Episode Guide - The Stillness Within
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Title: The Stillness Within
Episode No.: 385 Season: 12
Summary: Joe is blinded by an accident and rails against his misfortune, but a teacher helps him to put his life back into perspective. An absolute must-see episode for all true Bonanza fans.
You’ll like this if: You like Joe. Especially maimed Joe. Or episodes concentrating on inner motivation, strength, courage and love.
Synopsis: Injured in an explosion caused by nitro-glycerine, Joe is blinded. Ben sends for a teacher from the Institute for the Blind in San Francisco, against Joe’s wishes. He is furious when she arrives and stages a major strop, finally breaking down into tears, as the family stand around feeling totally helpless. Eventually, thanks to Miss Dobbs’ tact and discretion, Joe comes around to her staying and helping him.
For much of the episode, Joe refuses to acknowledge it is likely he will be blind permanently. At one point, he gets splendidly drunk while sitting out in a rainstorm in his undershirt, railing against his fate and feeling very sorry for himself. This is a very exciting scene, as the rain moulds the shirt to his body, causing female hearts all around the world to beat a little faster at they gaze with delight on the essence of manliness distilled into one body.
Miss Dobbs proves she is a stubborn as Joe and refuses to give way, virtually forcing him to ask for help. This scene marks a major turning point in the story: from now on, we see Joe as a fully mature man, discovering that vital stillness within himself. Although Joe learns quickly, he is still convinced that he is useless and seems stunned when offered the chance to teach at the Institute. Of course, at the last moment, Joe regains his sight (did we ever doubt it?).
Clothes (who wears what)
Hoss: Wears his dark tan suede waistcoat, white shirt and tan pants. Plus an awful wig. Dear Dan – he really didn’t give a hoot and we love him for that!
Joe: Quite a variety of outfits in this episode! He starts off wearing the familiar “green jacket, short pants” ensemble, with positively the lowest-slung and most provocative gun belt ever! After a brief scene in bed wearing only bandages, he then changes into a dark crimson dressing gown, with lapels. For much of the episode, Joe wears a tan shirt and stone-coloured pants (sadly, without the gun belt!) but there is an exciting interlude displaying a pale pink undershirt!
Ben: The familiar aubergine coloured shirt (looking rather faded) and light tan leather waistcoat. Has a rather nice tan suede jacket too. Develops a centre-parting towards the end.
Jamie: Wears his blue waistcoat. Did he steal it from Peter Rabbit, or merely borrow it on a long-term basis?
Joe/Pa Moments: Lots and lots and lots! The empathy and love between the two men is clearly visible throughout this episode. Just to underscore the point, on at least two occasions, Miss Dobbs tells Ben that she knows how much he loves Joe.
There is a very tender scene when Joe awakes to discover he is blind, plenty of hugs and a wonderful, highly emotional scene at the end when Joe regains his sight and Joe, Pa and Hoss are all crying. Can anyone cry quite as movingly as Mike Landon? And still look drop dead gorgeous into the bargain? A very rare skill.
There’s also a wonderful moment when Ben goes into Joe’s room while he is asleep.
Adam: Gone and not even mentioned. Well, it’s season twelve after all. Still, you feel he could have made an effort and dropped a brief line. Mind you, Joe wouldn’t have been able to read the letter, so…! (For Adam fans who would love to see how the Man in Black might have reacted, read Claire’s What Happened Next story, Reflections, on her page)
Ben: The concerned parent, desperate to find a way to help his son. His love shines out, but he learns there are times when a father has to stand back. It’s unusual to see Ben having to cede responsibility to someone else, and this demonstrates how far the show has moved on from the early days, when the Cartwrights could solve just about anything by themselves. It’s plain to see that Ben is breaking his heart, but he has the wisdom to stand back and let Miss Dobbs take charge.
Hoss: Only features in passing, but brotherly love is to the fore. A stalwart presence, though mainly in the background. Fabulous reaction when the shack explodes and he utters the single word “Joe!”
Joe: The undoubted star of the episode. In denial for much of the time and railing furiously against his fate, the episode demonstrates a moving journey to maturity and fulfilment. Full marks for his acting here – his whole body language changes when he is blind, with his normal sinuous grace replaced by stumbling hesitancy. In the earlier parts of the episode even the normal fluency of his speech is replaced by a stammer. Significantly, once Joe accepts Miss Dobbs’ help, his speech returns to normal. Superb, yet subtle characterisation by Mike!
Jamie: Acting very much as the younger brother, not quite sure what to do, but anxious to help.
