Paul welcomes his guests... or are they his victims?
Rod Serling: What you have just looked at takes place three hundred feet underground, beneath the basement of a New York City skyscraper. It's owned and lived in by one Paul Radin. Mr. Radin is rich, eccentric and single-minded. How rich we can already perceive; how eccentric and single-minded we shall see in a moment, because all of you have just entered the Twilight Zone.
Air date: January 12, 1962
Sadistic millionaire Paul Radin invites three people he's held a grudge against to his heavily fortified bomb shelter. Among these people are his old schoolteacher Mrs. Langford, who failed him for cheating on a test and trying to frame another student for it, his old commanding officer Colonel Hawthorne, who had him court-martialed and dishonorably discharged for cowardice and almost getting numerous soldiers killed, and Reverand Hughes, who made a public scandal about a woman who committed suicide after Paul violated her. Paul uses a myriad of sound effects and fake radio messages to make it seem like nuclear war is imminent. He says he will allow the trio to stay in his shelter if they beg his forgiveness for wronging him. Outraged at the gall he has to cast those who served justice to him as his victims, the teacher, colonel, and priest leave, saying they would rather have their honor intact and spend their last moments with their friends and loved ones, or even complete strangers and stray animals, rather than spend the rest of their lives with him. As Paul laments that his hoax has failed, a huge explosion suddenly rocks the shelter. Paul goes outside and is horrified to find the city in ruins, as though the nuclear war he made up has happened for real. In devastation, Paul falls to his knees and begins weeping. It is then revealed that Paul is actually hallucinating the war, and the city itself is still standing. A police officer sees the weeping Paul and, believing him to be drunk, asks him if he needs a ride home. Paul doesn't respond to the officer, utterly lost in the very fantasy he intended to use to gain his revenge.
One More Tropebearer:
- Accidental Truth: Subverted. It seems at one point like Paul's false claims of imminent nuclear war turn out to be truer than he realized... but then it's revealed that he was just hallucinating after his Villainous Breakdown and there was no war after all.
- An Aesop:
- There are more important things in life than wasting your time getting even with your enemies, honor being one of them.
- An obsession with revenge will destroy you if you allow it to control your actions.
- You shouldn't waste time trying to get an apology from those you've begrudged past the breaking point. You'll be surprised how unlikely they'll give it, or even how undeserving you may be to receive one.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Subverted. Paul believes that his phony nuclear war scenario has enough weight to mentally crush Langsford, Hughes, and Hawthorne into submitting to his demands. Hawthorne almost seems willing (albeit reluctant) to go along with it once the weight of the situation sinks in. Once Paul actually presents the terms in exchange for his shelter (simply to say sorry for how they treated him in the past), Mrs. Langsford flatly refuses the offer by rebuking Paul for what he really is: a sociopathic spoiled brat who wants everything done on his own terms. Hughes and Hawthorne follow her example by not even considering entertaining Paul's offer.
- Apocalypse How: A Class 5 (Planetary Extinction) occurs when Paul hallucinates that his phony nuclear war really did happen.
- Asshole Victim: In any other context, the trio's abandonment and telling off of Paul in the end would come off as cruel, holier-than-thou, and selfish, but given just how terrible of a person Paul is shown to be, he absolutely deserved his fate.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Paul sets up a fake nuclear war as part of an elaborate scheme to get petty vengeance on three people he believes have wronged him. After suffering a serious breakdown, however, he comes to genuinely believe that there actually was a nuclear war.
- Big Applesauce: The episode is set in New York City, though we don't see any of it aside from the opening and ending.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Paul sets himself up with all the clout and grandeur of a Bond villain (which is pretty funny considering who's playing him). In reality, he's about as threatening as a schoolyard bully, and he resorts to playing petty mind games and deploying an elaborate scare tactic to try and make Langsford, Hughes, and Hawthorne submit to him, which ultimately proves ineffectual.
- Bittersweet Ending: On the sweet end, Hughes, Hawthorne, and Langsford abandon Paul, deciding to uphold their honor by spending their (perceived) last hours of life with their friends and families instead of wasting it by sucking up to a heartless man like him. It will be even happier for them in the long run when they eventually find out the nuke scare was a hoax.
- On the bitter end, Paul is mentally and emotionally destroyed by his failure to humiliate his percieved enemies and having them tell him off, leaving him a pathetic, devastated wreck trapped in a deluded fantasy where the nuclear war really does happen, leaving him the last man alive, much to the confusion of the real world people around him. Of course, it's a very well-deserved punishment for the scumbag he truly is.
