Setsuna: Hello, and welcome to the first ever post of The Road in Review’s episode reviews. I’m SetsunaNoroi, she’s BitterSweetBish, and together we are… Uh, what are we exactly?
BitsyB: Two fans with clearly too much time on our hands, with a very long television show that has taken root in our brains to the point that we can’t and/or won’t think about anything else, currently looking for a way to organize all of our thoughts on the behemoth that is this show and fandom. Obviously.
Setsuna: Right, obviously. What she said. In any case, welcome to the first steps of our journey into this admittedly huge undertaking. This site is going to be to recap, review and analyze the show, books and other points within the storyline. As it is said though, every journey starts with a single step so here we are at the very first episode.
BitsyB: I think the first thing to do is address the theme of not only of the first episode, but the show as a whole. Anyone with even a passing knowledge has heard that family is a big factor, and it’s completely at the forefront of this episode. It doesn’t waste any time showing us the family of the Winchesters, John, Mary, Dean and Sam. We get a short little view into their lives, before that family is ripped apart by tragedy, not at all unlike what we’ll see happen concerning the monster of the week later on in this episode.
Setsuna: Ah yes, Mary. For the longest time she was the lost Lenore, the tragedy that drove the family. While years later she’d be brought back, for the longest time she was this woman torn away from her young life too soon. It’s a perfect set up too, where we see little Sam getting tucked in and everyone bidding people good night before they start hunkering down to sleep. Then what I will dub "Freaky Shit" starts to happen as Mary goes to check on Sam, only to think he’s being taken care of by her husband, but then to her horror finds John downstairs asleep. She runs upstairs to do… I don’t know, something.
BitsyB: I don’t believe she really had much of a plan in mind as she was just moving on instinct and panic about her baby.
Setsuna: No doubt. In any case, she runs upstairs and well, gets herself killed. Oof though, what a way to go, pinned to the ceiling and then barbecued like that.
BitsyB: There’s something that never made sense to me though. John was downstairs asleep in his chair. He heard his wife scream and then rushed up the stairs, calling for her. Then he sees the crib and just seems to immediately calm down and goes to look in on Sammy.
Setsuna: He probably thought was just dreaming. Like,he believed it could have been a nightmare? After all, it’s revealed later on that John was a marine that had served in Vietnam. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had traces of PTSD just from that.
BitsyB: Then of course the real life nightmare starts and John has to see possibly the worst sight for anyone, Mary pinned to the ceiling before erupting into flames. He grabs Sam and hands him off to Dean, killing two birds with one stone and getting both boys out of there as fast as possible before trying to get to Mary, though tragically it’s far, far too late.
Setsuna: That scene of him on the car with his family always hurts me. In that moment, John’s face shows a man who has seen things he should not have.
BitsyB: I have to wonder about the huge amount of guilt the character had to be feeling at that point. Now, we all know there was no saving Mary but he could be thinking he didn’t stay on mission. His wife screamed and he went to try to help, only to get distracted by the baby. He seems like a guy who would be thinking, “If I’d been a few seconds sooner, kept Mary in my mind, hadn’t wasted precious time, then what if?” It’s perfectly reasonable to assume he would have gone and checked on Mary, but when a mom screams checking on the baby seems reasonable. At that point, since the screaming had stopped, he clearly thought things were okay and he probably never forgave himself for that mistake, even though it never would have made any kind of difference.
Setsuna: You know, that does make his whole, “The job comes first before everything else,” attitude make a lot of sense in retrospect, but that’s characterization we’ll be getting deeply into depth later on. To me, in that moment, he was acting more like a family man than a soldier. That could have easily tripped him up, like majorly. So yeah, he realized he was in a war zone again and that he needed to transition back to properly deal with this. Just that slow transformation on his face from hurt and confused to determined so he could find out what happened is just acting gold.
BitsyB: And honestly, anyone else would rationalize what the saw and start telling themselves, “I was confused.” It would be trying to deal with the world in a normal way. John’s reaction shows an excellent sort of control that he has no intention of believing the world is small. That night he saw that it was all bigger than he thought, and knew he needed to become big too in order to deal with it.
