The Great Supernatural Rewatch Project - Phantom Traveler
Mar 30, 2017 21:06:21 GMT -5
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Post by luxshine on Mar 30, 2017 21:06:21 GMT -5
First, I'm sorry for the delay. I will try to update with a new episode every Monday as long as RL and the Drawing Schedule permits it. Since last time, I was told that Dean’s mutism comes from John’s diary. That makes it secondary canon, not primary canon, but it’s good to know where it comes from. (To be clear, I divide canon as such: Primary canon is the show. Just as we see it. No deleted scenes, no different takes. ONLY the show. Secondary canon are the deleted scenes, the tie-in materials, such as the Journal and the comics that are not specifically named as not canon by TPTB. Tertiary canon are the cast interviews and DVD commentaries. Just in case anyone is wondering what I take as canon and what I ignore)
Also, by general vote in my inbox, I’ll start counting Arc episodes vs. Filler episodes as they were dedicated to what brother. So far we have the Pilot, an arc episode dedicated to Sam mostly, Wendigo, an arc episode that is not focused in either brother, and Dead in the Water, a filler episode dedicated to Dean. On this episode I’m also adding another counter (yeah, I know. Crunching numbers at the end of the season will not be fun) which is the Dean dropped plotlines vs. the Sam dropped plotlines. Given that this is a rewatch, we all know when certain plotpoints are never touched again, so… yeah, we can do that. At least until season 8.
That said, let’s start with Phantom Traveler.
General stuff
I have to say, I adore the opening for Phantom Traveler, as it’s our first look to the main villains of the whole Series. the Demons. It’s funny, as otherwise, and for the season itself, Phantom traveler could be mistaken for filler -since the main arc is the search for John, and this episode doesn’t advance it at all- but… Demons are to Supernatural what Vampires are to Buffy. Yes, yes, we know they’re supposed to hunt Ghosts most of the time, and yes, most of the time they do. But ghosts are so varied in the series, that it’s hard to get an iconic thing with them. Demon’s black eyes OTOH? Are so Iconic that I figure that after this episode was shown? There were already Demon!Sam and Demon!Dean edits.
Funny thing? I think this is the only time we see a demon enter a person through the eyes, rather than through the mouth. It’s a pity, since I think that the eye entrance makes it look even more creepy. Eye-scream aside.. you can close your mouth to avoid to scream, but it’s really hard to trust and close your eyes when you know you’re in danger.
Full disclaimer, by the way. If there’s an episode where I truly identify with Dean? Is this one. I have three big phobias. One that will be left private, as it’s hard to talk about it, and… Spiders and heights. So yeah. this episode? Is hard.
Anyway, the demon crashes the plane, prompting the one question that has plagued me for 11 seasons so far: Why the hell did he do it?
Ahem.
Anyway, once we get back to the brothers, we get three new bits of info. Sam has insomnia, doesn’t know when Dean is awake -as he thought he was asleep when he came in- and Dean is worried about Sam’s health and mental space.
Right after we have another little thing that I’m afraid has been lost as years have passed: A repeat costumer. I don’t get why we don’t see more of them. I mean, how many people have the Winchesters saved? I really, really wish we saw more of them. And the fact that this is one of the few times that we get to see someone have a supernatural problem and say ‘hey, I know who to call’, bugs me a lot. Also, I want to know how many cases Dean works a year, more or less, and how many poltergeists he’s faced, because he recognized Jerry almost immediately. And later, in the djinn episode? We get to see that Dean DOES remembers all the names of the people they’ve helped. That’s, once again, something that goes completely against the image of horndog without any care in the world that we’re supposed to buy from Dean.
Once the guys get to Jerry, we have this incredibly telling scene:
Now, Jerry? Doesn’t know Sam. Has never met Sam before today. And still? Considers Sam a hunter as good as John JUST because of what John told him during a case. And we’ve seen John in cases. He’s incredibly focused. So the fact that he actually started talking about Sam DURING the hunt, to the point that a stranger thought that Sam was a great hunter even after two (four) years of not hunting? Shows us how much John loves and cares about Sam. Also, Dean is focused on Sam. As if saying 'see Sam? Dad loves you! Why can’t you see it?’ in a way that shows how he is still trying to fix the family, two (four) years later.
Even the laugh is at the end is a friendly laugh. YEs, he’s got Sam, and that’s, for him, even better than have Dad around. It’s just that Sam doesn’t agree. So here? It’s SAM who is putting himself down, for no reason.
