The Great Supernatural Rewatch Project - Nightmares
Sept 4, 2017 19:30:44 GMT -5
Mystique and onali like this
Post by luxshine on Sept 4, 2017 19:30:44 GMT -5
A mytharc episode! Not one of my favorites, but still one that ended up being far more important than what I expected (you will see)
However I will say that really, as good as Gamble and Tucker were in Faith? Here they are terrible with the exposition, put in some of the worst places. And given that we know that Gamble was a big Sam/Jared fan? I am afraid it might be that Tucker was leading on Faith, while Gamble was the main writer of Nightmares. You will see why.
General stuff
It is interesting that we can tell Nightmare is going to be a Mytharc episode from the fact that they change the Previously on Supernatural to focus heavily on Sam’s visions. Those visions that haven’t been mentioned since Home? Yep. Those visions. We still get the iconic lines, but it goes more to repeat us that Sam has not quite ESP, in case anyone forgot.
Our cold opening shows a very obvious supernatural thing going on as a car decides to suicide his driver. And to be honest, THIS car? Thousand times scarier than our Racist truck last episode.
Sam wakes up, utterly confused at his dream, and he goes to immediately wake up Dean and tell him they have to go right now. And Dean doesn’t complain, he just gets up and drives.
Two important things: We’re back to Sam calling the shots. This is not a complain, it is a commentary on how whenever it’s a Mytharc episode on the first season, Sam takes over as the hero and he’s the one calling the shots, while Dean goes strictly on the Sidekick seat, unlike the MotW episodes where they both act as heroes, at least since episode 5 more or less when the show started growing up out of the pilot weirdness.
Dean tries to consider that the dream is just a nightmare, but Sam simply dismisses the possibility even when Dean points out that so far, Sam’s premonitions have only been about his own family, not random guys on Michigan. Still, he drives to the address that Sam manages to get on the phone and they arrive just as the paramedics are taking away the guy’s body.
Cue credits card because this is getting serious.
As Sam and Dean casually get information from a neighbor, it becomes obvious that the man died exactly as Sam saw him die, and at the exact same time, prompting him to wonder why the hell he got a vision if he had no chance to stop it. This makes Sam feel incredibly bad, as he felt he failed to save someone and it is the first time we see Sam express this feeling.
And here again we have a situation with the whole “informed ability” problem.
We’ve been told over and over that Sam is the empathic brother. I have gone a lot about how this only works when he is personally interested in the case (Check my rewatch on Bugs for more on that) and just last episode we had a horrible dissonant moment when Sam compared him not being in college working on essays to be as bad as getting lynched and burnt alive for your skin color. Ouch. But here… we have Sam being very, very clear on how he feels terrible that he was not able to save the guy. That he feels like a failure because now an innocent man is dead.
Except that because we have all those other episodes when he didn’t care about the innocents who were dying while he was… well trying to get out of the hunts… there is a second possible interpretation to his anger at not having being able to save the dead guy and it is not nice for Sam. Because that second interpretation is that Sam is not mad because the guy was dead… but because Sam didn’t save him. That is, because Sam didn’t get to be the hero.
And yes, I know that is not the case. I know that that interpretation, in fact, biased to believe the worst of Sam. BUT consider the fact that we do not get Sam angry at people who die on other circumstances, even when HE could have saved them. Or how easily Sam dismissed the fact that an innocent died BECAUSE he brought Dean to be healed, just two episodes ago (Check the Faith rewatch if you want to challenge this reading. I went on a bit long on why it was an unfortunate implication by the dialogue, even if it was not the actual intent of the writers)
In a perfect Hero/Sidekick moment, Sam insists that the guy was killed by something Supernatural while Dean, uncharacteristically, tries to argue that perhaps it was really a suicide. At Sam’s insistence that the man was murdered, Sam also insists that Dean is looking at him “odd”. It is true that Dean looks worried, but, at least for now, he seems worried FOR Sam, not ABOUT Sam. And this is a very important distinction now.
Sam realizes that the family won’t want to talk about what happened, but Dean tells him he has a better idea. And on one scene that I am PRETTY sure inspired at least a ton and a half of fanart –not counting the blooper- we get to see the brother in “a new low, even for them”, dressed as priests to talk to the family.
When they find out that Max, the victim’s son, was the one who found his father, Sam goes to talk to him, while Dean keeps talking to the rest of the family.
Max seems really broken up, very confused, but Sam tries his best to comfort him while Dean goes upstairs with a new EMP reader that looks as homemade as his Walkman one, only with a video screen. And I do wonder if he also made that one, just that he decided not to tell anyone about it after how his EMP Walkman was received.
Back at their motel, Dean distracts himself by cleaning every single weapon in the brother’s arsenal. And I mean every single one. IT is a nice touch, given how a dirty weapon might misfire and Salt can’t be good on the shotguns. While he does that, they agree that there’s nothing in the house itself that points to ghosts, poltergeist or anything that might match what Sam saw in his vision.
Just as Sam suggests that perhaps it’s not the house, he gets assaulted by a terrible migraine. Dean stops what he is doing to try and help him and Sam gets a very gruesome vision of Roger Miller, the victim’s brother, getting killed too.
With a very worried Dean, they drive to Roger’s house, to try and get there in time to save him. And we have a very nice conversation between the brothers.
Beautifully scripted (which is not surprising. Nightmare was written by the same duo who wrote Faith and my problems with this episode aside, they know how to write Sam and Dean talking), and very well acted. We still see the brothers in their weird Parent/Son dynamic. Sam is terrified and, although there is NO WAY that Dean can have the answers Sam is looking for, he still ask Dean. Because Dean is, usually, the one who fixes things. And Dean, like a good parent, tries to keep a strong face, not to look worried, and to assure Sam that everything is going to be all right.
Now, remember when I said that Dean was worried FOR Sam and not ABOUT Sam? Here is when it comes important.
Sam is asking if Dean is freaked out, but he is not referring to the general situation. What Sam is really asking –as inferred by his tone, and Jared’s body language- is “are you freaked out that I am not human?” which is wonderful foreshadowing for what we will see in Season 2 (And yes, it is foreshadowing because at the very least the psykids storyline WAS planned from the beginning unlike the rest of the accidental foreshadowing this series does), and we know that Dean is lying when he says he is not… but the thing is, he is not freaked out that his brother is showing inhuman traits (Again, as inferred by Jensen’s body language and facial expressions), he is freaked out for what it will do to SAM if the visions become more painful or if HE, Dean, shows Sam any discomfort that might make Sam feel abandoned.
Because DEAN’s worst fear is being abandoned by his loved ones, he transfers this fear to Sam and thus is unable to say “ok, yes, I am freaked. But not because you have freaky powers”.
Isn’t it sad how the brothers were having conflicts due to bad communication THIS early on?
To no one surprise, Roger doesn’t listen to them and gets killed as Sam had foretold. There’s a small little detail that really touched me and that is that the moment that they discover Roger’s dead? Dean passes a handkerchief to Sam, telling him to clean up his fingerprints so that the cops won’t know they were there. A small detail, but once again showing Dean’s quick thinking.
