#jess' full spn rewatch

[thepagemistress]

SPN Rewatch 1x02 - Wendigo

I think this episode does a great job of immediately getting to the core of Sam and Dean as characters and their key differences which essentially becomes the driving force of the whole season.

We have Dean who is clearly devoted to the hunting life, not necessarily because he loves it, but because he considers it important work. He’s making the world better, saving lives. What does he have without it?

Meanwhile we’ve got Sam who has been craving normality and an escape and now he’s been dragged back into it all. But where he clearly used to be a reluctant participant, now he’s all gung-ho about the pursuit of John. But not so much about the hunt. He’s focused on Jess to the point of obsession and Dean’s seen this all before in John. When Sam gets confrontational, Dean doesn’t immediately call him on it because he knows it’s not worth the fight, not until he starts getting all up in someone else’s face. Luckily, Dean still has sway enough with his brother to talk him around into helping with the hunt because it’s the right thing to do but it very much highlights a key conflict between.

(I also think it’s interesting how in the STaN podcast, Jared makes a point that it took him almost all season to get an idea of who Sam was and I think that shows because he is kind of erratically written. Whereas I think Jensen had Dean down immediately and it feels more like an evolution.)

The plot itself is pretty standard. Your basic monster of the week, no problems with that. Wendigos are cool monsters, largely because of how indestructible they are. And the family in peril were engaging and I wanted them to get their happy ending.

Favourite part: The heart to heart by the campfire where Dean talks Sam down from his rage spiral. Also this shot:

Least favourite part: “It’s probably the most honest I’ve been with a woman. Ever.” Like, bruh. I mean, we know this isn’t even true but again, at the time, they were clearly trying to make Dean into something he just wasn’t destined to be. Thank god.

Quote of the episode: “Saving people, hunting things. The family business.”

What’s compelling me to keep watching: Nothing really plot related but interested to see more of the character development.

Random things I yelled to myself during the rewatch: “It’s a tiny Han Solo!” “You don’t do shorts? Liar” “Sam, the reason your dad doesn’t call is because he’s an asshole” “It’s dark and I can still see everything that’s happening. Those were the days” “Dean gets a lil smooch on the cheek and Sam gets a ‘thanks’ lol”

Rating: 7/10 – If it had been later in the season, probably more forgettable but lots of good character stuff to chew on.

And the award goes to…🏆: The Jensen Ackles brainrot already in full effect as he drops his voice to emulate Jeffrey Dean Morgan/John Winchester because that’s what Dean would do. Honey, you stood no chance.

[girlwithonegoal]

rewatching spn and i forgot how amazing the pilot is. setting up john as the father god-like figure who can never be found no matter how badly you want to see him...the jess/mary/woman in white parallels...the past comes back to haunt you and you will always look in the face of the very thing you are running away from...the reunion between dean and sam being as full of anger and grief as it is full of love..."you can't kill me i'm not unfaithful" "you will be" (they were insane for this btw)...dean using his 0.2 seconds of time before being arrested to warn sam...the last shot with the trunk closing. it's been said but spn pilot is truly theeee episode of all time.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s1e4 phantom traveler (w. richard hatem)

(this is a rewatch, so spoilers abound)

another early reaction report to watching spn lol

what's so funny to me too is that like. this show is very low on skin overall. seeing half naked leg is downright scandalous on the scale of what we ever see of them through 15 years. they keep very thoroughly covered almost all the time! meanwhile the show i'd fixated on before this, teen wolf, those boys were shirtless constantly (except stiles. never stiles)

ps i've had it on my sort of floating to-do list to, at some point, paint that ever so shocking full length view with the 2/3 naked leg

s1e4 paul jarrett as george phelps / the fall of the house of usher s1e7 as doctor donaldson

airport man, paul jarrett, has been in a lot of stuff i've seen. (supposedly?) twilight eclipse (aka the one with the very bad bella wig), the xfiles, the killing, the fall of the house of usher most recently... god i just wasted a solid 30 minutes trying to find documentation of any/all that

demon as particles that went into the eyes instead of smoke in the mouth, wild early days

s1e4 as jaime ray newman as amanda / the magicians s3e10 as irene mcallister

too many people :S she's also been in a lot of bigger stuff but the recurring part on magicians hey-o

i'll spare them a screenshot of the bad visual effects on the airplane

picked spanish captions first accidentally, that's sweet. cariño for good morning, sunshine (an endearment that's like honey/sweetheart)

DEAN Did you get any sleep last night? SAM Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours. DEAN Liar. 'Cause I was up at three, and you were watching a George Foreman infomercial. SAM Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV. DEAN When was the last time you got a good night's sleep? SAM I don't know, a little while, I guess. It's not a big deal. DEAN Yeah, it is. SAM Look, I appreciate your concern— DEAN Oh, I'm not concerned about you. It's your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp.

not concerned, my ass :p but an additional concern that he can't do the job (or even drive safely or be a functioning human) with no sleep

DEAN Seriously, are you still having nightmares about Jess? SAM Yeah. But it's not just her. It's everything. I just forgot, you know? This job. Man, it gets to you. DEAN You can't let it. You can't bring it home like that. SAM So, what? All this it...never keeps you up at night? Never? You're never afraid? DEAN No, not really. SAM reaches under DEAN'S pillow to pull out a large hunting knife and holds it up as evidence. DEAN That's not fear. That is precaution. SAM All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue.

LOL, good call, sam. not buying he never gets scared either. savoring the brotherly chat in the beautiful (albeit dark) lighting

JERRY Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time. SAM He did?

shitty way of showing it there, john. tell him you walk out and stay gone, and no contact since. but he's proud! grinds my gears :p dean lookin over to sam like, see??? fucking JOHN. ugh! lol

JERRY Well, we're missing the old man, but we get Sam. Even trade, huh? SAM No, not by a long shot.

oh, sam.

brian markinson (as jerry panowski here talking to salmon dean) has been in a lot my stuff and in fact i did a hey i know you when he was amelia's dad in the fuzzy brightly lit flashbacks in 8x08

LOL copy jack making fake IDs

SAM Homeland Security? That's pretty illegal, even for us. DEAN Yeah, well, it's something new. You know? People haven't seen it a thousand times.

makes a good point. i didn't realize it was a thing in 2005, but apparently it started in 2002 (makes sense that they made it happen quickly, like every shitty thing that got put into place after 9/11). guh

s1e4 birkett turton as max jaffe / the magicians s3e7 as vince

another person that's been in one of my shows..... almost turned alice into a vampire? lolol totally forgot about that. i should rewatch s3 again, been a while

the coloring and lighting just really did such lovely things for jackles, an already exceedingly lovely looking human

widow of plane guy was in a very small part in the killing but i am not looking this up. i'm t i r e d

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.

