This is the episode that made me love "Supernatural." I'd been watching the show up until then, but this is the episode where I saw how great it was capable of being. The character of Dean is just completely established in "Something Wicked." His blind devotion to following John's orders, his intense fear of allowing Sammy to get hurt, the crushing responsibility put on his shoulders when he was just a child, and his self-esteem problems are all laid out in this episode. Showing flashbacks of Sam & Dean as kids, the episode illustrates the kind of rotten childhood Dean had and how he tries to shelter Sam from the worst of it. "Something Wicked" made me love "Supernatural" and the character of Dean. If you're watching on DVD, you can't skip this episode.
This episode revolves around an evil witch thing called a Shriga sucking the life force out of children. It comes to town and goes after siblings, draining them of their energy and slowly killing them. Dean is anxious because he's faced this thing before. 16 or so years before, John was hunting it. He left the boys alone, putting Dean in charge of Sammy, and went out hunting for it. After a few days in the hotel room, Dean got bored and went out one night to play a video game in the hotel lobby. While he was gone, the Shriga attacked Sam. John got back in time to save Sam, but the Shriga got away. Dean blames himself.
Now it's back and attacking kids like, Asher, the son of the lady who runs Sam & Dean's hotel. Dean identifies with the kid's older brother Michael, another big brother who sacrifices for his little brother. The boys soon determine that the Shriga can only be killed when it's feeding and that it's disguised as a doctor. Since it goes after siblings, they arrange to use Michael as bait and wait for the Shriga to show up. Then they kill it, saving all the children that it had been slowly killing. Sam & Dean leave town again, with Sam better understanding what drives Dean.
There's a lot to like about this episode. I really, really like the flashbacks of little Sam & Dean. It's the first time we've seen the way they lived as children. Stuck with no one but each other to talk to for days on end. And Dean always in charge, always the protector, and always giving up his own desires for the good of the family. He even hands over the Lucky Charms that he wanted to Sam, because his little brother asked. It's really sweet. It's also interesting that Little Sam is watching the "Thundercats" on TV in the flashback. In the season two episode "What is and What Should Never Be," Dean also flips past the show. I think it's being used there to represent Dean recapturing some of his innocence. In "Something Wicked," Dean doesn't get to watch the "Thundercats" because he's taking orders form John. In "What is and What Should Never Be" Dean finally gets to relax, for a minute at least. I also like that Sam told Dean that John had been wrong and that the Shriga attacking him wasn't Dean's fault. Dean brushes that aside, but when Michael blames himself for Asher's illness, Dean instantly tells the kid that it's not his fault. It's sweet that Sam's words really did seem to get to him a bit. And the brothers trying to find the Shriga, thinking that it might be an old woman if pretty funny. Dean quickly volunteers that he saw an old woman at the hospital. Sam's sarcastic, "An old person? At a hospital? Call the National Guard!" just makes me laugh.
Really, though, "Something Wicked" is all about Dean for me. It shows Sam how much Dean sacrifices for him and always has. John put so much pressure on Dean to be perfect. To protect Sammy, to follow orders, to not screw-up. It fed into Dean's poor self-image and hero worship of John. I think John's coat in the flashbacks is even the coat Dean sometimes wears. Dean doubts his own judgment, because he'd once been over confident and nearly gotten Sam killed. So, following John's orders means survival. For most of this series Dean struggles to find some kind of balance between his own ideas & feelings, and his father's training. He's so used to running everything through a filter, of "What Would John Do?" that he can't really trust his own judgment. But, as his image of his father, begins to crack in later seasons, Dean finds himself struggling to find an anchor.
The end of the episode has Sam lamenting that Michael has lost some of his innocence. Unlike most people, he knows now that there are things in the dark that can hurt him. Sam adds, "I wish that I could still have some of that innocence." Dean's already refused to hear Sam's apology for the way Sam's criticized Dean's tendency to just follow John's orders, cringing away from the sentiment. Now as he looks at his brother, who lost his innocence just like Michael and says, "I wish you could, too, Sam." Nothing about himself or how his own childhood was even worse than Sam's. All about Sammy. John put Dean in charge of watching Sam, guarding him, but no one ever protected Dean. He doesn't see himself as having any importance, even though Sam & John both depend on him completely. It's just a great, sad scene.
