Route 666 is an interesting episode. It’s not a fan favorite, and the whole ‘killer truck’ thing doesn’t entirely work for me. Up until this point in Season 1, Supernatural had pulled off being pretty damn scary, and this episode tries hard with lots of the big truck looming out of the mist, but when it revs its engine and puffs smoke it just ends up looking a little silly.
That said, there’s a lot to appreciate in this episode. It tackles some serious themes that weren’t seen in media that often in 2005, calling out racism overtly and not within some sort of monster metaphor. That was a rare thing in 2005, certainly on the WB. It’s also one of the relatively rare episodes where one of the brothers has a relationship that feels real and understandable. I’ve often said that Jensen Ackles has chemistry with just about everyone and everything, but he definitely did with guest star Megalyn Echikunwoke. I wasn’t really in the fandom in Season 1, so I don’t know what the fan reaction was to Cassie at the time, though I’m guessing the idea of Dean Winchester being ‘taken’ in any way, shape or form was not a welcome idea. I’m also fine with the show concentrating on the brothers, but I really liked the way Cassie and Dean’s relationship was explored in this episode. Once again, it gives us a chance to see Dean’s vulnerability. Faced with the loss of the only other person who had shared and really understood his life when Sam went to college, Dean opened up to Cassie — and was reminded that most people would not understand the kind of life he lives. That must have made being on his own even harder. Knowing how hurt he was by the break-up, it makes his insecurity with Sam once they’re back on the road again even easier to understand.
The open is the scary truck chasing after a car in the dark somewhere in Cape Girardieu, the radio gone staticky. The driver, a black man, skids to a stop and suddenly the truck is right in front of him, ramming into the car, windows shattering, until it drives him right off the road in a fiery crash. The truck pauses for a minute, ‘breathing’ hard through its exhaust pipe, and then drives off.
I think it’s the anthropomorphizing that makes it not work for me – before that part, it was scary, and also disturbing as the guy is killed in a more realistic way than most of the deaths on Supernatural.
Cut to the Winchesters, Dean on the phone and Sam reading a map finding a route to Pennsylvania.
Dean: Problem is, we’re not going to Pennsylvania.
He says he just got a call from an old friend whose father was killed the night before, and that it might be their kind of thing. When Sam questions it, Dean says she never would’ve called if she didn’t need them.
Dean: Never.
Sam has good instincts already when it comes to his brother.
Sam: And by ‘old friend’ you mean…
Dean: A friend that’s not new.
Sam’s surprised to find out that Dean dated someone for more than one night, and Dean is evasive, uncomfortable with his carefully constructed devil-may-care persona being called into question, with Sam of all people.
Sam quickly figures out that she’s calling them and saying it’s their kind of thing because she knows what their kind of thing is, and then he’s angry.
Sam: How does she know what we do?
Dean doesn’t answer, but that’s answer enough.
SM: You told her. You told her? The secret. Our big family rule no. 1 – We do what we do and we shut up about it. I lied to Jess and you go out for a few weeks with a girl and tell her all about it?
Dean: Yeah, looks like.
He looks as unhappy about it as Sam does, regret written all over his face.
Sam has a strong reaction to finding out that Dean had a serious relationship while he was at Stanford, and probably a conflicted one. He’s happy to find out that his brother isn’t really all about just the one night stands like he claims, and he takes great joy in teasing his brother about his feelings for Cassie, but I think he’s also a little thrown by it. Dean changed, at least a little, while Sam was away; Sam wasn’t the only one evolving during those years they were apart. As hard as we see that be for Dean, this is a glimpse of how hard it is for Sam too. Dean was only about hunting and family, including Sam; this is Sam seeing a side of his brother he didn’t know, and realizing that Dean cared about someone else too, someone outside of their family.
They find Cassie at the paper where she works, her boss shutting down the article she wants to write, saying she’s too close to it. It’s clear as soon as they lay eyes on each other that there was something significant between Dean and Cassie, and Sam has a small smile on his face watching them. (Sam and Dean are forever trying to figure out each other’s love lives).
They find out that Cassie’s father was scared in the days before he died, seeing things like an awful looking black truck that he thought was following him. There was a new dent in his car like it had been slammed into by something big, and one set of tracks leading to the edge of the cliff he went over. Not only that – his best friend was also killed in a similar way, which makes it all pretty suspicious.