LOL get him, sam! also i was gonna blame the music on jay but it was actually just a bad sub by netflix yet again, was supposed to be black sabbath paranoid

so it's one thing to fake the paper/picture/card part of the fake id, but what about the badge shields??

also kind of amused that this is presented like it's the first time they're wearing the fed suits, in that they had to buy them. dean really didn't need one before with john? rolling up in his oversized jackets, flannel, ripped jeans and boots pretending to be any manner of official?? i can see sammy needing a suit, since all his clothes got torched (and might have had dress wear for say, law school interview, but maybe not a suit.) yet again thinking too hard about this :p not even halfway through the episode damnit

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. SAM Yeah, I can see that.

ok so my 2nd-4th screenshots while watching this show? this interaction LOL. poor dean, sam not impressed 😔

stir-of-echoes on lj transcribed jared and jensen's commentary for this episode:

JP: (Bursts into laughter at Dean’s face when Sam informs him that he can see that they EMF meter is home made) JP: That is always one of my favourite moments. I seem to remember laughing over my coverage… JA: A little Dean comedy thrown in there…

so i guess this is part of my impression that they were pretty inexperienced with demons at this point. they didn't know the residue on the emergency exit of the wreckage was sulfur until they had the dude look at it under a microscope

the effects in this episode are definitely showing their age/budget. the airplanes and the demon particles woof

the stuff on the wall a la john, so impractical in a hotel/motel/holiday inn (i think i've made this reference before lol.) also those teeny tiny beds so close to each other

SAM Well, that's not exactly true. You see according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made. One causes earthquakes, another causes disease. DEAN And this one causes plane crashes? All right, so, what? We have a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count?

feel i might give myself a headache if i think about this too much. so like. are we saying that a different culture's demon is doing this? but (will be) affected by christo/exorcism? or that all of those folklore creatures in different cultures were christian-hell-demons (surely not that one)? or that maybe if their demons were up to these shenanigans so would christian-hell-demons? ugh. nothing makes sense to me when i try to go outside the christian sphere for more than 2 seconds in this universe

DEAN It's biblical numerology. You know Noah's ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death.

okie doke

(perpetual irritation and frustration at how sometimes captions are greatly condensed and remove whole sentences of dialogue)

we all know the talking him through his panic on the plane but this conversation too where both their voices are going progressively higher is pretty cute as well. sam walking the line of a) got a job to do or a bunch of people are gonna die b) desire to mercilessly tease over the newfound weakness, as is the sibling prerogative

also, they are very smushed together in those airplane seats. also ALSO, jackles seems to have been getting different makeup than padalecki because he's got poppin highlights all over his face like it's pretty glossy looking regularly, where sam's cheeks are regularly matte in the same lighting. wonder what that's about. wonder if it's because jared sweats so much as he's having to wipe down so much he loses the sheen. maybe jackles was just more naturally oily and they went with it. anyway, his skin looks gorgeous in these early days

SAM Now, I found an exorcism in here that I think is gonna work. The Rituale Romanum.

more reinforcement that dealing with demons is a new thing for them. now i can't even remember why i'm questioning this. maybe it's because of how pre-series gets talked about later in the show or something. ugh. brain, get it together

DEAN Maybe the thing's just not on the plane. SAM You believe that? DEAN Well, I will if you will.

LOL sam's face. it's fun having dean be a mess without it going over the top broad humor which mr ackles tends toward

also funny that holy water in this first incarnation makes the demon's clothes burn like acid too. wonder if that was a one-off, definitely adds a lot of extra work to something they use on the regular later on

man, kripke apparently talked a lot of shit about the effects in 1x02 (and later took it back saying it wasn't so bad upon rewatch a decade later) but the effects involving the exterior "shots" of the airplane in this are 10x worse than anything in wendigo

DEAN You okay? SAM Dean, it knew about Jessica. DEAN Sam, these things, they, they read minds. They lie. All right? That's all it was.

so i guess my interpretation of that is with christian-hell-demon up to similar shenanigans as the japanese folkloric disaster causing demons which was only mentioned to add Flavor

so we got a sign of life from john via amelia's dad, by way of reconnected phone with new voicemail recording to call dean's current number

so, here's my guess as to why sam's lookin like this. dad is definitely still alive as of recently so there's that relief but he's also completely ghosted them. transcription says that sam "fumes" and gets in the car. but we got the sad string musical score and he's definitely on the verge of tears, jaw clenching/swallowing. i'm voting sad and frustrated and a skosh angry

and again from the commentary:

JP: (Jared talking about the scene where Dean and Sam are resting against the Impala and Dean is calling John’s cell phone) Now I remember this was a big milestone for the series at the beginning because this was the first time that we’d heard not only confirmation of the fact that our father was still around… JA: Right… JP: But that he had made communication with someone, so this was a big important scene as far as the series itself goes. JP: (Talking about the look of sadness on Sam’s face when they hear John’s voice on the phone message) And that’s why I have that look on my face… (Both laugh loudly) JA: (Talking about the look on Dean’s face in the same scene) Oh, and there’s the jaw-clench, was that a jaw-clench? JP: You can’t teach that Jensen, I remember getting this shot and we were sitting outside the airport and erm…

the commentary is a fun read and a lot faster than rewatching the episode to listen to it :) so thank you to stir-of-echoes for posting that in 2006 and miraculously still being around for me to read it 18 years later

[scftblush]

along with my spn rewatch i’ve also been rewatching grey’s anatomy (i’m stopping as soon as i get to the end of s14 obviously) and also full house (i’m having a hard time don’t ask) and i think that mark sloan and alex karev along with uncle jesse are dean winchester variants and i will not be elaborating

[caslesbo]

5x04 / 13x01 / 15x19

[fallenandthefaithless]

The Winchesters 1x01 - Pilot

So now that a few days have passed and I’ve had some time to think about the episode here are my notes on The Winchesters premiere episode.

PLOT

The plot brings back the s1 framing of searching for a missing father, in this case two missing fathers - Henry and Samuel. Mary and John are both searching for their dads though in different. John is looking for answers while Mary is looking for her dad out of worry. These motives kind of mirror Sam and Dean in S1 - Sam searching for John because he wants answers about Jess’s death and Dean wants to look for John out of concern.

The plot also brings in Ada and I was really happy that she was brought in right away. I guess she’s going to kind of be like Bobby and I’m always surprised when I rewatch SPN at how long it really takes for Bobby to become a regular face so I’m really glad that they brought Ada in at the very beginning. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get much of Ada but I’m really interested to see where they take her character. So far we’ve had her help both Samuel and Henry with research - Samuel and his research on the demon box and Henry and his research on wraiths. I wonder if there’s something there about the wraiths... I might have to think on that more.

The Vietnam flashbacks have already been related back to Purgatory here and so has the symbolism of the silver in John’s arm - a parallel to both Benny (being in John/Dean’s arm) and the hallucinations of Murphy/Cas. I also think it’s really interesting that it was a religious cross and that John used it as a weapon. Of course there’s the immediate link to Cas because of the cross but the weapon aspect reminded me of how Heaven isn’t soft and kind but the angels are weapons and are “heartless”. 

CHARACTERS

Onto our new scooby gang! Heads up, there’s a strong focus on John in these notes though I briefly touch on all four of our main characters. 

I really like that there’s clearly drama going on between the hunter trio. It really highlights that John has wandered into an established dynamic no matter the arguments they might currently be having. We aren’t told just yet how Mary met Carlos but I do like that it’s been left unsaid just yet. We are told that Lata met Mary through Samuel but we still haven’t been told the full story. We’ve also been told that Carlos has lost his family but I wonder where Lata’s family is. She says when John meets her that her friends call her Lata, or they would if she had friends. Why is she so alone? She seems to have known Maggie which makes me think there’s more to that story than we’ve heard.

