The Dead Zone Blog

Written by Matt McGuinness
Directed by Rachel Talalay

We’re two episodes into the new season, and thus far, I’m impressed. I wouldn’t say that the new sheriff has grown on me quite yet, but I definitely see a lot of potential in the portrayal and the direction of the story. It’s been quite some time since Johnny found himself under sustained suspicion, and he’s had the support of law enforcement for a long time. That adds a new wrinkle to the formula.

Also interesting is the idea that Walt is under investigation. One might wonder if this has something to do with whatever Walt was dredging up regarding Johnny. Whatever it is, it adds to the tension that already exists in the wake of Walt’s death. Things are far from hitting a new equilibrium, and that’s more interesting to me than endless iterations of the same dynamic.

Speaking of which, anyone worried about Sarah and Johnny getting together again had their fears assuaged. Sarah may be willing to let Johnny be a friendly shelter in the current storm, but whatever they had is over. This opens the door for Johnny to find love elsewhere (perhaps Alex, now that the actress is available, or Nina from this episode?), which would make it very clear to the audience that the past is the past. There’s also the potential for Sarah to look available, which could have some interesting implications where Greg Stilson is involved.

While it’s still not clear whether or not Stilson was just a victim of scheming benefactors (it would be interesting, but perhaps too much of a diversion from expectation), the lack of a future apocalypse leaves Johnny with somewhat questionable motivations. There’s no denying that Johnny is motivated to help others, but the underlying thrust since the first season has been a desire to save the world.

So now is the right time to get the audience wondering, once again, why Johnny does what he does. Perhaps the new writing staff wasn’t particularly convinced by the insights of previous episodes, but whatever the reason, Johnny’s decision to help Nina was as much about him as it was about her. Between Sheriff Turner and Nina, Johnny’s tendency to act without permission from others gets a pounding in this episode. He turns out to be right, but he’s not let off the hook in the end, and that’s why I enjoyed the episode.

In the end, it’s too early to tell if the new showrunner and writing staff has given the series a shot in the arm, or if the massive shift in status quo has been enough to break the series out of its former malaise. Right now, I’m inclined to believe it’s a little bit of both.

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

Final Rating: 7/10

Written by Ann Lewis Hamilton
Directed by James Head

Coming off the fifth season, the series was at a crossroads. The previous order of 22 episodes, produced a couple years earlier, had been split into two seasons. The results left the fans sharply divided, and the overall ratings suffered and critical buzz suffered. In fact, the order for the sixth season came as a shock to many, and it was widely reported that the network and studio had asked for several major changes in exchange for the show’s continuance.

Many of the changes were behind the scenes. The previous showrunner was replaced, the writing staff was given a massive overhaul, and the production was moved from Vancouver to Montreal. This was partly a cost saving measure and partly a response to the dissatisfaction with the direction taken in the previous seasons.

This episode reflects the changes in front of the camera. Not only is the story moving in unexpected directions, but the familiar supporting cast has been shown the door. This, too, is a cost-saving measure: the longer one works on a series, the more expensive they become. The trick is turning that pragmatic reality into something creatively viable.

The writers managed to pull it off well. No longer tasked with the responsibility of keeping the series in a holding pattern, certain potentials could be realized. The love triangle had all but expended its potential, so Walt and Sarah were effectively expendable. Given Sarah’s history with Johnny, it was probably a simple choice to kill Walt and rip away part of Johnny’s law enforcement support system.

This major development was tied to the culmination (or so it would seem) of Reverend Purdy’s arc. Purdy finally stood up to Stilson’s mysterious backers and rededicated himself to his faith. While this has happened before, and the topic deserved more than one episode worth of exploration, this is still a good way for the character to exit. The fact that he took out Janus in the process also shifts the mythology.

Johnny no longer sees Stilson as bringing about the apocalypse, and that’s an interesting change of pace. The series has always been on its own path in comparison with the book, but this choice brings that point home definitively. It’s likely that the plot will turn back towards the more familiar path again in the future, but for now, the course of the mythology is no longer quite so predictable.

With Bruce also moving on, Johnny’s support system is all but gone and his purpose for the past few years (saving the world from the apocalypse) has apparently been fulfilled. It might have been better for Johnny to face down the threat of Janus directly, since Janus had been shown as an adversary able to counter Johnny’s visions on a regular basis, but this serves the same purpose.

This is probably where the fifth season should have ended, since it resolves the plot elements of the fifth season far better than “The Hunting Party”. That said, this had to have been a challenge for the writing staff. Not every plot thread gets a solid resolution, but when things need to change so quickly and completely, things often fall to the wayside. The real challenge will be moving forward and making the new supporting cast equally effective.

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

Final Rating: 8/10