SPN 1x08: Bugs

Ok I know everyone hates this episode but..... FUCK BUGS!! I personally don’t mind bugs other than spiders (CANNOT do spiders) but like a lot of them would definitely be the worst thing. The whole indigenous peoples story is definitely cheesy af (not to ignore how serious the relocation of indigenous people is) but also everything does tie together and the case to Winchester family life connection!! SAM FINALLY GETS AN EPISODE (that’s not all about Jess)!!!!!! I seriously loved seeing both the brothers realizing that they both had the situation wrong and I loved that we got to learn so much about their family history. Back to the whole bugs bit..... nasty bruh and also scary tbh! Unfortunately the climax of the episode was poorly done, since it went from midnight to dawn in like 20 minutes and also no one died even though everyone else prior to that died super fast.

Episode Type and Location: Case; Oasis Plains, OK

Contribution to Season Arcs: At the end of the episode they talk about really wanting to find John.

Contribution to Show Arcs: Sam’s relationship with his father, always being the ‘freak’ of the family, feeling different and like an outcast. Dean’s unjustified commitment towards family regardless of how they treat each other.

Sam: Once again we hear that Sam doesn’t approve of pool hustling and credit card scams as a means of income, lol. Also he felt quite the need to prove himself when Dean insinuated that he was too scared to go down into the sinkhole Dustin fell into. He also didn’t think twice about picking up a tarantula and holding it for a long time....... could not be me...... Aside from all of that, we see that Sam prefers or respects normal, wanted to do normal things instead of learn hunting skills, thinks college is a great option to get away from family, felt like he disappointed his dad, was made to feel like a freak by his dad for wanting normal things, felt thrown away by his father, definitely talked back to his dad, and added to the separation by not answering the phone. However by the end of the episode we see him wanting to apologize to his dad for the stuff he said.

Dean: Dean watches Oprah! And he’s all about fun and easy. He goes for the hustleing/scamming, free food, and messes with Sam by slapping his ass and calling him honey after they were mistaken as a gay couple twice. Other than that, we find out that Dean would prefer his family over an apple pie, ‘normal’ life, any day, and thinks people should respect their parents and stick with family no matter what. He thinks Sam was disrespectful that John was just scared and wanted to protect Sam.

The Bro Relationship: We see here that in regards to family, Sam and Dean are opposites and it causes conflict between them.

Family Background Development: Whew i’m so glad I made this a category.... We learned so much about their family background. First of all, Sam felt like an outcast for wanting normal things, and apparently Dean didn’t really want those same things. Sam and John disagreed often and this is what ended up in Sam leaving for Stanford. John wasn’t proud about the full ride and apparently threw Sam out instead, but as we hear later, he was just scared, not disappointed. We learned that he checked in on Sam (even though Sam wasn’t talking to him) multiple times during his time at Stanford, which completely supports his over protectiveness. Overall, its such an interesting family dynamic and I can’t wait to learn more about it.

Good Writin’: Already mentioned this but the whole parallel between Matt and Sam was some good shit

Other: Why the heck was Sam the one to go down into the sinkhole. HES BIGGER. THIS IS JUST COMMON SENSE. And LMAO at people thinking Sam and Dean are a gay couple! And tell me this bitch Lynda did not just find a PHAT ASS spider on her FACE and just brush it off without a fuss??? Also the skull shaped termite cutouts were absolutely hilarious!!

Death Count: 2

Relation to Future Events:

It’s so crazy that its season 1 and we’re already seeing the connections to things like Dean always saving Sam or trying to find him while Sam is ok with not looking and moving on (Amelia time), and Dean’s obsession with family. God I love this show its so well written and everything connects

SPN 1x07: Hook Man

Honestly, this episode doesn’t have much to it. The urban legend was nice, but the whole small town and greek life was a bit boring. The side character Lori was played by a good actor but the character itself was lame and weird. She was part of a sorority but apparently wasn’t a fan of most sorority girl activities, had some idea of punishing her roomie who seemed really nice, kissed Sam after a huge argument with her dad, and didn’t think Sam was creepy for literally stalking her. But either way we got to see that Sam wasn’t ready for romance, and instead focused on making sure Lori and her dad were ok. Dean was just kinda a perv the whole episode since oooooh college girls. Even with that, the solving of the case was interesting and the climax scene with Lori and the Hookman was quite the thrill!

Episode Type and Location: Case; Ankeny, IA

Contribution to Season Arcs: In the beginning of the episode Sam and Dean talk about how their dad seems to not want to be found.

Sam: Sam’s college experience didn’t involve a lot of partying apparently. He really isn’t ready to pursue romance yet and Lori is really perceptive about that. He still cares a lot about protecting her in an unromantic way though.