- Big "SHUT UP!" / Shut Up, Kirk!: When Hughes calls Paul out as the honorless coward and murderer-by-proxy he is, Paul jumps out of his chair and coldly snaps "You can go to the Devil, reverend!" before revealing to them the real reason he brought them to his bunker. Hawthorne is shocked at the outburst, and Paul merely tells him to go to Hell too. Paul also says this to the rigged loudspeaker and the monitor that are still announcing a nuclear war is happening, before he sees it really does happen.
- Bottle Episode: Except for the first scene, the entire episode takes place inside Paul's underground shelter.
- Break Them by Talking: Paul uses this tactic, along with his staged nuclear threat, to try and mentally crush his enemies, but it ends up backfiring on him.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Paul is a Type 1, a gloating, pompous jerk who rubs the end of the world right in his foes' faces and shows absolutely no remorse for his past misdeeds, actually trying to stronghold the trio into saying that they were in the wrong against him. Given how mentally unstable he is, it's not clear if he knows he's in the wrong but is too egotistical to admit it, or is so detached from reality that he genuinely believes he's a victim of injustice.
- Classic Villain: Paul has the ambition and pride going for him, as well as plenty of wrath as he violently thrashes apart his shelter in the ending.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Paul has shades of this, given the ludicrous lengths he goes in order to pressure Langsford, Hawthorne, and Hughes into begging for his forgiveness. Rod Serling's narration even describes him as "eccentric and single-minded".
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Paul Radin. He's a lavish millionaire who's as morally bankrupt as you can get. It's made clear he was already like this well before he got rich.
- Crazy-Prepared: Paul built an authentic nuclear fallout shelter 300 feet below his building, complete with a giant storehouse full of food, in preparation for a nuclear bomb threat. He makes it clear to an assistant in the opening scene that it is not staged.
- Disproportionate Retribution: It doesn't rationalize his behavior even remotely, but it makes sense that Paul would have an axe to grind against Hawthorne and Hughes. Despite this, he's also so petty that he goes as far as intimidating and humiliating his old schoolteacher with his nuclear war scenario solely for flunking and humiliating him for cheating on a test and trying to frame it on another student.
- Dirty Coward: Paul served in the military many years ago, and he disobeyed a direct order to attack a hill in combat, which nearly got many other soldiers killed. He was promptly court-martialed and dishonorably discharged by Hawthorne (who even says he would have had him shot if he was allowed to choose the sentence). Fittingly, Hawthorne is the person Paul spends the least amount of attention towards, with Mrs. Langsford, his old schoolteacher, plus Reverend Hughes, getting the harshest rebuttals out from him. He even has the nerve to accuse Hughes of being a coward who would abandon his wife to save his own hide, much to the reverend's righteous anger.
- Dream Sequence: Paul descends into an insanity-induced variation once his scheme falls apart and his own delusions of grandeur trap him in his own nuclear war fantasy.
- Driven to Suicide: While the details aren't elaborated on, Paul did something utterly reprehensible to an anonymous young girl, to the point where it drove her to kill herself. Going from Hughes' sheer contempt for the bastard, it's strongly implied that Paul raped that poor girl, prompting Hughes to put a scandal over Paul's head and destroy his reputation, in turn prompting his grudge against him.
- Dysfunction Junction: The heroes and the villain have obvious personality flaws. Mrs. Langsford is wise, but a stern and patronizing believer in Tough Love. Hawthorne is a respectable colonel with many years of experience, but is haughty and cold-blooded (but not nearly to Paul's extent), and Reverend Hughes, while having his priorities in the right place (immediately trying to leave home to his wife before he believes the bombs will fall) may be seen as engaging in a passive-aggressive dig at Paul for the coward he is. And Paul, as the rest of the page attests, is just plain screwed in the head.