Cassie admits she’s still “skeptical about this ghost stuff” though.
Dean: If I remember correctly, you said it was “nuts.”
Cassie: That was then. I can’t explain it, so I called you.
The tension between the two of them is palpable.
The next day, there’s another ‘accident’ and Cassie tries to convince the mayor to close the section of road where the accidents are happening, but he insists that accidents do happen.
Cassie: Would you close the road if the victims were white?
Mayor: I’m the last person you should ask that.
When she asks why, he just says why don’t you ask your mother.
The plot thickens.
Sam is as interested in figuring out his big brother’s dating history with Cassie as he in the case, pointing out that the two of them never really look at each other at the same time. He looks at her when she’s not looking, she checks him out while he’s not looking.
Dean bristles, but Sam says he’s just making “an interesting observation in an observationally interesting way” and asks if he hit a nerve.
Which, obviously, he did.
Sam also points out with a grin that “I bet she kicked your ass a couple times.” Sam is extremely pleased about this probability.
The boys don their fed suits and talk to the latest victim Jimmy’s friends, asking if he’d had any hallucinations or strange experiences or ever mentioned seeing a big black truck.
(Dean donning his fed suit here is worth a cap, right? Right.)
One of the guys they’re talking to (who’s white) just says no, but the guy he’s playing chess with (who’s black) nods in recognition.
Guy: I’ve heard of a truck like that.
Sam: Where?
Guy: Not where, when? Back in the sixties, there was a string of deaths – black men. The story goes they disappeared in a big nasty black truck. Never found them. Not sure they even really looked. There was a time this town wasn’t too friendly to all its citizens.
The white guy he’s playing chess with looks as clueless as anyone with long-standing privilege ever has, and the whole scene is pretty powerful for 2005.
We get a moment of Winsync in suits, which means all of us doing the rewatch yell out “Winsync!” in the zoom.
Smart boys figure out that it could be like the Flying Dutchman, the haunted ship – an evil spirit inhabiting the truck reenacting past crimes, somehow connected to Cassie and her family. Meanwhile, Sam is still trying to figure out what went down with Dean and Cassie, who he can tell have serious unfinished business.
Sam: What is going on between you two?
Dean finally admits that maybe it was a little less casual than he suggested, that maybe they were more involved.
Dean: Maybe… and I told her the secret and I shouldn’t have. It was stupid to get that close, and look how it ended.
Sam sits there grinning at this brother at this revelation.
Dean is annoyed.
Dean: Would you stop? Blink or something.
Sam: (still looking extremely pleased) You loved her.
Dean: Oh god.
Sam: You were in love with her but you dumped her.
Dean doesn’t answer, averting his eyes. Sam and Dean have grown close enough again that Sam can read the nonverbal fluently.
Sam: Oh wow. She dumped you.
Dean: Get in the car. Get in the car!
Sam definitely hit a nerve that time. It’s a further glimpse into the complicated character that is Dean Winchester. At what must have been a difficult time for him, Sam away at Stanford and Dean trying to hunt on his own, he found someone to confide in – and it blew up in his face. No wonder he was feeling so insecure by the time John went missing and Dean shored up the courage to ask Sam to come with him.
Dean goes to see Cassie at her house that night. She’s working on an article on the man who died, trying to find the words. Jimmy was the paper’s first black editor.
Cassie: Where’s your brother?
Dean: Not here… why’d you ask?
Cassie: Nothing, it’s not important…
Dean: Because it’s just you and me, with Sam here it would be easier? Fine, we’ll keep it strictly business.
Cassie: I forgot you do that. Whenever we get…close…anywhere in the neighborhood of emotional vulnerability, you back off and shut the door.
Dean scoffs.
Dean: I’m not the one who slammed it behind me.
Cassie retorts that the guy she’s dating told her he professionally pops ghosts and has to leave to work with his father – and she just thought he wanted to dump her.
Dean: Let’s not forget who dumped who.
Cassie: I didn’t meant to hurt you. I’m sorry.
Dean: Yeah, me too.
At this point, they’re close enough to touch and both are emotional, and their argument turns into a passionate kiss and keeps going from there.
We don’t get a lot of sex scenes on Supernatural, so this one is notable – it’s a full on music montage, and Cassie is very much the one in charge and that’s … very interesting. (And yes fandom has spent a significant amount of time comparing and contrasting the Winchesters’ different styles of lovemaking because of course fandom has.)
