Song of the Younger World
"Song of the Younger World" is the first segment of the thirty-fifth episode (the twentieth episode of the second season (1986–87) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
| "Song of the Younger World" | |
|---|---|
| The New Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 35a |
| Directed by | Noel Black |
| Written by | Anthony Lawrence Nancy Lawrence |
| Original air date | July 17, 1987 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Pete Kowanko: Tanner Smith | |
Opening narration
Meet Tanner Smith, circa 1916, disciple of a young writer named Jack London. Tanner Smith, now consigned to what is affectionately known by The Bowery Boys as "The Reff", a grim sojourn into solitude, despair, pain, and sooner than he knows, a curious corner...in the Twilight Zone.
Plot
A young man named Tanner Smith, whose misfortune has landed him in a home for wayward boys, seeks out the superintendent's daughter Amy. Although it is forbidden, they begin to meet at night and talk about their dreams and aspirations. She brings him books from the library after he tells her about his fascinations with wolves and how enlightened they are as animals. He explains why he's there. He was a good pickpocket, but he never hurt anyone. Amy claims to not care about his past as she only knows that she loves him.
One night in the barn where they meet, they are caught by her father kissing and in a passionate embrace. Tanner is beaten by her father and she is punished as well. Her father threatens her that if they meet ever again, he will find a way to kill Tanner and make it look like an accident. Amy is then comforted by an old ragged man named Hoakie. Hoakie helps look after Tanner by tending to the wounds inflicted by Amy's father. Hoakie warns him to avoid Amy. He says that she's in the library and he goes to her. They talk about how to escape together and Amy claims to have found a book that explains how to release two souls so they can come together later and in a "better world".
After a scare at the library, Amy attempts to try this "escape." As she does, her father comes from behind her and surprises her. Amy turns to him and growls like a wolf. He is taken aback but takes the book from her. He begins ripping pages from the book and burning it. Tanner, asleep, begins to hear howling from outside. He thinks it's Amy, escapes his room and meets her outside. She begins talking cryptically about knowing the right way to escape. They separate but she tells him not to worry.
Amy gives a message to Hoakie for Tanner. The message indicates that she will meet him but will appear dead. Tanner, unknowingly, meets Amy and thinks she is dead. He then plans to kill her father believing him to be responsible, but he fights back and imprisons Tanner. The father finds Amy apparently dead while Hoakie finds Tanner and tries to explain what Amy was really doing and what he must do to join her. Amy's father, however, decides to kill Tanner with his revolver. Hoakie tries to stop him but her father kills him. Tanner does as he is told, and Amy's father witnesses him "leave this world." Hoakie, with his dying breath, tells her father that they are where he can't hurt them. The scene fades to a forest, where two white wolves run alongside each other, one of which is wearing Amy's pendant.
Closing narration
A Song of the Younger World...a tale told on wintry nights when the moon is full, of living with wolves and learning to howl. Of love that transcends worldly pain, and running free...in the Twilight Zone.