(As I mentioned in my post announcing this rewatch project,Β there will be spoilers!)
Season Two, Episode Ten: Hunted
Image episode summary from Wikipedia:
Dean reveals that before their father died, he told him that he has to save Sam if he can, or else kill him. A distraught Sam forgives Dean for not telling him, but goes to the Roadhouse to try and find more psychic children like himself. Ash's search only finds a young man named Scott Carey, but he was murdered a month earlier. Sam heads to Lafayette, Indiana to investigate, and is followed by a young woman named Ava Wilson (Katharine Isabelle). Like Sam, she has premonitions, and foresaw Scott's death. She has also been having visions of Sam being killed in an explosion. The two steal Scott's file from a psychiatrist, and learn that he spoke to Azazel and was told about an army of psychic children being used in an upcoming war. The vampire hunter, Gordon Walker, who learned from a demon about Azazel's plans, then tries to kill Sam, but Dean stops him just in time, though ending up his prisoner. Sam remembers Ava's vision, and avoids explosive traps set by Gordon. He saves Dean, and police arrest Gordon due to an 'anonymous call' made by Sam. The brothers later go to check on Ava back in her hometown of Peoria, Illinois, but find her fiancΓ© dead, with sulfur on the windowsill pointing to a demonic abduction.
This episode starts with a guy, Scott, talking to a psychiatrist. Scott tells him he started getting migraines a little over a year ago, then he could start to do stuff. He has some kind of ability: he touches something and he can electrocute it if he wants (oooh another of the demonβs βspecial kidsβ!!). He did it to the neighbourβs cat, apparently.
This is a really really really cool use of music in this scene.
The doctor doesnβt seem to believe Scott, but when Scott offers to shake on it, the doctor won’t take his hand.
Scott says that he didnβt want to kill the neighhourβs cat but βheβ wants him to β the yellow eyed demon who comes to him in his dreams and tells him to do awful things. Scott says no, he doesnβt want to. This demon also tells Scott that he has plans for him.
Then we see Scott walking out in the street at night, looking around behind him, going to his car. Hmm,Β someoneβs there βΒ Scott calls out hello and keeps walking. As he unlocksΒ his car door, heΒ sees someone in the reflection. He turns around,Β and gets stabbed!
What a twist β it kind of seemed like the doctor was going to die.
Now we’re back at the boysβ scene by the river, picking up where we left off last episode. Dean is telling Sam about what their fatherΒ told him before dying.
(“Before Dad died, he told me something about you⦔)
Dean: βHe said that he wanted me to watch out for you, take care of you.β
Sam: βHe told you that a million times.β
Dean: βThis time was different. He said that I had to save you.β
Sam: βSave me from what?β
Dean: βHe just said that I had to save you, that nothing else mattered. And that if I couldnβt, Iβ¦β
Sam: βYou what, Dean?β [ok Sam, tone it down, he is clearly trying hard to tell you something that isnβt easy for him to say!]
Dean: βI had to kill you.β
OH SNAP! Again, John WinchesterΒ for Father of the Year! [sarcasm]
Dean: βHe said that I might have to kill you Sammy.β [the use of Sammy here has me all emotional!!]
Sam βKill me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?β GOOD QUESTION SAM!
Dean: βI donβt know.β He canβt even look Sam in the eye.
Sam: βI mean, he must have had some kind of reason for saying it, right? I mean, did he know the demonβs plans for me, am I supposed to go dark side or something? What else did he say, Dean?β
Dean: βNothing. Thatβs it, I swear.β
Sam: βHow could you not have told me this?β
Dean: βBecause it was Dad, he begged me not to.β
Sam: βWho cares! Take some responsibility for yourself, Dean! You had no right to keep this from me!β Uh oh, Dean is starting to make angry face. But I agree with Sam here!!
Dean: βYou think I wanted this? Huh? I wish to God heβd never opened his mouth! Then I wouldnβt have to walk around with this screaming in my head all day!β
Sam: βWe’ve just gotta figure out whatβs going on then, what the hell all this means.β
Dean: βWe do? I’ve been thinking about this, I think we should just lay low, at least for a while, be safer. Then that way I can make sureβ¦β
Sam: βWhat? That I donβt turn evil? That I donβt turn into some kind of killer?β
Dean: βI never said that.β
Sam: βGeez, youβre not careful, you will have to waste me one day, Dean.β
Dean: βI never said that! Dammit Sam, this whole thing is spinning out of control. Alright? Youβre immune to some weirdo demon virus, and I donβt even know what the hell anymore. And youβre pissed at me and I get it, thatβs fine, I deserve it. But we lay low until we figure out our next move, okay?β
Sam: βForget it.β
Dean: βSam, please man. Hey please. Just give me some time. Give me some time to think, okay, Iβm begging you. Please. Please.β
Sam nods.
WELL! What a conversation! I feel like Deanβs confession about what their father told him was a long time coming. Iβm glad thatβs out in the open, and I totally understand why Sam is pissed off that Dean kept that from him. I donβt know if Dean realizes that as scared as he is about whatβs happening to Sam, Sam is also scared.
Cut to Sam leaving what I assume is the motel. He jimmies open a car and drives off! Where is he going???
