The Great Supernatural Rewatch - Dead Man's Blood
Nov 15, 2017 0:36:57 GMT -5
Mystique and onali like this
Post by luxshine on Nov 15, 2017 0:36:57 GMT -5
Ok, here we are. John’s big return. I can’t say I was waiting for this particular episode, but… well, gotta get over with it.
Also, big shot out to sevenpointedspiral in tumblr who started this out with me. I hope she didn’t regret the experience.
(And yes, I am again, late. RL is hectic. I am trying to get my artist career working and it’s going… slowly. There are things you guys can do to help if you really enjoy these recaps but I won’t expand here as I don’t want to make it an informercial. More on my about and tumblr)
General stuff
The whole Then segment puts the relationship between John and Sam as positive thing. As if Sam really missed his dad and wanted to help him while Dean was just along for the ride. This is kinda misleading, given what we know. In fact, this is one of the most misleading “Then” of the series so far. And this is something that I need to touch in more detail: The Then segment is very misleading at times, and if one doesn’t remember (or is obsessively taking notes like I am) it’s easy to see why certain fanon ideas get so entrenched in the fandom’s collective minds (For example, the real frequency of the Bitch/Jerk exchanges)
Anyway, we go onward to our victim of the week. Who is a former hunter. I can work with that. Sort of.
Poor Elkins, the first hunter we met, and he has a lot of experience, or at least, a lot of “tell” experience as we will see in the rest of the episode. What happened to the idea of hunters don’t reach old age? That had been a very common theme before, and it has picked up again in later seasons. However, we met a LOT of elder hunters in the series, most of them pre-Apocalypse but we still get some surprises all the way in the double-digit seasons. So I wonder where the idea that it doesn’t happen came from. Not only that, for being one of “the best”, he is wholly unprepared to fight vampires, even if he is supposed to have hunted them to “almost extinction” I mean, it’s sad and even Buffy s3 Wesley Windham Pryce would have known better. Obviously, the Lost Boys go and get the gun, because the gun is the important.
It is still a bit underwhelming.
Anyway, back to the brothers. Sam in his laptop, Dean on the newspaper. Looking for a hunt, or their dad. Anything. They look a bit bored, to be honest so I wonder about the director’s intention. Dean wants to go back to Sarah so that Sam can rekindle their relationship, but Sam stops that. And here comes an interesting thing: Why is Dean so interested in making sure Sam has someone? I mean, isn’t the common fandom belief that Dean CAN’T live without Sam, CAN’T stand the idea that Sam could quit? And yet, here, in the actual TEXT we have Dean trying to get Sam to have a life OUTSIDE the roaring road trip of revenge. Dean WANTS Sam to have a life outside hunting, and that is something that was forgotten by both fandom AND the writers as time went on. Next, he founds our Victim of the Week, and Dean recognizes the name from John’s diary and decides to go and check.
We also see that Dean has an amazing memory, as Elkins is not mentioned in a case, or put as an important contact. It’s just a name and a number, and Dean recognizes it and the fact that the number is from Colorado. It is amazing how just last episode we had “Dumb Dean” and now we’re back to “Photographic memory Dean”. I wish the writers took a chance to have some consistency.
So obviously, the brothers go to Colorado and break and enter into a crime scene because there’s no one watching the house of a man killed in a break and enter. One loves the bad cops in the country in Supernatural.
Dean finds Elkins’ journal, which Sam realizes is just like his father’s. An ominous figure looks from the shadows as the brothers keep looking around. Dean finds the gun’s box, but doesn’t pay much attention to it as he keeps looking for clues. He finds some scratches on the floor that Sam points as death spasms, but Dean, remember: the “Dumb” brother, figures out they’re an actual message: A mailbox put in the same code as John.
So off we go to the mailbox, that has a letter for J.W. Sam, being captain Obvious, asks if it’s for John, just as John appears to the brothers’ surprise. He was the ominous figure, and for once, he was actually sort of protecting their boys.
John mentions he had a falling out with Elkins, starting a pattern we will know by heart soon that is John having a falling out with every single hunter active in the US –and, I’m sure by season 14, active in the world- and proceeds to read the letter where he figures out that Elkins had “the gun” all along. John, again in a trend that will continue to hound the character forever, starts barking orders and tells them to follow him since they have to find “the gun”. It’s also a problem as we figure out that John knew about vampires and never told his kids because… who knows. I mean, it’s not as if he was training them to be supernatural hunters!
As John explains that vampires in the Supernatural universe are pretty much unkillable, we see a doomed couple being caught by the vampires.
Next day, John wakes them up upon listening to he police radio about the dead couple. Sam is asking questions; John is not giving any answer at all. Dean is withdrawing into himself, which, oh boy, will create arguments within the fandom for years to come.
After a really tense scene where we see things are definitively not good with the family and I will discuss in Emotional Violence, we go back to the Lost Boys circa 2004 where one of the vampires is forcing one of the hostages to drink beer and we finally get to see Luther (whom I call low-budget David. Sorry, this Vampire pack is way too Shoemaker for me). Luther orders his minions to eat the guy, as his lieutenant gives him the surprise that they killed Elkins. This makes Luther angry, as he knows that this means that more hunters will come.
And here I wonder at the fact that a vampire is the first one who agrees with Dean in this whole series. I mean, because this is what Dean will say next episode. Uh, I guess Dean had empathy with Vampires even before he knew about vampires.
Kate apologizes and gives the Colt to Luther, who recognizes the Colt as not an ordinary one.
We go back to Sam complaining that John is not explaining every single step he gives. We figure out that it was a bad idea to put Sam on charge of the wheel as he stops to fight with John. Dean looks as if he wishes he was in Purgatory, even before he knew Purgatory was a thing.
We finish the fight and move to the sex. Between the vampires, not between John and Sam because this is CW not HBO, and it would’ve been weird. Kate starts harassing the girl hostage, and then bleeds on her mouth from a cut Luther made on her arm. So yeah, this poor girl is a vampire now.
