S01.E07: Hookman 2005.10.25

[DittyDotDot]

Sam and Dean help a girl whose date became a victim of the "Hook Man," a famous urban legend that turns out to be real, in a small college town somewhere in Iowa. In order to save her and her father, the local minister, the brothers have to find the ghost's bones so they can destroy them. But Sam and Dean run into a problem when they discover that the bones are in an unmarked grave.

[DittyDotDot]

Again, I feel the need to preface this with...not a particular favorite episode, but still enjoyable all these years later.  I prefer when they take the legend and make it more than the story we used to tell at camp when I was 11 or 12 years old. However, there is some goodness here so I can ignore that.

 

Those things of goodness I was talking about:

• I feel like a broken record here, but there's some fun and adventure and Sam and Dean actually like each other.
• I like the introduction of the shotguns with rock salt. It was a fun and creative way to use an everyday weapon for something different and who wouldn't like shooting ghosts in the face? Again, what has this show done to me? Hee!
• The library scenes were well shot and interesting. It's basically all exposition, but they aren't static and I found them interesting. Yes, I do realize that libraries don't usually house arrest records and such, but I give 'em a pass only because they didn't bore me.
• I love Dean's commentary to himself while he's digging up that grave..."That’s it. Next time, I get to watch the cute girl’s house.." Hee! Actually, I find Dean rather amusing throughout this episode and I really like the end where he tells Sam they could stay. Jensen hit that note perfectly.
• That parking ticket that Dean gets for parking next to a fire hydrant on a completely empty street. I never really noticed all the details before--someone at TWoP mentioned it some time back, so I paid closer attention when watching this time an it cracked me the hell up.
• I really liked the actress that played Lori's roommate and was disappointed when she's dead. The character was pretty basic and cliché, but I liked the actress herself and
  was glad to see her again later in Crossroad Blues.

 

Things I could have lived without:

• I wish they had done more with the legend, twisted it a little more and filled it out some. As it is, it feels like every '80s B-horror movie I watched as a youngin'. I realize that, to a certain degree, that's probably what they were going for, but I think they could have pushed it further.
• The character of Lori. I don't think it's the actress herself, but that they wrote her as such a cliché--the small town preacher's girl with "repressed" emotions. I also had a hard time buying that Sam and Lori were so drawn to each other. From the moment they enter the church and she see's Sam, I think we're supposed to feel this great attraction, but I just didn't. And that scene in front of Lori's house where she makes a move on Sam was more than awkward.  
• The whole frat business was unnecessary. I get what they were trying to do--show how Sam was still a nerd in college and still didn't fit--I just don't have any attraction to the way they showed it. In fact, for an episode that seems to be designed to give us some insight into Sam, I find it especially lacking in that regard. But that's not so surprising considering it's a John Shiban one...good with the scare, not so good with characterization, IMO.

 

Anyway, I don't mind some of the bumbles here, overall I find it amusing and fun to watch. Wouldn't put it on a favorites list or anything, though.

 

ETA: I read two interesting factoids on Supernaturalwiki.com about this episode...

1. This episode was supposed to air after Wendigo, but got changed somewhere along the lines. I find Dean's line at the end about how they could stay fit better that way. Plus his lines in Skin about how he wishes Sam could just be Joe College work better that way also. I may have to reorder them when re-watching in the future.
2. Kim Manners was brought in to help direct this episode because the original director wasn't landing the scare. I knew the beginning sequences were reshot--there are some deleted scenes on the DVD--but never knew why. They are much more effectively scary in it's final incarnation. I'm now wishing that they had Mr. Manners reshoot over half of it, it may have made a favorites list then.

Edited June 14, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[Zanne]

There was a marathon on TNT yesterday that I happened to catch from "Phantom Traveller" to "Hookman". This is more of a general comment, though it really sunk in this episode for some reason.  Sam was so much softer in the beginning of the series. Looking back at Padalecki doing the line readings from nine years later, I'm not quite sure I like it, or if it's just that Sam has become so different he seems like a stranger. I get why Sam's not like that anymore, but I was watching this one scene in "Bloody Mary" where he lowers his voice to talk to the victim of the week and I actually cringed. It sounds so...weird. This is back when he was Captain Empathy, but it's so not where Sam has evolved that I didn't know whether to think Padalecki was just being a terrible actor, or if the character has changed so much he's unrecognizable at this point.

[mstaken]

Embarrassingly enough, I've always really liked this one. DittyDotDot beautifully covered the reasons why, as usual! Mostly it comes down to the fact that 1) I'm a sucker for myths and urban legends...yes, even the rather cheesy ones! and, more importantly, 2) I just find Sam, Dean and their relationship with each other so eminently likable here. This is one of the episodes where I can actually buy that Sam was a geeky library-dwelling study addict in college (and, sadly, that's just the type of character to whom I'm most drawn!), and his sensitivity here seems genuine to me rather than forced. And Dean is just awesome---funny and lively and brave and spirited. 

 

Weirdly enough, I'm not among the many who dislike Lori. She's not a special favorite of mine, but she's not one of the PiPs who grates on me (unlike Becky from Skin which, ugh, don't get me started!) 

