Supernatural Review: Season 1 Episode 4 "Phantom Traveler"

By: Richard Hatem

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


              I think this is the first Supernatural episode that really and truly scared me. This is also the episode that has left me 'incapable' of using public bathrooms without taking a stash of holy water with me. I think my grandmother has a bottle I could borrow...

          I'll just 'fess up right now and admit that, like Dean, I have a fear of flying. A lot of people do. I think it has less to do with the height and close quarters and more to do with the loss of control. It's the same phobia that makes it impossible for some in the passenger seat of a car whenever someone else is driving. What makes it far worse, though, is the thought of something supernaturally going wrong on that plane ride. I may never fly the 'friendly' skies as long as I live...

          No, I exaggerate, this episode didn't scar me that deeply or anything. But it definitely had its moments of utter terror. The story centers around a call the boys get from one of their Dad's old acquaintances (the elder Winchester is still AWOL at this point) asking for the hunter family to come down and help him with a potential case. Ends up that a very low-level demon had been possessing people who were open to its influence and then using their bodies to crash the plane whenever it was en route to its next destination, killing all the passengers and crew.

          This episode is very creepy, full of dark atmosphere of the sort that only hell's citizens can inspire in us. It is also the first exorcism that the boys perform together. But in addition to all of these things there are plenty of funny moments to balance out all of the doom and scariness. I had actual fun watching it and it's definitely one that has a good rewatchability factor to it.


Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts:

- I thought Dean didn't do shorts...

- Also, Sam still isn't sleeping. Dean is right, they're going to have to deal with that sooner or later. Though, it is rather funny that he tried to claim he was up late watching riveting infomercials. There is no such thing.

         

- It's interesting that this episode is the only place that we ever see a demon possess someone through the eyes. Ever after it will be a cloud of black smoke that jams itself down your throat. This demon also looks more like the swarm of bees from Winnie the Pooh than the billowing, directed smoke the the later ones will. I wonder if that is because it is a much more low-level monster than the others that are released later in the show.

- Apparently, despite the differences they had in the past, John Winchester really was proud of Sam for getting a full ride to Stanford and has been bragging about him.

- The boys need a look at the wreckage of the plane, but it's been locked down pretty tight. So what do they do? Pretend to be Homeland Security, of course!

- I just love Sam's reaction to Dean's plan.

- Where does Dean get all of those fake ID's anyway? Does he personally make each and every one?

- The Winchester boys also clean up very nicely, even if Sam can't resist getting a dig in at Dean's expense.

- Sammy also really needs to do something with his hair. Yes it's adorable like that and all...but he looks FAR too young to be Homeland Security. I'm surprised no one busted them as soon as they walked in the door.

- "No survivors" Well that isn't menacing at all...

- "A middle-aged dentist with an ulcer is not exactly evil personified." Oh I don't know. I've always felt that time spent in the dentist chair probably features pretty prominently in some folks' personal Hells.

- Dean built an EMF reader, by himself, out of an old Walkman. That's cool.

- Demons leave behind traces of sulfur. Makes sense, given that 'Brimstone' is one of the archaic terms for sulfur and the Bible says that Hell contains a lake of fire and brimstone. The air of authenticity only makes the whole concept more 'realistic' and scary.

- I really like the guy, Jerry, that the boys are working for this episode. It's always interesting whenever they actually interact with people either they or their father has saved in the past. I also realise that the Winchesters actually had friends and a slightly normal (by Hunter standards) life this season. Wow. How much has changed!

- Another thing that is interesting about this particular case is that Sam and Dean are practically going in blind. In the past few episodes, yeah they have had to investigate, but once they figured out what the monster was they knew how to deal with it. Here the boys are clearly floundering, uncertain, and unprepared to face this evil. My guess is that it is because their father kept them away from demon-related hunts whenever they were younger. Also...apparently possession was a rather rare thing to encounter at this point in the timeline.

- "Now if you boys will excuse me, I have an idiot to fire..." I really like this Jerry character. As supporting cast members who will never appear on the show again go, he's a pretty fun one.

- I'm still a bit scared whenever I watch the scene where the possessed pilot nose-dives the two-seater right towards the ground. Something about the way the camera zooms in and lingers on his empty black eyes just gives me the shivers.

- This scene is why I can no longer properly watch any other show that uses the all-black eyes to indicate a certain type of creature or whatever...I will forever associate it with the Phantom Traveler and all of the other hellspawn that the boys have fought against over the years.

- Sam decides that the best way to stop the demon from killing again is to get on the plane that will be the next target. Dean protests. Turns out he has a little problem with flying.

- One of the scary things about this episode (aside from the fact that it's dealing with an honest-to-goodness evil demon) is the fact that anyone can turn into the monster. It's like Midnight from Doctor Who. Anyone could be possessed at any time and even if they do find the thing, it could easily enough hop a ride on some other poor sod who is nervous about flying. Just think about how many people hold that anxiety in their hearts whenever they board a plane!


- Dean has a fireproof strategy, though...

- It sent a rather nasty chill down my spine whenever Sam sternly told Dean to calm down because he (Dean) was opening himself up to possession by being so ancy. I honestly expected Dean to end up possessed by the end of the episode. Happily, though, I was wrong.

- I still don't know if I buy Metallica as a calming agent, though. Sarah McLachlan, maybe (if she doesn't put you to sleep), but Metallica?! Whatever floats your boat, I guess.

- Hmmm...I wonder why Dean is so scared of flying? Did he have a bad experience? Or is it just the loss of control issue I mentioned earlier?


- Oddly enough, though it features pretty prominently the spin-off novels, this episode is the only place where the use of 'Christo' is employed to identify a demon.

- And really, it isn't that hard to work 'Christo' into everyday, casual conversation. Just drop something or stub your toe or facilitate some other mishap and then swear in Latin. It'll either identify your demon or, if the person is clean, make you look more intellectual. Either way you win.

- It's interesting that this particular exorcism takes two parts. Is that because the demon is lower level (almost animalistic) or because the writers hadn't quite worked out their preferred lore yet? Either way, it provides a lot of great tension in the climax.

- Sammy also gets a rather rude reminder about Jessica's death (as if he ever forgot) as the demon tries to distract him from exorcising it.

               This was a great episode. It was full of humor, dark ideas, and lots of suspense. It started out at full tilt and never let up its pace until the end where it left you utterly and high on adrenaline. It advanced the season arc of the search for John Winchester, as well as introducing vital mythos elements such as holy water and the existence of an afterlife in this universe. Phantom Traveler is a solid 5/5!



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