| Series: | The Twilight Zone |
| Season: | 3 |
| Episode: | 15 |
| Production: | 4809 |
| Teleplay: | Rod Serling |
| Based On: | an idea by Sam Rolfe |
| Director: | Buzz Kulik |
| Guests: | |
| Season Article: | The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) (season 3) |
| Episode List: | List of The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series) episodes |
| Prev: | Five Characters in Search of an Exit |
| Next: | Nothing in the Dark |
"A Quality of Mercy" is episode 80 of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone, which originally aired on December 29, 1961. The title is taken from a notable speech in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, quoted in Serling's closing narration at the end of the episode.
On August 6, 1945, Second Lieutenant Katell arrives in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II and takes command of a seasoned but war-weary infantry platoon led by Sergeant Causarano. Katell promptly orders an attack on a group of sick and wounded Japanese soldiers holed up in a cave. Causarano tries to talk him out of it, as everyone is sick of fighting and attacking the defenseless Japanese soldiers would achieve nothing but unnecessary deaths for both sides. But Katell, intent on proving himself and earning his rank, stands firm on his orders; he berates the platoon for their lack of enthusiasm and tells Causarano he does not care who the enemy is or how much of a threat they pose, only that they will kill all of them until they are ordered to stop killing, simply because they are the enemy. Causarano and the platoon reluctantly prepare for the assault.
As Katell surveils the cave, he accidentally drops his binoculars. When he goes to retrieve them, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by an Imperial Japanese Army company. After a failed attempt to flee in his confusion, Katell is briefed on the situation by Sergeant Yamazaki: he is Lieutenant Yamuri, on Corregidor on May 4, 1942 during the Philippines campaign, and his company is preparing to assault a group of wounded 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment soldiers holed up in a cave. Yamuri tries to dissuade the company's captain from ordering the attack, arguing that the Americans inside the cave pose no threat and can be captured or bypassed instead, but the company's captain bluntly refuses to listen and, suspecting Yamuri has malaria or lost his nerve, "reminds" him that it does not matter whether the enemy is incapacitated or how their deaths will not shorten the war, only that they will kill all of them until they are ordered to stop killing—mirroring exactly what Katell told Causarano. The captain then relieves Yamuri of command and leads the company to attack the cave.
Horrified, Yamuri reaches for his binoculars and finds himself back as Katell in 1945, just as the platoon's radioman relays that the atomic bomb has been dropped and that they have been ordered to fall back and wait to see how Japan responds. As the platoon cheerfully withdraws, Causarano sardonically assures Katell, "Well, I wouldn't fret. There'll be other caves, and other wars, other human beings you can knock off." As Katell somberly stares at the cave, he responds, "I hope not. God help us, I hope not."
This episode was filmed on a sound stage at Hal Roach Studios, instead of the usual MGM facilities.[1]
The episode's writer, Rod Serling, served as a paratrooper in the Philippines during World War II, as part of the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division.