Robin’s Rambles: “Unforgiven”
Brenna arrives home after grocery shopping and runs right into Sam. She shrieks. “You can’t be here!” she cries. He apologizes. “Please just listen,” he pleads. “What happened to Debbie Harris?” she asks. “Debbie?” he asks. “I let you out and she’s just GONE,” says Brenna. “And you think I did something to her?” asks Sam. “I don’t know what to think, admits Brenna. “I need your help,” he says. “Are you kidding?” she says. “I need the case files your husband made up of the disappearances last year,” explains Sam. “Go to the station and find it,” she says. “It’s not there,” says Sam, “I broke in and looked, and I have a theory about who may have it. Look, we both want the same thing here, I promise–we’re gonna find out what happened last year and stop what’s happening right now.” She stares at him, considering, wondering. “The file’s upstairs; I’ll be right back,” she says. Sam sighs–and flashbacks: Gunshots, drinking beer off this table in this house. Brenna, sitting beside her husband, asking, “So, you guys travel all the time, just pick up and go?–doesn’t that get hard?” “No, it’s great,” answers Samuel, “once you’ve got a family, it’s a little tougher. When Deanna got pregnant, we didn’t know what we were going to do, but Mary was a blessing.” Noting Samuel’s empty beer bottle, Dodds says, “There’s more in the garage.” “You sit, I’ll get it,” volunteers Samuel. “He misses her,” Brenna tells Sam after Samuel leaves, “at least you two have each other.” “Samuel wasn’t really around when I was a kid,” says Sam, “we have more of a business relationship.” “Do you have any other family?” asks Brenna. “Family just slows you down,” says Sam. (OUCH! Which explains how little soulless Sam valued Dean.) Back in the present, Brenna is calling Sam’s name, asking, “Are you all right?” “Yeah, yeah,” he says, distracted, “let’s see what you have.” They sit at a table and pull files from the box marked EVIDENCE. The first gives Sam flashes of glasses and webs. He draws an evidence bag from the box and flashes back to Samuel saying, “Best guess, it came from Arachne.” “You ever seen one?” asks Sam. “No one has,” says Samuel, indicating they haven’t been around for 2000 years and they know zip about them beyond a bunch of guesses and a blurry picture on the side of a Greek vase. In front of them, someone has consumed the 72 ounce surf and turf and his picture is being taken, Sam and Samuel in the background for all time. “So I gather we have no clue how to kill this thing,” says Sam. “I guess we go at it until something sticks,” says Samuel. “Great, says Sam, “taking a paper from his pocket, “I got an idea where it might be, at least–so far, all the vics have been men in their thirties, and they’ve all gone missing within a three mile radius.” “So we just get out and kick bushes,” suggests Samuel. “It would be a waste of time,” says Sam, “it’s all suburban sprawl, “hundreds of houses, at least, could be anywhere.” “Lonely Pines Park,” says Samuel. “Yeah,” agrees Sam, “we’re gonna make this thing come to us.” “How do we do that?” asks Samuel. Sam returns to the present and asks Brenna if he could borrow all this stuff for a couple of hours. “Okay, I guess,” she says. “You really don’t remember Roy, do you?” she asks. Sam hates to admit it, and but she can see in his eyes he doesn’t. “He was a good man,” she says, “I’ve made peace that he’s dead. Now, I just want to know what happened.” Sam nods. “I’m sure he died a hero,” he assures her. He exits into the snowy outside, the box under his arm, and answers his phone. “Sam, answer the phone, damn it!” says Dean’s voice–“I found the connection between the missing chicks–they all banged the same dude–you–it’s you, Sam–the texts, the victims, it’s a trap for you. Call me back.” Sam glances over and notices a huge web on the side of the house. He puts down the EVIDENCE box a moment and steps forward to get a better look at the web. SOMETHING that sees Sam in multiples is staring at him, too, unnerving him, so when he feels a hand on his shoulder, Sam turns, gun drawn. It’s Dean. “Whoa!” says Dean. “I almost shot you–again!” says Sam–“what the hell!” “I figured you’d come and talk to her,” accuses Dean, “I told you to stay home, man! Did you get my message? We’re gonna get you outta here, come on, let’s go.”
As they’re leaving Brenna’s house, Sam turns to take another look at the giant web. And whatever creature made that web watches him leave with Dean, too, multiples of Sam.