Dean: Dean loves college girls, lol, but is able to rip himself away from them to dig into a grave and burn some bones. He also may bitch a lot about Sam’s college studying but he definitely is good at that research.

Good Writin’: I liked how we ended up finding out that the spirit was actually feeding off of Lori’s emotions instead of her father’s.

Death Count: 2

SPN 1x06: Skin

This ep really has all the nasties... I think its really good though. I love the beginning where they show Dean doing bad things, and I like the premise of the shapeshifter. We get to see gross shapeshifter skin shedding, and a really bad scene where shifter!Dean assaults Becky and is also makes her sexually uncomfortable. I thought the shifter’s background was quite interesting, about just wanting to not be alone, and it was interesting when it got compared to Dean’s loneliness (although it was really awkward because he was just begging for attention and Becky was not having it LOL). We all know Dean would never do that shit even if he is lonely though lol. And the law thinks he’s dead lmao!

Episode Type and Location: Case; St. Louis, MO (MY HOMETOWN!!)

Contribution to Show Arcs: Loneliness. But at least they have each other.

Sam: Sam thinks its reasonable to keep in touch with his friends from Stanford, and uses his bitch face for one of the first times to get Dean to drive them back to St. Louis. He genuinely cares for his friend and tells a lot of lies and puts in a lot of effort to help her out. Unfortunately that backfires when Becky actually looks into the lies and tells Sam to fuck off. However it was saved when Becky was told the truth. Becky asks if Jess knew and we can see Sam’s inner guilt about all of that get brushed off a bit.

Dean: Dean passive aggressively tells Sam that having friends isn’t really a thing in the hunting life, and Sam calls him antisocial. He flirts with Sam’s friend Becky of course. While the shifter is using Dean’s face, we see that Dean’s very protective of his car and takes it quite personally that the shifter is doing bad things on his behalf. The shifter also reveals a lot of stuff about Dean that may or may not be true, but the most believable thing Dean gets described as is lonely, since both Sam and his dad left him. He ends up getting all the murders blamed on him and also he’s technically dead in the eyes of the law. Quite convenient for them!

The Bro Relationship: We don’t know if any of it is true but the shifter talks about how Dean is jealous of how Sam went to college and got to follow his dreams for at least a little bit. Dean feels left behind and like a freak. And apparently, the shifter thinks Sam doesn’t appreciate Dean enough. Also we get a real close up glance at the Samulet in this ep!

Good Writin’: I loved how they played us by showing Dean cutting up Becky in the beginning, then going through the entire plot for us to find out that it wasn’t really Dean.

Death Count: 1

Relation to Future Events:

I can’t wait for Henriksen to come in and debunk Dean’s death in this episode lol.

SPN 1x05: Bloody Mary

Honestly, this episode is pretty boring up until the end where we get some Jess drama mixed in and Sam finally comes to terms with the Jess situation. Regardless, I liked the side characters, and I liked how the brothers took Charlie seriously the whole time and ended up helping her out (which ended up helping Sam out).

Episode Type and Location: Case; Toledo, OH

Contribution to Season Arcs: In the end of the episode we find out that Sam had dreams about Jess dying before it actually happened.

Contribution to Show Arcs: Dean really wanted to help Sam get over the Jessica thing, and he really didn’t like the idea of Sam baiting Mary with himself.

Sam: Sam was pretty good at consoling Charlie in this episode, and gave her some wise advice which we see that Sam takes himself. At the beginning of this ep, Sam is still having nightmares, and as we find out later, blames himself for Jess’ death. Before this episode it was a reasonable type of guilt, since he wasn’t there when she died, but now we find out that Sam had dreams about her death and ignored them, which adds a new layer to his guilt. However, he forgives himself by the end of the episode. He seems to finally be over it which is symbolized in Jessica appearing and disappearing in a white dress at the end of the episode.

Dean: Dean didn’t really have much in this episode, but we did find out that he gets money from poker, wants Sam to open up about his problems, and wants to protect Sam from being Bloody Mary Bait.

The Bro Relationship: By the end of the episode, Sam still hasn’t told Dean all about the Jess issue. But Dean tries regardless and shows he cares in that way.

Good Writin’: The parallel between Charlie’s boyfriend’s death’s circumstances and the Jess situation allowed us to hear some advice that applied to both situations and helped Sam finally get through his problems.

Death Count: 2

Other: Lord the special effects are so cheesy, like when Mary comes out of the mirror and when she dissolves into purple liquid.

Relation to Future Events:

Here we see the first of Sam’s visions. He doesn’t tell Dean about them but that won’t last very long. I wish he wouldn’t ignore them like this.

