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lunabee34ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. I have a Babylon 5 tape (from the manufacturer, not taped off the TV) with the episodes "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari," "A View From the Gallery," and "End Game" on it that's up for grabs. I'll mail it to anyone who wants it.
2. I'm going to be in New Orleans in Augsut for four or five days. Anybody from around there and wanna meet up?
Now for the commentary:
I loved this show from the first episode, but on this rewatch, I'm starting to realize how cleverly it is crafted. I hadn't realized the way tht components of Sam and Dean's characterization that become so important later are subtly laid out for us from the very beginning. I love that this show gives me new things to think about every time that I watch and that it keeps on impressing me even though I've seen some of these episodes a million times.
Bloody Mary
THE SQUEE
1. This episode is genuinely scary. Like, glancing back over my shoulder down the long and darkened hallway kinda scary. Also possibly not looking in the mirror AT ALL when I get up to pee in the middle of the night.
2. Sam: "You're my brother and I'd die for you." *wibble*
3. I love when after she's been told Bloody Mary's MO, the kid at the beginning says, "So why would anyone say it?" I'm with you, sugar; no sense in just asking for trouble, you know?
4. For as much as we bitch about the two of them not hugging, it seems like every freaking episode, Sam's down on the ground and Dean's holding him and saying, "Sammy," in that voice he has that goes straight to my panties and that's good enough for me. (I hadn't realized how many episodes have a mirror image of that last shot of AHBL1 until this rewatch)
THE FACTS
1. Bloody Mary scratches out your eyes. I did not know this. We played as kids, but it was always this amorphous, "She's gonna get you," rather than anything specific.
2. Sam dreamed of Jess dying for days before she actually died. This is apparently the first instance of prophetic dreams in his life; if he's had others previously, they're never mentioned.
3. Sam has nightmares; they're continuous, they make him afraid to sleep and they obviously worry Dean such that Mr. No Chick Flick Moments actually wants to talk with Sam about them.
THE META
1. Dean and Sam both spend a lot of time in this episode telling people that the bad things happening in their lives aren't their fault and I think they genuinely believe what they're saying rather than offering platitudes to make the victims feel better. It's not Charlie's fault her boyfriend killed himself; it's not the little girl's fault her dad died after they played Bloody Mary. It's not Sam's fault (according to Dean) that Jess died and it's not Dean's fault (according to Sam) for dragging him away when maybe he could have protected her. The Winchesters have very little patience for people who court trouble on purpose, for people who invite evil in willingly, but I think they have a lot of sympathy for people like the victims in this episode. What this says to me is that intentions count for a lot with them. A little girl playing a silly game with her friends is not to blame for what happens to her father because she never in a million years meant for anyone to get hurt. She also wasn't doing anything that a reasonably intelligent and rational person would consider the least bit dangerous or suspect.
THE QUESTIONS
1. Dean's eyes bleed; what's the "nasty secret where someone died" that he's hiding?
2. Sam seeing Jess's spirit dressed in white on the sidewalk--what's up with that? Is it just the show giving us a visual reminder that Jess is Sam's Mary? Is it actually her spirit? I'm assuming there's no body to bury after the fire so are we to infer that Jessica's spirit is not at rest? Is it some psychological manifestation on Sam's part? If so, what does it mean?
Skin
THE SQUEE
1. I love the music in this episode! The opening scene with "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is a big yay. And then "Hey Man, Nice Shot" later. *happy Lorraine*
2. That fight scene between Sam and skin walker Dean is made of complete awesome. I wish they fought with each other more because that kind of no holds barred, knock down drag out is so freaking wonderful.
3. Another Dean Winchester patented, "Hey," and now you've been shot moment.
4. I want more evil!Dean because OMG he is hot.
5. Sam suspects that Dean is not himself in like 30 seconds which makes him the bestest little brother EVER and also gives us a scene that mirrors the one in the season one finale when Dean is holding a gun on possessed!John.
THE SIGH
1. When they're chasing the skin walker through the streets, Sam's got his gun under his coat like a good boy but Dean's brandishing his weapon like a moron.
2. This episode seems logistically impossible to me. The skin walker snatches both Sam and Dean and then goes to Becky's and tries to seduce her. He fails, ties her up and tortures her and then escapes while killing a few cops. Sam and Dean are in the SW's lair for awhile, but they break free after what seems to me like a matter of hours. Sam goes to Becky's, but she's not Becky, she's the skinwalker because the skinwalker captured her walking home. FROM WHERE? The hospital? It seems like it's been about twelve hours since she was being tortured by the SW. They don't let you walk home from the hospital. Also, when Dean rescues her, why isn't she at least a little wary of the GUY WHO WAS CUTTING ON HER THE DAY BEFORE? I just do not understand the logistics of that. Anybody can explain, please do.