Hop Sing: Beetles on with food and then beetles off again.
Token Female Interest: One of the best female characters ever to star in Bonanza. Miss Ellen Dobbs is a full-rounded and believable character, who assumes the role of a surrogate mother to Joe. And she is the only person who can boss Ben around and get away with it! No romance here (though wouldn’t it have been interesting to see if she and Ben might hit it off?) Her wardrobe consists of plain white blouses and sensible dark skirts.
Mind you, Sally Morris is a typical one-scene wonder, bit of inconsequential western fluff. Thank heavens Joe can’t see the dreadful outfit she is wearing! The lilac hat and green shawl cunningly add to the horrors of a blue and orange striped dress. What had she done to offend the wardrobe department?
Marvellous medicine: Just a few bandages. Mind you, Doc Martin is none too diligent in actually fastening them off, just patting them into place. He does stare deeply into Joe’s eyes, thus proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Michael Landon did indeed have green eyes. Not hazel but definitely green!
Where Am I?: Yet again, Joe’s bedroom has moved! And it is considerably smaller than in other incarnations. Given that the Ponderosa is in the middle of nowhere, isn’t it a slight overkill to have curtains, a blind and net curtains too? Still, it’s reassuring to see that his fireplace still doesn’t have a mantelpiece. The picture of the scary Indian is nowhere in sight, but there is a brief glimpse of one of the murky daubs the set dressers have such an unaccountable fondness for. Once again, it is impossible to tell what the subject matter is.
Watch as Ben sketches out a floor-plan of the Ponderosa on the palm of Miss Dobbs’ hand – it bears absolutely no resemblance to reality!
The stairs are now at least five feet away from the side wall of the house and a mysterious door has appeared.
And can anyone explain what the weird silver balls in the fireplace are? They look rather like alien antennae. Perhaps this is a clue to explain the real reason behind Adam’s mysterious departure: he didn’t go to sea (far too old anyway) but was abducted by extra-terrestrials!
The roses bloom valiantly on the tree outside the house, although they have changed from the yellow of previous series to white, while the geraniums can be seen in their full glory on the study-nook windowsill during one scene. Obviously, all that horse manure was put to good use.
Food, Glorious Food: A lot of coffee drinking in this episode. Joe no longer takes two sugars and cream, preferring to drink it black. And our old friend the coffee pot makes a welcome return. First glimpsed in Showdown, the years haven’t been too kind to it, and it’s mutated from gleaming white to a dull beige.
How dark is the supposed strawberry jam? Looks more like damson jam to me. And why didn’t anyone notice this jar of jam? Where did they think it had come from?
Continuity: what Continuity?: The migrating Indian rug appears on the staircase, disappears and then comes back again.
Have you been following the plot? Ah, the classic twist! Miss Dobbs is also blind, but at her insistence, Joe is unaware his teacher cannot see until his own sight returns. Cue an incredibly moving scene, as he drops to his knees and sobs, telling her that he loves her. Miss Dobbs replies that she is “loved and needed and happy”. One of the most moving moments in the entire series, played with sincerity and belief by both actors, even if Ellen Dobbs does seem fascinated by playing with Joe’s ears. His hair is quite long here, but it doesn’t entirely disguise the fact they are ever so slightly too large for his head and rather sticky-out. Still, it’s reassuring that the otherwise physically perfect Mike had one teeny, tiny little flaw.
In a conversation with Jamie, Joe clearly says that he was not afraid of the dark as a child. So why do so many fanfic writers state the opposite? Hoss was the one who was afraid of the dark – presumably up to adolescence at least, as Joe can remember this.
Also, another fanfic myth is destroyed – Joe is definitely not a restless sleeper! Both the bedclothes and his own clothes are uncrumpled the next morning.
For most of this episode, Joe is referred to as Joseph.
It’s a bloodless bullet-wound. Joe escapes remarkably unscathed, given the force of the explosion we see at the beginning of the show. A bang on the head, some fetching bruises and a hurt wrist seem to be the extent of things. Wonder if the cat was as lucky? Probably not.
Director’s Cut: This episode is directed by Mike Landon and he makes great use of inventive camera angles. The use of light and shadow is incredibly effective, acting as a visual counterpoint to Joe’s blindness.
Guest Star: The excellent Jo Van Fleet, who previously appeared in episode 350, The Trouble with Amy. A great actress, she was winner of the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1955 for East of Eden and also appeared in Gunfight at the OK Corral, Cool Hand Luke and many other films and TV shows.