Miracles - E10

Saint Debbie
First Aired: Friday December 5, 2003 (Canada)

A waitress' throat is slashed in a robbery attempt, but the wound disappears shortly afterwards. When the group investigates, the woman is further harmed and gets away. Something is not right, however.

The episode begins with a diner being robbed. During the robbery, the waitress tries to stop the masked man, but he slits her throat. Others than check on her, notice that the cut is no longer there, and she appears fine. Elsewhere, Alva is dreaming that Paul and Evelyn both leave the organization. When he comes into work the next day, disheveled from the dream, he is presented with Paul's spiritual mentor, Father Callero. It turns out that the Father has come to Paul and the organization with this possible miracle. Arriving in town, the three witness quite the ordeal with many people on main street near the diner. They meet the town's priest and mayor to discuss the possible miracle, which the mayor is proud about since it has brought buisness to the town. As the group encounters the woman leaving the diner, a crazed man throws a rattlesnake at her and runs away. The snake bite does nothing major to her and she is cleared from the hospital. Talking with the woman, Alva becomes close to her. He ultimately believes she is telling the truth and that what happened is real. Paul and Evelyn aren't convinced, so they investigate further, unveiling the real story about how the woman, the mayor and the "robber" set the whole thing up to make business for the town. The waitress wanted money so she and her mentally challenged brother could get him help and she could go to college. Alva confronts her with this but says he won't say anything. The woman's brother overhears and is still convinced she is a saint. He climbs a water tower and wants her to save him. She reveals to him, and all of the townspeople around there, that she made it all up. An older woman then pulls a gun on Alva, saying he was filling her head with the wrong ideas. The waitress steps in front of the gun and is shot instead. Miraculously, the bullet misses all vital organs. Thanks to Alva, the woman gets her money from the mayor on the condition she leaves town.

This was an average episode. The acting was solid throughout, but I felt that Alva was too out-of-character in this episode. I know that that was meant to be the point, but it just seemed to odd to me. It wasn't like anything triggered it besides the dream. I guess it was just the feeling of loneliness. The last couple of episodes have been fun to watch in the sense that you got to see actors/actresses before they hit bigger. Andrea Roth as the waitress was fun to see because I now know here as Janet Gavin on Rescue Me. She did a very good guest role, though not as good as Maggie Grace was in the previous one.

Score: 7.6 / 10