Next morning, the Winchesters find the vampires and John FINALLY tells them that the only way to kill them is to cut their heads off. And he tells them about the Colt, which will kill anything (Well, not anything, we know, but whatever, season 1 and back then having a game-ending weapon wasn’t really a problem). Dean and Sam figure out that John wants the Colt to be able to kill the yellow-eyed bastard, and thus that the whole thing is STILL John being blind to anything that is not avenging Mary. Well, they can’t say their dad is not focused.
Despite the whole “Vampires can wake up in daylight and are equally strong in daylight as at night”, they go and decide to start killing the vampires right then and there. We are only around 25 minutes or so, so I know it won’t work. Also, wow, Vampires WERE pretty much impossible to kill. They’re the third “hard” monster that the brothers face (Tulpas are the first, who are still pretty much unbeaten, Demons were the second, but well, demons are so easy to kill right now it’s a joke, and Vampires now. That again, pretty easy to kill by season 12)
It is obvious John is not going to save the humans that the vampires have there, Sam is freeing the girl we know is a vampire because… well, she was there. Close enough to be untied even if that must have been a red flag, and Dean… Dean is trying to save ALL the humans the vampires have there. Priorities are kind of skewed in the family.
And of course, Sam’s chosen damsel in distress gives the alarm and thus, the brothers are chased out of the vampire’s nest.
Sam and John argue AGAIN about how they lived as a family, and Sam is angry at how John’s “paranoia” made it hard for him to have a normal life. Sam is forgetting that it’s not paranoia if you are really being chased by demons. Of course, NOW Sam is starting to get it and starts to bury the hatchet with John which unfortunately only shows a very clear vice that Sam has and that I’m pretty sure I’ve discussed before: Sam only empathizes with John due to what happened to Jess. That means that even within his own family, Sam is unable to empathize with someone unless he reflects his OWN feelings into that person. If he has a different life experience that can’t be forced into the other person? Sam won’t get it.
And then we use Dean as bait. After being the errand boy, because yeah, John and Sam both tend to use Dean as the sidekick. Wow, I hadn’t realized it was so obvious in season 1.
Dean wants to go to hunt with John, supports Sam. But John has nothing to do with it and makes it an Order to DEAN, not to Sam. And thus, well, Dean agrees that no, they won’t keep hunting with John. And now that I think of it, wasn’t Sam quitting after he avenged Jess? (And that makes me curious: IF Mary had been killed by a different demon from the one who killed Jess, would Sam want to accompany them if they killed Jess’s killer but not Mary’s killer?)
The Lost Boys are angry about their nest being invaded. And so they go for the hunt. Dean, as a bait, is very effective. Love the use of the Dead Man Blood, and love how even in this season, LONG before we started having “good monsters” every two episodes, we still see that Vampires do have a strong loyalty to their nests. It’s something that thankfully didn’t disappear as years went by.
I love the effect of the Colt killing Luther. Actually, I love the frigging Colt. Or well, loved it until season 12. But back in season 1 it was AMAZING.
Anyway, not considering that the Colt has limited bullets, the vampires decide to call it a day and go away. John agrees that, since now they have a good chance against the yellow-eyed demon, they will hunt him as a family. Given that we’re two episodes before the season finale, we start the Supernatural tradition of rushing things that would’ve been amazingly cool in at least seven episodes to just two hours running time.
Violence
It’s interesting how the first Winchester on Winchester violence is not between Sam and Dean, but between Sam and JOHN. Dean gets in the middle, trying to stop them.
SAM and JOHN, who is also out of his truck, both looking angry.
DEAN
(following) Sam!
JOHN
What the hell was that.
SAM
We need to talk.
JOHN
(coming to a halt face to face with SAM) About what?
SAM
About everything. Where we going Dad. What’s the big deal about this gun.
DEAN
Sammy, come on, we can Q and A after we kill all the vampires.
JOHN
Your brother’s right, we don’t have time for this.
SAM
Last time we saw you, you said it was too dangerous for us to be together. Now out of the blue you need our help. (yelling) Now obviously something big is going down, and we wanna know what!
JOHN
Get back in the car.
SAM
No.
JOHN
I said get back in the damn car.
SAM
Yeah. And I said no.
DEAN
(Hovering) Ok you made your point tough guy. Look we’re all tired, we can talk about this later. Sammy, I mean it, come on.
DEAN grabs SAM and pushes him back toward the car. SAM goes, still staring at JOHN.
SAM
(mumbles) This is why I left in the first place.
JOHN
What’d you say?
SAM
(swinging back) You heard me.
JOHN
Yeah. You left. Your brother and me, we needed you. You walked away, Sam.
DEAN
Sam…
JOHN
(Yelling in SAM’S face) You walked away!!
DEAN
Stop it, both of you.
SAM
You’re the one who said don’t come back Dad, you closed that door not me. You were just pissed off that you couldn’t control me anymore!
DEAN
(Forcing them apart) Listen, stop it, stop it. Stop it!! That’s enough!!
SAM and JOHN stare at each other over DEAN’S head.
DEAN
(Looking at JOHN) That means you too.
SAM gets into the Impala. JOHN turns back to his car. DEAN stands in the middle, alone. He looks from one to the other.
DEAN
(to the night air) Terrific.
So this is NOT a one-time thing for Dean. He acts as if he knows exactly how this is going to go down, and what he has to do and say to try and defuse it. It’s probably also not the first time Dean has called out John, if their reaction is anything to go by despite Sam’s insistence that Dean never went against John. The fight itself is not that intense, and in fact, there are no real punches, but it’s our first glimpse of Winchester on Winchester violence. Well, real violence, not the fight in the pilot or the Skin mock up.
I have to notice here that Dean is usually set up to be sexually assaulted, as he was by the vampire. This is starting to bother me, even if it’s the first clear example of the whole series.
Emotional Violence
Holy shit, do we have a lot of emotional violence here. IT’s one of the reasons I was dreading this episode.