With Roger’s death, however, they’re back to first square. They figure out that Roger and his brother must have been targeted by the same thing, and that it is something they have never encountered before. Possibly a family curse, which means Matt could also be in danger.
Once again dressed as priests they go and talk to the kid, who keeps insisting his family was very happy, but does so in such a suspicious way that the brothers decide it’s time to check on their past house, since it is obvious something there spooked the kid. Talking to a neighbor, they discover that Max was abused by his father and uncle while his stepmother just watched and denied everything.
At the mention of the stepmother, Dean wants to find out more, but Sam starts getting one of his now signature migraines to see Max’s mother being threatened by Max because she never stopped “Them”. Here, we finally see how the kills happen, as Max seems to be telepathic and floats a knife to stab his mother (step mother, actually, in the eyes.
(To be honest, it’s a bit convenient that Sam only got to see Max being in the scene of the crime now)
Sam realizes he’s connected to Max and realizes that they’re connected. And we get another important moment between the brothers and a very specific point to Dean’s moral compass and again a very clear point of which brother is the one who calls the shots.
Let’s get the first important thing out of the way first. A very common argument of the anti-Dean posse Is that Dean called Sam a monster once. We will get to that line when we reach season 4, but here we see the very first mention of the word Monster to refer to a living, breathing human being (that, in addition, is just like Sam in the sense of the powers and the origin of the same). So yeah, Dean considers Max a monster but not because he has powers (the only thing he sees Max having in common to Sam) but because, in Dean’s own words, Max killed two people.
Before Leonore, Castiel, Benny, or Garth? Dean already had that very clear line in his head. Monsters kill people, and there’s no ifs, buts or justifications. You kill a human being; you are a monster (it is also worth of note that to this point? The brothers had never met a supernatural creature that didn’t kill humans). SAM is the one who points out that Max had a good reason to kill his family, which is unthinkable for Dean. And while we are supposed to side with Sam (and Max) the truth is that the line is not that clear. Because we know of ONE psych kid that may not have had powers but had the training necessary to kill a parent he thought was abusive… and he didn’t. Sam chose to walk away from John, to have his own life and never once thought of putting a bullet through John’s eyes.
Now, Dean wants to kill Max because he sees no way of making him be legally punished for what he did, but even so, when Sam asks him to trust him, Dean agrees that he will let Sam lead the charge. Yes, he also takes his gun with him, but that is back up to stop Max from hurting anybody else.
So they are going to follow Sam’s plan, and, if it doesn’t work? Dean will go to his plan B.
This means, that once again, SAM is calling the shots on the hunt, making it a clear pattern through season 1.
They arrive on time to stop Max from killing his mom, and manage to get him to talk to them. Unfortunately, he notices Dean’s gun and uses his powers to make sure they can’t leave the house.
(This is interesting, as so far, in 14 episodes, we have been shown Dean as a very capable liar who can keep undercover no matter what and has only been caught when someone actually checks his credentials. Here, however, it is very important that DEAN is the one caught lying, so Dean’s gun is easily visible. This is not a complaint, nor a “it should be Sam”. It is necessary for the plot to work that Sam keeps Max trust, however, it is interesting that even now the writers went for the lazy way instead of some other explanation that didn’t degrade Dean to Sidekick mistakes)
Max panics, knowing that the brothers are not priests, but Sam tries to reason with him, by coming out about his powers. He explains the panicky guy that he is there to help him. There’s a bit of a verbal confrontation between Sam and Dean because Sam wants to be left alone with Max, something that Dean is definitively against (given his tendency to protect Sam) but at the end, he agrees.
During the conversation, Max reveals that he was being beaten as far as last week. He also talks about his powers as a gift and how he finally snapped after a beating.
This is an amazing scene, as not only we can see Max’s pain and fear, but also Sam realizing that as much as he hates John? He didn’t had it as bad as Max. Unfortunately, plot has to be added and Max tells Sam that his mom died the exact same way as Mary did. Now, here is where we get again a bit of confusion about what Empathy means from the writers’ part.
Max has just admitted that the main reason his father beat him was because he blamed Max for his mom’s death. Max continues telling Sam that to justify this, his father invented a story about her mom pinned to the ceiling and bursting in flames. Max’s rationalization is that his father had no reason to beat him because the story was obviously false. What does Sam, champion of empathy, does?
He tells Max that the story is true because it also happened to his mom.
Not only that, but he stops trying to TALK to Max about his problem, and starts talking about HIS problems.
And then he declares himself a chosen one.
Of course, this makes his request to let themselves and his stepmom leave to fall in deaf ears.
We also get this little tidbit of dialogue that right now is not important, but… we should really keep in mind for the future.
Just as a reminder that here, Sam is pretty clear in the same way Dean was minutes before. The problem is not the powers, the problem is how you use them.
Not that Max listens (Again, nice parallel with a future episode), since he throws Sam in a cupboard and closes the door with his powers, before going upstairs to meet his mom and Dean.
Dean immediately tries to get himself between her and Max, but Max pulls Dean’s gun and lets it float as he’s pointing it as Dean, then at his step mother. Still, Dean doesn’t move, and in fact, declares that if Max wants to kill her, he will have to kill him first.
Of course, this is one of Sam’s visions that somehow triggers a telekinetic burst that frees Sam from his prison.
So we get back to Max and Dean, just as Max is going to kill Dean. Sam barges in and stops Max again, promising to help if he just stops trying to kill those who hurt him.
Unfortunately, his words just make Max decide that the solution is to kill himself, and the kid does so before anyone could stop him.
We cut to one of the hardest, and best scenes in the show about how victims react to having been saved. Max’s mom, declaring to the cops, realizing she lost everything and yet not blaming the Winchesters.
We end out with Sam and Dean talking, as Sam is blaming himself for not finding the right words to talk Max out, and, for the first time, Sam saying something nice about John, that even surprises Dean (But that we will analyze in the Violence subtitle, for important reasons)
As they reach the motel, Sam comes to the realization that the demon that killed Mary, Jess, and Max’s mom was chasing them. Dean cuts that short since “if the Demon had wanted you, he’d have taken you”. It is very interesting that Dean, who usually is very collected, here is really fast to insure Sam that what happened to Mary was NOT his fault (another thing to file for when we reach season 10)
Sam mentions that he has more abilities so Dean, that brother that fandom has decided that is terrified of Sam, tells him that he’s not worried about Sam turning like Max (hell, he even asks him to try and bend a spoon, and later jokes that they should go to Vegas. Because he wants Sam to feel comfortable, and safe.) Here’s a bit of dialogue that it’s often forgotten, but we know that it is still true, even after 10 seasons:
Violence
No physical violence between the brothers, and I am so glad that at least these counters haven’t gone up in a steady way. However, I want to give a little time to this gem from Sam, as it is the source of a lot of fandom arguments around John Winchester and how he treated the brothers:
This has been the to go dialogue as to why it is impossible that John was physically abusive. It is also the perfect moment where we can see Sam realizing that all of his complains about John’s rough manner were pretty petty compared to the other option, the possibility of a really abusive drunk father.
