Oliver Foley is the deuteragonist and the main antagonist of the 2019 The Twilight Zone episode "The Wunderkind".
He was portrayed by Jacob Tremblay in his first villainous role.
Biography[]
Oliver Foley is an 11-year-old boy from Iowa who launches a presidential campaign and draws the attention of former campaign manager Raff Hanks, who became unemployed after his last candidate James Stevens lost re-election. Raff decides to officially launch Oliver's campaign. Oliver was able to get popular through videos he posted on YouTube plus the lengthy list of promises he made such as free video games, more holidays, more puppies and kittens, and dessert/breakfast foods for Americans. He is able to amass up a crowd for his first rally. While shooting a music dance video for his campaign, Oliver is told by his parents now he has to go see the doctor, but Oliver adamantly refuses and screams that he does not have to do so, complaining about the needles while a scared Raff watches in anguish. Oliver then bombs the presidential candidate debate because he doesn't know how to address any of the issues, forcing his family to arrive and take him out. Raff gives up on Oliver's campaign.
The next day while drinking at a bar again, Raff is told that Oliver's dog Homer is dying of cancer. Raff seizes this opportunity to revive Oliver's campaign, and it is an instant success with Oliver winning the Iowa caucus and then the U.S. presidential election itself, leading to him being seated in the White House and commencing with the video games promise. When told by his advisors that the video game companies will resist giving away their products for free, Oliver threatens to put a surcharge tax on their products if they do not give in which could put them out of business. Oliver also unleashes his true, inner personality that he's a cold, ruthless dictator who is not above firing his entire staff and replacing them with other people who will want to work for the President of the U.S. When the Presidential Physical is brought up meaning he has to see a doctor, Oliver refuses and enacts a new law banning all adult, professional doctors. Raff immediately regrets having elected Oliver but complies with him as "Yes, Mr. President".
In the next few days, Oliver converts the White House into a kiddie playground filled with penguins, dogs, video games, music speakers, an indoor mini-golf course, popcorn-making machines, and the Oval Office becomes a playroom with a swing plus a basketball set. Raff tries to convince the more powerful-ranking people in the White House that Oliver is not mentally stable, but he is shooed away by everyone since they all revere and admire Oliver. Even Oliver's mother decides not to take control as she was technically elected the President, not Oliver, but she still gladly abdicates her power to Oliver. Raff resorts to the most desperate and last option there is: talking with Oliver and trying to shape his mentality.
Raff walks in when Oliver is playing mini-golf and plays along to pretend he's not treasonous. Oliver claims that he lied about his dog dying of cancer just to get Raff back on board and instate him as President of the earth's most powerful country. As Oliver has a hard time getting a hole-in-one, he throws a tantrum and just dumps an entire bucket of golf balls to fill up the hole. Raff talks back that's not how the game works. Oliver orders Raff to take that back, but Raff slowly refuses and abides by his statement he didn't get a hole-in-one. Oliver lets out a grin, then screams at his Secret Service, "GUN! HE HAS A GUN! SHOOT HIM!!" leading to the SS shooting down Raff. Oliver then sets it up as an attempted assassination.
Raff is then taken to a hospital where he finds a child surgeon about to hack into his gunshot wounds with a scalpel. Raff screams in pain and is presumed to die from this.
It is unknown what became of Oliver next, but it can be presumed he continued to run the country to the ground for his own benefit and ultimately the economy collapsed from the weight of his policies.
Personality[]
Oliver is a spoiled 11-year-old boy who wants everything to go his way and doesn't ever take "No" for an answer to his ideas. Oliver was successful in manipulating the electorate's mentality into thinking the same way he does. He instilled a desire for video games, more weekends and holidays, free cats and dogs in their houses, and dessert foods into their minds, and would go on to win the election by a landslide. He is afraid of doctors and wants to do away with them.
Oliver also heavily emphasized the idea of subsidizing specific things to all Americans such as video games, cats, dogs, and pancakes (or food in general) to the people.
Rules he imposed for all Americans[]
- 100% employment rate, nobody goes jobless
- Longer weekends and longer vacations
- The Walt Disney Company must reduce its line-up of Star Wars movies
- Reducing car traffic as a means of combating global warming
- Less wars
- Dogs for dog people, and cats for cat people (most likely of no charge)
- More pancake houses open throughout the nation
- Free video games for every American, regardless of the quantity, price and platform of video games.
- Every month shall have its own holiday.
- Dessert is now before dinner.
- Only children can become doctors. (Added after he was elected President)
Trivia[]
- For some reason, Oliver Foley called for "less wars" but his videos had the headlines called for "Keep America Safe".
- Many viewers claim that Oliver Foley was a satire and lampooning of then-current President Donald Trump and the policies he imposed on the United States.
