I Wonder What They’re Doing Now, Seasons One and Two
I wonder what they’re doing now, Season 1,
In light of Alice’s Top Ten Unsung Heroes I got thinking about characters that have come, been saved, glimpsed the darker side of life and never been heard from again. Some of these characters were saved by the boys, some saved the boys and some were partners in the saving of themselves, the boys and others. With less than two and a half weeks until the start of Season 5 I thought a trip through some of the characters that stand out in my mind would be an interesting exercise, and it gives me an excuse to not be working on part II of Good or Evil, A Supernatural Question as well as The Road So Far, Season Four, they’re coming but until then,
From Season one I wonder what ever happened to Amanda the flight attendant from Phantom Traveler. Not only does she survive a plane crash but then she participates in stopping another one while at the same time learning that a colleague is, in fact, possessed by a demon. Try explaining that to the NTSB.
Then there’s Skin’s Rebecca Warren, Sam’s friend from college. She not only learned that Sam hunts supernatural things and never told Jess but also that her brother was impersonated by one, she was attacked by one, twice, and she also was impersonated by one. How does she explain that to everyone back at school, “Hey, did you hear about the time I saw Sam and his older brother Dean?”
Emily also stands out to me from Scarecrow; here this girl loses her parents at a young age only to be raised by her aunt and uncle in an idyllic setting. Life is pretty good, the apple pie is delicious, the town is flourishing and she appears set to live the simple life of a small-town girl. Within days she realizes that not only are pagan gods real and that people passing through each year are sacrificed so that the apples she eats and probably enjoys will be super delicious but she is betrayed by the very family she trusted. Trussed up and ready to be served up to a god for the greater good – no wonder she happily lit that torch and burned the tree. Wonder what became of her when she boarded that bus to somewhere, how does one begin again?
Michael from Something Wicked stands out to me, if for no other reason than he embodied both the wariness of Dean and the innocence of Sam at the beginning and in the end he was altered so that he carried the responsibility of Dean and the sorrow of Sam. Once the older brother with the smart comebacks who gently poured milk for his younger brother and also deeply concerned and blaming himself for Asher’s illness he bravely agrees to help defeat the shtriga which ages him as he truly becomes his brother’s protector while at the same time stripping him of his innocence forever. He’ll always know there are things that go bump in the night. I wonder if he’ll forever be able to hide the truth from Asher.
Sarah Blake from Provenance is probably my favorite female from Season one, I enjoyed Haley in Wendigo, she was smart and protective while also vulnerable and brave, but Sarah really held her own with both Sam and Dean, and she brought out Sam’s warmth and humor drawing him from his sorrow after Jess; for that alone Sarah remains a favorite. I wonder what she thinks, or perhaps even sees/imagines, every time she goes to an estate sale or researches the history of a painting or artifact. Does she ever wonder about Sam and how he’s doing, does she get creeped out by little girls staring out at her from paintings, imagining that their eyes follow her every move?
We give a lot of thought to Missouri and mom and Jess and Meg and Jo and Ellen as well as others, and they’re not all female either, but there have been those ‘monster of the week’ episodes that have brought us unique characters that were touched in some way by the supernatural and the trail of people who are ‘now in the know’ or at least have had some of the curtain drawn back continues to grow. In the run up to Season 5 I’m going to pull out those who intrigue me and make me wonder and post them for you to comment and/or read.
Season Two
Sure I could include Ellen and Jo in this list from season 2 but they get included in so many lists, and for other reasons, I’ll skip them in this one.
The first being I wonder what and how they’re doing isn’t even human, anymore, it’s Lenore from Bloodlust. I wonder what she and her little group is doing, are they safe, are they still adhering to their desire to remain free from the bondage of human blood. Are they being hunted? Do they have to keep up a nomadic lifestyle? Do they have any peace? I liked Lenore and her group and I’ll admit, I hope they’re doing all right.
Diana Ballard from The Usual Suspects is one I wonder about. She carries a heavy burden, not only was she betrayed by her partner who was also her lover but she ended up killing him. Then she had to cover up Sam and Dean’s escape, likely jeopardizing her career. We know from Folsom Prison Blues she was contacted and stood by her story that Sam and Dean were innocent but does she carry a shadow over her life by the betrayal she suffered? Does she read the papers with a wiser eye and a mind for reading between the lines? I’d love to see her again, although I doubt it’s likely for it would seem a bit forced but I wonder if Sam and Dean cross her mind and if she ever thinks about tracking them down and joining up, think about it, Diana and Ellen would make a kick butt hunter duo, Cagney and Lacey of Supernatural.
