Previously on The Dead Zone: Sarah gave Johnny back the ring he won for her the night their son was conceived. And then they totally did it. Walt knew something was up because Sarah was being so solicitous, and Sarah admitted that she and Johnny were taking a break from each other. Walt and Johnny went into a mine to rescue four teenagers, and a falling beam crushed Walt during a cave-in. As Walt was rushed to the hospital, Johnny had a vision of Sarah at Walt's funeral.
A doctor tells Sarah that Walt's surgery went well. They examine some MRIs and Sarah points some things out, and the doctor realizes that Sarah has some experience in the "loved ones with brain injuries" arena. Sarah looks at Walt, lying in bed unconscious. The doctor says that Walt is breathing on his own and shows no sign of permanent brain damage. Sarah asks if Walt should be waking up now. The doctor carefully informs her that Walt is in a coma.
Bruce plays Sorry! with Johnny Jr., and loses. Johnny and Bruce tease the kid about cheating. Man, that kid has one serious bowl cut. Sarah enters the waiting room. JJ asks if he can see his dad. Sarah says that he can, but first explains that the doctors have done everything they can for now, but Walt is "still sleeping." Sarah and Johnny exchange a knowing look.
Sarah leads JJ into Walt's room. She tells her son that the bandages might look scary, but that Walt is still his dad, and that he would love to hear JJ's voice. JJ says hello. Johnny walks up and stands outside the room, unseen. JJ asks his mom if his dad can really hear him. Sarah says she thinks he can.
Johnny tells the doctor about the time last season when he had a vision about the heart condition of one of his hockey players. Johnny thinks he might be able to see something in Walt that the doctors couldn't see. The doctor doesn't think Johnny can do anything for Walt. Bruce chimes in, supporting Johnny's idea. Johnny says that if he doesn't do something, Walt will die. The doctor sighs and calls Sarah over to discuss the issue. The doctor says, "Johnny wants permission to use his...abilities to diagnose Walt." I love how she paused for like five minutes before saying "abilities." Johnny quickly adds that he might find something out, but that he can't promise anything. Sarah asks if he knows what's going to happen to Walt. Johnny lies that he doesn't, but adds that he knows he should try. Sarah gives her consent.
Johnny stands to Walt's bed and says he's never seen him so still. Sarah dreamily says that it seems like Walt was always in motion. The doctor asks if Johnny needs her to do anything. Johnny shakes his head and moves closer to Walt, grabbing his wrist. Whoa, look at Walt's pectoral muscle popping out from under that bandage! Someone's been hitting the weights. Johnny goes into a vision. He's in the mine where the accident happened. He hears a heartbeat. He's flying through the mineshaft and toward a white light. Suddenly, he's in a field where a bunch of kids are chanting, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Walter right over." Then he flashes to a graveyard, where Walt's dad says, "Your mom's not in pain anymore, Wally. And someday, we'll all meet up again." Hee! "Wally." I hope at some point they work in a reference to Wally World as an homage to Anthony Michael Hall's turn as Rusty Griswold. Flying through the mineshaft again, into the white light. Close-up on Sarah, smiling. Mineshaft into white light. The mine's roof caves in. Johnny snaps out of the vision and nearly falls to the floor. Sarah and the doctor get him a seat. Johnny tells Sarah that it was like a roller coaster, and that he doesn't think he can help. The doctor checks Walt's vitals and points out on the monitor that Walt's brain activity spiked when Johnny touched him. Johnny asks how he did it. The doctor says it's the first and only good sign they've had.
Johnny and Sarah talk in an exam room. Johnny says that his headache is better. Sarah says that JJ is home asleep with a sitter, and that she's been busy calling all the top neurosurgeons in New England. She points out that she already had all of their home phone numbers. Johnny says that she's leaving no stone unturned, and Sarah bitterly says, "Yeah, again." Johnny says that the doctor has given him the green light to try again, even though she was a bit concerned about his headache. Sarah thanks him. Johnny says that Walt is a good man. Sarah breaks the somewhat weird moment by remarking that the doctor says it's still too early for the bucket of ice. Johnny doesn't know what she's talking about, and Sarah explains that sometimes a coma patient will wake up if you throw a bucket of ice on his chest. Johnny asks if she did that to him. Sarah says she did it once a week for a month. Johnny jokes that he remembers feeling really, really cold, and then posits that he's "a psychic bucket of ice where Walt is concerned." Johnny adds that his mind knows what it's like to be in a coma, so it might know the way out, too.
