Episode Description:

Johnny has a vision of a woman being thrown from his train while on a trip with Bruce. While trying to save her, he begins to fall for her, despite clues that indicate she is a fraud. - TV Guide

Episode Review:

Johnny: "I'd have to touch you."
Maggie: "You have permission. I won't tell Sarah."

Boy meets girl, romantic train trip, chased by murderers. Sort of like "North by Northwest" but with a psychic.  Johnny does lead an exciting life at times.  It felt a little like one of my favorite Dead Zone episodes, "Deja Voodoo": a heavy-duty flirtation for Johnny, him saving her life, and his eventual realization (aided by a vision) that her happy future wasn't going to be with him.  Not as good as "Deja Voodoo," unfortunately.

Anyway, moving right along.  Maggie was the cliche, the bad girl with the heart of gold trapped into her lifestyle by an evil guy who wouldn't let her go. She dressed like a film star from the fifties, with the perfect blonde wavy hair, stylish clothes, movie star make-up.  Yes, she was fun, her life was definitely worth saving, and she and Johnny did have some chemistry.  And she brought a big issue to the surface.

Is Johnny still in love with Sarah?  Are they meant to be together?  Maggie thought that Johnny should let Sarah go, but she wasn't exactly impartial since she wanted Johnny for herself.  Johnny must be confused about his relationship with Sarah, or he wouldn't be confiding in a total stranger.

What does Johnny really want?  It's almost impossible to tell.

Bits and pieces:

-- No Sarah, no J.J.  And dammit, no Bruce.  I feel cheated.  I thought we were going to get some Bruce.

-- I think my favorite scene was the one near the end, where Maggie was all over Johnny in an effort to distract the train guy looking at the passports. Very cute.

-- This episode was big with the scenic.  That train, in particular, was old, shabby, picturesque, and full of character.  At one point, Maggie was waxing poetic about how beautiful Montreal was.

-- Maggie: "I'll miss you more than she would."  Is that true?  For that matter, what does *Sarah* want?  Is Sarah even capable of knowing what she wants at this point, with Walt so freshly gone and with a new baby?

Two and a half stars.

Bille Doux reviews episodes of 'The Dead Zone' for her website.
She reviews individual episodes of science fiction & cult TV shows
for her website, located at http://www.billiedoux.com/

Behind The Scenes:

Episode Notes:

Episode Rating: 1.941 million viewers.

Cast & Crew:

Written by: Scott Lew
Directed by: Paolo Barzman
Guest Starring: Sarah Allen (Maggie Hollister), Michael Zelniker (Philip) & Frank Schorpion (Malone)