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my-supernatural-rewatch · 4 months ago

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Episode Four: Phantom Traveler

Dean Winchester in the Supernatural episode Phantom Traveler

This is not one of my favorite episodes and this post is going to be shorter than most because there isn't much to delve into with Dean. So to make up for that, enjoy multiple screenshots of Dean from the episode.

Beckoned by someone John and Dean once helped with a poltergeist, Sam and Dean investigate the cause of a plane crash that left only seven survivors and seems to have been caused by something...supernatural.

So for starters, this is the first demon episode (technically if we don't count a demon killing Mary in the pilot).

It's also Sam-centric. I guess we could call the pilot Sam-centric too which would mean at episode four we have two episodes that focus more on Dean and two that focus more on Sam. Fair enough.

We get a couple of nuggets about Dean in this one. The concerned big brother is there when he worries about Sam's lack of sleep and then the big brave brother is there when he tells Sam, who isn't sleeping because he's back hunting and all the shit is getting to him, that he's "Nerver afraid" "Not really."

Sam tries to dispel this by pointing out that Dean is sleeping in the motel with a machete under his pillow but Dean rebukes that by telling him that sleeping with a weapon isn't "fear," it's "precaution."

I believe Dean. I don't think Sam does.

So someone who John and Dean did a job for calls Dean about the crash and when they get there he tells Sam that John was always bragging about him being at college and he could tell that he was proud of Sam.

"He talked about you all the time," the dude says, much to Sam's surprise.

Dean is not surprised. Dean doesn't look bothered by it either but it made me wonder how many rides in the Impala Dean had to endure where John talked about how great Sam was doing while Dean sat there grinding his teeth.

We see Dean leaving a copy place having just created spotless fake IDs indicating he and Sam work for Homeland Security. Sam comments about how very illegal, even for them, that is and I really do wonder what planet Sam lives on sometimes.

Something I'm starting to notice about Sam that I hadn't before. I always fell into that "Oh Sam's actually the more sensitive one when it comes to talking to witnesses and survivors," mindset but, with this rewatch I'm noticing that he puts on a fake sympathetic voice, going all soft and gentle, when he talks to them. It almost sounds condescending. Dean doesn't do that. He just talks to them normally, like they're people not just victims.

Another neat Dean tidbit: He created his own EMF reader out of (using Sam's words) "a busted up Walkman." Sam sees this as something to ridicule. But me? We haven't yet learned that Dean only has a GED and a can-do attitude, but with this we learn that he's fucking smart enough to BUILD HIS OWN EMF READER FROM A FREAKING WALKMAN. So STFU, Sammy.

We get some insight from Dean into demons that stops being true after a few seasons:

"Demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big. And I wish Dad was here."

The "I wish Dad was here" kills me because he so wants his father around and this being a rewatch we know John's just being a dick right now and not actually missing which makes just about everything that happens before they meet up with him again that much worse.

Sam actually agrees about wishing John was there but I suspect it's more because of Jessica than it is wanting his dad around.

Then we get to a part of Dean's character that I can truly relate to. We learn he's afraid, like really afraid, of flying.

And guess what Sam does with that information? If you said reacts compassionately and tries to gently explain to Dean that while he understands getting on the plane is really the only way they can save everyone, you'd be wrong. He pretends to understand and guilts Dean with the old "I can do this myself" bullshit KNOWING Dean isn't going to let his brother get on a plane alone that is destined to crash.

So when Dean sucks it up and gets on the plane, guess what Sam does? Makes fun of him for being afraid.

I do like that we get this gem from dean when Sam expresses his incredulity about him being afraid to fly:

"Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?"

Great way to get that into the show's canon too so fans won't ask the question.

Another cute Dean quirk: He hums Metallica on the plane to calm himself down (Which, again, Sam makes fun of him for.)

They bring in some demon lore that doesn't really hold up for the following fourteen seasons. Apparently they go after people who have addictions or emotional distress. I mean, sometimes they do after season one, but they also just jump into any old meatsuit they can whenever they want.

Sam brings this up to tell Dean it's why he needs to calm the fuck down about flying - he's worried the demon will possess Dean. Still no reason to be giving him constant shit about it Sam. There were better ways.

Also, is this the only episode where they say "Christo" to check for a demon possession? (Also don't get me started on how Christo isn't really the right word there...)

So for the sake of the story, the demon tells Sam he knows what happened to his girlfriend. Sam exorcised the demon while Dean kind of freaks out quietly and then we get pissy/emo Sam because now he has even more reason for revenge.

The flight attendant they help mouths thank you to Dean but he doesn't get a kiss...and he really deserved at least a hug for this one.

Big reveal at the end of the episode is that John reactivated his phone and his outgoing message gives Dean's phone number for anyone looking for help. Which gives the brothers a new hope for finding him - while pissing them off that he isn't contacting them.

But before that happens, the kicker for me is the guy they helped telling them "Your dad's gonna be real proud" They're 26 and 22 and this should not mean as much to them as it does. (I mean, yeah, you want your parents to be proud of you, but these two NEED John to be proud of them because, presumably, he's never actually told them he's proud of them.)

Man, this show sometimes.

Some notes for posterity:

I love that Dean is so hell bent against wearing suit. This is the first episode we see them in suits (and actually see them go GET the suits) and Dean is not happy. "I look like one of the Blues Brothers."

First episode with a demon. Lots of lore that doesn't get brought through the rest of the series.

First time we see them use holy water (it hurts the hosts body in this episode, doesn't seem to do that going forward)

First time they use an exorcism (Sam has to read it)

Sam lets loose with a "get this."

We get our first scene of Dean sleeping (On his stomach in a t-shirt and shorts. I don't think we see Dean in shorts again until season four's After School Special.)

The significant music from this episode comes from Black Sabbath - Paranoid, and Rush - Working Man, and on the plane Dean hums Metallica - Some Kind of Monster.

The brothers pose as agents from Homeland Security but don't give out their names. When Dean calls Amanda the flight attendant to trick her into not getting on the plane, he tells her he's Dr. James Hettfield from St. Francis Memorial Hospital.

This hunt takes place pretty much in the sky but also they're on the East Coast...a place they don't seem to travel to very often.

Dean wears John’s jacket in this episode.

This one is rife with movie references. The already mentioned nod to The Blues Brothers, there is a Poltergeist reference (when they are talking about poltergeists, off screen someone says "I loved that movie," Dean specifically references The Exorcist, and for good measure, he also references The X-Files with a "...we just don't have time for the whole 'the truth is out there' speech right now.")