The Dead Zone Blog

Written by Scott Lew
Directed by Paolo Barzman

This particular episode is a nod to the classic noir style, from setting most of the events on a train to the mysterious femme fatale. It also gave the producers an opportunity to put together a “bottle show” to help keep the budget relatively low. Usually a bottle show is structured to force a handful of characters into a set of conflicts that expose psychological motivations and tensions. In this case, the style mitigated the need to delve too deeply into the characters.

Maggie was a mass of contradictions, and that is key to the success of the episode. To ensure that the conventions of the noir style were obeyed as much as possible, Maggie took on a personality that wasn’t well maintained. In some scenes, her performance was quite good. In others, her delivery was too modern.

The most favorable interpretation is that the character is inherently modern herself, so her current personality is a façade. She is attempting to create the right kind of attitude to fit into a fantasy. As a con artist, this is what she does, and so it makes sense that the effectiveness of the illusion would come and go with her confidence in the necessity of her actions. With Johnny, she enjoyed playing the role as well, complicating the motivations.

On the other hand, it’s possible that the writers wanted Maggie to fit into the iconic noir mold from beginning to end, and the actress just couldn’t pull it off. With some of the recent casting woes (at least from my point of view), this wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise. But this has also been a restorative season in many respects, and even if the days of high profile guest casting are over, this was hardly as bad as some previous choices.

Maggie also brought up the ongoing issues with Johnny and Sarah. Maggie recognizes that Sarah is still the woman in Johnny’s life, despite the fact that circumstances continue to make any current chance of romance non-viable. It’s mentioned enough in the episode to make it somewhat obvious that Johnny’s feelings will become important later in the season. In fact, it would be interesting, having established this much, for Sarah to wander in another direction.

Whatever the case, as a stand-alone “bottle episode” of the series goes, this is about average. Some stand-alone episodes of the first couple seasons were better, but this is certainly better than the last few seasons had produced.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

By now, the status quo for the season has been established, and the initial creative boost of rearranging the pieces on the board has transitioned into the necessity of telling new kinds of stories within the context of those changes. The previous episode was an example of how several minor issues with a story can lead to a disappointing installment. The question is: was that a blip on the radar, or a sign of things to come?

This episode focuses on Johnny’s evolving relationship with Sheriff Turner. The original status quo forced Johnny and Walt into a somewhat friendly relationship, despite the love triangle with Sarah. The introduction of a hostile new sheriff, especially an attractive young woman with something to prove, was an interesting move. Having her investigate Walt also places her in an adversarial role, which makes Johnny work harder to make his abilities useful.

All of those changes are put to the test in this episode, and in general, it works. The crime in question was a bit predictable, right down to Johnny getting buried alive, but there were enough twists in the visions to keep it interesting. It might have been better if Johnny had been confused about the context of the visions a bit more. It seemed as though Johnny could easily distinguish between the current crime and the sheriff’s memories and intentions, and with a bit more confusion about the overlap, it would have made the mystery less conventional.

While I find Cara Buono very attractive, her acting is somewhat uneven in this particular role. Some scenes are very strong, but others seem tentative, as if she’s having problems delivering the dialogue convincingly. Of course, I also felt the same about Chris Bruno on several occasions, so it might have been a bad episode for the actress. The supporting players, however, were hardly inspiring, especially Deets.

One other recurring annoyance is the investigation against Walt. While it’s obviously a main component of the season arc, whatever that may eventually turn out to be, the unnecessary attempt to keep it as mysterious as possible is turning into a weakness. The characters keep referring to an investigation and allegation of wrongdoing that is serious enough to defame the former sheriff, but there’s not one hint as to what Walt was supposed to have done.

Considering that this might be the final season for the series, I’m a bit disappointed by the apparent lack of a strong season arc. While that’s never been the hallmark of the series (the mythology has always been rather loose), the circumstances would justify it. Thankfully, even without the overarching plot threads, the quality is generally better than in the previous two seasons.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 1/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

Written by Richard Hatem
Directed by Nick Copus

I’ve had a rather favorable impression of the latest episodes, so I had high hopes for this installment. I’ve also been a fan of Hatem’s work for quite some time, so seeing his name in the credits gave me even more reason to believe. Unfortunately, there was something missing from this episode, and I’m not quite sure where the issue lies.

