Anyway, since the range experience, he's decided to keep the gun.

Taking it to a divorce arbitration was bad. Not cool. I can only assume the gun was supposed to have power over him, making it more than alive, but somehow controlling.

I'm not sure what he was planning on doing in his car outside his soon-to-be-ex-wife's house, but that's where the story found him. Crossing the line to hokey. But when the burglar is shot, the story fell back across the line of being at decent Twilight Zone. Even with the few contrivances, things clicked. I thought I was going to like this. Even the denouement seemed promising when excellent things began happening in Jeff's life as the result of The Blue Scorpion. Until the gun was returned.

Had a gun been returned to me that saved my life and helped in my divorce settlement, I'd be inclined to keep that gun. Maybe forever in a vault - with a light on, of course - but the last thing I'd think to do is send it back into the world by tossing it into a lake. I'm not sure what level of mental incompetence the show's producers/writers think we're operating on, but that made no sense.

Then, two kids find it. This speaks to the importance of teaching children gun safety and the proper response to finding any deadly weapon, be it a gun, knife or hatchet. A fist-sized rock is dangerous to an idiot so I suppose the lesson here would be don't teach your kids to be idiots? Beats me. Anyway, the kids figure out how to load it somehow and then start playing with it. It's like we're watching Darwinism in action. We have friends who had a five-year-old that knows better than that. This is more dramatic license than I'm willing to issue.

Then Peele's summing up assaults us with something pointless. I think he was trying to tie America's perceived love of guns to the story somehow. It didn't fit or work on any level so I might be wrong, but his words, paraphrased, stated that if we put things over people, tragedy ensues. This wasn't germane to the story or plot so I'm not sure if he was attempting to throw a liberal slant to the episode or if he missed the point of the story completely. To me the point was a guy had a gun when attacked and it saved him. And his life improved because of it. Which may be the reason they threw in this last segment and off-topic narration. They've had a problem contriving a story line to fit their ideologies. Mostly because those ideologies are off base. It's hard to think up reasonable tales to fit an unreasonable mindset.

Hopefully I'm wrong about the ending. But even if I am, that means it's unclear and had no reason to be tacked on to the end of the show. To be subtle is a virtue, to be vague, a sin. It would have been a much better ending to have Jeff receive the gun back, put it in the lighted vault with a smile on his face, and then go on with his life. Or even let him sell the gun for $100,000. I'd have kept it. If there is a sentient deadly weapon out there, I'd sleep sounder at night knowing it was locked in a vault and not somehow making its way back to me.

So the ending ruined this one. I wish I had stopped watching as soon as he received the gun back from the police. With a closing narration of "Mastery over our tools simply starts with a healthy respect for them. For Jeff, that respect was reciprocated....in the Twilight Zone," this would have easily been the brightest star in this new TZ's universe of black holes.

Crazy gun leads to this character becoming a hero in the end!

[blanbrn · 6/10 · 27 April 2020]

This "TZ" episode called "The Blue Scorpion" is one that's strange and has somewhat of a dark nature and vibe as it seems like the central character is going crazy and losing it! It involves Jeff Storck(Chris O' Dowd) who as an anthropology professor seems to be in a downturn as his life is spinning out of control first it seems apparent that his father a former legendary singer took his own life with a unique personal handgun. And to make matters worse Jeff's wife is divorcing him for another guy named Jeff! It' like everything and anything is against him. And the strange gun always plays a role in everything it's like it's an omen or ghost that lurks behind him in life! Only this product plays a key role in a situation for Jeff as he becomes a hero as the episode twist with a feel good ending it's like Jeff saves the day. Overall entertaining episode that was for sure a dark drama.

Best of the Season but, ...

[scardini-12890 · 4/10 · 19 March 2023]

Amid a trainwreck of absolutely horrible attempts to recreate TZ, Blue Scorpion finally provides a decent story, the theme of which isn't obvious within the first ten minutes. Where all the others were way too long given the dearth of plot, Blue Scorpion was the most proportional and did pretty much keep my interest to the end. It did have some unresolved questions though, the most obvious was, if the gun did a good thing for Jeff, then why did the gun facilitate his dad's suicide? The unrealistic sub-conclusion was his soon-to-be ex-wife suddenly becoming appreciative and making a magnanimous gesture. Anyone who's ever experienced this knows that in reality she would have responded to his "Good Deed" with a restraining order and a garnishment. And then the ridiculous ending where the gun, that's more or less possessed him, lets him throw it into a lake. Why? It had served him amazingly well, and he'd fallen in love with it. Doesn't make sense. The story would have been better served by letting us believe that the gun had finished its task with Jeff, he then sells it (for some huge money), and then, some months later, he hears on the news of some bizarre killing/death involving the billionaire collector that had bought the gun. And the gun's missions continue. Don't get me started on the young boys by the lake, or the final insipid narration. Both of which totally ruined what could have been a great story.

Thank God for Chris O'Dowd

[cmkeller75 · 8/10 · 3 April 2020]

You can't hate anything that Chris O'Dowd is in. He is incredibly underrated. The man should already have awards pouring out of his home right now. He is brilliant. And should be more sought after in Hollywood but Hollywood likes to stick to their cookie cutters. This was a crazy episode and not sure which classic TZ it is supposed to be honoring but it did have a feel of TZ to it with maybe a touch of Darkside storyline as well. Although I highly criticize the new series for going WAY too WAY too political on EACH AND EVERY EPISODE - I mean come on, take a break once in a while and just bring us some freaking entertainment... I did enjoy a few of the episodes that I could ignore the "Let's feed the sheep their koolaid" moments... not everyone is a moron. We see it. And we don't care for it. Those of us with half a brain. But this was one of the few episodes that certainly kept it to a minimal. Too bad more of the reboot series didn't stick to the sci-fi mystery and wonder like the 80s reboot and the 2002 reboot. I think if you did, this would have gone MUCH MUCH better for your ratings and income. THANK YOU FOR Chris O'Dowd though. Literally the one reason I didn't cancel my subscription was to wait for THIS episode for HIM. Thank you. Hoping if there is a season two, you stop treating it like a political platform and start treating it like a story that takes us to a completely different dimension - the way they always have.