Sam goes to some house in the middle of nowhere. This does not look good. Abandoned? What the heck is he up to without Dean?
This place is creepy for sure. Sam breaks in to the old building. Itβs a dump. Oh no itβs a trap!!
Sam hit a trip wire and basically blew up and DIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But wait! That was some girlβs vision!! (As an aside, I recognize this girl from various Canadian television shows.)
So someone is out there having visions of Samβs death! This canβt be good.
Back at the Roadhouse! Hopefully Ellen isnβt too mad at them still. It sounds like Sam really did take off though, if Ellen is getting calls from Dean about him. But it appears that Sam is at the Roadhouse without Dean.
Oh no it turns out Jo is gone too, and Ellen hasnβt seen her in weeks. Apparently Jo has decided to keep hunting, but Ellen said not under her roof. And so Jo left.
I really really really love getting to see Ellen and Jo again.
Ellen doesnβt think John WinchesterΒ forgave himself for what happened to her husband (and Jo’s dad). Sam asks what happened but she changes the subject, asking insteadΒ why Sam came. He says he needs help.
Sam tells Ash heβs looking for info on other kids/psychics. Sam thinks they can find some if they start by checking nursery fires. Ash found 4 people nationwide who fit the profile (born in 1983, mother died in nursery fire).
That’s Sam, Max, Andrew,Β and another name: Scott, from the beginning of this episode. Weβve seen Max and Andrew in other episodes. Itβs been a month since Scott was killed. Sam leaves for Indiana to follow the case but Ellen says she has to tell Dean where heβs going; Sam says Dean means well but that he canβt protect him from needing to find out who he is.
Sam is looking into Scottβs murder. Sam talks to Scott’s dad, pretending to be a high school friend, and learns that Scott had headaches, got depressed, paranoid, and had nightmares. He locked himself in his room for days. Sam goes upstairs to check out his room and finds lots of prescription medicine. Sam notes the doctorβs name on the pill bottles. He then finds art in Scottβs closet of the yellow-eyed demon. Yikes!
Sam heads back to his motel but heβs being watched. It turns out to beΒ the girl who had the vision of his death – Ava – and sheβs come to warn him. She tells Sam that heβs in trouble, talks to him about her dream/vision (which all started with headaches and nightmares a year ago; then she saw Scottβs death in her dream about a month ago; then she found a story on his death in the paper and realized that she saw his death before it happened). Sam asks how Ava found him: she saw motel stationary in the dream and Googled the motel, which turned out to be real, so she wanted to warn him.
Sam tells Ava that there are other βpsychicβ kids with visions/abilities and that they must be connected. ButΒ Avaβs mother is alive – she doesnβt fit the pattern.
Meanwhile Dean is on the road, and gets a call from Ellen. She says sheβs heard from Sam but she promised not to tell Dean where he is. Ellen then tells Dean where Sam is (Lafayette, Indiana).
Ava wants Sam to leave town before he blows up but Sam wants to figure out whatβs going on with him, her, and Scott. Theyβre part of something and he needs to figure out what. Ava is getting married in 8 weeks and she says she’s a secretary, not a part of anything; if SamΒ wants to stay there and die, fine.
But, asks Sam, doesnβt she want to know why itβs happening? Isnβt she scared? If she leaves now, she might never know the truth. Sam could use her help.
Ava agrees to help Sam. She goes to the same doctor that Scott saw, while Sam goes peeping for Scottβs file. They later listen to the tape fromΒ Scott’sΒ session with the doctor (we heard the session at the start of the episode).
Dean rolls into the motel parking lot looking for Sam and sees him through the window. Then he sees Ava and loves that Sam is getting with a lady (which of course turns out not to be the case).
On Scottβs tape, he tells the doctor that the demon tells him that thereβs a war coming, and the people like him are going to be the soldiers. Everythingβs about to change.
Suddenly the window is being shot at! Oh snap, itβs Gordon β remember him?? The hunter that Sam didnβt like? Dean shows up and kicks the gun away from Gordon, saying heβll kill him if he tries to hurt Sam.
Gordon knocks Dean out. Sam goes up to the roof with Ava but Gordon and Dean are long gone. Sam finds the shell casings. He tries to call Dean, telling Ava they need help.
Dean answers, Sam tells him where he is, and Dean says he knows, he talked to Ellen. Itβs a real funky town. He says Sam ditched him; Sam says thereβs someone after him. He asks Dean where he is, andΒ Dean says heβs staying at 5637 Monroe Street and tells Sam to come meet him. Sam says sure and hangs up.
Then Sam tells Ava Deanβs in trouble β and he knows because Dean used a code word (funky town). Someoneβs got a gun onΒ Dean.
We see that Dean is tied to a chair in the dump we saw in Avaβs vision. Dean tries to talk to Gordon, who says this is not revenge, and it isn’t personal. He isnβt a killer. Heβs a hunter. Sam is fair game.
Sam wants Ava to leave, out of harmβs way. But she says heβs walking right into her vision. Sam says it doesnβt matter, itβs his brother. Sam tells avaΒ to go back to her fiancΓ©, to go home where sheβll be safe. She asks Sam to call when he gets Dean to let her know everything is all right.
