The Trance
"Lights, a crowd, the proper atmosphere, and the common coin of desperate belief. Commodities necessary to the life and times of Leonard Randall, who may or may not be someone else as well."
Performing his act for a huge crowd, phony medium/con artist Leonard Randall (Peter Scolari) pretends to become possessed by the spirit of Delos, a centuries-old warrior from Atlantis, who dispenses sage advice to his audience. As he and his partner Don (Neil Munro) discuss their plans for book deals and TV appearances in the future, the voice of what is presumed to be Delos continues speaking through Leonard against his will. The voice continues to exit Leonard's lips without the need for the swindler to go into his usual trance, and it spits out incriminating details about the people who talk to him, ultimately ruining his act, his reputation, and his partnership with Don, leaving Leonard scrambling to figure out just why this is happening to him.
Tropes
- Big Good: The spirit that speaks through Leonard, identifying as a messenger of truth and deliverance sent by the universe itself. It calls out Daphne for being an adulteress and a junkie, consoles Dr. Greenburg about his dead wife, and tells Leonard's followers that he's a sham while advising them to seek their own truths, as truth itself is subjective.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Dr. Greenburg is a heavy smoker, and the voice possessing Leonard theorizes that he does this because he misses his wife and wants to succumb to lung cancer to be with her.
- Enslaved Tongue: The spiritual voice speaks through Leonard's mouth all episode, ruining his scam about channeling the Atlantian warrior Delos.
- Fake Faith Healer: After the voice controlling Leonard exposes their operation as being a scam, Don leaves his partner to stew in the lawsuits and sponsors jumping ship to become the business manager of a supposed faith healer in Panama.
- Gone Horribly Right: Leonard's false personna, Delos, claimed that Leonard was chosen to channel the universe's truths. As the unnamed spirit later tells Leonard, the universe was listening and has decided to make his words a reality, but only reveals this to him after it destroyed his credence as a medium and exposed him on national television.
- Hearing Voices: The final scene has Leonard hearing the voice that has been speaking through him all episode for himself, as he was previously unaware whenever it took control over his body. The voice explains to him that it will be his constant companion from now on, teaching him the wisdom of the universe for the next 20 or 30 years at most.
- I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Leonard's psychiatrist Dr. Greenburg blames himself for his wife's death, as he was unable to prevent her accident in time. The voice speaking through Leonard assures him that there was nothing that he could have done, but Greenburg furiously throws him out, believing Leonard was using him and his grief as part of his scam.
- Laser-Guided Karma: For preying on peoples' desperation for solace to rake in their cash, phony psychic Leonard finds himself actually channeling an otherworldly messenger of wisdom that torpedoes his reputation.
- Napoleon Delusion: While talking to the voice possessing Leonard, Dr. Greenburg sarcastically asks whether it's Napoleon or Aristotle.
- Not-So-Phony Psychic: Leonard is a con artist who claims to be able to channel the spirit of Delos, a warrior who lived in Atlantis many centuries ago, by placing himself into a trance. It's revealed early in the episode that Delos is nothing more than something Leonard and his business partner Don cooked up, having made a small fortune by taking advantage of gullible people desperate for any form of guidance. It soon becomes clear that Leonard's powers are more authentic than he realizes, as he actually manages to channel an extremely wise and benevolent being who speaks through him without his knowledge or consent. This voice exposes Leonard's claims about Delos as fraudulent during his TV appearance on Daphne's talk show, and later tells Leonard that it will spend the next two or three decades teaching him the wisdom of the universe.
- Power Echoes: Leonard speaks with an echoing effect whenever the voice takes control of his body.
- Shout-Out: The talk show host who interviews Leonard, and is rebuked by the voice, is named Daphne Blake.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Don wearily removes his glasses as the voice exposes his and Leonard's racket, knowing that they've just lost everything.
- "What Now?" Ending: For Leonard, the ending, where the spirit vows to teach him about the wisdom of the universe and stick by his side for the next 20 or 30 years, is either a headache waiting to happen or a blessing in disguise. The phony psychic could potentially become a better person with the spirit's guidance, or be stuck with the unbearably agony that is the voice rattling through his mind for the next few decades.
"Critical reviews received, and reluctantly acknowledged, by Mr. Leonard Randall. A case study in showmanship who found himself upstaged in the final act — by the Twilight Zone."