Setsuna: Agreed. You can tell he’s already on, and telling himself that he’s going to find out the truth. Kissing Sammy, worried about his family, before slowly shifting the attention on what killed his wife.
BitsyB: Also, I love how he ran back into the room to try to save her, after she was cut open and on fire. He didn’t care. He was going to try, even though there seemed to be nothing he could do. Instinct led him through on trying to save his wife after taking care of his boys. That was war zone experience, not the first horrible sight he’d seen.
Setsuna: So we open again, only this time it’s over two decades later and we see for the first time our boi Jared Pada… I mean, Sam Winchester. He’s grumpy, frumpy, and I love him to itty bitty little bits. He’s the owner of my heart. The camera pans around to the room a bit to look at the apartment and see the same couple of John and Mary in the photo from before. Word of God apparently said the photo had to be there to show Sam is the baby, which I think we could have figured out from him having the same name, but whatever. Anyway, he’s currently complaining to his smoking hot girlfriend-
BitsyB: That’s not even remotely funny.
Setsuna: The sad thing is, I didn’t mean that as a pun. Anyway, he’s talking to his girlfriend, Jessica, about how he doesn’t like Halloween, doesn’t want to wear a costume, and doesn’t seem that into going at all. Actually, he seems grumpy about everything from the offset. Though, I love how this family is broken and only barely hanging on by the thread of its teeth, Sam still has the picture despite talking very dispassionately about his mom, and clearly not being okay with his dad. Jess herself says he doesn’t talk much about his family, but it’s enough for her to know who Dean was on just hearing his name. Makes you wonder why he had this aged, old photo that is clearly the same one as when he was six months old.
BitsyB: Well, there’s three chances here. One, Sam stole it before he left for college to be petty. Two, Dean gave it to Sam to try and keep a connection in the family, because his mom and dad mean everything to him, and it makes more sense that Sam would take a photo of his bro but his bro is, “No, you take something like this,” instead. Either of those, or three, John gave it to Sam when he was younger. Without any context though, it’s an impossible call to make.
Setsuna: In any case, Jessica convinces him to get his ass in gear, and we shift to the party where they meet up with a friend of theirs. On that note, it is interesting to see that Sam will talk about his family he’s now separated from, but in a, “Meh, they ain’t proud of me,” vibe that a lot of young adults do. Also, like every fan of SPN that has watched the show and also Legally Blonde loves to point out, his score is 174, which is damn good since the max is 180, but Elle Woods gets 179. Ha.
BitsyB: It’s a scene more to establish the backstory of this young man’s life, as well as show his connection to this woman that he’s with, but it’s done very well. It comes off believable that we’re seeing a moment in his life and not a cheap set up of, “This is his woman, he loves her because we say he does.” The way the three characters interact feels organic and real, even if it is little more than exposition to explain Sam’s life is going well, he has a girlfriend and is acing his college career. So I got to say kudos to both the writing and acting for this scene.
Setsuna: We then move on to the after party sleeping-it-off phase and see some shadow moving around, being totally sneaky and we think might be a threat and… who the hell am I kidding? It’s Dean, sass master, cutie with inner scars he doesn’t like to show, and the owner of my heart.
BitsyB: I thought Sam owned your heart.
Setsuna: They made co-owned down-payments. While Dean is my favorite of the two, it’s by a slim margin. I adore them both. What can I say? I’m a sucker for compelling characters.
BitsyB: I think lots of people are. In my mind, it’s the boys that pretty much carried the show through as many years as it was on. “Whoa, easy there, tiger,” was the line that got me to adore Dean immediately.
Setsuna: Let it be said too, the fight scene between them is amazing, even if you can only see part of it. These two are just kick ass, and it’s a good visual cue to show the audience they know what they’re doing.
BitsyB: First episode already had me wondering about Dean’s psychology. When he breaks into the apartment, Sam fighting back makes sense, but Dean is just cruising around for a beer. The guy makes such a racket, but you wouldn’t think he’d make much noise, and then attracts attention on top of it.
