I have been keeping up with watching Supernatural episodes, just not with posting about them. Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yeah,

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things

This was not a good skin episode. For some reason I was kind of distracted by everyone's complexion. And not just Angela's. Maybe Shannon had the week off. And when Sam was watching porn, I noticed Jared's arms were blotchy. Maybe it was a reaction to the pain meds he was taking for his broken hand. Or maybe he'd gotten sunburned and was peeling.

At the end of the Suisse Mocha moment, when Dean turns his head towards Sam, his left eye his horrendously bloodshot. Not sure it it was due to the Single Manly Tear of Pain, or his contacts. (I understand Jensen just had lasik. No more being able to take a drink whenever I notice his contacts. Guess I'll have to find something else to fill the void.) Oh, and I'm remarkedly ok with the boys not touching.

Poor Jared. It just his day, week, whatever. First he breaks his hand, then he rips his pants. That's what you get for working out too much. Lay off the weights, dammit!

Simon Said

Again, not much new to add. I remember all the outrage of Andy using his skillz to talk a woman into having sex with him against her will. (The same goes for women who are possessed. Then again, this is all from TWoP, and we know how nutty those folks are.) Besides, who says the woman in the window had sex against her will? Maybe they had sex without Andy talking her into it.

Is that dam really as high as it's depicted, or was it digitally enhanced? Man, it was scary!

Well, that's all for now, kiddos. Even though I have 2 more episodes to discuss, I have work to do. Crap.

Before I watched "Bloodlust" last night, I watched the "In My Time of Dying" commentary.  If nothing else, it really dramatized the difference between young innocent-looking Sam and mature, toughened Sam.

Something I forgot to mention in the previous season 2 re-reviews:  I sorely miss the title-cards of yore.  Season 2's was the best, what with the fire and the amulet-thingie turning into the A.  I realize season 3's title-card featured the "Key of Solomon" (later known as "devil's trap") from Bobby's ceiling, but what was with the lobster in the middle of it?  (I finally noticed the lobster on Bobby's ceiling during this summer's re-review.)  And season 4's title sequence, with the angel wings flapping?  Lame-o!  (I guess I'm not a big Castiel fan; which I'll explain when I get to season 4.)

I do believe I squealed for joy when Dean and Sam entered the coroner's office in their lab coats.  I'd forgotten that scene occurred in this episode.  It was like seeing an old friend again.

I really enjoyed Dean relaying his story about how he embraced the hunter's life at 16, especially in light of the 18-year-old "I'm a hero!" Dean we saw in "After School Special."  Nice character consistency.

And even though I admitted to Gordon being a nut-job in the hiatus from hell review, I still think he may have been onto something with that whole "Sam Winchester is the anti-Christ" shit.  [And where is my "The anti-Christ is really dreamy" icon when I need it?]

Yes, it's still "3 years later" not 2. I saw the episode in 2006. It's now 2009. 2009 - 2006 = 3 (just in case you didn't know).

Ya' know? Sometimes hi-def is not such a great idea. In a couple of daylight scenes I noticed the makeup of Dean's forehead scar. Kind of distracting.

Does anyone else have trouble with the "recap" on the DVDs? Starting with the season 2 set, if I don't specifically set the "recap" to "on," I start with "Now." For every episode. It never stays set to "on" (unless I go immediately from one episode to the next). If I turn the player off and come back the next night to watch the next episode, I have to set it all over again. Very annoying. Especially for a recap as awesome as "Everybody Loves a Clown."

This is the last episode in which we see the "young, innocent" Sam. After this episode, there's a hardness to him. (Of course, it's probably just because Jared started sweeping his hair away from his face; but if I want to meta about it, I will!)

I think we all know how much I loved Jared portrayal of Sam's guilt and grief in the last scene. This time, I finally got Dean's reaction. Until now, it had just been dramatic posturing. Last night, I finally realized Dean's lashing out at John—for putting a horrible load on his shoulders; for leaving both of them; for Sam's guilt. I know everyone else came to this realization a long time ago, but I've never been the brightest bulb in the box.)