She strips off his jacket, throws him down on the bed and gets on top, kissing down his chest while he’s open mouthed and breathless. The lyrics of the song playing in the background are “sometimes I get a feeling I just can’t control…” and the cinematography (and Dean’s back) are lovely.
Meanwhile, the mayor sees the truck threatening him. He tries to avoid it in his car, eventually getting out and desperately trying to outrun the monster truck, but it pursues him and runs him over, leaving him dead on the ground.
Dean and Cassie wake up, agreeing that “this we were good at; it’s the other stuff, not so much.”
Dean insists he tried, telling her who he really was, which was a big first for him.
Cassie: It scared the hell outta me. I thought you were nuts, dangerous even.
She admits though, that “Maybe I was looking for a reason to walk away.”
Dean: In my work, I see things that can’t be explained, and I deal with them. But working things out with you?
Cassie: I’m a scary one all right. Usually things get worked out if you really want them to.
They’re both being pretty honest here, and they both sound hella ambivalent.
Dean: I’m still really involved with my dad’s work…
They agree to be real, no more excuses, and then the phone rings. Of course it’s bad news, because this is Supernatural.
Dean meets up with Sam, who of course wants to know how it went
Sam: Where were you last night? I’m guessing you guys worked things out.
Dean: We’ll be working things out when we’re 90.
On one of our fan pilgrimages to Vancouver, we managed to find the place where Sam made that phone call (or so we were told) – the Britannia Heritage Shipyards. There are an endless variety of fascinating places in Vancouver, all of them with such a unique look – and all of them somehow looking like they’re made for filming. I’m going to miss seeing beautiful Vancouver on my TV screen on Thursday nights for a very long time.
The brothers ponder the newest victim, who doesn’t fit the pattern since he’s white. Turns out the Mayor bought the property that the wealthy Dorian family owned (who also owned the paper). Cyrus Dorian vanished back in 1963. Recently the mayor knocked down the old place – right before the first killing happened. Hmm.
The truck comes for Cassie that night, and this scene really is scary, the truck outside her house in the dark and the mist, its headlights pointed at the house as she frantically tries to shut curtains and shutters. It barrels right up to her house to the front door, its lights beaming through the glass in her front doors.
She calls Dean, frantically yelling his name into the phone.
Sam and Dean realize that whoever is controlling the truck, they want you afraid first. They rush to the house and finally talk to Cassie’s mother about her husband’s death.
Dean: If you know something, now would be a really good time to tell us about it.
Mrs. Robinson admits that her husband thought that the truck he was seeing belonged to Cyrus Dorian, but “he died forty years ago.”
The Winchesters are smart and question how she knows he died, since the paper just said he went missing. Turns out she dated Cyrus but was also seeing Cassie’s dad, Martin – in secret because, as she says, interracial couples didn’t go over too well. When she broke it off with Cyrus, she tells them, his hatred overwhelmed him. There were rumors of people disappearing and a big black truck, but nothing was ever done. On the day the Robinsons were to be married at a small church, they decided to elope – and someone set fire to the church.
Mrs. Robinson: There was a children’s choir practice in there. They all died. The truck came for Martin and Cyrus beat him something terrible, but Martin got loose and beat Cyrus.
They ask why she didn’t call the cops, and she stares at them like they’re idiots, saying that was forty years ago. They put Cyrus’ body in the truck and rolled it into the swamp and they all kept the secret for all those years. The Mayor was a young deputy back then who figured out what had happened and did nothing, because he also knew what Cyrus had done.
She’s sobbing by the time she’s done relating the story and Cassie looks stricken.
Cassie: Why didn’t you tell me?
Mrs. Robinson: I was protecting him. Now there’s no one left to protect.
Dean: Yes there is.
He looks at Cassie.
Sam and Dean go outside to make a plan, and have a conversation leaning against the Impala about how weird their lives are, Sam lamenting that his life was so simple before, just exams, papers on polycentric cultural norms…
Dean: Guess I saved you from a boring existence.
Sam: I miss conversations that didn’t start with “this killer truck…”
The brothers are very much on the same page, the awkward conversations and admissions nevertheless bringing them closer. They share a laugh, knowing they’re gonna have to drag that body out from the swamp.
Dean tells Cassie to stay inside and she bristles.
Cassie: Don’t go getting all authoritative on me.
