My Review / Observations of Hunted
Jan. 12th, 2007 05:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
raloriaYaaaay! A new episode at last!
My review is kind of long (what else is new), but this time there are some caps to go along with all the observations! I recorded the episode directly onto DVD as it aired and I managed to get some nice caps from the footage. They're small, but I think they add a nice touch to the review. Let me know what you think.
I'm not sure whether anyone will want to take any of these caps, since they are so small. If you do, please consider giving me a credit. Thanks!
Isn't this cool? This is the result of pure luck. I got this cap right during their cross-fade transition between shots and got this beautiful image of the brothers.
After a month of waiting and speculating, some answers were finally revealed in this week's episode. First off, I'll say that The Secret didn't exactly come as a surprise. This didn't disappoint me though because in the end it makes sense. Now Dean's reaction to John telling him this in IMTOD fits. His shock (I could never kill Sam) and John's tearful, but gentle nod of his head (I know you'll do the right thing when the time comes). But what I don't understand is, why keep this a secret from Sam in the first place? Won't it be easier for him to fight (if it's possible) what he may become if he knows about it? And why burden poor Dean with yet more responsibility. Obviously he's going to watch out for Sam like he's done all his life, but now he has to make sure he doesn't turn into a killer for The Demon.
And now the big questions are...will Sam eventually become a killer and if he does would Dean kill his own brother. I don't know about the first question, but it's obvious to me that Dean would never, ever kill Sam. And by that I mean he wouldn't kill Sam and then carry on alone. Their brotherly bond is so strong now (Croatoan) that Dean has already made the decision to die at Sam's side if it comes down to that. In essence, if Sam dies, he dies. But could Dean, himself make the decision to kill Sam if other human lives were on the line...I really don't know. He'd either find some other way to bring Sam back from the darkness or they would go down in a blaze of glory together. That way Dean wouldn't be alone. And it's been clear since the Pilot that Dean doesn't want to go through this life without his family.
Okay, enough of my rambling...let's get to the highlights of the episode, shall we?
* Cool song during the opening teaser. I recognize the artist, but not the song.
* Knowing that Gordon was going to be in this ep, it was easy to peg him as the killer of Scott, the guy with the electrocution ability.
* Kripke's true to his word and we pick up with the boys right where we left them at the end of Croatoan. Dean tells Sam The Secret from their dad - that he has to save him no matter what and that if he can't he'll have to kill him. This hits Sam pretty hard and he's naturally angry at Dean for keeping this from him. Dean just wants to ignore it and stop hunting and lay low for a while, but Sam wants answers. *Btw, little continuity error here - at the end of Croatoan there was late afternoon sunshine and now the weather is grey and overcast.*
* Jensen just keeps breaking my heart with his emotional portrayal of Dean this season. He goes from anger and fear with his shouting to quiet, heartfelt pleading. When he turns Sam around to face him and begs BEGS for Sam to let this go and give him some time....I was in tears. Great acting once again from both of them. What an awesome scene!
Jensen just killed me at the end of this scene. *wibble*
* So Sam steals a car and leaves Dean anyway. This brings up my one problem with this episode. The whole dynamic of the show changes when the brothers split up. It makes the whole time they're apart feel wrong. Now in TUS, it worked because even though they were separated, they were still working together. This time they're not. Sam has once again gone off to seek answers by himself and Dean is left trying to track him down.
* Next we're plunged right into Ava's vision of Sam's death. I knew all about this scene from the script sides, but it was still something to actually see that explosion as Sam just disintigrates - wow!
* I like the conversation between Sam and Ellen. We learn that Jo took off after No Exit to continue hunting. *Yay! No more Jo!!!* But most importantly, Ellen tells Sam that she doesn't blame them for the actions of their father which led to her husband's death. She even says she forgave John a long time ago but he was unable to forgive himself. But she won't tell Sam what happened.
* Ash comes through with the info once again and we learn about Scott, who was killed in the teaser. Sam heads off to investigate and asks Ellen not to call Dean to tell him where he's going. *Didja notice how Ash drank Sam's beer as soon as he got up, just like he did with Dean's in ELAC? This guy will take any free beer he can get.*
* A collage of a bunch of yellow eyes is never a good sign.
* Good hunter reflexes Sammy. You've been tackled enough by female characters this season.
* I like Ava. She's just starting to get visions and she's just a bit upset about them. Her reactions to Sam's theory is very natural. She wants Sam to leave town to save himself, but she denies that her visions are anything big. "I'm a secretary from Peoria and I'm not a part of anything." But Sam convinces her to help him get the files on Scott.
* Dean finds out from Ellen that Sam is in Indiana. *But how did he know which motel Sam was at?* He's happy to find Sam okay...and with a girl. "Thank God you're okay. Oh...you're better than okay. Sam, you sly dog." Heh.