Setsuna: Makes you think Dean did it intentionally to check out Sam’s skill? See if he was still practicing? He did say, “Out of practice,” and then smile like a yuppy when he got pinned and proven wrong.
BitsyB: That’s how I take it. Man, that fast and I knew I’d love this kid.
Setsuna: So after their fight, Jessica wanders in and asks what’s going on to which Dean gets all shifty and tries to tell Sam they need to talk privately before delivering one of the most quoted SPN lines of all time.
Setsuna: Though I do find it weird Sam is all, “Oh, whatever you have to talk about you can say it in front of her.” Like really, what the hell do you think Dean came over to talk about after years of separation, getting a bingo tournament started?
BitsyB: We then get to see Sam and Dean arguing about how they were raised, as well as the merits and flaws of the lifestyle, saving others versus having nothing for themselves. It really shows both their points without making either of them designated as the one in the wrong there. Interestingly, it’s not their dad’s fate that really concerns Sam, but Dean’s attitude. He flat out admits he doesn’t want to do it alone, and that’s when Sam breaks down and asks, “What was he hunting?” At that point he is in, even if only for one hunt. It shows clear concern for Dean there, yet also that he truly believes in Dean. “Yes you can,” to the idea his brother can’t do it alone. It’s so big bro worship.
Setsuna: I like how even from the start we see how close the brothers are despite their differences. The chemistry between the actors was just that great. So anyway, Dean explains their dad went missing looking into a place where other men go... well, missing. Pretty straight forward that they need to check it out when Dean plays Sam a voice mail from their dad along with a creepy woman's voice claiming she can never go home. It's enough to convince them both it's best to hit the road.
BitsyB: With Sam prepping to leave and assuring Jessica that everything is fine, I have to wonder on that nifty cool blade he packs. We never see it again. It’s even on DVD cover. Why? You can clearly see the love and care put into it. You can tell it wasn’t something slapped together for the sake of saving money and giving Sam a weapon. Did they have more plans for it, or was it just something cool?
See? There is is, right there.
Setsuna: I’d have loved to see more of it too, but I’m getting the impression it was just because it looked cool, yeah.
BitsyB: Well, anyway before we get on with the plot, there is something I want to explore on Jessica’s character, since there isn’t really a better place to do it than here. She is almost exactly like Dean. Here’s how. You can tell she’s a party girl, at ease and relaxed. She doesn’t seem to worry much about the interview. Gives a very, ‘Oh, you’ll do fine,’ response to Sam’s worries, and refers to it a kind of a big deal in obvious pride of him. She shows little concern over a strange guy breaking in that turns out to be the brother of her boyfriend, and gets hit on but doesn’t bat on eye. Her boyfriend runs off and while she has a concern it’s a casual concern. Even asks where he’s going and gets no response. She doesn’t run after him demanding answers. It seems like she figures the world will work out for them because it always does. She’s also is a local girl, living in Palo Alto and was buried there, which not a cheap place to live in the slightest. I’d know, being from California originally. So you get this impression Jessica is this sweet and kind girl who’s basically slumming it with her interesting, mysterious boyfriend. The area is not filled with the super rich people, but the upper upper class for sure. She certainly wasn’t stupid though even if you don’t get the time to see much of her merits, since Sam is clearly into smart ladies. She just seemed like a girl who didn’t worry much about most things.
Setsuna: Oh jeez, almost like DEAN! (At least at first. Later seasons have him worried a lot, but for now it fits Dean as Sam currently knows him.) Sam is going after his brother but with those precious lady bits. Bosses him around a bit, he just takes it. Loud, proud and not ashamed to admit it. Birthday January, 24th 1984 while Dean’s is the same date only in 1979. I… I can see how that kind of got seen in a certain light some of by the shippers.
BitsyB: We’ll see Dean do something similar with Cassie, but that’s an episode to cover later.