Also, speaking of Maggie, she and Mary seemed to have been very close - like sisters. I wonder if Maggie’s father was the unknown uncle who organised Mary’s headstone.

John is being shown to be really friendly and seems to connect with people which is ironic considering in s1 of SPN he had had a falling out with pretty much everyone. And yes, John is being very friendly but I couldn’t help but notice that it seems a bit surface level. In keeping with the parallels with John/Sam and Mary/Dean, John comes across as the “normal” one who can easily bond with people while Mary is the mean one. And yet it’s to Mary that Carlos and Lata have the deeper connection. Yes, they’ve known her for longer but I can’t help but keep coming back to this. I wrote on an earlier post here that John fought alone at the end of the episode whereas Mary, Lata and Carlos worked as a team. Despite Mary wanting to push the others away she still works so well with them.

On this topic, something that stood out in my mind are the coffee scenes. In the first John brings Mary a coffee and jokes with her and she finally tells him her name. This is early on and before John meets the others and it’s framed as him connecting with Mary. Very sweet (unlike her coffee). But in comparison Mary brings the whole team coffee at the end of the episode. She has a moment with John but then also has a moment of connection with both Lata and Carlos. I just find it interesting that John’s moment is so isolated whereas Mary’s is more about bringing the team together as a unit. And yes, I know John has moments with both Carlos and Lata but I couldn’t let that thought go.

Speaking of his moments with Carlos and Lata, he has two with each of them. With Lata the first is when they first met and it’s a little flirty and it’s fun and sweet. With Carlos it’s when he gets John to exorcise the demon and jokes about getting him some new clothes. Both of these are fun and I think offer John a very lighthearted view of these people and their place in the world. Yes it’s dark but look at their bond and he’s so excited by his successful kill at the end of the episode!His second moment with both of are sadder and hint at the reality of their world. Lata is terrified before the hunt and Carlos says he lost his family and he hints at the horror about the hunters life by mentioning how awful the end will be for them.

There’s something I also wanted to note about Mary and her relationships, particularly with Carlos and Latika. Over the course of the episode we see Mary push both of them away, she won’t talk to them, she didn’t want to call Carlos etc. The last fight scene is really important with them. To start with they’re all separated - Mary is with John, Carlos left to go to the van without telling Lata and Lata doesn’t know what to do - but they all come back together and work to save Ada’s life. She reaches out to them both verbally during the coffee scene as I mentioned above which brings them back. I feel as though Mary realising that she cannot do this alone is going to be important to her story.

I cannot wait to see what happens in 1x02 and how these characters dynamics develop. I really want to see how Millie fits into the story. I want to see just how much she really knows. I can’t wait to see more of Ada’s character. And I really hope we see Deanna at some point.

[you-cant-spell-subtext-without]

Is jess mason anti SPN or pro w**cest or someting? Is that why I am seeing so much hate about her???

hi! I dont have specific receipts or tbh a full set of spoons to get into every detail, but generally there's been a pretty negative history in fandom about her. my PRIMARY concern when speaking with other fans has been past treatment of fans directly; some choice statements regarding certain opinions and theories (network ones in particular) post-show ending; and a book that's been published about the show that has some pretty large inaccuracies (like wrong names or wrong information re: a character appearing in future episodes, etc).

again, I'm not letting her involvement deter my excitement about this podcast because I want to support Rob and Rich and I personally love the show and WANT content (I am also still puzzled on how one 'scripts' a rewatch podcast...). but I am wary, and hope that some of this is eventually addressed and dealt with on the other side of things (especially as it has somewhat tarnished a project that many of us were very 100% on board and excited for).

[theangiediary]

1x02 rewatch let's goooo

- Jess's grave (in Sam's dream) has a crucifix and virgin Mary candle, indicating she or her family were catholic.

- "I should have told you the truth" Sammy...

- Dean has never offered to have Sam drive? Lmao. HC that Sam literally does not possess a valid license.

- "Dad will have answers he'll know what to do" vs Sam immediately questioning the coordinates.

- Dean looks so itty bitty next to Sam in the ranger station.

- he looks so amused/proud of Sam taking on the "shoot first ask questions later" attitude 😭

- people focus on Dean calling Hailey "sweetheart" as evidence that he/spn is sexist but like? the whole first introduction he's relating to her as a protective older sibling.

- "it's probably something corporeal" "corporeal? excuse me, professor" "shut up" brother dialogue my beloved <3

- "if it's corporeal we can kill it" the predecessor to "if it bleeds you can kill it".

- lmaoooo biker boots, jean, Impala on the dirt road I am obsessed with how the show does point out how ridiculous this is. Ik some people are like "they shouldn't have gotten away with being fbi agents looking like that" but like they really didn't! A lot of side characters were sceptical in s1.

- "what kind of furry critters do you hunt?" + Turning Roy's response of buck/bear to bambi/yogi... Dean has such an interesting way of speaking. It's somewhat infantalising and just full of media references.

- "probably the most honest I've been with a woman.. ever" we learn later that this isn't true, so like. When I say you can't take Dean at his word...

- again, the provisions comment. It's not misogyny, it's charming. There is a difference.

- Dean can track? but doesn't even bring water? I'm so confused by their training.

- Sam's bde ♥️🥰❤️

- Dean just watching Sam go at Roy right until he was going to reveal the supernatural. He is one of us (mean!sam girlie). Also very funny that the next scene is dean putting down symbols for protection.

- "You want to tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours?" Dean just really likes calling Sam a freak, huh? Lol. Also, the idea that Dean never talks about feelings... like he's trying. He doesn't talk about his, sure maybe, but if Sammy is distressed he does need to fix it.

- someone said recently that Sam has always been comfortable with "we can't save everyone" philosophy, and that is so true! Even here, he's willing to get Haley and others to safety, but that's it. He doesn't care about being nice about it, nor about saving Tommy.

- "Saving people hunting things" obviously iconic. But also, it's an interesting example of Dean extrapolating John's wishes on very little info, and Sam demanding answers/specifics ("why doesn't he just tell us what he wants?").

- Dean talking about "you can't be angry you have to be patient, help others because we ourselves are doomed, have fun with the killing" 🥴🫠

- rosary in the journal...

- observation: Sam takes the more emotional victims (traumatised survivor) and Dean takes the "tough" ones (breaking news about supernatural to family member, authority figures)

- okay, valid criticism of spn? absolute bastardisation of religions/cultures. A lot of supernatural or fantasy media does this, and I'm not sociologically adept enough to talk about it, but like. Acknowledging.

- the little brothers saving their big siblings 🥺

- we talk a lot of their faces during the flare gun moment, but I highly recommend relistening to it... Sam's smug "those will work" is 😳

- "you thinking what I'm thing?" "I think so" the way they know each other.... for hunting. as people? It takes a couple seasons. But aliases, strategy, etc they are in sync.

- "you want some white meat bitch?!" god I miss the naughties, you just can't say that shit anymore

- all three of them huddled behind Sam. He big.

- Sam standing behind the quiet youngest delivering the "grizzly" story to the cops after.. helping him lie...

- brainworms at "must you cheapen the moment?" bc yeah Dean's cocky and a flirt etc but the way he does it in a look, the way he's sitting during rather than crowding her, the little shocked face he makes when she does kiss his cheek 🥹 these are important details!! This is the difference between charm and grossness!

