History Recap / TheTwilightZone1959S2E25TheSilence

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!!Tropes:

Taylor decides to fight dirty. Though Jamie has sent multiple requests for his beautiful young wife to visit, she never has. Taylor begins tormenting Jamie with gossip about her: she's been seen around town with moneyed young men who drive around in flashy sportscars. Jamie is visibly hurt and tormented by hearing these things, but he still never says a word. Taylor turns the screws, repeating every nasty word of gossip, calmly tormenting Tennyson with the knowledge that his wife is stepping out on him and doesn't seem to care who knows. Taylor tries again to offer Jamie an out to the bet in the form of $5,000, but Jamie doesn't see the actual cash and refuses, certain he's being scammed.

Finally the year has passed, and Jamie has won the bet! He comes out of his glass prison, and approaches the Colonel with his hand out for the promised $500,000. Archie, caught on the back foot, must now make an admission of "distasteful candor": that he is himself also without a fortune, which he lost a decade ago. He even admits that the two counter-offers of $1,000 and $5,000 were more than he could afford. He praises Tennyson for his resolve and says he'll resign from the club.

* AndIMustScream: By the end, Jamie is left in a state where he can no longer speak or scream due to having the nerves to his vocal cords severed.

This episode is based on "The Bet" by Anton Chekov.

* AndIMustScream: By the end, Jamie is left in a state where he can no longer speak or scream due to having his vocal cords surgically removed.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: A few weeks into the bet, Archie's butler remarks that Jamie doesn't eat much, but his appetite is better than it was weeks before. This hints at Jamie's surgery that took his voice, as it would be painful for him to swallow.
* TheGhost: Jamie's wife, much discussed (Archie implies she's cheating on him) but never seen. Her reaction to her husband locking himself up in a cage for a year can only be guessed at.

* {{Irony}}: To quote Tennyson, “My courage against your credit. In a year, both will be proven.” This is indeed the case: both are proven to be completely bogus.

* AcceptableTargets: Alfred chides Archie for making a bet he probably can't pay off, but the episode makes Jamie out to be the patsy for even taking such a bet, especially at the cost of his marriage and vocal cords.

-->'''Taylor:''' "I dislike you intensely, Tennyson. It goes much beyond the ordinary distaste I feel for someone without breeding, without principles, without manners. Your voice has become intolerable. I sit hear each night and the sound of it makes me wince. I can't ask you to resign from the club I haven't got that right. So, it occurred to me that I'd be willing to offer you a large sum of money just to have some quiet. You see, Tennyson you could not possibly remain silent for a whole year, it's not in your nature. You're a shallow, talkative, empty-headed ne'er-do-well and to remain silent would absolutely destroy you. So, what I assume will happen, you will perhaps withstand the pressures for three or four weeks, maybe a couple of months and then you will succumb. That's again, your nature. In the meantime, I will derive oh, several months of exquisite silence. ''(other members except for Jamie laugh)'' Well, Tennyson does it appeal to your sporting blood."

->'''Creator/RodSerling:''' The note that this man is carrying across a club room is in the form of a proposed wager, but it's the kind of wager that comes without precedent. It stands alone in the annals of bet making as the strangest game of chance ever offered by one man to another. In just a moment we'll see the terms of the wager and what young Mr. Tennyson does about it, and in the process we'll witness all parties spin a wheel of chance, in a very bizarre casino called The Twilight Zone.

Old man Colonel Archie Taylor is a prominent member of a gentleman's club. The chatter proceeds as normal, but one member's chatter bothers him: that of young, nouveau riche Jamie Tennyson. He's a new member, and he's mouthy and "poorly bred" in Taylor's opinion. To get rid of Tennyson, and because he knows Tennyson has squandered his recent wealth. and is desperate for money, Archie offers a wager, despite gambling being illegal in their state.

He promises Tennyson half a million dollars if he can keep from saying a word for an entire year. Not only will Tennyson have to not speak for a year, but he'll have to consent to being in a locked glass suite riddled with microphones so they can catch him if he talks, even a word, to himself, at any time when no one's watching; but people will be watching. He is allowed to communicate only through gestures and writing. Tennyson is offended, both at the conditions of the wager and the fact that the Colonel has just aired all his dirty laundry to the whole club! He asks questions of the Colonel, before agreeing. He finally says he needs a check on deposit in Jamie's name but the colonel takes umbrage at what seems like impugning his honor and his word, and the rest of the club backs him up because he's a long standing member. Jamie subsides, accepting "my courage against your credit", and shows up the following night to begin his mute year. Archie Taylor's friend in the club, Alfred, seems to think this whole thing is a bad idea and says so.

