A Quality of Mercy story
During World War II, a U.S. lieutenant gets a unique opportunity to see the conflict from the Japanese point of view. Directed by: Buzz Kulik. Story by: Sam Rolfe, Rod Serling.
11 total · 2 choice · 5 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| enemy point of view | choice | The belligerent American soldier Katell suddenly found himself in the body of an enemy Japanese commander, and learned first hand that they were humans just as he himself. |
| mercy | choice | The eponymous theme, and the topic of the lessen administered to Lt. Katell by The Twilight Zone. |
| coping with a bad boss | major | The hardened soldiers did not much care for their green-horned new commander, Lt. Katell. |
| coping with disagreeable orders | major | Lt. Katell first administered disagreeably belligerent orders, then found himself receiving the same. |
| putting yourself in someone else's shoes | major | The belligerent American soldier Katell suddenly found himself in the body of an enemy Japanese commander, and learned first hand that they were humans just as he himself. |
| what it is like in a combat zone | major | We saw a war-weary platoon of American soldiers trying to oust a group of Japanese soldiers hold up in a Philippine cave. |
| World War II | major | The story was set in an American campaign to expel Japan from the Philippines. |
| cowardice | minor | Lt. Katell insinuated that Sgt. Causarano was a chicken for advocating to wait out some Japanese soldiers hold up in a cave, rather than launching a full frontal assault. |
| nuclear weapons | minor | We heard that "The Bomb" had been dropped on Japan. |
| ruthlessness | minor | The Japanese captain was notably merciless. |