10 Greatest Episodes Of The Twilight Zone
3. Eye Of The Beholder
Eye of the Beholder is basically an exercise in drawing out tension, and in that way it’s incredibly effective. A woman, Janet, is undergoing surgery to make her look like everyone else, as she’s apparently quite hideous. The audience doesn't see her, though, as her face is always covered.
After the initial setup, the episode takes an extraordinarily long amount of time slowly removing her bandages, and all throughout you’re leaning forward ready to get a good look. Watching it with commercials almost adds to the experience, as the bandages will be coming off only for the show to cut to an ad, further drawing out the tension.
The revelation at the end doesn’t disappoint: the woman is actually beautiful, and it’s everyone around her that’s ugly. It's an absolutely genius twist, as you were so focused on not being able to see the woman, the show makes you overlook the fact that you aren't seeing the doctors' faces, either.
Some Twilight Zone episodes are all about the setup but with a lame ending, while others are all about the ending but with a lame setup. But Eye of the Beholder nails both perfectly, with an intriguing if slightly overlong opening and a shocking, profound twist that makes you reconsider everything that came before.