The episode continues with a very by the numbers interrogation to a witness. Well, not by the numbers. Since this time? Sam is the one who manages to get to the witness. Which I loved, since so far? Sam hadn’t had the chance to show his human side, his empathic side. Still funny, since it’s the demon episode. But I think that was a complete coincidence, even if it looks like a really cool foreshadowing moment, that Sam takes the lead on the investigation about demons, given what we know what will happen later.
The guys keep getting in trouble for pretending to be something they’re not (Seriously, they’re four by four. Four episodes where they pretend to be officers, four episodes they get discovered. I’ve always said that they should use the 'internet journalist’ cover. Easier for everyone involved) and we get another glimpse at a Dean that is so not like the one we’re supposed to see on paper with the homemade EMF meter. That we’ll talk about more in the Emotional Violence section, because it’s important.
Another 10 minutes later, we get another eye possession. REALLY creepy.
Interesting thing about this episode? We have a lot of scenes without the brothers. And they’re great scenes, very interesting, that create a very good atmosphere. But this is the exception to Supernatural, not the rule.
Research keeps going on, as the brothers figure out it’s a demon. Of course, the demons as they’re described here are very, very different from the demons in the future. Part of it makes me wonder if it was because Kirpke still didn’t have a clear plan for the series, or because Richard Hatem, the writer for this episode, had no idea what the plan for the series was. I mean, how does this:
Meshes up with ANYTHING we’ve seen in the series? I mean, especially as Dean and Sam now have Crowley in speed dial.
Still, the demon crashes another plane, so it’s time for the brothers to step up to bat. And once again, we get another tidbit of information about Dean. And it’s that Dean? Is TERRIFIED of flying. To the point that Sam offers him to let sit that one out.
Metatextually? Making Dean afraid of planes is a stroke of genius. Why? Because it explains precisely why, despite having so many different alias and credit cards to their name -not to mention, friends in airlines- the Winchesters will keep their feet on the ground.
Intratextually? Brings me to a problem, because in order to be afraid of flying? Well, most people with that phobia have had a bad experience in a plane so… why is Dean afraid of flying? Even so, Dean does show a lot of courage. Because he doesn’t take the easy way out. HE doesn’t let Sam go on his own, and gets into the plane which obviously terrifies him so much that even Sam, who is usually oblivious to Dean’s expressions, notices it.
As an aside, Amanda? A great, strong female character. It’s a pity that as time passed, the writers forgot they could have characters like her.
During the exorcism, there’s one line that makes me hesitant to call this a filler episode. Despite the fact that yes, it is one
It is the first time we get Jess mentioned since the first episode, and it’s a very ominous mention. We will hear this again… in Season Five. and then… no one knows. So… I am counting this as the first dropped plot point of the series, one that involves Sam. Sure, later on, we get this “closure”
But I have to be honest, given that Sam’s revenge is the whole plot of this season? It’s not good enough for me.
Who goes on to be the big damn hero of the day, exorcising the PLANE as it falls. Seriously, that’s a great scene. One of the best in season 1.
The episode ends with the boys learning that John has changed his phone message, and here, I do question the timeline. Because the message says:
However, Sam has said that he called Dad’s number and it was out of service. So the message was changed after Sam started hunting with Dean again. And, since we know John is so proud of his boy, in this very episode, shouldn’t the message say “call my sons”? Or did he changed the message before he knew Sam was hunting again? Since he does know, as we will learn in Home.
Or maybe I’m just over thinking it. Just as I’m over thinking the fact that we still don’t know what was the grand plan of the first demon we met in the series. Seriously, WHY was it crashing those plans?
