Dead Zone 5.10: "Into the Heart of Darkness"

Written by Shintaro Shimosawa and James Morris
Directed by James Head


I have a feeling that this one will divide the fans a little bit. For one thing, a lot of people hated The Collector, and this is a direct sequel to that episode from the fourth season. (While the past 21 episodes have been far from cohesive, this proves that the writers had conceived the full 22 episode order as a whole.) On the other hand, this episode finally comes back to the core relationships, and there’s even the feeling that this is meant to be a final statement on those relationships. But the question is: did the execution match the goals?

I’ll look at the idea first. Maligned as it is, the whole connection to the Collector was just a device, a way to put Johnny, Sarah, and Walt through the emotional and psychological wringer. Linda annoyed me, but I understood why she was there. It was about establishing priorities. Sarah admitted that she really loves both Johnny and Walt, but that her future is clearly with Walt. It’s been said before, but there’s a feeling of finality to this particular version. Sarah made her priorities clear: the baby, JJ, Walt, and Johnny. The future, the present, and then the past.

Walt is challenged as well, particular in the possibility of losing his family. The characters have danced around the question of JJ, but this puts it into a very clear perspective. It was all about Sarah, especially once he discovered that a baby was on the way. When he thought that Sarah and the baby were gone, it came down to his feelings about JJ. In the end, he understood that he was JJ’s father, regardless of paternity. So his priorities were clearly aligned.

All of which provides the opportunity for Johnny to make a clean break from the Bannermans. Considering how all the promotion has been focusing on Johnny and Bruce, it feels as though the recent episodes have been about closure in nearly every other respect. Looking back on the past couple of seasons, that process of separation has been reflected in Johnny’s isolation. Unfortunately, it has also led to a degradation of the cast chemistry.

So conceptually, if the series is meant to continue with Johnny and Bruce and precious little else (as often speculated), then this episode is an important part of that process. And since I love context, this episode had plenty of what I enjoy? Why, then, was this not one of the best of the season?

It all comes down to the final act. Up until the final confrontation between Linda and Walt, the episode had been holding its own. And then there was Chris Bruno’s performance. I usually love Walt and how he’s portrayed, but this just felt wrong from the moment Walt started breaking down. It never felt genuine, and that immediately took me out of the story. And that did a lot to undermine the effectiveness of the episode.

(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: 1/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 7/10