Rewind (The Twilight Zone)

"Rewind" is the twenty-eighth episode of the science fiction television series 2002 revival of The Twilight Zone. The episode was first broadcast on February 5, 2003, on UPN.

Opening narration

Plot

Jonah Beach is a patron and compulsive gambler at a local casino. He recently lost big against the casino owner, Trevor Black, who claimed that the house always wins. Jonah tells his wife April, a waitress at the casino, that he does not believe it and that he wants to beat the house just once. He asks her for $500 out of the fund they have set aside to start their own restaurant, but his wife refuses.

As Jonah goes home for the night, he runs into a homeless man outside the casino. The man asks for $5 and, when Jonah refuses, offers to bet him for it over a coin flip. The homeless man loses, but Jonah gives him the money anyway. In gratitude, the homeless man gives him an old tape cassette recorder that has been badly patched together with duct tape. Jonah takes it and the homeless man says he will not regret it.

Jonah goes to catch his bus and sees a newlywed couple get off. It pulls away just before he can get there. Jonah sits down at the bus stop, waits for the next bus, and starts toying with the cassette recorder. He hits the rewind button on it, and time rewinds. The bus pulls up again and the couple gets off. A woman bumps into Jonah and he rewinds time, avoiding her.

Jonah goes home and tells April what the device can do, and that he has tested it and learned he can rewind time to five minutes. April does not believe him and Jonah rewinds time to demonstrate, but April rewinds along with everything else and has no idea what happened. Jonah tries to get her to give him the money and rewinds time each time he fails, so that he can try a different story. Finally, he tells her that his mother needs an operation but, more importantly, he hopes to have a child and wants to be able to look his son in the eye and tell him that at least once he stayed in the game. April breaks down and gives him $200 to do what he has to do.

Jonah tapes the recorder to his thigh and hooks up a wire so that he can activate it with a tap of his heel. He then goes to the casino and starts winning at table poker, using the device to rewind time after discovering whether he needs to hold, raise or fold. He soon wins big and Trevor, watching on the security cameras, has his men bring Jonah up to his office. Trevor figures that Jonah has some trick, and invites him to play in a high-stakes private game later that night.

Jonah goes to see his wife and gives her back the $200, plus interest. He tells her that he has already won $50,000, but this time he plans to take down Trevor. April warns him that the house always wins, but Jonah insists he has an edge. April says that what he has is a problem.

Jonah ignores her and goes back for the big game. He continues to use his device, steadily winning against a seemingly unconcerned Trevor. Finally it comes down to Trevor and Jonah. The casino owner congratulates Jonah on his luck. April comes in to serve drinks and Jonah suggests that they play no-limit. Trevor is agreeable and asks for a short break. As Jonah waits, April tells him that he has all the money they will ever need. Jonah insists that he has to take down Trevor for everything he has. Realizing that he loves gambling more than her, April walks away.

Jonah and Trevor play one last hand and Jonah goes all-in. Trevor folds and Jonah smiles. He boasts that he won with a pair of 3s. Trevor shows his own hand: two pairs. However, Trevor activates his own hidden recorder, rewinding time. This time he stays in and wins, beating Jonah's pair. Jonah starts to rewind time, but Trevor has his men stop him and take away the hidden recorder. Trevor reveals his own brand-new recorder and reminds Jonah that the house always wins. As Trevor leaves, Forest Whitaker appears and narrates that "the house always wins."

Closing narration

External links

• "Rewind" at TV.com
• "Rewind" at the Internet Movie Database