Now, while I agree that John’s character has been heavily flanderized by both show and fandom to a point in which is hard to know exactly how much he mistreated the boys (because as much as I love John, he did some mistakes, that we will be analyzing shortly when we get to Something Wicked) and that up to this point the writers were trying to portray John as a noble, but tortured father, there is one little bit of acting that casts some doubt over this. It’s subtle, it’s probably accidental, but it is there and it will fit very well with a piece of evidence that we will see in Season 5.
When Sam explains how John could’ve turned abusive, Dean takes a deep breath, almost a sniff. And we don’t see his face when he turns to look at Max’s house, but he is really serious before he looks back at Sam and smiles. It is short, but it’s a pause that could plausibly mean that he agrees that Sam DIDN’T had Max’s childhood. But doesn’t exclude that Dean had and that is why he is so strongly opposed to the possibility that killing your parents is justified, even against abuse.
Now, this is NOT to say that John is actually abusive or he beat Dean. But just as one can see bits and pieces on why people meta Dean as bisexual (and I have mentioned them when I find them in this recap), it is also easy to see why some people might meta that John was more than just distant.
Emotional Violence
I am starting to get worried about the writers, as there isn’t a single episode they don’t have Sam scoffing at Dean. It is like… in their contract.
But there’s something interesting this time. And I am counting it here not because it’s an example of Sam being violent towards Dean, but because it is a very subtle thing about the brother’s upbringing, that I would love to know if it was on the text (Script) or if it was added by the director (Philip Sgriccia, now Executive Producer of the show, and responsible for some amazing episodes like Jus in Bello, and Point of No Return, and some really, really horrible things like Fan Fiction and Shut Up, Dr. Phil), or if it was Jensen the one who in his eternal quest to flesh Dean more started doing it on his own volition. If I ever go to a con, I might ask. If anyone gets to a con before me and asks, I’d be really happy too. And if someone HAS asked and got and answer, I’d love to find it.
Because see, the scene in question is this:
Sam’s indignation in this case is very warranted since we know that Sam is the one who is a true believer while Dean… well, Dean will still be disrespectful to Chuck even after becoming besties with an angel so it IS weird to see him adapt the priest’s role so perfectly. However, the scoff comes right as Dean is getting more food.
Now, I didn’t mention this on the Bugs rewatch but it is very interesting to see that whenever there’s food available? Dean is stuffing his mouth. Yeah, sure, it is more of the “look how irresponsible Dean is, always eating, not caring he’s at a funeral, ha-ha”, but it goes hand in hand with Dean’s relationship with Money, and SAM’s relationship with Money. I’ve already written a lot about how we never see Sam earn money when the brothers are together. Now let’s go about Sam’s healthy food habits.
Eating Healthy is incredibly expensive if you do not have access to a supermarket close by (this is as long as you don’t try to go all organic, in which case even with a supermarket it is going to be horribly expensive). Salads cost more than burgers for some reason that I have never quite understood. So it is a very common criticism here in the real world that no, it is not as easy as “choosing” to eat better when your income is really limited. And people who have known long periods of times with no or little food tend to become food hoarders, same as people who are teased and bugged about their weight for long time are at a bigger risk to get an eating disorder. So Dean going straight for the food because it’s FREE and it is at his hand? It is a pretty telling sign that Dean knows how it is to go for long without food… and Sam doesn’t.
Now, with hindsight, we know this is true. In a few episodes more we will tackle one of the big controversial ones about John. But here, in the exact episode that deals with child abuse, we have a big, huge, blinking light that Dean’s childhood was not as perfect as Sam tries to convince himself it was.
And it puts Sam’s line about how the brothers were lucky that John didn’t become abusive like Max’s parents in a darker light since it means that John was never abusive to SAM…. But the food thing implies that at least in terms of neglect, he might have been abusive to Dean.
Secrets, Lies (and their consequences)
This is a really nice episode. The brothers not only DON’T lie to each other, they actually talk! Sure, they are in completely different pages of the emotional scale but they talk to each other. Which is always good.
Speeches and Apologies
I commented before how Sam changed midspeech from “Max, I’m here to help you” to “hey listen about MY problems”
It is a really subtle thing too, but shows that even then? Sam was not the best person to talk someone out of suicide. (Again, this is not an attack on Sam’s character, but on the Writer’s abilities to make Sam read as truly empathic instead of just someone who is out for his own interests)
Let’s go step by step. Max has just told Sam about the “justification” his father had to beat him horribly, even into adult age. And Sam answers with:
Or, paraphrasing as a person who is in a deep depression due to abuse would hear it? “Your dad was right, that really happened”
“Forget about your pain, we’re going to talk about me” Now, I get this was due to plot reasons but perhaps given that Max was in a depressive cycle that made him kill two people? Perhaps it was the worst moment possible to remind the audience of what we just saw in the “what happened then” segment.
I posit that to make Sam look truly sympathetic, him staying silent would’ve been better.
“I am not listening to you. You are here to listen to me and shut up.” Again, I am not saying this is what Sam said, but how a person in Max’s situation would hear it. And it is a bit true. Sam, who had promised to listen to Max, is now talking over Max.
This is probably the worst of the bunch. Because the writers needed to turn Sam into mr. Exposition, suddenly Sam is no longer talking about Max and his problems, but about how HE is connected to Max, and how Max’s abilities (And thus, current predicament) have to be connected to HIMSELF. Seriously, it makes me wonder if the only reason why Sam said “you and I were chosen” instead of “Me and you were chosen” was due to grammatical pedantry.
And here is how we end. Sam is no longer talking about Max or his issues, but about himself and his own issues. And It shows. I mean, he never focus on Max in his words. It’s always either “I” or “We both”. Max is, however, still talking in first person. Which is why this whole speech falls in deaf ears. Because in the end? Sam is not talking about helping Max, but about helping himself, with Max as a happy side effect.
Really, it’s a pity that the writers go this route so often with Sam, as a simple change in pronouns (Or moving the whole exposition bit to a conversation between Sam and Dean) could’ve end up saving Max’s life OR at least making Sam look more sympathetic.
Final Tally
This is a very hard episode, because it both tackles a very real monster in the shape of Roger Mills and his brother (I am sorry, I will never consider Max a monster, in the same way I don’t think Carrie was a monster). Child abuse, and how it is hidden and condoned by society is never an easy subject. And well, last episode showed us that the Supernatural writers aren’t very good at subtlety most of the time.
Not only that, it is a plot arc episode, which means a lot of what would be interesting to tackle with the VoW has to be moved aside for the arc that it is starting to get really thick. Not a bad balance act, although it is sad that we never get to see Sam in las Vegas. Actually, it is sad that Sam’s powers only come up on Plot arc episodes, and they’re never referenced outside them again. In fact, I don’t remember any telekinetic feats from him before he started hanging on with Ruby.
