Rewatch S2: Ep 02 & 03
S2 is a very slow build. I remember that about it now. Everybody Loves a Clown and Bloodlust have sort of secondary plot-lines, mainly because the main plot-line is the boys being horribly broken...that being said, Bloodlust does introduce the theme of the season, or the theme of the next three seasons, which is "everything is a shade of gray." I think that's why I like this show so much...I mean, yeah, for the most part the monsters the boy's kill are evil, no question, but I like that everything in their personal lives is a shade of gray - who they can trust, if their Dad was a good father, if they themselves are good people....
So, let's discuss some episodes:
Everybody Loves a Clown
First off - what kind of kid would let a strange clown inside there house in the middle of the night? Seriously, where are these kids' brains?
Oh god, the "Funeral" for John Winchester gets me every time. The boys do this perfectly. Sam's open brokenness, Dean's silent excruciating torment...them out in the middle of nowhere - no priests, morners, gravestone, flowers - just the two remaining Winchesters, salt and fire.
I feel bad for Sam. He's not bugging Dean just because he wants Dean to open up about how he's feeling (though, that's part of it), he's bugging Dean because he has nothing else to do! Seriously, Dean has the distraction of the car at least, poor Sam is left kicking around Bobby's salvage yard with only his guilt and grief to occupy him...I'd become frickin' annoying too, if I were him.
I like Ellen's realization that the boys weren't there on John's orders...that something was wrong.
Ellen: "..I know how close you and your dad were"
Dean: "Really lady, I'm fine!"
Dean's so tormented that he's rude...and then he's so tormented that he can't even muster up the effort to get into Jo's pants.
Sam: "At least I'm not afraid to fly"
Dean: "Planes crash!"
Sam: "And, apparently, clowns kill!"
I love Sam being terrified of the little-person clown. It's so good. I actually have a friend who has a fear of little-people. Horribly politically incorrect irrational fear of anyone under 4'10''. And Sam's face right there? That's exactly what she looks like when she sees one. She's really tall too.
Sam: "Dad would've wanted me to stick with the job" - No he wouldn't've! He said so about three days before he died! He wanted you to go to school and Dean to have a home! Though, he did say AFTER the Demon was killed, but Sam's talking like maybe he won't ever go back to school...and I don't think Dean's cool with that. Dean may have resolved himself to the Hunter's life, but I think he always wanted something better for Sam, just like his Dad did deep down. Or, he at least recognized that school and being normal had made Sam happy for a little bit. Poor Sam, trying to make his Dad happy, but having such a skewed image of who is Dad was.
Dean's speech to Sam in th road, about how Sam's the one not dealing with their Dad's death well...I'm willing to bet that Dean has never been that blunt and, dare I say it, mean, to Sam before...maybe during the "Stanford Fight" if Dean took part. In anycase, it's an extremely rare occasion, and I think Dean regrets it as soon as he does it, but Sam needed to hear that.
There are some really gorgeous shots of the boys walking down that road. If only I was gifted at photoshop and had a paid lj account.
*Jo gives Sam the 'get out of here' look*
Sam: "Oh yeah, I gotta...I gotta go. Over there. Right now." - Always so smooth, Sammy.
And of course, there's so much that can be said about the famous Dean-Hits-The-Impala Scene. It's that Dean is dealing with so much more than Sam, and he can't discuss it with him. Just look how messed up Sam is over their Dad dying, and then add in the fact that Dean has to deal with what his Dad told him right before...and yeah...Sam comes out and opens up to him about everything he is feeling, and I think, if it were just their Dad's death that Dean was dealing with, he could have said something back right there...but it's probably all jumbled in a big mess in his brain...and it'll take him a while to separate it all, to figure out what feeling goes with what...to not just feel angry, betrayed, alone, terrified, frustrated, and confused all at once. I'd hit the Impala too.
Our poor boys...they are not ok.
Bloodlust
Ah, the Car Porn at the beginning...no better song for it than Back In Black, well done guys.
Did the boys even drink their beers, or did they just order them and walk out? Or did they just chug them REALLY quickly...
Dean and Sam don't know about the network of hunters, or how hunters talk...John must have kept them isolated from the society when they were growing up...probably on purpose, given everything.
Gordon: "Guess there's a lot your Dad never told you" - yeah, like WHY he kept them isolated from the hunting society...though, I'm sure Dean wishes there was at least one thing he wishes his dad didn't tell him.
Man, well, Dean didn't take out all that pent up rage on the Impala, that's for sure. Hmmm...rampage Dean, so sexy.
Dean: "Sammy, remind me to beat that buzzkill out of you later..."
You know I don't usually go for the wincest, but that line is too good to pass up...
This whole romance Dean has going on with Gordon really annoys me. You can do better, Dean!
So, Dean was 16 when he resolved himself to be a hunter...and it involved killing something with a silvertipped arrow, burning it in the woods, all while Sam waited in the car. Probably a werewolf, I think that's what everyone else assumes it was.
Yeah, that's healthy advice Gordon *sarcasm* - let that pain fester until you are a killing machine with no soul...
Lenore: "Once you have the scent, you'll keep tracking us. It doesn't matter where we go." Ah, I love a good flip-side parallel.
I agree with Sam about not killing the vampires, but I would have needed more proof that they were good then just them letting me go...mind you...the deleted scene I talk about later addresses this.
It's the first time Dean hits Sam in the series! (When he isn't being controlled by a spirit). Last episode we got to see Dean bluntly rip into Sam about him feeling guilty about their Dad, and now we get to see him punch hm in the face! It's a whole string of firsts for Dean. I'm sure this isn't the first time in his entire life that he's hauled out and hit Sam...otherwise Sam's reaction would have been different. I think anyway, feel free to argue.
*SPOILER FOR S2 FINALE* I wonder what would have happened if Lenore had drank Sam's blood? I mean...it's not like Sam's blood is entirely normal... *END SPOILER WARNING*
I really like Sam's shirt in this episode.
Sam takes a raincheck on hitting Dean...does he ever actually hit Dean? I mean, I know he shoots him in Asylum, and they get into that wrestling match in the Trickster episode...but I can't remember if Sam ever punches Dean...I really don't think he does. When Dean gets really really mad, he punches Sam - it's the gauge of how pissed-Dean is...the fact that he would actually hit Sam. But it never occurred to me now that Sam never hits Dean..not even in retaliation. Correct me if I'm wrong, please.
Here's a change: Sam defending their Dad to Dean, and Dean saying that the man made mistakes.
Deleted Scene Goodness:
The deleted scene is the boys in the motel room after they come back from the mogue (I'm guessing), and Sam is doing research on the vampires...and Dean is sharpening a knife. Sam tells Dean that none of it fits the pattern they were told to expect from vampires...they aren't nomadic, there aren't any missing person cases in the area, they have jobs...and Dean is just telling him "so what?!" and explaining how they are just trying to blend in, so that hunters can't find them, and whoever they are killing just isn't being reported, and that Dean enjoys his job, and maybe Sam should try enjoying it too.
So, the deleted scene sort of answers my problem with Sam trusting the vampires so quickly...the fact that he already knew that their patterns were all off, that they didn't have the usual MO.
Now, I have to quickly finish making two scarves before Christmas Day...and tomorrow I'm going to my Dad's for dinner (save me please), so yeah...might watch two more episodes later tonight, might not, we'll just see.