Gordon tells Dean that he was doing an exorcism, teenage girl, low level demon, and she muttered something about a coming war. Well that got Gordonβs interest. The girl the demon was possessing didnβt make it (the implication is that Gordon tortured her for information). But the demon told Gordon they have soldiers, humans fighting on hellβs side, for the coming war. Theyβre psychics. Then the demon said that he knew one of the soldiers β Sammy Winchester.
Dean tells Gordon that this is moronic. Gordon says he knows about Samβs visions. He did his homework, made sure it was true. Dean has his roadhouse connections, Gordon has his. Itβs how he found Sammy in the first place. A month ago, he found another one β SCOTT. Gordon is the killer!
Gordon says they – the psychic kids – are allΒ going to be killers and they all have to be taken out. He knows Dean found a way to tip Sam off that he was in trouble.
So now Gordon is waiting for Sam. He knows heβll come to mee Dean and check the place out first and come in the back, where Gordon has set up a couple of tripwires (just like Avaβs vision). He apologizes to Dean, but says for what itβs worth, it will be quick.
Dean tries to talk Gordon out of it, but Gordon says one day Sam will become a monster. Dean asks how a guy like Sam becomes a monster and Gordon says he’s not sure, but he will. Dean yells that Gordon doesnβt know that. This totally speaks to Deanβs own fears about Samβs abilities and what it all means, what could happen. Gordon says itβs Samβs destiny. Heβs sympathetic, he knows Dean loves his brother and this hurts. And remember, Gordon did kill his own sister after she became a vampire. Gordon gags Deanβs mouth and tells Dean that although it would have wrecked John Winchester, if it came down to it, he would have had the stones to do the right thing (i.e. take Sam out). Is Dean saying that he isnβt the man his fatherΒ was?
Sam arrives, and itβs just like in Avaβs vision, with him creeping around the place, seeing Dean tied to the chair with Gordon sitting guard. He goes around to the back and picks the lock. Gordon hears him at the door.
Sam goes in and Gordon waits. We hear the first explosion and Dean freaks out. Gordon knows to wait and see. They wait for the second explosion and itβs a big one. Dean is pissed. Gordon apologizes and goes to check on Samβs remains. There’s a smoking shoe!! But Gordon wants to see the body. But Sam didnβt blow up! He puts a gun to Gordonβs head and Dean hears that Sam is alive. He struggles to get out of the chair.
Sam and Gordon fight. Fight fight fight! Gordon knocks Sam down and stands over him with a knife, telling him that heβs no better than the filthy things he hunts. But Sam knocks Gordon away before he can stab him, and starts hitting him, then stands over him with a gun. But SamΒ wonβt kill Gordon, no matter how much Gordon taunts him, calling him Sammy, saying to show Dean the killer he really is. Instead, Sam knocks him out. βItβs Sam.β
SamΒ goes to Dean and unties him. Dean immediately checks on Sam to make sure heβs ok, and goes to Gordon but Sam stops him, says heβll be taken care of.
They leave the house and Gordon comes out after them, firing at them. The boys run and hide but Sam says to wait. Suddenly the police show up and stop Gordon, telling him to drop his weapon and get down on his knees. The boys watch from their hiding spot as Gordon is handcuffed. The cops examine Gordonβs car and find his stash of weapons (which any good hunter has). It isnβt looking good for Gordon. βAnonymous tip,β Sam tells Dean. But you know this isnβt the end of Gordon coming after Sam.
Dean calls Ellen, pissed that someone at the roadhouse told Gordon where to find Sam. Ellen tells Dean that the roadhouse is full of smart hunters, good trackers with their own connections who could have put that together, but that Ellen, Ash, and Jo are not disloyal and didnβt tell anyone about Sam.
Sam tries to call Ava but leaves another message for her β trying to tell her that he and Dean are okay but it sounds like Ava hasnβt been answering her phone.
Dean tells Sam not to take off like that again. So where to next? Dean wants to go somewhere else, saying heβs sick of the job, they donβt get paid or thanked. Sam says heβs a hunter, itβs what Dean was meant to do. Dean doesn’t believe in destiny β at least not Samβs destiny, Sam says.
Sam tells Dean that he tried to run before, to California (school! Pilot callback!) and look what happened. They canβt run from this life and he canβt protect Sam. But Dean says he can try.
Sam is going to keep hunting and whateverβs coming, heβs taking it head on. If Dean wants to watch his back, heβll have to stick around.
βBitch.β
βJerk.
Sam tries to call Ava again but still no answer. He has a bad feeling. They decide to go check out her place.
Cut to Avaβs place, with Sam and Dean going in. There doesn’t seem to be anyone home. Then they find blood and her fiancΓ© dead in bed, and sulphur on the windowsill (window open)!Β A demon has been there. Sam sees her engagement ring lying on the floor. What does it mean?? Stay tuned!
Overall thoughts:
This was a really good episode! I always like seeing Gordon come back, because heβs such a good foil for Dean and Sam. And this episode connected in a big way to the overall story arc.
Lore:
Nothing really, other than demons I suppose.