SPN 1x04: Phantom Traveler

I used to really like this episode, but now that I’ve been examining episodes through this lens, I kinda like it less. The case is a lot less nuanced than the other ones in the first couple episodes, and less personal it seems. The best part is probably watching Jensen play a flight-phobic Dean with crazy facial expressions. Nothing really hits the heart like before though.

Episode Type and Location: Case; PA, IN

Contribution to Season Arcs: We find out that John has changed his voicemail and is referring those who call him to Sam and Dean, while still not responding to their missed calls or messages.

Sam: Sam is having nightmares about Jess and the other hunts him and Dean have been through. He’s barely getting any sleep at night. Also, Sam makes a good telemarketer voice.

Dean: Dean sleeps with a knife under his pillow, not out of fear but for the purpose of protection. The things they hunt don’t haunt him the way they do Sam. Dean is an engineer and made an EMF meter out of a Walkman (and Sam made fun of it grrr). He’s also really good with going with the flow and quickly following along with lies that may help them find information. Obviously, Dean is very afraid of flying and makes the funniest faces while showing this. He hums Metallica to calm himself down, and Sam has to be a bit harsh with him for him to really try calming down.

The Bro Relationship: Dean can tell that Sam is going through some shit, and tries to call him out on denying that. On the plane, Sam was unexpectedly good at calming Dean down for being the younger brother.

Family Background Development: Apparently John talked about Sam and how proud he was of him to Jerry, and Sam was very surprised to hear it. That information didn’t seem to surprise Dean though.

Good Writin’: Foreshadowing when the guy scared to fly dies in a flight. Dean easily could have followed in this path if Sam hadn’t called him out and calmed him down.

Death Count: Around 100

Relation to Future Events:

The demon mentioning Jess foreshadows how big of a part Sam really plays in all of this shit. This random demon knows about Sam, so whatever he’s in must be huge, which of course we find out is true.

SPN 1x03: Dead in the Water

I bet me saying this will get old, but damn. This episode gets everything right. The case is so chilling, and when everything clicks into place at the end, the vengeful spirit Peter’s story makes a lot of sense. The pacing of learning new information was perfect! The part where Jake sacrificed himself for his grandson was quite emotional. Along with a purely riveting case, the relationship between Lucas and Dean was done incredibly. We got to see a child who was seriously affected by a traumatic event, and Dean really had to struggle to get through to him. I liked that it didn’t come easily, and that Dean had to get creative. In doing so, we learn a lot about Dean’s experience when he was four. We also get to see some pretty epic saves from both Sam and Dean, both of which were tastefully done (since it was Sam doing the bathing woman save and Dean doing the kid save).

Episode Type and Location: Case; Lake Manitoc, WI

Contribution to Season Arcs: Dad’s still missing and the trail is getting colder every day :/

Contribution to Show Arcs: I’d say the contribution to the show arcs is displayed whenever Dean talks to Lucas about Mary. Even at 26 he still seems to carry a lot of trauma from his mother’s death.

Sam: Sam is still in grief for a lot of this episode, and still having a hard time not going full speed on the search for their dad. He doesn’t show signs of moving on from Jess, which makes complete sense, but I hope we get more character development from him soon since these first couple episodes really seem to be all about Dean’s personality. We also didn’t get much about him coping with Jess’s death other than him, like, ignoring other women.

Dean: In this ep (along with being horny af), Dean was extremely good with Lucas. He does every good kid communication trick in the book: kneeling down to be on their level, being patient, and choosing words that inspire without guilt. He’s seen brushing off emotional moments many times with Sam, but with a child he feels no need to do such. He was able to relate to Lucas about a parent’s death and he was gentle yet persuasive with his words. Go writers!!

The Bro Relationship: In the beginning of the episode, Dean really puts Sam in his place by telling him that they will be saving people on the journey to find their dad. Even at their older age Dean is very much the big brother, seemingly more level-headed and less self-centered. As mentioned before, Dean communicates better with Lucas than Sam, even though Sam is his brother. It seems like Dean feels the need to put on a facade and trick his brother into thinking that he is not vulnerable, which could be for many reasons, such as staying strong while Sam copes with Jess’s death.

