The Dead Zone: Speak Now

Sarah: "The answer is out there, so just... go forth and touch people, you know? Mingle!"

The multiple weddings, the visions of weddings, the rehearsal, the reception... this episode was a wedding that went on forever. It was also a skillful way of exploring the still unresolved Johnny/Sarah/Walt love triangle by seeing it through the lens of a very similar situation screwing up the lives of three other people.

Saving Bryan's life was, of course, the right thing to do. Telling Maria and Alec immediately was also the right thing, though, and it was certainly Johnny's first impulse; clearly, Sarah was dealing with her own issues when she stopped him from doing it. She came around to it at the end, though. And it was satisfying for me as a fan of the show to hear her say that she would have waited for Johnny if she had known. It was too bad Johnny didn't hear her.

The lighter moments were held up by our extremely talented comic relief, John L. Adams, but those moments illustrated the greater truth. There is a place for Johnny's visions, and it isn't giving Bruce romantic advice. (Although it was fine for Bruce to tell Johnny he should call Rebecca. That was different. It really was.) Johnny knew it, too, which was why he didn't take Maria's hand at the end.

Some of what was said in this episode seemed mildly contradictory. When exactly did Sarah and Walt get married? Sarah told Johnny that Walt had taken care of J.J. when he had colic; during the bedside Johnny/Sarah/Bryan hospital scene, Sarah said that J.J. was growing quickly, though. Sarah said at the end that she would have waited six years. So they must have married when J.J. was still a baby, but not an infant. A few months old? One year old, maybe?

Did this episode put paid to our major series love triangle? I don't read spoilers, so don't write to me and tell me if I'm right or wrong – but I've always had the feeling that as soon as Sarah permanently committed to Walt, she would lose him somehow. It makes series sense. Except that they were together three years from now. Or were they?

Bits and pieces:

— Walt was his usual cool self. I thought it very much in character when he said, "Nobody asked me. But if I were Alec, I'd want to know everything. Before the I do's."

— Reverend Purdy had a fun role, along with sage advice for everyone ("Don't you think you're a little too close to this to make an objective decision?") Gee, you think? But hey, isn't his evangelism empire falling apart financially or something? What's up with that?

— Interesting that Bryan as one of EMMC's doctors had a major role, giving Sarah what turned out to be bad advice. True, he had the best of intentions, like everyone else in this episode; he didn't want to see Sarah waste her life on coma Johnny. Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut, though.

— In the visions, Johnny was Bryan, but didn't seem to realize that he was Bryan. Was it because he identified so strongly with what Bryan was going through? Johnny has most certainly been other people in his visions before. That must have been it.

— The shots of coma Johnny looked CGI-ish.

— Anthony Michael Hall looked fabulous in four different, gorgeous suits. I especially liked the classy, sky-blue tie that matched his eyes in the rehearsal scenes.

— The only thing more fun than Bruce getting hit on the head by the bride's bouquet was the scene with Pam the sorority chick with the biological father stuff ("How, uh, very modern of you.") J.J. certainly does look more like Johnny than Walt. And it's not like they're keeping that relationship a secret any more.

— Third anniversary is leather? I'm so out of touch.

— In this week's hair report, Bruce suddenly had hair all over his face. I checked last week's episode to see if I missed it. But no, the beard was definitely new.

Quotes:

Johnny: "I'm technically just a stand-in here, right? I'm not even supposed to be here." Layers of meaning in that one.

Bruce: "How bad can it be? What, do I lose an eye? Look at her, John! She is so worth it! I could wear a patch for her."

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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