And perhaps that explains how easy it is to forget that Dean was not scared of Sam’s powers, and was even a bit encouraging at first and that it was only when a demon started cheering the use of said powers when Dean started asking for Sam to be cautious with them.
Finally, I want to keep this episode in mind since as I was rewatching it I realized we’re going to have to call back to it when we hit All Hell Breaks Loose (parts 1 and 2, Season 2), Dream a Little Dream of Me (Season 3) When the Levee Breaks (Season 4), Dark Side of the Moon (Season 5), Appointment in Samarra (Season 6), Hello, Cruel World (Season 7), We need to talk about Kevin, Trial and Error (Season 8), I think I’m Gonna Like it Here, Holy Terror, Sharp Teeth, The Purge (Season 9) , Soul Survivor, and Brother’s Keeper (Season 10).Not bad for a season 1 episode of a mytharc that is considered done and over with, AND from a series that is notorious for it’s bad continuity.
Numbers (or the TL;DR summary)
(Episode/Total so far)
Times Dean has lied to Sam or to a loved one: 0 / 0
Times Sam has lied to Dean or to a loved one: 0 / 3
Times Dean has been caught in a lie: 0 / 0
Times Sam has been caught in a lie: 0 / 1
Times Dean has hit Sam in anger: 0 / 1
Times Sam has hit Dean in anger: 0 / 3
Times Dean’s lies or secrets have caused someone’s death: 0 / 0
Times Sam’s lies or secrets have caused someone’s death: 0 / 1
Times Dean has abandoned (Or wanted to abandon) a hunt in the middle for his own needs: 0 / 0
Times Sam has abandoned (Or wanted to abandon) a hunt in the middle for his own needs: 0 / 6
Times Dean forced Sam to do something: 0 / 0
Times Sam forced Dean to do something: 0 / 6
Secrets kept by Dean: 0 / 1
Secrets kept by Sam: 0 / 1
Times Dean has blamed Sam for something: 0 / 0
Times Sam has blamed Dean for something: 0 / 2
Times Dean has apologized with words to Sam: 0 / 2
Times Sam has apologized with words to Dean: 0 / 1
Times Dean has respected Sam’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 6
Times Sam has respected Dean’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 0
Times Dean hasn’t respected Sam’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 0
Times Sam hasn’t respected Dean’s boundaries and / or rules: 0 / 10
Times Dean has made fun of something Sam does or has: 0 / 4
Times Sam has made fun of something Dean does or has: 1 / 20
Times we focus on Dean’s needs: 0 / 0
Times we focus on Sam’s needs: 1 / 4
Arc episodes dedicated to Sam: 1 / 5
Filler episodes dedicated to Sam: 0 / 5
Arc episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 0
Filler episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 3
Arc episodes dedicated to both brothers (or to none): 0 / 1
Filler episodes dedicated to both brothers (or to none) : 0 / 0
Dean’s Dropped Plotlines: 0 / 1
Sam’s Dropped Plotlines: 0 / 1
However I will say that really, as good as Gamble and Tucker were in Faith? Here they are terrible with the exposition, put in some of the worst places. And given that we know that Gamble was a big Sam/Jared fan? I am afraid it might be that Tucker was leading on Faith, while Gamble was the main writer of Nightmares. You will see why.
General stuff
It is interesting that we can tell Nightmare is going to be a Mytharc episode from the fact that they change the Previously on Supernatural to focus heavily on Sam’s visions. Those visions that haven’t been mentioned since Home? Yep. Those visions. We still get the iconic lines, but it goes more to repeat us that Sam has not quite ESP, in case anyone forgot.
Our cold opening shows a very obvious supernatural thing going on as a car decides to suicide his driver. And to be honest, THIS car? Thousand times scarier than our Racist truck last episode.
Sam wakes up, utterly confused at his dream, and he goes to immediately wake up Dean and tell him they have to go right now. And Dean doesn’t complain, he just gets up and drives.
Two important things: We’re back to Sam calling the shots. This is not a complain, it is a commentary on how whenever it’s a Mytharc episode on the first season, Sam takes over as the hero and he’s the one calling the shots, while Dean goes strictly on the Sidekick seat, unlike the MotW episodes where they both act as heroes, at least since episode 5 more or less when the show started growing up out of the pilot weirdness.
Dean tries to consider that the dream is just a nightmare, but Sam simply dismisses the possibility even when Dean points out that so far, Sam’s premonitions have only been about his own family, not random guys on Michigan. Still, he drives to the address that Sam manages to get on the phone and they arrive just as the paramedics are taking away the guy’s body.
Cue credits card because this is getting serious.
As Sam and Dean casually get information from a neighbor, it becomes obvious that the man died exactly as Sam saw him die, and at the exact same time, prompting him to wonder why the hell he got a vision if he had no chance to stop it. This makes Sam feel incredibly bad, as he felt he failed to save someone and it is the first time we see Sam express this feeling.
And here again we have a situation with the whole “informed ability” problem.
We’ve been told over and over that Sam is the empathic brother. I have gone a lot about how this only works when he is personally interested in the case (Check my rewatch on Bugs for more on that) and just last episode we had a horrible dissonant moment when Sam compared him not being in college working on essays to be as bad as getting lynched and burnt alive for your skin color. Ouch. But here… we have Sam being very, very clear on how he feels terrible that he was not able to save the guy. That he feels like a failure because now an innocent man is dead.
Except that because we have all those other episodes when he didn’t care about the innocents who were dying while he was… well trying to get out of the hunts… there is a second possible interpretation to his anger at not having being able to save the dead guy and it is not nice for Sam. Because that second interpretation is that Sam is not mad because the guy was dead… but because Sam didn’t save him. That is, because Sam didn’t get to be the hero.
And yes, I know that is not the case. I know that that interpretation, in fact, biased to believe the worst of Sam. BUT consider the fact that we do not get Sam angry at people who die on other circumstances, even when HE could have saved them. Or how easily Sam dismissed the fact that an innocent died BECAUSE he brought Dean to be healed, just two episodes ago (Check the Faith rewatch if you want to challenge this reading. I went on a bit long on why it was an unfortunate implication by the dialogue, even if it was not the actual intent of the writers)
In a perfect Hero/Sidekick moment, Sam insists that the guy was killed by something Supernatural while Dean, uncharacteristically, tries to argue that perhaps it was really a suicide. At Sam’s insistence that the man was murdered, Sam also insists that Dean is looking at him “odd”. It is true that Dean looks worried, but, at least for now, he seems worried FOR Sam, not ABOUT Sam. And this is a very important distinction now.
Sam realizes that the family won’t want to talk about what happened, but Dean tells him he has a better idea. And on one scene that I am PRETTY sure inspired at least a ton and a half of fanart –not counting the blooper- we get to see the brother in “a new low, even for them”, dressed as priests to talk to the family.
When they find out that Max, the victim’s son, was the one who found his father, Sam goes to talk to him, while Dean keeps talking to the rest of the family.