Very satisfying viewing.

***hearts so much***

It's interesting how quickly the episode flies by.  There's always something going on.  No filler.

I really concentrated on the final scenes last night.  John's "let's not fight" speech to Sam, the gentleness in his face.  I think that's when I started tearing up.  Then his talk with Dean.  (And OMG! The shots of Jensen's face!  *faints* [I've tried several times to make an icon of that face, but it never turns out right.  Maybe because no matter what I do, it's nothing compared the magnificence of the real thing.])

This confuses me:  John tells Dean not to worry, then tells him he has to save Sam, and if he can't, he has to kill him.  Um, that's a pretty damn big thing.  Certainly something to worry about.  Oh John.  Even when trying to make peace with your sons, you're still an ass.

I remember the first time I watched the episode, when YED said John needed to sweeten the pot, I remember thinking it was something, but it wasn't  John's soul.  For the life of me, I can't remember what it was.  (I probably mentioned it in my review shortly after the episode aired, but that was at mrstinkles , and that account's been deleted.)

Oh, and then the final final scene!  I love how Sam is holding Dean up.  Obvioiusly, he ran to get Dean and helped him to John's the room.  Then, the way the camera shifted between Sam and Dean, showing each one separately.

Remember the shock of the ending?  The screen goes dark before the doctor pronounces the time of death.  I remember just sitting there in absolute shock.  I don't think I moved for another 5 minutes.  The next day I was  in denial, thinking that John wasn't really dead.  Go figure.  Real grief for a fictional character.  And one I don't even like at that!

What, you thought I'd use a different icon?

I thought about watching "Devil's Trap" and "In My Time of Dying" back to back, you know, because of the trauma of the car crash.  But I decided IMToD deserves its own review.  (After all, it is the Supernatural March Madness champion, 2 years in a row!)

I know I had some thoughts about the episode, but I watched all the special features on the disc afterwards.  And now I can't remember shit.  Oh!  I think most of my thoughts centered around Dean and how adamantly he wanted John to live.  Even when he's lying on the floor bleeding to death, he's pleading with Sam not to shoot John.  It was interesting to see how dependent he is on John and can't imagine life without him, especially in light of the 2nd season opener.

I once again enjoyed Nicki Aycox's performance.  But this time I also really appreciated Jeffery Dean Morgan.  I still hate John with enormous passion, and am not a rabid JDM fan, but the man definitely has great talent.  (Which  I always knew, but was probably unwilling to admit, all because of the asshat that is John Winchester.)

Tonight it's on to season 2.  Woohoo!  We're getting closer to season 5!

Last night was a 2-fer.  I'm not crazy about either of these episodes, but I'm glad I rewatched them. 

Once again, the family dynamics take center stage in "Dead Man's Blood."  I mentioned last year how the Winchester family dynamics still rang true even after 40 episodes.  And knowing Mary and John's back story now, it makes even more sense.  I think it gives more depth to John's pain at losing Mary (even if he had another son), and it helps explain why he's so obsessed with hunting.

Oh, and I absolutely loved the music.  I'd never noticed it before.  There were about 3 different melodies, very different, but all fit the scenes beautifully.

"Salvation" also benefited from having lived through seen season 4.  I've noticed with this summer's viewings that Sam's character makes so much more sense to me.  He's so angry and hell-bent on killing the demon (who did have yellow eyes in this episode--I'd thought they were green), he is indeed just like John.  Dean hunts because it's what he does and he's good at it.  John and Sam hunt for an obsessed purpose.

So, there was wank this weekend?  I'm so glad I"ve been able to step back from fandom.  It really does wonders for my blood pressure.  But I'm dying to know what the wank was about.  I thought maybe there was a convention or something.  Or was there news that the JJs are or are not having sex?

