Summary

• Justin's attempts to prevent a disaster in "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" ultimately lead to the very fate he was trying to avert.
• The podcast's details create red herrings, distracting from the true cause of Flight 1015's crash.
• Justin's unresolved trauma and PTSD play a significant role in the self-fulfilling prophecy of the 2019 The Twilight Zone episode's ending.

As a reimagining of an iconic episode from the show's original run, the 2019 The Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" stars Adam Scott as investigative journalist Justin Sanderson, who desperately wants to avert a disaster by taking matters into his own hands. But given that this is The Twilight Zone, Justin ended up becoming the impetus for such a disaster, and everything else leading up to Flight 1015's crash and disappearance can be considered red herrings.

When it comes to The Twilight Zone, one of the most famous original episodes "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", which was directed by Richard Donner and starred William Shatner in the title role. The 2019 The Twilight Zone reboot had its own version of the story for its second episode, one that removes the gremlin from the plane, and this time places an emphasis on making one's own fate. Because of all that, The Twilight Zone's "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" ending leaves quite a bit open to interpretation.

What Happened In Nightmare At 30,000 Feet

The Events Of The Podcast Became A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Throughout "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet", Justin Sanderson listens to an episode of the Enigmatique podcast, which chronicles the disappearance of Northern Gold Star Flight 1015 — a flight that he's a enger on. Because of this, Justin becomes increasingly nervous, agitated, and unhinged as he tries to uncover the mystery of why Flight 1015 crashed. And the more he listens, the more clues the podcast reveals. But none of those clues sheds any light as to the disappearance of Flight 1015.

Everything revealed on the podcast are merely details of a much larger puzzle in Flight 1015's crash, one that Justin continually, though perhaps unknowingly, attempts to make a reality.

First, it's a bird that strikes the engine (possibly as a reference to the gremlin from "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"). Second, it's a pair of Sikh men watching a sports broadcast on the plane's WiFi, something that Justin believes could be causing a disturbance with communications. Third, it's a potential attack against a man named Igor Orlov, who is flying to Tel Aviv to testify against the Russian mafia. Everything revealed on the podcast are merely details of a much larger puzzle in Flight 1015's crash, one that Justin continually, though perhaps unknowingly, attempts to make a reality.

No matter what Justin tries to do or who he tries to tell, nobody believes him — except for Joe Beaumont, a man he met at the start of "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" and had signed a copy of the Progressive Pointe magazine for. Joe ultimately takes it upon himself to save everyone by infiltrating the cockpit, knocking the pilots unconscious, and crashing the plane into the Atlantic Ocean. Afterward, in the epilogue of "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet", it's revealed that all the engers not only survive the crash but will eventually end up being rescued. That is, everyone but Justin, who the engers and crew killed.

Nightmare At 30,000 Feet Ending Explained

Justin Seals His Fate By Taking Action

The "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" ending is primarily rooted in the concept of fate. Throughout the episode, Justin hears something on the podcast and in trying to avert whatever it is, he ends up causing more distress and confusion. As someone who suffers from PTSD and itted to having had a psychotic break before, Justin is an understandably untrustworthy person to listen to in a situation like this. Even the air marshall had heard the podcast and said she didn't know what Justin was up to you. After all, "podcasts don't predict the future."

Just as Peele says in his final monologue, Justin was an investigative reporter unwilling to investigate himself.

One of the biggest clues that the podcast reveals, which Justin tries to prevent from happening, is Captain Donner g off air traffic control by saying, "Good night, New York." But because Justin sets the plane crash in motion by having Joe Beaumont enter the cockpit and take over flight controls, he becomes the very catalyst of his destiny and his impending doom. All of this can be explained by Justin having another psychotic break. A high-stress situation, such as thinking the plane would crash, is what led to Justin's previous mental breakdown while in Yemen.

As Justin puts it very plainly, Joe is the pilot that signs off from air traffic control, and the reason it's the last transmission from Flight 1015 is because Joe deliberately crashed the plane shortly thereafter. Joe itted to Justin that he had made too many mistakes, which is why he doesn't fly anymore. Rather than listening to his doctor, Dr. Cravat, and letting go of the past so he can move forward, Justin indulges in the fantasy that he can prevent the crash — which, ironically, is what causes it. Just as Peele says in his final monologue, Justin was an investigative reporter unwilling to investigate himself.

What Happened To Joe Beaumont?

Joe Likely Died, But Wasn't Imaginary

An easy explanation for everything that happens in "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" is to say that Joe Beaumont doesn't exist and Justin is not only hallucinating his companion but also performing every action the companion does. However, when Joe stands up and starts walking towards the cockpit, one of the engers in front of Justin looks up at Joe, thus confirming that Joe does indeed exist. And considering that Joe was in the cockpit when the plane crashed, he most certainly died. It was his way of escaping the past.

After all, everyone survived but Justin Sanderson, and nobody talks about Joe because Joe must have died in the crash (or shortly thereafter). As for the reason he wasn't mentioned on the podcast for having died since Justin is the only one who's apparently still "missing," it's worth noting that earlier in the episode Joe said that Northern Gold Star allows former pilots to hitch rides on flights if there's room. It's certainly possible, though unlikely by real-life standards, that he just wasn't put on the manifest.

How Nightmare At 30,000 Feet Was Received

The Response To The Reimagined Class Was Mixed

As a re-imagining of one of the most well-known episodes of the classic The Twilight Zone run, and the third version of the story once the Twilight Zone: The Movie version is taken into , "Nightmare At 30,000 Feet" had a lot to live up to. While it wasn't a bad episode of the new The Twilight Zone series, it did unfortunately fail to live up to the original in the eyes of many critics and viewers alike. "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" was a truly terrifying story that's still incredibly suspenseful when viewed today, over 50 years after it first aired in 1963, and "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" simply doesn't hold up to its legacy.

It seems that the legacy of the 1963 original starring William Shatner was something of an iron lung for "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet".

That being said, were it not for the notoriety of the first version of the story, "Terror at 30,000 Feet" may have been much more fairly received. Its portrayal of PTSD and the unique twists within the episode were picked up on in some reviews as positives. What's more, there were several critics who felt that the differences between "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" worked in the 2019 version's favor.

Ultimately, it seems that the legacy of the 1963 original starring William Shatner was something of an iron lung for "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet". What was seen by many as a fresh and unique episode of The Twilight Zone was dismissed by many more simply due to its title and failure to live up to one of the scariest episodes of any show in the history of TV. Had "Nightmare at 30,000 Feet" existed in a vacuum then it's likely the response would have been much more positive.