Eric Kripke wrote the Teleplay for this episode based on the myth and folklore surrounding the wendigo. Yes I've said it before and I'll say it again -- everytime I hear wendigo, I regress back to Piper (Holly Marie Coombs) in Charmed who was turned into one; but they cured her! It's permanently imprinted on my brain! Oops.
This episode, Sam ( Jared Padelecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) find themselves at Blackwater Ridge, Lost Creek, Colorado; where some campers in the woods have vanished. Before all that, Sam has to bid farewell to the lost love of his life, Jess (Adrienne Palicki) at Palo Alto, California. Here Sam confesses to her in death, what he should have done in life. Now it's too late, but he must come out and say it - "...I should've prepared you, I should've told you the truth!" Oh, heart wrenching scene! Her hand reaches out to Sam from beyond the grave as he places the flowers down. In a chilling moment, reminiscent of Wuthering Heights. Doomed love. If Jess was buried there, she must have been a native of Palo Alto.
Also it turns out to be nothing more than a nightmare, as Dean asks this and then whether Sam wants to drive. Dean believes if they want to find "what" killed Jess, they need to find Dad first, since the two events are related. I.e. the 'thing' turning up now after 20 years and Dad going off radar.
Coordinates lead them to Blackwater Ridge, where they look into the disappearance of some campers, including Haley's (Gina Holden) brother. This time Sam and Dean are in the guise of rangers, with fake IDs in tow.
Dean wonders why Sam wants to be all gung ho all of a sudden and jump straight into the case; he's never done that before as Sam is the thinking type. Dean's the all-action man! Sam's research leads him to discover people have been going missing in the local woods every 23 years -- now that can't be a coincidence. In 1958, one man survived and recalls how the "thing" moved very fast and roared, entering the cabin by unlocking the door; dragging his parents away. Sam's sure it's not a demon.
Sam: "It's something else - something corporeal."
Dean: "Corporeal, excuse me professor."
Sam: "Shut up!" Here we enter Buffy The Vampire Slayer realm, with the corporeal word, meaning it can be seen and touched and thus can be killed. Dean thinks it could be a black dog or skin walker (shapeshifter.)
Haley wants to look for her brother and is determined to go it alone if need be -- in shorts. Who'd wear shorts in the woods -- in this weather. The chick is in need of some serious wardrobe advice. Gotta agree with Dean when he utters the immortal lines, "Sweetheart, I don't do shorts!"
The "thing" takes one of the captives to feed on.
Roy (Callum Keith Rennie) whom we recall as Ray No 2 from Due South is Haley's guide. He hunts bears and bucks, leading Dean to question if Bambi or Yogi "ever hunt you back." Yes! Always count on Dean for a funny comment or joke to make light of a dark moment. In this case it was more sarcasm than comic.
Haley realizes they're not really rangers and Dean has to own up: they're searching for Dad. Dean: "...this is probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman -- ever." And you can believe that too. Hey, he called her a woman and not his customary "chick" label. He's not serious enough to be honest with anyone since he likes his instant gratification, for-the-moment lifestyle, after all, who knows what tomorrow will hold.
This is only episode 2 and already we've got an idea what Sam and Dean are really like. Dean's all macho, all talk, M&Ms-munching, chick magnet. Sam's the inquisitive, never make-a-move-without thinking, strategizing, sweet, silent type. Basically, they're chalk and cheese.
Anyway, as for Dean saying he's never been honest, uh Deano, what was that you told Sam about how he's never been honest with Jess? To be fair, it did appear Sam was being candid with her in the opening part of the episode. That however turned out to be Sam's nightmare.
The only provisions packed by Dean are peanut M&Ms. Hearing screams they go in pursuit, but upon returning to their camp, they find their bags missing. Sam reads up on wendigo lore in dad's journal, well lucky for them, the journal wasn't in the bag. Dean comments they're usually found in Michigan or Minnesota, not in Colorado.
Roy remarks he's been hunting since Sam's Mom kissed him goodnight. What an insensitive, horrible thing to say, Sam never knew his Mom, so he wouldn't recall her kissing him goodnight or anything else about her. What can you say, amateurs!
Dean draws Anasazi symbols around the camp to protect them and prevent evil from entering, in another homage to the X-Files. What follows next is arguably one of Dean's best speeches ever written. At least I think so as it sums up the entire premise of Supernatural, well maybe not entirely.
Dean: "...this book, this is Dad's single, most valuable possession. Everything he knows about every evil thing is in here and he's passed it onto us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things...family business." Another "from the heart" moment from Dean as he warns Sam that the hunt for Dad and Jess's killer will take time. (All the better for us.) In the meantime, they can make things right for others by helping them.
Yeah it's just a TV show, but wouldn't it be wonderful if we had Sam and Dean keeping us safe at night, not to mention warm too; giving us peace of mind and security and a little bit more... My digression.
As Dean says, "Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can" helps him continue hunting.
Seeing marks on a tree, they follow, making Sam think it's all too easy. More roars are heard and Haley notices blood dripping onto her. She and Dean are taken. Dean leaves behind a trail of peanut M&Ms; though it's a little confusing in that it's not made clear if the M&Ms fall out of Dean's pocket or if he drops them. The latter being the more plausible. There has been debate on the subject, believe you me! At least there weren't squirrels around.
Finding them still alive, including Haley's missing brother, Sam leads them out, whilst Dean finishes the wendigo off by burning it. Haley's not sure of how to thank Dean, but he can think of a few favours she can perform. Haley: "Must you cheapen the moment." Of course -- that's our Dean. So Sam gets to drive Dean's beloved Impala, and no one, but no one ever drives it but Dean.
Seems Sam was more inclined to find what killed Jess than what killed Mom after all these years, since he just deserted Dad and Dean thinking the "family business" wasn't as crucial as making a life for himself. A life that Dean forfeited on, when he obeyed Dad's orders to the letter and stayed to carry on the hunting.
But Sam wasn't so trigger happy here as Dean said. He did the research, used his brains; in the end it was Dean who took care of the wendigo, this time 'round and it fell on his shoulders to kill the "monster of the week."
No comments:
Post a Comment