S02.E04: Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

[DittyDotDot]

Sam insists on a visit ma Mary's grave. Although empty and meaningless to Dean, he is however intrigued in the cemetery by the perfect circle of dead vegetation around the three days old grave of local college student, Angela Mason who died in a car accident, and suspects the ground is desecrated.

[DittyDotDot]

I was surprised at how engaged I was while watching this one last night. It's never been a particular favorite, but for some reason I found more to like than I remembered--It's probably just the Kim Manners factor. ;)

 

I'm going to get the complaints out of the way first. I'm not sure that I really care one way or the other about zombies so the actual case is just so, so. I also don't really care for the actress that plays Angela or the actor that plays Neil.

 

Things that work...I love that Dean doesn't want to go to Mary's grave, but he also doesn't want to leave Sam either. I think it's in part because he's still reeling from John's death and Sam's really all he's got left and also in part because his stupid asshole-of-a-father got him all worried about leaving Sam's side for fear of him going evil or something. I love the way Manners shot Jensen in the cemetery...those long quiet shots of Dean noticing the grave and working out how it was unusual. I also love the way they shot the night cemetery scenes where they were first digging up the grave and then staking her back into her grave. Did I mention that I don't think I will ever get tired of watching them dig up a corpse? It amuses and entertains me far more than it has a right to.

 

Even the angst in this episode doesn't bother me. I like how Sam is trying to get Dean to open up an I love how Dean's all "shut the Hell up." There's so much more going on in those scenes than petty bickering so I find I don't mind it. And Jensen at the end of the episode is really heartbreaking. I also think it was just the right time for Dean to open up so we can start to move on.

 

There's some really funny moments in this one too...I think it's hilarious that Dean breaks into the girl's apartment only to find her roommate there. And, Dean's annoyance at the roommate's crying when he's just trying to con her makes me laugh. Sam watching Casa Erotica and Dean's "awkward" is so funny to me. There could have been a little more fun, but still managed to get a chuckle or two out of me.

 

ETA: I forgot to mention that the lighting in the final scene is spectacular...the way Jensen's eyes glisten as he starts to tear up really jumps out at me every single time.

Edited July 6, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[rue721]

I love the atmosphere in this one. Everything feels so calm and still, and there's no real sense of time passing. The atmosphere makes it feel like the whole thing takes place in a graveyard.

 

The MotW is dull, except that the grieving father really got me. The actor hit it out of the park imo. I really liked how he just seemed zoned out and numb as he was trying to be kind and cooperative even as the guys were questioning him. It was like he was on autopilot, and for him, because he's a good person, "autopilot" means kind and cooperative, and it took Dean flipping out at him and getting very aggressive to even sort of snap him out of it. It was a punch in the gut how scared and quiet he seemed when he told Sam he was going to call the police. YMMV.

 

IRL, years ago I had a loved one die on the same night that I was supposed to go out on a date with a guy who I'd only been seeing for a really short while. I called the guy to cancel, and said that I couldn't go out because I had to field calls (and other stuff like that having to do with the death). The guy told me that he was going to come over and stay with me through the evening so that I wouldn't have to be alone. I kept insisting I was fine and didn't want him there, but he said he was coming regardless, and that all I had a say over was what he brought with him (did I want a movie, did I want anything to drink, etc). So he came over and just sat with me the whole night, we watched a RomCom and drank vodka, and it was honestly one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me. He was completely right, and I did need him there, even though I didn't know it.

 

So anyway, this episode always makes me think of that, because I think that that's what Sam is trying to do for Dean, and Dean just keeps refusing him. The early scene at the cemetery, and the scene end of the episode when Dean tells Sam that it should have been him instead of their dad and that he's sorry, are both especially beautiful, imo.

 

I don't think the script's that great, some of the dialogue is really clunky, etc etc etc -- but imo the acting and direction really elevate this episode and give it so much heart.

[bettername2come]

Some great shots in this one. I love the cinematography on this series, especially in the early seasons. And I just realized that I'm watching these early episodes on a widescreen HD TV for the first time and I just want to take a road trip to Canada because man, it is pretty.

I love Sam's innocent act when he gets caught watching porn.

The poor, grieving father Dean accuses of necromancy. I love Sam basically yelling at Dean to stop hiding his feelings and trying to go through everything alone. I don't necessarily think it's the best writing or acting we've seen, but Sam being a good brother will always be something I'm here for.

"It takes two to, you know, have hardcore sex."

That moment where you think the speech is going to make Sam hesitate to shoot the zombie in the head, and he doesn't and the complete "Oh, crap" look when it doesn't work.

Great acting in the final scene by Jensen per usual.

[Zipper]

I must really like Ruelle Tucker; she wrote up in some of my favorite True Blood eps, and I liked this one quite a bit. The total story suffers from my not connecting with Angela or Neil, and frankly disliking Neil's motivation enough that his death doesn't make Angela seem any worse to me. If anything, he deserved a bit more suffering (so I'm a little dark on that kind of stuff).  