Violence
Another episode where the brothers DON’T fight each other, or try to fight any innocent civilians. And now, we’re 50/50. Two episodes where there were violent incidents (Dean towards Sam in The Pilot, Sam towards the Ranger in Wendigo), and Two were there aren’t. IF the next one goes without violence, then we can stop using “Often” as a description for when the brothers use violence instead of communicating (remember, Often is 50% or more. And as we have 4 so far, that’s 2)
Emotional Violence
The first time I saw this episode was the first time that I started feeling uncomfortable at how Sam relates to Dean. Now, as I rewatch it, I can pinpoint the exact moment where I started thinking 'this is not quite friendly banter’ and it’s the following exchange as they go out from the clothes store:
Now. On its own? This is perfectly normal brotherly banter (Which is why, at first, I was not going to count it) but in the general picture? Once we get the 12 seasons all together, we get the picture that whenever Sam can? He puts Dean down and passes it like a joke. It was his idea to get the suits, and he could have said any other comparison that was not saying that Dean looked immature (and, while he doesn’t know, in hindsight? It’s even harsher as we know that Dean? didn’t get that first dance because he wanted to protect Sam). And it’s not 5 minutes later when we get this OTHER exchange which is even harsher and it’s pretty famous in fandom because of that:
Where to begin? I think the first thing is that it’s damn impressive that Dean made a working EMF meter out of a walkman. It’s even more impressive because we know he didn’t finish his education -and the show insists on telling us Dean is 'the dumb one’- AND because it’s a great camouflage for it. They don’t call attention to themselves with it, as we will see later in the plane. So yeah, Dean? Has a very good reason to grin and be proud of himself.
Except Sam doesn’t agree. Sam? Belittles it not only with his words, but with his expression. And Dean notices. Dean gets the message 'no, you don’t get to be proud of yourself’, and we get the feeling -and, later in the series it’s confirmed- that that’s pretty normal for Dean. Sam enforces what Dean has suffered all his life: you don’t get to be proud of yourself, you are not good, you didn’t do well enough.
Ouch.
Sam also enjoys Dean’s discomfort way too much in the plane. And yes, this one counts, because when we get to the Clown episode? It’s going to count on Dean’s tally. Same as the following exchange:
While it’s great that Sam goes for the more subtle approach (that subtle approach that is never, ever going to be used again against demons), one does wonder why the writers made the exchange like this, with Sam obviously thinking that his brother, who has been hunting ghosts and demons for 22 years now, who knows what a demonic possession is, and who did the exact same research as he did, just a day ago, wouldn’t remember that fact. Ok, so Christo is not the name of Chuck in Latin, that one is Deus, but… that’s research fail on the writers’s side. The point is, they could’ve made Sam look a little less smug by either shortening the exchange one beat, say, having Dean answer “I know, Christo”, when Sam calls him first, or, if they really wanted the three beats, have Sam call him for other reason. Maybe hand him the holy water because, you know, what if She IS the demon? Instead… we have confirmation that yes, Sam thinks his brother is an idjit.
Secrets, Lies (and their consequences)
No Secrets! Yes, Sam is having nightmares, and we know they’re a bit more serious than what he lets Dean know, but at the very least? HE told him 'I have nightmares’. So far, both brothers are doing well.
Speeches and Apologies
No grandiose speeches, and no apologies. Which is also very good for the boys, not so good for my project to analyze said speeches.
Final Tally
Ok, this is a filler episode, but Sam is the hero, and we have a Sam hook so… I’m going to count this as a filler for Sam. Other than that, the only number that really moved was the one about emotional abuse from Sam towards Dean, but given that the writer of this episode only wrote another episode for the series, Asylum, where we see that Sam *really* resents Dean, I’m not that surprised. Still.. doesn’t look good for the general idea, since yes, so far? We can say that Sam constantly belittles Dean -he’s done it in every single episode- while everything else? Still can’t be called a pattern. If anything, we can call the cases of real violence between both brothers extraordinary circumstances, and Dean being emotionally violent towards Sam? Something that happens once in a blue moon (Until this episode. That might change in the future)
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 / 2
Times Dean has been caught in a lie : 0 / 0
Times Sam has been caught in a lie: 0 / 0
Times Dean has hit Sam in anger: 0 / 1
Times Sam has hit Dean in anger: 0 / 0
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 / 3
Times Dean forced Sam to do something : 0 / 0
Times Sam forced Dean to do something: 0 / 0
Secrets kept by Dean: 0 / 1
Secrets kept by Sam: 0 / 0
Times Dean has blamed Sam for something :0 / 0
Times Sam has blamed Dean for something: 0 / 1
Times Dean has apologized with words to Sam: 0 / 0
Times Sam has apologized with words to Dean : 0 / 1
Times Dean has respected Sam’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 3
Times Sam has respected Dean’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 0
Times Dean has made fun of something Sam does or has: 0 / 2
Times Sam has made fun of something Dean does or has: 3 / 10
Times we focus on Dean’s needs: 0 / 0
Times we focus on Sam’s needs: 0 / 1
Arc episodes dedicated to Sam: 0 / 1
Filler episodes dedicated to Sam: 1 / 1
Arc episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 0
Filler episodes dedicated to Dean : 0 / 1
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 / 0
Sam’s Dropped Plotlines : 1 / 1
Also, by general vote in my inbox, I’ll start counting Arc episodes vs. Filler episodes as they were dedicated to what brother. So far we have the Pilot, an arc episode dedicated to Sam mostly, Wendigo, an arc episode that is not focused in either brother, and Dead in the Water, a filler episode dedicated to Dean. On this episode I’m also adding another counter (yeah, I know. Crunching numbers at the end of the season will not be fun) which is the Dean dropped plotlines vs. the Sam dropped plotlines. Given that this is a rewatch, we all know when certain plotpoints are never touched again, so… yeah, we can do that. At least until season 8.
