Reply To: Let’s all talk about Croatoan (S2 E9)
GREAT START to this one!
I was really shocked the first time around that it looked like Dean was shooting a human without mercy. Made me think back to SKIN and gave me the suspicion Dean was possessed or maybe some other way influenced. Jensen played it so great with Dean being stone faced and brutal until that one little quiver of his mouth right before shooting, so you suddenly knew he wasn’t as sure and cold as he seemed. Very chilling.
LOVE the grainy visual quality to this one – at least on my TV.
OK, with what we know in the end….it all being a set up to test if Sam can withstand the virus (even more chilling nowadays….)….was the “no cell signal” also a set up or just back woods Oregon? And if it was demons….how?
I like the way that Sam and Dean are totally out of their depth right from the beginning and admit it, too, discussing trying to get help from Bobby or Ellen.
That is an awesome piece of driving when Dean has to get away from the creeps on the bridge. It probably wasn’t Jensen at the time, but it looked cool as hell. And thankfully the towns people all sucked at shooting so Baby wasn’t hurt. HA
The gun stand off with the Army Dude is intense but hilarious. Dean and him screaming at each other before deciding they better work together.
Funny how the Sarge was introduced very briefly before but the little we knew about him until that point made it believable to me that Dean would at least partially trust him.
I do feel bad for Dean having to be the one shooting two civilians who aren’t clearly “monstrous”. That has to be tough on him no matter what he says. And I love Sam for picking up on that and calling Dean out on it. I was a little surprised why Dean was so gung-ho on shooting Dwayne immediately and not wait for the virus to show up first. But I love the fact that he DOESN’T! It’s jarring to watch him go through the same thing we already watched in the vision but with a different outcome.
ALL of the actors are doing a fabulous job together in the scene after Sam gets trapped and bled on by the nurse. The tension retching up and up and up between all of them is palpable. There are SO many emotions from the different people in this one scene it’s masterful – Dean in super protective mode is scary and powerful and heartbreaking all at once; the fear from the Sarge and Dwayne and the doctor’s helplessness are all very real; Sam’s quiet desperation at being in the middle of the conflict and not wanting anyone else to be at risk tugs at the heart.
Of course there is the usual wordless way the Winchester’s communicate in this situation, but I also love how Dean and the Sarge have a “soldier-to-soldier” rapport that needs little words. They understand each other on a different level that seems very real to me. The guy isn’t a hunter, but Dean shows him respect for having seen action and knowing how to handle himself.
WOW – really tough to watch brother scene with Sam begging Dean to leave and live and Dean just being DONE!
Still wonder where EVERYONE went?! And they totally should have tied Sam up until is was clear he wasn’t infected….but maybe they did off camera?
Shame the Sarge had to bite it as change for the phone booth!! But I do like that they kept to method of communicating with YED at the time consistent.
OH and the end….I’m glad Dean finally got his off his chest what dad put on his shoulders….but I hate the (temporary) fall out… It’s a pretty spot for that scene, though.
Although there is an inconsistency here, because in Season 8’s “The Great Escapist“ Sam says that Dean’s donkey on the Grand Canyon ride was farty but here he says that they’ve never been to the Grand Canyon!
GREAT episode!