I completely get Sam trying to reach Dean, but early in the ep, something in the delivery comes of a little armchair psychology to me. I did think his line about Dean being "erratic" was very clever, not because we've seen much evidence of that (Dean's overly charitable initial view of Gordon doesn't really count giving his rather quick turnabout when confronted with evidence of Gordon's character), but I think Dean would hear that from Sam and think that John would not have liked erratic in his best soldier.  That seemed to get under his skin a bit more than Sam's first foray into Dean's pain.  And I appreciate so much that Dean acknowledges he's not 100%, without it devolving into some immediate, all-consuming crisis of conscience. Grief is so often a slow simmer into bad things, and the show is letting him act out a bit verbally while still trusting his hunting instincts, showing real concern for that sh*tbird Neil, and ultimately sliding his way to victory over Angela. Very slick move there. 

Sam's attempt to get Dean to acknowledge his conflict and the consequences of John's death are understandable, but maybe also a little tone deaf. Sam spent 4 or more years away from his father, in college, learning about himself and how non-hunters process emotions. Does he forget so quickly that Dean never had that break? College-age years are pretty formative in terms of developing emotional maturity and coping mechanisms (whether you go to school or not), but I think being away from family makes those strides toward self actualization longer and deeper.  Not having that? It's a setback in terms of personal growth, and Sam's demand that Dean speak and process in a language Dean may have never learned is a little frustrating. 

Sorry if I"m upping old episodes in my rewatch, but that "sort" feature is super helpful to screen that out. Also, I can't imagine I'm supposed to spoiler tag stuff from 12 years ago, but will do so if that's the practice here.  Thanks. 

[DeeDee79]

15 hours ago, Zipper said:

Sorry if I"m upping old episodes in my rewatch, but that "sort" feature is super helpful to screen that out.

No apologies needed as far as I'm concerned! Season 2 remains my favorite season and I'm enjoying your observations :)

[Myrelle]

18 hours ago, Zipper said:

I must really like Ruelle Tucker; she wrote up in some of my favorite True Blood eps, and I liked this one quite a bit. The total story suffers from my not connecting with Angela or Neil, and frankly disliking Neil's motivation enough that his death doesn't make Angela seem any worse to me. If anything, he deserved a bit more suffering (so I'm a little dark on that kind of stuff).  

I completely get Sam trying to reach Dean, but early in the ep, something in the delivery comes of a little armchair psychology to me. I did think his line about Dean being "erratic" was very clever, not because we've seen much evidence of that (Dean's overly charitable initial view of Gordon doesn't really count giving his rather quick turnabout when confronted with evidence of Gordon's character), but I think Dean would hear that from Sam and think that John would not have liked erratic in his best soldier That seemed to get under his skin a bit more than Sam's first foray into Dean's pain.  And I appreciate so much that Dean acknowledges he's not 100%, without it devolving into some immediate, all-consuming crisis of conscience. Grief is so often a slow simmer into bad things, and the show is letting him act out a bit verbally while still trusting his hunting instincts, showing real concern for that sh*tbird Neil, and ultimately sliding his way to victory over Angela. Very slick move there. 

Sam's attempt to get Dean to acknowledge his conflict and the consequences of John's death are understandable, but maybe also a little tone deaf. Sam spent 4 or more years away from his father, in college, learning about himself and how non-hunters process emotions. Does he forget so quickly that Dean never had that break? College-age years are pretty formative in terms of developing emotional maturity and coping mechanisms (whether you go to school or not), but I think being away from family makes those strides toward self actualization longer and deeper.  Not having that? It's a setback in terms of personal growth, and Sam's demand that Dean speak and process in a language Dean may have never learned is a little frustrating. 

Sorry if I"m upping old episodes in my rewatch, but that "sort" feature is super helpful to screen that out. Also, I can't imagine I'm supposed to spoiler tag stuff from 12 years ago, but will do so if that's the practice here.  Thanks. 

I like your synopsis of this one. The bolded part is an interesting thought, especially; and IA, but it's also such a sad thought concerning Dean on so many levels. The first half of S2 was what made me cross over the line of interested fan to obsessed one and for me it was because of how genuine and real the Dean character became to me in these first episodes of this season. Even way back then, I can clearly remember thinking, man, the father really did a number on these two, but especially on Dean. I could write a book on it, and in truth, books have been written on it.

I loved how in this first half of S2, we w/o a doubt, see Dean coping through The Hunt. It becomes everything to him, and we see this through his interaction with the grieving dad and the look he gives Sam in the hotel room when Sam tries to apply more of his, yes, armchair psychology, to the situation. It's a look that plainly says "I won't hit you again, but back off, if you know what's good for you." And his addendum of "I DO know how to do my job." when he returns with proof that there IS indeed a case here that needs looking into tells us that by throwing himself into the hunt as he's doing, all that's being lost is the personal perspective concerning that, but not the professional one-indeed he seems like a better hunter from that perspective, but as we know, the personal part is what keeps the hunter of evil "human", and from becoming too much like the things they hunt.