I actually watched these on 3 separate nights, but didn't have the chance to post about them.  And 2 of the 3 episodes have a coincidence associated with them.

Hell House

Interestingly, I didn't really write a review/critique of "Hell House" last summer.  And again, I really don't have anything new to say.  That's probably because it's a favorite and I've watched it more than others.  Still, the diner scene (points to icon) is my favorite scene in season 1.  Heck, I think it was my favorite scene of all time until the laundry scene in "The Monster at the End of This Book."  *hearts*  (P.S. Check out the hiatus from hell review for a mini-picspam.)

Something Wicked

Again, not a lot new to say.  I said quite a bit last summer.  It is one of my absolute favorite episodes (as opposed to just a "favorite" episode).  Hee! And good golly, I still jump when the old woman suddenly comes alive.

I did see  something new with the widescreen tv.  When the striga is pulling giganta!Sam's life force from him, Sam's face begins to deteriorate.  Veins pop out, skin becomes sallow.  It was a very cool effect.

The coincidence?  The actor who played wee!Sam in this episode also played young Henry in the finale of Harper's Island last night.

Provenance

Yesterday at the hairdresser's I was looking through a magazine of short haircuts.  One of the "starlets" featured was Taylor Cole.  She apparently has her cut in a chin length bob.  Well, she did whenever this magazine came out.  AdriannePalicki was also featured.

Who knew the infamous eyelash was really there?  I'd not seen it before (since this was the first time I'd seen the episode in sort of high def).  Of course, it could have been digitally super-imposed, but it was a nice touch.  And... and!  Emo!Shirt was in the show!  Not being emo!  Or maybe the emo just transfered from Dean to Sam.

Er, I mean

Shadow, 3 years later

Actually, when I first noticed the shirt (I think the guys were in the bar), I thought, Hey, Emo!shirt's not being emo!  I'd forgotten about the scene where Sam tells Dean he doesn't want to hunt forever.  [Just in case you don't know Emo!shirt.]

Yes, I noticed more details that had previously been hidden in the dark, like the various rooms in girl's apartment.  (I forget her name.)  But interestingly, what I really noticed were sounds I hadn't heard before.  Apparently the new tv also has better audio.  I hadn't heard the uber-spooky sounds the shadows were making when chasing the girl.  Nor had I heard Dean's follow-on to his "No, bite her" comment.  Perhaps it was because I'd been groaning too loudly.  (The follow-on is something like "But don't leave teeth marks."  Of course, you might have erased that from your mind.  If so, I apologize for bringing it up again.)

When Sam is watching Meg from the Impala, the front windows are rolled down.  In the rain.  Worse, when he gets out to follow her, he leaves the windows down!  Damn, if Dean only knew.  Of course, he might have lost track of Meg had he taken the time to roll them up.  '67 Impalas don't have automatic windows.

ETA:  Huh.  In the hiatus from hell review, I mentioned it was a bad Sam hair episode.  And yet, this year I thought it was a good hair episode.  Go figure.

Squeee!  My Photoshop CS3 came today!  And so did my My Bloody Valentine 3D DVD.  But I'm already 2 days behind with my summer Supernatural retrospective.  (Spent all of last night watching Warehouse 13.)  Must force myself to watch "Shadow."  I'll most likely save both software and movie for the weekend.

In the meantime, the photos for the jared_stillness  icontest this week are quite fine.  I ended up making 4 icons.  Here's the one I didn't submit.  Not sure if it needs a little something else or what.  I created it in Fireworks Mx2004 (a defunct program since sweet, wonderful Macromedia was bought out by evil overpriced Adobe).  Anyway, help yourself if you're so inclined.  (It's not really that great, so I won't be offended if you pass it over.)

