Ask yourself this question. What would you do if you could change identities seemingly on the fly? Would you use it as a temporary escape and could you do it knowing that you are upending someone else’s life entirely? These are the questions that ‘The Who of You,’ the third episode of the newest Twilight Zone series season, is a cross between Invasion of the Body Snatchers and frenetically paced premise mixed with comedy and drama.
We meet Harry Pine (Ethan Embry) who is a struggling actor that is down on his luck looking for work. As money dries up, he starts to lose his grip on this relationship with his girlfriend Morena (Carmel Admit). Is she cheating on him? Is she going to leave him? As the power goes out in their apartment due to an unpaid bill, this sets off his desperation. As Harry goes to attempt to rob a bank, little does he know that that’s preparing him for the greatest acting ‘role’ of his life. Seemingly by accident, he’s able to inhabit the body of a bank teller. From there, the episode continues it’s fast-paced catch the bad guy game with a twist.
One of the good things about this episode is that director Peter Atencio allows it to breed a good cast of characters. Not only does ‘The Who of You’ provide a stage for Embry to do some Split-Esque character work has these other personalities take on his body, you see it in different actors. At points, Harry takes on the role of a police officer, a suburban jogger, and even a little boy. What begins as just an accidental power, grows into something even more self-serving.
All while this is happening, detective Frank Reeses (Mel Rodriguez) is trying to solve the attempted bank robbery while having Harry’s vessel in custody. You get to see how confusing and humorous this chase becomes. One of the most memorable body-swap moments is done with Keith (Billy Porter) who is a tarot card reader. With little spurts that different characters have regarding screentime, they are utilized well.
The episode is a fun watch that overstays it’s welcome. While ‘The Who of You’ does have weird elements that many would feel synonymous with TWZ, it’s not here to give a particular lesson to the audience. Harry is a bad guy even if it seems like trying to save his relationship is an altruistic thing to be fighting for. At the end of the episode, you find out that everything is all for naught with that relationship anyway. He comes out better as far as his career, but loses everything else in the process.
Photo Credit: CBS All Access