Setsuna: Oh yeah, we’ve got lots of episodes and dead characters to cover first, like the idiot in the car about to pick up a clearly "FREAKY SHIT" woman. Look, I get it, you see a pretty lady on the side of the road, that’s going to grab your attention, but was the power of his boner so strong he could not notice this lady was clearly leading him into a trap? It took him forever to buy a clue on maybe he shouldn’t be getting involved in this kind of thing. So we have one more dead guy for the boys to look into when they get there. The cops aren’t much help on the details the boys need, and they bicker about how to treat the police, luckily finding better info from a couple of girls putting up posters later on by posing as concerned relatives. They’re informed of a ghost hitchhiker and use the clue to find out about Constance Welch, who killed herself after her two children died, and takes people who give her a ride.
BitsyB: I have to wonder if this is such a local legend, why there is not a single case of a guy seeing a scary girl dancing around at the side of the road at night, acting stoned out of her mind, no shoes on and torn dress, and doesn’t once think, “NOPE! I’ve got a wife at home with pot roast in the oven!” and drive past. This never happened? I mean, the stories have got to come from somewhere. Seriously, what is this ghost doing, just covering her tracks? She does clean up blood afterward in too… for some reason.
Setsuna: Agreed. Where the heck does the body even go? Everything is way too clean in the missing guy's car considering the body exploded. Did she wipe everything up afterward? Also, she seems to be getting more aggressive and active recently with no word why. She’s not an old spirit, only dying in the 80’s. Learning what we do about ghosts later on though, they do get more and more insane as time goes by. Circumstances could be taking their toll on her. I also find it interesting that the monster is a mom who destroyed her two kids lives with the whole dying thing. Betrayal in her death, and all that.
BitsyB: Oh yeah, the whole betrayal worked in Sam’s character too. This is where the theme really kicks in! Dean kept mentioning the college interview thing like it wouldn’t happen, as if Sam would forget or as if he could just convince his little brother to willingly forget about it. While we didn’t figure out until years later that Mary was a hunter as well, Sam is also clearly in the mind to pull a stunt like she did. He is definitely not planning on telling his own family, spouse and potential future kids about his life and by hiding it, puts them at risk too. Like Mary, he clearly thinks that normal means safe, and not unguarded, even though refusing to prepare and protect yourself is the stupidest thing you could possibly do.
Setsuna: Agreed. As they investigate the bridge the latest victim died on, Sam reveals he is determined to keep the truth from Jessica, and that honestly seems a little selfish to me. If someone is going to potentially spend their lives with you, then you need to let them know what they are in for. I get that hunting isn’t a first date conversation, but at the point of living together you need to be honest about this kind of thing. Him keeping it from her just makes him a liar, liar ceiling on fire.
BitsyB: You did not just…
Setsuna: I did and I’m proud of it.
BitsyB: This is going to be a looooong fifteen seasons, I can already tell.
Setsuna: Shut up, you love me and you know it. Anyway, it is interesting to me that Constance’s words are always, “I can never go home”. Sam has the same attitude over John. He implies he would have gone back if not for his dad’s words telling him if he left to never come back. He also can’t go back to a normal, innocent family home. As much as he fights against it, the life will follow him no matter what he does. There is nothing for Sam to chase, and there’s also nothing for him to return to. He just sadly doesn’t realize that yet as he and Dean fight about it on the bridge.
BitsyB: After the fight simmers down between the two, the boys get their first sighting of the ghost and attempt to chase after her, only to end up nearly getting run over when she posses the Impala and they have to jump from the bridge. Funny story on that stunt in real life, both kids were supposed to fall in the river but only Jensen actually went in. Jared lucked out, not getting covered in grime for the next shoots.
Setsuna: Luckily Dean evolving into a Grimer leads him to needing to wash up, and to their next clue location on what might have happened to Papa Winchester by booking a hotel. I have to wonder why Sam didn’t try the local motels under the newest card name Dean had told him about before they even got to town. He checked the hospital and morgue. Surely they would have figured their dad would need a place to sleep, right? Still, it leads them to seeing what their dad was piecing together, figuring out that Constance is a ghost labeled as a Woman in White, specifically a woman who kills her children and then herself due to grief and insanity over an unfaithful husband and… Jesus Christ is that really common enough to have its own classification? Wow.
