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The Dead Zone: The Mountain

"Are you ever wrong?"

Our nuclear family (nuclear as in go boom) went on a camping trip together so that Johnny could bond with J.J. Pretty tolerant of Walt. If I were him, I'd be willing to have J.J. spend time with John – but all four of them spending time together? And they got into serious trouble because of Johnny's gift, why am I not surprised? Johnny should immediately touch anyone he travels with, just as a preemptive rule.

Ranger Randy appeared so open-faced, above board, and not evil, with the owls and the scary campfire stories and marshmallows, and of course, he was the worst one of the group. I should have seen it coming, and I didn't. Mark was something of a red herring, since he gave out "I'm going to be the bad guy" vibes early on. Pauline, Mark's wife, was definitely checking Johnny out as well as sleeping with Ranger Randy, making her a completely predictable slut character with little else to make her interesting.

Another good episode for Walt, who has definitely grown on me; he's the strong, silent, sweetie-on-the-inside type. I'm very pleased (and actor Chris Bruno must be pleased) that they've made Walt into such a likable three-dimensional character and not just an obstacle between Johnny and Sarah. Johnny and Walt have grown to care about each other, which says good things about both of them as human beings. Letting Walt die would give Johnny his family back, and Johnny no longer even seems tempted.

Speaking of characterization, how about Sarah? Put my cub in danger, huh? Attacking Pauline, shooting Ranger Randy, very cool. I also liked the undigested bone pellet thing. "Go show your mom. She's going to love that, okay?" Rather mischievous of Johnny, and almost like they were still a couple.

It was predictable that the "treasure" wouldn't be worth anything any more. I even thought it might be an organ for transplant, something ephemeral like that. In fact, the whole episode was somewhat predictable, but it was still a lot of fun.

Bits and pieces:

— This episode started like a slasher movie. And the creaky bridge was very Raiders of the Lost Ark.

— The young actor playing J.J. did pretty well again.

— Was this lake the same as the one in "The Storm"? And hey, the trees looked like the ones in "Enemy Mind."

— What was with Johnny's vision of the guy in the black cloak with the burned face? Forgotten plot thread, or something in the future?

— Loved Walt saying "Damn, Johnny" when he knew he'd have to jump off the cliff.

Three out of four stars,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

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