That said, let’s start with Phantom Traveler.
General stuff
I have to say, I adore the opening for Phantom Traveler, as it’s our first look to the main villains of the whole Series. the Demons. It’s funny, as otherwise, and for the season itself, Phantom traveler could be mistaken for filler -since the main arc is the search for John, and this episode doesn’t advance it at all- but… Demons are to Supernatural what Vampires are to Buffy. Yes, yes, we know they’re supposed to hunt Ghosts most of the time, and yes, most of the time they do. But ghosts are so varied in the series, that it’s hard to get an iconic thing with them. Demon’s black eyes OTOH? Are so Iconic that I figure that after this episode was shown? There were already Demon!Sam and Demon!Dean edits.
Funny thing? I think this is the only time we see a demon enter a person through the eyes, rather than through the mouth. It’s a pity, since I think that the eye entrance makes it look even more creepy. Eye-scream aside.. you can close your mouth to avoid to scream, but it’s really hard to trust and close your eyes when you know you’re in danger.
Full disclaimer, by the way. If there’s an episode where I truly identify with Dean? Is this one. I have three big phobias. One that will be left private, as it’s hard to talk about it, and… Spiders and heights. So yeah. this episode? Is hard.
Anyway, the demon crashes the plane, prompting the one question that has plagued me for 11 seasons so far: Why the hell did he do it?
Ahem.
Anyway, once we get back to the brothers, we get three new bits of info. Sam has insomnia, doesn’t know when Dean is awake -as he thought he was asleep when he came in- and Dean is worried about Sam’s health and mental space.
Right after we have another little thing that I’m afraid has been lost as years have passed: A repeat costumer. I don’t get why we don’t see more of them. I mean, how many people have the Winchesters saved? I really, really wish we saw more of them. And the fact that this is one of the few times that we get to see someone have a supernatural problem and say ‘hey, I know who to call’, bugs me a lot. Also, I want to know how many cases Dean works a year, more or less, and how many poltergeists he’s faced, because he recognized Jerry almost immediately. And later, in the djinn episode? We get to see that Dean DOES remembers all the names of the people they’ve helped. That’s, once again, something that goes completely against the image of horndog without any care in the world that we’re supposed to buy from Dean.
Once the guys get to Jerry, we have this incredibly telling scene:
JERRY
Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart. Tell you something, if it wasn’t for you and your dad, I probably wouldn’t be alive. Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?
SAM
Yeah, I was. I'm—taking some time off.
JERRY
Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time.
SAM
He did?
JERRY
Yeah, you bet he did. Oh, hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn’t. How’s he doing, anyway?
DEAN
He’s, um, wrapped up in a job right now.
JERRY
Well, we’re missing the old man, but we get Sam. Even trade, huh?
DEAN laughs.
SAM
No, not by a long shot.
Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart. Tell you something, if it wasn’t for you and your dad, I probably wouldn’t be alive. Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?
SAM
Yeah, I was. I'm—taking some time off.
JERRY
Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time.
SAM
He did?
JERRY
Yeah, you bet he did. Oh, hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn’t. How’s he doing, anyway?
DEAN
He’s, um, wrapped up in a job right now.
JERRY
Well, we’re missing the old man, but we get Sam. Even trade, huh?
DEAN laughs.
SAM
No, not by a long shot.
Now, Jerry? Doesn’t know Sam. Has never met Sam before today. And still? Considers Sam a hunter as good as John JUST because of what John told him during a case. And we’ve seen John in cases. He’s incredibly focused. So the fact that he actually started talking about Sam DURING the hunt, to the point that a stranger thought that Sam was a great hunter even after two (four) years of not hunting? Shows us how much John loves and cares about Sam. Also, Dean is focused on Sam. As if saying 'see Sam? Dad loves you! Why can’t you see it?’ in a way that shows how he is still trying to fix the family, two (four) years later.