Max seems really broken up, very confused, but Sam tries his best to comfort him while Dean goes upstairs with a new EMP reader that looks as homemade as his Walkman one, only with a video screen. And I do wonder if he also made that one, just that he decided not to tell anyone about it after how his EMP Walkman was received.
Back at their motel, Dean distracts himself by cleaning every single weapon in the brother’s arsenal. And I mean every single one. IT is a nice touch, given how a dirty weapon might misfire and Salt can’t be good on the shotguns. While he does that, they agree that there’s nothing in the house itself that points to ghosts, poltergeist or anything that might match what Sam saw in his vision.
Just as Sam suggests that perhaps it’s not the house, he gets assaulted by a terrible migraine. Dean stops what he is doing to try and help him and Sam gets a very gruesome vision of Roger Miller, the victim’s brother, getting killed too.
With a very worried Dean, they drive to Roger’s house, to try and get there in time to save him. And we have a very nice conversation between the brothers.
SAM
Dean I’m scared man. These nightmares weren’t bad enough, now I’m seeing things when I’m awake? And these, visions, or whatever, they’re getting more intense. And painful.
DEAN
Come on man, you’ll be all right. It’ll be fine.
SAM
What is it about the Millers. Why am I connected to them, why am I watching them die? Why the hell is this happening to me?
DEAN
I don’t know Sam but we’ll figure it out. We’ve faced the unexplainable every day. This is just another thing.
SAM
No. It’s never been us. It’s never been in the family like this. Tell the truth, you can’t tell me this doesn’t freak you out.
DEAN
(After staring straight ahead for a long moment) This doesn’t freak me out.
SAM stares at him, then turns away.
Dean I’m scared man. These nightmares weren’t bad enough, now I’m seeing things when I’m awake? And these, visions, or whatever, they’re getting more intense. And painful.
DEAN
Come on man, you’ll be all right. It’ll be fine.
SAM
What is it about the Millers. Why am I connected to them, why am I watching them die? Why the hell is this happening to me?
DEAN
I don’t know Sam but we’ll figure it out. We’ve faced the unexplainable every day. This is just another thing.
SAM
No. It’s never been us. It’s never been in the family like this. Tell the truth, you can’t tell me this doesn’t freak you out.
DEAN
(After staring straight ahead for a long moment) This doesn’t freak me out.
SAM stares at him, then turns away.
Beautifully scripted (which is not surprising. Nightmare was written by the same duo who wrote Faith and my problems with this episode aside, they know how to write Sam and Dean talking), and very well acted. We still see the brothers in their weird Parent/Son dynamic. Sam is terrified and, although there is NO WAY that Dean can have the answers Sam is looking for, he still ask Dean. Because Dean is, usually, the one who fixes things. And Dean, like a good parent, tries to keep a strong face, not to look worried, and to assure Sam that everything is going to be all right.
Now, remember when I said that Dean was worried FOR Sam and not ABOUT Sam? Here is when it comes important.
Sam is asking if Dean is freaked out, but he is not referring to the general situation. What Sam is really asking –as inferred by his tone, and Jared’s body language- is “are you freaked out that I am not human?” which is wonderful foreshadowing for what we will see in Season 2 (And yes, it is foreshadowing because at the very least the psykids storyline WAS planned from the beginning unlike the rest of the accidental foreshadowing this series does), and we know that Dean is lying when he says he is not… but the thing is, he is not freaked out that his brother is showing inhuman traits (Again, as inferred by Jensen’s body language and facial expressions), he is freaked out for what it will do to SAM if the visions become more painful or if HE, Dean, shows Sam any discomfort that might make Sam feel abandoned.
Because DEAN’s worst fear is being abandoned by his loved ones, he transfers this fear to Sam and thus is unable to say “ok, yes, I am freaked. But not because you have freaky powers”.
Isn’t it sad how the brothers were having conflicts due to bad communication THIS early on?
To no one surprise, Roger doesn’t listen to them and gets killed as Sam had foretold. There’s a small little detail that really touched me and that is that the moment that they discover Roger’s dead? Dean passes a handkerchief to Sam, telling him to clean up his fingerprints so that the cops won’t know they were there. A small detail, but once again showing Dean’s quick thinking.
With Roger’s death, however, they’re back to first square. They figure out that Roger and his brother must have been targeted by the same thing, and that it is something they have never encountered before. Possibly a family curse, which means Matt could also be in danger.
Once again dressed as priests they go and talk to the kid, who keeps insisting his family was very happy, but does so in such a suspicious way that the brothers decide it’s time to check on their past house, since it is obvious something there spooked the kid. Talking to a neighbor, they discover that Max was abused by his father and uncle while his stepmother just watched and denied everything.
At the mention of the stepmother, Dean wants to find out more, but Sam starts getting one of his now signature migraines to see Max’s mother being threatened by Max because she never stopped “Them”. Here, we finally see how the kills happen, as Max seems to be telepathic and floats a knife to stab his mother (step mother, actually, in the eyes.
(To be honest, it’s a bit convenient that Sam only got to see Max being in the scene of the crime now)
Sam realizes he’s connected to Max and realizes that they’re connected. And we get another important moment between the brothers and a very specific point to Dean’s moral compass and again a very clear point of which brother is the one who calls the shots.
SAM
I didn’t even realize it but this whole he was there. He was outside the garage when his Dad died, he was in the apartment when his Uncle died. These visions, this whole time – I wasn’t connecting to the Millers, I was connecting to Max! The thing is I don’t get why, man. I guess – because we’re so alike?
DEAN
What are you talking about. The dude’s nothing like you.
SAM
Well. We both have psychic abilities, we both…
DEAN
Both what? Sam, Max is a monster, he’s already killed two people, now he’s gunning for a third.
SAM
Well, with what he went through, the beatings, to want revenge on those people? I’m sorry, man, I hate to say it, but it’s not that insane.
DEAN
Yeah but it doesn’t justify murdering your entire family!
SAM
Dean…
DEAN
(Pulling over at Max’s house) He’s no different from anything else we’ve hunted, all right? We gotta end him.
SAM
We’re not going to kill Max.
DEAN
Then what? Hand him over to the cops and say ‘Lock him up officer; he kills with the power of his mind.’
SAM
No way. Forget it.
DEAN
(Turning off the engine) Sam…
SAM
Dean. He’s a person. We can talk to him. Hey, promise me you’ll follow my lead on this one.
DEAN
(After a long pause) All right fine. But I’m not letting him hurt anybody else.
I didn’t even realize it but this whole he was there. He was outside the garage when his Dad died, he was in the apartment when his Uncle died. These visions, this whole time – I wasn’t connecting to the Millers, I was connecting to Max! The thing is I don’t get why, man. I guess – because we’re so alike?
DEAN
What are you talking about. The dude’s nothing like you.
SAM
Well. We both have psychic abilities, we both…
DEAN
Both what? Sam, Max is a monster, he’s already killed two people, now he’s gunning for a third.
SAM
Well, with what he went through, the beatings, to want revenge on those people? I’m sorry, man, I hate to say it, but it’s not that insane.