THE FACTS
1. As of this episode, Sam still keeps in touch with some friends from Stanford. I don't think any friends are ever mentioned again in the show, so I wonder if we are to assume that Sam eventually cuts those ties or if he's still keeping in touch and we're just not being shown that.
2. Dean would rather be a detective than a cop.
3. Becky now knows the truth of what they do.
4. Sam says he never really fit in at Stanford.
THE META
1. This is an episode about freaks--Sam, Dean, and the shifter are all freaks of some sort. In this show, we are consistently given "there but for the grace of God goes a Winchester" moments, and this episode is no exception. How easy would it be for Sam and Dean to cross a line, to stop being merely freaks and become something dangerous and perverted? I think episodes like this are intended to show us that razor thin line the Winchesters often walk as a consequence of their job. This episode is also about learning to become someone else. We've got the SW, who on a very literal level, has to learn to become each of his new victims. And then there's Sam, who is in the process of discovering who he will now be--which pieces of his life at Stanford will remain a part of him and how much of his former life as a hunter he wants to reclaim. This is also an episode about denying your true nature; the SW can't deny his true nature, even if he might want to. Though his speech to Becky is completely creepy, I can't help but think there's some truth there. He is lonely and he does want companionship and love; he just can't figure out a normal way to get those things. With Sam, this issue gets more complicated because we're left wondering what his true nature is. Those parts of him that thrived at Stanford, are they any less a part of who he is than the man who digs up graves to burn their bones?
2. Dean thinks Sam should cut his former friends out of his life. In his view, the job prevents friendships. It's unclear from this episode whether he means friendships with those uninitiated to the supernatural or friendships in general. In light of the rest of the show, I'm leaning toward the former. Dean thinks the joy of killing evil sons of bitches and being a badass outweighs the lack of friends. Plus, except for Sam's stint at Stanford, Dean's always had Sam. I think the show drives home consistently that as long as Sam was around, Dean was pretty much satisfied on the companionship front. I think it's telling that the one girl Dean's apparently had deep feelings for was one he met while Sam was away.
3. Here we find out that Dean is not as one dimensional of a character as we've been presented: he had dreams of his own that went unrealized, he's jealous of Sam, and he's afraid that everyone will leave him eventually. I think the SW is utilizing Dean's thoughts for maximum Hurt Sam potential, but I also think he's telling the truth. I had forgotten that we were given such insight to Dean's character this early.
Hook Man
THE SQUEE
1. Dean: "The things he can do with a brush."
2. Sam makes Dean bow his head and close his eyes in church (a little HotH foreshadowing)
3. Dean has librarian!sex fantasies, I know it! Watch him watch her walk offscreen.
4. Dr. Venkman
5. More doublemint twins talking at the same time!
THE SIGH
1. Sam kissing Lori is just awful. She's way too young for him; if she's a freshman, she's eighteen. Plus, her Puritannical code of behavior on overload is the source of all the killing. Yeah, that'd turn me on too, Sammy. My take on the scene is that he doesn't really want to kiss her at all, but can't figure out how to disentagle himself from the situation without being rude (notice that he is not wholeheartedly into the liplock). And when they're leaving, I take his silent nod as a vehement, "Let's get the hell out of Dodge so I can wipe that psycho's spit off my mouth with a Brillo pad."
THE FACTS
1. We're introduced to rock salt and it's many uses.
2. Sam drinks froufy coffee.
3. Lori's mom has just died so once again we're dealing with a fractured family.
THE QUESTIONS
1. Anybody else think Dean's look in the rearview at Sam and Lori is a little odd? It's not, "You go, Sammy, with the hot chick," like you might be expecting. What do y'all think it means?
Bugs
THE SQUEE
1. Dean watches Oprah.
2. All the brother stuff in this ep: fighting over who goes down into the sinkhole, Sam hitting Dean through the open window as he pulls into the garage.
3. Ah, the inaugural gay joke. I love how Sam seems more amused than anything by the mistake. And Dean smacking him on the ass is a bit of yay!
4. I like the actor that plays the kid Matthew a lot.
5. Sam telling Matthew to just suck it up because before long he can get the hell out for college. I love that Sam doesn't sound like the son of a hunter who's angsting over his calling; he sounds like a teenager. Dude, I remember saying and thinking stuff like that.