In terms of the writing, there were some annoying bits. I was concerned about the presence of a baby on the show for several reasons, but largely because most scenes (and plots) with babies resort to comedic cliché. And sure enough, that’s how the episode started, and it grated on my nerves as a result. Admittedly, that’s a personal nitpick; I just think that writers get lazy when it comes to dealing with babies on television shows, based on previous genre examples.

On the other hand, one of the underlying themes of the episode is family. Johnny is trying to figure out where he belongs, while Sarah and JJ are still trying to figure out if he should belong at all. The baby becomes a metaphor for how overwhelming life has become for Sarah. Johnny is there to step into the gap when possible, but however good his intentions might be, his methods grate on mother and son. (Bringing the audience to recall “Ego”, where it was noted that Johnny tends to act without much regard for the feelings of others.)

I don’t recall if JJ’s possible psychic ability has been dealt with in the past to this degree, but it was a nice touch. For all that Sarah and JJ think that Johnny is trying to take Walt’s place, JJ is a part of Johnny’s legacy. Past episodes have developed the idea of Johnny’s ability as genetic in nature, so it makes sense that JJ (coming through puberty) would begin expressing the ability on that basis. This sets the stage for a better relationship between father and son in the future.

That said, I still don’t think that JJ is a strong character, despite this season’s attempt at resolving that problem, and that contributes to the missing elements of this episode. The plot itself is also a bit predictable. While I love the symmetry of JJ expressing his ability and interest in the opposite sex in a location important to Johnny and Sarah, Monique and JJ had almost no chemistry. The murder mystery was far too obvious, which also robbed the episode of dramatic tension.

While I find most of the Johnny/Sarah interaction to be better than it’s been in a long time (and Nicole de Boer looks gorgeous lately), JJ continues to be a weak link in the cast. And that’s after yet another cast change. When I look at how well the children were cast for “Medium”, as a comparable example, it’s hard to imagine that this role would be consistently miscast for so long.

Despite all of that, an episode with good direction and editing might have overcome the challenges. In this case, that didn’t happen. While there were some intriguing transitions, the editing (especially in the final act) telegraphed much of the plot. This episode also had the weakest music of the season, seemingly over-emphasizing the dramatic idea of a scene to the point of distraction. These items contributed to a poor showing for the season so far, despite some good underlying ideas.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 1/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 5/10

Written by Jim Dunn and Sam Ernst
Directed by Tim Southam

I was worried, at the beginning of this episode, that the writers had slipped back into familiar and convenient territory. I was waiting for Stilson to show his dark side in some obvious way, giving Johnny a reason to feel justified with his ongoing suspicions. Or better yet, for one of the many Stilson-inspired visions to replay the oft-seen footage of Washington in flames. As the hour progressed and the story refused to take the obvious turns, I found myself more and more thankful.

I particularly liked how the writers kept Stilson’s decisions logical. He wasn’t trying to get one over on Johnny; he was grasping at straws and turned to the one option he had left. Given his history with Johnny, he had every reason to avoid his adversary, but he hinged everything on what Johnny could tell him. While the idea of using a private space initiative for military applications (the implication of the visions) is hardly benign, it’s also not outside of government activities. It adds a more subtle side to Stilson’s probable fall.

The seeds are also sown for an unusual relationship between Sarah and Stilson, judging by his gentle insistence that they stay in contact. That would make for an interesting situation for Johnny. If Stilson continues on his current positive and open path, while pursuing Sarah along the way, Johhny could find himself struggling with the desire to protect Sarah without much evidence that Stilson is still a danger to the world.

On top of the excellent progression in the mythology, there’s a compelling problem for Johnny to solve. So far this season, none of the cases have been the conventional mysteries that plagued the fourth and fifth seasons, and that’s something to be applauded. Taking the budgetary limitations into account, Johnny’s walk in space was rather well done.

Unfortunately, the episode is hobbled by a disappointing final act. After some inventive build-up, the problem is resolved by a plot convenience that is a true cheat. Even if a satellite could be repositioned that easily, complete with matching the speed of a moving and somewhat out-of-control shuttle and no visible thrust system, it’s hard to imagine that the Morse code trick would have been so quickly and easily recognized. That took me out of the story at the worst possible moment.

That said, the final montage was very well done, and while there’s always reason to worry when a baby is introduced on a long-running series, there’s a certain symmetry to the idea of Johnny helping Sarah raise Walt’s child. Hopefully the writers will avoid most of the clichés and continue with the revitalized storytelling of the season thus far.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10