The Twilight Zone is fondly remembered for its twist endings, but perhaps the biggest twist of all is that some of them were happy. While Rod Serling relished leaving viewers drenched in existential dread, he occasionally ended the show on a hopeful note. These episodes were designed to put viewers’ minds at ease, to let them know that even in the Twilight Zone, things aren’t all bad. Whether it’s coming to terms with their own mortality or a complete metaphysical change of their entire being, several Twilight Zone protagonists ended their adventures in a better place than the one where they started.
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We’ve compiled a list of the 10 happiest Twilight Zone endings guaranteed to put a smile on any fan’s face. The Twilight Zone may never be classified as a “feel good” show, but these episodes will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy all over.
1) “Night of the Meek” (Season 2, Episode 11)
Even The Twilight Zone gets a little misty-eyed around the holidays. Nowhere is this more evident than in Night of the Meek. Though it’s not much to look at, thanks to an ill-thought-out cost-saving measure from CBS, “Night of the Meek” features one of the most magical conclusions in Twilight Zone history. After finding Santa’s magic bag of gifts, unemployed, drunk with a heart of gold, Henry Corwin begins giving toys to all the poor children in his neighborhood.
When it’s pointed out that Corwin gave nothing to himself, Henry says the only thing he wants is to be able to pass out presents every Christmas. The episode ends with Corwin being greeted by an Elf in a reindeer-drawn sleigh who grants his wish.
2) “The Hunt” (Season 3, Episode 19)
Dogs have often been called “Man’s Best Friend,” and “The Hunt” does a good job of showing why that is. When Hyder Simpson and his dog Rip meet a tragic end during a routine raccoon hunt, they come across a path that supposedly leads to heaven. Hyder is content to start down the path until he’s told that Rip can’t go with him. Refusing to be a part of any afterlife that doesn’t allow dogs, Hyder chooses not to enter heaven and instead walks past it.
A little while later, Hyder and Rip encounter an angel who explains that real heaven is up ahead and that the first path actually leads to hell. In other words, Hyder’s loyalty to his canine best friend saved him an eternity of suffering.
3) “Nothing in the Dark” (Season 3, Episode 16)
Everyone is afraid of death to some extent, and for good reason. Most episodes of The Twilight Zone feature some death, whether it be gruesome, justified, or ironic. “Nothing in the Dark”, however, is one of the only episodes to portray Death as, well, if not exactly a good thing, at least a natural thing that isn’t scary in the slightest.
A young Robert Redford plays Death as a benevolent being who comes to the recently deceased not with a scythe but an outstretched hand ready to lead them down the road on their next journey.
4) “Nick of Time” (Season 2, Episode 7)
The temptation to put our fates in the hands of a greater cosmic consciousness, whether via astrology or something as innocuous as a Magic 8-Ball, can be overwhelming. After all, who wants to be responsible for making their own decisions?
However, as “Nick of Time” shows, giving up complete control of your every thought and move can be dangerous. The episode could have ended badly with William Shatner’s Don Carter still a slave to the devil-headed fortune-telling machine. Instead, Don and his wife Pat make the difficult decision to take their fate into their own hands, having learned a valuable lesson from the Twilight Zone.
5) “The Changing of the Guard” (Season 3, Episode 37)
Typically, an episode of a TV show that begins with the main character contemplating suicide wouldn’t have a happy ending. When it comes to the Twilight Zone however, there’s no such thing as typical.
Yet another Christmas miracle, “The Changing of the Guard” features English professor Ellis Fowler, a man convinced that he hasn’t done a single worthwhile thing in 50 years of teaching. Fowler is about to take his own life when the ghosts of several of his former students show up and convince him that he’s made a bigger difference then he will ever know.
6) “A Penny for Your Thoughts” (Season 2, Episode 16)
When bank clerk Hector Poole tosses a quarter and it lands standing up on its side, he suddenly gains telepathic powers. Hearing everyone’s thoughts quickly goes from a blessing to a curse as Poole “hears” his boss thinking about an extramarital affair and a customer planning to take out a loan to pay back the money he embezzled from his company. Poole’s newfound ability also reveals that his co-worker Miss Turner has feelings for him, feelings which he reciprocates.
In the end, the telepathy is short-lived, and Poole ends the episode with a new promotion and a budding romance.
7) “The Trade-Ins” (Season 3, Episode 31)
“The Trade-Ins” proves that while flesh and blood are fleeting, love is eternal. John and Marie Holt, knowing they’re not long for this world, attempt to have their minds put in younger replacement bodies. When the procedure ends up costing twice what they were expecting, the couple agrees to have John de-aged with Marie to follow later. Soon, however, John realizes he’d rather revert to his old body and finish out his remaining years with the love of his life.
8) “A Passage for Trumpet” (Season 1, Episode 32)
Like “The Changing of the Guard,” “A Passage for Trumpet” begins with an attempted suicide. This time, it’s a has-been trumpet player who throws himself in front of a truck and wakes up to find no one can see or hear him. The trumpet player soon discovers that his actions have landed him in “a kind of limbo,” where he must decide whether to return to the land of the living or continue on to the afterlife.
Having come to the realization that even at it’s worst, life is still worth living, the trumpet player gets up with a new, positive perspective on his existence.
9) “A Hundred Yards Over the Rim” (Season 2, Episode 23)
The Twilight Zone is no stranger to time travel. From airplanes flying over dinosaurs to 19th century citizens using time-hats to experience the swingin’ ’60s, several episodes have dealt with manipulation of the 4th dimension. Only in “A Hundred Yards Over the Rim,” does such chrono distortion result in a happy ending.
When a desperate pioneer from 1847 leaves his dying eight-year-old son to find water, he instead finds the 20th century and the miraculous drug penicillin. It’s the rare time-travel plot where an unexpected trip into the future results in a better past.
10) “The Bewitchin’ Pool” (Season 5, Episode 36)
It’s rare for a happy ending to involve parents having their children disappear forever, and yet that’s the exact ending that landed “The Bewitchin’ Pool” on this list. When Sport and Jeb Sharewood discover a magical land free of adults at the bottom of a strange pool, they jump at the chance to leave their cold, unloving parents behind for good.
“The Bewitchin’ Pool” could have easily featured a last-minute twist where the children’s paradise is revealed to be a hallucination brought on by drowning, but the Twilight Zone instead goes out of its way to make sure the audience knows the children are safe and happy in their new home.
Do you agree with our picks for the happiest Twilight Zone endings? Let us know in the comments.
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