Episode 3: Dead in the Water                     Written by: Sera Gamble and Raelle Tucker

(I love this picture)

Notable guest star: Amy Acker (“Fred” from the show Angel)

MOW: Lake monster?  Don’t want to spoil it.

Scariness factor:  really not too scary except the attempted drowning in the bathtub.  More left to the imagination.

Dean and Sam whump factor: they’re not really beaten up in this one.  It’s the civilians who are in danger, or get killed.

Themes

Opening: More of the “sexy Dean” theme:

One of the most adorable images of Dean is in this episode as he has a pen in his mouth and then looks up and smiles blindingly at a pretty girl.  Oh yeah, she wants him. There’s a mutual connection. Then Sammy throws cold water with his stone cold angst.  You do see this is, if not a “carefree” Dean, still one with less of the weight of the world on his shoulders than later in the series.  He tells Sam “you know, we are allowed to have fun.  THAT (indicating the waitress) is fun.”

Sam angst theme : he doesn’t care about hunting monsters, he just wants to look for their dad so they can hunt down the demon that killed Jessica. Complains that the trail is getting cold. Oh, and he’s got NO interest in girls because of his recent bereavement.

Brother’s relationship:  Dean has a look when Sam fails to acknowledge the pretty waitress – almost a wince like he realizes Sam is still too hurt by losing Jessica to pay attention to other girls, and immediately drops the subject showing concern for Sam’s feelings.   

  He takes Sam to task about his attitude, and takes the leadership role “you know we’re going to find Dad, Sam, but we’re going to kill every evil thing between here and there.”  Sam gives way and follows Dean’s lead.

Character development: Dean – we see him develop a relationship with a troubled kid who saw his dad killed by the mysterious lake monster.  He wins over the kid’s trust by sharing something real about seeing something bad when he was little.  “Maybe you don’t think anyone will listen to you, or believe you, but I will.”  Clue to how isolated the hunter lifestyle left Dean when he was growing up.

  He gets the kid to draw a picture of what he saw, and later gets some valuable clues.

 Dean’s speech to the kid, Lucas.

  “You’re scared. That’s ok.  When I was your age I saw something bad happen to my mom, and I was scared too.  I didn’t want to talk, just like you. But see, my Mom, I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day, and I do my best to be brave. And maybe your dad wants you to be brave too.”

Note: I didn’t think Dean saw what happened to his mom, but if you look at the pilot, he is standing in the yard holding Sam and looking up at the window ---so maybe he sees something from there.

   Lucas looks him right in the eye for the first time, and hands him a particular drawing.

This exchange, among other things, gives some insight into Dean’s character, explaining his bravery as trying to live up to what his mom would want.

Sam sees the whole exchange, looking surprised when Dean says he was scared.  Later he starts to talk with Dean about it, but Dean quickly breaks up any sentiment  -“Oh God, we’re not going to have to hug now, are we?”

This is a good episode about the brothers’ relationship.  The mom (Amy Ackers) and her son are outstanding guest stars. Also, she gives Dean a kiss at the end and it is more a “thanks for saving my son” and he has an interesting look on his face – like “hmm, it’s possible to kiss someone and it not be about sex”

Body count: 4   Saved: 2