Here’s the thing: While I agree that John Winchester wasn’t the worst father in the world –not even in the Supernatural world- and at this point in the story it was possible to defend him a bit against those who claim he is so abusive, it’s a miracle that Sam and Dean weren’t taken by CPS the second day of school in any school. That doesn’t mean he was a great father. Much less that the theory that the “John is abusive” storyline began after Jeffrey Dean Morgan became unavailable for the show is true. John shows emotional abuse, especially against Dean, from the very second mention we have of him in the pilot (The simple fact that Sam takes for granted that John leaves for days, weeks even, without any contact… but at the same time expects his 26 year old brother NOT to hunt alone because “Dad wouldn’t allow it”).
So in this episode that it’s the first one where the brothers spend ANY time with John… the emotional abuse comes out in spades. From the very small things like John not paying ANY lip service to the fact that Dean had to face his traumas in Home, that they exorcised Mary there –which is odd given his obsession- or even to the fact that he NEVER went to visit Dean in his dead bed in Faith, to bigger things like the fact that he treats Dean like a soldier.
But let’s go with this first:
We immediately get the idea that, whenever there are arguments in the Winchester’s family, it’s Sam vs. John. Because Dean’s ONLY line in this? It’s to praise John’s hunting skills and how he was taught. (Of course, this is undermined because JDM's reading of the line “Nice job of covering our tracks” sounds a bit sarcastic, but I digress)
What it’s very clear is Sam’s reproach. John came for this Elkins guy, but he doesn’t answer the phone for his kids. He came to investigate the death of a man who is only a phone number on his journal, but couldn’t bother to come and see Dean as Dean lay dying (I know I have argued a lot about Sam’s narcissism tendencies, but here? There’s no hint of that. Sam is not mentioning anything that would mean that his reproach is about himself alone), that he wouldn’t even let them know if he was alive.
John ignores this, of course, and immediately goes into “I need to find the Colt” mood.
Then there’s this particular gem from John, right after Sam once again, challenges his authority:
Now, at this time, Baby is not yet the recipient of Dean’s obsessive love. Even so, Dean loves the car, and we know he prides himself on keeping her in perfect condition. And yet, the second John has a disagreement with Sam? He goes and attacks the brother that won’t defend himself. Dean.
This is, of course, emotional bullying, and we get the feeling that it’s constant. It also ties into something that we will see a bit later on.
Dean, to his credit, doesn’t take this completely silent, as he tries to make Sam patch things up, and then we get this:
Now, Sam is right. John does treat them as if they don’t know things, as if they’re not capable of handle information. But the thing is… he is still treating them as soldiers (need-to-know deal), and his words imply that he treated like that when they were kids. So, basically, here we have canonical confirmation that John raised them as Child Soldiers. And while Sam is usually an unreliable narrator, Dean not only doesn’t contradict him, but his last words are very telling.
“If that’s what it takes”.
To what? To save people? To do the job? Or to keep an appearance of peace, the yelling at a minimum and a semblance of a normal family?
It is easy to think it will be the last one, when we see Dean step in between the one physical altercation between Sam and John, and look so down when it seems that things are going back to “normal”: John and Sam at each other throats.
His reaction to this, is a very classic abuse victim reaction: Don’t make the abuser mad, don’t bring the yelling onto himself. Which makes the final resolution to this quite surprising to everyone:
Now… thing is: Despite all the yelling, posturing and rebel attitude from Sam, the one who finally talks some sense into John and makes him accept the brother’s help against the demon is Dean. And this is REALLY weird. Because it was not Dean’s arc logical ending if we have been listening to SAM’s idea of Dean and John’s relationship (That btw, this episode proves it’s completely wrong. Dean is not treated like the priced child, he’s treated like the abused manservant). It is, however, a good step TOWARDS the end of an Dean’s arc if you are paying attention to Jensen’s acting. In specific, the way he keeps gulping every single time he contradicts John… as if he expects a slap for his disobedience.
Speeches and Apologies
Oh, boy, this is sad. There IS one apology on this episode, and it’s a good one. Except… it’s not a full apology, and not to BOTH brothers.
It happens when John sends Dean to be an errand boy and stays alone with Sam, not long after Sam exploded about being treated like a child.
Now. This is beautiful. It is the perfect way to continue Sam’s road to reconcile with his family and what his family do. Not only that, but it redeems John a little, because now we know that he WANTED Sam to go to college. That the big divide between the two was not because John would never consider that his son could have a future being MORE than a war veteran and a mechanic in a small town in Kansas.
But even if he mentions Dean, almost as an afterthought (and wow, John had a good job as a mechanic, if he could afford that house, and set aside 200 dollars every month when he was the ONLY one working. Because between what we knew then, and what Season 12 has told us about Mary, she didn’t have a job. And except for a small mention in Season 4, we don’t see the Winchesters as needing much extra money by the time Mary died), the whole thing is about SAM. John doesn’t mention that he left most of the emotional raising of Sam to Dean (Parentification won’t be obvious until much later), or that Sam HAD a small window of normalcy when he didn’t had to hunt.
Most importantly? While Sam and John make peace, and John admits he did wrong to Sam? He never does the same for Dean (And when I say never, I mean never. It’s… kind of tragic really) Hell, we don’t even know if Dean ever KNEW that there was a college fund for him that, before John went insane, must have been around 4,800 dlls. Not much, but SAM’s fund must have been 600, if one supposes John deposited the last check BEFORE Mary died. So… the one who REALLY got cheated out of some food money because Dad needed Ammo was Dean.)
There’s also a line by Dean that I already quoted, but I want to retake here. (Ok, so it’s a stretch to call it a speech, I know)
This is how Dean convinces John to let them help in the fight against Azazael, and it’s about them being stronger as Family, not about himself being “strong enough now” or “old enough” now. But about how they are, in the end, Family.
Which pretty much cements that just as Dean is more interested in Saving People, Hunting Things (And now Season 12 has made me aware more that it never was Killing Things), he is also the Winchester that was always focused on the FAMILY part of the family business.
Double narrative standards
There’s not so much of a double narrative standard as much of a double meta-textual standard. Because at this point, the series was sold as the story of two brothers looking for their father while fighting monsters across USA. However, with the Sam and John convo that we got here, and the minimal time given to John and Dean’s issues, it is pretty obvious WHO is the brother that matters to the narrative.
