“Have you ever retired a human by mistake?” - Rachel, Blade Runner

Sam In Charge of Dean
by Sylvia Bond
Supernatural Episode Review - Season Four, Episode Six
“Yellow Fever”

I find myself very much impressed with this season thus far because, in spite of my fears based on last season’s less than stellar batting average, I think Show is doing a marvelous job.  And why is that? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s because a) there’s no writer’s strike to mess with longer story arcs, b) there are no boobs with legs being foisted upon the boys, and c) because the writers are showing appropriate amounts of interest in the boys and their inner workings. Naturally, this attention will never be as much or as in depth as I would like it to be, but I feel that we’re all rowing in the same direction now, in the direction of the Island of Brotherly Angst.

This week Show gives us a good old-fashioned haunting with a twist. Twenty years ago, we learn, Frank felt Luther was paying inappropriate attention to his wife, Jesse. When Jesse disappeared, Frank thought Luther was to blame and so wrapped a chain around his neck and dragged him till he was “more than dead.” This gruesome ending caused Luther’s ghost to infect some of the local population with ghost fever, which kills you by fear, more fear, and then a heart attack in 48 hours, which is all the time the boys have to solve the gig. This time limit gives the plot of Show a nice claustrophobic, almost cop show emergency to deal with, because guess who gets infected? Yeah, Dean! He suffers very well, but back to that in a bit. 

I don’t know when the last time I had to cover my eyes while watching Show was, but I think it’s been some time. The whole idea of wrapping a chain around a man’s neck and dragging him behind a truck is bad enough. Even worse is to see this horrific act reenacted, all in the name of putting a ghost to rest. Bad enough that the guy had to die that way the first time; to watch him go through it again? It was a total gross out. Not in the realm of, say, watching a man putting his hand down a sink disposer that’s about to go off, but bad enough. Plus, when I first saw the MOW standing in the corner facing the wall, I was instantly and uncomfortably reminded of “The Blair Witch Project,” a movie that I watched thinking it would be a hoot and a holler, but whose images and feelings I can now never get out of my head.

Sam and Dean come to town as FBI agents, posing as “Tyler” and “Perry,” which even I knew was the lead singer of Aerosmith. There’s tons of funny with the boys, in the morgue, for example, where Sam gets splatted with spleen juice, and Padalecki makes the same kinds of “ew” faces that I would make. Only he’s a whole lot cuter about it, even though you’d think that by this time, Sam would be an old hand at dead bodies being opened up in front of him. Except for the spleen juice, of course. And then there’s the sight of Dean trying not to laugh at the Sheriff’s office when the Sheriff is talking about the “Gamecocks” and the “Cornjerkers,” which are local baseball teams. Ackles, as I have said (and will continue to say until the world knows this) has terribly expressive eyebrows; I don’t think I’ll ever get bored watching them twist and bend and express more than someone else’s jaw flapping in the wind with words coming out. 

So there’s the plot (see above), and Sam and Dean working the gig, and then there’s Dean coming apart as the ghost fever takes over, and that’s really the highlight of this ep for me. Ghost fever makes you scared, see, and that’s one thing that Dean never is, so watching him become timid over some creepy looking teenagers is very fun. At first, when he says he doesn’t like the looks of them, I assumed that he felt they were too close to the Impala and he was going to march right over there to teach them all a lesson. But no! He walks the other way so he doesn’t have to deal with them. (Incidentally, is it my imagination or has Show been bringing up chupacabras more and more? That’s the one urban legend Show has not dealt with, so either Show is taunting fans, or one day, some day soon, the boys will actually go up against this legendary beast!)

During another visit, as the boys learn more about the whole ghostly love triangle plot, Dean’s fear grows as he’s confronted by the snake and weird animal collection of the civilian they are questioning. Many people are afraid of snakes, so at this point, all seems normal. (The shoutout to Donny and Marie does not go unnoticed by me, I’ll just admit it here and now that I used to be a rabid fan. Laugh if you will, but it was good, clean fun!) I was a bit distracted by the whole snake stunt; I tend to worry about the snakes, the snake handler, and whether one of the snakes will get away. Plus I worry about the actors and whether or not they like snakes or are scared of them, and if, when they decided to become actors, whether they ever imagined they’d be letting a pale, yellow python thing crawl all over them. I have no idea whether or not Ackles is afraid of snakes, but I thought he played it right by sitting VERY still and looking as though he’d much rather be far, far away. 