Dean: Don’t leave the house, please?
They share a kiss and Sam unabashedly watches, grinning.
Dean: You coming or what?
They drag the truck up from the lake, drag the disgusting looking corpse from the front seat and burn the body, their (very pretty) faces lit by the fire.
Sam: Think that’ll do it?
The big black truck appears, smoke pouring from its exhaust and revving menacingly.
Dean: I guess not. Now it’s really pissed.
There’s no time for much of a plan, so Dean jumps in the Impala to lead it away from Sam and Cassie, while Sam…figures something out.
Sam: How am I supposed to burn a truck, Dean?
Dean: I don’t know – figure it out!
Dean drives off with the truck in pursuit, the Impala speeding down a dark twisty road, Sam frantically reading through their dad’s journal, on the phone with his brother.
Sam: You gotta give me a minute.
Dean: I don’t have a minute, what are we doing?
Sam: I’ll get back to you.
Dean probably says something colorful and keeps driving, and Sam finally calls him back, asking where he is.
Dean: Middle of nowhere, with a killer truck on my ass!
Sam says he needs to know exactly where, as the Impala skids all over and barely stays on the road.
Dean: Sonofabitch!
Sam: Turn right up ahead, now turn left! Go 7/10 of a mile and then stop. Exactly 7/10, Dean!
The lack of GPS is a real inconvenience, but Dean has his trusty odometer. He watches it as he keeps driving, then slams to a stop, the Impala spinning around. He faces the road, and the truck comes at him head on.
Dean stays still; he trusts Sam.
Dean: What do I do?
Sam: Just what you are doing – bringing it to you.
The truck bears down on him, full speed. Dean clenches his teeth, stays motionless, muttering “Come on, come on…” while Sam listens on the phone, equally terrified.
There’s a flash on impact and then the truck disappears in the mist, and Dean’s alone in the car in the dark. He looks around, shocked.
Sam: Dean, you still there? Dean?
Dean: Where’d it go?
Sam: (relieved) You’re where the church was, the place Cyrus burned. It’s hallowed ground. When spirits cross over they’re destroyed. I figured maybe that would get rid of it.
Dean (incredulous): Maybe? Maybe?? What if you were were wrong?!
Sam: Huh. That honestly didn’t occur to me.
They hang up, and Dean glares at the phone, muttering “I’m gonna kill him…”
Both Jared and Jensen can bring those little comedic beats to a scene that wasn’t even funny and do it perfectly so that I end up with a smirk on my face.
Dean says goodbye to Cassie, saying that maybe this time the goodbye will be a little less permanent.
Cassie: You know what? I’m a realist. I don’t see much hope for us, Dean.
Dean: Well, I’ve seen stranger things happen. Helluva lot stranger.
They kiss goodbye while Sam once again unabashedly stares and smiles.
Dean gets in the car and Sam drives, music playing, into the night. Dean looks out the window.
Sam: I like her.
Dean: Yeah.
Sam: You meet someone like her, makes you wonder if it’s worth it putting everything else on hold, doing what we do?
Dean doesn’t answer, just turns to Sam and smiles; that’s answer enough.
He puts on his sunglasses, tells Sam to wake him up when it’s his turn to drive.
Sam smiles.
The Impala races down the road toward the horizon.
Me: Damn, I love this Show.
Stay tuned for more of our Supernatural from the start rewatch, coming up soon!
— Lynn
Want to hang onto Supernatural forever?
You can find info on the books written by the
Supernatural actors, about how the show
changed their lives and the legacy it leaves
behind, at peacewhenyouaredone.com or
on the home page here!
Not one of my favourite early episodes but interesting social commentary. I didn’t find the truck scary and spent more time trying to figure out the make and model (my son is a car nut) then being particularly involved in the storyline. I’ve skipped this episode on rewatching the series.
Dean’s relationship with Cassie was interesting and explains why he’s gun-shy and more into being non-committed and Sam’s enjoyment is great to see. The humour left him after some seasons so seeing that smile is wonderful.
Whenever I watch the end, my mind goes to the gag reel with Jensen putting his head on Jared’s lap.
I always think of that gag reel moment too – I love that with this show, we all know the gag reel moments as well as we know the show’s canon!
Wonderful recap as always. Not one of my favorite episodes. Christine was the ultimate scary car movie for me. But I love this show and the brother’s relationship with each other and others. Sigh. I miss it so much
Same – I think I’m always going to miss them. And even an episode that isn’t my favorite is so much more compelling to me than 90% of everything else out there!