Yeah, i have some questions...

[sad_otter · 5/10 · 14 August 2022]

If there was a moral to this one it's lost on me. Yet the ending makes it clear it's not supposed to be ambiguous. Is this anti-gun? No, not really. The gun in question arguably helps a lot. The gun seems to generate some unhealthy obsession (in a guy going through several super heavy life changes already) but it's also willing to let you move on...unless you kill yourself. The dad thing is confusing. He was a lifelong hippie yet he had a secret cozy gun safe ...or converted an old dryer.. why suicide? I figured the gun did it but maybe he just shot himself because he couldn't find anyone else named "Otis" or something.

What else? The gun is scared of the dark..sort of. More like it just prefers a fresh breeze. It can go out at night. It can shoot regular "unassigned" bullets. The effect it has once used is somewhat magical (see ex-wife's bizarre reaction). Is the gun constrained to victims with 4-letter names? Seems like if you're a Christopher or Juan-Carlos you're safe. Maybe the font scales down if it wants to cap a guy named Maximillian. No conclusions there.

I guess it's still bad to leave loaded handguns laying around. The gun proved it could move itself around some so chucking it in a pond ain't much of a solution. Then the two little Gollums that find it at the end: kids that old just putting guns at each other are going to get themselves killed sooner or later, gun or no. Still he could've chucked the slide and the lower in different directions. The best closer I can come up with is, "objects can be bad if you let yourself get obsessed with them.. but if you do it will all work out pretty sweet career-wise and you'll get a smooth divorce then moving past your unhealthy obsession will be easy peasy." That's a bit long for the 2-3 lame lines they finish on so I guess they hoped I'd they threw enough at you you'll assume you're missing something. You're not, it's bad writing. Better than the space one though so there's that. Kinda like saying polio is better than cancer but whatevs.

Finally. An episode not about divisive politics.

[atwiththestars · 8/10 · 30 May 2019]

Episodes like this are the reason why I loved the twilight zone, monsters, tales from the crypt, tales from the darkside, outer limits and others since childhood. Mysteries of the universe. Things that make you question reality. The rest of the episodes should have been more like this one.

Some very distracting issues

[hiburn2005 · 5/10 · 27 May 2019]

Overall good story, cursed object is a tried and true syfi staple. My problem was with all the horrible examples of weapons handling, negligent discharge, unlawful concealed carry, even threw the gun away where it was found by children who then proceeded to aim it at each other.. is this what liberals imagine lawful gun owners do?

Another miss

[engineer307 · 2/10 · 23 May 2019]

I have no idea what the point of this episode was. Just another weak entry in this terrible reboot.

Enjoyable

[welch82588 · 9/10 · 24 May 2019]

I liked this episode. I don't get why people are so upset by this reboot. Sure, the scene at the gun range and the scene of him playing with the gun at home both seemed a bit silly. But the Blue Scorpion was suppose to be controlling him, it was part of the story. The only part that annoyed me to any degree was Peele's dialogue at the end, where I assume he was trying to tie the episode to gun control in the real world. I don't think people don't place a higher importance on guns over lives. But it's all about perspective, really. I carry a firearm every day, but it has nothing to do with an object being more important than life. But it can save the life of my loved ones, myself or anyone else. I carry because I value life.

The Blue Scorpion

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 22 September 2020]

I thought The Blue Scorpion would be an episode with a kind of anti gun message. It strongly indicated that stance but it really ends up with something more mixed and unfocused.

Jeff (Chris O'Dowd) is an anthropology professor. His marriage is disintegrating and his father commits suicide.

Jeff is surprised that his father even had a gun, he was an old hippie. Jeff inherits his father's gun. A pistol emblazoned with a blue scorpion on the handle. Jeff discovers that this is a valuable pistol and one with a mind of its own.

This episode shows Jeff as a man whose mind is in turmoil. Every man he meets is called Jeff. His divorce is making him angry, he is a man at tipping point.

This was another episode that did not work for me. The bolt on happy ending came out of the blue. The gun saves Jeff's life as he is attacked when he was outside late at night at his estranged wife's house. No one seemed to have been bothered to enquire what was Jeff doing there.

Why are all the high ratings still negative?

[chloeroloson · 9/10 · 31 May 2020]

I really don't get why people hate this show so much.

This episode explores materialism, and how people allow their possessions to control them and their lives (even treating objects like people). The object of this episode affects different people differently, which I thought made the plot so interesting.

It is definitely a subtler message, but it still dives in for sure.

I love Chris O'Dowd. He is in several of my favorite movies and shows. Once again, he was amazing.

Dumb

[carnold-52156 · 1/10 · 13 March 2020]

Again, this is just stupid. Apparently everything in the "Twilight Zone" according to this version of the series has nothing to do with anything reality based. I don't believe the episode was suppose to be a twist on how cheating spouse can do whatever they want when they decide to get a divorce, so why distort that part of reality? The wife wants half of her husband's dead father's assets, yet she'll gets to keep the house? That's just stupid. Stupid things in movies and shows make it hard to want to follow along.