High Noon
“One Good Deed” (Tales of the Underworld 1.6) is an homage to the 1952 western High Noon. In both the film and the episode, a marshal who dedicated his career to reforming a violent town is warned that an old nemesis is out of prison and will return at noon to take his revenge. Like the outlaw Frank Miller, Cad Bane wants revenge not only for his time in prison but because the marshal took his place in the affections of a woman. Like the marshal Will Kane, Niro discovers that he must face his enemy alone: the town council wants him to run away, he has no allies in the saloon, and even his own deputy would rather quit than fight. The episode is so thoroughly patterned after the film, it prominently features clocks, a rarity in Star Wars. Everyone is anxiously counting down the minutes until the outlaw returns.
But “One Good Deed” alters the plot of High Noon in key ways. Niro and Bane were childhood friends, so the conflict between them is more personal than the one between Kane and Miller. Miller’s old flame Helen Ramírez is no longer with Kane because they broke up; Bane’s old flame Arin is no longer with Niro because she died. When Kane is in the climactic shootout with Miller and his men, his wife Amy runs to his rescue; when Niro is surrounded by Bane and his men, his son Isaac runs to his side for safety. In High Noon, the hero kills the villain; in “One Good Deed,” the villain kills the hero. As Niro is dying, Bane realizes that Niro is not Isaac’s father — he is. High Noon might have ended with Amy watching as her husband is gunned down less than two hours after they were married; “One Good Deed” ends with Isaac watching as the man he called father is gunned down by the real father he never met until now.
It is fitting that “Kane” rhymes with “Bane,” because whereas High Noon is about the hero, “One Good Deed” is really about the villain. The ending of High Noon emphasizes Kane’s isolation as a result of trying to serve others. A life spent using violence to keep the peace renders Kane an outsider among both the town’s malcontents and its well-to-do. After he confronts Miller to protect others, he leaves town having no friends left except his wife. The ending of “One Good Deed” emphasizes Bane’s isolation as a result of serving himself. A life spent using violence to satisfy his anger and greed previously cost him Niro’s friendship and Arin’s love. After he confronts Niro to get revenge, he leaves town entirely alone. Bane’s men die in the shootout, Bane kills the one person alive who truly cares for him, and Bane leaves his own son behind.
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Shows: Tales of the Underworld
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Concepts: aggression / fathers / friendship / isolation / revenge / selfishness / war and peace
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Usually, showing a back story for characters like Bane does more harm than good, but in this case it works well.