Dean’s paranoia grows, and hysterically too, as he drives a blazing 20 MPH through town, which Sam notes is exactly the speed limit. I have never pictured Dean as the law-abiding type, or the type who tends to worry about making left hand turns across oncoming traffic, so it was almost like watching Bizzaro Dean. (I was laughing at his “Am I haunted?” question until way, way late into the evening.) Then Sam calls Bobby, naturally, and the boys learn that Dean has ghost fever, and less than, at that point, 24 hours to live. 

His trepidation at every little thing now has an explanation, and a fine brotherly dither ensues as the brothers discuss how one catches the fever. The easy answer is that “dicks” catch it, because the guy who killed Luther is a dick. At which point Dean wants to know why he caught it and Sam didn’t. Woe to fandom if Show actually implies that Dean is a dick! But I don’t think that’s what Show was doing, even though on the surface it’s done for easy laughs. Superficially, Dean has tons of traits that make him one of those guys you might want to avoid, because Sam is right, if you didn’t know Dean, he’d come across as kind of a dick, what with the way he picks up and drops women, his nefarious vocational choice, etc. 

I’m assuming that the ghost picked him because on the surface, yeah, he’s not the nicest guy; but then, the ghost has never had access to the historical documents that we have and so doesn’t realize that Dean is your typical heart-of-butter kind of guy. What’s even funnier is when Dean says to Sam, “You’re a dick too!” And Sam says, “Apparently I’m not,” in that typical Sam way that he has, that superior tone he gets and that look on his face he has when Dean doesn’t get Dick Van Dyke references or eats with his mouth full. Sometimes, Sam can be a bit of a dick himself. (Although when Sam moves their room from the fourth floor to the first because Dean’s suddenly afraid of heights? It’s terribly sweet and very un-dick-like.)

Dean is left all alone in the motel room, getting his Freak on (with Show giving me some very nice, freckleishious close-ups), when Sam brings back some food. Dean throws up a wood chip, at which point Sam realizes that Dean is their biggest clue as to what’s going on. I had such shades of Seinfeld when Dean says, “But I don’t wanna be a clue!” Then Sam heartlessly drags Dean along to the wood mill so they can poke around and find out more about Luther. Okay. I’ll admit, there’s some funny, funny stuff here, like the moment when Dean thinks the mill looks creepy, or when he refuses to take the gun because it “might go off.” I especially loved him offering to “man” the flashlight; even though he’s pretty terrified, he’s still willing to do his best, to do his bit. And this in response to Sam saying, “I need backup and you’re all I got.” Oh, Dean. So brave even when you’re scared to pieces. 

I even laughed at the old cat-in-a-locker-trick, even though Dean’s scream was over the top, and I thought for a bit there that Ackles had broken character. Show thinks that men screaming is pretty funny, and it is, but I got distracted because I was worried about the cat and how long it had been locked up in there. Then, at the very end, Dean takes off running because he’s too terrified to even be Sam’s right hand man. Not any more! Watching Dean run away from something he was afraid of was almost too weird to laugh at, but yeah, I did.

At which point, I had myself a think as to why this whole setup was bothering me. Not because it wasn’t funny, because it was, but either Padalecki was playing Sam as straight man to Ackles’ hysterical Dean, or Show was demonstrating yet again that Sam doesn’t know how to deal with Dean when Dean shows any vulnerability. I think it’s the latter. It’s not that Sam doesn’t love Dean, never that. I think it’s just that he gets thrown for a loop and doesn’t know how to be a caretaker to his older brother. Which is so not fair, because every time Sam has gone down with a vision, a headache, heartache, or just a tiny little splinter, Dean is right there, reaching out and taking care. This just kills me that the same doesn’t happen for Dean, even though it’s probably totally within Sam’s character to be a little cold like this; plus, he’s totally out of his depth.

Also, I don’t think this is the real version of scared Dean. Not that Scared Dean is any kind of creature that I have any experience with whatsoever. But I’ll put off his girly screams to the ghostly infection, yes, to that. When Dean is really and truly afraid, he sets his jaw and his manly shoulders and marches into the fray, he uses his fear to help him overcome adversity. This was like the girl version, the ghost fever version of Dean, and, frankly, this is how I would react in this situation, including the running away part when things go even the slightest bit hinky. Let me take charge of the flashlight, yes! I’ll carry that and walk behind you, besides. And when the monster starts shambling out of the darkness to chase us? I don’t have to run faster than It, all I have to do is run faster than you.