- much talk about the "I'm driving" look (as it should be) but are you aware it lasts a full 5 seconds........

[darringtonshorthalt]

1.1 Pilot

like a complete psycho, I'm rewatching spn (yes, again) and this time I'm taking notes.

I'm keeping track of a variety of things, most a Dean-related, and no, I will not leave a comprehensive list anywhere because it's probably going to grow every couple of episodes.

Full disclosure, I'm a dean-girl, a heller, and I have not enough free time on my hands, so these may be sporadic as hell, but I'll try to post one a day until I get to the end. I will not be rewatching Carry On.

Here goes

Queer/Fem-coded Dean Winchester: Dean is assigned as the caretaker of Sam from the words “take your brother and go outside”. This sets the stage for the season and the series as a whole, as it’s a role that never goes away. This role is typically (but not always) applied to female characters.

Queer/Fem-coded Dean Winchester: Dean probably enjoyed being bent over the hood of the car by the cop. Interpret this how you will.

Performative Masculinity (sorta): “I love the smurfs” of course this is a comment on Jess’ boobs; their whole conversation here is a little skeevy, what with her being Sam’s gf, and Dean just being kind of gross. However, in defense of the character (but not the writing), this is in fact, a performance; Dean is a flirt, especially this early in the game, and it’s fairly unlikely that he’s trying to go after his brother’s girlfriend. He’s just doing what’s expected: flirt with girls, comment on their boobs.

John Winchester is a piss-ass hunter (and Dean just actually cares about saving people): here is a snippet from the brother's conversation: Sam: “But we still haven’t found the damn thing. So we kill everything we can find.” Dean: “Save a lot of people doing it, too”

Follow up on a point I’ve made before I think, but John caught wind of this case a MONTH ago, a went to investigate 3 weeks ago. John has been working on this case/missing for three weeks. We don’t know when he stopped communicating with Dean, but it’s pretty likely that Dean waited over a week, tried to figure something out on his own, before contacting Sam. John did do a lot of research during that time, and basically had the case solved before he ‘disappeared’. He solved it, but didn’t actually stop the Woman In White. She killed someone else after he left. That death is fully on him.

Fridged:

Mary, killed immediately after introduction as the driving force behind John Winchester’s vendetta (and, by extension, Sam and Dean’s)

Jess, killed at the end of the episodes to push Sam back into hunting

There are three noteworthy female characters introduced in this episode. None of them survive to the end of the ep.

Noteworthy parallels (Destiel): Dean pulls Sam away from Jess as she burns in much the same way Sam pulls Dean away from Cas rushing into the fight Lucifer in All Along The Watchtower (12x13)

Other stuff: Dean says “I haven’t asked you for anything in two years” has me really wondering what happened two years ago. Sam is 22, left for college (presumably) four years ago. As far as we know, John and Sam haven’t talked in that time. What happened two years ago?

Final thoughts: Its fairly clear here that the target audience for the series was men; Jess is scantily clad in most (if not all) of her scenes and the overall ‘sexiness’ of Constance Welch. Its truly baffling that they thought a series could successfully draw in a massive male audience when the only recurring characters are male.

Also, I dislike Sam a lot here. More than I used it. Is it because I was super annoyed with his character by the end of Carry On? Maybe. Am I a Dean-girl through and through? Absolutely, and I always have been, so there is a definite bias. But mostly Sam just seems really winey here, and while it’s pretty clear that he’s supposed to be the focal character, it doesn’t feel like he is.

[watchingspnagain]

Rewatching Wendigo

Welcome to “Dean Doesn’t Wear Shorts Except When He Wears Shorts: A Supernatural Rewatch Blog” with Lor and Mace!

Up today, s1e2: Wendigo.

Something is in the woods. Sam wants to Find Dad and Get Revenge. Dean wants to Help People. The boys meet a set of siblings who have to take care of one another because their parents are dead (oh, look: an parallel to the Winchesters). They hike out into the backwoods to help two of the siblings rescue the third with everything you could possibly want for such an endeavor: peanut M&Ms and a cocky white dude who will get in the way. Once Sam figures out they’re hunting a wendigo, it’s a simple matter of getting separated, hurt, and terrorized (with a side of flare guns) to take care of the pesky monster. Also: everyone in this episode is fine.

Below is a log of our real-time reactions as we watched. Remember that there may be spoilers for any part of SPN’s 15-season run here. Note also that the nature of our conversation is adult and thus it may contain adult language and themes.

Lor:

I had two random thoughts about the first ep (while Netflix is deciding to work). 1) ironically (sort of?), since the show starts out at Sam's story and from his pov, so to speak, he doesn't have An Entrance. I was thinking about who in SPN gets one. Cas, of course, has an amazing one. So does Death. Dean gets the reveal that he's not a burglar and the "Easy Tiger." Sam sticks his head around a door. and 2) I've never really loved the way Dean reacts to Jess when he meets her (and I still don't), but I was thinking, even then, even when it's kind of smack head upside-y, when he says "Hey, I like the Smurfs," he's trying to be what (he thinks) the other person wants. It's not "I'm so cool," it's "I can be what you like"

Mace:

Hm. I agree with all of that but the smurfs thing. He's being a turd there, and honestly it's just wobbly pilot writing, I'm certain. Dean wasn't solidly Dean yet; even late-season-1 Dean wouldn't say that like that anymore, I think.

Lor:

Oh, full agree he's a turd. and if it's bad writing, I find it interesting that it's bad in a way that will eventually morph into something recognizable as him.

Mace:

yeah

[and we begin:]

Lor:

NEVER go camping

never

Mace:

agreed

Lor:

if you DO go camping, never leave the tent after dark. you HOLD IT

Mace:

DUDE go farther away from the tent! EW

Lor:

LOLOLOLOL

snork the dude is reading Joseph Campbell

Mace:

HAHAHA ick

omg they hear a scream and the one lazy dudebro just lowkey calls out "Brad." HELPFUL.

Lor:

lol

Mace:

oh right, this is pre-full-suit days. adorable that they wear chinos and blazers for a season

BABIES

Lor:

YES

and so ACCURATE for college boy Sammy

Mace:

YEP

Lor:

Omg i JUMPED. i forgot about the hand and it was a dream

Mace:

snork!

Lor:

He's FINE

Mace:

HE. IS. FINE.

sings WIIIIINCHESTER FIIIIINE

Lor:

lolololol

they are both fine. everyone in that car is perfectly adjusted and fine

Mace:

YEP

Lor:

omg Dean

focus, honey

Mace:

"BULL"

I like this guy already

Lor:

lolol

the adorable youngness is KILLING ME 

Mace:

YEP

how many times do they flipflop which one is rash and which wants to be prepared?

