The Waltons (TV Series) The Prophecy (1975) User Reviews

John Walton: Boy Most Likely to Succeed

[JenExxifer · 10/10 · 10 November 2021]

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!

The Boy Most Likely to Succeed

[timmcd-84202 · 10/10 · 19 April 2022]

This solid entry from the fourth season gets better every time I watch it, thanks to a near-perfect script and a passel of top-notch guest actors. John Walton is feeling his age and not too excited about an upcoming high school reunion, since he thinks he's fared poorly in life compared to some of his classmates. One by one, however, we see that their professional success is undermined by strife in their family lives, and, in a poignant reunion dinner scene, John realizes he really was the "boy most likely to succeed." A secondary storyline about John-Boy worried about making a living as a writer is not too compelling, but the viewer does get treated to a few moments of Mary Ellen throwing major shade at her brother. Finally, this has to be one of the most quotable episodes, with gems like "I'm still boy enough to be graveled at the sight of him," "I'm so aggravated I could stomp all of 'em through the bottom of the floorboard," and "I'm a mere girl, and we don't do things like thinking. But it must be hard to get it all started up again once it stalls."