Weeks pass, and Colonel Taylor is astonished that Tennyson has made it so far without speaking a word, but remains confident that he will win the bet. The young man is well cared for, but Archie is astonished that a young man with a beautiful wife isn't bored. Months pass and pass, and by the time nine months of the year have passed, Archie is visibly on edge. He approaches Jamie and offers him $1000 to walk out that very day, having proved he can keep quiet for a long time. Jamie angrily marches over to the calendar, taps, it and writes out his reply to the Colonel: "Three months to go! The Bet stands!" Alfred warns Taylor again that his bet is a bad idea and asks if he has the money to make good if Jamie does succeed in holding up his end of the wager. Alfred walks away saying he hopes Archie really does have the money.

Taylor decides to fight dirty. Though Jamie has sent multiple requests for his beautiful young wife to visit, she never has. Taylor begins tormenting Jamie with gossip about her. She's been seen around town with moneyed young men who drive around in flashy sportscars. Jamie is visibly hurt and tormented by hearing these things, but he still never says a word. Taylor turns the screws, repeating every nasty word of gossip, calmly tormenting Tennyson with the knowledge that his wife is stepping out on him and doesn't seem to care who knows. Taylor tries again to offer Jamie an out to the bet. He offers $5,000, but Jamie doesn't see the actual cash so refuses, certain he's being scammed.

Finally the year has passed, and Jamime Tennyson has won the bet! He comes out of his glass prison, and approaches the Colonel with his hand out for the promised half a million dollars. Colonel Taylor, caught on the back foot, must now make an admission of "distasteful candor": that he is himself also without a fortune, which he lost a decade ago. He even admits that the two counter-offers of $1,000 and $5,000 were more than he could afford.

He praises Tennyson for his resolve and says he'll resign from the club. With all the membership watching, a tearful Jamie Tennyson pulls out his pad and begins to write. The men of the club are boggled. His year is over, he can speak if he wants, why doesn't he?!

->'''Creator/RodSerling:''' Mr. Jamie Tennyson, who almost won a bet, but who discovered somewhat belatedly that gambling can be a most unproductive pursuit, even with loaded dice, marked cards, or, as in his case, some severed vocal cords. For somewhere beyond him, a wheel was turned, and his number came up black thirteen. If you don't believe it, ask the croupier, the very special one who handles roulette - in The Twilight Zone

* AcceptableTargets: Alfred chides Archie for making a bet he probably can't pay off, but the episode makes Jamie out to be the patsy for even taking such a bet, especially at the cost of his marriage.
* AllForNothing: Jamie's entire ordeal ends in this as Archie Taylor reveals he is completely broke.

* {{Irony}}: To quote Tennyson: “My courage against your credit. In a year, both will be proven.” This is indeed the case: both are proven to be completely bogus.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Colonel Archie Taylor. He provoked Jamie into the bet by insulting him as a shallow ne'er do well. When it became obvious that Jamie was going to win the bet, he resorted to attacking him psychologically by sharing gossip about Jamie's wife. He realized he was going to lose the bet, but not once did he lift a finger to try raising the money to pay off his end of the bet when he lost. He just confessed he was broke and that was that.
* ManlyTears: Jamie shows them in private moments while reliving Taylor's words about his wife's infidelity and betrayal. He shows them again when Colonel Taylor reveals he can't pay off the bet.

* PetTheDog: It's not much, but after coming clean that he's not rich, Archie humbly admits that even without "fine breeding, Jamie has more honor. (Though this is negated when it turns out Jamie cheated, and the compliment hardly compensates for the fact that now he's in debt ''and'' mute).

-->'''Taylor:''' "I dislike you intensely, Tennyson. It goes much beyond the ordinary distaste I feel for someone without breeding, without principles, without manners. Your voice has become intolerable. I sit hear each night and the sound of it makes me wince. I can't ask you to resign from the club I haven't got that right. So, it occurred to me that I'd be willing to offer you a large sum of money just to have some quiet. You see, Tennyson you could not possibly remain silent for a whole year, it's not in your nature. You're a shallow, talkative, empty-headed ne'er-do-well and to remain silent would absolutely destroy you. So, what I assume will happen, you will perhaps withstand the pressures for three or four weeks, maybe a couple of months and then you will succumb. That's again, your nature. In the meantime, I will derive oh, several months of exquisite silence. (Other members except for Jamie laugh) Well, Tennyson does it appeal to your sporting blood."

* SnobsVsSlobs: The whole purpose of the bet: Archie is disgusted by his club having been invaded by what he perceives as a talkative, shallow, nobody who wasn't bred to live the life of the rich. Jamie isn't really a bad guy if a little [[MotorMouth motormouthed]], and unfortunately frivolous with his money.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Jamie failing this is the very root of how the cruel plot twist happens. Had he tried to rely solely on will power to win the bet, it would've spoken volumes of his spirit. Rather, the strength of his muteness is made empty because it's a testament that he cheated.