BitsyB: Apparently common enough that Dean immediately picks up on it and knows all these guys were willing to bone some woman they just found on the side of the road. People, let this be a lesson to you, don’t ever mix body fluids with the crazy ones. You will regret it. Also, interesting thing about the photo of the woman in white they find in John's room. It’s actually the Pinkie painting, mirror imaged and in negative. Apparently Eric Kripke had a copy of it in his house as a kid cause he grew up with it and it scared him, so he threw it into the episode. Just goes to show you that all horror is essentially just stuff that scared you as a kid.
Setsuna: So after that Dean heads out to get some food or info or whatever, and I love how he just doesn’t care at all about the cops that he sees after he leaves the hotel. Just whips out phone and has a code for Sam to translate to, “Cops saw me. Run,” in just a couple seconds. Also has no fucks to give about being arrested at all.
BitsyB: He didn’t care about being dirty when trying to get a room either. It’s like he was silently daring the guy to say something when he’s filthy and covered in dried-up muck. With police he literally is just so unfazed. He was just waiting for his chance to get away while he was being questioned, and honestly always seems amused whenever the cops manage to catch him.
Setsuna: The only time he seems to care about the interrogation at all is when he sees the journal, a priceless well of information jotted down by their dad, and can be yours now from Amazon or any cosplay prop seller on etsy! Ahem, sorry. Very serious journal is serious, clearly. Dean knows John never left that behind ever, and here we see his true faith in the man. He was probably not thinking, “Oh god, dad is dead,” and more like, “Dad left me this as a clue. He’s got to be alive.”
BitsyB: John certainly left in a rush. Half-eaten burger, salt still on the door, and demon notes when there was no sign of demons involved. This is probably routine standard hunt when he got a hint on Yellow Eyes and went after him.
Setsuna: No wonder he freaked and bolted. Dean says John leaves hints where he’s going so Dean could follow him, but no surprise it’s 600 miles away and nowhere close to John might actually be. Obviously leaving clues to get Dean to run off in the wrong direction so he’d be safe.
BitsyB: This family dynamic is amazing though, Sam faking a call to the police in order to give Dean the chance to get away and Dean knows immediately it was him. He doesn’t even have to ask if it was, just knows his little brother had his back. It’s little hints like that show without telling how well these boys worked together before the younger one skipped off to college.
Setsuna: Meanwhile Sam confirms with Constance’s husband what happened, and it’s clear he doesn’t want to believe his wife might have murdered their poor children over his infidelity. I have to wonder if that’s to soothe his own conscious or he just doesn’t want to believe his wife was capable of something so horrible.
BitsyB: Either way, he’s fooling himself. He must have heard the local legends, even in passing. He’d have to be very willfully ignorant not to at least wonder if the connection about the woman who died on that highway and the female ghost who apparently takes all these men on the same road isn’t at least somewhat connected. Even if he doesn’t believe in ghosts, he doesn’t seem shocked when Sam brings up the woman in white story to him, more hurt and angry. It makes for an interesting scene to ponder over.
Setsuna: So the mystery seems to be drawing to a close on the murders, even if there’s still no answers on John. Ideas of what to do and what’s going on get canned quickly though as Sam runs Constance over and she demands he take her home. Oh, and the lady not willing to follow her own rules of going after cheating boys, and is willing to force it to kill Sam. CONSENT IS IMPORTANT, YOU OLD-TIME-THINKING FASHIONED BITCH!
BitsyB: Well, ghosts later on are revealed to not give a damn about shades of gray. They see what they want to see.
Setsuna: True. She is still leaning heavily on a technicality. That BITCH. So she totally breaks her own rules to try and kill Sam, only for big bro to come in and save him.
BitsyB: Can’t help but notice Dean’s normal attitude that he has about the Impala of, “You hurt my car and I’ll kill you,” is completely missing here, and he is totally willing to shoot out the window of the car to distract the ghost and save Sammy.
Setsuna: Don’t front, Dean. You love your Sammy more than life itself. Admit it.
BitsyB: Luckily, it’s the distraction needed as Sam is able to get the car into the house Constance will not go into, dragging her in with it. She puts up a good fight for a few minutes before she notices her own children are there too, waiting for her.