On the down side, how do you think Michael is going to explain all the bullet holes in the walls of his bedroom to his mom?
My favorite (non-Dean) part of the episode: Sam saying that the Shriga has attacked also attacked the towns of "Ogdenville, Bockway, and North Haverbrook." Simpson's references just make me laugh.
This episode revolves around an evil witch thing called a Shriga sucking the life force out of children. It comes to town and goes after siblings, draining them of their energy and slowly killing them. Dean is anxious because he's faced this thing before. 16 or so years before, John was hunting it. He left the boys alone, putting Dean in charge of Sammy, and went out hunting for it. After a few days in the hotel room, Dean got bored and went out one night to play a video game in the hotel lobby. While he was gone, the Shriga attacked Sam. John got back in time to save Sam, but the Shriga got away. Dean blames himself.
Now it's back and attacking kids like, Asher, the son of the lady who runs Sam & Dean's hotel. Dean identifies with the kid's older brother Michael, another big brother who sacrifices for his little brother. The boys soon determine that the Shriga can only be killed when it's feeding and that it's disguised as a doctor. Since it goes after siblings, they arrange to use Michael as bait and wait for the Shriga to show up. Then they kill it, saving all the children that it had been slowly killing. Sam & Dean leave town again, with Sam better understanding what drives Dean.
There's a lot to like about this episode. I really, really like the flashbacks of little Sam & Dean. It's the first time we've seen the way they lived as children. Stuck with no one but each other to talk to for days on end. And Dean always in charge, always the protector, and always giving up his own desires for the good of the family. He even hands over the Lucky Charms that he wanted to Sam, because his little brother asked. It's really sweet. It's also interesting that Little Sam is watching the "Thundercats" on TV in the flashback. In the season two episode "What is and What Should Never Be," Dean also flips past the show. I think it's being used there to represent Dean recapturing some of his innocence. In "Something Wicked," Dean doesn't get to watch the "Thundercats" because he's taking orders form John. In "What is and What Should Never Be" Dean finally gets to relax, for a minute at least. I also like that Sam told Dean that John had been wrong and that the Shriga attacking him wasn't Dean's fault. Dean brushes that aside, but when Michael blames himself for Asher's illness, Dean instantly tells the kid that it's not his fault. It's sweet that Sam's words really did seem to get to him a bit. And the brothers trying to find the Shriga, thinking that it might be an old woman if pretty funny. Dean quickly volunteers that he saw an old woman at the hospital. Sam's sarcastic, "An old person? At a hospital? Call the National Guard!" just makes me laugh.
Really, though, "Something Wicked" is all about Dean for me. It shows Sam how much Dean sacrifices for him and always has. John put so much pressure on Dean to be perfect. To protect Sammy, to follow orders, to not screw-up. It fed into Dean's poor self-image and hero worship of John. I think John's coat in the flashbacks is even the coat Dean sometimes wears. Dean doubts his own judgment, because he'd once been over confident and nearly gotten Sam killed. So, following John's orders means survival. For most of this series Dean struggles to find some kind of balance between his own ideas & feelings, and his father's training. He's so used to running everything through a filter, of "What Would John Do?" that he can't really trust his own judgment. But, as his image of his father, begins to crack in later seasons, Dean finds himself struggling to find an anchor.
The end of the episode has Sam lamenting that Michael has lost some of his innocence. Unlike most people, he knows now that there are things in the dark that can hurt him. Sam adds, "I wish that I could still have some of that innocence." Dean's already refused to hear Sam's apology for the way Sam's criticized Dean's tendency to just follow John's orders, cringing away from the sentiment. Now as he looks at his brother, who lost his innocence just like Michael and says, "I wish you could, too, Sam." Nothing about himself or how his own childhood was even worse than Sam's. All about Sammy. John put Dean in charge of watching Sam, guarding him, but no one ever protected Dean. He doesn't see himself as having any importance, even though Sam & John both depend on him completely. It's just a great, sad scene.
On the down side, how do you think Michael is going to explain all the bullet holes in the walls of his bedroom to his mom?
My favorite (non-Dean) part of the episode: Sam saying that the Shriga has attacked also attacked the towns of "Ogdenville, Bockway, and North Haverbrook." Simpson's references just make me laugh.