Lor:

HA

Mace:

"nice car" aaaand Dean is gone

Lor:

YEP

Mace:

aw, Sammy's got this thinking face on

adorable

Lor:

YES

aw, Sam's little folder

Mace:

YES

they're already establishing their different questioning tactics here - Sammy is the gentle understanding one, Dean is the charming goof

Lor:

YES

Mace:

(although he's not to goofy here, of course)

but he's clearly more to the point than Sammy

Lor:

and the way they switch off to let the tactic that will work better take the fore

Mace:

YES

Lor:

"Excuse me, professor"

Mace:

"excuse me professor"

Lor:

LOL

Mace:

Dean deflecting

Lor:

but then he uses the word too pets him

oh lord early Snark Brothers

Mace:

HA

HC: that's John's fault - he would tease either one of them for using 'fancy words' until Dean stopped and Sammy used his vocabulary as a way to rebel

Lor:

ooo, yes, nice

Mace:

"I don't do shorts" YES YOU DO, DEAN WINCHESTER

Lor:

"sweatheart, I don't do shorts"

YAAAAS

Mace:

(but don't call her sweetheart, Dean, gah)

Lor:

(yeeeeeah)

Mace:

(more early wobbly writing for him)

Lor:

(yeah. that or they wanted him to be that way at first and then changed their minds? or realized Jensen could do a lot more with it than that)

that was an... interesting reaction to getting hauled around by him, Dean

Mace:

it seems that the writing for Sam is more steady early on, maybe? And does that mean Jensen had more of a hand in shaping Dean? Did he resist certain attitudes in the character writing early?

Lor:

ooo, maybe

and THAT is a lie, Dean

omg the M&Ms

Mace:

hm. more wobbly stuff, I think

it's hard to analyze Dean in particular this early, it seems

Lor:

yeah, maybe. it won't be long before we find out he was once VERY honest with a woman. I mean, I have no idea what kind of timeline shows like this get written on, so

Mace:

we need to let go and let Jack for now, I think, instead of trying to align this Early Dean to what he becomes

Lor:

yeah. interesting

Mace:

omg Sam shushing the woman and then Dean shouting for Sam HAHAHA

Lor:

LOL

it's always interesting to me in this episode that they DONT prepare better for hiking out into the woods. like, the fact they know they're looking for something supernatural doesn't make this not the deep woods? the contrast is really interesting, even just visually

Mace:

hm, good point

Smarty Sammy (tm) figures it out

Lor:

YES

Mace:

he gets a cookie

Lor:

yes. or some m&ms in the meantime

SAMMEH

"nobody likes a skeptic, Roy"

Mace:

"nobody likes a skeptic, Roy" Yeah, Roy - you SHUSH

HAHAHA

Lor:

"No, you're not fine"

Oh, big brother Dean

Mace:

Ope, Big Brother Dean

OMG

Lor:

MACE

Mace:

LOR

Lor:

lolololol

Hunting People, Saving Things!

Mace:

'SAVING PEOPLE HUNTING THINGS"

WOOT

Lor:

snork

that bit with Dean and the catch phrase I bet is the single most repeated scene in the Then sections

Mace:

Ha! You could be right

oh, keeping anger pent up is unhealthy, DEAN WINCHESTER?!

Lor:

oh, Dean, you Hufflepuffle, you

Mace:

ugh, this mimicry business is CREEPY

YEP

Lor:

SHUT UP, ROY

Mace:

yeah shut it, ROY

Lor:

dude, what an IDIOT

Mace:

yep

(Omg I only hear Hermione's voice with that phrase)

Lor:

(but of course)

ooo, neat shot of Sam against the giant tree stump

Mace:

yeah

Lor:

TELL US THE STORY, BOYS

Mace:

snork!

Lor:

look, I am pulling up a log and settling in. exposit all you like, Winchesters

Mace:

chin in hands

Lor:

whatcha doin? oh, nothing just wandering through the woods with my molotov cocktail AT THE READY

Mace:

snork!

Okay, I love this show, but we're two for two with blood dripping on someone from above, find a new gross trope, boys

Lor:

HA!

it IS really fucking creepy though. that's one of those images (from the pilot, not here) that came back to me in the night when I first watched the show

Mace:

Jesus, Sam's smile.

Lor:

YES

Mace:

yep

"keep out no admittance" EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS

Lor:

haaaaaaahahahahahaha

oh Dean.

Mace:

Dean's grunts - ooof

okay enough with the jump scares pls

Lor:

lol

omg the BOTH of them with the grins

Mace:

YES

WINK

Lor:

THAT WINK

Mace:

ded

Lor:

"I taste gooood"

Mace:

snork

Lor:

omg I luff him

Mace:

self-objectification dressed up as self-sacrifice Oh Dean Winchester you are a complicated boy

Lor:

he really REALLY is

I love how consistently the people the boys are rescuing become loyal to them so fast

probably some trauma response in there, but it's cool

Mace:

I hadn't thought about it before but this is really late in the episode to just now reveal the monster. pretty cool

Lor:

yeah

Mace:

yep, well, I mean, LOOKIT them. and their CHARM. Give me five minutes with them and I'd follow 'em anywhere

Lor:

CORRECT

omg his stupid grin

Mace:

aw, Sammy supporting the kiddo as he lies to the Fuzz

Lor:

YES

"must you cheapen the moment?" "yeeeah"

god the look when she kisses him gently

Mace:

yeah

Lor:

*wraps him up softly in wool*

"man, I hate camping"

Mace:

"man, I hate camping" SAME, Dean

Lor:

YES

THE TOSS

Mace:

YES

Lor:

mmm, Baby roaring down the road

Mace:

boy, they really don't give any screen time to the absolute break Sam makes with his college/normal life.

Lor:

NOPE

he's just outie

I do wonder, like, is his email just STUFFED with friends going "where ARE you, man?"

Mace:

a little flaming fridge girl is all it takes, apparently, for the Winchester men to get motivated

Lor:

SNORK

Mace:

right?

Mace:

I mean, you wouldn't want a perfectly good fridging to go to waste

Mace:

well sure

(or they were all Jess's friends because, um, OUTSIDER)

Lor:

ooooo, yes

[after the episode ended:]

Mace:

okay, so Winchester Fine is in full swing already in episode 2. Interesting.

Lor:

YES

and we got not just the emotionally "i'm fine" = back off, we ain't talking about this but also the physically I'm fine even though it is PAINFULLY obvious I am very NOT fine

Mace:

Should we define? It seems to me that Winchester Fine = saying you're fine even though very clearly and obviously you are not and everyone knows you're not but you insist that You. Are. Fine. because it's the Manly Hero Thing to Do.

Lor:

YEP

(though interestingly, I don't think either of those instances actually used "fine" in this episode, which is DEFINITELY their word of choice later)

Mace:

Oh, excellent point that it can be used for mental, emotional, or physical (not)fineness, and that there is the "back off we're never talking about this" element

Lor:

but yeah, most of the time the expectation is that the person you are talking to KNOWS you're not fine. which is one of the reasons it's so awesome waaaaaaay down the line when some people (like Cas) just refuse to play the game and are like "uh, you're not though?"

Mace:

YEP

I also blame John for this. You KNOW he did this all the time with those boys. So it has become the Thing One Does because admission of any kind is weakness

Lor:

YES

Mace:

cue Buffy in her cheerleader outfit singing Macho, Macho Maaaaaan

Lor:

LOLOLOLOL

and then there's ramping up of the criteria, like you can only admit you're actually not fine if, like, you've been torturing people in hell for ten years or some shit. heaven forbid you have, like, a normal not fine feeling about, like, normal human things

Mace:

well, and even then you only admit it because your brother won't stop pestering you about it

Lor:

"Look, I found your mom flaming on the ceiling, so don't come crying to me about LITERALLY ANYTHING EVER."