There is also how different John treats both brothers, but that is something we will talk about at length when we reach the season finale (you all know what line I am referring to)
Final Tally
This episode moves the tally in the exact direction that it has been moving all season: Sam keeps a lot of secrets from Dean, Sam berates Dean as much as he can, and we dedicate as much time as we can to Sam needs. The ONE small difference is that this arc episode HAS that small scene of Dean standing up to John, so it can be considered an arc episode dedicated to both brothers.
Numbers (or the TL;DR summary)
image
(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: 1 / 7
Times Dean forced Sam to do something: 0 / 0
Times Sam forced Dean to do something: 1 / 7
Secrets kept by Dean: 0 / 1
Secrets kept by Sam: 0 / 2
Times Dean has blamed Sam for something: 0 / 0
Times Sam has blamed Dean for something: 0 / 3
Times Dean has apologized with words to Sam: 0 / 3
Times Sam has apologized with words to Dean: 0 / 2
Times Dean has respected Sam’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 7
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: 1 / 13
Times Dean has made fun of something Sam does or has: 0 / 6
Times Sam has made fun of something Dean does or has: 1 / 31
Times we focus on Dean’s needs: 0 / 1
Times we focus on Sam’s needs: 1 / 5
Arc episodes dedicated to Sam: 0 / 6
Filler episodes dedicated to Sam: 0 / 6
Arc episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 0
Filler episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 4
Arc episodes dedicated to both brothers (or to none): 1 / 2
Filler episodes dedicated to both brothers (or to none): 0 / 2
Dean’s Dropped Plotlines: 0 / 1
Sam’s Dropped Plotlines: 0 / 2
Also, big shot out to sevenpointedspiral in tumblr who started this out with me. I hope she didn’t regret the experience.
(And yes, I am again, late. RL is hectic. I am trying to get my artist career working and it’s going… slowly. There are things you guys can do to help if you really enjoy these recaps but I won’t expand here as I don’t want to make it an informercial. More on my about and tumblr)
General stuff
The whole Then segment puts the relationship between John and Sam as positive thing. As if Sam really missed his dad and wanted to help him while Dean was just along for the ride. This is kinda misleading, given what we know. In fact, this is one of the most misleading “Then” of the series so far. And this is something that I need to touch in more detail: The Then segment is very misleading at times, and if one doesn’t remember (or is obsessively taking notes like I am) it’s easy to see why certain fanon ideas get so entrenched in the fandom’s collective minds (For example, the real frequency of the Bitch/Jerk exchanges)
Anyway, we go onward to our victim of the week. Who is a former hunter. I can work with that. Sort of.
Poor Elkins, the first hunter we met, and he has a lot of experience, or at least, a lot of “tell” experience as we will see in the rest of the episode. What happened to the idea of hunters don’t reach old age? That had been a very common theme before, and it has picked up again in later seasons. However, we met a LOT of elder hunters in the series, most of them pre-Apocalypse but we still get some surprises all the way in the double-digit seasons. So I wonder where the idea that it doesn’t happen came from. Not only that, for being one of “the best”, he is wholly unprepared to fight vampires, even if he is supposed to have hunted them to “almost extinction” I mean, it’s sad and even Buffy s3 Wesley Windham Pryce would have known better. Obviously, the Lost Boys go and get the gun, because the gun is the important.
It is still a bit underwhelming.
Anyway, back to the brothers. Sam in his laptop, Dean on the newspaper. Looking for a hunt, or their dad. Anything. They look a bit bored, to be honest so I wonder about the director’s intention. Dean wants to go back to Sarah so that Sam can rekindle their relationship, but Sam stops that. And here comes an interesting thing: Why is Dean so interested in making sure Sam has someone? I mean, isn’t the common fandom belief that Dean CAN’T live without Sam, CAN’T stand the idea that Sam could quit? And yet, here, in the actual TEXT we have Dean trying to get Sam to have a life OUTSIDE the roaring road trip of revenge. Dean WANTS Sam to have a life outside hunting, and that is something that was forgotten by both fandom AND the writers as time went on. Next, he founds our Victim of the Week, and Dean recognizes the name from John’s diary and decides to go and check.
We also see that Dean has an amazing memory, as Elkins is not mentioned in a case, or put as an important contact. It’s just a name and a number, and Dean recognizes it and the fact that the number is from Colorado. It is amazing how just last episode we had “Dumb Dean” and now we’re back to “Photographic memory Dean”. I wish the writers took a chance to have some consistency.
So obviously, the brothers go to Colorado and break and enter into a crime scene because there’s no one watching the house of a man killed in a break and enter. One loves the bad cops in the country in Supernatural.
Dean finds Elkins’ journal, which Sam realizes is just like his father’s. An ominous figure looks from the shadows as the brothers keep looking around. Dean finds the gun’s box, but doesn’t pay much attention to it as he keeps looking for clues. He finds some scratches on the floor that Sam points as death spasms, but Dean, remember: the “Dumb” brother, figures out they’re an actual message: A mailbox put in the same code as John.
So off we go to the mailbox, that has a letter for J.W. Sam, being captain Obvious, asks if it’s for John, just as John appears to the brothers’ surprise. He was the ominous figure, and for once, he was actually sort of protecting their boys.
John mentions he had a falling out with Elkins, starting a pattern we will know by heart soon that is John having a falling out with every single hunter active in the US –and, I’m sure by season 14, active in the world- and proceeds to read the letter where he figures out that Elkins had “the gun” all along. John, again in a trend that will continue to hound the character forever, starts barking orders and tells them to follow him since they have to find “the gun”. It’s also a problem as we figure out that John knew about vampires and never told his kids because… who knows. I mean, it’s not as if he was training them to be supernatural hunters!
As John explains that vampires in the Supernatural universe are pretty much unkillable, we see a doomed couple being caught by the vampires.
Next day, John wakes them up upon listening to he police radio about the dead couple. Sam is asking questions; John is not giving any answer at all. Dean is withdrawing into himself, which, oh boy, will create arguments within the fandom for years to come.