- The End of the World as We Know It: Paul uses the then-very relevant plausibility of imminent nuclear war to stage his plan. In the opening, he states that the shelter and the threat are not illusions, although what he intends to use it for is. He spells it out to all three of his enemies:"Tonight, my friends, you will all go to the Devil, and that is not a figure of speech! Do you know why I built this room down here? Those walls are 18 inches concrete with reinforced steel. And around them, six inches of lead. I have my own generator system, my own air system. Yes, and out there, beyond that door, a storeroom the size of a warehouse. You understand logistics, colonel. Does it occur to you why I should have gone to all this trouble and expense? To begin a vigil, my friends. The long wait and the countdown. Yes. I have walked with kings and tycoons, as you perceive, Mrs. Langsford. I have walked with them, and I have listened to them. I keep abreast of the times, and usually well ahead of them. I know things that are going to happen. I pay for the service. I received a most interesting bit of news, something that perhaps only six men in the world know of; the world is coming to an end this evening, ladies and gentlemen. At 11:45, there will be no more city, no more country. At 30 minutes after midnight, there will be no more world. They are going to bomb us, and we are going to bomb them. By dawn, there will be nothing left but rubble and bodies. And in a few moments it will all begin. You'll be hearing sirens very shortly- that's the red alert. That means their missiles are on their way."
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Paul is so intent on projecting his own hatred and cowardice onto the trio, while also being so utterly devoid of empathy, he can't even fathom why they'd rather spend their last hours of life with family and friends, when he would offer sanctuary if they just apologized to him. He's outright shocked into a nervous breakdown and resultant insanity once they reject his offer.
- Evil Is Petty: Paul's defining character trait. He's a deceptive, cowardly, cold-hearted person who, for all his success, refused to let go of the past and went to the trouble of staging a fake nuclear war, just so he could grandstand and humiliate the three people who he hates most. Mrs. Langsford notes the irony to Paul when he's insulting her."Well, then, may I make an observation? Just a comment on how incredible this whole thing is that a man like you, a millionaire three times over, an important man who walks with kings and heads of state and industrial tycoons- that such a man should have a mind so tiny that it could brood over a high school incident of 20 years ago and let it fester inside you as you seem to have done."
- Eye for an Eye: Paul claims that he's avoiding this, allowing the trio to apologize for their past acts against him in exchange for safety in his fallout shelter. He's really just trying to humiliate them by having them answer to him on his own terms and not take responsibility for his wrongdoings.
- Faux Affably Evil: Paul initially presents himself as such to his assistant and the trio, first appearing as a rather charming person, if not a little smarmy. He drops the act and reveals his true colors once Hughes passive-aggressively insults him for his past acts against the anonymous girl.
- Foil: Paul Radin serves as this to Henry Corwin. Henry Corwin was an impoverished, but kindhearted man who gave everything he had to offer, even when the prospect of being selfish despite the opportunity being harmless. He also fully owned up to his misdoings when confronted about it. Paul Radin is a rich, self-centered man who has never thought about anyone other than himself once in his life. Despite his personality being a recipe for failure, he still turned out tremendously and chooses to dwell on things that went wrong even though he was 100% in the wrong and shows no gratitude for what he has in life and it's clear no matter how much he gets, it will never be enough for him.
- Freudian Excuse: Averted. All the bad things that happened to Paul are completely his own fault, and whatever punishment he got from them is completely deserved. His becoming a villain rather than making up for his faults shows just how much of a self-centered jerk he is, and ultimately drives him to be permanently trapped in his own insane fantasy.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Paul tries to claim that it was the actions of Mrs. Langsford, Colonel Hawthorne, and Reverend Hughes that led him to become so twisted, but they immediately see through his ruse and recognize that he's a self-serving monster. Mrs. Langsford is perhaps the best example, as while it's understandable that being humiliated in front of an entire class might be a traumatic event for a schoolboy, she makes it clear that Paul was a miserable cheat who, rather than own up to his actions, tried to frame another student, apparently not caring if someone else got publicly shamed. Paul was already a nasty, self-absorbed brat as a child—she just called him out on it and he never got over it.
- Get Out!: When Paul's plan backfires on him, he angrily tells Langsford, Hawthorne, and Hughes to take the elevator, go outside, and see the nuclear war about to happen. He also retorts that when they do, they'll come crawling back to him, begging for his shelter. They don't.
- Gone Horribly Right: To Paul's horror, the nuclear war he was staging really does happen, leaving him to die alone... only for the audience to find out he's hallucinating, and is trapped in his own terrible fantasy after his hoax's failure.
- Hallucinations: Paul's deteriorating mental state eventually causes him to hallucinate a genuine nuclear apocalypse.
- Hate Sink: The episode goes out of its way to make certain you see Paul as a complete and utter asshole at best, and a straight up criminal at worst, even before he reveals his plan to his victims. Called out as a bad student and troublemaker who deserved to be chewed out? He sends a passive-aggressive dig at his old teacher (who he'd already dragged into the mess for the pettiest reason) that she hasn't changed. Called out by his old Colonel for being a coward? He openly belittles his high rank and implies that he doesn't deserve it. Called out as a rapist and murderer by proxy the Reverend? He insults Hughes' religion to his face. He has nothing remotely sympathetic or likable about him, and his Faux Affably Evil element is quickly dropped. Even his mental breakdown at the end was something he brought on himself, and a fate he long had coming to him, so it does little to make him more pitiable.
