History Recap / TheTwilightZone1959S2E12Dust

!!Tropest:

In a particularly ratty-looking village "built of crumbling clay and rotting wood" in the Wild West, Sykes, a particularly nasty, mean-spirited merchant and peddler of goods, rides in. The town is hosting a public hanging on this day for Luís Gallegos, who got drunk, went out for a ride in his wagon, and struck a little girl. The whole town has turned out for the execution. After Sykes cruelly taunts the condemned man, he does something even more cruel. After Gallegos' father begs the townspeople for mercy, Sykes offers to sell him some "magic dust"--actually just sand Sykes scooped up from the ground--which will supposedly turn hate into love, and bring the spirit of forgiveness to the sad little town. What Sykes doesn't realize that he's more on the nose than he thinks.

In a particularly ratty-looking village "built of crumbling clay and rotting wood" in the Wild West, Sykes, a particularly nasty, mean-spirited merchant and peddler of goods, rides in. The town is hosting a public hanging on this day for Luis Gallegos, who got drunk, went out for a ride in his wagon, and struck a little girl. The whole town has turned out for the execution. After Sykes cruelly taunts the condemned man, he does something even more cruel. After Gallegos' father begs the townspeople for mercy, Sykes offers to sell him some "magic dust"--actually just sand Sykes scooped up from the ground--which will supposedly turn hate into love, and bring the spirit of forgiveness to the sad little town. What Sykes doesn't realize that he's more on the nose than he thinks.

* TheAtoner: Luis spends all his screentime remorseful and heartbroken after killing a little girl in a drunken accident. When his noose breaks via an apparent act of God, the parents of the deceased girl opt to let him off the hook, deciding that his guilt has made him suffer enough.

* DivineIntervention: Mr. Canfield theorizes that an act of God was what caused the hanging noose to break like nothing. The apparently-divine act is what convinces him and his wife to spare Luis' life.
* DrowningMySorrows: It's implied that Luis' accident occurred because he was drunk, having been drinking to try and forget the dismal state of poverty he found himself in.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Sykes makes it pretty clear how mean-spirited he is when he sadistically taunts the convicted [[FriendToAllChildren Luis]] for running over a child, even if it was an accident.
* FailedExecutionNoSentence: Luís Gallegos survives his execution by hanging because the rope breaks at the precise moment that he falls. This is the moment that everybody in town decides (on top of everything else that has happened throughout the episode that was making them undecided about whether following through with this whole charade was actually a good idea) to let him go.
* FriendToAllChildren: Gallegos Sr. implies that his son Luis has a soft spot for kids.

* PetTheDog: Two instances towards the end. First, the parents of the child Luis accidentally ran over decide in the end to forgo the execution when the noose breaks, seeing that Gallegos Sr. loves his son just as much as they loved their daughter. Second, Sykes gives his gold coins to some poor children, no strings attached, after having a change of heart from the execution.
* PosthumousCharacter: The nameless deceased little girl is a major catalyst, pervading over the story. Luis accidentally ran her over while drunk and is now facing execution, and the story also takes place during her funeral.
* ThePunishmentIsTheCrime: Mrs. Canfield, the mother of the child Luis killed, insists on letting him go after his failed execution. Her husband John reminds her that Luis killed their child, only for her to respond that through running over an innocent child, Luis has killed part of himself, and the overwhelming guilt has made him suffer enough.
* TheSheriff: Sheriff Koch is sympathetic to Luis, chastizing Sykes for taunting him and protecting his father from the angry crowd. Koch is also depressed by the thought of Gallegos being hanged for an accident and clearly believes that he does not deserve to die in such a way, but he's still forced to complete his duty as laid down by the law.
* ThisCannotBe: When the noose tied around Luis' neck inexplicably breaks, Sykes--the man who sold the rope--is shocked, as he can vouch it was supposed to be unbreakable.

In a particularly ratty-looking village "built of crumbling clay and rotting wood" in the Wild West, Sykes, a particularly nasty, mean-spirited merchant and peddler of goods, rides in. The town is hosting a public hanging on this day for Luis Gallegos, who got drunk, went out for a ride in his wagon, and struck a little girl. The whole town has turned out for the execution. After Sykes cruelly taunts the condemned man, he does something even more cruel. After Gallegos' father begs the townspeople for mercy, Sykes offers to sell him some "magic dust"--actually just sand Sykes scooped up from the ground--which will supposedly turn hate into love, and bring the spirit of forgiveness to the sad little town. What Sykes doens't realize that he's more on the nose than he thinks.