Yep, "The Benders" is still one of my least favorite episodes. However, I will say, as I have been saying numerous times already, it was actually a new viewing experience now that I could actually see the detail that had been hidden in the dark. It's really surprising how much you miss when so much of the picture is too dark to see. So it's probably a good thing I'm doing this review. Otherwise I most likely wouldn't have watched some of these least favorite episodes.

Even though this was season 1 Sammy, he sure filled out that t-shirt nicely. (zanne68 had mentioned this in my hiatus from hell review last summer, but the full beauty of it had been lost on me until now.)

Something else that really struck me; when Dean enters the... barn?... where Sam and Sheriff Kathleen are, he mouths something that looks quite goofy.  That and one other shot immediately after reminded me of Alec from Dark Angel.  People talk about how the characters are a lot alike, but actually they're not.  This scene just proved it to me.

You know what?  "Route 666" wasn't that bad. I was annoyed with the actress who played Cassie only in her first few scenes.  But I also noticed this was one of Jensen poorest performances.  I guess there's only so much you can do when working with someone who's not particularly talented.  But as the episode wore on, they seemed to find a reasonable groove.  Or maybe I just relaxed and wasn't so critical.

At least the sex scene wasn't so dark this time.  Good golly, Jensen has the most beautiful back.

I remember spending quite a bit of time laughing.  Mainly at the way the stupid truck would rev its motor and lurch forward—sort of like a growling dog.  Ha!

When I watched "Nightmare" during the hiatus from hell last summer, I was struck with what a good episode it was.  It hadn't been up there with my favorites, but I was so impressed, I moved it up to the 5-star category.  I'm not sure I'd keep it there.  It's kind of like "Asylum."  It's a near perfect episode, and yet it's just not among the best. 

I found myself mesmerized with the closing scene.  First of all, the hunting lodge motif motel was all kinds of awesome.  But the conversation between Sam and Dean nailed it.  It was so interesting, knowing what we know now, to see Sam struggling with why he had these powers and why he and Max were "chosen."  Also awesome?  Dean's all flippant with his idea of going to Vegas; but when Sam's not looking, we see he's genuinely worried.  Oh, Show!  ♥ ♥ ♥

I ended up not watching another Supernatural episode last night.  I just couldn't bear to watch "Route 666" and "The Benders" in one evening.  So I watched My Bloody Valentine.  Again!  (I even unsealed the NetFlix envelop to watch it—just like I did with Devour.)  I played a drinking game, taking a drink whenever there was 1) a gory death, 2) an obvious 3D gag, and 3) whenever someone said "fuck."  I was so stinkin' drunk by the end of the movie I gashed the hell out of my ankle while trying to clean out the cat litter.  And yeah, I'm a little hung-over.

Can you believe it?  I actually forgot who wrote "Faith."  It was my favorite writer and her then writing partner.  Yep, I still love it.  Maybe not as much as originally, but that's only because there are so many more awesome episodes to love after 4 years.  Not "more awesome" as in better, but as in a larger number of awesome episodes.

I still wish there'd been a little more physicality between Dean and Layla in that last scene, but I think it was purposely kept "pristine" because the idea was to show how much she touched Dean's heart, and not his "downstairs brain."

This episode's "out of the darkness" moments were mostly various details in the basement at the beginning of the episode.  The kids were much more visible, and I actually got a reasonably good look at the rawhead's face.  (Well, as good as the quick flashes allowed.)

Tonight, it's a Supernatural marathon.  I've already watched 2 episodes and am about to watch a third.  Do I really have to go back to work tomorrow?

Can anybody tell me where the song "Lodi" by John Fogerty is played in this episode?  It's listed in the music credits, but I've yet to hear it.  It might be when Sam and Meg are in the bus station.  There's some faint background music, but it's too faint for me to hear.

Oh.  Upon rereading my hiatus from hell review, I see I've already asked that question.  But I'll ask it again since no one's yet answered.  :þ

I hadn't remembered this was a Kim Manners episode.  Now that shot that pans to the top of the umbrellas in the rain makes sense.  Genius!

