"Dead Ends" explores Eugene's "emotional roller coaster" he has been experiencing in his search for his father. Katrina asks him to talk to Whit about his search, and Eugene finally gives in. Whit agrees to do his best to help Eugene find his father. Eugene later pays a visit to his foster parents, the Burnetts. They remind Eugene of some of his childhood experiences. Eugene realizes that God placed him in the right place for each period of his life. Eugene reflects on how he was first placed under the care of his parents, later placed with the Burnetts, and, eventually, with Whit, who became a father figure for Eugene. Eugene realizes that God has been watching over him all along.
As I said, this episode was exciting and dramatic, as Eugene tried very hard to find the whereabouts of his father. It was a wonderful continuation of the storyline that was introduced in "Prisoners of Fear." The show ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, as Leonard Meltsner, Eugene's missing father, made a brief appearance. Like every other fan, I was puzzled about why Leonard said he did not have any children. Of course, I am also looking forward to how this storyline will play out.
While I thought the storyline was excellent, I was again displeased with the lack of a solid lesson. Toward the end of the episode, Eugene mentioned how God has taken care of him all throughout his life. This theme was a large improvement over last week's, but I still believe it could have been better. The lesson was mentioned very little, and it did not seem to be well connected to the Bible. Other fans may disagree with me, but I still feel that these days AIO does not always focus on the Bible as much as it should. In the early days of the program, the Bible was always the center of the show, rather than the storylines being the focus of the episodes. I don't mind hearing an episode from time to time that focuses mostly on a storyline rather than focusing completely on a lesson, but I would be pleased if more episodes were centered around Biblical themes.
Besides this small problem with the theme, I enjoyed the episode immensely. Marshal Younger did well with including emotion, suspense, and comedy in the story. There were several touching scenes between Eugene and Katrina, as well as between Eugene and Whit. These scenes added much to the show, and they seemed to strengthen Eugene's relationship with Katrina and his friendship with Whit. Also, it was humorous to hear stories about Eugene as a child, and about all his unusual behaviors when he was younger.
Speaking of Eugene's childhood, it was a surprise to hear Eugene's foster parents. Until last week, the Burnetts were never mentioned at all (to my knowledge). Hearing from them helped to fill some of the gaps in my knowledge about Eugene's childhood. These new characters added to the story as well.
I was also pleased with the way this episode included references to the past. The mention of Whit's disbelief in coincidences is one of several tidbits of information that has been taken from previous episodes. References to the past make me happy, as they keep continuity in the program.
I give this episode 4.5 out of 5 stars. It made for great episode, and it revealed a great deal of information about Eugene's past. The storyline about Eugene's father has intrigued me, and I look forward to hearing more about it!