Editor’s comments: So, even after Dean knows this THING is after Sam (who is now also a fugitive) and orders him to stay behind closed doors, Sam disobeys. He HAS to, you see, because with his soul restored, he’s very emo and must fix everything he broke. So he breaks into Brenna’s house, scaring her, to get the case files he needs to figure things out. Unfortunately, this coincides with the disappearance of Debbie Harris, Sam’s cuff-loving lover.
“Family just slows you down,” says soulless Sam, even after his grandfather speaks of what a blessing the birth of his mother was. COLD! Sifting through the evidence box reminds Sam about the Arachne, but he doesn’t remember Roy, whose wife tearfully tells him what a good man he was. Sam is sure he died a hero, and gently tells Brenna so, which is such a sweet, Sam-like thing to say.
Dean finally catches up with Sam, who has spotted a giant web at Brenna’s house. He knows about the Arachne, clearly a spider connection, so surely he must have realized that web meant something bad was hanging out around Brenna’s place. Understandably, Dean wants to hustle his brother out of town. He’s right–there’s an enemy here, and Sam is the target.
“We know this is a monster with opposable thumbs and unlimited text messaging,” says Dean, “and we know it wants to KILL you specifically, does that about cover it?” “It’s an Arachne,” says Sam, “I remembered.” “I’m sorry, what else have you remembered?” asks Dean, upset. “Don’t worry,” says Sam, “it’s nothing to do with hell.” “Not yet, anyway,” Dean points out. “What can I do, this stuff is just startin’ to come back,” says Sam, “maybe it’s natural.” “We’re leaving,” insists Dean, “we’re not the only hunters on the planet–we can call Bobby, he and Rufus can come and wrap this up!” “We can’t,” says Sam, “like you said, it can be anybody, and we got jack for leads.” “Somebody that hates you,” Dean reminds him. “I know who did this,” says Sam, “I just. . .can’t remember.” He reaches into the EVIDENCE box for another folder. Dean takes it away and says, “I don’t think you get the risk here, Sam–you get that every time you scratch that wall, you are playing Russian Roulette?” “Dean, I get you’re worried, and I know what you think is going to happen, but you know what?–it will or it won’t–I’m starting to think I might have done some bad stuff here, so I don’t care if it’s dangerous, I have to set things right, ’cause I got a friggin’ soul now, and it won’t just let me walk away!–I’m staying here, and I need you to back me up.” They gaze at each other for several emotion-packed seconds, and Dean finally smiles and relents. “All right,” he says, “let’s Memento this thing, shall we?
As they start pinning everything to the wall, John Winchester style, connecting things with string and tacks, Sam’s memory pumps into overdrive, and the flashes come with more frequency: Brenna: You’re back because it started again?; Roy: You’re hunters, not Feds?; Brenna: You really don’t remember?; Dean: I found out something about Crazy Eyes McGee–turned out you two knew each other; A strange, scary eye with more than one pupil; the Deputy: Is that blood?; him firing a gun; Sam telling Samuel, The Arachne’s been snacking on mid-thirties guys, we need bait that fits the demo, I’m too young, you’re too old. Eighty-nine and counting, says Samuel, I still think we should have looped Roy in on the plan. Sam: Do we want a credible performance, or don’t we? Samuel: What if something goes wrong? Sam: Roy’s a big boy, he’ll be fine, trust me. Samuel: It’s just not the way I’m used to doing things. Sam: Got it–welcome to the future. Let’s go. Lying in wait, Sam: Let’s hope this thing’s hungry. Samuel stares at him in disbelief, holds up binoculars to check on Roy, who is jumped by the creature, a woman, from above. Samuel: Split up, look for him. Sam: It’s too late–they’re GONE!–it’s all right, I turned on the GPS on Roy’s cell. Samuel: In English, please. Sam: We can track him back to wherever she goes. Samuel: So Roy was just some red shirt to you, some spider bait? Sam: No of course not, this is my back-up plan. Samuel: My God, son, you’re about as cold as they come, you know that? Sam: Let’s go.
