![]() ![]() However, the episode lacked diversity behind the camera - something that was unheard of at the time but which was nevertheless necessary given its content. "The Encounter" is framed as a statement against prejudice, something The Twilight Zone excelled at with other episodes. It lends the episode a disastrous case of both-siderism, which balances Fenton's very real biases against an open contrivance in the name of "fairness." Takamori's background is pure fiction - there exists no evidence of Japanese-American treachery at Pearl Harbor or anywhere else - and indeed such lies were used to justify the internment of thousands of US citizens during the war solely because of their ancestry. The episode's most obvious problems involve harmful stereotyping, with the Japanese portrayed in clichéd terms that label them as "others." Fenton's overt bigotry mitigates that somewhat, but the real issue lies deeper. Takamori then grabs the sword and screams "Banzai!" as he leaps out the attic window to his death. They scuffle and Fenton is impaled on the blade. It's implied that the sword psychically exacerbates their emotions until they explode into violence. ![]() The tension between the two slowly escalates as their respective prejudices come out, with Fenton expressing increasingly anti-Asian sentiments and Takamori revealing that his father betrayed the US forces during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. His musings are interrupted by a young Japanese-American man, Arthur Takamori, who seeks employment as a gardener. It contains an inscription reading "the sword will avenge me." The weapon keeps finding its way back to him, no matter how many times he tries to get rid of it. It's later revealed that he took it from its original owner, whom he killed after the man had surrendered to him. "The Encounter" focuses on an American veteran of World War II, Fenton, who finds a Japanese katana in his attic.
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