Oh, joy. Get ready for the torturing of women as a plot point, because our episode starts with a terrified young woman tied to a chair and bleeding.

Blood and Gore: 1

Unlike many shows of this sort, though, they don’t linger on the helpless female. They cut straight to the SWAT team in the yard. So we know she’s going to be rescued. And they don’t make the shots of her overly sexy. A lot of shots focus on non-sexy things, like her arm.

Of course, what they’re leading up to is this dramatic moment:

Dear oh dear, Dean! Continue reading “Supernatural S1 E6: “Skin” Summary and Counts” →

My SPN partner Zeroth has a beautiful piece up analyzing the use of framing and action in Supernatural Season 1 episodes “Phantom Traveler” and “Bloody Mary.” Most definitely check it out!

Taken together, “Phantom Traveler” acts as a mirror for how the world, at least Dean and John, see Sam. And then “Bloody Mary” is about how Sam sees himself. He’s in pain, and that pain is induced by how Dean and John view him.

It’s also reflective of a certain bias and issue with the show overall – Dean is the character they care about. The one that is the voice of morality and ideals. And I argue that is a serious flaw because Sam has all the makings of a fantastic, tortured character. And its never really been delivered well. The show runners don’t know what to do with a guy who isn’t posturing endlessly about his masculinity or straightness. He’s comfortable in who he is, at least on fundamental identity aspects like that.

Dean on the other hand, is the character the show runners like and empathize with. They understand a man, whether consciously or subconsciously, that wrestles with his sexuality and masculinity. They don’t always understand abandonment issues, or how someone sensitive like Sam would handle these issues.

So let’s take a look at how the show framed these aspects, of Dean overshadowing Sam in “Phantom Traveler” and “Bloody Mary” being about that pain.

OMG, Bloody Mary! We used to play this all the time as kids… with much different results.

We start out in a darkened room, with a bunch of girls sitting around some candles. They’re playing truth or dare, which leads to one of the girls daring another to say “Bloody Mary” in the bathroom mirror. The girl tasked to do so is a total skeptic. But of course she does it because you don’t pass up a silly dare like this. And we get a flickering candle flame, and then the girls pound on the door to scare the living shit out of her, which makes Dad tell them to tone it down. See what you get for being a skeptic?

And now a creepy goth silhouette is showing up in every mirror Dad passes. Dear oh dear. Continue reading “SPN S1 E5 Summary: “Bloody Mary”” →

Are you in the market for a photo essay of Dean’s hilari-terror? You are so in luck today, my darlings, because my partner Zeroth has got a bonza one for you – along with a bit o’ analysis:

I like this episode a lot for a fairly simple sadistic reason: watching Dean be in pants-wetting terror for most of the episode.

This is a testament to the acting capabilities for Jensen Ackles. He’s been able to convey a guy trying to be what he thinks manly masculine manly manly men should be, and the vulnerable pain he carries underneath.

He’s gentle and kind to the vulnerable and scared, especially children. He loves his brother and has a fairly common fear of flying.

Which isn’t made any better with a demon trying to crash the plane he’s on!

Poor Dean. He tries so hard to be macho, and then this… Continue reading “SPN S1 E4 Analysis: The Hilarity of Terror” →

Our episode starts in an airport, with a very nervous middle-aged dude. He’s right to be nervous, because he gets possessed in the bathroom by some gritty black floaty goop that sails into his eyes. As he gets onto the plane and is welcomed by the flight attendant, we see he has acquired total confidence and solid black eyes. Well, at least he’s not afraid of flying anymore.

Forty minutes into the flight, he goes to stretch his legs and pull the emergency door open. Of course, this isn’t conducive to keeping a plane flying. Thus, our Death By Monstrosity count goes through the roof. Continue reading “Supernatural S1 E4 “Phantom Traveler” Summary and Counts” →

My esteemed partner in Supernatural has his analysis of S1 E3 up – definitely go check it out!

“Watching one of your parents die isn’t something you just get over.”

“You can’t bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried.”

These two lines of dialogue form the emotional touchpoints in this episode. Trauma, guilt, and grief are the subject.

Almost every man in this episode is dealing with guilt. We start with Sam, guilty about not finding their dad. Bill Carlton and Sheriff Jake Devins guilty about killing Peter. Lucas guilty about surviving his dad’s traumatic death.

And that’s the whole point of this episode – guilt and trauma, and bridging that trauma.