- The Heavy: The entire plot is driven by Paul and his petty revenge scheme. The other three are just reacting to what he's bringing them into.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Paul brought his old schoolteacher, his former commanding officer, and the local reverend to his underground shelter to attack and destroy their characters, all to gratify his ego. By the end, because of their sense of honor and compassion, they end up breaking Paul instead.
- Hypocrite: Paul is a vengeful and cowardly liar who tries to condemn those who exposed him as such, painting them as the ones who should be considered guilty of those qualities.
- Ironic Echo: At one point, while he's delivering his message of imminent nuclear war, Paul rhetorically asks what should happen if he's to be the "only pallbearer" when the bombs fall. Once his plan literally blows up in his face and he believes that he really is the last man alive, the ending narration describes him as a "pallbearer at a funeral that he manufactured himself".
- I Wished You Were Dead: Even before Paul reveals his intentions, Hawthorne tells him, to his face, that if he was allowed, he would have had him shot dead instead of dishonorably discharging him. Considering that he's clearly not happy about being Paul's guest to begin with and is only there because he was told it was for something important, it's no wonder he makes such a blunt remark when Paul brings up their past history.
- I Reject Your Reality: Paul's ability to distort reality is absolutely astounding. It's abundantly clear that all his problems are his own fault, but he's managed to delude himself into honestly believing that Langsford, Hughes, and Hawthorne need to apologize to him because they were wrong for how they tried to hold him responsible for his actions. It's taken to a dark conclusion at the end, when his hoax fails to get the apologies he was so certain he would receive, and he's faced with the undeniable truth that he was a selfish, cowardly, villainous lowlife. His delusional mind turns on him by making him think that a nuclear attack actually happened, sparing him the act of taking responsibility for his actions, but trapping him in a horrible fantasy where he's the last man alive.
- It's All About Me / Never My Fault: Paul's greatest flaw is that his ego, so immense he will never accept the idea that anything he's ever done is wrong, even when it's clear what he did in the past was truly reprehensible and immoral. The idea that he would go to such extreme lengths to strongarm people who caught him in the act into admitting they were the ones in the wrong and should be apologizing to him shows how petty he is. Mrs. Langsford calls Paul out on his delusional narcissism just before she and the others depart from the shelter.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: While he was rightfully punished under Langsford and Hawthorne, it's implied that other than Hughes launching a smear campaign that destroyed his reputation, Paul was never properly brought to justice for driving that girl to kill herself. Even despite that, he was still an extremely wealthy man who was said to have "walked with kings". His arrogance and pettiness finally break him when the others call him out, and he's reduced to a broken shell of a man caught in his own delusion where there's nothing his wealth can do to save him.
- Kick the Dog: After Paul reveals to the trio that nuclear war is imminent, he rhetorically asks them if they have anything to say for themselves and what they stand for, gradually attempting to force them to grovel towards him in exchange for shelter. Once Hughes makes it clear that he wants to leave immediately to get home to his wife before the bombs drop, Paul points out that he couldn't even get home in the amount of time before the bombs fall, and then chews him out as a coward and liar who would ditch his wife to save himself, to Hughes' righteous anger and to Paul's smug amusement.
- Laser-Guided Karma: As Serling points out, everything that happened to Paul was something he brought on himself.
- Last of His Kind: Paul believes himself to be the last man alive, when he hallucinates the nuclear war happening.
- Match Cut: When the ending transitions from Paul's hallucination to real life, the camera is focused directly on the fancy statue outside of his building.
- Meaningful Name: Paul's last name, "Radin", is French for "Stingy" or "Skinflint", which fits his status as a millionaire with a cold-blooded personality.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: The whole mess starts because Paul is too egotistical to get over being punished for his past acts by Langsford, Hawthorne, and Hughes, so he attempts to take them to task for humiliating him by humiliating them in turn.
- Not So Stoic: Hawthorne and Langsford are very reserved in their emotions, but Hawthorne almost walks out in anger on Paul when he starts belitting his rank and tells him to go to hell, and when he realizes he's trapped in Paul's shelter and learns about the imminent war, he's openly afraid. Before that, Mrs. Langsford finally has an emotional outburst and chews out Paul when he offers their safety in exchange for saying they were in the wrong.