To deal with his fear, Dean takes to the drink. For the next few scenes he’s sucking back on a bottle of what looks like Wild Turkey bourbon, which I can tell you from some painful experience gives you a hangover that feels like some guy’s standing on the juncture between your skull and your spine with a jackhammer. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen Dean drunk like he gets here. Sure, we’ve seen Sam drunk a time or two (and throwing up after!), but not Dean, so this is a first for me, and a signal that he is definitely spiraling out of control, poor baby. When he and Sam are in the sheriff’s office, Sam is doing his usual “you better tell me what I want” glare, while in the background, a bleary-eyed Dean sways back and forth. Slowly. The camera is focused on Padalecki, obviously, but my eyes were on Ackles the whole time. How that man manages to steal the entire scene is beyond me, but he does. 

More hilarity ensues as Sam force marches Dean into fields of terror at the hospital, where Dean worries hysterically over whether they will be found out as fakes and sent to jail on account of their FBI badges. Apart from the humor of Dean’s fear, here again, Show demonstrates the great talent it has in casting one off characters like Luther’s brother. He’s grizzled and laconic, living out his days in an old folks home, and all of his sad little back story comes oozing through the dialog, making me wonder where the wife and three kids are now, and why has he been left all alone like this? You might think it strange that such a fangirl like me might be interested in a secondary character that we will never see again, but I put it to Show’s credit. Would that Show had demonstrated the same skill in casting characters like that skank Ruby, and we’d be well on our way to a night at the Emmy’s.

As Sam and Dean leave, up comes one of my favorite scenes in this ep, and it’s obvious to see why. Dean starts ranting, and it’s funny because Dean never rants, and it’s sad because what Dean is ranting about is probably stuff he’s had on his mind for a long time only never felt like he could share. It’s even more sad because what he says is true. I’m in love with litanies like this, where characters spill their guts. Dean says stuff like “hunting ghosts? Who does that?” and goes on and on about how crazy it is. At long last! It’s very satisfying to hear Dean complain about the bad food, the skivvy motels (except this week’s room, which seemed to be rather nicer than the boys’ usual), and the long hours. Eight hours a day is too long to be cooped up with Dean (or a gassy Sam, who, apparently, is toxic after even half a burrito; oh, Dean, you are so earthy!), and he knows it, because he listens to the same five albums over and over and is irritating when he sings. It’s interesting to see what Dean thinks is annoying about him, but of course he is wrong, any fangirl could tell you that his singing is part of his charm. 

Back at the motel, Sam and Dean are talking about the gig, and I’ll admit I didn’t see this coming, and I’m totally in love with my memory of it, even now. Dean’s complaining that he only has four hours left, and Sam, totally unsympathetic, says yes, and well, and too bad because Dean has been a pain in his ass for far too long. And then? Sam’s eyes go YELLOW. As in Yellow Eyed Demon yellow.  

As Sam’s sitting there, he’s saying all those things that Dean has never wanted to hear. Saying them with dark tones in his voice and a finality that seems to be Dean’s biggest fear, that one day Sam will truly turn Dark and all this will be over, “all this” being the saving people, hunting things mantra that runs through Dean’s blood like, well, like blood. Because it is his blood and without it, I don’t think he can survive. Sometimes, I hate to think what will become of him when the last supernatural thing is laid to rest. Perhaps, like a gunslinger with no more bad men to kill, he’ll walk down to the streets of Laredo and wrap himself up in white linen and wait to die.

It took me a minute to realize that this was a hallucination, but for a moment? I thought Show had gone and done it, had passed beyond the pale and sent Sam straight down the Dark Road into Demonhood. Reams of Demon!Sam fanfic flipped their pages in front of me and my jaw dropped open at the thought of it. Thankfully (or maybe not), it’s just a dream, and all is well. Still, I comforted myself at the thought of all those songvids that would now contain this particular evocative image of a yellow-eyed Sam choking his beloved Dean to death. (I’m whacked, yes, it’s true.)