[[caption-width-right:350: ... ]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Colonel Archie Taylor. He provoked Jamie into the bet by insulting him as a shallow ne'er do well. When it became obvious that Jamie was going to win the bet, he resorted to attacking him psylogically by sharing gossip about Jamie's wife. He realized he was going to lose the bet, but not once did he lift a finger to try raising the money to pay off his end of the bet when he lost. He just confessed he was broke and that was that.

->'''Creator/RodSerling:''' Mr. Jamie Tennyson, who almost won a bet, but who discovered somewhat belatedly that gambling can be a most unproductive pursuit, even with loaded dice, marked cards, or, as in his case, some severed vocal chords. For somewhere beyond him, a wheel was turned, and his number came up black thirteen. If you don't believe it, ask the croupier, the very special one who handles roulette - in The Twilight Zone

* AndIMustScream: By the end, Jamie is left in a state where he can no longer speak or scream due to having his vocal chords surgically removed.

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Colonel Archie Taylor. He provoked Jamie into the bet by insulting him as a shallow ne'er do well. When it became obvious that Jamie was going to win the bet, he resorted to attacking him psychologically by sharing gossip about Jamie's wife. He realized he was going to lose the bet, but not once did he lift a finger to try raising the money to pay off his end of the bet when he lost. He just confessed he was broke and that was that.

He promises Tennyson half a million dollars if he can keep from saying a word for an entire year. Not only will Tennyson have to not speak for a year, but he'll have to consent to being in a locked glass suite riddled with microphones so they can catch him if he talks, even a word, to himself, at any time when no one's watching; but people will be watching. He is allowed to communicate only through gestures and writing. Tennyson is offended, both at the conditions of the wager and the fact that the Colonel has just aired all his dirty laundry to the whole club! He asks questions of the Colonel, before agreeing. He finally says he needs a check on deposit in Jamie's name but the colonel takes umbrage at what seems like impugning his honor and his word, and the rest of the club backs him up because he's a long standing member. Jamie subsides, accepting "my courage against your honor", and shows up the following night to begin his mute year. Archie Taylor's friend in the club, Alfred, seems to think this whole thing is a bad idea and says so.

->''"I knew that I would not be able to keep my part of the bargain, so one year ago I had the nerves to my vocal cords severed!''

* {{Foreshadowing}}: A few weeks into the bet, Archie's butler remarks that Jamie doesn't eat much, but his appetite is better than it was weeks before. This hints at Archie's surgery that took his voice, as it would be painful for him to swallow.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Archie gives Jamie shit for being a man of low character. All the while he's been lying to everyone about his fortune and letting Jamie go through a psychologically destructive bet and torturing him with rumors about his wife cheating on him.

* Hypocrite: Archie gives Jamie shit for being a man of low character. All the while he's been lying to everyone about his fortune and letting Jamie go through a psychologically destructive bet and torturing him with rumors about his wife cheating on him.

-->''"I knew that I would not be able to keep my part of the bargain, so one year ago I had the nerves to my vocal cords severed!''

* SnobsVsSlobs: The whole purpose of the bet: Archie is disgusted by his club having been invaded by what he perceives as a talkative, shallow, nobody who wasn't bred to live the life of the rich. Jamie isn't really a bad guy if a little motormouthed, and unfortunately frivolous with his money.

Finally the year has passed, and Jamime Tennyson has won the bet! He comes out of his glass prison, and approaches the Colonel with his hand out for the promised half a million dollars. Colonel Taylor, caught on the back foot, must now make an admission of "distasteful candor": that he is himself also without a fortune, which he lost a decade ago. He praises Tennyson for his resolve and says he'll resign from the club. With all the membership watching, a tearful Jamie Tennyson pulls out his pad and begins to write. The men of the club are boggled. His year is over, he can speak if he wants, why doesn't he?!

* ''ManlyTears'': Jamie shows them in private moments while reliving Taylor's words about his wife's infidelity and betrayal. He shows them again when Colonel Taylor reveals he can't pay off the bet.

He promises Tennyson half a million dollars if he can keep from saying a word for an entire year. Not only will Tennyson have to not speak for a year, but he'll have to consent to being in a locked glass suite riddled with microphones so they can catch him if he talks, even a word, to himself, at any time when no one's watching; but people will be watching. He is allowed to communicate only through gestures and writing. Tennyson asks questions of the Colonel, but the colonel takes umbrage at what seems like impugning his honor and his word, and the rest of the club backs him up because he's a long standing member. Jamie subsides and shows up the following night to begin his mute year. Archie Taylor's friend in the club, Alfred, seems to think this whole thing is a bad idea and says so.

Weeks pass, and Colonel Taylor is astonished that Tennyson has made it so far without speaking a word, but remains confident that he will win the bet.