I wonder what Evan Hudson from Crossroad Blues said to his wife when she returned from her weekend away? “Hi, honey, while you were away I decided to add claw marks to the study floor and kick in the front door, oh yeah and sorry about the broken glass and stuff.” Did he just hug her tight and thank God he was safe and wouldn’t have to subject her to a life without him? Did he come clean and tell her what had happened, and then agree to go to a therapist to avoid being placed in a padded cell? On the anniversary of his intended ‘date with the devil’ from thereon forward does he take a moment to thank the two young men that mysteriously appeared on his doorstep to save him from a fate worse than, well, a fate in hell?
Rivergrove, Oregon, Dr. Amanda Lee from Croatoan, is there even still a place known as Rivergrove, Oregon? What happened when Dr. Lee got hold of the authorities in Sidewinder and explained, uh, exactly what did she explain? How does one explain gun shot victims in their clinic and no suspects. Did any of the townspeople ever come back or were they all destroyed by the demons that inhabited them – were they inhabited by demons or simply ‘altered’ by the blood? I’m not planning any trips to Rivergrove, Oregon, this year, how about you?
I liked Deacon a lot, he was another link to John and a glimpse, tiny as it was, into John’s former life as a Marine. Did Deacon really know about things Supernatural? Was he privy to John’s life as a hunter, did he know the truth about Mary and about what Sam and Dean did? Sure, he knew a little something about what they did and do but how much? Folsom Prison Blues gives me two characters to wonder about, the second being Mara Daniels. She had the moxie to stand up to Henriksen and the intelligence to trust her instincts. All wasn’t as it seemed and by doing due diligence and touching base with Diana Ballard in Baltimore she was more than willing to aid our boys. No doubt she had to do some fancy footwork to keep ahead of Henricksen once he realized she’d duped him and sent him and his team to the wrong cemetery but I have faith, based on how she handled herself that she came out just fine.
I know there’s some that I didn’t include in here, like Ash and Madison and Ava and Andy, Ronald, they’re dead, that’s why they didn’t get included. I miss them though, they all added wonderful layers to the show and to the boys and the landscape is richer because they were there but I don’t wonder since I sorta know, course ’tis Supernatural, anything could happen.
Thanks for reading.
Elle2
Elle2,
As usual, I found myself nodding over your choices, and observations. I really liked Sarah from Provenance, and I thought her and Sam were well-matched. And Dean’s “Marry that girl” comment was really cool. Pity Sam couldn’t have gone back to see her; I would’ve liked to see her again.
Michael, from Something Wicked, was a good character, and I liked the parallel story between the two sets of brothers. Smart ass, protective big brother. Yep, sounds familiar. And I loved the look of awe Michael gave Dean when the Shtriga was finally dead. Like Dean was suddenly bigger than life.
Another character I liked was Officer Hudak from The Benders. She was a by-the-book type, until Dean and his familiar family situation got under her skin. Not to mention that she took matters into her own hands at the end, and ridded the world of a person just as creepy as the creatures Sam and Dean hunt.
No doubt there are others, but those three stand out for me in Season 1.
Hi, det_coverdale,
I almost included the Officer from The Benders…my only excuse is that I just didn’t…no good excuse really. I liked her a lot as well.
Glad you enjoyed the observations, I wonder who we’re going to meet and learn about in Season 5.
🙂 Thanks for the comment
I like your article and speculations on the characters, Elle2. Like others, I too thoroughly enjoyed the character of Sarah – she was spunky. I have often wondered what happened to these charaters, like Andrea of Dead in the Water and her son and the many, many others that Sam and Dean have touched. What about the family from Salvation?
I read a fanfiction once that looked at different characters reactions to Sam and Dean’s “death” in Jus in Belo in the helicopter crash. It was a good read and like your article above, thought provoking.
Hi, Elle,
Oooh, where’s that fanfic? I’d love to read it.
This popped into my mind and I found there were so many that I wondered about. Since we’re now so far into the series it is kind of fun to go back and look at all that’s come before and just wonder.
Thanks for commenting.
🙂
Hi Elle2,
The fic is called “Warm Strangers” and it’s posted in a livejournal community called “Supernatural Episode Fiction” – it’s a good read, I’d recommend it to anyone. 😎