Recap – “Born Under A Bad Sign”
This is where I squeal like a fan girl! This is one of my all time favorite scenes. They get back to the motel room and Dean’s still giving orders. “Alright, we get a couple hours sleep and then we put this place in our rear view mirror.” Sam is very quiet and won’t respond. Dean tells him this may be bad but he has to snap out of it. Sam looks like he wants to cry.
Dean demands Sam say something. After repeating Dean’s order to sleep, he goes off. “Murder Dean, that’s what I did.” Dean’s clinging to other theories, like a shapeshifter, but Sam knows better. He tells Dean how off he’s been feeling the last few weeks, and how he’s had building feelings of rage and hate. He can’t stop it and it gets worse day by day. “You never told me this,” A worried Dean says. “I didn’t want to scare you,” Sam replies. “Well bang up job on that.” Ha!
Sam gets to the heart of the matter. The yellow eyed demon has plans for him, and has turned other children into killers before. Dean insists Sam has control, but Sam seems to think he’s slowly becoming who he’s meant to be. Slow is right, that doesn’t happen until the end of season four.
Sam starts yelling. “You said once it yourself Dean. I need to face up to who I am.” “I didn’t mean this!” Dean answers. “But it’s still true! You know that. Dad knew that too so that’s why he said whenever it came to this-” “Shut up Sam!” Ah, but Dean doesn’t get the final word. Sam’s tone goes softer. “Dean you promised him. You promised me.” “No,” Dean defiantly declares and goes into his regular big brother assuring mode. “Listen to me, we’ll figure this out. There’s gotta be a way, right?”
“Yeah, there is.” Sam won’t take no fo an answer and reaches down on the bed for a gun. He hands it over to Dean and starts getting weepy. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else. I don’t want to hurt you.” Dean insists Sam can fight it, but Sam insists he can’t and tells Dean he’s got to “do it.” Now I know something is up, because Sam would never ask Dean to do this. He’d go in the bathroom and blow his own brains out first. Remember “Croatoan?”
Dean won’t take the gun, so Sam grabs Dean’s hand and puts the gun in it. Then he lets out the biggest sissy whimper I’ve ever seen. Given the “I’m about to die” issue, I think it’s adorable! Too bad it’s not really him.
Dean looks at the gun, and actually considers for a few seconds doing it. Now they both have me in knots! “You know I’ve tried so hard to keep you safe.” Teary eyed Sam knows. Dean stays white with fear for a few more seconds, looks at Sam and comes to his senses. “I can’t, I’d rather die.” Whoo hoo Deano! Awesome choice.
Dean throws the gun on the bed and walks away while Sam looks majorly deflated. “No you’ll live,” he gently says and picks up the gun. Dean realizes that Sam’s about to do it himself and comes up behind him. Sam turns to face him, suddenly becomes all evil and says “You’ll live to regret this.” Bamm!! He knocks Dean out cold. Hell Yeah!!!! He’s evil! He sneers at an unconscious Dean and leaves.
Best…scene…ever!
The show to this day loves to throw out those hints that one day Dean will have to kill Sam. I wonder if they will continue with that all the way until the end of the series. It’s a struggle I never grow tired of, but it had the biggest punch right here in season two. Literally!
Dean wakes up to the knocking on the door, and I love the shot being at floor level with Dean. It really shows how startled he is. The door opens and it’s the manager. Dean is past his checkout time and he needs the room. A business man and a slut wait out in the hall. What, this large, crappy motel is sold out of rooms? At noon? How many sluts do they service?
Dean wants to know where the other guy that was with him went. He took off before dawn in Dean’s car. No! Something that evil shouldn’t be allowed to touch the Impala. Cathryn Humphris is crossing a fine line.
Dean wants to borrow the computer, but the manager is a jerk and it’ll cost him. In the only funny part of this intense episode, Dean calls the cell phone company to put a tracer on Sam’s phone. The rouse is that he didn’t come back from a Justin Timberlake concert. “Yes, he really is the triple threat.” Ha, he so is! I’m usually anti-boy band/overexposed teen idol, but in Justin Timberlake’s case, the fact that he’s down to earth and has a good head on his shoulders makes him a good example for my pre-teen daughter. He’s the only one though.
