kate38
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
This is one of those episodes when I didn’t find the case or guest actors interesting AT ALL, but the story that evolved between the brothers is what made the episode valuable to me.
I’ve often wondered what was on that chain Dean was wearing around his neck when they were at the graveyard. We never saw Dean wear it in any other episode before or since. Some fans have theorized that it’s John’s dog tags, but Dean was still wearing the chain after Sam buried the dog tags. Theories?
I was annoyed that Sam accused Dean of “inventing” a case when there was obviously something weird at the dead girl’s grave. If anything, Sam’s guilt about John’s death clouded his own judgement and caused him to overlook a case that he should’ve recognized. Sigh…
It’s a pretty cool aspect of the lore that zombies cause plants around them to die. I don’t think we saw that in “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid”. It’s a shame – that would’ve been a fun clue. Those zombies also died from head shots. Maybe it depends on how the zombie is raised? Or maybe it’s another continuity error.
One of my all-time favorite shots of Jensen is in this episode. After the brothers leave the professor’s house the second time, and Sam is confronting Dean about his behavior, Dean turns to talk to Sam and WOW! That shot of Jensen when he’s looking at Sam is just breathtaking! Gotta love those Kim Manners close ups 😊
Speaking of favorite shots, I LOVE that camera shot when Dean pulls off to the side of the road to talk to Sam about his guilt over John’s death. It is SO well done! That whole scene is fabulous. Jensen is perfection, as always, and the lighting and camera work are exceptional.
kate
I LOVE almost all of Journey’s songs, and 😊 “Wheel in the Sky” is a classic 😊. Although I didn’t listen to AC/DC before this show, “Back in Black” is pretty much a classic, too. That road scene at the beginning is PERFECT in just about every way. I loved seeing Dean SO happy to drive his rebuilt Baby!
I didn’t really like Gordon as a character, but I really liked what Sterling did with this role. It was also nice to see another hunter in action, even though Gordon wasn’t the best example of how to do the job properly. He gave a good example of how seeing the world in black-and-white is dangerous. It was a valuable contrast to how the brothers came to view monsters.
It was so sad listening to Dean characterize how he felt about John. I’m sure in Dean’s eyes, John Winchester was unstoppable – until he wasn’t. It’s unfortunate that Dean couldn’t share his sorrow with Sam. I think Sam was wrong, by the way. I don’t think Dean was trying to “replace” John. Dean simply needed to talk to someone who would understand his feelings, and that person wasn’t Sam. Although, at the end of the episode Sam admitted that John did the best he could, Sam had always seemed more fixated on John’s flaws than on his attributes at that point in the show. I can understand why Dean was reluctant to expose his feelings. That was made worse, of course, because Dean suspected John had made a deal to save him, and was suffering because of that. Anyway, I think Dean was right to keep his feelings from Sam. I just wish he’d had someone other than Gordon to talk to. Of course, Sam was right about not killing Lenore, so there’s that…
Plot armor question: If vampires can hear your heartbeat from half a block away, how did Gordon sneak up on that vamp in the teaser segment? He also caught Lenore by surprise? Also, it’s interesting that Dean and Sam didn’t know about vampires until they hunted one with John last season, but suddenly Dean can recognize a retractable vampire fang.
I know that halo shot of Jensen at the end of the episode is famous. I agree that it should be! But there’s a shot when the vamps are bringing Sam to the nest – the truck is crossing a bridge, and the lighting is simply gorgeous! It looks like natural light, too – like they were still filming as the sun was getting ready to rise. Stunning!
“I was always surprised at the fact that Dean trusted Gordon so fast and revealed so much after just meeting him, but at the same time it is very touching that he is desperate enough with pent up emotion to open up to this total stranger.”
I think the “pent up emotion” is the key here. Dean was carrying all the weight of losing John, trying to figure out what John’s warning about Sam meant, realizing that the Yellow-Eyed demon might still be after them (and, by the way, they no longer had the Colt, so they were essentially defenseless), etc., and he couldn’t talk to Sam about it. Dean really didn’t have anyone to confide in, so I’m sure it was a welcome relief to meet Gordon. Of course, he couldn’t tell Gordon “everything”, but at least he knew Gordon would understand why he was struggling so much with John’s death.