Loved the ep, loved the anti-racist theme, loved Cassie and wish she had reappeared later on in the series run. She was my favorite of the women Dean got involved with — gorgeous, smart, non-self-pitying, self-confident and a true career woman. Then there’s the fact that she was a newspaperwoman (as I used to be), and in a state where PoC didn’t get to go to the top journalism schools until the Eighties (I was at college there/then, so I actually do know).
My personal headcanon is that Dean’s brief reunion with Cassie in this episode resulted in a child he never knew about, who grew up to be a hunter working alongside his/her younger cousin, Dean 2.0, keeping the legacy alive.
I agree, Cassie was an amazing character and Megalyn portrayed her so well. I kept reminding myself that this episode was made in 2005, which makes it even more notable. And hey, that sounds like a great idea for a sequel…
Wow you and I were thinking the exact same thing. I liked this episode too. I am a writer and I always thought that if I wrote the series finale it would be to reunite Dean and Cassie and have him discover that she gave birth to a son that turned out to be his. Have him be a hunter. Dean always wanted a family of his own. That would’ve been sweet. I never understood how they could make Lisa ( a girl who was really just a weekend fling) suddenly become someone who could potentially be a real girlfriend to him along with a child that wasn’t his. He never even loved Lisa. But he did love Cassie. I came to like Lisa and Ben as time went on but being with Cassie would’ve made more sense. Sad that they never mentioned Cassie again.
The Lisa thing did seem to sort of come out of nowhere. On rewatch especially, the character of Cassie was so nuanced and complex, and she and Dean had lots of chemistry – it is a shame she didn’t return.
I always liked this episode, truck aside it does a lot of challenging perceptions. Cassie, a poc, is educated, financially stable, holding down a good job, is well respected in her community, almost the polar opposite to Dean who was raised on the road in relative poverty, who was often treated as an outcast and who sacrificed much of his education because of the instability and family responsibilities he had. Cassie is the one who held the power in their relationship, Dean in a way respected, admired and looked up to her. It’s an aspirational relationship for Dean that he put huge value on.
Cassie saw what lay beneath with Dean in a way his family did not, that there was much much more to Dean than he ever showed and she was not afraid to call him on his B.S. Fierce as Sam astutely observed.
I think the episode handled the racism themes pretty well for a TV show, Cassie is portrayed brilliantly as a smart educted women, just a bit out of her depth, but not a weak damsel in distress, baring in mind this was 2005 when this was aired, it was quite impressive and it’s subtle in how it deals with the interracial issues, pairing a white lead in a comfortable formerly loving relationship with a strong woman of color who occupied a higher social class than his character. All things still relevant today, so this episode continues to have value for the message it sends.
With Cassie we get to see Dean in a new light that turns everything we know on its head. Dean is not the devil may care womaniser, he’s truthful, soft and gentle with both Cassie and Mrs Robinson, respectful of the people they question, he listens intently and says little, putting the pieces of the puzzle together with patience and diligence, not a hint of his usual rush to move along to the next bad thing. The persona Dean used was always an act to protect himself from hurt, because repeatedly Dean was forced to say adiós to every woman he cared about over the years.
It’s touching to know Cassie still had Deans number, we know he changed his cell number in Phantom Traveller, but he obviously kept her number in his contacts and sent her his new number, just because. Deep down it seemed, Dean still had hopes, he was not so sour then and allowed himself to hold to a small hope that maybe the opportunity would arise and when it did, he rose to the challenge to fix things with the woman he loved.
When they first met Cassie clearly both pushed and validated Dean at a difficult time in his life and he never forgot her, she was helping him on the road to individuation, he had hopes and dreams outside of his core family that we later find out he gave up when he was at Sonny’s boys home, Cassie allowed Dean to follow his heart instead of his duty. Sadly they were both young and Cassie wasn’t ready to give committment in the way Dean was, it some respects he was so much older than her with the things he’d seen.
This time around Cassie had feelings of affection but she was more mature, she’d moved beyond Dean wanting to follow her own road, Dean couldn’t be a part of her life long term and she knew it, so she set him free gently but firmly and maturely.