Sam’s in Duluth, Minnesota, and again, we get a scene for the ages. There’s Jo Harvelle! She’s working in a bar, and Sam saunters in with a humble face, but he’s got this swarmy thing going in his body language, like he’s some slimeball there to bother a long lost girlfriend. Jo is not happy to see him. Girlfriend should lighten up, for after all, what did Sam do to her? She needs an attitude adjustment. Oh wait. Coming soon.
Sam asks for a beer so she gets him one, but she’s rude and slams it in front of him. That’ll look bad on her secret shopper rating. Jo wants to know how he found her. Yeah Jo, you’ve been around hunters how long? It’s in the job description. Then she asks where Dean is. Sam says he couldn’t make it. Uh, Jo, there’s your freaking clue right there. Sam never goes anywhere without Dean. At least he didn’t in season two. This is where you excuse yourself to the bathroom and call Dean in a panic.
Alice, I see what you mean about the last scene, and the joke Dean made, but I love that scene, and I guess I’ll always make allowances for the boys by assuming Dean wanted to lighten the mood between them. And it kinda worked. That joke is one of several scenes in which I always laugh, regardless of how many times I watch it. Another is in Lazarus Rising, when Bobby throws holy water at Dean. And, in Everybody Loves A Clown, when Sam makes the comment about the kid ‘fingering the clown’. Dean’s reaction is classic. But I digress…
I absolutely loved Jared in this episode. My favourite scene is when demonSam is taunting Jo. Brilliant, Jared. The facial acting and inflections in his voice, not to mention the body language. I wonder how much of that was written, and how much was Jared’s addition. And his laugh when he’s tied to the chair at Bobby’s…that is one of (if not THE) best evil laughs I’ve ever heard.
Wow, this was a super review!! I loved it to bits.
And the ep itself is in my top5 too ’cause its’ soo… fricking awesome!! I love every bit of it and while I too would have loved a some kind of ramifications on this (allthough I remember Kripke some time saying, this was going to be another reason for Gordons manhunt on Sam but it fell apart ’cause Sterling K. Brown was too much attached on the other show and the whole writers strike in S3 or something like that) but it still doesn’t spoil this ep for me.
I loved both Jensen and Jared in this one but EvilJared was just creepy as hell! In the Jo-scenes I would have ran screaming esp. after the whole wrist-gripping scene… Jared hands are huge and I can imagine him grabbing my wrist that way and totally (i have teeny hands *grin*) just smother them… *shudders BIG time* Jared was just SO good, I’m kinda sad he didn’t get to show this side sooner ’cause I know the boy can act his ass off. Jensen has been great from the start but I’ve always felt they both are great and their chemistry is just the best thing ever on TV.
I could watch this ep non-stop for days and never get tired… I usually watch certain scenes with constant rewinding 😀 like your fave scene and the Jo-scene just because it’s so freaking creepy and I just for one sec actually feared that MeginSam might rape Jo… And I’m convinced nothing of that sort happened (I don’t care if I’m proved wrong, I’m in Denial Land *laalalaalaalaa* 😉 ) but it still was one of my fave scenes ’cause I don’t remember a scene where I’ve felt so uncomfortable and it was SAM (even though it wasn’t). Oh, Jared is a god 😛 and I bet he was really sweet in shooting this, making sure Alona was ok every step of the way… He’s just that kinda guy… But he ‘sold’ that scene, he should play psychos more 🙂
Ok, Jensen was just heartwrenching with his freaking out ‘n’ suffering Dean. Nobody does those haunting looks better *love* And I too loved those Dean will have to kill Sam -themse that S2 gave us… And I too wll, never tire of those… as long as they don’t go through with it 😀
I didn’t really care for Jo too, I liked her more in this one where they weren’t trying to jam the Jo-Dean thing down our throats… She seemed too young to me and No exit was just *yawn* Dean usually seemed more uncomfortable than flirty with her… But that’s just me, I don’t like the guys hooking up *grin*
Ok, this is becoming longer than your review, so I better stop before I my keyboards explode.
ps. For little bits, I esp. loved the Timberlake-eye roll, the confused-Dean-with-the-hotel-manager-by-the-door, and the Bobby-and-Sam-holy-water-in-the-beer -thingy and the Jo’s “he was possessed?!”, (I can’t not eyeroll at that and say “No Jo, that’s just Sam on Thursday nights” every single time 😀 ) and the scene in the gas station (I love how Dean says “This guy?!” like a million times, he’s facial expressions *heart*) with the “Am I speaking Urdu?” with Sams over the top shocked puppy -look just cracks me up every single time.
