The Junction (The Twilight Zone)
| "The Junction" | |
|---|---|
| The New Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 2 Episode 32b |
| Directed by | Bill Duke |
| Written by | Virginia Aldridge |
| Original air date | February 21, 1987 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
William Allen Young: John Parker | |
| Episode chronology | |
"The Junction" is the second segment of the thirty-second episode and the thirteenth episode of the second season (1986–87) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
Plot
A man wakes up on a couch. Soon, his wife comes in and they start an argument about a "mistake" he made, apparently with another woman. The wife is ready to kick him out, but he desperately tries to make amends. The man, John, heads to work, and it turns out he's a miner and just received word that he must work in "the junction", which is said has had nothing productive since any of the miners were born. Once they go in, the team gets lost and sends some of the miners back up to find out where they are. Before long, a cave-in traps John. After the dust settles, John starts hearing another voice, another trapped miner he assumes. He finds the man, who apparently has a broken leg. John helps him take care of his leg. The other miner, Ray, is inquisitive about John's digital watch and the flashlight on his helmet. After an argument over the fact that John is black and discussions on the union, it's apparent that Ray believes it's September 16, 1912.
At the church on September 16, 1986, the reverend is approached by a woman who claims that a letter that has been at the church for sixty years, addressed to Melissa Parker, John's wife, that was supposed to be delivered the day before. Back in the mine, Ray and John are panicking and trying to find a way out, while the miners outside are trying to find a way in to help. Ray and John start talking about their families and lives. The reverend delivers the letter (which Ray wrote), allowing Melissa to learn what happened to John. She goes to the mine foreman and pleads with him to change where they are looking, in order to follow the instructions in the letter, so they can find where John really is.
Not long after, Ray and John hear the rescue parties and they rescue Ray, but John remains trapped. Ray is saved by a party from 1912, but tries to get help for John—only to be told he was the only one down there. Ray gets his wife to help him write the letter to send to Melissa. As Melissa continues to read the letter from Ray, the miners come up with John in the present. The two reunite in a loving embrace and go home, together.