Johnny lies in a hospital bed right to Walt's, hooked up to a bunch of monitors. Sarah asks what's going on, and the doctor says that they're going to monitor Johnny's vitals just to be on the safe side. The doctor gives Johnny the go-ahead, and he grabs Walt's wrist again, and is thrown into another vision. It begins with a bunch of jumbled images, including Sarah putting JJ to bed. I think that was a totally different kid playing JJ. Either that, or he had a much better haircut. Flash to Sarah telling him that Johnny woke up. Suddenly, Johnny has taken Walt's place, so I'm just going to call this character J/W so you know it's supposed to be Walt, but we're seeing Johnny. J/W reenacts the scene from last week where Sarah said that she and Johnny were taking a break. J/W is still holding an umbrella, and it's still not raining a drop. Cut to J/W getting soup from a hospital vending machine. Sarah walks up, and it's clearly their first meeting. Sarah gives him some tips on working the hospital vending machines, since she's been around for a while, and they share a moment. J/W walks over to a table where his father is sitting and says that he just met the most beautiful woman. His dad says she's "got a fella in a coma." J/W keeps checking Sarah out, and his dad warns him that "the girl's got baggage." J/W asks, "What are you talking about?"
Cut to Sarah sitting besides Coma Johnny's bed, reading a book. J/W walks by, in uniform, and stares at her. Cut to Sarah telling J/W that Johnny woke up from his coma. J/W looks like he's about to throw up. He sits down at the kitchen table and asks if Johnny remembers things. Sarah says he remembers everything like it was yesterday. Sarah asks how she can face him. Cut to J/W and his dad in a car. His dad says that it sounds like Sarah is having second thoughts. J/W says they're just both in shock. Walt's dad says that Johnny and Sarah were engaged, and that they were childhood sweethearts. J/W says his dad's not helping. His dad says it's the truth, because Sarah's feelings for Johnny never died; she just tied them up and put them in a drawer. J/W says he knows Sarah loves J/W. His dad says that she was a pregnant girl with no boyfriend, so she loves J/W because he was her knight in shining armor. He concludes, "Now, she's not so desperate and you're in the way." Wow, Walt's dad is kind of an asshole. The car drives into a tunnel and suddenly Johnny is himself again, back in the mine. He sees white light filling up the mineshaft, and seems mesmerized by it. He touches the white light, and suddenly goes into convulsions. Cut to Johnny in the hospital room, convulsing on the bed. The doctor orders that Johnny and Walt be separated. She rushes into the room and pulls Johnny's hand away from Walt's arm. Johnny opens his eyes. Sarah looks on, concerned. Johnny asks why they pulled him out. He touches his nostril and realizes that his nose is bleeding. Yuck!
Johnny goes in for an MRI. Meanwhile, Sarah meets up with Rev. Purdy, who asks after Walt. Sarah says that the swelling is going down, so he should be waking up, but he's not. Rev. Purdy says they've been through this before, and that she's in his prayers. Johnny walks out of the exam room wearing a hospital gown and says hello, and then makes a comment about how ridiculous hospital gowns are. At least his ass isn't hanging out. Sarah asks how he's feeling, and Johnny says it was just a bloody nose. Rev. Purdy asks what's up, and Sarah fills him in on how Johnny's been able to help Walt. The doctor says that Johnny's CAT scan looks fine, but that she doesn't like his vitals. Sarah tells Johnny that they have to stop, and Rev. Purdy agrees. Johnny asks if it's helping Walt, and the doctor admits that it seems to be. Johnny asks Rev. Purdy about Edgar Cayce, a psychic from the '30s who could do the same thing. Johnny wants to go back in. He hurries down the hall, and Rev. Purdy follows.
