Supernatural Review: Season 1 Episode 1 "Pilot"

By: Eric Kripke

**Spoilers**

If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

              I had put off watching Supernatural for ages. I knew of its existence, of course and I had watched a couple of excellent superwholock videos on YouTube, but that was about the extent of my experience. Then some of my friends got to work on me and one thing led to another thing which led to me starting my journey through the world of the Winchesters.

             And of course I was hooked. There is just something irresistible about this show. The characters are alive and real, the writing is witty and very tight, and it deals with themes of friendship and family and sacrifice. Supernatural just kept me watching. It plays to my interests (mythology and legends) and is just so smart with the writing that I have yet to find anything predictable.


Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- This episode's title is rather boring. They should have named it "The Woman in White" which would have been more interesting and descriptive.

- I wasn't sure at first whenever I started off watching. I'm NEVER a fan of female characters (or any characters, for that matter) being killed off just for the sake of giving someone motivation. Revenge stories tend to get old rather fast, so whenever I saw Mary Winchester getting burnt alive by whoever it was that was standing creepily by Sam's crib, I groaned to myself. Probably not the reaction they were going for...

- "Dean, take your brother and run outside. Don't look back!" Pay attention to this, folks, because this will become Dean's modus operandi: take care of Sammy.

- That shot of the family huddled together on the hood of a car while their world literally crumbled around them really got to me. Maybe it was the way John was holding a crying Sam and nearly catatonic Dean so close like a drowning man reaching desperately for a lifeline.

            

- And then the credits began to roll. I was a bit surprised to find that Supernatural apparently doesn't have a theme song. There's just a title card, a bit of static, and then someone whispering "Supernatural" as the words flash away. It took me three listens to figure out what they were saying. It's a bit like the Torchwood opening...only less hokey. 

- Flash forward twenty or so years and we get to see Sam, now all grown up and with a full head of hair. I was so confused right here the first time I watched this episode. You'd think that after years of Doctor Who I would be used to time jumps...

- Notice the picture of John and Mary on the dresser?

- So after Sam and Jessica get home from a Halloween Party and settle down to sleep, a shadowy figure breaks into their apartment and wrestles Sam to the floor. Oh but not to worry...it's just big brother Dean come for a visit and a beer. Why he couldn't have just knocked, I don't know, but that's Dean for you!

- Dean is four years older than Sam and yet he's at least three inches shorter (see the header pic). That threw me off at first.

- "When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in the closet he gave me a forty-five...I was nine years old!" What the - ?!

- So we're given a bit of exposition as to what happened in the years since the fire. John Winchester took his boys on the road with him as he hunted down the trail of whatever supernatural thing had killed his wife. He trained the boys like warriors, making sure that they could defend themselves against anything they might need to, and gave his youngest son a gun instead of reassuring him that there is nothing to be afraid of in the dark. We also get the hint that John being missing on a 'hunting trip' might have more to do with his life being in danger and less of a stint with Jim, Jack, and Jose.

- I am quite annoyed with the young man who picked up the hitchhiker in white. Haven't you ever read any ghost stories, sir? Seen any horror films? You should NEVER stop and pick up creepy girls in torn, pale dresses by the side of the road!

- Thank goodness for discretion gore shots. I really don't want to know that the ghost did to him...I have a weak stomach.

- Can I just say right now how much I appreciate the fact that Dean still listens to his music on cassettes?






- Dean pretended to be a federal marshal. And yes, I'm quite certain that he did look too young for the job. Both he and Sam are so young and adorable here, now that I'm jumping back from their Season 9 selves. It's hilarious the way Sam stomps on his foot to shut him up and he cuffs the back of Sam's head in response. If that didn't blow his cover, nothing will.

- Dean called the officers "Agent Moulder" and "Agent Scully". I looked it up and there are a bunch of X-Files people working on this show. That can't be anything but a good thing, right?

- Dean also uses the names of rock stars for his alias'. How hasn't someone called him out on that yet?!

