Let’s all talk about Roadkill (E2 S16)

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    • journalbookbinder
        August 30, 2021 at 10:20 am #9453

        Roadkill. This is a tough one for me and I actually watched ahead a week just to get it over with.

        Not saying it’s not good. It’s VERY good. Too good. Tricia Helfer as Molly is SO perfectly believable as someone who is scared and lost and confused that it really kills me. She is easily the star of this one and Sam and Dean are playing more supporting roles (especially Dean).

        It’s sweet that it’s more gray area – not just an angry spirit hurting people though we have that too with the initial victim. There are gray areas THERE too as Sam and Molly find the photo album and see that he was happy; that he wrote his wife beautiful love letters. He was not an evil person in life but the way he died changed him and made him want eternal revenge. Even Molly trying to talk to him about his wife made no difference. The idea that his wife hanged herself after his death because she didn’t want to be without him (and how about the “ancient history” of their relationship being in 1992 – geez; I half expected it to be from the ’50’s or something; not the ’90’s!) is terribly sad. So one random accident destroyed 3 out of 4 lives. Only Molly’s husband found a way to go on. It’s all SO FREAKIN’ SAD!!!!

        I liked the novelty of “two spooks” as Dean said. Again, it’s fun to try to figure it out with them. I remember long ago on first watch, feeling something was up with all of the knowing looks between Dean and Sam, but not actually guessing at first that Molly was not alive. Her fear when being tortured seemed so real. I completely bought that she didn’t know what was going on; this was all new to her; every year, for 15 years…and how awful is THAT?! A big clue was the missing car though. If it was still really the night of the accident for her, that would not have been missing.

        Nice shot with the Impala stopping inches from her when she was flagging them down for help.

        Loved Dean’s comment that Sam is a “walking encyclopedia of weird” when he remembered that trees are often planted as grave markers. Interesting way to do an “ah-ha” moment with Sam looking at the old photo and mentally comparing it to the cabin as it stood today.

        Loved Dean’s comment that just once he’d like to come around the corner and find a NICE house.

        Sam really feels for Molly. Again, wanting to have hope. At the end he tells Dean that hope is the whole point even though they don’t know for sure where she will go after this life. At least the show made her transition look like an enjoyable/happy experience for her. More on the theme of Sam wanting to have hope for his own situation, I think. Dean is much more “whatever” about it. He was caring, but guarded. Sam seemed less guarded with her. So sweet trying to explain it without telling her it applied to her too. “Some spirits just see what they want to see.” “Unfinished business.”

        I guess anything that makes me feel like it could all change or be over in a second is something that bothers me. Someone recently posted on Twitter about how heartbreaking the scene in the finale is when Sam turns to Dean in the barn, ready to leave, not realizing that anything at all is wrong. I HATE that too for the same reason. That life can change forever in an instant. Roadkill sits like that with me too. Three lives destroyed accidentally.

        I look forward to not watching this one again for a very long time.

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      • kate38
          August 30, 2021 at 10:20 am #9563

          I like the plot twist/reveal at the end of this one. It’s what I remember first when I think about the episode. The atmosphere was also PERFECT throughout – cold, snow, rain, dark, depressing, spooky cabin, creepy ghost dude, and a story that kept me guessing – this episode checked off all the right boxes in that regard. The lighting in that last scene was also gorgeous! I don’t even care if it was CGI; it didn’t look it to me 😊.

          In retrospect (i.e. when I rewatch) it’s hard to not pity Molly. It was also nice to see a spirit go peacefully instead of flaming away like most of them do.

          I like Sam’s explanation for vengeful spirits and how they hang on, etc. It’s a rare early-season Sam moment that I enjoy watching. However, I thought this writer (Raelle Tucker) tried too hard to show the contrast between the brothers, though – Sam having pity for ghosts and Dean seeming to have none. It felt clunky and heavy handed. That’s kind of unlike her. I normally like her writing.

          Side note: I guess Raelle had to suspend the show’s canon/reality in order to make us believe that Molly wasn’t a ghost the whole time, but what’s up with her opening and closing doors by herself, moving branches out of her way, and doing other things that ghosts wouldn’t do? I guess I give the writers some latitude on this one. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to fool us.😊

          kate

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        • kate38
            August 30, 2021 at 10:20 am #9564

            “Tricia Helfer as Molly is SO perfectly believable as someone who is scared and lost and confused that it really kills me. She is easily the star of this one and Sam and Dean are playing more supporting roles (especially Dean).”

            WOW! I SO agree here! Tricia did an amazing job of showing Molly’s fear, vulnerability, and heartbreak. That final scene, when she sees her husband alive and with a new wife, just kills me. Can any of us imagine that?! I’m so glad that the episode ended with Molly calmly walking into the sunrise and into a peaceful ever after.

            kate

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          • kate38
              August 30, 2021 at 10:20 am #9565

              “It’s sweet that it’s more gray area – not just an angry spirit hurting people though we have that too with the initial victim. There are gray areas THERE too as Sam and Molly find the photo album and see that he was happy; that he wrote his wife beautiful love letters. He was not an evil person in life but the way he died changed him and made him want eternal revenge. Even Molly trying to talk to him about his wife made no difference. The idea that his wife hanged herself after his death because she didn’t want to be without him (and how about the “ancient history” of their relationship being in 1992 – geez; I half expected it to be from the ’50’s or something; not the ’90’s!) is terribly sad. So one random accident destroyed 3 out of 4 lives. Only Molly’s husband found a way to go on. It’s all SO FREAKIN’ SAD!!!!”