Rev. Purdy wants to discuss the issue further. Johnny says that he saw the white light, and that he's seeing the world Walt is living in. Walt thinks that the light is waiting for him, and Johnny wants to do everything in his power to keep Walt out of the light. So of course, I immediately think of Poltergeist, and then I remember that the psychic in that movie played the organist in Sixteen Candles, also starring Anthony Michael Hall. It's funny how brains make those connections. Rev. Purdy doesn't want Johnny anywhere near that white light, because he came too close to dying before. Johnny says that Rev. Purdy can't stop him on this one. Rev. Purdy says he knows why Johnny is doing it, and Johnny replies, "Then you know why I have to do it."
The doctor gets Johnny all hooked up to the monitors again as Rev. Purdy and Sarah look on. Johnny reaches down and grabs Walt's hand. He's thrown into a vision of Sarah giving birth to JJ. Aw, it's kind of sad, because it's really Johnny's son. J/W insists that they name the baby John. Cut to Sarah telling J/W that Johnny woke up. Cut to Sarah and J/W walking outside, and J/W is still holding the umbrella. At first, you're meant to think this is the scene from before where Sarah told Walt that she and Johnny were taking a break, but as Sarah talks, you realize that this scene took place while Johnny was still in a coma. Sarah talks about trying to come to grips with the fact that Johnny may never wake up. J/W says he knows they haven't been together that long. Sarah says that J/W has been the best friend she could have in "a situation like this," and that she gestures to her big pregnant belly, so this must have taken place less than a year after Johnny's accident. J/W says he's not like other men, and Sarah agrees. Then they kiss. J/W says he's been dreaming about kissing her since the moment he saw her at the vending machine. Sarah says she knows, which is kind of a weird response. J/W puts his hand on her pregnant belly, and they start making out. This morphs into Sarah and J/W kissing on their wedding day, which morphs into them kissing naked in the bedroom. Whoo! Sexy. Although it disturbs me to see Anthony Michael Hall with chest hair.
Cut to Johnny telling J/W that he was in a coma for six years. Cut to J/W busting Sarah staring at the ring Johnny gave her, and then she denies that it's anything important. Cut to Walt's dad saying that Sarah's feelings for Johnny never died, and that J/W is just in the way. Walt's dad urges J/W to let go of Sarah and keep driving as they reach a tunnel. The white light is at the end of the tunnel. Suddenly, Johnny is in the mine, and he finds Walt lying on the ground. He helps him up and says he has to get Walt out of there, but Walt insists that they find the kids first. Johnny starts to chase Walt, but suddenly Walt's dad is there, saying that Johnny is making this a lot harder than it needs to be.
Johnny turns to Walt's dad and says, "You're not his father." He responds, "I am his father, and your father, and everyone's father." Wow, Walt's dad really got around. Okay, fine. I guess he's supposed to be some Joe Black version of Death. I prefer the old dude in the black robe carrying a scythe myself. Or maybe he's supposed to be Death's little helper or something, but I'm just going to call him Death because it's easier to type than "Walt's dad," and I'm lazy like that. Anyway, Death says that he and Johnny met before, but that no one wants to remember meeting him. Johnny says that Death (in the form of Walt's dad) is a figment of Walt's imagination. Death says that many people report seeing relatives during near-death experiences, and that he's just there to serve as a guide. Johnny says that Death is playing on all of Walt's doubts and fears. Death accuses Johnny of creating all said doubts and fears, and wonder what it must be like for him to feel what Walt feels now. With a sigh, he proclaims that all of that suffering is behind Walt now. Johnny doesn't accept that. Death laughs and says it's not a contest. Death invites Johnny to stay as long as he'd like, and then disappears.
Johnny starts looking for Walt again. He finds Walt standing in front of the white light, mesmerized. Walt asks if Johnny's ever seen anything so beautiful, because all of earth's natural wonders don't compare. Johnny thinks that Sarah's smile is prettier. There's probably a Hall and Oates joke in there somewhere. Johnny reminds Walt about when he first met Sarah in the hospital. Flash back to the same scene we saw earlier where they met at the vending machine, except this time it's Walt in the scene instead of Johnny/Walt. Death shows up and tells Johnny he's being clever. Johnny thinks it's a start. Death says that neither of them wants Walt getting upset and asks if they can keep it simple. Johnny agrees. Death is surprised that Johnny wants to bring Walt back, given the circumstances. Johnny watches Sarah and Walt interacting and says he's just trying to do the right thing. Death says that sometimes the right thing is to let them go and find peace. As Walt returns from the vending machine and sits down, Johnny angrily tells Death that Walt wouldn't like peace. Hey, give peace a chance. That's all I'm saying. The scene concludes with Walt's dad once again warning his son that Sarah has baggage.
