Joan of Arcadia - S1E23

Silence
First Aired: Friday May 21, 2004

In the season one finale, Joan becomes sick and it is revealed that the past year that she may have been hallucinating.

The episode begins with Helen dreaming, first about the accident with Kevin and then about seeing God in a church. The version of God that Helen sees is the same God that Joan sees for the very first time on the bus. The next morning, she brings it up to everyone at breakfast, though Joan is busy adhering to a rash on her leg. As the day progresses, Joan gets sicker and sicker, becoming delusional in her visits from God. Finally, she passes out and is taken to the hospital where it is discovered that she had Lyme disease which may have been dormant. While all of this was transpiring, Helen was seeking answers at a church before she had a feeling to go to the hospital. Will had been at the station during a hostage standoff. It was ended after the man accidentally kills his mother. Will goes to visit the woman at the hospital and he ends up seeing Helen. Kevin notices them as well and lets them know what was going on. Before they tell Joan what is going on, various God incarnations visit Joan but she asks them to go away when they get to cryptic. Adam becomes worried because when Joan gets better, he doesn't know how she will be. Luke walks Grace home and they argue about their feelings before kissing passionately. Joan tells Adam that she has been talking with God and doing what he asks, but when Adam doesn't believe her, she asks him to go away as well. The episode ends with Will and Helen discussing God with Joan saying that he doesn't exist before falling asleep.

This was a very good season finale for this show. It puts Joan, and the audience as well, to the test as to whether she is seeing God or not. The subject is handled very well in a logical way. I especially felt bad for Adam, since he didn't know Joan before the supposed sickness kicked in. It will be interesting what happens between them the next season. I was also very happy when Luke and Grace got together finally. Looking forward to that as well. Overall, I think this was a good way to leave a cliffhanger for this show and look forward to what happens next.

Score: 9.1 / 10