Mace:

and there's nearly as much shame in admitting it as there is in the actual thing you're admitting

Lor:

YES

nothing is ever bad enough to admit not feeling okay about

Mace:

YEP

sigh where's a social-cue-clueless angel to stare you into soul-sharing when you need one?

Lor:

HA!

they have to make it around the board a few times before they can pass hell and collect one helpful angel

so, this episode holds with my early impression that the ghost/spirit ones freak me out a lot more/are more tense than the monster ones

Mace:

oh yes absolutely agreed. ghosts will always be the scariest. This one had some jumpscares that suckerpunch you, but overall it's not that scary

Lor:

yeah

Mace:

snork

Lor:

I wonder sometimes if there's an element of removal (at least for me) about some of the monster ones. scary cannibal monster that hunts people in the deep woods? DONT GO IN THE DEEP WOODS THEN. Problem solved.

Ghosts just show up in paintings you bought innocently bc you thought they were cool. Not fair, really

Mace:

Interesting. Yeah. But I also never plan on going into a haunted house, so…

Lor:

but you MIGHT NOT KNOW

that's how they getcha

Mace:

Oh come ON that painting is CLEARLY HAUNTED or at best ugly and creepy as heckfire

Lor:

lolol

well sure, once its EYES START MOVING

Mace:

oh, my eyes are moving, Lor

(I'm rolling them, in case that wasn't clear)

Lor:

lolololol

I'm glad to see you are volunteering to vet any and all paintings I may at any point buy to make sure they aren't haunted

Mace:

I’m just saying that the painting in the show that ends up being haunted is obviously haunted and the people who buy it are dumbdumbs for not seeing it.

I am not signing up to have a sleepover with your questionable art acquisitions.

Lor:

SNORK

[thepagemistress]

SPN Rewatch 1x01 - Pilot

OK, here we go! I don’t know why anyone would be interested in what I have to say, I’m not a meta person I just like talking. I guess this is just a nice to look back on, if nothing else.

Considering how many times I’ve attempted a rewatch, only to abandon it at some point, this has to be one of my most watched Supernatural episodes. As someone who didn’t get into the show until season 8, I didn’t need the Pilot to draw me in because I was already invested. But looking at it as objectively as I can, I think this is a solid opener. If I’d stumbled across this on TV, I’d have tuned in for the next episode, for sure.

The concept is compelling, the atmosphere is dark and spooky in that specifically mid-2000s way, the characters already have a lot going for them that you know will be interesting to explore. They’ve already fridged two women which is a pretty impressive feat for the first episode of a show. Start as you mean to go on, I suppose…

I always like the ghost/spirit episodes. There’s something so vintage about it. Maybe because I watched a lot of Scooby Doo when I was a kid (not that those were ever actually ghosts but still). I think it was the perfect ‘monster’ to start this show off with.

I also love the early chemistry between Sam and Dean, it’s so juvenile and very much siblings who live to piss each other off. Also like, my blorbo radar would already be going off regarding Dean and his obvious abandonment issues. Like uh oh, I’m already compromised.

Favourite part: When Dean gets arrested and goes from flippant to cautious when the journal turns up. And then Sam doing the fake call to allow him to break him out. I just love the implications of the importance of that journal and also the fact that they’ve 100% done this song and dance before. Also Sam going full freak mode and just driving straight into a house (but poor Baby).

Least favourite part: It feels particularly male-gazey, you know they were going for a specific audience. Sorry you ended up with a bunch of queer weirdos, lads. It is interesting to compare to later seasons, though.

Quote of the episode: “Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.”

What’s compelling me to keep watching: What killed their mum and Jess? More of the dynamic between Sam and Dean and the friction between their different choices.

Random things I yelled to myself during the rewatch: “Oh my god, they’re babies” “Why does Sam ‘I hate my dad’ Winchester have a photo of his parents on the nightstand but nothing of Dean?” (I know, I know, it’s for the *reveal* but still) “DID THAT SIGN SAY CAS?? Wait no it said Gas, never mind” (the brainrot is real)

Rating: 7/10 – Feels somewhat unpolished but that's part of it's charm and it hits the ground running.

And the award goes to…🏆: All the dumb fucks who tried to burn their lead actors alive. Amazing work.

[sammyblep]

FOR THE ASK GAME: sam obviously :’)

First impression ok so it's been AGES since i first watched spn so I'll give you my first impression from my current rewatch which is Oh My God The Universe Hates This Man

Impression now OH MY GOD THE UNIVERSE HATES THIS MAN. SOMEONE GIVE HIM A HUG HE NEEDS A GODDAMN HUG-

Favorite moment Literally any bitchy!Sam moment. Bitchy possessed Sam in Asylum. Bitchy soulless!Sam. Bitchy to Lucifer or a Horseman or God or his brother. I just love it so much

Idea for a story Soooo many actually hang on lemme go look up my list - here we go - I have baby magda au, which I've already talked about some; it focuses on Sam rediscovering his psychic powers and healing from his trauma while also learning how to be a parent for a toddler who's seen horrors no one should know exist. I have nonverbal au, which is Sam slowly going nonverbal post-Cage, culminating with him being fully nonverbal when Gadreel takes over (meaning, since Gadreel is always talking out of Sam anyways, Dean and Cas and co. don't know Sam's been nonverbal for ages until Crowley helps him kick Gadreel out.) Casifer kiss, which jess lc inspired. Honey!Cas developed a reputation for kissing friends and people he liked full on the mouth. Casifer takes advantage of that and kisses Sam a lot. No one knows at first that it's Lucifer doing this and not Cas. I've got the Avatar/bending AU, which I've rambled about in discord a lot, but it's basically Lucifer stole the Avatar powers and used them to manipulate Sam, who then years later uses them to protect Jack. Possessed-again Sam, which is a worse version of Casifer kiss. In this one, Casifer comes up to Sam and asks, "can I?" as if he's going in for a kiss. And Sam goes "yeah, sure" and the next thing he knows Lucifer is possessing him. JESSIFER MY BEST FRIEND JESSIFER - where from the very beginning, all the way back in s1, Lucifer was using Jess's image to reach out to and manipulate Sam, and when he was freed from the Cage, he stole Jess's body and soul from Heaven, promising she could tell Sam she loves him if he can use her as his vessel. Largely inspired by @nevidimochka's art! And lastly (for now at least) there's ghost!Sam, which is that Gadreel comes to possess Sam's body post-trials, but Sam's soul's hold on the body is too tenuous and he just... slips away. But no reaper will come and take him; they don't bother taking any Winchester anywhere anymore, actually, because they just come back anyways. So Sam is forced to haunt Dean and Cas and his own possessed body that he's tied to, unable to leave.

Unpopular opinion This man would not know how to be a good father at first!! He does not have the parenting instinct/experience the way Dean has!! I think he'd learn to be a fantastic parent but it would be an extreme learning curve for him (which is why I love baby Magda au so much because it's that exactly!!)

Favorite relationship God I'm a sucker for so many friendships and relationships... Sam and Jo as besties is a fave, and I'm a sucker for Sabriel and Saileen and my fave ot4 Sabrieleena, and Sam and Cas being genderweird best friends is SUCH a mood... probably if I had to choose only one I'd choose Sam and Magda, mother and daughter

Favorite headcanon oh god i have to pick ONE? O N E???? uh. uhhhhhhh. I'm a transfemme Sammy truther, but that's common... hm. I mean we don't have his canon major at Stanford, just that he was pre-law, but I love the idea of religious history/philosophy double major Sam and that's my personal take on it!

