Supernatural 2x04 Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things.

[samvara]

1.                   Dean and Sam arguing in the car. Of course Dean doesn’t see the point of visiting Mary’s headstone and of course Sam is on a symbolic make things right with the dead people kick. I like the way they argued about going and how it had an almost ritual feel to it, like Dean has to complain, Sam has to give him an out and we know there’s no way Sam’s going anywhere without Dean. I feel for Dean though because Sam would go without him.

2.                   The uncle. Who is he? Do they have more family? What about Mary’s other family? I can easily imagine John alienating all of his relatives but his character prior to Mary dying seemed expansive, loving and outgoing so where are the previous relationships?

3.                   Dean finding a hunt and Sam’s reaction. I really see this as Sam projecting. Yes, Dean is seriously fucked up. Yes, he uses hunting as an emotional outlet, however, he’s darn good at it and it’s his life.

a.       Dean isn’t freaking out before he sees the tree, he is strolling along being all emotionally repressed and looking around and happens to glace at it. Hell *I* would investigate a bizarrely dead tree standing out like that. Dean’s reaction is to find out more, he’s not jumping to conclusions, he’s doing research.

b.       Sam is all “here of all places?”  He seems to think there’s this division between ‘normal life’ and hunting life. Why shouldn’t they find a hunt in a graveyard?

4.                   The boys talking to each other over Dr Mason. So beautiful. Dean all talking about himself and Sam all talking to him over that poor man’s head.

5.                   “You wanna take another swing?”  Oh Sam, you’re not hearing Dean over the loud voice in your head that says you know what’s going on. I know you want to be all grown up and take care of your broken brother and I hear your pain.

6.                   The journal stealing. Hehe. Dean is so practical and Sam is so, OMG you took a girls journal? Another lovely look at their fundamental orientations.

7.                   The porn watching.

a.       Dean’s “Awkward” and his follow up comments are delightfully understated for Dean. I’m taking the unusually gentle teasing as a sign Dean’s really screwed up right now and doesn’t have his picking-on-Sammy edge all sharp and shiny.

b.       This is the first time we’ve seen Sammy showing interest in basic boy/girl (well, girl/girl given it was lesbian porn) interactions where someone else didn’t initiate. Is he finally recovering from Jessica’s death?

c.       Love the Dead Goldfish line.

8.                   Thought the fly in Neil’s face was quite subtle.

9.                   Sam’s reaction to Dean saying they have to burn the bones. Yes Kripke we get it: Sam is a gentle flower who doesn’t think about work when grieving, steal dead girl’s diaries or violate recent graves.

a.       Love Dean’s expressions when Sam asks if he’s high.

10.               Dean saying “I hear you” after Sam’s outburst. [wibble] I heart you both.

11.               Sam telling Dean they’ve lost John, Mary and Jess – is he going to lose Dean too? Oh Sam; you pushed Dean in In My Time of Dying then you pushed some more in Everyone Loves a Clown, you gave him some space in Bloodlust and it didn’t work so you just keep on pushing.

12.               Dean giving Neil a chance to escape then respecting his choice to stay.

13.               Sam shooting Angela in the head. Oh yeah. She says “I’m still a person” and he pauses just long enough to make me worry he’s going to do something stupid then shoots her anyway. Phew, he’s not going to be asking every monster he meets if they’ve changed their ways and given up their life of evil.

a.       Sammy the Undead Jehovah’s witness suddenly springs to mind; hunting down evil and offering it Salvation.

                                                               i.      “Oh no, it’s a Winchester!

                                                             ii.      Which one?

                                                            iii.      The scary one!

                                                            iv.      Sam?

                                                             v.      *Frightened nods*

14.               Love the way Dean slides into the coffin to stake Angela, nice sequence.

15.               Sam’s hand. I know they needed to write it in but I’ve done thumbs before and it freakin’ hurts. No way was he digging using a broken hand.

16.               The final scene was heartbreaking. At the end of Bloodlust it was painful but we had a sense of completion, here the whole point is that there is no easy answer and Dean’s pain is very real.

a.       Oh Dean, you would have sacrificed yourself for either of them without hesitating and you know John did it for you and it’s killing you.

b.       I love, love LOVE this. There was Dean in In My Time of Dying all full of rage and pain telling John he’d given EVERYTHING and thinking John was just going to let him die and now it turns out that’s the furthest thing from the truth. Damn it Dean, he gave you a gift, you can feel as much grief as you like about John dying but he made the choice and it was because he loved you.