* So we learn from Scott's psych session recording that The Demon has plans to raise an army of killers (yet again, no big surprise). This still doesn't answer why there's no pattern with these children. Some of them lost their mothers in a house fire when they were 6 months old and some didn't. What's the difference? Is there a reason for this?
* Enter Gordon and his rifle. Sam and Ava duck for cover and Dean (who luckily just arrived) goes to take him out. I kid you not, I said, "Get him, Dean!" at my TV when he jumped on Gordon and started beating him up. Nobody shoots at Sammy! Heh heh. But Gordon gets the upper hand and knocks Dean out. Which I knew would have been the only way he could have captured Dean.
* "I just watch a lot of T.J. Hooker." Hee! Sam gets the funny line this week!
* These guys have got more forms of secret communication than you can count. "Funky Town" is the code word! And Sam's explanation..."He thought of it. It's kind of a....long story." *giggle*
* So Gordon says he's not a killer...yeah right. He's just a hunter doing his job for humanity. He learned about "the coming war" while doing an exorcism on a demon. His reasoning for going after Sam and the others..."They're psychics so they're not exactly pure humans." So if you're a psychic you're automatically a weapon of The Demon? That's quite an assumption there, Gordie. But then this is the guy who sees hunting only in black & white with no shades of gray, so I guess this makes sense. Anyone with special abilities is now going to be on his hunting list.
* A seed of doubt is planted in Dean's mind as Gordon tells him he found out about Sam from his "Roadhouse connections". Did Ellen spill the beans?
* So Gordon is going to set up two trip wires to kill Sam. And I like how they hid Dean's reacton to Gordon telling him it would be quick. He's clearly worried about Sam walking into this trap, but the camera pulls back and only shows us his sillhouette as Gordon walks off.
* The last conversation between Gordon & Dean is good. Gordon is apologetic towards Dean losing his brother, but he's doing something which he accuses Dean and even their father of failing to do - take Sam out before he becomes a monster. It's a cheap shot and Dean is still adamant that Sam is not destined to become a killer. "That's not Sam."
* Aw man...the explosions. And Dean's reactions to them....just...no words. His hands clenched, straining against his bonds, and helpless to warn Sam because of the gag in his mouth. And you just know he was shouting "Sam!" when that first explosion went off. And then when the second one goes off...how he's gasping and grunting in anguish, thinking his brother's dead. And then how he tries to get loose so he can get at Gordon...just great work again by Jensen.
* I'm guessing Sam set off the grenades by taking off his shoes and using them somehow. Anyone else have any other theories?
* I love how Sam got to go all primitive on Gordon this time. Go Sammy! But in the end he proves that he's not a killer by not shooting Gordon. He even stops Dean from going after Gordon once he unties him.
* "It's Sam." Heh. Love the call back to that great line in Bloodlust! Nobody calls him Sammy except for Dean!
* Still no hug...close, but not quite. Dean is so relieved to see his brother alive and quickly grabs Sam and pulls him up to put his hands on his brother's shoulders. It was like Dean couldn't get untied fast enough. He just pauses long enough to get confirmation from Sam that he's alright. Awwww! Dean wants revenge on Gordon, but our smart Sammy's got a plan! "Trust me. Gordon's taken care of."
Nine caps of the "near hug"...this might be as close as we get, folks!
* "You call this taken care of?" Hee! Sammy called the cops! Man, now Gordon's really gotta be pissed at the brothers. Wonder if we'll see Gordon again down the road?
* Dean's all upset at Ellen because he thinks she told Gordon about Sam. She denies it, explaining that they're loyal and not stupid. It could have been any of the hunters that frequent the Roadhouse.
* Dean still wants to quit hunting. "We don't get paid. We don't get thanked. The only thing we get is bad luck." And he doesn't believe in destiny. His own or Sam's. But Sam won't let him off the hook. They need to find the answers...
Sam: "You can't run from this. And you can't protect me."
Dean: "I can try."
Sam: "Thanks for that."
Awwww! I love these guys! *wibble*
* "Bitch. Jerk." Yes! Kripke & Co. rock! Heehee!
* So Ava isn't answering Sam's phone calls. The boys go to her home to check it out. Her fiancee is bloody and dead in the bed and sulfer is on the windowsill. So did Ava kill him? Did The Demon suddenly talk to her and push her into murder? Or was Ava a demon herself? Hmmmm.
So now I can relax a little. The Secret is out and we now know (sort of) The Demon's big plans for Sam and the others like him. Sam seems very far from heading down the path to becoming a killer. But how long does it take for The Demon to turn someone? And will Dean even see it coming?
A good episode. Not great only because the brothers were separated too much for my taste. Next week's "Playthings" looks good, from what little we were shown. I'm so happy to have new episodes again!