Even the laugh is at the end is a friendly laugh. YEs, he’s got Sam, and that’s, for him, even better than have Dad around. It’s just that Sam doesn’t agree. So here? It’s SAM who is putting himself down, for no reason.
The episode continues with a very by the numbers interrogation to a witness. Well, not by the numbers. Since this time? Sam is the one who manages to get to the witness. Which I loved, since so far? Sam hadn’t had the chance to show his human side, his empathic side. Still funny, since it’s the demon episode. But I think that was a complete coincidence, even if it looks like a really cool foreshadowing moment, that Sam takes the lead on the investigation about demons, given what we know what will happen later.
The guys keep getting in trouble for pretending to be something they’re not (Seriously, they’re four by four. Four episodes where they pretend to be officers, four episodes they get discovered. I’ve always said that they should use the 'internet journalist’ cover. Easier for everyone involved) and we get another glimpse at a Dean that is so not like the one we’re supposed to see on paper with the homemade EMF meter. That we’ll talk about more in the Emotional Violence section, because it’s important.
Another 10 minutes later, we get another eye possession. REALLY creepy.
Interesting thing about this episode? We have a lot of scenes without the brothers. And they’re great scenes, very interesting, that create a very good atmosphere. But this is the exception to Supernatural, not the rule.
Research keeps going on, as the brothers figure out it’s a demon. Of course, the demons as they’re described here are very, very different from the demons in the future. Part of it makes me wonder if it was because Kirpke still didn’t have a clear plan for the series, or because Richard Hatem, the writer for this episode, had no idea what the plan for the series was. I mean, how does this:
DEAN
I don’t know, man. This isn’t our normal gig. I mean, demons, they don’t want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big. And I wish Dad was here.
I don’t know, man. This isn’t our normal gig. I mean, demons, they don’t want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big. And I wish Dad was here.
Meshes up with ANYTHING we’ve seen in the series? I mean, especially as Dean and Sam now have Crowley in speed dial.
Still, the demon crashes another plane, so it’s time for the brothers to step up to bat. And once again, we get another tidbit of information about Dean. And it’s that Dean? Is TERRIFIED of flying. To the point that Sam offers him to let sit that one out.
SAM
Are you okay?
DEAN
No, not really.
SAM
What? What’s wrong?
DEAN
Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh…
SAM
Flying?
DEAN
It’s never really been an issue until now.
SAM
You’re joking, right?
DEAN
Do I look like I’m joking? Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?
SAM
All right. Uh, I’ll go.
DEAN
What?
SAM
I’ll do this one on my own.
DEAN
What are you, nuts? You said it yourself, the plane’s gonna crash.
SAM
Dean, we can do it together, or I can do this one by myself. I’m not seeing a third option, here.
DEAN
Come on! Really? Man…
Are you okay?
DEAN
No, not really.
SAM
What? What’s wrong?
DEAN
Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh…
SAM
Flying?
DEAN
It’s never really been an issue until now.
SAM
You’re joking, right?
DEAN
Do I look like I’m joking? Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?
SAM
All right. Uh, I’ll go.
DEAN
What?
SAM
I’ll do this one on my own.
DEAN
What are you, nuts? You said it yourself, the plane’s gonna crash.
SAM
Dean, we can do it together, or I can do this one by myself. I’m not seeing a third option, here.
DEAN
Come on! Really? Man…
Metatextually? Making Dean afraid of planes is a stroke of genius. Why? Because it explains precisely why, despite having so many different alias and credit cards to their name -not to mention, friends in airlines- the Winchesters will keep their feet on the ground.
Intratextually? Brings me to a problem, because in order to be afraid of flying? Well, most people with that phobia have had a bad experience in a plane so… why is Dean afraid of flying? Even so, Dean does show a lot of courage. Because he doesn’t take the easy way out. HE doesn’t let Sam go on his own, and gets into the plane which obviously terrifies him so much that even Sam, who is usually oblivious to Dean’s expressions, notices it.
As an aside, Amanda? A great, strong female character. It’s a pity that as time passed, the writers forgot they could have characters like her.
During the exorcism, there’s one line that makes me hesitant to call this a filler episode. Despite the fact that yes, it is one
DEMON
I know what happened to your girlfriend! She must have died screaming! Even now, she’s burning!