DEAN
Yeah but it doesn’t justify murdering your entire family!
SAM
Dean…
DEAN
(Pulling over at Max’s house) He’s no different from anything else we’ve hunted, all right? We gotta end him.
SAM
We’re not going to kill Max.
DEAN
Then what? Hand him over to the cops and say ‘Lock him up officer; he kills with the power of his mind.’
SAM
No way. Forget it.
DEAN
(Turning off the engine) Sam…
SAM
Dean. He’s a person. We can talk to him. Hey, promise me you’ll follow my lead on this one.
DEAN
(After a long pause) All right fine. But I’m not letting him hurt anybody else.
Let’s get the first important thing out of the way first. A very common argument of the anti-Dean posse Is that Dean called Sam a monster once. We will get to that line when we reach season 4, but here we see the very first mention of the word Monster to refer to a living, breathing human being (that, in addition, is just like Sam in the sense of the powers and the origin of the same). So yeah, Dean considers Max a monster but not because he has powers (the only thing he sees Max having in common to Sam) but because, in Dean’s own words, Max killed two people.
Before Leonore, Castiel, Benny, or Garth? Dean already had that very clear line in his head. Monsters kill people, and there’s no ifs, buts or justifications. You kill a human being; you are a monster (it is also worth of note that to this point? The brothers had never met a supernatural creature that didn’t kill humans). SAM is the one who points out that Max had a good reason to kill his family, which is unthinkable for Dean. And while we are supposed to side with Sam (and Max) the truth is that the line is not that clear. Because we know of ONE psych kid that may not have had powers but had the training necessary to kill a parent he thought was abusive… and he didn’t. Sam chose to walk away from John, to have his own life and never once thought of putting a bullet through John’s eyes.
Now, Dean wants to kill Max because he sees no way of making him be legally punished for what he did, but even so, when Sam asks him to trust him, Dean agrees that he will let Sam lead the charge. Yes, he also takes his gun with him, but that is back up to stop Max from hurting anybody else.
So they are going to follow Sam’s plan, and, if it doesn’t work? Dean will go to his plan B.
This means, that once again, SAM is calling the shots on the hunt, making it a clear pattern through season 1.
They arrive on time to stop Max from killing his mom, and manage to get him to talk to them. Unfortunately, he notices Dean’s gun and uses his powers to make sure they can’t leave the house.
(This is interesting, as so far, in 14 episodes, we have been shown Dean as a very capable liar who can keep undercover no matter what and has only been caught when someone actually checks his credentials. Here, however, it is very important that DEAN is the one caught lying, so Dean’s gun is easily visible. This is not a complaint, nor a “it should be Sam”. It is necessary for the plot to work that Sam keeps Max trust, however, it is interesting that even now the writers went for the lazy way instead of some other explanation that didn’t degrade Dean to Sidekick mistakes)
Max panics, knowing that the brothers are not priests, but Sam tries to reason with him, by coming out about his powers. He explains the panicky guy that he is there to help him. There’s a bit of a verbal confrontation between Sam and Dean because Sam wants to be left alone with Max, something that Dean is definitively against (given his tendency to protect Sam) but at the end, he agrees.
During the conversation, Max reveals that he was being beaten as far as last week. He also talks about his powers as a gift and how he finally snapped after a beating.
This is an amazing scene, as not only we can see Max’s pain and fear, but also Sam realizing that as much as he hates John? He didn’t had it as bad as Max. Unfortunately, plot has to be added and Max tells Sam that his mom died the exact same way as Mary did. Now, here is where we get again a bit of confusion about what Empathy means from the writers’ part.
Max has just admitted that the main reason his father beat him was because he blamed Max for his mom’s death. Max continues telling Sam that to justify this, his father invented a story about her mom pinned to the ceiling and bursting in flames. Max’s rationalization is that his father had no reason to beat him because the story was obviously false. What does Sam, champion of empathy, does?
He tells Max that the story is true because it also happened to his mom.
Not only that, but he stops trying to TALK to Max about his problem, and starts talking about HIS problems.
And then he declares himself a chosen one.
Of course, this makes his request to let themselves and his stepmom leave to fall in deaf ears.
We also get this little tidbit of dialogue that right now is not important, but… we should really keep in mind for the future.
SAM
It won’t. Don’t you get it? The nightmares won’t end, Max. Not like this. It’s just, more pain. And it makes you as bad as them. Max, you don’t have to go through all this by yourself.
It won’t. Don’t you get it? The nightmares won’t end, Max. Not like this. It’s just, more pain. And it makes you as bad as them. Max, you don’t have to go through all this by yourself.
Just as a reminder that here, Sam is pretty clear in the same way Dean was minutes before. The problem is not the powers, the problem is how you use them.
Not that Max listens (Again, nice parallel with a future episode), since he throws Sam in a cupboard and closes the door with his powers, before going upstairs to meet his mom and Dean.
Dean immediately tries to get himself between her and Max, but Max pulls Dean’s gun and lets it float as he’s pointing it as Dean, then at his step mother. Still, Dean doesn’t move, and in fact, declares that if Max wants to kill her, he will have to kill him first.
Of course, this is one of Sam’s visions that somehow triggers a telekinetic burst that frees Sam from his prison.
So we get back to Max and Dean, just as Max is going to kill Dean. Sam barges in and stops Max again, promising to help if he just stops trying to kill those who hurt him.
Unfortunately, his words just make Max decide that the solution is to kill himself, and the kid does so before anyone could stop him.
We cut to one of the hardest, and best scenes in the show about how victims react to having been saved. Max’s mom, declaring to the cops, realizing she lost everything and yet not blaming the Winchesters.
We end out with Sam and Dean talking, as Sam is blaming himself for not finding the right words to talk Max out, and, for the first time, Sam saying something nice about John, that even surprises Dean (But that we will analyze in the Violence subtitle, for important reasons)
As they reach the motel, Sam comes to the realization that the demon that killed Mary, Jess, and Max’s mom was chasing them. Dean cuts that short since “if the Demon had wanted you, he’d have taken you”. It is very interesting that Dean, who usually is very collected, here is really fast to insure Sam that what happened to Mary was NOT his fault (another thing to file for when we reach season 10)
Sam mentions that he has more abilities so Dean, that brother that fandom has decided that is terrified of Sam, tells him that he’s not worried about Sam turning like Max (hell, he even asks him to try and bend a spoon, and later jokes that they should go to Vegas. Because he wants Sam to feel comfortable, and safe.) Here’s a bit of dialogue that it’s often forgotten, but we know that it is still true, even after 10 seasons:
DEAN
As long as I’m around, nothing bad is gonna happen to you.
As long as I’m around, nothing bad is gonna happen to you.
Violence
No physical violence between the brothers, and I am so glad that at least these counters haven’t gone up in a steady way. However, I want to give a little time to this gem from Sam, as it is the source of a lot of fandom arguments around John Winchester and how he treated the brothers:
SAM
Well I’ll tell you one thing. We’re lucky we had Dad.