After a really tense scene where we see things are definitively not good with the family and I will discuss in Emotional Violence, we go back to the Lost Boys circa 2004 where one of the vampires is forcing one of the hostages to drink beer and we finally get to see Luther (whom I call low-budget David. Sorry, this Vampire pack is way too Shoemaker for me). Luther orders his minions to eat the guy, as his lieutenant gives him the surprise that they killed Elkins. This makes Luther angry, as he knows that this means that more hunters will come.
WOMAN
(smiling) No. It’s from an old friend of yours, Daniel Elkins. I caught his scent and thought I’d surprise you.
LUTHER
(Concerned) Kate, what did you do?
KATE
I made him suffer.
LUTHER
You shouldn’t have done that.
KATE
Luther…
LUTHER
There’s others like him. They’ll know the signs and come looking for us. We have to be careful.
KATE
Luther I did it for you, for what he did to your family.
LUTHER
Revenge isn’t worth much if you end up dead.
(smiling) No. It’s from an old friend of yours, Daniel Elkins. I caught his scent and thought I’d surprise you.
LUTHER
(Concerned) Kate, what did you do?
KATE
I made him suffer.
LUTHER
You shouldn’t have done that.
KATE
Luther…
LUTHER
There’s others like him. They’ll know the signs and come looking for us. We have to be careful.
KATE
Luther I did it for you, for what he did to your family.
LUTHER
Revenge isn’t worth much if you end up dead.
And here I wonder at the fact that a vampire is the first one who agrees with Dean in this whole series. I mean, because this is what Dean will say next episode. Uh, I guess Dean had empathy with Vampires even before he knew about vampires.
Kate apologizes and gives the Colt to Luther, who recognizes the Colt as not an ordinary one.
We go back to Sam complaining that John is not explaining every single step he gives. We figure out that it was a bad idea to put Sam on charge of the wheel as he stops to fight with John. Dean looks as if he wishes he was in Purgatory, even before he knew Purgatory was a thing.
We finish the fight and move to the sex. Between the vampires, not between John and Sam because this is CW not HBO, and it would’ve been weird. Kate starts harassing the girl hostage, and then bleeds on her mouth from a cut Luther made on her arm. So yeah, this poor girl is a vampire now.
Next morning, the Winchesters find the vampires and John FINALLY tells them that the only way to kill them is to cut their heads off. And he tells them about the Colt, which will kill anything (Well, not anything, we know, but whatever, season 1 and back then having a game-ending weapon wasn’t really a problem). Dean and Sam figure out that John wants the Colt to be able to kill the yellow-eyed bastard, and thus that the whole thing is STILL John being blind to anything that is not avenging Mary. Well, they can’t say their dad is not focused.
Despite the whole “Vampires can wake up in daylight and are equally strong in daylight as at night”, they go and decide to start killing the vampires right then and there. We are only around 25 minutes or so, so I know it won’t work. Also, wow, Vampires WERE pretty much impossible to kill. They’re the third “hard” monster that the brothers face (Tulpas are the first, who are still pretty much unbeaten, Demons were the second, but well, demons are so easy to kill right now it’s a joke, and Vampires now. That again, pretty easy to kill by season 12)
It is obvious John is not going to save the humans that the vampires have there, Sam is freeing the girl we know is a vampire because… well, she was there. Close enough to be untied even if that must have been a red flag, and Dean… Dean is trying to save ALL the humans the vampires have there. Priorities are kind of skewed in the family.
And of course, Sam’s chosen damsel in distress gives the alarm and thus, the brothers are chased out of the vampire’s nest.
Sam and John argue AGAIN about how they lived as a family, and Sam is angry at how John’s “paranoia” made it hard for him to have a normal life. Sam is forgetting that it’s not paranoia if you are really being chased by demons. Of course, NOW Sam is starting to get it and starts to bury the hatchet with John which unfortunately only shows a very clear vice that Sam has and that I’m pretty sure I’ve discussed before: Sam only empathizes with John due to what happened to Jess. That means that even within his own family, Sam is unable to empathize with someone unless he reflects his OWN feelings into that person. If he has a different life experience that can’t be forced into the other person? Sam won’t get it.
And then we use Dean as bait. After being the errand boy, because yeah, John and Sam both tend to use Dean as the sidekick. Wow, I hadn’t realized it was so obvious in season 1.
Dean wants to go to hunt with John, supports Sam. But John has nothing to do with it and makes it an Order to DEAN, not to Sam. And thus, well, Dean agrees that no, they won’t keep hunting with John. And now that I think of it, wasn’t Sam quitting after he avenged Jess? (And that makes me curious: IF Mary had been killed by a different demon from the one who killed Jess, would Sam want to accompany them if they killed Jess’s killer but not Mary’s killer?)
The Lost Boys are angry about their nest being invaded. And so they go for the hunt. Dean, as a bait, is very effective. Love the use of the Dead Man Blood, and love how even in this season, LONG before we started having “good monsters” every two episodes, we still see that Vampires do have a strong loyalty to their nests. It’s something that thankfully didn’t disappear as years went by.
I love the effect of the Colt killing Luther. Actually, I love the frigging Colt. Or well, loved it until season 12. But back in season 1 it was AMAZING.
Anyway, not considering that the Colt has limited bullets, the vampires decide to call it a day and go away. John agrees that, since now they have a good chance against the yellow-eyed demon, they will hunt him as a family. Given that we’re two episodes before the season finale, we start the Supernatural tradition of rushing things that would’ve been amazingly cool in at least seven episodes to just two hours running time.
Violence
It’s interesting how the first Winchester on Winchester violence is not between Sam and Dean, but between Sam and JOHN. Dean gets in the middle, trying to stop them.
SAM and JOHN, who is also out of his truck, both looking angry.
DEAN
(following) Sam!
JOHN
What the hell was that.
SAM
We need to talk.
JOHN
(coming to a halt face to face with SAM) About what?
SAM
About everything. Where we going Dad. What’s the big deal about this gun.