Setsuna: Cue the SCARIEST FUCKING THING I’VE SEEN ON THE WHOLE SHOW EVER! The damn lady is going down to Hell. Also, notice that while being dragged down by her kids at first, we see four bodies pulling her down later. Beings of Hell maybe? Arm burst from her stomach, they’re wrapping around her, pulling her hair, she shifts from normal, to ghost, to skinless screaming monster. Perhaps her ghost powers being stripped away and being turned into a soul of Hell like the rest of them. It goes by so fast, and a large part of me hated watching frame-by-frame, but holy crap is it an amazing scene.
WE DO NOT MURDER FAMILY MEMBERS, CONSTANCE!
BitsyB: I had always wondered about the kids. They seem to disappear down into the floor and the skinless things are still around. If you look at the brothers’ reaction too you can see they are terrified. It’s clear they’ve never seen anything like this before. Most of the time they burn the bones, and maybe see the ghost burst into flames.
Setsuna: This is clearly some ghost-on-ghost action… that sounded wrong. More like, ghosts going after another ghost to take her out. Not something that comes up in the show often at all, so probably not a sight the boys have been treated to before. Frame by frame, it looks amazing.
BitsyB: So, with that the day is saved and the next leg of their journey can begin, only not really because Sam is still determined to be normal and have a life that doesn’t include getting molested and finger stabbed by dead broads.
Setsuna: A fine goal, to be sure.
BitsyB: It leads to an awkward good bye, a promise to possibly meet up later that Dean doesn’t seem to believe, and a parting of ways before Sam heads back in, where his peace lasts all of a few minutes.
Setsuna: Hard to be chill with cookies when you walk in on your girlfriends’ impromptu “This Girl is on Fire” impression. Ugh, I’m going to Hell.
BitsyB: No you’re not, cause the crack videos did it way before you did. Geez, trying to be clever.
Setsuna: Also, it’s kind of weird that Dean is back in the apartment the second he hears Sam scream despite driving off. It’s like he was going to go in one more time to try and convince him.
BitsyB: That’s actually a deleted scene. They probably didn’t want to tip their hand, but Dean saw his watch stop, much like Mary’s hallway light messing up at the start of the episode. He drove back and realized something was up because of that. Maybe they could have kept it in, but rule of cool needed Dean’s entrance to be more of a surprise.
Setsuna: Afterward, just like 22 years ago, we see a life go up in smoke, not just Jessisca’s but Sam’s as well. It’s over for him, and grief has taken him just like it did his father all those years ago. Dean sees Sam, walks over and doesn’t even say a word. The two just seem to have this full understanding of each other in that moment. Again, the chemistry of the two just completely sold the show.
BitsyB: So a great start all around on a technical level, story telling and acting. You can tell everyone cared about this show from the very start, including actors, writers, and the prop people. Emotional connection was clearly there in the processes of getting this pilot off the ground and that makes a difference that the audience could immediately see and latch onto.
Setsuna: I got into SPN when season 2 was getting started. Ironically a scene from the very start of the second season got me intrigued, so when they were doing a marathon of season 1, I sat down to binge on it. It got me hooked to what has certainly been a wild ride, and I’ve got this season but especially this episode to thank for it.
Score 1-10:
BitsyB: I’m giving it 8.5, just being a horror buff that I am. As a horror critique, some things got to me. Shooting Casper in the face was a little hokey, along with the vic’s body going somewhere with no blood. First time the episode hit me as a 9.5, so looking at it without a nostalic filter later on, it certainly has a few holes. Overall, completely wonderful though. I’m spoiled on the best of the best, so as a bit of a snob on the genre I’d say 8.5 is good for me, higher for an initial viewing though.
Setsuna: I’d have to say the same. There was some unanswered questions, not for overall story but episode plot. I love the chemistry already there with the boys though, and that makes up for just about everything else. You can easily get into their heads. The holes bothered me a bit more than they did you though, so I’d say 8 for me. Not perfect, but damn good at getting your attention and not letting go until you’ve consumed this properly. Very solid, even if there are a couple plot holes, but nothing that should ruin enjoyment of it overall.
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