Tube Talk with Amy and Elizabeth

Welcome to a new feature I will be co-hosting with Amy, of My Friend Amy. We've both been watching the first season of the show Supernatural, and we're going to be posting our conversations about the show. There's not much that is more fun than watching TV with friends, so we hope you enjoy our chats each week. You could even join us, if you'd like!

But wait!! Before you keep reading, head over to My Friend Amy, where Amy will be talking about the pilot episode. If you don't read that first, you might be really, really confused!


Now, back to business.

Episode 2 - Wendigo

Recap - Dean and Sam are on their way to Colorado - Blackwater Ridge, to be exact - because that's where their dad's mysterious book has directed them next. Not really knowing Dad is sending them here, they stumble upon a girl, Hailey, whose brother has disappeared on a camping trip to Blackwater Ridge. Posing as park rangers, they talk Hailey into spilling the whole story of her brother's mysterious disappearance. When they mention that they are headed out to Blackwater to investigate, Hailey and her baby brother insist on going along.

Once in the woods, Sam, Dean, Hailey, Ben (the baby brother), and Roy (their guide- BSG fans, it's Leoban!!) pretty quickly encouter the scaryness - first they find the destroyed campsite of Hailey's brother, and then they hear what sounds like a man, weakly calling for help. Sam and Dean realize that they are not dealing with a grizzly bear, but the infinitely scarier Wendigo. A Wendigo is a creature that used to be a man who had to turn cannibal to survive the winter. Now it can live forever, hibernating for years until it emerges to feed again. Roy thinks this is a bunch of crap. Roy also dies pretty soon after this. I'm not going to try to recap all the action, but there is plenty of running and screaming, and of course, the lost brother is found, and the Wendigo is torched.

And, funny Dean delivers the best line of the episode - "Man, I hate camping."

Here's the conversation Amy and I had about episode 2. Amy's thoughts will be in red.

E - I thought there was a marked change in Sam's character from the pilot to this episode. In the pilot, he is going along with things to help his brother, but clearly doesn't see monster hunting as something he'll ever go back to. In Wendigo, he is totally different - HE seems to be the one driving them forward. What do you think brought about that change?

A - Well I definitely think it's because of Jess! He has more of a personal motivation...revenge, to be serious about it.

E - I think maybe it's finally become REAL to him. Before, it was just what his family did - he didn't see what happened to his mom, like the other two did, so he could be disconnected. Now, it's very personal.

Dean's personality seemed different, also. I thought he was much more concerned with actually trying to help the people involved - there was a point in the episode where they talk about whether they should JUST be looking for their dad (what Sam wants), or if they should try to help people, too. Do you think he really buys into the helping people attitude, or is he just in it for the thrill?

A - I'm not sure if that part was manipulative or not. I think he very well could be in on it for a variety of reasons, but he also liked the girl. I mean really, how am I supposed to know if he's hot for the girl or genuinely cares? :)

E - I like that they are showing us different sides of the characters this early in the show. I like lots of character development!

How creeped out were you by the Wendigo? Seriously, this episode freaked me out WAY more than the first one.

A - I agree that the suspense was much higher in this one. It reminded me a little of the Blair Witch Project...being out there in the woods and seeing the creature on video.

E - Oooh, I didn't catch that at first, but you're right. The video that the lost brother sent to Hailey really set the mood right away. I jumped in my seat a bunch of times!

Did you like this episode's Girl of the Week? It seems pretty likely that there will be a cute girl for one of the brothers to flirt with each episode - I like that she was a little sceptical of them, but why does everyone always trust them so quickly?

A - They have very trustworthy faces! I think perhaps people can sense their experience on a subconscious level and also their own desperation. I did like this girl, because she was tough and wasn't going to sit by and wait for other people to find her brother.

I thought this episode definitely had a different feel than the first one - a little bit more in the monster-of-the-week genre. It has me hooked, though, and I can't wait to watch more.


Episode 3 - Dead in the Water


Recap - The Boys find themselves in Wisconsin, because apparently Dad's book isn't telling them where to go anymore, so they have to find their own trouble. They come across a town that has had several people drown in the local lake, and decide it must be evil forces at work. When they pull into the local police station, they meet Andrea, whose husband was one of the victims. Andrea's son, Lucas, is traumatized, because he saw his father drown, and hasn't spoken since. Dean feels a kinship with Lucas, since they've both had the horrible experience of watching a parent die.

Dean tries to bond with Lucas, because he believes the boy knows what is happening, but is too scared to tell. Because Lucas won't talk, Dean convinces him to draw pictures of what happened. While following the clues in Lucas' pictures, Sam and Dean realize that what they are dealing with is a Boy in the Water - the ghost of a young boy living at the bottom of a body of water, taking revengeo on the people who could have saved him but didn't. After a lot of flailing and splashing, the Boys manage to save Lucas and Andrea, and appease the Boy in the Water.


Here is our conversation about episode 3. Again, Amy's thoughts are in red.

E - Okay, first things first - why does every tv show/movie/etc about the supernatural seem to have a creepy little 8 year old boy at some point? Are 8 year old boys just inherently scary, or is it just because they work so well?


A - Great question! I think they are inherently creepy. Just kidding! I think if you cast the right kid, they certainly can be!


E - I don't know why kids this age are so creepy, but they are used over and over to great effect. The Sixth Sense. The Omen. The Shining. Creepy kids everywhere.

I'm really interested in the character development they are giving us for Dean. He initially comes across as totally arrogant, self-assured, sarcastic - but he was really affected by that little boy, and truly wanted to help him.

A - I love Dean! :) By the way, I loved this girl of the week...Amy Acker aka Fred from Angel!

E - I haven't watched Angel yet, but my husband told me she pops up. I love the way these actors appear in different shows. It's a lot of fun.

Who do you think is more messed up by the loss of their mom - Sam, who never even knew her, so has no concept of what having a mom should be, or Dean, who can actually remember a mom who loves him?


A - I think Dean has a more personal investment which has been shown from the beginning. Sam clearly has also experienced the loss but he seems able to detach more easily. That's why it was necessary for him to lose Jess to have that tie.

E - Yeah, I think Dean is able to empathize with people more, because he actually knows what it's like to lose a loved one to something horrible. Sam understands the concept of it, but doesn't have the emotional connection, which is why he comes across more clinical in his approach.

So far, there have been two basic kinds of episodes - the kind where Sam and Dean have to run around and try to kill a monster, like in Wendigo, and the kind where they actually have to try and figure out a mystery, like in this episode. Do you like one better than the other?

A - Hmmmm.. Possibly I like running around chasing a monster best.

E - That's interesting. I think I like the mystery-type episodes best. I like it when they don't IMMEDIATELY know what's going on - otherwise it just seems a little too easy.


So, there you have it - the first three episodes of Supernatural. Check back with us next week, to see if we are still as entertained as we have been so far!