DEAN
(Looking astounded…and pleased) Well I never thought I’d hear you say that.
SAM
Well, it coulda gone a whole other way after Mom. I little more tequila and a little less demon hunting and we woulda had Max’s childhood. All things considered, we turned out ok. Thanks to him.
DEAN
(Turning back to look at Max’s house) All things considered.
Well I’ll tell you one thing. We’re lucky we had Dad.
DEAN
(Looking astounded…and pleased) Well I never thought I’d hear you say that.
SAM
Well, it coulda gone a whole other way after Mom. I little more tequila and a little less demon hunting and we woulda had Max’s childhood. All things considered, we turned out ok. Thanks to him.
DEAN
(Turning back to look at Max’s house) All things considered.
This has been the to go dialogue as to why it is impossible that John was physically abusive. It is also the perfect moment where we can see Sam realizing that all of his complains about John’s rough manner were pretty petty compared to the other option, the possibility of a really abusive drunk father.
Now, while I agree that John’s character has been heavily flanderized by both show and fandom to a point in which is hard to know exactly how much he mistreated the boys (because as much as I love John, he did some mistakes, that we will be analyzing shortly when we get to Something Wicked) and that up to this point the writers were trying to portray John as a noble, but tortured father, there is one little bit of acting that casts some doubt over this. It’s subtle, it’s probably accidental, but it is there and it will fit very well with a piece of evidence that we will see in Season 5.
When Sam explains how John could’ve turned abusive, Dean takes a deep breath, almost a sniff. And we don’t see his face when he turns to look at Max’s house, but he is really serious before he looks back at Sam and smiles. It is short, but it’s a pause that could plausibly mean that he agrees that Sam DIDN’T had Max’s childhood. But doesn’t exclude that Dean had and that is why he is so strongly opposed to the possibility that killing your parents is justified, even against abuse.
Now, this is NOT to say that John is actually abusive or he beat Dean. But just as one can see bits and pieces on why people meta Dean as bisexual (and I have mentioned them when I find them in this recap), it is also easy to see why some people might meta that John was more than just distant.
Emotional Violence
I am starting to get worried about the writers, as there isn’t a single episode they don’t have Sam scoffing at Dean. It is like… in their contract.
But there’s something interesting this time. And I am counting it here not because it’s an example of Sam being violent towards Dean, but because it is a very subtle thing about the brother’s upbringing, that I would love to know if it was on the text (Script) or if it was added by the director (Philip Sgriccia, now Executive Producer of the show, and responsible for some amazing episodes like Jus in Bello, and Point of No Return, and some really, really horrible things like Fan Fiction and Shut Up, Dr. Phil), or if it was Jensen the one who in his eternal quest to flesh Dean more started doing it on his own volition. If I ever go to a con, I might ask. If anyone gets to a con before me and asks, I’d be really happy too. And if someone HAS asked and got and answer, I’d love to find it.
Because see, the scene in question is this:
MS MILLER
It was wonderful of you to stop by. The support of the church means so much right now.
DEAN
Of course. After all we are all Chuck’s children.
She walks away and DEAN immediately takes more cocktail sausages from the coffee table. Chewing contentedly, he looks at SAM shaking his head.
DEAN
What?
SAM
Just…tone it down a little bit, Father.
It was wonderful of you to stop by. The support of the church means so much right now.
DEAN
Of course. After all we are all Chuck’s children.
She walks away and DEAN immediately takes more cocktail sausages from the coffee table. Chewing contentedly, he looks at SAM shaking his head.
DEAN
What?
SAM
Just…tone it down a little bit, Father.
Sam’s indignation in this case is very warranted since we know that Sam is the one who is a true believer while Dean… well, Dean will still be disrespectful to Chuck even after becoming besties with an angel so it IS weird to see him adapt the priest’s role so perfectly. However, the scoff comes right as Dean is getting more food.
Now, I didn’t mention this on the Bugs rewatch but it is very interesting to see that whenever there’s food available? Dean is stuffing his mouth. Yeah, sure, it is more of the “look how irresponsible Dean is, always eating, not caring he’s at a funeral, ha-ha”, but it goes hand in hand with Dean’s relationship with Money, and SAM’s relationship with Money. I’ve already written a lot about how we never see Sam earn money when the brothers are together. Now let’s go about Sam’s healthy food habits.
Eating Healthy is incredibly expensive if you do not have access to a supermarket close by (this is as long as you don’t try to go all organic, in which case even with a supermarket it is going to be horribly expensive). Salads cost more than burgers for some reason that I have never quite understood. So it is a very common criticism here in the real world that no, it is not as easy as “choosing” to eat better when your income is really limited. And people who have known long periods of times with no or little food tend to become food hoarders, same as people who are teased and bugged about their weight for long time are at a bigger risk to get an eating disorder. So Dean going straight for the food because it’s FREE and it is at his hand? It is a pretty telling sign that Dean knows how it is to go for long without food… and Sam doesn’t.
Now, with hindsight, we know this is true. In a few episodes more we will tackle one of the big controversial ones about John. But here, in the exact episode that deals with child abuse, we have a big, huge, blinking light that Dean’s childhood was not as perfect as Sam tries to convince himself it was.
And it puts Sam’s line about how the brothers were lucky that John didn’t become abusive like Max’s parents in a darker light since it means that John was never abusive to SAM…. But the food thing implies that at least in terms of neglect, he might have been abusive to Dean.
Secrets, Lies (and their consequences)
This is a really nice episode. The brothers not only DON’T lie to each other, they actually talk! Sure, they are in completely different pages of the emotional scale but they talk to each other. Which is always good.
Speeches and Apologies
I commented before how Sam changed midspeech from “Max, I’m here to help you” to “hey listen about MY problems”
It is a really subtle thing too, but shows that even then? Sam was not the best person to talk someone out of suicide. (Again, this is not an attack on Sam’s character, but on the Writer’s abilities to make Sam read as truly empathic instead of just someone who is out for his own interests)
Let’s go step by step. Max has just told Sam about the “justification” his father had to beat him horribly, even into adult age. And Sam answers with:
SAM
(In shock) Listen to me Max. What your Dad said, about what happened to your Mom. It’s real.
(In shock) Listen to me Max. What your Dad said, about what happened to your Mom. It’s real.
Or, paraphrasing as a person who is in a deep depression due to abuse would hear it? “Your dad was right, that really happened”
MAX
What?
SAM
It happened to my Mom too, exactly the same. My nursery, my crib, my Dad saw her on the ceiling.
What?
SAM
It happened to my Mom too, exactly the same. My nursery, my crib, my Dad saw her on the ceiling.
“Forget about your pain, we’re going to talk about me” Now, I get this was due to plot reasons but perhaps given that Max was in a depressive cycle that made him kill two people? Perhaps it was the worst moment possible to remind the audience of what we just saw in the “what happened then” segment.
I posit that to make Sam look truly sympathetic, him staying silent would’ve been better.
MAX
Your Dad must have been as drunk as mine.