Samuel and Sam head over to Arachne Central, guns tucked against their lower backs, swords in their hands. They find all the victims alive, cocooned in webs. Samuel opens a web over one man’s bespectacled face. “Poor bastard,” he says. Sam and his grandfather leap in terror as every victim begins to stir. “Help me!” calls Roy, “can’t feel.” Sam uses his knife to tear the web off Roy’s face. “Where is she?” demands Sam. The female Arachne leaps over and slams Sam into the wall, tearing up his arm. She goes at him again, but he kicks her away with his long, strong legs. Samuel shoots her several times, but, undeterred, she turns and attacks him, sending him flying into another wall. Sam climbs to his feet and with one swift stroke, beheads her. “Well, I guess decapitation works,” gasps Samuel, struggling to his feet, “Roy!” He kneels down beside the Sheriff and says, “Just hang in, we’re gonna get you some help.” Standing, he says, “Sam, if we get him to the hospital quick. . .” “He can’t be helped,” says Sam coldly, “I don’t know about Arachne, but I do know about spiders–one brown recluse can kill you. This thing–look at these guys, the poison’s eating them alive–they’re just dead men walking.” “So what are you saying?” asks Samuel miserably. “I’m saying we put him out of his misery,” says Sam, withdrawing his gun. Realizing what the man he thought a friend is about to do, Roy, shaking his head, says, “Sam. . .please. . .no.” “Killing this thing saved a lot of lives,” Sam tells him, “we couldn’t have done it without you. You’re a hero.” Sam shoots him. Then the others, one at a time, in the head, execution-style, as Samuel turns away and closes his eyes. “We can’t just leave the bodies here,” says Sam, “get the gasoline.”
Having remembered it all, Sam turns to Dean. “I know what happened,” he says.
[b]1. Now that you’ve seen souled and soulless Sam in the same episode, what do you think of the two Sams? How about Jared’s acting?
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Souled v soulless Sam? So different yet so alike. I’m kind of reminded of the Samifer – Sam conversation in Swan Song whenever I think of them. Samifer and Soulless Sam are quite similar, they both have logic in abundance, one of the things that differentiates them from Sam is how they apply this logic. (Sorry, this souled v soulless thing deserves more thought than I can give you this early in the morning!)
The acting = A1. I don’t think they even needed the black and white for the flashbacks because it’s like watching two different characters; the way he carries himself, the way he talks, what he says, his manner etc. Soulless Sam’s face seems a lot more… pinched and closed whereas souled up Sams’ is like an open book (one that Dean, especially, can read very easily) Soulless Sam just had an air of imperiousness about him where souled up Sam just invites everyone in.
[b]2. Do you feel that the Winchesters should never have chased this case? Would Roy’s death have made that much of a difference, given what it’s done to the wall in Sam’s head?[/b]
As the saying goes ‘If I knew then what I know now I’d be a wiser man’. I think they were always going to chase the case, just as the wall was always going to come down. They showed a loaded gun being put into Sam’s head during the first half of the season; they wouldn’t have done that unless they planned for it to go off at some stage.
[b]3. What do you think of the morality of soulless Sam? The womanizing, beating up the lawman, sending an innocent man, a friend, right into danger? Is the soul that responsible for how good we are?[/b]
Thing is, Sam was in a no-win situation here. Had he helped the men (not shot them, brought them to the hospital or whatever), odds are they would have died, only this time over a prolonged period, probably in agony (as soulless Sam believed would happen).
In a way, Sam’s choice was rather redundant, because he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. Was what he did ruthless? Sure. Was it the right thing to do…. (Wonder what Dean and souled up Sam would have done had they been in this situation)
However, (and this is where the show deserves a serious pat on the back, they blur the lines between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ so well) Sam and Dean have used humans as bait before (Something Wicked and The Real Ghostbusters being two examples). They’ve killed monsters who were unaware of their um… ‘monsterhood’ before, they’ve beaten people up before, they’ve had random sex with strangers before (Dean might not have slept with half the female population of a town before but God knows, I’d say he’s like to give it a shot!)
So looking at it purely logically, what exactly is it, based on this episode, that makes souled up Sam so different from soulless Sam. We know he’s different but I find it hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes him different because most of what he’s done here, he’s already done before.
Sigh…. Show, I like you.
[b]4 Despite Dean’s insistence that they leave, Sam was easily able to talk him into staying. How have the dynamics changed between the older and younger brother? There used to be a time that what Dean said was what they did!