DEAN
Sammy, come on, we can Q and A after we kill all the vampires.
JOHN
Your brother’s right, we don’t have time for this.
SAM
Last time we saw you, you said it was too dangerous for us to be together. Now out of the blue you need our help. (yelling) Now obviously something big is going down, and we wanna know what!
JOHN
Get back in the car.
SAM
No.
JOHN
I said get back in the damn car.
SAM
Yeah. And I said no.
DEAN
(Hovering) Ok you made your point tough guy. Look we’re all tired, we can talk about this later. Sammy, I mean it, come on.
DEAN grabs SAM and pushes him back toward the car. SAM goes, still staring at JOHN.
SAM
(mumbles) This is why I left in the first place.
JOHN
What’d you say?
SAM
(swinging back) You heard me.
JOHN
Yeah. You left. Your brother and me, we needed you. You walked away, Sam.
DEAN
Sam…
JOHN
(Yelling in SAM’S face) You walked away!!
DEAN
Stop it, both of you.
SAM
You’re the one who said don’t come back Dad, you closed that door not me. You were just pissed off that you couldn’t control me anymore!
DEAN
(Forcing them apart) Listen, stop it, stop it. Stop it!! That’s enough!!
SAM and JOHN stare at each other over DEAN’S head.
DEAN
(Looking at JOHN) That means you too.
SAM gets into the Impala. JOHN turns back to his car. DEAN stands in the middle, alone. He looks from one to the other.
DEAN
(to the night air) Terrific.
So this is NOT a one-time thing for Dean. He acts as if he knows exactly how this is going to go down, and what he has to do and say to try and defuse it. It’s probably also not the first time Dean has called out John, if their reaction is anything to go by despite Sam’s insistence that Dean never went against John. The fight itself is not that intense, and in fact, there are no real punches, but it’s our first glimpse of Winchester on Winchester violence. Well, real violence, not the fight in the pilot or the Skin mock up.
I have to notice here that Dean is usually set up to be sexually assaulted, as he was by the vampire. This is starting to bother me, even if it’s the first clear example of the whole series.
Emotional Violence
Holy shit, do we have a lot of emotional violence here. IT’s one of the reasons I was dreading this episode.
Here’s the thing: While I agree that John Winchester wasn’t the worst father in the world –not even in the Supernatural world- and at this point in the story it was possible to defend him a bit against those who claim he is so abusive, it’s a miracle that Sam and Dean weren’t taken by CPS the second day of school in any school. That doesn’t mean he was a great father. Much less that the theory that the “John is abusive” storyline began after Jeffrey Dean Morgan became unavailable for the show is true. John shows emotional abuse, especially against Dean, from the very second mention we have of him in the pilot (The simple fact that Sam takes for granted that John leaves for days, weeks even, without any contact… but at the same time expects his 26 year old brother NOT to hunt alone because “Dad wouldn’t allow it”).
So in this episode that it’s the first one where the brothers spend ANY time with John… the emotional abuse comes out in spades. From the very small things like John not paying ANY lip service to the fact that Dean had to face his traumas in Home, that they exorcised Mary there –which is odd given his obsession- or even to the fact that he NEVER went to visit Dean in his dead bed in Faith, to bigger things like the fact that he treats Dean like a soldier.
But let’s go with this first:
SAM
Dad, what are you doing here? Are you all right?
JOHN
Yeah, I’m ok. I read the news about Daniel, I got here as fast as I could. I saw you two at his place.
SAM
(softly) Why didn’t you come in Dad?
JOHN
You know why. Because I had to make sure you weren’t followed…. by anyone or anything. Nice job of covering your tracks by the way.
DEAN
(looking a little proud) Yeah, well, we learned from the best.
SAM
Wait, you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?
JOHN
Yeah. He was… he was a good man. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting.
Dad, what are you doing here? Are you all right?
JOHN
Yeah, I’m ok. I read the news about Daniel, I got here as fast as I could. I saw you two at his place.
SAM
(softly) Why didn’t you come in Dad?
JOHN
You know why. Because I had to make sure you weren’t followed…. by anyone or anything. Nice job of covering your tracks by the way.
DEAN
(looking a little proud) Yeah, well, we learned from the best.
SAM
Wait, you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?
JOHN
Yeah. He was… he was a good man. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting.
We immediately get the idea that, whenever there are arguments in the Winchester’s family, it’s Sam vs. John. Because Dean’s ONLY line in this? It’s to praise John’s hunting skills and how he was taught. (Of course, this is undermined because JDM's reading of the line “Nice job of covering our tracks” sounds a bit sarcastic, but I digress)
What it’s very clear is Sam’s reproach. John came for this Elkins guy, but he doesn’t answer the phone for his kids. He came to investigate the death of a man who is only a phone number on his journal, but couldn’t bother to come and see Dean as Dean lay dying (I know I have argued a lot about Sam’s narcissism tendencies, but here? There’s no hint of that. Sam is not mentioning anything that would mean that his reproach is about himself alone), that he wouldn’t even let them know if he was alive.
John ignores this, of course, and immediately goes into “I need to find the Colt” mood.
Then there’s this particular gem from John, right after Sam once again, challenges his authority:
JOHN
Hey Dean why don’t you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn’t have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it.
Hey Dean why don’t you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn’t have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it.
Now, at this time, Baby is not yet the recipient of Dean’s obsessive love. Even so, Dean loves the car, and we know he prides himself on keeping her in perfect condition. And yet, the second John has a disagreement with Sam? He goes and attacks the brother that won’t defend himself. Dean.
This is, of course, emotional bullying, and we get the feeling that it’s constant. It also ties into something that we will see a bit later on.
Dean, to his credit, doesn’t take this completely silent, as he tries to make Sam patch things up, and then we get this:
DEAN
Sam, we’ve been looking for Dad all year. Now we’re not with him for more than a couple of hours and there’s static already?
SAM
Hmph. No. Look, I’m happy he’s ok, all right? And I’m happy that we’re all working together again.
DEAN
Well good.