And there was a part of me that wanted Dean to stay that way because, man, it was so great to watch, so Sam's attempts at bringing his brother back down to earth were, of course, necessary to the storyboard-and even okay in their awkwardness, at this stage of the story, but you could have knocked me over with a feather when we found out at the end that in Dean's mind, it wasn't John who should have stayed dead. No, in Dean's mind, it was Dean who should have stayed dead. And we need to remember the awesome first season episode Faith, at this point in the story, also. Even then, Dean did not feel that he deserved to be "saved"-especially at the expense of another innocent life.

IMO, there is a certain "desperation" that has run through Dean's entire life from the time of the fire that took his mother and it ebbs and flows constantly within him. And sometimes it's much more apparent than at others, but it never truly leaves him

Spoiler

and thus he can never truly be at peace in this life, and as the series moves on, we find out that maybe that will never, ever happen for him-not even in death-and I think that's where we might be now

I'm spoiler tagging this for anyone doing a first time watch. 

In closing, I'll just say that I think the first half of S2 gave us a terrific look at an early series Dean and where his head was at concerning the Hunt and the hunting life. He was a natural-born hunter, IMO-born and bred, as he later describes himself-and I still get a thrill thinking of all the possible/potential storylines that are available to a good writer when presented with the opportunity to write for such a layered-in-that-way character. That's all I'll say about that here, though. 

Well, that and that S14 has the such great potential to go back to the beginning and address some things that were missed out on concerning the Dean character over the course of this series, even as long as it's been. I hope that someone(anyone!) in the writers room will finally recognize this and capitalize on it some.

[Zipper]

50 minutes ago, Myrelle said:

And there was a part of me that wanted Dean to stay that way because, man, it was so great to watch, so Sam's attempts at bringing his brother back down to earth were, of course, necessary to the storyboard-and even okay in their awkwardness, at this stage of the story, but you could have knocked me over with a feather when we found out at the end that in Dean's mind, it wasn't John who should have stayed dead. No, in Dean's mind, it was Dean who should have stayed dead. And we need to remember the awesome first season episode Faith, at this point in the story, also. Even then, Dean did not feel that he deserved to be "saved"-especially at the expense of another innocent life.

Totally agreed-- and I blame John for Dean feeling, at this point in time, like he didn't deserve to live. Even before they went heavier into the Dean flashbacks, I feel an almost constant reminder of him as a child, learning to shoot at 6ish, and at the time helping to care for his 2yo brother. The loneliness of it all, and how the salve for that is The Hunt, and, of course, the resulting pride from John about Dean's abilities and accomplishments. As the older of two children, I feel that.

I guess the natural corollary is that Sam feels a duty, now, to help care for Dean. He knows, although he struggled against it, what a critical factor Dean was in protecting him both from the monsters and, in part, from John. I don't know that Sam ever gets away to college unless Dean stood for him from time to time vis a vis John. In that light, I can better understand the sometimes awkward ways Sam tries to support Dean's emotional fragility. 

[The Companion]

The MotW is interesting but not terribly compelling but that isn't really the point, is it? We are still watching the guys come to terms with everything. Dean's grief and trauma at the end are really heartbreaking. So is watching Sam try to deal with all of his feelings. 

I liked the concept of the MotW, they just didn't delve very deeply. It felt rushed. I was fine with that, because it was really just meant as a backdrop. How amazing would it have been, though, if she actually killed herself with the accidental impalement. They come busting in and the monster is already dead lol.

On a random note, it did occur to me that both guys have pretty spectacular bodies despite never working out that we see. Clearly, their fitness regime is largely digging up and refilling graves and it is working for them. 😂

[gonzosgirrl]

Dean running, sliding into the grave and then staking Angela into her casket is one of my favorite action sequences of the series.

And Dean's confession at the end. 😢  One of the first OPTs and it was a thing of beauty. But for me it's the emotion in his voice, the way he can barely say Sam's name when he stops him from saying it wasn't Dean's fault. Dang.

[Katy M]

On 11/7/2019 at 10:20 AM, The Companion said:

On a random note, it did occur to me that both guys have pretty spectacular bodies despite never working out that we see. Clearly, their fitness regime is largely digging up and refilling graves and it is working for them.

Add Dean's diet into that, and it truly becomes mindboggling.  It's kind of like wondering why the Gilmore Girls aren't morbidly obese.

[The Companion]

29 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Add Dean's diet into that, and it truly becomes mindboggling.  It's kind of like wondering why the Gilmore Girls aren't morbidly obese.

Exactly how many calories do you burn grave digging, cause I would mind losing a few pregnancy pounds. 😂

[Katy M]

17 minutes ago, The Companion said:

Exactly how many calories do you burn grave digging, cause I would mind losing a few pregnancy pounds. 😂

I would imagine quite a few.  When I was a kid I tried to dig a hole in the ground (there was a purpose).  And, I had a hard time just breaking the surface.  Ground is hard.