Once again, I was able to see much more of the episode with the new.  I didn't know there were baskets of apples at the base of the trees all over the orchard.  Yes, I'd seen them in some of the Getty photos that came from this episode, but I didn't realize there was such a plethera of them.  (Plethera being the word of the day.)  And when the first couple was running through the orchard, I knew the wife had tripped over the hubby and that there was something icky with his face.  But I hadn't realized just how icky it was, what with his skin had been removed and all.  Good times.

I was going to watch "Home" last night also, but I'd recorded The Dark Knight, so I watched it.  Didn't realize the movie was so damned long.  By the time it finished, it was way past my bedtime.  Heath Ledger?  Awesome, indeed.  Christian Bale?  Not so much.

There's not a darned thing wrong with "Asylum" and yet it doesn't rank up there with my favorites.  It's one of those episodes that's really, really close to a 5-star review , but there's something that just doesn't quite put it on par with "Faith" or "Dead in the Water."  Maybe it's because most of the episode takes place at night and the lighting in the hospital is so gosh darned dark.

So, what did I miss because the episode was so dark?  Holy cow!  Where do I start?  Actually, it was mainly all the background in the hospital.  I had no idea the walls were so colorful.  I also finally got a good look at the hand that pulled Cat (Kat?) into the locked room.  And a much "better" look at the spirits'/patients' faces.

Something that always bothered me about "Asylum" was how flippant they were about Sam trying to kill Dean.  But this time I think I understand it a little better.  Dean is obviously aware that Sam was "under the influence," and he's willing to accept that.  But I also think he knows Sam is lying when he said he didn't mean any of it.  He knows Sam has issues with him, but it doesn't change their love for each other.  After all, Dean also has issues with Sam, as mentioned in "Skin."

Or, it could be that Dean's just not into that  touchy-feely crap.

Now, just because it deserves special attention:


I can't believe they let Jensen do his own stunt here.  (And yes, I super-slo-mo'ed it to make sure it's him.)  I mean, what if he'd slipped and messed up that pretty face?

I didn't notice very many new things in these two episodes.  In fact, 2 of the 3 "discoveries" were audio vice visual.

In "Bugs," Sam hits Dean (in the nuts??) as he drives the Impala into the garage. Ha!  I wonder if that was scripted.  And when they show the Kripke/Singer credits at the end, the music fades out to the buzzing of bees.

In "Home," the only new thing I noticed was the music played during the "Previously on Supernatural" segment.  It's the same music that's on the DVD menus—for all 3 seasons.  (And probably the 4th, too.)  I wonder if there's anything significant there.  I don't think that music was ever used again, but I guess we'll see as I wind my way through the episodes.

Poor Dean.  He really caught a lot of crap in both episodes.  The American Indian* Joe (Whitetree?) calling him a liar, and countless crap Missouri gave him.  I didn't mind it as much as others, but it did get kind of old towards the end.

Just one other observation:  Kim Manners seemed to really like pushing the envelop in filming naked women.  First there's the frontal shot of Andrea in "Dead in the Water."  Then there's the real estate agent (Linda?) in "Bugs."  I swear he came to within an inch of her butt cheeks.

*I once asked an American Indian friend of mine what they preferred to be called.  She told me "American Indian," because "Native American" can be anyone born in the U.S.

Can you believe it?  I forgot to watch my Supernatural DVD last night.  Of course, the episode is "Bugs," so I'm not highly motivated to watch (although I do like it better than most people).  I guess that means double duty tonight.

What I did watch was Sunday's True Blood.  The reviewer at Television Without Pity (who gives every damn episode an A+ [where's the critique in that?  And why can't Supernatural get such a reviewer?]) said this episode was the best one yet, in his opinion.  I didn't think about it at the time, but just before the credits came on, I wondered if Raelle Tucker wrote it.  She did!  And, she wrote the two most important (and best received) episodes last year.

