The Grell were rescued from their dry and dying planet by humans, only to be turned into slaves on Earth. Now the aliens are rebelling against their masters, fighting a guerrilla war against a government led by men like High Secretary Paul Kohler.
Opening narration[]
| "We denounce the bigotry of the past, secure in our own enlightenment. But if we were to encounter a race totally unlike our own... would we remain so pure of heart?" |
Plot[]
The Outer Limits - Guest Starring Marina Sirtis
When a jet carrying High Secretary Paul Kohler, his wife Olivia and their children Kenny and Sarah is shot down by a missile, his Grell slaves Jesha and Ep have the opportunity to escape. Ep breaks for freedom and is killed when Paul activates the electronic slave collar that all Grell must wear. Jesha, driven by his love for the children, stays and rescues his master's family from the jet's twisted wreckage. Despite his horror at Ep's death and Paul's brutal treatment of him, Jesha remains loyal to the humans. He rescues Sara when the rebel slave leader Shak-El captures her. Then he uses his Grell alchemy to heal Paul, who has been mortally wounded in a fire fight with a Grell rebel.
When Jesha saves Paul, however, the master becomes a hybrid; his skin changes to a mottled yellow, like a Grell's, and he is able to see ultraviolet light by day and heat at night. Paul also begins to see the world from a Grell point of view. He's horrified when he comes across a rebel settlement, where men, women and children have been massacred by federal troops.
Paul is terrified when a federal soldier, Lt. Lockhart, captures him and places a slave collar on him, believing him to be a Grell rebel. Later, Grell rebels attack Lt. Lockhart, and Paul was able to escape during the confusion. Paul reunited with his family inside a hut of the Grell village. Hidden from sight, Paul and his family sees the Grell rebels drag Jesha to the village. The rebel leader asks Jesha for the location of his master. Jesha sees the family hiding in the hut, but refuses to tell. The Grell rebel leader then uses Paul's hand remote, which fell during Paul and Jesha's fight, to make Jesha's slave collar electrocute him. The Grell rebel leader asks Jesha many times and Jesha refuses. The Grell rebel leader in tears asks Jesha "Don't you love your people?" Jesha, weakened from the torture, replies, "I love the future more." With that the Grell rebel leader electrocutes Jesha beyond all medical help. Just then the village is attacked by an air strike, killing all the Grell rebels. A human military force arrives at the village. Paul and his family come out of the hut. Paul kneels over Jesha and removes his collar, telling him that he can die a free man. Jesha smiles and dies as Paul asks for forgiveness. Profoundly changed by the experience, Paul orders the Colonel in charge of the military unit to give proper burials to all the Grells that had died.
Closing narration[]
| "With each new generation, a hope for a brighter future arises. But until we can break free from the chains of hatred which bind us, we will forever remain prisoners of ourselves." |
Notes[]
- This episode is included on The Outer Limits: Aliens Among Us Collection DVD set.
- The Grell slaves' shock collars are redressed combination bike locks.
- This is the only episode written by Jeff King.
Cast[]
- Ted Shackelford as High Secretary Paul Kohler
- Maurice Dean Wint as Jesha
- Marina Sirtis as Olivia "Liv" Kohler
- Britt McKillip as Sarah Kohler
- Blair Slater as Kenny Kohler
- Roger R. Cross as Lt. Lockhart
- G. Patrick Currie as Ep
- David McNally as Shak-El
- Jake T. Roberts as Colonel Vaux
- Jane Spence as Female Rebel
- Kevin Conway as the Control Voice (voice)