Then Bobby comes to the rescue. About Bobby. Yes, let’s just get that out of the way, shall we? He seems to be becoming a caricature of himself these days. I’m not saying that he doesn’t know a lot of stuff, lots of obscure, arcane knowledge that the boys need from time to time. But Japanese? It was almost like the writer decided to insert a little Mary Sue action at this point, as I was put off by this sudden and unexpected talent of his. I think that Sam could have called Bobby and gotten this information from him over the phone; there was no need for Bobby to come all the way from South Dakota. Sam could have managed on his own. Plus it would have been much more gratifying and possibly more entertaining to watch Sam find the Japanese text and then struggle with how to get that translated. Rather than have the answers handed to him, which is far too easy. Not that the boys don’t have enough hard things to contend with, but you know what I mean. It was more fun in the old days when the boys had to manage without Bobby.

But Sam and Bobby together save the day by wrapping an iron chain around the ghost’s neck and dragging him along the street to scare him into the beyond. There’s been some discussion as to whether taking care of Luther’s ghost like this was quite humane. After all, the real Luther didn’t deserve to die that way, why should his ghost? (Plus the whole idea of road-dragging someone to death goes into some very dark areas indeed.) Then again, the ghost of Luther is a ghost, and the people he infected might have been “dicks,” but except for Frank, they never actually killed anyone. This might be Show’s attempt at building ambiguity to get us all talking about it, and in that they’ve succeeded. I know that personally, I have a bad taste in my mouth about that one, and perhaps that also was the point. Because, like Frank, who decided he was judge and jury and above the law enough to hand out a sentence for a crime he wasn’t sure Luther committed, so too do the Winchesters take it upon themselves to determine who or what should live and who should die. Show likes to remind us from time to time, I reckon. Lest we forget.

Then after Dean is saved, Bobby and Sam and Dean stand in the sunlight drinking beer. I love the boys in this kind of bright light, comfortable in the after-battle dust, content to be alive and sucking back some long, cool ones. And although I could kind of see that Bobby and Sam’s mocking of Dean was for Dean’s comfort (he doesn’t like things to get all emo), I got the uncomfortable feeling at this point that the entire ep had been played for laughs at Dean’s expense. Then when Bobby left, we had a moment with the boys alone together. Finally! They are in the sun and happy to be alive. Sam wants to know what Dean saw in the room, and you can see in Dean’s eyes, that maybe he wants to tell about Lilith and all that, but just then, Sam’s eyes flash yellow. Like, hello? So, was it a hallucination, or was Sam messing with Dean? Will we ever know? Show likes to mess with me this way; I am keeping track. Letters will be written.

Overall, I’m guessing that Ackles had tons of fun playing Dean this way, letting it all hang out, getting his Scream on. Because, sometimes, you know, it’s just what you have to do. And Dean is such a contained, specific character, with lots of angst and broken dreams lingering just below the surface of a tightly controlled and beautiful you’ll-never-find-out-what-I’m-really-thinking package. Who for years has been the first in line to wade into the ectoplasm, to get soaked to the hips in blood, to thrust his hands into the burning fire and save Sammy for the gazillionth time. So it must have been a nice break for Ackles, who, really, has missed his calling as a comic actor. 

The last two minutes of Show this time around were a veritable fun feast of Ackles-bestirred delight as he strutted and cavorted to the tune of “Eye of the Tiger.” Ackles rather than Dean because Dean’s not an actor and Ackles is. And as such, Ackles knows how to play it up: he commits to the act, he follows through with the act, and he’s not afraid to finish the act. With flair, yet. Even more adorable were the sounds of giggles (Padalecki’s) from behind the camera, a bit of Show having fun at its own expense. However, while I loved this one-man show, I think I would have preferred to have those two minutes devoted to more Sam and Dean togetherness. And yes, this even in the face of Ackles lip-synching his heart out with utter unselfconscious delight, letting it all hang out. I am a True Fan and I will always want more of that and less of the other. That’s just the way it is, folks. (Although true confession, I watched the strutting and cavorting at least four times with great pleasure; only a serious actor could unbend it like it that and be sexy as hell at the same time.)

Sylvia Bond is a ten-year technical writing veteran with too many degrees under her belt to count. She lives in Colorado, but does not ski, preferring instead to spend her money and time at the annual Great American Beer Festival, taking road trips across the United States, and reading historical fiction from the comfort of her fluffy green arm chair. She has been involved in fandom since 1993 and been writing fanfic since approximately 1993. What she finds most amazing about fandom (besides the open heartedness of fans and the sheer amount of creativity) is how visible fandom has become. “In my day,” she says, “we had to hide behind P.O. boxes to get fanfic. But nowadays, people wear t-shirts that shout their affiliation and share their shiny toys on the internet.” It’s a wonderful world.

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