Ok, I’ll stop now, sorry for the length again 😀
this episode was just awesome jared hit it out of the park. it was tense and thrilling and takes hold of the viewer, draws them in and doesn’t let go. jensen was also brilliant (as always) he manages to keep dean stoic and relentless in his determination not to give up on sam and yet you can see dean crumbling and the fear he can’t save his brother wells up inside him.
i also love bobby in this episode and i think you’re spot on to say that bobby is a much better dad to them then their dad ever was. just that bit where he doesn’t miss a beat as not!sam splutters over his holy water laced beer is just awesome..”don’t con a conman” bobby has mad skills!
Wow Alice! What a perfectly awesome recap!
The acting was more than excellent, and kept me in twisted up tummy land all the way through.
My heart was aching for Dean, terrified of Sam and so grateful for incredible Bobby the conman.
I was truly worried that not/Sam would rape Jo I could hardly breathe through that scene. I don’t think that happened off screen though.
I really liked Jo in this episode, even though she was a little slow in figuring out it was not/Sam, for a potential hunter. She’ll have to improve in that area if she wants to survive in her chosen career. I liked her finding and patching up Dean and her resigned “No you won’t”. (I’d like to see Ellen and Jo again, also hoping Ash somehow didn’t die in the fire. They do kill off so many interesting characters).
As I mentioned in another post, I would have liked to see a scene where Sam was really concerned about his brother’s well-being and perhaps doing some first aid on the botched up job Jo did on his poor mistreated shoulder.
Love the way Bobby is with the boys, and how he shows his very real concern for their well being. I certainly hope that Bobby survives in this series. I don’t think I could take it if they do him in. Let Bobby live I say!
I am babbling on here, so I better go. Agree with the posts above about this outstanding episode. Will always be at or near the top of my most gut-wrenching episodes. 🙁
Alice,
Awesome recap. THis is one of my favorite episodes all around. Both Jensen and Jared as well as Jim Beaver nailed it. I love the directing and the cutting back and forth to show how stressed and rattled Dean was — it was also done quite well in DalDoM.
Jared was superb here, the whole… “My daddy shot your daddy in the head.” As well as the look after he shot Dean and after he pistol whipped him — fabulous.
All around it’s a classic, one to come back to again and again and I never get tired of it.
REO’s song is a bit upbeat although the lyrics fit what they’re doing but it is a bit ‘on the nose’ as we know that they’re back on the road again.
I do like Dean’s little joke at the end because it sorta echoed Bobby’s comment and Dean’s joke back at his house. You are right though, Sam did not have any after effects that we’rea ware of other than his comment in JIB and that is a shame. Still, I like that they closed the loop of the whole hunters after Sam because like the FBI manhunt after Dean it would have just muddied the waters. They’ve got bigger fish to fry, such as angels and demons after them in Season 5…way cool.
Great recap. Thanks for delivering.
Great recap, I love this episode …
I’m rather sorry they lost the Hunters hunting Hunters storyline though, I really fancied that! Not sorry we’ve seen no more of Jo, she was a bit too much of a standard permenatly imperilled yet spunky girl sidekick stereotype.
I’m glad Sam didn’t spend ages having a crisis about being possessed … We don’t need any more angsty moments on the Impala! 😆
Just a short note on “Born Under a Bad Sign”, if this hasn’t already been said.
According to the Supernatural Season 2 Companion, at the end, when Dean punches the no-longer possessed Sam, that wasn’t scripted.
The Companion also points out the irony of that punch – all along Dean resisted attacking demon-Sam for fear of injuring his brother.