Dead Zone 5.5: "Inside Man"

Written by Karl Shaefer
Directed by Michael Robison


With the first half of the season rapidly coming to a close, I’ve been worried that the entire season would be buried under storytelling problems. I’ve almost gotten used to the feeling of disappointment that tends to come before the end of the first act. So when I found myself engrossed in the story, and ultimately quite pleased when the credits began to roll, it was a wonderful change of pace.

As the writers themselves put it on the official website, bottle shows can be a great opportunity to focus on story. Drama needs to be generated through character interaction, usually prompted by some extreme circumstance. In this case, Johnny finds himself in a situation where he must do the wrong thing in order to do the right thing. As it turns out, he’s not the only one.

That was something I really liked about the episode. I could tell, in general terms, that there was more to the story with the head thief, even before the flashbacks began. But his actions spoke of desperation, and I was intrigued by the possibility of how that desperation was born. Tying it to Purdy was a nice touch, and one that forced a bit of a confession out of Gene. Much like Johnny, it was a matter of doing terrible things for some perceived greater good. Unlike Johnny, he was willing to kill to restore the object of his faith. (Thus, to a certain extent, lending question to the veracity of his faith.)

I’ve always liked Purdy as a character, just in terms of the complexity of the man. He is the leader of a vast religious movement, but a man fundamentally at odds with his faith. He may have been sincere in his desire to know Christ more personally through Johnny, and it might have given him a restored sense of faith, but how long would it have taken for Purdy to use that vision to further his financial goals?

The fact is, just the act of buying the supposed object of his faith rendered it powerless as a path to restoration. It was immediately tainted by the manner of its acquisition. Purdy was trying to purchase faith, which is an impossibility. And so the result would have ended poorly, had Johnny seen the face of Christ or walked in John the Baptist’s shoes. Purdy would have laid claim to the vision as a means to an end, objectifying Johnny as much as he objectified the relic.

I love episodes that expose, through something other than exposition, the underlying psychology of the characters. Lately, the series has been a little preachy, which has stolen away some of the power of the narrative. In this case, the writers managed to dial it back a bit, even in the final scenes, which could have been a lot worse than they were.

All that said, there were still some nagging problems. I found myself wondering why Purdy didn’t recognize Johnny’s voice, considering how often they have been around each other. Also, the kid who plays JJ is a horrible actor; he pulls you out of every scene he’s in, because it never rings true. Oddly, Chris Bruno seemed to be stumbling over his performance this week. That’s one of the overall issues I’ve had with recent seasons: the cast chemistry has really degraded, and it seems like conversations are a bit too stilted and unnatural. I still haven’t seen one hit it out of the park this season, but this was the one I’ve enjoyed the most.

(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Recent episodes have highlighted “The Dead Zone”, so it might be something of interest . Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)

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

Final Rating: 7/10