I am beyond thrilled for her!   I always thought she never got the accolades or attention she deserved on Supernatural.   Everyone was so gaga with Sera Gamble, Raelle was sort of lost in the shuffle.  Raelle's episodes were perhaps not as pivotal as Sera's, but she did introduce us to Ava and Andy (whom Sera then killed off.  Bitch!), and she wrote what continues to be my most favorite episode ever, "What Is and What Should Never Be."  So much love for that episode.

When Raelle  was gone in season 3, I was so disappointed.  But she's now working with the man who got her interested in screen writing, Alan Ball.  And she's working on a top-rated show.  While I've never been a big fan of Alan Ball (I thought Six Feet Under was highly over-rated, as did Matt Roush--glad to know I'm in good company), I will forever be beholden to him for inspiring and hiring Raelle.

I didn't get to watch any episodes on Saturday.  I'd planned to after I went to see the movie UP.  My friends were going to dinner afterward but I hadn't planned to.  However, I was informed I had to go.  (Birthday stuff.)  By the time I got home, Harper's Island was just finishing up and I had to watch that.  (As it was, I fast-forwarded through much of it since I was curious about who would die this week.)

Anyway, on to the reviews.  I'll discuss "Hookman" first since I watched it before "Skin."

I could not believe how much I'd missed on the old tv!    Originally, I hadn't seen the "Hookman" until he attacked the dad.  (BTW, I really like Dan Butler, even if his role here was kind of meh.)  This time I saw the Hookman when he scraped the signs at the makeout site and when he was hiding behind the door in Lori's room.  And I saw what Sam & Dean were actually tossing to each other in the church.  I knew it was the silver cross and the shotgun from the context, but I'd totally missed Dean throwing the bullets to Sam.  (Not that they did any good, the gun being knocked out of his hands.)  Ah, new tv is awesome.

And sorry, I didn't find Lori "hot" at all, let alone "super-hot."

The reason I watched "Skin" second was because I wanted to save the better episode for last.  I don't really have much to say that I haven't said in my hiatus from hell review.  I didn't even notice any new things that had previously been too dark . I think the only thing I caught was the fleur-de-lis on Sam's hoodie, but I'd already caught that in the Pilot. 

However, for some reason I hadn't noticed when Dean pulls out of the gas station, he totally ignores the stop sign. Hee!  I have no idea why I missed that.  I must have blinked.

Oh, and when I finished, I noticed the DVR was on.  It was recording True Blood which I'd totally forgotten about and had no desire to stay  up to watch.  Guess I'm not a big fan.
 

For the first time, I'm not going to repeat my hiatus from review.  (I just went back and read it, and am awed by my insight.)  Maybe it's because I fascinated with all the stuff I saw for the first time with the new tv.  "Bloody Mary" has to be one of the darkest (as in darkly lit) episodes of the entire series, so there was an enormous amount of detail that had previously eluded me: the walls in Lily's bathroom, the money Sam pulled out to bribe the coroner's tec (yes, I knew he pulled out money, but I actually saw it this time). Oh, and one other thing I'll mention at the end.

"Bloody Mary" is one of the darkest episodes ever, so there was a ton of stuff I never saw.  My favorite was entering the antique store, where we saw the boys in a whole series of mirrors.  Genius!  It never ceases to amaze me how innovative and well-produced this this little show is.

I really liked Charlie.  I guess she was supposed to be a high school student, so there's no possibility of a love interest.  But both brothers we so kind and caring with her.  (And I noticed she did chuckle a little bit when Dean asked if he looked like Paris Hilton.)

But do we still have any idea why Dean's eyes bled?  I don't think so.  Yes, Dean has plenty to feel guilty about, but all the ones I can think of occured after "Bloody Mary."   I guess I need to systematically go through each episode with this in mind to see if I can find the answer.  Otherwise, I'll completely forget to think about it.  Anyone have any ideas?

