From the sequel, we learn that Anthony had a daughter...notice how we don't ever see or even hear a mention of the mother. Most likely implying that before the events of the episode, she got sent to the cornfield. Although what she did is also never explained. Even worse, how was he able to get her into a (presumably) consensual relationship considering his nature.
It's very possible that the only reason she consented to a relationship was out of fear of his retaliation. So... basically not really consensual at all.
It's logical that in the sequel adaptations showing Anthony as an adult that he is stunted emotionally. He never had adults discipline him out of fear, which is how children learn to control themselves and mature. While Anthony did learn how to experience love (he loves his daughter), he never learned how to channel his anger into anything productive because he didn't have to. He only learned how to somewhat behave as an adult by passively watching the people around him, but without being actively taught he couldn't mature properly. Compared to Anthony as a little boy, he did develop a stunted sense of empathy as an adult. Chances are that if someone had found a way to discipline him properly, Anthony could have grown up and used his powers for good.
Agnes: Love you? Love? You? I curse the day I gave birth to you. Night after night, I lie awake, thinking of ways to put an end to this madness. To put an end to you! And do you want to know why, Anthony? Because you are a bad man. A very bad man. The worst that ever lived.
Why didn't anyone try to subtly manipulate Anthony for their own benefit? e.g. "It sure is a good day Anthony, but you know what would make it better? Make it ten degrees cooler. Think of how good THAT would be!"
They may have, but from how he's portrayed Anthony would never take much advice from anyone, and probably retaliate against anyone who tried to push him into doing anything.
The original short story confirms that people have tried to convince Anthony to do useful things, but suggesting he do anything other than what he wants to do... doesn't end well. And if by some chance you do actually manage to talk him into something, you probably won't like the results, because his idea of being nice is just as bad as his temper tantrums. (Miss your husband? Anthony'll whistle his corpse out of the grave for you, no big deal—what do you mean, you're not happy?)
Not to mention that he's a mind reader, meaning that he'd know if you are trying to manipulate him into doing something. That's what bad people do, and bad people go to the cornfields!
From a writing standpoint, it's an obvious use of Nothing Is Scarier, but one assumes Anthony didn't always have his powers since he seems to have at least some aspects of a normally raised child (and one doubts a town could survive the whims of an omnipotent baby), but in neither the episode nor its sequel does anyone discuss how or when he got them.
The question of Anthony's mortality or vulnerability is an elephant in the room, especially thanks to the sequel episode. The two main justifications for nobody kills Anthony are that A. Anthony can read minds and B. The townsfolk don't know whether Anthony has destroyed the rest of the world or simply isolated their town from it, and what will happen to that arrangement if he dies. But setting aside how a human mind can't consciously control their thoughts to such an extent, there are numerous examples in both episodes of characters talking negatively about Anthony without him being aware, and the sequel even implies Anthony was wholly unaware of a man behind him about to bash his head in until his daughter vanished the man. Even if that doesn't work, Anthony seems to still sleep. That the townspeople are too afraid of what might happen to them or the world if Anthony dies, and are merely hoping he develops a sense of responsibility makes more sense, but the sequel shows that thirty years of putting up with the torture that is living in the town with Anthony, and there's been no real progress on that front. More than one person should have tried killing Anthony figuring the only possible outcomes are 1. You fail and go to the cornfield, which you'll probably end up in eventually anyways. 2. You succeed and everything Anthony did with his powers is undone. 3. You succeed, but the town stays isolated and the townspeople adapt. 4. You succeed, and the town is destroyed, putting everyone out of their misery.
Well, the truth (and moral of the story) is that the people in the town eventually got used to the horror and become conditioned to accept Anthony's rule as absolute, because the unknown part of their circumstances scared them into complacency. While it's possible that some people have gotten so sick of him that they don't care about the consequences of trying to end his life, equally as many people may be content with playing along as long as they aren't the targets of Anthony's wrath, and more still may not want Anthony to die at all for fear of what an alternative will be like. The nature of Anthony's powers also make it very hard for the townsfolk to negotiate any long term planning - after all, Anthony can read minds, so if they all tried to collaborate ways to defeat him, it would be hard to conceal those thoughts from him for long periods of time.
Nobody seems content in either episode or especially optimistic in the sequel when he’d already done all the growing up that can be expected, just terrified. Attempts to kill Anthony don’t need everyone’s consent or permission, and people do indeed conspire against and attempt to kill him, and he only finds out through mundane means.
We also don't know that some people haven't tried to get him in his sleep before. It's entirely possible that every attempt has failed - after all, it's hard to attempt to kill someone in their sleep without them waking up, and if someone tries to stab/smother/choke Anthony in his bed, he'd likely immediately wake up and send them to the cornfield. Death is not an instant occurrence, and all it would take is one failed attempt to scare everyone else into thinking trying isn't worth it.
Unless someone else learned or guesses that the first attempt was fundamentally flawed (by not attacking the brain directly, since while it’s hard to kill someone faster than the speed of thought without modern weapons, it is possible to give them serious brain damage that fast), or if someone came up with something clever like drugging his food, pumping carbon monoxide into his room, building some kind of improvised gun or bomb, etc.
Even in moments where Anthony's awake but his omniscience fails, it's possible that it's not always clear when he's paying attention versus when he isn't. How can someone deduce that he's efficiently distracted enough to attack from behind, especially since attacking him will get his attention on you anyway?
A good clue as to whether or not he’s reading your mind when you’re considering attacking him is that he hasn’t sent you to the cornfield yet. Someone in the sequel tried to attack him from behind and likely would have succeeded were it not for his daughter.
Alternative Title(s):The Twilight Zone S 3 E 73 Its A Good Life