A few extra caps...because I can't leave any of them out.
My review is kind of long (what else is new), but this time there are some caps to go along with all the observations! I recorded the episode directly onto DVD as it aired and I managed to get some nice caps from the footage. They're small, but I think they add a nice touch to the review. Let me know what you think.
I'm not sure whether anyone will want to take any of these caps, since they are so small. If you do, please consider giving me a credit. Thanks!
Isn't this cool? This is the result of pure luck. I got this cap right during their cross-fade transition between shots and got this beautiful image of the brothers.
After a month of waiting and speculating, some answers were finally revealed in this week's episode. First off, I'll say that The Secret didn't exactly come as a surprise. This didn't disappoint me though because in the end it makes sense. Now Dean's reaction to John telling him this in IMTOD fits. His shock (I could never kill Sam) and John's tearful, but gentle nod of his head (I know you'll do the right thing when the time comes). But what I don't understand is, why keep this a secret from Sam in the first place? Won't it be easier for him to fight (if it's possible) what he may become if he knows about it? And why burden poor Dean with yet more responsibility. Obviously he's going to watch out for Sam like he's done all his life, but now he has to make sure he doesn't turn into a killer for The Demon.
And now the big questions are...will Sam eventually become a killer and if he does would Dean kill his own brother. I don't know about the first question, but it's obvious to me that Dean would never, ever kill Sam. And by that I mean he wouldn't kill Sam and then carry on alone. Their brotherly bond is so strong now (Croatoan) that Dean has already made the decision to die at Sam's side if it comes down to that. In essence, if Sam dies, he dies. But could Dean, himself make the decision to kill Sam if other human lives were on the line...I really don't know. He'd either find some other way to bring Sam back from the darkness or they would go down in a blaze of glory together. That way Dean wouldn't be alone. And it's been clear since the Pilot that Dean doesn't want to go through this life without his family.
Okay, enough of my rambling...let's get to the highlights of the episode, shall we?
* Cool song during the opening teaser. I recognize the artist, but not the song.
* Knowing that Gordon was going to be in this ep, it was easy to peg him as the killer of Scott, the guy with the electrocution ability.
* Kripke's true to his word and we pick up with the boys right where we left them at the end of Croatoan. Dean tells Sam The Secret from their dad - that he has to save him no matter what and that if he can't he'll have to kill him. This hits Sam pretty hard and he's naturally angry at Dean for keeping this from him. Dean just wants to ignore it and stop hunting and lay low for a while, but Sam wants answers. *Btw, little continuity error here - at the end of Croatoan there was late afternoon sunshine and now the weather is grey and overcast.*
* Jensen just keeps breaking my heart with his emotional portrayal of Dean this season. He goes from anger and fear with his shouting to quiet, heartfelt pleading. When he turns Sam around to face him and begs BEGS for Sam to let this go and give him some time....I was in tears. Great acting once again from both of them. What an awesome scene!
Jensen just killed me at the end of this scene. *wibble*
* So Sam steals a car and leaves Dean anyway. This brings up my one problem with this episode. The whole dynamic of the show changes when the brothers split up. It makes the whole time they're apart feel wrong. Now in TUS, it worked because even though they were separated, they were still working together. This time they're not. Sam has once again gone off to seek answers by himself and Dean is left trying to track him down.
* Next we're plunged right into Ava's vision of Sam's death. I knew all about this scene from the script sides, but it was still something to actually see that explosion as Sam just disintigrates - wow!
* I like the conversation between Sam and Ellen. We learn that Jo took off after No Exit to continue hunting. *Yay! No more Jo!!!* But most importantly, Ellen tells Sam that she doesn't blame them for the actions of their father which led to her husband's death. She even says she forgave John a long time ago but he was unable to forgive himself. But she won't tell Sam what happened.
* Ash comes through with the info once again and we learn about Scott, who was killed in the teaser. Sam heads off to investigate and asks Ellen not to call Dean to tell him where he's going. *Didja notice how Ash drank Sam's beer as soon as he got up, just like he did with Dean's in ELAC? This guy will take any free beer he can get.*
* A collage of a bunch of yellow eyes is never a good sign.
* Good hunter reflexes Sammy. You've been tackled enough by female characters this season.
* I like Ava. She's just starting to get visions and she's just a bit upset about them. Her reactions to Sam's theory is very natural. She wants Sam to leave town to save himself, but she denies that her visions are anything big. "I'm a secretary from Peoria and I'm not a part of anything." But Sam convinces her to help him get the files on Scott.
* Dean finds out from Ellen that Sam is in Indiana. *But how did he know which motel Sam was at?* He's happy to find Sam okay...and with a girl. "Thank God you're okay. Oh...you're better than okay. Sam, you sly dog." Heh.
