Villainess Review: Annie Mitchell (The Twilight Zone)

I really enjoyed the most recent version of The Twilight Zone, the one that aired on what was formerly known as CBS All Access (now Paramount+). I grew up on that show; I've seen episodes of the original 1950/60s version a few times. I definitely remember the 80s version and seeing reruns of that; I also still recall seeing the creepy and well done intro to the 80s version when I was about 6 years old, I was both scared and awe-struck. A short-lived version aired on UPN during the 2002-03 season, making this one mentioned as the subject as the fourth and most recent incarnation. I am still upset that it got canceled; I think Season Two topped their first year, and it all began with the episode, "Meet in the Middle."

The episode centered on Phillip Hayes (Jimmi Simpson, who I've been a fan of since his appearances as Mary Lightly on Psych), who suddenly started hearing a voice inside his mind. It was a female voice, she introduced herself as Annie Mitchell, and it led Phillip to seek therapy, only for Annie to drown out the entire session. Phillip leaves his session and ends up talking more with Annie, with their conversations being so close to the point that it almost appeared that they were actually dating. However, Annie ended their conversation when Phillip wanted to know more about her, leading to an online search.

What Phillip finds draws shock from him: Annie's married. They talk it out, and at that moment, Annie informed Phillip that things were "complicated" and that her marriage wasn't a happy one. After not hearing from Annie for a long while, Phillip hears that voice again, as Annie wanted out of marriage and had a desire for her life to begin, but it couldn't be done without Phillip's help. She asked Phillip to "meet in the middle"; a meeting at the midpoint of their hometowns, but on his way to do so, Phillip hears Annie in distress.

Annie was apparently being attacked, and after receiving clues to her location, Phillip finds a house in the woods and is encountered by a man who threatened to call the police in response to Phillip's questions about Annie. After receiving confirmation from Annie that the man was her attacker, Phillip bludgeoned him to death with a candlestick holder, and afterwards, a little girl named Audra entered and revealed herself as the man's daughter. Audra's appearance is followed by the first physical appearance from Annie, but to Phillip's shock, Annie screams in horror and portrays herself as not knowing Phillip, and once police arrived, Annie accused Phillip of breaking into her house and killing her husband.

Phillip ends up arrested, and he comes to a realization that everything his therapist said about him was true, but it is later halted by Annie's voice, who later revealed that she manipulated and coerced Phillip to kill her husband. She used her link to Phillip in the scheme, while also thanking her unwitting and unknowing accomplice for making sure that her life could begin again, leading Phillip to denounce Annie as a monster. In response, Annie told Phillip that she told him what he wanted to hear and that he was willing to kill to fulfill his goal, and we later see Annie portraying herself as a grieving widow--before giving a crazed and evil glare in the final scene.

The entire second and (sadly) final season of this version of The Twilight Zone was released on the former CBS All Access on June 25, 2020, and began with "Meet in the Middle," which featured Gillian Jacobs as villainess Annie Mitchell. Jacobs is mostly a comedic actress, so to see her playing any villainess--especially one as twisted as Annie Mitchell--is quite a treat. Annie was very charming and sweet at first, but the climax and final scenes reveal that it was all a cover for her manipulative and sociopathic demeanor. Jacobs did a terrific job acting out Annie's original sweet nature, and we even see some of it in Annie's heel turn, though that evil glare at the very end was just golden, as it truly portrayed Annie as an absolute psychopath.

Jacobs has many credits to her name, including playing Britta Perry on the NBC sitcom, Community. She also played another crazed villainess, Sadie, in the 2015 film, Visions, and she was recently seen in Netflix's highly acclaimed (as well as flat out amazing) Fear Street film trilogy.

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Click here for Annie Mitchell's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!