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3.11 Shadows Bruce: "It goes to prove only one thing: it always pays to listen to me." This episode had a strong emotional impact on me. I got a little lost with the visions going in all directions, but the second time I watched it I could see that Johnny was getting hits off of things that Bruce had touched. The chaos in Johnny's mind was reflected to some extent in the messed up order of the visions, as well as the way they kept changing as Johnny changed the circumstances. Bruce believes in Johnny and supports him unconditionally; like Vera, he wants Johnny to believe in the still, small voice when it comes. Even more than that, Bruce has become Johnny's moral compass. It's in character for Bruce to do the right thing, to risk his own life in order to save a stranger from dying in his place. Bruce is probably a better person than I am; I'd be hiding in a closet for the rest of the night. And if I were Johnny, I'd probably lock Bruce in that closet. There would be a general closet theme. Bruce was right, too. The Drew Carey look-alike salesman didn't intend to kill Bruce, after all; he only thought he was defending himself against the mugger who was taking his precious briefcase, a briefcase that was very important to him (as established in the station scene). And if Johnny had strangled the guy, he would have been killing someone who truly didn't deserve it. The questionable nature of Johnny's visions and the fact that they don't always make things better has been acknowledged since the second episode, when Johnny saved Allison's life and another woman died in her place. But the implications haven't really been discussed much when it comes to Johnny's Armageddon vision. If there are a thousand variables and the only constant is Johnny himself, and Johnny has now realized he is capable of making terrible mistakes with his visions, it explains why he is so jammed up about Stillson. "Maybe I'll be fighting so hard to save the world that I'll cross that line and I'll become as dangerous as Stillson. Maybe more dangerous." Indeed. Anthony Michael Hall and John L. Adams did a terrific job here. Bruce's death scene in particular was deeply moving; it made me cry. The two of them click together in a big way as actors and as their characters. Bits and pieces: -- The director and writer did a good job at the beginning, establishing with the mirror that it was Johnny committing the murder. The episode was confusing enough as it was; we didn't need more. -- $42.50 seems pricey to me for a room with such a scuzzy sink. -- The Walt/Sarah smoochies established that they have indeed made up. If this were an episode of Buffy, that would mean one of them was going to die in the next episode. -- Roscoe is in charge of the server going down? There's no IT department? -- Johnny asked about fireworks. If he had grown up in the area, wouldn't he have known about fireworks on Founder's Day? -- The vision with the hospital worker was disturbing. Johnny touched her without permission, and then he hurt her as well. -- For me, it was apparent that the "almost a family member" had to be Bruce. What would Sarah or J.J. be doing alone in the park at night? Plus Roscoe referred to Walt in a way that made me think the loss wasn't also Walt's. I did think for a moment that it might be Reverend Purdy. -- Johnny looked very uncomfortable during Tyler's lap dance. Pretty woman, but not much of an actress; she delivered her lines in an odd way in the street scene. Maybe the wig threw her off. -- The desk clerk was reading something by Richard Bachman, which is Stephen King's famous pseudonym. -- Bruce: "Why do I get the feeling like somebody just walked over my grave?" Murky, but emotionally strong and very well-acted. I'd say three out of four stars, Billie |
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