Other: How old is Lucas supposed to be? Dean implies multiple times that he’s supposed to be around 4 but damn that kid looks big lol. I would think at least 6-8. ALSO ANDREA’S OUTFITS WERE SO UGLY BRUH LIKE WHYY! And I just noticed that Dean’s jacket is..... so big on him..... y.... also there were some plot holes like why was Lucas seeing things and why did other random people die in the lake

Death Count: 4

Relation to Future Events:

SPN 1x02: Wendigo

Wendigo!! What a great episode honestly. The monster is actually kinda scary, since it was extremely smart and tried to lure out the search party more than once. More than the case, I loved the parallel between the Winchesters and the siblings of the victim. It wasn’t exactly subtle, but still a nice writing choice in my opinion. The minor characters Hailey and Ben were very interesting, and so was their family background. I think the conclusion of Hailey and Ben’s story gives hope that Sam and Dean WILL find John, or leads the audience to think so, since the Collins siblings found their brother alive and they all escaped.

Episode Type and Location: Case; Lost Creek, CO

Sam: Sam has nightmares about Jess being dead :( He also struggles with taking the time to solve a case rather than jumping right on finding his dad. He’s really angry and conflicted about ‘wasting time’ this whole episode, but still stops on multiple occasions to save the Collins from danger.

Dean: Apparently not honest with women, ever. We also learn that he’s supposed to be the belligerent, ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ kinda guy, not Sam. He wears biker boots and likes peanut M&Ms. We learn that solving cases and helping people, along with “killing as many evil sons of bitches as [he] can,” helps him cope with his pain.

The Bro Relationship: Dean consoles Sam a lot in this episode, and is much more in control of his feelings than Sam. He tells Sam to be patient and not let his anger kill him, and doesn’t believe Sam when Sam says he’s alright.

Good Writin’: The parallel between the two families was impactful, because oftentimes either Dean or Hailey would say lines that could easily have been said by the other. It was a good way of understanding the Winchesters more without them having to really say everything. Rather, they could just agree with the Collins siblings and we would still get that same message.

Other: Lol the recap was so ridiculously dramatic, I couldn’t stop laughing at it.

Death Count: 3

Think I missed something? Did I bring back some good memories? Message me any time or add your own comments!

SPN 1x01: Pilot

Well, it’s the pilot... what can I say? I love this episode simply for being the first. Along with pretty good acting for the first episode, the case they solve is very cool. The Woman in White is a really interesting type of spirit and it was unexpected how they had to solve it. The actual woman in white is so beautiful as well. The pace of the episode was really well done, and the same applies for individual scenes. It’s a great pilot because it leaves so many things unsaid: there’s barely any explanation about the supernatural creatures, John’s whereabouts are unsure, Dean definitely is in trouble with the law, Jess dies not by accident and also the same way as Mary, also who was that guy in the nursery?? At least we know that we’ll get answers, since Sam finishes the episode with his famous line: “We got work to do.”

Episode Type and Location: Case; Jericho, CA

Contribution to Season Arcs: Dad’s missing, but we found new coordinates in his journal. The thing that killed Mary (which John is looking for) strikes again :(

Sam: We find out that Sam is smart enough to be at Stanford, and is in his senior year, meaning he’s either 21 or 22 years old. He’s looking to go to law school. He doesn’t like Halloween or dressing up for it. He resents his dad’s “obsession” with finding what killed their mom, and ended up leaving Dean and John behind to go to college. He is not a sleazebag unlike the guy who died in the episode, lol, and was faithful to Jess (as much as he could be). He also bitchfaces a lot and is apparently a ‘control freak.’

Dean: Dean is 26 years old. He has a classic car (with a weapon stash in the trunk) and only listens to classic rock. He has a problem with authority and doesn’t feel threatened by them. He’s also pretty touchy about the subject of their mom, and gets defensive about it. Otherwise, he’s sassy and charming!

The Bro Relationship: We see that Sam is the one who left, but Dean feels resentment about that. But Dean is the one who comes back to get him. Dean could try and find his dad alone, but he doesn’t want to. In the course of the episode, Dean saves Sam’s life three times. The range of their relationship is first shown, since along with saving Sam’s life, we also see the two brothers’ banter and teasing (Bitch, Jerk; Driver picks the music, etc.).

Family Background Development: Mary died when Sam was just an infant, and when Dean was about 4 years old. After that, John gets an obsession over finding what killed her. Now, they seem to lie a lot: they are credit card scammers, they pretend to be agents of the law or journalists, and keep important things from loved ones (Jess didn’t know about the hunting stuff). We hear that John’s parenting was more tough love, preferring to prepare his children for the worst rather than comforting them with positivity.

Good Writin’: The juxtaposition of Mary’s fiery death and Jess’s fiery death are really impactful, with the blood dripping on/around Sam both times.

Other: I hate that Mary’s blood dripped right onto Sam’s crib but when John looked at her she was WAYYY over on the other ceiling corner of the room lmao o well

Death Count: 3

Think I missed something? Did I bring back some good memories? Message me any time or add your own comments!