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I was thinking either (a) Dean stayed because Sam would just have bitched him into submission (just accept the inevitable Dean) or (b) Dean figured this case, if it wasn’t closed, would haunt Sam, thereby leading to more scratching, and therefore more of a chance of the wall collapsing. By staying around, maybe Dean hoped to have the case finished quickly enough that Sam wouldn’t need to scratch as much.
Though you’re right, Dean does seem to be maintaining a policy of appeasement towards Sam at the moment. He’s kinda treating him with kid gloves, probably because he’s concerned with the frailty of Sam’s mind. As was alluded to in Like A Virgin, Dean knows the memories of hell, he knows what they can do to a person, he doesn’t want that for Sam.
I love how this show can say ten different things with one look or one line of dialogue!
[b]5. Is this how it’s going to be for Sam, little episodes like the one we saw at the end, until he scratches so much, he punches through altogether and goes mad or dies?[/b]
I really hope not. Seeing seizures makes me uncomfortable. I guess a lot will depend on whether there’s a renewal for Season 7. Maybe there might be a few miniature flashbacks every once in a while but when and how, no idea. Plus, I don’t want Sam to go mad or die (cos I like him sane and alive….)
[b]6. What did you think of the Arachne? Creeeeepy eyes! I wonder if the mating business had anything to do with the Mother of All? [/b]
Spiders mating. Something else I could have gone a lifetime without thinking about! Those eyes were unnerving, all right. It’s hard to know if anything (everything?) ties in with Mother at the minute because what we know about her and Purgatory is still very much up in the air. (Though I really hope her plans for world domination amount to more than just ‘Go forth and fornicate’)
[b]7. The brothers seem tighter than ever. Isn’t it fantastic?[/b]
It certainly is. This was like early SPN with an added dimension. From the crappy room, to the maps (and I loved how they worked flawlessly together to set that up, like a well oiled machine), to the food (iced tea WITH LEMON!!), to Deans silent ‘How you doin’?’ everything really.
Thanks for the rambles, Robin 🙂
Loved this epi, love how the [i]early SPN episodes feel[/i] is coming through again. Yes, the brotherly bonding IS fantastic.
Yet two things bothered me in this story: after they found out Sam and Samuel were working a case here a year ago, why didn’t they just call Samuel to find out what it was all about? Would have saved them a lot of time and trouble, right? And second: Sam saw the web at Brenna’s house, a very unusual spider web, and didn’t do anything about it, just walked away? I dunno, doesn’t seem like our boys.
Those Arachne monsters were SO creepy, I get all itchy when I see monster eyes 😡 .
Jared was just AMAZING! The difference between soulless and souled up Sam – so convincing. Well done, dude 🙂 !
I love show !
Hi Robin
1. Now that you’ve seen souled and soulless Sam in the same episode, what do you think of the two Sams? How about Jared’s acting?
Jared was fantastic portraying both soulless and soulful Sam. You could really see the difference in both.
2. Do you feel that the Winchesters should never have chased this case? Would Roy’s death have made that much of a difference, given what it’s done to the wall in Sam’s head?
I think they needed to chance this case, more as a learning experience. Sam needed to learn just how fragile and dangerous this wall really is.
3. What do you think of the morality of soulless Sam? The womanizing, beating up the lawman, sending an innocent man, a friend, right into danger? Is the soul that responsible for how good we are?
Sam was pretty scary without his soul. It does make you think that if someone as sensitive and compassionate as Sam was can turn into this ‘monster’ then just how bad would I be without mine?
4. Despite Dean’s insistence that they leave, Sam was easily able to talk him into staying. How have the dynamics changed between the older and younger brother? There used to be a time that what Dean said was what they did!
I think this was showing that the dynamics are changing, that Dean was willing to let Sam learn for himself the dangers of picking at the wall.
5. Is this how it’s going to be for Sam, little episodes like the one we saw at the end, until he scratches so much, he punches through altogether and goes mad or dies?
I’m hoping that this experience will teach Sam that he has to stop scratching at the wall. But I think it will be a slow process until either the end of this season or will lead into season 7…if there is one.
6. What did you think of the Arachne? Creeeeepy eyes! I wonder if the mating business had anything to do with the Mother of All?
I hate spiders, have always been afraid of them so this was alittle easier to take, however they were still very creepy. I don’t think it had anything to do with the Mother of All.
7. The brothers seem tighter than ever. Isn’t it fantastic?
Yes I’m loving the brotherly dynamics…I have so missed it these past 2 ½ years.