              You make several excellent points here, JBB. In many of the ghost cases we see, the person was wicked before death. But in this episode, Greeley and his wife were deeply in love and very happy. Greeley’s death was as tragic as his wife’s subsequent suicide. And of course, Molly’s story was tragic, too. As you said, one single accident destroyed 3 lives — PLUS all the people who died on that road over a 15-year period because of the haunting. This whole episode is just sad and tragic. I have to hand it to Raelle Tucker (again) for creating characters and a story that have such an emotional impact.

              kate

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            • PigNaPoke
                August 30, 2021 at 10:20 am #9572

                I do agree that this one is HORRIBLY SAD, BUT I do really love it!!

                It’s hard to rewatch a movie or episode of a show I like when there is a HUGE story changing twist in it, because when you watch it again most of what made it so cool is now in the open (like the movie “6th Sense”). Yet, somehow this episode remains enjoyable to watch for me every time I have.

                Partially because of the performances, mostly of Tricia Helfer, but also the boys. I really like that that’s it! The three of them for most of the episode. No distractions.

                I love the way the story unfolds for many of the same reasons you already both mentioned. The layers in both of the ghost stories.

                Interesting that Greeley’s wife didn’t leave a ghost behind….being at peace with killing yourself is very sad as well!!

                JBB you said that you thought Sam and Dean are “supporting characters” in this episode and I agree. To me it seems that they are “guides” in this story trying to help Molly along the way to figure out she is dead.
                And Kate, you said, that it seemed heavy handed and clunky how differently Sam and Dean acted with Molly. To me that was actually a very deliberate decision on Sam and Dean’s part to play on their strength when trying to “guide” Molly to let go. Sam goes the route as the emotional support and trying to coax her into understanding and Dean spilling the blunt truths to see if THAT knocks some reaction in her loose. I don’t think Dean meant to be cruel, but he did want to jolt Molly into reality.

                YES, Molly opens doors and carries the photo album, but I didn’t take offense in that as she is SO convinces that she is still alive that she might have acquired the ability to touch objects without long practice or being an angry spirit. I can live with that. (I have a little more of a problem that Dean is able to touch Greeley when they fight….but hey….)

                I find it HUGELY brave of Molly at the end to let go after having witnessed Greely going up in flames and obviously being in pain. Because of that I also really appreciate the different choice the writers or director made with the way Molly’s spirit dissolves! It looks peaceful and beautiful.

                What DOES always crack me up in this episode is that the night never ends! As per Dean they have 2 hours to sunrise just before Molly gets snatched by Greeley, but then they have time to find them, dig up Greely, fight and burn him AND then drive Molly home before the sun rises…..was there a DeLorean parked somewhere?

                ONE last thought I had was that in a way the WHOLE mess was really DAVID’s fault as he was the one who tickled/kissed and distracted Molly while she was driving in difficult conditions….so, it is even more tragic in a way because I am sure that he couldn’t get over the fact that he was at least partially responsible for the death of two people, ON TOP OF being super sad that Molly only ever wanted to save him and never felt anything but love for him which kept her around in ghost form.

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                • kate38
                    August 30, 2021 at 10:20 am #9574

                    “What DOES always crack me up in this episode is that the night never ends! As per Dean they have 2 hours to sunrise just before Molly gets snatched by Greeley, but then they have time to find them, dig up Greely, fight and burn him AND then drive Molly home before the sun rises…..was there a DeLorean parked somewhere?”

                    BAAHAAHAA! Yes, someone got his hands on a DeLorean 🙂
                    Excellent points, PNP! I also find it hilarious that Sam can dig up Greeley’s grave in the amount of time it takes Dean to get inside the cabin and fight for a few minutes with Greeley. It couldn’t have been FIVE minutes! That’s some superhuman grave digging!

                    kate

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                • journalbookbinder
                    August 30, 2021 at 10:20 am #9883

                    Kate; regarding Molly…I think about exactly that about waking up one morning somewhere strange, expecting your regular life and wife/husband, only to find out a few hours later that you’ve been out of it for over a decade and they’ve moved on! Total nightmare! I can’t imagine! And then you have to come to terms with this suddenly when it’s “old news” (your death) to everyone still alive; the whole thing kills me.

                    PnaP: good point that Greeley’s wife didn’t hang around as a spirit (sorry, bad pun, she WAS literally hanging around!). Interesting that a suicide could be…peaceful?

                    So funny PnaP about how many hours they packed into two hours!

                    AND, Kate, Sam’s super-fast digging skills. Like a groundhog.

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                Let’s all talk about Roadkill (E2 S16)

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