I know what happened to your girlfriend! She must have died screaming! Even now, she’s burning!
It is the first time we get Jess mentioned since the first episode, and it’s a very ominous mention. We will hear this again… in Season Five. and then… no one knows. So… I am counting this as the first dropped plot point of the series, one that involves Sam. Sure, later on, we get this “closure”
DEAN
You okay?
SAM stops and turns.
SAM
Dean, it knew about Jessica.
DEAN
Sam, these things, they, they read minds. They lie. All right? That’s all it was.
SAM
Yeah.
You okay?
SAM stops and turns.
SAM
Dean, it knew about Jessica.
DEAN
Sam, these things, they, they read minds. They lie. All right? That’s all it was.
SAM
Yeah.
But I have to be honest, given that Sam’s revenge is the whole plot of this season? It’s not good enough for me.
Who goes on to be the big damn hero of the day, exorcising the PLANE as it falls. Seriously, that’s a great scene. One of the best in season 1.
The episode ends with the boys learning that John has changed his phone message, and here, I do question the timeline. Because the message says:
JOHN
This is John Winchester. I can’t be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 785-555-0179. He can help.
This is John Winchester. I can’t be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 785-555-0179. He can help.
However, Sam has said that he called Dad’s number and it was out of service. So the message was changed after Sam started hunting with Dean again. And, since we know John is so proud of his boy, in this very episode, shouldn’t the message say “call my sons”? Or did he changed the message before he knew Sam was hunting again? Since he does know, as we will learn in Home.
Or maybe I’m just over thinking it. Just as I’m over thinking the fact that we still don’t know what was the grand plan of the first demon we met in the series. Seriously, WHY was it crashing those plans?
Violence
Another episode where the brothers DON’T fight each other, or try to fight any innocent civilians. And now, we’re 50/50. Two episodes where there were violent incidents (Dean towards Sam in The Pilot, Sam towards the Ranger in Wendigo), and Two were there aren’t. IF the next one goes without violence, then we can stop using “Often” as a description for when the brothers use violence instead of communicating (remember, Often is 50% or more. And as we have 4 so far, that’s 2)
Emotional Violence
The first time I saw this episode was the first time that I started feeling uncomfortable at how Sam relates to Dean. Now, as I rewatch it, I can pinpoint the exact moment where I started thinking 'this is not quite friendly banter’ and it’s the following exchange as they go out from the clothes store:
DEAN
Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers.
SAM
No, you don’t. You look more like a…seventh-grader at his first dance.
Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers.
SAM
No, you don’t. You look more like a…seventh-grader at his first dance.
Now. On its own? This is perfectly normal brotherly banter (Which is why, at first, I was not going to count it) but in the general picture? Once we get the 12 seasons all together, we get the picture that whenever Sam can? He puts Dean down and passes it like a joke. It was his idea to get the suits, and he could have said any other comparison that was not saying that Dean looked immature (and, while he doesn’t know, in hindsight? It’s even harsher as we know that Dean? didn’t get that first dance because he wanted to protect Sam). And it’s not 5 minutes later when we get this OTHER exchange which is even harsher and it’s pretty famous in fandom because of that:
SAM
What is that?
DEAN
It’s an EMF meter. Reads electromagnetic frequencies.
SAM
Yeah, I know what an EMF meter is, but why does that one look like a busted-up walkman?
DEAN
'Cause that’s what I made it out of. It’s homemade.
DEAN grins.
SAM
Yeah, I can see that.
DEAN’s grin disappears.
What is that?
DEAN
It’s an EMF meter. Reads electromagnetic frequencies.
SAM
Yeah, I know what an EMF meter is, but why does that one look like a busted-up walkman?
DEAN
'Cause that’s what I made it out of. It’s homemade.
DEAN grins.
SAM
Yeah, I can see that.
DEAN’s grin disappears.
Where to begin? I think the first thing is that it’s damn impressive that Dean made a working EMF meter out of a walkman. It’s even more impressive because we know he didn’t finish his education -and the show insists on telling us Dean is 'the dumb one’- AND because it’s a great camouflage for it. They don’t call attention to themselves with it, as we will see later in the plane. So yeah, Dean? Has a very good reason to grin and be proud of himself.
Except Sam doesn’t agree. Sam? Belittles it not only with his words, but with his expression. And Dean notices. Dean gets the message 'no, you don’t get to be proud of yourself’, and we get the feeling -and, later in the series it’s confirmed- that that’s pretty normal for Dean. Sam enforces what Dean has suffered all his life: you don’t get to be proud of yourself, you are not good, you didn’t do well enough.
