For all the sci-fi twists, supernatural reversals, and progressive social critiques woven throughout the original run of The Twilight Zone, Rod Serling's iconic series spares just as much time for the American frontier. Alongside alien planets and haunted suburban landscapes, The Twilight Zone utilizes the Old West as a common setting for some of its most memorable episodes, with installments like "Mr. Denton on Doomsday" and "The Grave" featuring everything from gunslingers to ghost stories. These episodes are gold for fans of Westerns while simultaneously expanding The Twilight Zone's narrative scope, with one of Serling's Western sojourns in particular, "Dust," sure to engage fans of the genre with a story so satisfying it feels like a classic Western in miniature.
'The Twilight Zone's "Dust" Pulls Off a Self-Contained Western With Plenty of Recognizable Tropes
One of The Twilight Zone's biggest draws has always been just how much the series can accomplish with a minimal runtime. Given that the majority of the series' installments clock in at less than thirty minutes, it's remarkable that so many of The Twilight Zone's episodes have gone on to become famous, even over half a century after they aired. Moreover, while later episodes did experiment with longer runtimes, most exhibit the series' skill at packing metaphorical meaning into fewer minutes, and "Dust" is no different. Season 2, Episode 12 of the show's original run, "Dust," centers on Luís Gallegos (John A. Alonzo), a man sentenced to hang in a small Western town after he drunkenly ran over a little girl with his wagon, and subsequently delivers a thought-provoking exploration of human compassion that feels as substantial as a full-fledged Western movie.
As a Western, "Dust" is unique in that the episode both embodies and deviates from the most recognizable staples of the genre. On one hand, the episode's setting resembles the prototypical mining town found in countless Western stories, and members of the episode's supporting cast inhabit roles that similarly play as common Western tropes. First, there's Sheriff Koch (John Larch), the grizzled yet reluctant lawman who sympathizes with his distraught prisoner, who himself is cruelly mocked by the town swindler, Peter Sykes (Thomas Gomez). Yet, despite the violence of the episode's premise, "Dust" ducks the typical bloodlust of a genre known for its shootouts and instead resembles a more non-violent brand of Western, opting to interrogate the town's obsession with its public execution.
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"Dust" Takes a Unique Approach to Western Justice During Its Trip Through 'The Twilight Zone'
As any fan of The Twilight Zone undoubtedly knows, it would be rare for any installment in the series to proceed without just a little touch of strangeness, and "Dust" introduces its own superstition when Sykes, seeking to profit off the town pariah's misery, tricks Luís' father (Vladimir Sokolov) into paying him for a magic dust the man is convinced will save his son. While Sykes is definitely no wizard, what follows is nonetheless a uniquely empathetic glimpse at Western justice, with the gut-wrenching desperation of Luís' father begging the question of whether the world is better for killing its killers. The episode's climax is similarly subversive, foregoing the gory catharsis of Western-style revenge to acknowledge the sadness behind human suffering, and the episode even concludes on a heartwarming note that is satisfying enough to make this entry in The Twilight Zone anthology feel like it has the thematic weight of a full-length movie.
What's equally compelling in "Dust" is the episode's brief exploration of why the townspeople are so invested in Luís' execution. With Serling's iconic narration introducing the town as one plagued with barren poverty, "Dust" also acts as a commentary on the human tendency to use others' misfortune as a personal distraction. Sheriff Koch surmises as much when he observes some townspeople making a spectacle of Luís' hanging by bringing their families, which makes "Dust" yet another episode of The Twilight Zone that maintains its relevance in an age of social media and public scapegoating. In a series filled with outlandish storylines and entertaining riffs on old-fashioned narratives, "Dust" is, therefore, a comfort for those looking to inhabit a familiar landscape with an unconventional degree of empathy, a step back from chase scenes and stagecoach robberies that advocates for the power of love to save those who are lost and lonely.
The Twilight Zone is available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
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