WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 7 of The Twilight Zone, "A Human Face."
The Twilight Zone has never been one to shy away from alien invasions, as seen with the infiltration of the Kanamits in "To Serve Man," as well as another species playing humanity against each other in "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street." However, Season 2 works in another spin in the wake of these classics thanks to "A Human Face," but this one is more subtle and plays on human emotions more than ever before. In the process, the franchise finally finds the perfect formula for extraterrestrials to take over the planet, with humans as welcoming and compliant as ever to their newfound 'friends.'
Here, Robert (Christopher Meloni) and his wife Barbara (Jenna Elfman) are packing away things belonging to their recently deceased daughter, Maggi (Tavi Gevinson). It seems she died by pill overdose, leaving the couple struggling to cope, but a solar flare across their small American suburb changes life forever as it drops a creature in their basement that looks like a giant weasel. They deduce it's an alien, but as it eats up stuff in the basement, it quickly takes the form of Maggi.
It's warped at first, but as it slowly starts making a mental connection, reading the parents' minds, absorbing who Maggi was as a person in her room and finally evolving into a near perfect Maggi. Robert wants to kill it as he thinks it's an abomination, but a depressed Barbara is convinced this could be a replacement meant to fill a gaping hole in her heart.
It burrows its way into Barb's mind, not that it has much work to do, because it does seem like the mom is willingly letting it in. When it takes Maggi's full-form, the mind games are kicked up a notch as it chides the parents as they confront each other for failing to care of their daughter. It looks like she committed suicide, as Robert was neglectful and Barb was too controlling, so the creature works this in. This guilt trip works on Barb, but the appeal isn't there for Rob, not until the alien admits that despite their fallouts, they all loved each other and were indeed a family.
It finally wins him over by confessing it was sent to Earth as a weapon, a Biological Pacification Tool, to shapeshift into deceased loved ones and secretly invade mankind. However, after soaking in so much of Maggi, it's broken its prime directive, and she's taken over, so it's now more human than alien. Now, with this personality, it can truly be their daughter again, so as it hugs Rob, 'she' forgives him and grants him the salvation he was desperately seeking after secretly blaming himself for his daughter's death.
With absolution in hand, the family walks outside, and even though he's a tad confused, Robert's accepted the new status quo. Barb, of course, is loving every moment, and as they head down the block, they're so caught up that they don't realize other families are emerging, holding hands just like them. Viewers see a lot of kids with the adults, so it's clear the aliens duped these people through honesty and love. Compassion, warmth and empathy are the weapons being used in this identity crisis, and through people's loss and these reimagined loved ones, the aliens are now able to assimilate without opposition.
Hosted and produced by Jordan Peele, The Twilight Zone Season 2 is available on CBS All Access.