THE SIGH
1. Wow for fucking up a reasonable facsimile of the passge of time, SPN. That night was what, ten minutes long? LOL
THE FACTS
1. John would to go Stanford now and again and check on Sam without Sam knowing.
2. Curses can't always be fixed; in that case, your only option is to cut and run.
3. John taught the boys to hustle pool and presumably run other scams.
THE META
1. We're given yet another method of contrasting the brothers in this episode (and one that will resurface in later eps). Dean is characterized as a "liar" and Sam as a truthteller by the Native American man they go to visit. This is actually a really interesting distinction between the two of them, I think. Sam wants to tell the truth as often and as much as possible (although clearly he's not above lying about his credentials or backstory when it serves his case). One of the ways this desire manifests is demonstrated in his off-hand remark at the beginning of the episode that he wishes he and Dean would get day jobs sometimes (in other words, legitimate methods of income) rather than always resorting to fraud and hustling. Sam appears to want to be as truthful as possible about the supernatural with the victims they encounter (we see this over and over again with his character). Dean, in contrast, seems to prefer lying. (Note: I'm not suggesting that Dean is an evil liar *g* or that he malicious twists the truth or that he lies in ways that are intentionally hurtful.) He would rather not tell the truth about himself, about his background, or about the supernatural, even when that truth might be well received or the appropriate course of action. I think at least part of Dean's impulse here is his desire to keep people as innocent as possible. I think Dean believes that he and a handful of other people like him suffer and bleed and face almost unendurable horror so that the rest of the world does not. In fact, so that the rest of the world doesn't even have to know that horror exists. I think it gives him comfort to know that many of the people he saves will never have to have nightmares and fear over the evil that has touched their lives. (I think people's ignorance also pisses him off at times, but mostly, I think he likes it that way.) He doesn't want to rob anyone of her childhood, so to speak. I also think that Dean likes all the badassery associated with hunting; he likes putting on a persona and bopping into town and getting all the girls' panties in a twist.
2. Once again we've got a family that illuminates the Winchester family issues. We've got a dad who is authoritarian, who doesn't listen to his child, and who denigrates the things that are important to his child because he doesn't share that interest. We learn from Sam that he perceives John in much the same way; Sam is interested in soccer instead of bow hunting, for example, and John doesn't support that interest. Sam feels that John isn't simply disappointed in him for leaving for Stanford but that he has always been disappointed with him for not cleaving more closely to the mold. I love that Dean is surprised that Sam thinks he disappoints John; he looks sincerely floored when Sam says that, although I'm not sure if it's because he thinks John's not disappointed in Sam or because Dean himself could never be (or a little of both). Sam eventually says that he wants to find John so that he can apologize and Dean clearly thinks that Sam has things to apologize to their father for. But what kills me about this and is one of the reasons that I often end up being so ambivalent about John's character, is that John is the adult. That's right. He's the grownup. He is the parent. He is more culpable for his actions than his child. Period. Sure, Sam can be sorry for hurtful things he said or did, but ultimately the onus for apology in my book is on John.
3. We're told that when Sam received his full ride to Stanford, instead of being proud, John tosses him out. Dean says that John was scared of what might happen to Sam if he wasn't around to protect him. Now, this whole tossing out business is problematic for me for a couple reasons. Let's say John's whole motivation is fear for Sam's safety; kicking him out is counter to that goal. Given what we find out in IMTOD, I think it's reasonable to assume that John also doesn't want Sam to leave because he knows what the demon has planned for him and wants to keep tabs on Sam in case he starts behaving demonically. Again, kicking him out runs way counter to that mission. The only way John's reaction makes any sense to me is if John said a bunch of things he didn't mean in the heat of an argument and then was too much of an ass to suck it up and take them back. Or if there's just something else going on there that I'm not clever enough to think of.
4. Dean and his hatred of suburbia begins to rear its head in this episode. He says he doesn't want normal and the notion of living a normal life horrifies him. The implication in this episode is that Dean would find that normality boring, but Dean's issues with normal will expand as the series progresses.
PS: I realized that in these posts, I'm just briefly touching on ideas about family that I have fleshed out much more completely in We Are Family: The Notion of Family in Supernatural
1. I have a Babylon 5 tape (from the manufacturer, not taped off the TV) with the episodes "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari," "A View From the Gallery," and "End Game" on it that's up for grabs. I'll mail it to anyone who wants it.
2. I'm going to be in New Orleans in Augsut for four or five days. Anybody from around there and wanna meet up?
Now for the commentary:
I loved this show from the first episode, but on this rewatch, I'm starting to realize how cleverly it is crafted. I hadn't realized the way tht components of Sam and Dean's characterization that become so important later are subtly laid out for us from the very beginning. I love that this show gives me new things to think about every time that I watch and that it keeps on impressing me even though I've seen some of these episodes a million times.
