Supernatural Season 4 Rewatch 4:13 'After School Special'

[sammii]

WRITTEN BY: Daniel Loflin and Andrew Dabb
DIRECTED BY: Adam Kane
ORIGINAL AIRDATE: January 29, 2009

SUMMARY: "Sam and Dean return to one of their many high schools, unraveling both a case and their own memories of their youths."

MY THOUGHTS
*This is another ep that takes place in Indiana!

*It's 1997, meaning (since Dean is 1 year younger than me and I graduated in '96) that he must be a senior and Sam a freshman. It's the only way they could be in the same school at the same time. It also means that they're at least a year behind, because Dean should have GRADUATED in 1996. Of course, we know that Dean doesn't graduate (in Sam, Interrupted (I think?) we discover he got his GED instead) , so it's possible that he's a senior and Sam's a sophomore. Or that they're both a year behind. Hard to say.

*Sam wrote about hunting a werewolf. Strange that he actually wrote the truth unless a) he really didn't think the teacher would believe it, b) he was reaching out, or c) both

*That's most definitely not JDM in the Impala at the end. ;)

*I can't help but question John's parenting skills. I mean, I know he was on a job and all, but he seems to just abandon his kids a lot.

*They didn't have cell phones like that in 1997. I remember 1997. I got my first one in 1999, and it was a LOT bigger than that. And even if they were around, there's no way that they could have afforded one - and they didn't have them pre-paid.


THINGS I LIKED ABOUT THIS EP

*I love the flashbacks in this one. They're very telling, and really very sad, especially Dean. You really see at the end how sad and lonely Dean really is - Amanda was right. You also see how scared he is of getting close to anyone (other than Sam). I mean, Amanda starts getting close (including the "parents" thing) and Dean freaks out and goes after another girl. This is pretty much Dean straight through until Season 6 with Lisa. In some ways, I think Dean is more fragile when it comes to these things than Sam is.

*I love how protective Dean was of Sam when the bully was after him. So cute. It's like Sam's the only one he'll allow himself to care about. Maybe because Sam's the only one who's never abandoned him. Dean has to have abandonment issues.

*This is where we first see how Sam starts getting ideas in his head about going to college. I mean, I think they were already there - he obviously even at this point doesn't really want to be a hunter - but I think this is the professor that gave him the support he needed to later take that step. I mean, it's obvious the teacher is important to Sam.

*I like that they humanized Dirk. That was sad.

*I liked the kids. SPN is good at casting kids, IMHO. They're good at even the little gestures and things. I have no trouble believing they're a younger Sam and Dean.


THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT THIS EP

*It's a tiny thing, but it made me sad that they had to burn the hair. It was the only thing his dad had left of him. :(

RATING:
MOTW: A
OVERALL: A