The Prophecy

I give this episode 10 stars for its feel-good message about success.

The ending narration says it best that success is usually measured by money or fame; but as John Walton's classmates point out, he was the one who found success with a good wife and children while others of them were scrambling without as much success.

Success is in the eye of the beholder, and I liked that this episode focused on the father and how he didn't see himself as successful when compared to others, yet others saw him as successful for having the things they didn't have -- a good family life!

I sometimes watched this show when I was a kid. I didn't always like it because of how stern the parents and grandparents were. It reminded me too much of my own family.

But then I grew older and now, as an adult, I see things differently. The parents and grandparents know what they're doing (as opposed to mine, for the most part) and I also realize this show is mostly memoir. When I was a kid and a young adult, I tended to think The Waltons was a rebuke to the 1970s. It might be both, but, these days I very much enjoy the history and the memoir embedded in the show.

This episode is one I would have turned the channel from when it aired. I was 9, almost 10. It would have been impossible for me to understand. Now, I see an amazing story being told masterfully. We now see why John became who he became.

I compare this episode to the 1963 Henry Fonda movie and the 1971 Patricia O'Neal movie. Those are almost like essays compare to what we see mature in this episode. John Walton is 43-ish in the story and Earl Hamner was 53-ish when this script was written. His being able to see his father fully may account for some of it. But I think the main thing we see unfolding here is simply an artist coming fully into his own. This will always be my favorite episode.