- Oh, Crap!: To say Hawthorne, Hughes, and Langsford take the news Paul is presenting to them badly is putting it mildly. Hawthorne has an open expression of fear when he tries to walk out, only to find the door sealed as Paul explains to him what's really going on.
- Psychopathic Man Child: Paul has all of the emotional maturity of a smug bully, with a cold blooded personality to match.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Paul gives a very protracted one throughout the story, trying to break down the accused by talking. Not only does it not work, they give him one in turn before they depart his shelter, which gradually drives him to madness:Paul: "You're too blind or you're too stupid, because none of you seem to understand. All you have to do - literally, all you have to do - is to say a sentence. Just a string of silly, stupid words. Like a command, colonel, or like a lesson, teacher, or like a prayer, reverend. All you have to say is you're sorry. All right, you want to die, fine. But you'll be back inside five minutes. There's the elevator! Take it! Take the farce to its conclusion. Go up into the street and see the panic and the frenzy and the horror. And then come back down here to your salvation. Or you can watch it all down here on that screen. You can see it all happen, the whole thing. Watch the world being shoveled into a grave. It's your last chance. It's your last chance, I mean it. Tell me, reverend, is life so stinking cheap that you can throw it down a drain?"
Hughes: "Life is very dear, Mr. Radin, infinitely valuable. But there are other things that come even higher. Honor is one of them - perhaps the most expensive of them all."
Hawthorne: "Amen."
Langsford: "Try not to get too lonely, Mr. Radin. Use mirrors. They may help. Put them all around the room. Then you'll have the company of a world full of Radins. It'll be a fantasy, of course, but then your whole life has been a fantasy, a parade of illusions - illusions about what people have done to you, illusions about what justice is, illusions about what is the dignity of even the lowest of us. A fantasy, Mr. Radin, and you can have it all to yourself." - Revenge: Paul's ulterior motive. He has a maddening obsession with exacting his petty vengance that would make Captain Ahab proud.
- Rousseau Was Right / Honor Before Reason: One of the main themes of the story. Hawthorne, Langsford, and Hughes, despite Paul's accusations and belief that they would be cowardly enough to surrender to him with their lives on the line and abandon the chance to see the outside world again for the safety of his shelter, do the opposite and prove they value honor and love above their own lives.
- Sadistic Choice / Kneel Before Zod: Hawthorne, Langsford, and Hughes are presented this by Paul: either go back out into the real world and die in the subsequent war, or surrender their honor to Paul so they can stay in his shelter and live. They ultimately choose to wing it and leave, choosing honor and spending their (perceived) last hours outside than spending the rest of it with Paul.
- Scenery Gorn: When Paul steps outside of the rubble of his building, New York City and everything around it is completely reduced to smoking, unrecognizable rubble.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Hawthorne initially tries to do this once Paul basically tells him to go to hell, only to find out the door locked as Paul reveals what's really going on. Hughes tries to leave right away to get home to his wife once Paul drops the news, but Paul stops him. All three protagonists pull this when they refuse to give in to Paul's demand.
- Secret Test of Character: An interesting variation in that it's the villain who initiates this on the protagonists, and he clearly expects the outcome to turn out in his favor.
- Seven Deadly Sins: Paul Radin has all of these:
- Pride: The epitome of his character. He is so self-absorbed and narcissistic he always believes he's right and the center of everything, even in Mrs. Langsford who remembered what Radin did, but clearly would've put it in the past had it not been clear from the start Radin hadn't changed.
- Greed: Despite his wealth and high status, he feels that what he has isn't enough even though he got to where he is despite his moral failings and scandal.
- Wrath: His desire for revenge is exponentially petty, especially in Mrs. Langsford's case, as it's clear all their grievances and acts towards him are justified.
- Gluttony: He is clearly self indulgent in his extravagant lifestyle and need to always be right, no matter how obvious it is he isn't.
- Lust: Unlike the traditional definition, his doesn't seem to be sexual (Rev. Hughes scandal left it ambiguous to whether or not the girl was raped) but his unbridled attachment to his other sins such as greed, gluttony, wrath, and pride show lust.
- Envy: While subtle, in the words of St. Thomas Aquinas: during the first stage, the envious person attempts to lower another's reputation; in the middle stage, the envious person receives either "joy at another's misfortune". He seeks to lower those who he had wronged by making them give unwarranted apologies and to relish in every moment of it, implying he envies their ability to not dwell on these things and be happy with what they have.