SAM
(Unable to help himself) It’s just the way he treats us, like we’re children.
DEAN
Oh Chuck.
SAM
He barks orders at us Dean, he expects us to follow ‘em without question. He keeps us on some crap need-to-know deal.
DEAN
He does what he does for a reason.
SAM
What reason?
DEAN
Our job! There’s no time to argue, there’s no margin for error, all right? That’s just the way the old man runs things.
SAM
Yeah well maybe that worked when we were kids but not anymore, all right. Not after everything you and I have been through, Dean. I mean, are you telling me you’re cool with just falling into line, and letting him run the whole show? (looks at Dean challengingly)
DEAN
(Giving Sam a long look; weakly, as if he’s convincing himself) If that’s what it takes.
Sam, we’ve been looking for Dad all year. Now we’re not with him for more than a couple of hours and there’s static already?
SAM
Hmph. No. Look, I’m happy he’s ok, all right? And I’m happy that we’re all working together again.
DEAN
Well good.
SAM
(Unable to help himself) It’s just the way he treats us, like we’re children.
DEAN
Oh Chuck.
SAM
He barks orders at us Dean, he expects us to follow ‘em without question. He keeps us on some crap need-to-know deal.
DEAN
He does what he does for a reason.
SAM
What reason?
DEAN
Our job! There’s no time to argue, there’s no margin for error, all right? That’s just the way the old man runs things.
SAM
Yeah well maybe that worked when we were kids but not anymore, all right. Not after everything you and I have been through, Dean. I mean, are you telling me you’re cool with just falling into line, and letting him run the whole show? (looks at Dean challengingly)
DEAN
(Giving Sam a long look; weakly, as if he’s convincing himself) If that’s what it takes.
Now, Sam is right. John does treat them as if they don’t know things, as if they’re not capable of handle information. But the thing is… he is still treating them as soldiers (need-to-know deal), and his words imply that he treated like that when they were kids. So, basically, here we have canonical confirmation that John raised them as Child Soldiers. And while Sam is usually an unreliable narrator, Dean not only doesn’t contradict him, but his last words are very telling.
“If that’s what it takes”.
To what? To save people? To do the job? Or to keep an appearance of peace, the yelling at a minimum and a semblance of a normal family?
It is easy to think it will be the last one, when we see Dean step in between the one physical altercation between Sam and John, and look so down when it seems that things are going back to “normal”: John and Sam at each other throats.
His reaction to this, is a very classic abuse victim reaction: Don’t make the abuser mad, don’t bring the yelling onto himself. Which makes the final resolution to this quite surprising to everyone:
JOHN
You are my children. I’m trying to keep you safe.
DEAN
Dad, all due respect but, uh, that’s a bunch of crap.
SAM and JOHN both look at DEAN, shocked.
JOHN
Excuse me?
DEAN
You know what Sammy and I have been hunting. Hell you sent us on a few hunting trips yourself. You can’t be that worried about keeping us safe.
JOHN
It’s not the same thing, Dean.
DEAN
Then what is it? Why do you want us out of the big fight?
JOHN
This demon? It’s a bad Sonovabitch. I can’t make the same moves if I’m worried about keeping you alive.
DEAN
You mean you can’t be as reckless.
JOHN
Look… I don’t expect to make it out of this fight in one piece. Your mother’s death … it almost killed me. I can’t watch my children die too. I won’t.
DEAN
What happens if you die? Dad, what happens if you die, and we coulda done something about it? You know I been thinking. I …think maybe Sammy’s right about this one. We should do this together.
SAM nods.
DEAN
We’re stronger as a family, Dad. We just are. You know it.
JOHN
We’re running out of time. You do your job and you get out of the area. That’s an order.
Dean looks down, emotional. Sam clenches his jaw.
You are my children. I’m trying to keep you safe.
DEAN
Dad, all due respect but, uh, that’s a bunch of crap.
SAM and JOHN both look at DEAN, shocked.
JOHN
Excuse me?
DEAN
You know what Sammy and I have been hunting. Hell you sent us on a few hunting trips yourself. You can’t be that worried about keeping us safe.
JOHN
It’s not the same thing, Dean.
DEAN
Then what is it? Why do you want us out of the big fight?
JOHN
This demon? It’s a bad Sonovabitch. I can’t make the same moves if I’m worried about keeping you alive.
DEAN
You mean you can’t be as reckless.
JOHN
Look… I don’t expect to make it out of this fight in one piece. Your mother’s death … it almost killed me. I can’t watch my children die too. I won’t.
DEAN
What happens if you die? Dad, what happens if you die, and we coulda done something about it? You know I been thinking. I …think maybe Sammy’s right about this one. We should do this together.
SAM nods.
DEAN
We’re stronger as a family, Dad. We just are. You know it.
JOHN
We’re running out of time. You do your job and you get out of the area. That’s an order.
Dean looks down, emotional. Sam clenches his jaw.
Now… thing is: Despite all the yelling, posturing and rebel attitude from Sam, the one who finally talks some sense into John and makes him accept the brother’s help against the demon is Dean. And this is REALLY weird. Because it was not Dean’s arc logical ending if we have been listening to SAM’s idea of Dean and John’s relationship (That btw, this episode proves it’s completely wrong. Dean is not treated like the priced child, he’s treated like the abused manservant). It is, however, a good step TOWARDS the end of an Dean’s arc if you are paying attention to Jensen’s acting. In specific, the way he keeps gulping every single time he contradicts John… as if he expects a slap for his disobedience.
Speeches and Apologies
Oh, boy, this is sad. There IS one apology on this episode, and it’s a good one. Except… it’s not a full apology, and not to BOTH brothers.
It happens when John sends Dean to be an errand boy and stays alone with Sam, not long after Sam exploded about being treated like a child.
JOHN
Sammy.
SAM
Yeah.
JOHN
I don’t think I ever told you this but … the day you were born, you know what I did?
SAM
No.
JOHN
I put a hundred bucks into a savings account for you. I did the same thing for your brother.
It was a college fund. And every month I’d put in another hundred dollars, until… Anyway my point is, Sam, this is never the life that I wanted for you.