Dean gained from the encounter, even though it didn’t work out the way he hoped, he got a little TLC which he was sorely in need of after the events in Nebraska, the wound he carried from the split with Cassie was addressed and it allowed the healing process to begin. Dean’s always rock bottom self esteem was restored by Cassie’s confession that it was as much her fault as his for their split and she helped him navigate to a new place of understanding that loving someone doesn’t have to equal pain when things don’t work out. Dean also had the joy of walking away knowing he’d saved her and that the one of things that had been an obstacle to their relationship, hunting, was the very reason Cassie was saved, thus still actively validating his decision to remain hunting.
My head canon is that Cassie was the one who inspired Dean to pursue and achieve his G.E.D during his time apart from Sam. Cassie allowed Dean to dream and want better things for himself.
I loved Sam this episode, the Brothers have so many preconceived notions about each other, often resulting in anger. Sam pulled off a miracle here, pulling back on his anger at Dean for giving up the family secret and eventually letting go of his notions. Sam realised Dean was having a hard time negotiating his feelings, he encouraged Dean to explore that in a brotherly teasing way, but not too pushy, quietly supporting his brother to work things out.
Also, we got so much smart Winchesters again, how they ended the Killer truck was very different from the normal process of ending a spirit and it just goes to show how adaptable they are and what great team work they have together.
Beautiful lighting, direction and every location framed perfectly, a reminder of just how good the crew in this show are.
So agreed – and yes, I think I forgot to wax poetic over once again getting such smart Winchesters. That makes me so happy in these early episodes! I loved that Cassie was the realist in the relationship, seeing Dean for who he is and maybe even understanding him better than he understood himself at that point, and she understood because she had ambitions and strong motivations of her own. I like to think she went on to accomplish big things!
Ah who cares about all that! You brushed over the more important part. Sex. Sex. With some hot thrusting action! And Deans gorgeous back and shoulders. (Oh mercy!) And heads thrown back in pleasure. And great music. And silhouettes. And did I mention hot thrusting action. I always thought this was Deans best sex scene. After that for the elder Winchester they were written pretty tame. (For Sam I have to go with Madison. Take charge in bed younger Winchester for the win!)
Possibly the hottest we ever got on SPN (with appropriate soundtrack from one of the hottest voices ever signed to Led Zeppelin’s own label, and guest singer with Queen, Mr Paul Rodgers )
Everything about that scene was absolute perfection , but somehow I failed to mention how hot it was?? How very, very remiss of me, well I’m saying it now , it was smoking HOT 😉
It’s amazing how even an episode that isn’t a beloved favorite can still leave you feeling, “Damn I love this show!”
(I’m in the middle of my 7th or 8th rewatch–currently on 07×04, and even after all this time I still run across moments I had forgotten, or not really appreciated before. I too find myself saying, “Damn, I love this show!” at the end of certain episodes. It gets better every time I watch, because knowing the outcome of the storyline, I can concentrate on other elements.)
As you rightly point out, there are merits even in an often-derided episode. There is a reason I am a Dean girl, and it’s because, as you put it, the show often gives us, even in eps like this, “…a further glimpse into the complicated character that is Dean Winchester.” I mean, I love Sam dearly, but for me Dean’s psyche is so complex and layered, it’s just endlessly fascinating. He feels so REAL that, in a way, he’s not even fictional to me. I mean, I know in my head he is, but my heart views him differently.
That’s a good way to put it – I’m not delusional about Dean Winchester being real, but my heart views him differently. What a gift we had, getting to know him so gradually, just like it would happen in real life. I’m forever grateful.
I am endlessly grateful too.
Perfectly explained.
Dean was the spice, the interesting character, multi layered, the heat of Supernatural. The doer, the force behind the show. Sam was plain oatmeal in comparison. Sam was interesting but not in the same way that Dean was.
That makes two of us Shelq!
The show gave us some truly great characters,so well explored, but of them all Dean’s is the most interesting to me and so true to life in how complicated and multifaceted he is, just when you think you have him, we get an episode like this which makes him endlessly fascinating.
It’s a combination of good writing and great acting, Jensen gave Dean so many other attributes not always scripted, joy, pain, mischief, pathos, so many nuanced performances that showed real understanding of the lifestyle and trauma this character faced that the writers took and ran with, because it “felt like something Dean would do” He was always responding to the action, even when it wasn’t his coverage, keeping Dean always present, with or without lines.