- Daddy Winchester's hotel room is awesome. I'm assuming that the salt and shells mixture spread around is to ward off ghosts? I'm not quite certain why Sam and Dean are so alarmed by it, though. If I was a hunter I'd be spreading salt everywhere I went. Still...maybe its a bad sign that there is a ghost who can come and get you in your hotel room.

- Of course the ghost of Constance Welch possesses Dean's beloved Impala. I'm not sure what's funnier...Dean's look of horror or Sam's laughter at his brother's mud-caked state.

- So Constance Welch killed her children because her husband cheated on her and then committed suicide, turning into a Woman in White. Overreacting, much?

-- Fun Fact: There is a real-world ghost story that fits the description of Constance. La Llorna is a Mexican folk tale about a woman who drowned her children to be with the man she loved, but when he was unfaithful and rejected her she was consumed by grief and guilt and drowned herself in the Rio Grande. It is said that forever more she wanders the banks of rivers and empty roads, searching for her children and unable to return home. The tale is used as a cautionary one for parents to tell their children to be in before dark because La Llorna isn't picky about which child she picks up and takes home with her. One little boy was nearly taken by her, escaping at the last moment when his mother called for him. Folk didn't believe his story until they saw the five bloody fingerprints on the shoulder of his jacket where La Llorna had gripped him tight.

- I love the way that this show takes mythology, folk tales, and urban legends and plays with them. It is such fun each episode to see what new piece of that rich cultural heritage from around the world they are going to delve into next.

- Sam gets Dean out of trouble with a fake 911 call. I really want to know what he told them...

- I'm not entirely certain why Constance thought that she could make Sam unfaithful by forcing him to kiss her (to be honest, I don't know why she didn't go for Dean) but maybe that's just proof that a vengeful spirit doesn't play by the rules of logic we humans subscribe to.

- "I can never go home." Every time I hear that, Gollum's Theme starts playing in my head.

- So Constance is taken home by Sam (who dramatically drives the Impala right into her decrepit farmhouse) where she is confronted and destroyed by the ghosts of her dead children. The first time I watched this, I was horribly confused. I had missed Sam's comment earlier about Women in White having killed their children...so I didn't know where the creepy kids came from. Fortunately, on the second viewing for this review, I was able to say that it was not in fact a plot convenience like I had originally assumed. Props to the writers for tying up all loose ends! Except for the missing John Winchester, of course...they can't clear that up because if they did we would have no story arc!

- Dean takes Sam home and sets off towards Dad's coordinates. Sam finds some home-baked cookies in the flat and hears the shower running, flopping down on the bed with a contented sigh. And then the dripping blood starts. As soon as the drops hit his face, I knew what was coming. I'm a writer...I know about the use of symmetry, and so I knew that he was going to look up and see Jessica pinned to that ceiling just like Mary.

- It still made me jump when it happened, though. Poor Jessica! There she was, waiting eagerly for her boyfriend's return, baking cookies for him and getting herself all pretty and dressed in a white, silk nightgown...and that evil thing came and killed her too. She was literally just in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and dating the wrong person.

- And Dean once again carries (more like drags) his baby brother away from the fire and out the door. When you're just watching the pilot, it's a bit ambiguous as to why Dean knew to return right at that moment because earlier we see him bid Sam 'farewell and good luck' and drive off. I wondered about this, so I did a bit of digging and apparently there is a deleted scene where Dean is driving along and hears static on his radio. I guess static signifies the presence of some evil supernatural thing so he high-tailed it back to check on Sam.

- "We've got work to do!" And so the cycle begins to repeat itself...like father, like son, I guess.

             This is an excellent start to a show. Here we have one of the best pilots I've seen with a story that draws in the viewer and gets them attached to the characters right away. That is the vital thing for any story. You can have the best writing in the world - the most poetic prose, dazzling plot twists, and vivid descriptions - but if your characters aren't relatable your story is going to bomb. Thankfully Supernatural has excellent characters in droves. Sam is lovable, Dean is wonderful, and even John garners sympathy. Granted I'm never a big fan of killing off female characters just to give motivation to the blokes (and here it happened twice) but something about the rest of the show just kept me coming back again and again, which means that the pilot did its job. 5/5 seems an appropriate rating, don't you think?

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?