- Sloth: While it's clear his wealth didn't come from laziness, he's unwilling to put any effort into what anyone other than him has to say or offer self-reflection.
- Screw Your Ultimatum! / Shut Up, Hannibal!: Mrs. Langsford snaps at Paul when he finally presents them the choice of asking him for feigned forgiveness in exchange for his shelter:Langsford: Pretty please with sugar on it.
Radin: How's that? Speak up, teacher.
Langsford: Pretty please with sugar on it. It's what children say to exact a favor. I don't want your favor, Mr. Radin! Let me out of here! If I'm to spend my last quarter hour on Earth. I'd rather spend it with a stray cat, or alone in Central Park, or in a city full of strangers whose names I'll never know. - Slept Through the Apocalypse: In the end, Paul discovers that a nuclear war has devastated the world while he was in his shelter. It turns out that this is nothing but Paul's fantasy, his mind having been broken by his failure.
- Slimeball: Paul, a textbook case.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Even after becoming an extremely wealthy millionaire, Paul is too vain, petty, and sociopathic to allow any past slight against him to go unpunished, even if he was clearly in the wrong.
- The Sociopath: Paul has four of the five qualities of one. He is an egotist who is completely devoid of empathy or shame, a petty liar and manipulator, and only understands the others' emotions on an intellectual level (seeing concepts like forgiveness as something that can be handled like a business deal), and believes they're just as crooked as he is.
- Sociopathic Soldier: Both Paul and Colonel Hawthorne display very cold-blooded behavior towards each other, moreso the former. It's hard to blame Hawthorne, since Paul's cowardice nearly got many other soldiers killed, but bluntly telling someone that you would've had them shot isn't what you'd call good form.
- Smug Snake: Paul. When he drops the news about the imminent war and shows the trio the radio broadcast, he rubs the situation right in their faces.
- Stealth Pun: The title of the episode. As Serling points out in the ending narration, Paul was a "pallbearer at a funeral that he manufactured himself". For the record, a pallbearer is defined as "A person carrying or attending a coffin at a funeral." Everything that happened to Paul was something he brought on himself, so Serling is basically saying "He dug his own grave."
- Sword of Damocles: Paul uses his resources and the then-plausible threat of nuclear war as a scare tactic on his foes, building an authentic bomb shelter with loudspeakers and a video monitor just so he can humiliate them.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: In the final scene, Paul exhibits one as he believes that the world has been destroyed by a nuclear war and he is the Sole Survivor.
- Tough Love / Good Is Not Soft: When Paul accuses Mrs. Langsford of being a heartless and cruel teacher who took pleasure in humiliating him by flunking for cheating berating him for trying to frame another student for it, she retorts that she has seen many young students who she has given more care and empathy than knowledge, but also retorts that sympathy and compassion have to be earned, and Paul was never one who did, having none himself. In general, the trio's strong willed personalities are what keep them from succumbing to Paul's mind games.Paul: "But no room was there then, Mrs. Langsford, for a moment of compassion, for an iota of sympathy for a poor, frightened, desperate boy."
Mrs. Langsford: "Mr. Radin, I've dealt with frightened and desperate children all my life. And it may surprise you to know that I've lent them more of sympathy and of compassion than I have lent them of knowledge. But neither sympathy nor compassion can be handed out wholesale, like cheap bubble gum. The recipient must be worthy of them and you never were. You were a devious, dishonest troublemaker. And in spite of all your millions, it's my guess you are still devious, you are still dishonest. And I've no doubt, even now, you're a troublemaker." - Twist Ending: A double twist, and a fitting one at that. To Paul's horror, the nuclear war he staged really does happen, but then the audience finds out he was just hallucinating, and that he's now trapped in the horrible fantasy he created for himself.
- Unbuilt Trope: Paul is practically a Deconstruction of the typical "vengeful millionaire villain" before the trope even became ubiquitous.
- Villainous Breakdown: When Paul's scheme to humiliate his victims falls flat on its face, and with no one left to project his petty hatred onto, his self-delusions turn on him and delude him into believing the Earth really does go through a nuclear holocaust, leaving him an emotionally devastated wreck in reality.
Rod Serling: Mr. Paul Radin, a dealer in fantasy, who sits in the rubble of his own making and imagines that he's the last man on Earth, doomed to a perdition of unutterable loneliness because a practical joke has turned into a nightmare. Mr. Paul Radin, pallbearer at a funeral that he manufactured himself in the Twilight Zone.