The story takes place in a village "built of crumbling clay and rotting wood", a particularly ratty-looking little village in the Wild West. Into this little town rides Sykes, a particularly nasty, mean-spirited merchant and peddler of goods. The town is having a hanging that day: a man named Luís Gallegos got drunk, went out for a ride in his wagon, and struck and killed a little girl. The whole town, which is about two dozen people, has turned out for the execution. After Sykes cruelly taunts the condemned man, he does something even more cruel. After Gallegos's father begs the townspeople for mercy, Sykes offers to sell him some "magic dust"--actually dust Sykes scooped up from the ground--which will supposedly turn hate into love and bring the spirit of forgiveness to the sad little town.

!!Tropes:

* BigNo: Gallegos Sr. gives one in the climax.
* BlatantLies: Part of what drives the plot is how Sykes exploits Gallegos Senior's gullible nature by telling him he can sell him "magic dust" that will save his condemned son.
* DivineIntervention: Mr. Canfield theorizes that it was an act of God that caused the hanging noose to break like nothing. Its what convinces him and his wife to spare Gellagos' life.
* DrowningMySorrows: It's implied that the accident occurred because Luis had been drinking to try and forget the state of poverty he found himself in.
* DyingTown: Serling's narration describes it as a town that's "waiting to die". It does look particularly dilapidated even for a Wild West town; it seems that an extended drought has basically ruined everyone.
** Even one of the ''horses'' is underweight.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Sykes makes it pretty clear how mean-spirited he is when he sadistically taunts the convicted [[FriendToAllChildren Luís Gallegos]] for running over a child, even by accident.

* FriendToAllChildren: Gallegos Sr. implies that his son Luís is this.
* HarmfulToMinors: Sheriff Koch {{lampshade|hanging}}s how [[{{Deconstruction}} questionable]] it is to deliberately let children watch an execution to "teach" them the concept of justice.
* HeelFaceTurn: In the end, Sykes has a change of heart and gives the gold coins he dishonestly earned to the village children.
* {{Jerkass}}: Sykes is this, at least until the end.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Another part of the episode's moral is to wonder: was the dust really magical all along, or is the human heart much deeper than we give credit?
* PetTheDog: Two instances towards the end. First, the parents of the child Luís Gellegos accidentally ran over decide in the end to forgo the execution, seeing that Gallegos Sr. loves his son Luís just as much as they loved their daughter. Second, Sykes gives his gold coins to some poor children, with no strings attached.
* PosthumousCharacter: The nameless, dead little girl is a major catalyst and pervades over the story. Luís Gellagos accidentally ran her over while drunk and is facing execution. The story also takes place during her funeral.
* ThePunishmentIsTheCrime: Mrs. Canfield the mother of the deceased child insists on letting Luís Gellagos go. Her husband John reminds her that he killed their child. She responds that through running over an innocent child he has killed part of himself, and the overwhelming guilt has made him suffer enough.
* TheSheriff: Sheriff Koch is sympathetic to Luís Gallegos. He chastises Sykes for taunting him and protects his father from the angry crowd. Koch is depressed by the thought of Gallegos being hanged and clearly believes that he does not deserve to be hanged but still performs his duty as laid down by the law.
* ThisCannotBe: When the noose tied around Luís Gallegos' neck inexplicably breaks, Sykes--the man who sold the rope--is shocked, as he can vouch it's supposed to be unbreakable.
* TheWildWest: A "misery-laden village" somewhere out in the Wild West, where people still travel in wagons and conduct public hangings.

* HarmfulToMinors: Sheriff Koch [[LampShading lampshades]] how [[{{Deconstruction}} questionable]] it is to deliberately let children watch an execution to "teach" them the concept of justice.

->'''Creator/RodSerling''': It was a very small, misery-laden village. On the day of a hanging. And of little historical consequence. And if there's any moral to it at all, let's say that in any quest for magic, and any search for sorcery, witchery, legerdemain, first check the human heart. For inside this deep place is a wizardry that costs far more than a few pieces of gold. Tonight's case in point - in the Twilight Zone.

* DivineIntervention: John theorizes that it was an act of God that caused the hanging noose to break like nothing. Its what convinces him and his wife to spare Gellagos' life.

* ThePunishmentIsTheCrime: The mother of the deceased child insists on letting Luís Gellagos go. Her husband John reminds her that he killed their child. She responds that through running over an innocent child he has killed part of himself, and the overwhelming guilt has made him suffer enough.

* DrownMySorrow: It's implied that the accident occurred because Luis had been drinking to try and forget the state of poverty he found himself in.

* DrownMySorrows: It's implied that the accident occurred because Luis had been drinking to try and forget the state of poverty he found himself in.

* TheWildWest: A "misery-laden village" somewhere out in the Wild West, where people still travel in wagons and conduct public hangings.