SAM
Then why’d you get so mad when I left?
JOHN
You gotta understand something. After your mother passed all I saw was evil, everywhere. And all I cared about was keeping you boys alive. I wanted you…prepared. Ready. Except somewhere along the line I … uh … I stopped being your father and I … I became your, your drill sergeant. So when you said that you wanted to go away to school, all I could think about, my only thought was, that you were gonna be alone. Vulnerable. Sammy, it just… it never occurred to me what you wanted. I just couldn’t accept the fact that you and me – We’re just different.
Sam huffs a laugh.
JOHN
What?
SAM
We’re not different. Not anymore. With what happened to Mom and Jess… (laughs) Well we probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone.
JOHN
I guess you’re right, son. (smiles)
SAM
Hey Dad? Whatever happened to that college fund?
JOHN
Spent it on ammo.
They look at each other. SAM cracks up and so does JOHN.
Sammy.
SAM
Yeah.
JOHN
I don’t think I ever told you this but … the day you were born, you know what I did?
SAM
No.
JOHN
I put a hundred bucks into a savings account for you. I did the same thing for your brother.
It was a college fund. And every month I’d put in another hundred dollars, until… Anyway my point is, Sam, this is never the life that I wanted for you.
SAM
Then why’d you get so mad when I left?
JOHN
You gotta understand something. After your mother passed all I saw was evil, everywhere. And all I cared about was keeping you boys alive. I wanted you…prepared. Ready. Except somewhere along the line I … uh … I stopped being your father and I … I became your, your drill sergeant. So when you said that you wanted to go away to school, all I could think about, my only thought was, that you were gonna be alone. Vulnerable. Sammy, it just… it never occurred to me what you wanted. I just couldn’t accept the fact that you and me – We’re just different.
Sam huffs a laugh.
JOHN
What?
SAM
We’re not different. Not anymore. With what happened to Mom and Jess… (laughs) Well we probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone.
JOHN
I guess you’re right, son. (smiles)
SAM
Hey Dad? Whatever happened to that college fund?
JOHN
Spent it on ammo.
They look at each other. SAM cracks up and so does JOHN.
Now. This is beautiful. It is the perfect way to continue Sam’s road to reconcile with his family and what his family do. Not only that, but it redeems John a little, because now we know that he WANTED Sam to go to college. That the big divide between the two was not because John would never consider that his son could have a future being MORE than a war veteran and a mechanic in a small town in Kansas.
But even if he mentions Dean, almost as an afterthought (and wow, John had a good job as a mechanic, if he could afford that house, and set aside 200 dollars every month when he was the ONLY one working. Because between what we knew then, and what Season 12 has told us about Mary, she didn’t have a job. And except for a small mention in Season 4, we don’t see the Winchesters as needing much extra money by the time Mary died), the whole thing is about SAM. John doesn’t mention that he left most of the emotional raising of Sam to Dean (Parentification won’t be obvious until much later), or that Sam HAD a small window of normalcy when he didn’t had to hunt.
Most importantly? While Sam and John make peace, and John admits he did wrong to Sam? He never does the same for Dean (And when I say never, I mean never. It’s… kind of tragic really) Hell, we don’t even know if Dean ever KNEW that there was a college fund for him that, before John went insane, must have been around 4,800 dlls. Not much, but SAM’s fund must have been 600, if one supposes John deposited the last check BEFORE Mary died. So… the one who REALLY got cheated out of some food money because Dad needed Ammo was Dean.)
There’s also a line by Dean that I already quoted, but I want to retake here. (Ok, so it’s a stretch to call it a speech, I know)
DEAN
We’re stronger as a family, Dad. We just are. You know it.
We’re stronger as a family, Dad. We just are. You know it.
This is how Dean convinces John to let them help in the fight against Azazael, and it’s about them being stronger as Family, not about himself being “strong enough now” or “old enough” now. But about how they are, in the end, Family.
Which pretty much cements that just as Dean is more interested in Saving People, Hunting Things (And now Season 12 has made me aware more that it never was Killing Things), he is also the Winchester that was always focused on the FAMILY part of the family business.
Double narrative standards
There’s not so much of a double narrative standard as much of a double meta-textual standard. Because at this point, the series was sold as the story of two brothers looking for their father while fighting monsters across USA. However, with the Sam and John convo that we got here, and the minimal time given to John and Dean’s issues, it is pretty obvious WHO is the brother that matters to the narrative.
There is also how different John treats both brothers, but that is something we will talk about at length when we reach the season finale (you all know what line I am referring to)
Final Tally
This episode moves the tally in the exact direction that it has been moving all season: Sam keeps a lot of secrets from Dean, Sam berates Dean as much as he can, and we dedicate as much time as we can to Sam needs. The ONE small difference is that this arc episode HAS that small scene of Dean standing up to John, so it can be considered an arc episode dedicated to both brothers.
Numbers (or the TL;DR summary)
image
(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: 1 / 7
Times Dean forced Sam to do something: 0 / 0
Times Sam forced Dean to do something: 1 / 7
Secrets kept by Dean: 0 / 1
Secrets kept by Sam: 0 / 2
Times Dean has blamed Sam for something: 0 / 0
Times Sam has blamed Dean for something: 0 / 3
Times Dean has apologized with words to Sam: 0 / 3
Times Sam has apologized with words to Dean: 0 / 2
Times Dean has respected Sam’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 7
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: 1 / 13
Times Dean has made fun of something Sam does or has: 0 / 6
Times Sam has made fun of something Dean does or has: 1 / 31
Times we focus on Dean’s needs: 0 / 1
Times we focus on Sam’s needs: 1 / 5
Arc episodes dedicated to Sam: 0 / 6
Filler episodes dedicated to Sam: 0 / 6
Arc episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 0
Filler episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 4
Arc episodes dedicated to both brothers (or to none): 1 / 2
Filler episodes dedicated to both brothers (or to none): 0 / 2
Dean’s Dropped Plotlines: 0 / 1
Sam’s Dropped Plotlines: 0 / 2