…”It’s a rare moment – that conversation with Gordon post-vampire kill – where Dean opens up to someone else (misplaced in this case!) about something he “can’t talk to Sam about”. Made me feel so much for how few true trusted people he has in his life.”
So much this! Even way back then, Dean knew there were things he couldn’t say to Sam. It really drives home the point about how isolated he felt after John died, and how he fought so much to put on a brave face for Sam. On top of all that, Dean had that nagging warning from John about possibly having to kill Sam, so it’s heartbreaking to think about all the weight Dean was carrying alone at that point in his life. I’d probably have had more outbursts of violence than Dean had!
“Shambala” is on my iPod because of this episode! Love me some grease-monkey Dean <3 <3!
Question -- there aren't many phone booths left, and the one we see when the brothers pull up to the Roadhouse for the first time looks a LOT like the one we see in Lazarus Rising when Dean calls Bobby. Theories?
Ashe is adorable! I miss him so much.
I love how much emotion they packed into this episode. It could easily have become clunky and melodramatic, but it didn't. I appreciate that.
kate
This is one of my favorite episodes from the whole series! There’s so much to love about it 🙂
I love the clever and creative camera work in this one! I especially respect the hallway scene and the talking board scene. I also love the DVD commentary. It’s so insightful and makes me appreciate this episode even more!
Dean is so smart! It took him all of five seconds to realize that he’s a ghost and start trying to figure out a plan. It’s pretty ballsy for a ghost to think he can hunt a reaper, but “ballsy” must be Dean’s middle name. And I love how Sam refuses to give up.
Speaking of Sam, John gets a lot of heat for the rocky relationship between himself and Sam, but it seems to me that Sam started many of the fights between them. We only had a few episodes to witness the family dynamic. We saw three big fights between John and Sam, and a few smaller dust-ups, and Sam started all of them. The only reason there wasn’t another big fight right before John died is that John wouldn’t take the bait. He even said that most of the time, he didn’t even understand why he and Sam were “butting heads”. I know communication is a two-way street, but it always makes me wonder.
Speaking of communication, Dean’s scenes with John are heartbreaking and SO well done. The scene when Dean confesses that he’d given up everything he’s ever had for his family…I’m pretty sure I cried the first time I saw that. And I’m sure there wasn’t a dry eye on set when John and Dean spoke right before John died. Jensen and Jeffrey-Dean are magical together.
Hey, did you guys recognize the roommate from “Unforgiven”, and Bobby’s dead wife?
I LOVE everything about Jim Beaver! I can’t say it enough. Loved officially meeting Tessa and “Yellow Eyes” in this one, too 🙂 Fred Lane is totally entertaining. Speaking of Yellow Eyes, we learn later that Crowley ended up with the Colt. Does anybody have any theories about why Azazel didn’t just destroy the gun immediately?
It’s very cool how they tell us why vengeful spirits are born. I think Dean was going to refuse to go with Tessa, because he’s just that defiant. It’s an ongoing debate among the fandom, though. What do you guys think?
kate
“And was that the last we saw of original Meg? She left such an impression on me that I could swear that wasn’t the end of her. She did that great; the whole exorcism scene…”
YES! Mikki Aycox was fabulous in that scene! We see her once more, in “Are you there god? It’s me, Dean Winchester”. Only, she’s not a demon anymore. She’s just a pissed off, vengeful-spirit Meg Masters who is angry with the Winchesters for not being able to save her.
kate
“Another thing that didn’t stick around was the idea of demons passing like a virus from person to person by mere touch. It makes it way to easy for demons to run the world. I like to think humans are a bit more resilient to evil influence of demons and not just weak targets.”
I thought that was cool, too! There was a movie that used a similar device. I can’t recall the title, but Denzel Washington was a cop (I think) and he was tracking a murderer that was a demon possessing people and using their vessels to commit murders. In one scene, someone is running down a crowded street, trying to get away from the demon. And instead of physically chasing the person, the demon just touches another person and passes from person to person that way. It’s very chilling.
Anyway, although it’s a cool trick, it’s not as much fun as watching a demon smoke out 🙂kate
“Also, incredibly brotherly connection as Sam and Dean stick together, continuing to be in defiance of John. Great great non-verbal acting when Sam looks back to the backseat to a beat-to-hell Dean who’s clearing giving him the “look” to tell him he did the right thing in not killing their father in order to take out the demon.”