The story takes place in a village "built of crumbling clay and rotting wood", a particularly ratty-looking little village in the Wild West. Into this little town rides Sykes, a particularly nasty, mean-spirited merchant and peddler of goods. The town is having a hanging that day: a man named Gallegos got drunk, went out for a ride in his wagon, and struck and killed a little girl. The whole town, which is about two dozen people, has turned out for the execution. After Sykes cruelly taunts the condemned man, he does something even more cruel. After Gallegos's father begs the townspeople for mercy, Sykes offers to sell him some "magic dust"--actually dust Sykes scooped up from the ground--which will supposedly turn hate into love and bring the spirit of forgiveness to the sad little town.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Sykes makes it pretty clear how mean-spirited he is when he sadistically taunts the convicted [[FriendToAllChildren Gallegos Jr.]] for running over a child, even by accident.
* FailedExecutionNoSentence: Gallegos Jr. survives his execution by hanging because the rope breaks at the precise moment he falls, and this is the moment everybody in town decides (on top of everything else that has happened throughout the episode that was making them undecided about whether following through with this whole charade was actually a good idea) to let him go.
* FriendToAllChildren: Gallegos Sr. implies that his son is this.

* PetTheDog: Two instances towards the end. First, the parents of the child Gellegos Jr. accidentally ran over decide in the end to forgo the execution, seeing that Gallegos Sr. loves his son just as much as they loved their daughter. Second, Sykes gives his gold coins to some poor children, with no strings attached.
* ThePunishmentIsTheCrime: The mother of the murdered child insists on letting Gellagos go. The husband reminds her that he killed their child. She responds that through running over an innocent child he has killed part of himself, and the overwhelming guilt has made him suffer enough.
* ThisCannotBe: When the noose tied around Gallegos Junior's neck inexplicably breaks, Sykes--the man who sold the rope--is shocked, as he can vouch it's supposed to be unbreakable.

An unscrupulous traveling merchant claims he has a magical dust which will save a condemned man.

* BlatantLies: Part of what drives the plot is how the Merchant exploits Gallegos Senior's gullible nature by telling him he can sell him "magic dust" that will save his condemned son.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The merchant makes it pretty clear how mean-spirited he is when he sadistically taunts the convicted [[FriendToAllChildren Gallegos Jr.]] for running over a child, even by accident.

* HeelFaceTurn: In the end, the merchant has a change of heart and gives the gold coins he dishonestly earned to the village children.
* {{Jerkass}}: The croocked merchant is this, at least until the end.

* PetTheDog: Two instances towards the end. First, the parents of the child Gellegos Jr. accidentally ran over decide in the end to forgo the execution, seeing that Gallegos Sr. loves his son just as much as they loved their daughter. Second, the crooked merchant gives his gold coins to some poor children, with no strings attached.
* ThisCannotBe: When the noose tied around Gallegos Junior's neck inexplicably breaks, the merchant who sold the rope for the noose is shocked, as he can vouch it's supposed to be unbreakable.

* ThisCannotBe: When the noose tied around Gallegos Junior's neck inexplicably breaks, the merchant who sold the rope for the noose is shocked, as he can vouch it's supposed to be unbreakable.

* BigNo:

* {{Jerkass}}: The croocked merchant is this in the beginning, especially when he taunts Gallegos Jr. for running over a child, even by accident.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Part of the episode's moral is to wonder: was the dust really magical all along, or is the human heart much deeper than we give credit?
* PetTheDog: Two instances. First, the parents of the child Gellegos Jr. accidentally ran over decide in the end to forgo the execution, seeing that Gallegos Sr. loves his son just as much as they loved their daughter. Second, the crooked merchant gives his gold coins to some poor children, with no strings attached.

* PetTheDog: Two instances. First, the parents of the child Gellegos Jr. accidentally ran over decide in the end to forgo the execution, seeing that Gallegos Sr. loves his son just as much as they loved their daughter. Second, the crooked merchant gives his gold coins to some poor children, with no strings attached.
* RousseauWasRight: Part of the episode's moral.

* PetTheDog: Two instances. First, the parents of the child Gellegos Jr. accidentally ran over decide in the end to forgo the execution, seeing that Gallegos Sr. loves his son just as much as they loved their daughter. Second, the crooked merchant gives his gold coins to some poor children, with no strings attached.

* {{Jerkass}}: The croocked merchant is this in the beginning, especially when he taunts the man convicted of running over a child by accident.

* HeelFaceTurn: In the end, the merchant has a change of heart and gives the gold coins he dishonestly earned to the village children.

An unscrupulous traveling merchant claims he has a magical dust which will save a condemned man.