SAM
No, no. It’s the same thing, Max. The same thing killed our mothers.
Your Dad must have been as drunk as mine.
SAM
No, no. It’s the same thing, Max. The same thing killed our mothers.
“I am not listening to you. You are here to listen to me and shut up.” Again, I am not saying this is what Sam said, but how a person in Max’s situation would hear it. And it is a bit true. Sam, who had promised to listen to Max, is now talking over Max.
MAX
That’s impossible.
SAM
This must be why I’m having visions during the day. Why they’re getting more intense. Cause you and I must be connected in some way. Your abilities, they started 6-7 months ago right, out of the blue?
MAX
How’d you know that?
SAM
Cause that’s when my abilities started Max. Yours seem to me much further along but still, this has to mean something right? I mean for some reason, you and I…you and I were chosen.
That’s impossible.
SAM
This must be why I’m having visions during the day. Why they’re getting more intense. Cause you and I must be connected in some way. Your abilities, they started 6-7 months ago right, out of the blue?
MAX
How’d you know that?
SAM
Cause that’s when my abilities started Max. Yours seem to me much further along but still, this has to mean something right? I mean for some reason, you and I…you and I were chosen.
This is probably the worst of the bunch. Because the writers needed to turn Sam into mr. Exposition, suddenly Sam is no longer talking about Max and his problems, but about how HE is connected to Max, and how Max’s abilities (And thus, current predicament) have to be connected to HIMSELF. Seriously, it makes me wonder if the only reason why Sam said “you and I were chosen” instead of “Me and you were chosen” was due to grammatical pedantry.
MAX
For what?
SAM
I don’t know. But Dean and I, my brother and I, we’re hunting for your Mom’s killer. We can find answers, answers that can help us both. But you gotta let us go Max. You gotta let your stepmother go.
MAX
(Thinking, then starting to shake his head) No. What they did to me. I still have nightmares. I’m so scared all the time, like I’m just waiting for that next beating. I’m so sick of being scared all the time, I just want this to be over!
SAM
It won’t. Don’t you get it? The nightmares won’t end, Max. Not like this. It’s just, more pain. And it makes you as bad as them. Max, you don’t have to go through all this by yourself.
For what?
SAM
I don’t know. But Dean and I, my brother and I, we’re hunting for your Mom’s killer. We can find answers, answers that can help us both. But you gotta let us go Max. You gotta let your stepmother go.
MAX
(Thinking, then starting to shake his head) No. What they did to me. I still have nightmares. I’m so scared all the time, like I’m just waiting for that next beating. I’m so sick of being scared all the time, I just want this to be over!
SAM
It won’t. Don’t you get it? The nightmares won’t end, Max. Not like this. It’s just, more pain. And it makes you as bad as them. Max, you don’t have to go through all this by yourself.
And here is how we end. Sam is no longer talking about Max or his issues, but about himself and his own issues. And It shows. I mean, he never focus on Max in his words. It’s always either “I” or “We both”. Max is, however, still talking in first person. Which is why this whole speech falls in deaf ears. Because in the end? Sam is not talking about helping Max, but about helping himself, with Max as a happy side effect.
Really, it’s a pity that the writers go this route so often with Sam, as a simple change in pronouns (Or moving the whole exposition bit to a conversation between Sam and Dean) could’ve end up saving Max’s life OR at least making Sam look more sympathetic.
Final Tally
This is a very hard episode, because it both tackles a very real monster in the shape of Roger Mills and his brother (I am sorry, I will never consider Max a monster, in the same way I don’t think Carrie was a monster). Child abuse, and how it is hidden and condoned by society is never an easy subject. And well, last episode showed us that the Supernatural writers aren’t very good at subtlety most of the time.
Not only that, it is a plot arc episode, which means a lot of what would be interesting to tackle with the VoW has to be moved aside for the arc that it is starting to get really thick. Not a bad balance act, although it is sad that we never get to see Sam in las Vegas. Actually, it is sad that Sam’s powers only come up on Plot arc episodes, and they’re never referenced outside them again. In fact, I don’t remember any telekinetic feats from him before he started hanging on with Ruby.
And perhaps that explains how easy it is to forget that Dean was not scared of Sam’s powers, and was even a bit encouraging at first and that it was only when a demon started cheering the use of said powers when Dean started asking for Sam to be cautious with them.
Finally, I want to keep this episode in mind since as I was rewatching it I realized we’re going to have to call back to it when we hit All Hell Breaks Loose (parts 1 and 2, Season 2), Dream a Little Dream of Me (Season 3) When the Levee Breaks (Season 4), Dark Side of the Moon (Season 5), Appointment in Samarra (Season 6), Hello, Cruel World (Season 7), We need to talk about Kevin, Trial and Error (Season 8), I think I’m Gonna Like it Here, Holy Terror, Sharp Teeth, The Purge (Season 9) , Soul Survivor, and Brother’s Keeper (Season 10).Not bad for a season 1 episode of a mytharc that is considered done and over with, AND from a series that is notorious for it’s bad continuity.
Numbers (or the TL;DR summary)
(Episode/Total so far)
Times Dean has lied to Sam or to a loved one: 0 / 0
Times Sam has lied to Dean or to a loved one: 0 / 3
Times Dean has been caught in a lie: 0 / 0
Times Sam has been caught in a lie: 0 / 1
Times Dean has hit Sam in anger: 0 / 1
Times Sam has hit Dean in anger: 0 / 3
Times Dean’s lies or secrets have caused someone’s death: 0 / 0
Times Sam’s lies or secrets have caused someone’s death: 0 / 1
Times Dean has abandoned (Or wanted to abandon) a hunt in the middle for his own needs: 0 / 0
Times Sam has abandoned (Or wanted to abandon) a hunt in the middle for his own needs: 0 / 6
Times Dean forced Sam to do something: 0 / 0
Times Sam forced Dean to do something: 0 / 6
Secrets kept by Dean: 0 / 1
Secrets kept by Sam: 0 / 1
Times Dean has blamed Sam for something: 0 / 0
Times Sam has blamed Dean for something: 0 / 2
Times Dean has apologized with words to Sam: 0 / 2
Times Sam has apologized with words to Dean: 0 / 1
Times Dean has respected Sam’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 6
Times Sam has respected Dean’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 0
Times Dean hasn’t respected Sam’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 0
Times Sam hasn’t respected Dean’s boundaries and / or rules: 0 / 10
Times Dean has made fun of something Sam does or has: 0 / 4
Times Sam has made fun of something Dean does or has: 1 / 20
Times we focus on Dean’s needs: 0 / 0
Times we focus on Sam’s needs: 1 / 4
Arc episodes dedicated to Sam: 1 / 5
Filler episodes dedicated to Sam: 0 / 5
Arc episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 0
Filler episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 3
Arc episodes dedicated to both brothers (or to none): 0 / 1
Filler episodes dedicated to both brothers (or to none) : 0 / 0
Dean’s Dropped Plotlines: 0 / 1
Sam’s Dropped Plotlines: 0 / 1