Cut to Sarah once again telling Walt that Johnny woke up. Luckily, they filmed most of these scenes in close-up, so they probably didn't have to reshoot the whole thing every time they swapped out Walt and Johnny/Walt. Watching a lot of director DVD commentaries makes me think of those things. Death asks Walt how he felt when Sarah told him that news. Walt says he felt like his world was ending. Death points out that no one could blame Sarah, because she loved Johnny her whole life, and kept the ring he gave her the night of his accident. Cut to Walt busting Sarah checking out said ring and then lying about its importance. Death says that Sarah was lying to him and he knew it. Walt walks into the room and tells Sarah that they used to talk about everything, and now they are avoiding the truth and acting like everything is normal. Johnny walks in and asks Walt if Sarah's kiss is worth giving up. Isn't it kind of weird that Johnny is saying these things, because wouldn't it kind of remind Walt that Johnny also knows what Sarah's kiss feels like? Walt says he couldn't pick just one memorable kiss, so Johnny reminds him of the first one.
Flashback to Walt kissing Sarah for the first time while she was pregnant. Johnny and Death watch. What are they, perverts? Death says that human nature is predictable and irrelevant. Johnny questions that, and Death says, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Johnny asks if nothing in between counts. Death says it doesn't for him. They follow Walt and Sarah. Death sighs and calls the couple "two lost souls who find themselves in a time of adversity." He tells Johnny to let them go, because a few extra seconds together won't matter. Johnny thinks he was wrong about Death, because he doesn't sound anything like Walt, so he can't be a figment of Walt's imagination. Death suggests that he's a figment of Johnny's imagination. Has Johnny ever met Walt's dad in real life? Because otherwise that doesn't really seem possible.
Death thinks that Rev. Purdy will have some interesting things to say about the whole thing when it's over, and it needs to get over soon. Johnny says that's up to Walt, but Death thinks Walt is suffering unnecessarily and shouldn't get upset because he has to accept that it's his time. Johnny, unblinking, asks who decided that. Death says that Walt called him, and that it would all be over already if Johnny hadn't been such a buttinsky. Johnny, unblinking, doesn't think Walt would give up. Death says that Walt is being a hero like John Wayne, so that Sarah can live her life. Death thinks that Johnny's efforts are admirable, but that they won't make a difference. Johnny, unblinking, wants to make a deal. It would be funny if Death were played by Monty Hall. Who might be dead. ["Nope, still hanging on." -- Wing Chun] Death laughs and says you can't bargain with Death. Johnny, unblinking, wants to make a trade. Death asks, "You for him?" Johnny asks why not, and Death jokes that heroes are everywhere. Johnny remembers that Death told him they met before, and he must be the one that got away. Death agrees, and says he got tired of waiting. Johnny, unblinking, says that Death doesn't have to wait anymore. Death says he's right, but that he's not making a trade. Death adds that the stress of Johnny's body can't be measured by machines, so he let it continue. Death says, "That's why I let you think that you might be able to take Walt with you. But the truth is, all this time, he's been taking you with him and now there's no going back, John. For either of you." Johnny reacts by not blinking. Death puts his hand on Johnny's chest and a white light appears. Cut back to the hospital, where the doctors note that Johnny has stopped breathing. The doctor puts Johnny on an oxygen mask and tells the assistant to call for a crash cart. Wow, I bet both Johnny and Walt will die.