(send me a character and I'll tell you some stuff)

[amispnrewatch]

SPN 1X01

I’ve been wanting to rewatch the series from the beginning post finale for a long time. Then 15x20 happened and for a minute there I thought I’d never want to watch this fucking show again. But, I saw a bunch of other people reclaiming the show by rewatching it and ignoring the finale and I’m down with that.

Note: I bought the full series on iTunes for myself for Christmas 2019 so the CW isn’t getting more streaming money from me and I’ve never tried live-blogging anything so this might be a dumpster fire. We’ll see.

Also, fair warning, I’m not a huge early spn Sam fan. He grew on me eventually, but it took a while.

——————

My eyes always glaze over for the first 6 minutes or show of this episode until Dean shows up. Even when I first watched the show I did this. Also, why does Jess seem immediately more interesting than Sam? Maybe that’s just me.

Has anyone ever mentioned that even when Dean is playing up the douchebag hitting on his brother’s girlfriend bit that he doesn’t actually ogle her? He notices her enough to check out the smurfs on her shirt, but when he’s telling her not to put more clothes on he’s holding eye contact. Nice performance there, Dean.

Lol the dramatic zoom in on Sam after Dean repeats himself about John being missing.

“Of course you should be afraid of the dark. You know what’s out there.” I love it.

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to.” <— and that is my second favorite line from this episode.

“Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?” Fuck off, Sam.

Oh man! A mini tape recorder. I had one in college, which was about the same time this episode aired for the first time. What a throwback. I remember using it to record my class on natural disaster science and I never ended up listening to any of the lectures I recorded.

That little swallow and stare from Dean after Sam says that his interview is for law school is subtle but great. So much hidden emotion there. I love how many people are pointing out how much Jensen really added the nuance to Dean’s character now that the show is over.

I love the woman in white’s dress. It’s a little boobielicious for me, but I love the bottom of it being all torn or lacy or whatever.

She looks a lot like Lisa too. Which doesn’t mean anything, but is interesting.

I’d forgotten about her handprint on this dude’s windshield when he went to look for her! It doesn’t look that bad 15 years later. Well, when I watch it on my phone screen anyway. My real tv might be a different matter.

I’m trying to figure out what kind of car this guy is driving. Ah, I was right, it’s an old VW Cabriolet.

Dean and his junk food.

Sam being high and mighty about money. Bitch, how do you make money while you’re in college? Is it just scholarships and student aid? Does Sam have a job? I mean, he never mentioned it, but he acts like he’s used to slaving away for an hourly wage or something.

I also had a cardboard box filled with old cassette tapes when this episode aired. Half of them I inherited from my dad, some I collected from thrift stores in high school, and a couple of them were mixtapes I made for myself.

My break is over so I’ll have to continue this on my lunch.

[babygirl06301]

1x02: Wendigo Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Look here for my explanations of these reviews.

Written by: Eric Kripke, Ron Milbauer, & Terri Hughes Burton

Directed by: David Nutter

Barring the fact that they pronounced “wendigo” wrong the entire episode, what did I think of the second episode of SPN? It was… all right. It’s a monster-of-the-week episode, as most in the first season are, so it isn’t my personal bread-and-butter, but hey.

What I liked: Most of what I liked in this episode has to do with the characters themselves, so I’m just gonna save my praise for that section below.

What I didn’t like: So, this is kind of a campy horror movie duplicate with an SPN flare. A lot of running around and a lot of exposition. Basically, it was just bland. I’ve never really liked this episode that much because everything in it was mediocre—action, humor, etc.—so I guess it’s essentially the entire episode I didn’t like.

Character work: Except the character work, which I mentioned above. Mostly Sam’s character work, actually. This episode, surprisingly enough, reminded me of Soulless!Sam. I mean, Sam was angry throughout the entire episode, both because he couldn’t process the job of hunting and saving people and because Jess had just died, but the disregard for people’s feelings and the unempathetic comments were very Soulless!Sam. Overall, I think I enjoyed Sam’s part in this episode so much because, at some point in the later seasons, Sam becomes almost too well-adjusted. The anger and bitterness he had in this episode was awesome.

Dean’s character development was mostly in the form of being a big brother for, what I view as being, the first time. In the pilot, Dean was mostly just concerned about keeping Sam around rather than being a big brother to him.

Favorite scene: My favorite scene in this episode is the scene in the beginning of Act Three where Dean asks Sam about why he’s so angry and Sam asks Dean how he handles hunting so well. It’s an interesting point of vulnerability for Sam, plus it’s where the show's “mission statement,” if you will, is brought up for the first time. It’s also where that big brother stuff I talked about comes in. This scene sets us up for a season where the boys are on the road hunting, despite the fact that the original goal of finding John is always under the surface. It’s a good scene for the brothers but also for the show.

Favorite moment: There’s this moment toward the end of Act Five where Dean is taunting the wendigo and refers to himself as “white meat,” and I don’t know, that moment stood out to me for some reason.

Iconic quote: “I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business.”

That’ll be all for this episode. Honestly, I’ll rewatch this one if I’m doing a full rewatch like I am now, but it is definitely not in the category for “best episodic episode of SPN.” It’s got good, old school SPN vibes, but not that good.

[caslesbo]

lucifer appearing as dead partners so he will be let in

nick & sarah / sam & jess / vince & jen / dean & cas

[mamusings]

Supernatural Season 1 Thoughts

So I'm rewatching mainly to distract myself from the dogs breakfast the show has descended into. But also because my feelings about the show as a whole are decidedly mixed. I come to it as a buffy fan. I've always been curious about spn as a successor show to buffy, but only watched thr first 13 seasons in 2020. Blame lockdown.

Anyway s1. Blinding start, blinding finish. But the middle is just too many MOTW episodes without enough season arc development. I keep wondering who the show is for. It feels aesthetically very male. Lots of blood, guns and violence. Well-realised horror feel - although I think it's hard to really feel fear when you dont particularly care about who might die. It's only when you threaten a major character death that things hit harder. Also the genuflecting to realism by drawing on urban myths feels like something for stereotypically 'male' rather than 'female'. Probably reflects my preferences that I was never to into the MOTW format some buffy fans loved and that I was always more interested in the story telling than realism or even consistency. Monsters as metaphors works better for me. But Spn is a much more cloistered universe. Two guys and their absent father is what s1 is about. But it dits weirdly between being comfort viewing and needing attention. There's much that starts to feel formulaic with MOTW episodes: Impala on the road scene, some rock music, an opener that gives you a new mystery and people to go with it blah blah. You can practically set your watch by the final denouement happening in the final 8 mins. It feels like the show is diligently checking off every myth and monster going which gets tedious. I found the need for setting up yet another family in danger was something that gets hard to care about. "Oh look a couple, someone's gonna die, shall I fast forward until sam and dean show up." And yet there are some interesting undercutting of the white working class vibe the show has. Two that stand out to me are: the 'female gazing' of the camera work off Sam and Dean. There's a lot of panning - are we getting in the boys with the guns and hardware and then offering up the handsome male bodies for women? I felt a little cheap, but they they are v cute. The other is having a black/bi racial woman play Dean's only serious love interest. The ghost truck thing is terrible but putting attitudes to race at the centre of this particular storyline was intriguing. Perhaps a counter balance to the overall wwc feel of things. (Full disclosure I am a black woman and I enjoyed seeing this - even tho I did have several moments of wondering was the predominant female look so uniform back then. All the girls have the same build (and did we all wear such low rise jeans?) plus long, wavy/curly hair...except Meg who basically has Sam's hairstyle ha ha)

What's impressive? The first few episodes give us a cluster of core lines: bitch/jerk, no chick flick moments, and the sibling dynamic This show hits its stride right in the pilot and wendigo is still one of the scarier episodes. Thats a really good opening shot imo.