Dean feels like a complete and whole person, more than a character. On every re-watch there something more to unwrap. Supernatual , the gift that just keeps giving!
Oh, you are so right! No other actor could have brought to the character of Dean what Jensen did. That must be one of the reasons I can watch Supernatural over and over, more than any other show I’ve been a fan of.
Such brilliant casting. It’s the only show I’ve ever cared about so passionately and it’s definitely down to the actors bringing all the feels, the good and the bad, happy and sad because they are 1000% committed to the job, making the show the very best they can. Jensen and Jared believe in the Winchesters every bit as much as we do and that shows in everything they do.
Oh yes! It’s like props obviously to Kripke, the directors, writers, crew, and actors…but DAMN they must have had the best casting directors in history too! Even small roles were so well cast.
Absolutely, the way that they would recast actors in different parts and you didn’t realise immediately you were seeing the same actors was a testement to how good the entire team was.
I find it amusing that there is a video clip (may be from the gag reel) from the episode where Jared and the actress who played Sarah are goofing around together and you can see Jensen in the background staying in character as Dean. I’ve read several sources that swear up and down that Jensen was pissed off because someone was flirting with Jared. As in Jensen being possessive of his guy. I have to shake my head. Like you said, Jensen is known to stay in character, responding even though it isn’t his coverage.
Ah, Jared and his loveable goofy behaviour, he certainly had her in fits . I can’t speak for others , but what I saw was Jensen just wanting to get that shot in the can after who knows how many takes (and there were a lot of bloopers this episode for sure) This was one of the many reasons they worked such long hours. They had so many fun times there would likely be enough material for a comedy show in its own right
Faith was such an emotional episode so this coming after was not going to reach the same heights, it would probably have been too much if it had tried anyway. I really like this episode, it is not one of my “absolute favourites” but I enjoyed so much of it and I appreciated its stance on racism, something I feel very strongly about. It really resonated with me and I can envisage and love thinking about the scene when she chides Dean for ordering her about and he repeats his plea with a please, done so beautifully that it is one of the moments in the whole series that still stays with me. The Truck was not as frightening as many of the early episodes but it was enough to keep me worried. Actually the only part of this episode that jarred slightly with me was the last bit, Sam seemed far to casual about whether his idea would work, the fact that Dean stood steadfast with so little info just Sam’s instructions was a testament to Dean’s faith but I still balk a bit at this part, like a few scenes it just was too – it will be alright – similar to the scene when Dean gets infected and Sam and Bobby have only a few moments to save Dean and it jars on me their nochalant attitude. I am obviously in a nitpicking mood as there is one scene that also does not work for me and that is when they are trading back and forth
“Cassie retorts that the guy she’s dating told her he professionally pops ghosts and has to leave to work with his father – and she just thought he wanted to dump her.
Dean: Let’s not forget who dumped who.
Cassie: I didn’t meant to hurt you. I’m sorry.
Dean: Yeah, me too.
At this point, they’re close enough to touch and both are emotional, and their argument turns into a passionate kiss and keeps going from there.”
The only reason this doesn’t work for me is that they are totally out of sinc IMO and it niggles at me everytime I rewatch.
I head canon that Sam absolutely knew it would work and was being casual to break the tension and provide a little comic relief to distract Dean, who was understandably a little worked up at that point. Otherwise the casualness of it would irk me too.
Lynn, I like that head canon so I’m stealing it for myself too! 😀
Argh!!! That scene. Down to moments to save Dean and they come up with something that might work. And are in no hurry to do it either. But hey! Bobby can speak Japanese’s!!! Who wrote that crap? Oh, looked it up. Dabb and Loflin. My guess is that was Dabbs contribution.
Check out Daniel Loflin’s solo episodes, Citizen Fang and Remember the Titans for a compare and contrast, just for fun.
Aly Cat: actually Jim Beaver speaks Japanese in real life and asked them to let him use it in an episode.
I still hate Dabb though!
I still love this episode. And I can’t help wondering if the showrunners ever thought about bringing Cassie back and/or if the actress ever wanted to come back . . .or maybe they did, and she did, but could not for some reason.
And my personal headcanon was that Cassie did have Dean’s child– a baby girl who grew up to be just as awesome as both her parents. And maybe she, Ben Braeden (whom I will always believe actually was Dean’s biological child), Dean 2.0 and the Fitzgerald twins carried on with the family business even after all the parents were gone.