* So we learn from Scott's psych session recording that The Demon has plans to raise an army of killers (yet again, no big surprise). This still doesn't answer why there's no pattern with these children. Some of them lost their mothers in a house fire when they were 6 months old and some didn't. What's the difference? Is there a reason for this?
* Enter Gordon and his rifle. Sam and Ava duck for cover and Dean (who luckily just arrived) goes to take him out. I kid you not, I said, "Get him, Dean!" at my TV when he jumped on Gordon and started beating him up. Nobody shoots at Sammy! Heh heh. But Gordon gets the upper hand and knocks Dean out. Which I knew would have been the only way he could have captured Dean.
* "I just watch a lot of T.J. Hooker." Hee! Sam gets the funny line this week!
* These guys have got more forms of secret communication than you can count. "Funky Town" is the code word! And Sam's explanation..."He thought of it. It's kind of a....long story." *giggle*
* So Gordon says he's not a killer...yeah right. He's just a hunter doing his job for humanity. He learned about "the coming war" while doing an exorcism on a demon. His reasoning for going after Sam and the others..."They're psychics so they're not exactly pure humans." So if you're a psychic you're automatically a weapon of The Demon? That's quite an assumption there, Gordie. But then this is the guy who sees hunting only in black & white with no shades of gray, so I guess this makes sense. Anyone with special abilities is now going to be on his hunting list.
* A seed of doubt is planted in Dean's mind as Gordon tells him he found out about Sam from his "Roadhouse connections". Did Ellen spill the beans?
* So Gordon is going to set up two trip wires to kill Sam. And I like how they hid Dean's reacton to Gordon telling him it would be quick. He's clearly worried about Sam walking into this trap, but the camera pulls back and only shows us his sillhouette as Gordon walks off.
* The last conversation between Gordon & Dean is good. Gordon is apologetic towards Dean losing his brother, but he's doing something which he accuses Dean and even their father of failing to do - take Sam out before he becomes a monster. It's a cheap shot and Dean is still adamant that Sam is not destined to become a killer. "That's not Sam."
* Aw man...the explosions. And Dean's reactions to them....just...no words. His hands clenched, straining against his bonds, and helpless to warn Sam because of the gag in his mouth. And you just know he was shouting "Sam!" when that first explosion went off. And then when the second one goes off...how he's gasping and grunting in anguish, thinking his brother's dead. And then how he tries to get loose so he can get at Gordon...just great work again by Jensen.
* I'm guessing Sam set off the grenades by taking off his shoes and using them somehow. Anyone else have any other theories?
* I love how Sam got to go all primitive on Gordon this time. Go Sammy! But in the end he proves that he's not a killer by not shooting Gordon. He even stops Dean from going after Gordon once he unties him.
* "It's Sam." Heh. Love the call back to that great line in Bloodlust! Nobody calls him Sammy except for Dean!
* Still no hug...close, but not quite. Dean is so relieved to see his brother alive and quickly grabs Sam and pulls him up to put his hands on his brother's shoulders. It was like Dean couldn't get untied fast enough. He just pauses long enough to get confirmation from Sam that he's alright. Awwww! Dean wants revenge on Gordon, but our smart Sammy's got a plan! "Trust me. Gordon's taken care of."
Nine caps of the "near hug"...this might be as close as we get, folks!
* "You call this taken care of?" Hee! Sammy called the cops! Man, now Gordon's really gotta be pissed at the brothers. Wonder if we'll see Gordon again down the road?
* Dean's all upset at Ellen because he thinks she told Gordon about Sam. She denies it, explaining that they're loyal and not stupid. It could have been any of the hunters that frequent the Roadhouse.
* Dean still wants to quit hunting. "We don't get paid. We don't get thanked. The only thing we get is bad luck." And he doesn't believe in destiny. His own or Sam's. But Sam won't let him off the hook. They need to find the answers...
Sam: "You can't run from this. And you can't protect me."
Dean: "I can try."
Sam: "Thanks for that."
Awwww! I love these guys! *wibble*
* "Bitch. Jerk." Yes! Kripke & Co. rock! Heehee!
* So Ava isn't answering Sam's phone calls. The boys go to her home to check it out. Her fiancee is bloody and dead in the bed and sulfer is on the windowsill. So did Ava kill him? Did The Demon suddenly talk to her and push her into murder? Or was Ava a demon herself? Hmmmm.
So now I can relax a little. The Secret is out and we now know (sort of) The Demon's big plans for Sam and the others like him. Sam seems very far from heading down the path to becoming a killer. But how long does it take for The Demon to turn someone? And will Dean even see it coming?
A good episode. Not great only because the brothers were separated too much for my taste. Next week's "Playthings" looks good, from what little we were shown. I'm so happy to have new episodes again!
A few extra caps...because I can't leave any of them out.