I love that moment, too! Jensen is such a master — he can say so much without saying anything at all <3 <3 <3
We so rarely get to see the exterior of Bobby’s house! I have always loved the blue-collar grittiness of the early seasons. I love the bunker set, but miss the vibe of those early seasons.
Speaking of Bobby, I can’t say enough positive things about Jim Beaver or Bobby as a character. I just love them both! I never doubted his devotion to the boys for a single second.
That exorcism scene is pretty intense! I wonder what Bobby expected the brothers to do, though. When Meg had given up part of John’s location, Bobby told the boys that driving out the demon would kill Meg. Did he expect them to leave her possessed?
Once again, we see Dean use and EMF meter to detect demons. We also saw that on the plane in Phantom Traveler, but it quickly falls by the wayside after season 1. I’m kind of glad — that would’ve made things too easy.
kate
“I REALLY liked how we got to see some of smart legendary hunter John Winchester is with the holy water in the factory’s cooling (?) system.
THAT SHOT!!! That shot of the rosary floating down as if it was shot from the bottom of the freakin’ tank is SO GORGEOUS. The cinematography in this show still makes me gasp sometimes.”
Yes, that was a cool scene! And I do love when the writers show us how intelligent Dean and John are!
kate
As much as I LOVE Rachel Miner as Meg, Nikki Aycox is wonderful! She’s SO easy to hate!!
I wish we’d gotten to see more of Pastor Jim before he died. A priest who’s a hunter could’ve been an interesting character. And John seemed really broken up by his murder. John must have trusted and respected him a lot, since we know John left the boys with him when they were little.
Maybe a bad edit, but did you guys notice that when John pulls off to the side of the road (upon learning that Pastor Jim is dead), Sam is on his cell phone when he gets out of the car, but the episode never makes reference to who Sam is talking to. I wonder if Jared was on his phone, or if Sam was 🙂
Speaking of that roadside scene, I like how John hip-checks Sam when Sam questions John’s plan. I know, I know…
Did you guys recognize the nurse Dean flirted with? She was Veritas in season 6 “You Can’t Handle the Truth”. And little Rosie’s mother was Dean’s former guitar teacher in “Bad Boys” :).
I’ve often wondered how much John knew about Azazel’s plan, and when. In “In My Time of Dying”, John tells Azazel that he’s known about the demon’s plan “for a while”, and there isn’t much time between this episode and that one for John to learn very much. So, either John was lying, or he knew a lot about the demon’s plan and chose not to share that with the boys.
The scene when John hears Caleb dying and decides to try to trick Meg is so telling. His exhaustion and despair are palpable. He misses Mary so much and just wants all the suffering and fear to be over for all of them. My heart broke for him. And in that scene at the trestle bridge, Dean is so desperate to not Lose John. My heart broke for both of them.
kate
“OK – I am still baffled why demons have no issues with hallowed ground, but ghost do? hahah.”
LOL! If it makes you feel any better, ghosts don’t have a problem with holy ground after that one episode in season 1. In “Houses of the Holy”, the ghost of a dead priest has no problem appearing in a church — once when summoned (which I guess can be excused because he was summoned) and once when Dean and Sam come to the church to investigate a case. And many seasons later, in “Paint it Black”, the ghost of a dead nun haunts a church and kills people there. I’d chalk that holy ground thing up to season 1 plot inconsistency, and the show trying to get its legs under itself.
And speaking of glitches, demons can teleport. So, instead of trying to walk through holy water, why didn’t Meg and her brother just teleport around it? Is this a plot-armor moment?
kate
Hi, Rosethornshurt!
Sorry to be late to the convo, but welcome to the wiki!!
I agree 100% about Ash! I loved him from the moment we met him :). Speaking of not jumping to conclusions, I guess the brothers shouldn’t assume that the guy asleep on the pool table isn’t an M.I.T. genius, I guess, right!?kate
“I have still, never in all these years watched any of the BTS or the commentary aside from catching the gag reels on YouTube. I REALLY REALLY have to do that. I’d love it.”
Hey, Sister! You pick ANY commentary from ANY season DVD, and we can have a whole separate discussion thread just about that! A few of them are “meh”, but most of them are REALLY good! They’re one of my favorite things about the DVDs.
kate