Ouch.
Sam also enjoys Dean’s discomfort way too much in the plane. And yes, this one counts, because when we get to the Clown episode? It’s going to count on Dean’s tally. Same as the following exchange:
SAM
I think we can go more subtle. If she’s possessed, she’ll flinch at the name of Chuck.
DEAN
Oh. Nice.
DEAN turns to go.
SAM
Hey.
DEAN
What?
SAM
Say it in Latin.
DEAN
I know.
DEAN leaves again.
SAM
Okay. Hey!
DEAN
What?!
SAM
Uh, in Latin, it’s “Christo”.
DEAN
Dude, I know! I’m not an idjit!
I think we can go more subtle. If she’s possessed, she’ll flinch at the name of Chuck.
DEAN
Oh. Nice.
DEAN turns to go.
SAM
Hey.
DEAN
What?
SAM
Say it in Latin.
DEAN
I know.
DEAN leaves again.
SAM
Okay. Hey!
DEAN
What?!
SAM
Uh, in Latin, it’s “Christo”.
DEAN
Dude, I know! I’m not an idjit!
While it’s great that Sam goes for the more subtle approach (that subtle approach that is never, ever going to be used again against demons), one does wonder why the writers made the exchange like this, with Sam obviously thinking that his brother, who has been hunting ghosts and demons for 22 years now, who knows what a demonic possession is, and who did the exact same research as he did, just a day ago, wouldn’t remember that fact. Ok, so Christo is not the name of Chuck in Latin, that one is Deus, but… that’s research fail on the writers’s side. The point is, they could’ve made Sam look a little less smug by either shortening the exchange one beat, say, having Dean answer “I know, Christo”, when Sam calls him first, or, if they really wanted the three beats, have Sam call him for other reason. Maybe hand him the holy water because, you know, what if She IS the demon? Instead… we have confirmation that yes, Sam thinks his brother is an idjit.
Secrets, Lies (and their consequences)
No Secrets! Yes, Sam is having nightmares, and we know they’re a bit more serious than what he lets Dean know, but at the very least? HE told him 'I have nightmares’. So far, both brothers are doing well.
Speeches and Apologies
No grandiose speeches, and no apologies. Which is also very good for the boys, not so good for my project to analyze said speeches.
Final Tally
Ok, this is a filler episode, but Sam is the hero, and we have a Sam hook so… I’m going to count this as a filler for Sam. Other than that, the only number that really moved was the one about emotional abuse from Sam towards Dean, but given that the writer of this episode only wrote another episode for the series, Asylum, where we see that Sam *really* resents Dean, I’m not that surprised. Still.. doesn’t look good for the general idea, since yes, so far? We can say that Sam constantly belittles Dean -he’s done it in every single episode- while everything else? Still can’t be called a pattern. If anything, we can call the cases of real violence between both brothers extraordinary circumstances, and Dean being emotionally violent towards Sam? Something that happens once in a blue moon (Until this episode. That might change in the future)
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 / 2
Times Dean has been caught in a lie : 0 / 0
Times Sam has been caught in a lie: 0 / 0
Times Dean has hit Sam in anger: 0 / 1
Times Sam has hit Dean in anger: 0 / 0
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 / 3
Times Dean forced Sam to do something : 0 / 0
Times Sam forced Dean to do something: 0 / 0
Secrets kept by Dean: 0 / 1
Secrets kept by Sam: 0 / 0
Times Dean has blamed Sam for something :0 / 0
Times Sam has blamed Dean for something: 0 / 1
Times Dean has apologized with words to Sam: 0 / 0
Times Sam has apologized with words to Dean : 0 / 1
Times Dean has respected Sam’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 3
Times Sam has respected Dean’s boundaries and/or rules: 0 / 0
Times Dean has made fun of something Sam does or has: 0 / 2
Times Sam has made fun of something Dean does or has: 3 / 10
Times we focus on Dean’s needs: 0 / 0
Times we focus on Sam’s needs: 0 / 1
Arc episodes dedicated to Sam: 0 / 1
Filler episodes dedicated to Sam: 1 / 1
Arc episodes dedicated to Dean: 0 / 0
Filler episodes dedicated to Dean : 0 / 1
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 / 0
Sam’s Dropped Plotlines : 1 / 1