It's no surprise that what's really riveting is Sam and Dean. But on rewatching I saw a lot more on why this is so interesting. Basically when the characters are introduced you first get Sam. He's your archetypal nice guy whis hot everything though for him. Stanford, girlfriend, friends, great test score but also and crucially hes likeable. Then you get Dean and hes introduced as a dick. Breaks in, wrestles Sam, comes on to/is sleazy with Sams gf. So cocky bad boy: check.

In the pilot dean is the annoying big brother to a t. So they set up two contrasting personalities. Dean is disrespectful to cops, Sam is embarrassed by it. Dean is into hunting, Sam is unwillingly persuaded. Dean is insensitive, Sam kinder and sweet. Dean plays dumb, Sam's the academic achiever. But what we witness over the course of the season essentially reverses this. Sam's the real rebel defying his father, Dean the obedient son. Dean gets a lot of scenes showing him make swift emotional connections esp with children or people in caretaker roles. Dean's very adult 'I'm 26 of course I go on hunts alone' is unmasked by the fact he gets Sam to help him because hes lonely. And Dean (often clumsily) tries to help Sam move on about Jess and open up about his nightmares. While the explicit dialogue casts Sam as the geeky loser brother what we see in this season is that the loser is actually Dean. Sam has friends, Sam has a relationship, Sam has a life he wants to get back to. Dean has no one and some of the hardest emotional hits this season are when his mask is lifted to show us just that. For instance shape shifter Dean voices his jealousy in Skin. Also Azazel taunts Dean about how he needs Sam and John in a way that they dont need him.

The closing episodes really bring some of these contrasts home. Dead Mans Blood gives us a great bonding scene between Sam and John, for me that's a moment where it falls into place that they so much in common that it leaves Dean on the outside. They both loved women they lost to a demon. For both of them (at this stage) the mission, as in killing this demon, matters more than family. Its Dean who constantly prioritises family, even while his family deprioritise him. Both Sam in Salvation and John in Devils Trap put sacrificing themselves to kill the demon as their first priority. Whereas Dean consistently argues for family, first persuading John that they are stronger together, then telling Sam that the three of us 'is all I have' in Salvation. The point gets hammered home in Devils Trap where Dean says (in case the stupid viewer missed it "you and Dad are a lot more alike..cant wait to sacrifice yourselves, but I'm going to be the one to bury you").

Much of the rest of the relationship development is about showing us the partnership Sam and Dean are developing. You see increasing ease in working together - maybe most cliched in how they toss weapons back and forth in Hell House. Plus that interesting sibling dynamic when you love someone and find them intensely annoying that feels enjoyable even if your own sibling relationship is nothing like it.

But what's interesting is that while Dean's character is revealed throughout the season. You see through the episodes the difference between his Dean presents himself and hiw he is, but dean doesn't change. Hes immature and emotionally driven I'd also savvy and brave. Its Sam who changes. Not in how he is, but in his priorities. Sam realises the good bit about Dean among the stuff that irritates him. But most importantly the final episode shows us Sam moving from thinking the mission is what matters just like John. To thinking his family matters more. He doesnt shoot Azazel inside John and when John berates him for it his look at the bloodied-up Dean in the rearview mirror speaks volumes.

It's all the more striking because thus argument has been the core dilemma for the last 3 episodes. It's also the crux of how Dean, for all his obedience, sees himself as falling short of who his father wants him to be. He cant turn his heart off. Its Dean who calls his dad sounding like a tearful little boy in Home. It's when John approves of him making the heart choice and using the colt to save Sam, that Dean realises it's not his father but Azazel speaking. I find that painful to watch it's been so well set up. You get lots of preview of Dean really wanting approval and when it finally comes and you're all ahh fsmily bonding, Dean puts it together and goes you're not my father. Ouch.

Absent fathers and eventually I guess an absent God is a big spn theme. So there is something to say for looking at it in this season. John's absence is the driver of the whole season. But it's also the foundation stone of both Sam and Dean's character. What we get most of in s1 is a sense of the impact of his fathers absence on Dean. The childhood neglect, but also the absence of approval. My European background always makes it jarring when children address their father as sir so I hope I'm not over reading this. When John gets back the way it emasculates Dean is jarring. The jumping to attention with the yessirs and the following orders is such a distance from the cocky law breaker. Its interesting that the first scenes in which I recall the boys speaking in unison are these yessirs. But the scene I remember most is a trivial one, Dean offers John a machete out of Babys messy looking trunk - hes already been pulled up by dad for inadequate car maintenance. But John pulls a bigger, better, cleaner machete out of his high spec truck - Dead Mans Blood. Sums it up for me. Dean is so eager for approval, his father withholds it so casually. Sam is less like this, because he had Dean to parent him however ineptly. Sam did not have a hoid parent in Dean, but Dean showed up. Sam starts to make that realisation in season 1 and there are a few thank you moments. Contrast Dean's only outburst against his father when hes admonished to call when in trouble. He takes a leaf out of Sam's book and notes that they did call in Lawrence and they called when Dean was dying in Faith, hes angry and rightly so. John didn't show. But its interesting that Dean's fight with John sounds like a child fighting with a parent. It even ends with 'I dont care for your tone' from John even as he accepts Dean's point. Constrast Sam and John who have a much deeper ongoing disagreement. But Sam fights his father from an adult position. He's not looking for approval or acceptance, Sam claims his ground, argues his point. Dean still just needs to be loved.

But as well as the impact of the absent parent there is also having grown beyond the parent. I feel like the final few episodes show us that 'the boys' have surpassed their father. John's fake colt idea is lame and Dean calls it. By contrast the devils trap at Bobby's to catch Meg feels like a moment of brilliance particularly as the trap is sprung on the viewer so we feel surprised too.. Sure they call in help from Bobby, but what they do is well planned and they pull it off. And calling in helo when you need it us grown up.

Theres an element of fate vs character exploration when it comes to Sam and Dean. What happens to Sam is fate. It's not related to how he is or how he behaves. We find that out more fully soon. Whereas what happend to Dean relates to his character. IMO Dean actually has the option of walking away from hunting that Sam tried to exercise. Unlike Sam, hunting wouldn't have pursued Dean by killing his girlfriend. But Dean's character means he doesnt chose to walk away because family is important to him, in a way that it isn't for Sam until the end of this season. Its interesting that Sam perceives of himself as having choices he doesn't have. Whereas Dean sees himself as having no choice, when in fact he does. But I guess we don't know that yet so maybe the argument doesn't work?

#supernatural #sam #dean #winchester