And sometimes HD is not a good idea.  Jensen's complexion in this episode is horrible.  Perhaps it was the stress of getting used to the filming schedule that caused the breakouts.  Thank goodness we have the mouth and cheekbones and eyes and hair and everything else to look at.

In other news, guess I won't be making any icons this week.  Both jared_stillness  and jensenstillness  have photos that I really dislike.  And I have absolutely no idea what to do with the huntericontest  theme ("not themselves").  Just think of all the productive time I'll have!  (Hmm, maybe I can work on a mood theme.) 

Oh yeah, I  forgot to mention:  "Bloody Mary" has been upgraded to 5 stars.  Yes it has!

"Phantom Traveler" is one of those episodes I really enjoyed when it first aired, but it's not up there with my favorites.  I'm still very impressed with its special effects.  I mentioned George flying into the camera in my hiatus from hell review, but also the crash of the small plane.  I remember thinking when I first watched it "This is really good for a small-budget show."

The other scene I really enjoy is the boys escaping from the airfield.  The timing is beautifully perfect.  The the guys peek around the corner in a way that both are visible (points to icon).  There's something interesting about the way they hesitate for a fraction of a second when the alarm sounds, and then start running.  I can't really put my finger on it, but it's precisely the way I envisioned both of them reacting.  And of course the jump over the fence.  (I'm pretty sure this jump was performed by the two stunt men.)

I'm not sure I'll watch the commentary.  While there were some interesting moments, there was a lot of meaningless filler.  I remember Jensen rambling on and on about the show coming together, fine tuning it, greasing the wheel, knocking it out of the park, blah,blah.  Or something like that.  Then of course, there's the snores.  (I'm sure that's why they had Kim Manners and Cyrus Yavneh with them for the season 2 commentary.)

Two other things about the commentary:  1) When Jensen was rambling on & on, he said he expected season 2 would be better than season 1.  My thought was "How can they improve?  It's already great."  Well, I was wrong.  Season 2 was better.  2) I was also wrong in my hiatus from hell review saying Jared mistook Ozzie Osbourne for Billy Squire.  Turns out I mistook Billy Squire for Black Sabbath.  (Incidentally, I listened to "Paranoid" on my way into work this morning; the "explicit" version.)

As for what I missed?  Coming off the plane at the end, there's a passenger in the background with one crutch.  They probably went with one crutch, because both crutches would have been too distracting, not to mention hard to work with.

And the hair!  How could I forget the hair?  Even though this was a "good hair episode" for Jared, I wanted desperately to run a comb through it.  And the way Jensen's hair stood way the hell up on end after they saved the plane.  Hah!  And dang, he sured looked young.

 

Yes, it's 3 years, not 4.  I didn't start watching Supernatural until towards the end of the first season.  So my first viewing of "Dean Dead in the Water" was during summer reruns.

It's interesting how I always seem to notice the same things, e.g., my first two "3 years later" reviews basically matching my "hiatus from hell" posts.  So this time I looked up last year's review before starting this one.  I really don't have much else to say.  I still love the episode; it's in the top tier of my all-time favorite episodes.  (I've never counted up the "5 star" episodes, so I can't say if it's "top 10" or "top 15" or something else.)  Jensen still blows me away with the little things he brings to the character.  I still get a thrill when the boys don't hesitate one bit before diving into the lake fully clothed (and with shoes on).  And I still wonder how they got away with the frontal shots during the bathtub scene.

I did see something on the HD widescreen tv that I'd not seen before.  It's the scene by the lake, where Bill Carlton is talking to the spirit, saying it's taken everything from him and he thinks he now understands.  The camera sweeps across the water before it pans to Bill sitting on the dock.  It's raining, but the only way you can tell is by the little ripples in the lake.  Eric Kripke said in his season 2 commentary that it rains a lot in Vancouver, but they manage to film in such a way you don't usually notice.  (I think Tom Welling said the same thing, but we're not talking about Smallville here.)