When Does a War End?

The theme of recovering from the effects of World War II is covered in The Twilight Zone, in an episode entitled "The Encounter." The American was portrayed by Neville Brand. The Japanese-American was portrayed by George Takei, who appeared as HPD helicopter pilot Nathaniel Blake in H50 1.0's "Death's Name is Sam" (Season 8).

Both men were suffering from guilt. The American abused an order to take no prisoners and killed a Japanese soldier in order to obtain his Samurai sword. The Japanese-American, who was only four years old at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, was devastated over his father, a Japanese-American traitor, who used his civilian position at Pearl Harbor to direct the Japanese planes on that fateful day. In the end, both men died as a result of their guilt.

To be historically accurate, no Japanese-Americans performed traitorous acts in Hawaii, not on December 7, 1941, and not during the war.

The theme was covered well in H50 1.0 in Season 10's "When Does a War End?" and in H50 2.0 in Season 4's "Ho'onani Makuakane."

Watch The Twilight Zone / "The Encounter" on CBS All Access, Season 5, Episode 31.