The doctor orders her assistant to separate Walt and Johnny. He pulls and pulls, but their hands won't come apart. Because they are in love! Johnny stands on the street, and the white light starts coming at him for everywhere. Back in the hospital, the doctor still works frantically and says that if Johnny doesn't start breathing soon, they may need to intubate. Sarah watches and reacts with horror. Johnny is suddenly in the hospital, and the white light starts breaking through the walls. He looks around for Walt. Suddenly, he's at Walt and Sarah's house, and the white light is breaking through the walls there too. Johnny steps outside and all off the scenery looks like an overexposed negative. He runs to the police station and finds Walt behind his desk. Johnny doesn't see any white light breaking through the walls here. Johnny says he's been looking everywhere for him. Walt says that behind the desk is his favorite place in the world. Johnny tells him not to leave it, then. Walt thinks his dad's right, and that it's time for him to move on. Johnny says it's not his dad, but Walt doesn't believe it. Death shows up and asks Walt if he's ready.
Back in the hospital, the doctors are giving Johnny CPR and shocking him with the paddles. Walt is also in arrest, but no one seems to care that much. Back in Walt's office, he looks at a picture of Sarah and JJ. Walt says it's been a pretty good run, and asks Death what happens now. The white light starts breaking through the walls. Death says that words can't describe it. Walt says he spent six of the best years of his life with Sarah and JJ. Johnny angrily says that Walt doesn't have to leave them. Death tells Walt that he can still look in on them. At the hospital, Johnny still has no cardiac rhythm, and now Walt is getting the paddles, too. Back in the office, Johnny tells Walt that it's only been three days and he's ready to move on, when Johnny hung in there for six years. Death tells Walt that Johnny is just trying to upset him, and Johnny says, "You do keep saying that." Walt says he doesn't want Sarah to go through the pain again. Johnny doesn't blink. Walt says it's better for Sarah and JJ to get on with their lives. Death is like, "Let's go already." Walt tells Johnny that he's not a bad guy. The white lights gets stronger. Johnny says he might be a bad guy. He brings up the ring that Sarah keeps in her drawer. Death tries to interrupt to prevent Johnny from telling this story. Johnny says the ring isn't there anymore, because Sarah came over to his house a few weeks ago to give it back. Walt is interested. Johnny says it dredged up some serious memories and one thing led to another. Walt's all, "Then what?" and Johnny's like, "We totally did it!" Walt punches Johnny. Yeah!
In the hospital, Walt's pulse has returned. In the office, Walt tells Johnny that he couldn't keep his hands off Sarah. Johnny runs and flies into Walt, so that they both go crashing through a window. The white light starts to dissipate. Johnny and Walt fight. Suddenly they are in the coal mine, and the white light is still retreating. Walt ends up on top of Johnny, fist cocked. He stops and asks, "What, do you expect me to forgive you before I die?" Johnny says, "Who said anything about dying?" Death shakes his head sadly and walks off down the tunnel. Johnny stands and offers Walt his hand. When they touch hands in the vision, we flash to them holding hands in the hospital. They slowly loosen their grips. The doctor orders her assistants to keep working on Johnny, because he's got a rhythm. Sarah walks in and tells Walt that she's there. Johnny slowly opens his eyes. Hey, he does have eyelids. The doctor asks Johnny how he's feeling. He looks over and sees Sarah talking to Walt, and says he's good. Rev. Purdy says, "Thy will be done." The doctor introduces herself to Walt and asks if he remembers his accident. He remembers everything up to the big collapse. The doctor asks if he remembers Sarah, and he does. Johnny watches sadly, and then looks at Rev. Purdy, who's like, "What?" Walt and Sarah tenderly reconcile as Johnny lies alone.
At some later point, Sarah and JJ show up to take Walt home. Sarah asks if he's ready, and Walt says he needs to get out of there before he loses it. Johnny walks up holding champagne in an ice bucket. He hands it to Sarah and tells her to keep the ice in the bucket this time. Hey, way to make Walt feel like an outsider with your inside jokes, jerk. Sarah chuckles and tells Walt she'll explain in the car. She's kind of a jerk, too. Walt tells Johnny he wouldn't believe the dreams he's been having. Johnny asks what kind, and Walt says, "About you and me." Is it me, or was that kind of a suggestive thing to say? Johnny says it's not unusual for former coma patients to have vivid dreams. Walt says your mind plays tricks on you. Sarah invites Johnny to join them for dinner. Johnny quickly says he has plans, and Sarah wheels Walt off as JJ follows. Johnny watches them go, then walks away.
week: Enjoy the Super Bowl (or not), because USA's just repeating the first three episodes of the second season.