 

I miss episodes like these---not the deepest or most layered hours of TV, but a nice mixture of different moods and emotions (as opposed to ALL excessive angst or all over-the-top meta humor!) and just so engaging and satisfying for me.  

[catrox14]

For some reason, this episode falls off my radar for rewatching. I barely remember anything about.  This, Bloody Mary, and Bugs are just non entities to me.

[7kstar]

I like the moments labeled but I fast forward through most of it.  I just like Dean's fun of life and I like Sam more in the earlier season's.  I still cringe at some of his choices but he's likeable and I get it that he wanted a normal life but can't have it.

 

Interesting, I didn't know that Manners had to rescue this one.  I never felt scared from watching Supernatural, so I guess I can't tell when something is suppose to be scarier, lol.  But I usually re-watch for the brother moments anyway or to do research for writing.  It's not one that I watch much at all.  I think I've watched it twice? Not sure if it counts when you fast-forward a lot on the second time around.

[DittyDotDot]

Interesting, I didn't know that Manners had to rescue this one.  I never felt scared from watching Supernatural, so I guess I can't tell when something is suppose to be scarier, lol. 

 

I usually don't find Supernatural scary either--creepy and in recent seasons the gore factor is laughable--but never actually scary. For me, it's not so much that the original scene didn't capture the scare exactly, but it was off tonally. Manners does use the camera more effectively to ramp up the tension, but in the deleted scene, the car is some small cutesy thing and Lori and the guy's wardrobe is vastly more college or nerdy--I don't know what to call it exactly. Whereas, in the final cut scene the vehicle is a Jeep and their clothing is much more in tone with the show. All together it just works better within the tone of the show.

[ElleryAnne]

I've always really liked this one. DittyDotDot beautifully covered the reasons why, as usual! Mostly it comes down to the fact that 1) I'm a sucker for myths and urban legends...yes, even the rather cheesy ones! and, more importantly, 2) I just find Sam, Dean and their relationship with each other so eminently likable here. This is one of the episodes where I can actually buy that Sam was a geeky library-dwelling study addict in college (and, sadly, that's just the type of character to whom I'm most drawn!), and his sensitivity here seems genuine to me rather than forced. And Dean is just awesome---funny and lively and brave and spirited.

 

 

Just... all of that.  Me too.

 

 

This episode was supposed to air after Wendigo, but got changed somewhere along the lines. I find Dean's line at the end about how they could stay fit better that way. Plus his lines in Skin about how he wishes Sam could just be Joe College work better that way also. I may have to reorder them when re-watching in the future.

 

I did not know that, but it makes sense.  I like this episode and I like Dean in it, but he comes across as the more shallow guy from the Pilot.  Not that he's ever really shallow, he character development layers we start to get from Phantom Traveler to Skin aren't there (IMO).  So I can see this as a very early ep.  It also makes sense that the explanation of the rock-salt guns would have been belonged to an earlier episode, since those things are such a part of their arsenal.  

[GirlyGeek]

Another ep I never choose to watch as the story is just OK.  There's a lot of great character moments that were all mentioned above so I won't go into it again.  But I can see how this may have been intended for earlier in the episode list and it makes a lot of sense!

Lori's dad is creepy.  I think its because he was in an X-File as a creep and now the actor is always tainted.  LOL

Anyway, nothing earth shattering here.  Now I'm off to not pay attention to most of Bugs  ;)

[DittyDotDot]

2 minutes ago, GirlyGeek said:

Lori's dad is creepy.  I think its because he was in an X-File as a creep and now the actor is always tainted.  LOL

The devil worshiping stepfather! I just watched that episode about a week back (I've been re-watching The X-files lately too) and totally couldn't figure out why he looked so familiar. I mean, I remember him playing the off-color, jackass, sports guy on Frasier, but that didn't seem to fit quite right for what I was thinking of. Thanks for joggin' my noggin' @GirlyGeek!

[GirlyGeek]

Yep!  Right: Die Hand Die Verletz is the episode (or something similar to that... my spelling could be off).

Yes, so creepy.  That ep wigs me out everytime

[SueB]

So this Hookman Legend was called Lottie's ghost in my neck of the wood.  Same result for the victim (hanging upside down over the top of the car, scratching on the hood).  We got a lot a mileage out of that legend when I was growing up.

It was kinda weird to see the pre-internet records.  It's amazing how far we've come at digitizing so much since 2005.

[DittyDotDot]

6 minutes ago, SueB said:

So this Hookman Legend was called Lottie's ghost in my neck of the wood.  Same result for the victim (hanging upside down over the top of the car, scratching on the hood).  We got a lot a mileage out of that legend when I was growing up.

It was kinda weird to see the pre-internet records.  It's amazing how far we've come at digitizing so much since 2005.

Oh, that's so interesting, @SueB. I can't remember what we called the legend in my neck of the woods, but I do remember this one time at 4-H camp... . ;)

[Diane]

We called him the hookman and told the story around the fire at Camp Fire residence camp when I was young.  

Edited June 8, 2016 by Diane

[Iju]

this episode was terrifying! me and my sister were SCREAMING our heads off when the hookman was trying to attack lori, and the "aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights" dragged inside the wall gave me chills in my back. i guess i scare much easier than all of you :P