Bloody Mary
THE SQUEE
1. This episode is genuinely scary. Like, glancing back over my shoulder down the long and darkened hallway kinda scary. Also possibly not looking in the mirror AT ALL when I get up to pee in the middle of the night.
2. Sam: "You're my brother and I'd die for you." *wibble*
3. I love when after she's been told Bloody Mary's MO, the kid at the beginning says, "So why would anyone say it?" I'm with you, sugar; no sense in just asking for trouble, you know?
4. For as much as we bitch about the two of them not hugging, it seems like every freaking episode, Sam's down on the ground and Dean's holding him and saying, "Sammy," in that voice he has that goes straight to my panties and that's good enough for me. (I hadn't realized how many episodes have a mirror image of that last shot of AHBL1 until this rewatch)
THE FACTS
1. Bloody Mary scratches out your eyes. I did not know this. We played as kids, but it was always this amorphous, "She's gonna get you," rather than anything specific.
2. Sam dreamed of Jess dying for days before she actually died. This is apparently the first instance of prophetic dreams in his life; if he's had others previously, they're never mentioned.
3. Sam has nightmares; they're continuous, they make him afraid to sleep and they obviously worry Dean such that Mr. No Chick Flick Moments actually wants to talk with Sam about them.
THE META
1. Dean and Sam both spend a lot of time in this episode telling people that the bad things happening in their lives aren't their fault and I think they genuinely believe what they're saying rather than offering platitudes to make the victims feel better. It's not Charlie's fault her boyfriend killed himself; it's not the little girl's fault her dad died after they played Bloody Mary. It's not Sam's fault (according to Dean) that Jess died and it's not Dean's fault (according to Sam) for dragging him away when maybe he could have protected her. The Winchesters have very little patience for people who court trouble on purpose, for people who invite evil in willingly, but I think they have a lot of sympathy for people like the victims in this episode. What this says to me is that intentions count for a lot with them. A little girl playing a silly game with her friends is not to blame for what happens to her father because she never in a million years meant for anyone to get hurt. She also wasn't doing anything that a reasonably intelligent and rational person would consider the least bit dangerous or suspect.
THE QUESTIONS
1. Dean's eyes bleed; what's the "nasty secret where someone died" that he's hiding?
2. Sam seeing Jess's spirit dressed in white on the sidewalk--what's up with that? Is it just the show giving us a visual reminder that Jess is Sam's Mary? Is it actually her spirit? I'm assuming there's no body to bury after the fire so are we to infer that Jessica's spirit is not at rest? Is it some psychological manifestation on Sam's part? If so, what does it mean?
Skin
THE SQUEE
1. I love the music in this episode! The opening scene with "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is a big yay. And then "Hey Man, Nice Shot" later. *happy Lorraine*
2. That fight scene between Sam and skin walker Dean is made of complete awesome. I wish they fought with each other more because that kind of no holds barred, knock down drag out is so freaking wonderful.
3. Another Dean Winchester patented, "Hey," and now you've been shot moment.
4. I want more evil!Dean because OMG he is hot.
5. Sam suspects that Dean is not himself in like 30 seconds which makes him the bestest little brother EVER and also gives us a scene that mirrors the one in the season one finale when Dean is holding a gun on possessed!John.
THE SIGH
1. When they're chasing the skin walker through the streets, Sam's got his gun under his coat like a good boy but Dean's brandishing his weapon like a moron.
2. This episode seems logistically impossible to me. The skin walker snatches both Sam and Dean and then goes to Becky's and tries to seduce her. He fails, ties her up and tortures her and then escapes while killing a few cops. Sam and Dean are in the SW's lair for awhile, but they break free after what seems to me like a matter of hours. Sam goes to Becky's, but she's not Becky, she's the skinwalker because the skinwalker captured her walking home. FROM WHERE? The hospital? It seems like it's been about twelve hours since she was being tortured by the SW. They don't let you walk home from the hospital. Also, when Dean rescues her, why isn't she at least a little wary of the GUY WHO WAS CUTTING ON HER THE DAY BEFORE? I just do not understand the logistics of that. Anybody can explain, please do.
THE FACTS
1. As of this episode, Sam still keeps in touch with some friends from Stanford. I don't think any friends are ever mentioned again in the show, so I wonder if we are to assume that Sam eventually cuts those ties or if he's still keeping in touch and we're just not being shown that.
2. Dean would rather be a detective than a cop.
3. Becky now knows the truth of what they do.
4. Sam says he never really fit in at Stanford.
THE META
1. This is an episode about freaks--Sam, Dean, and the shifter are all freaks of some sort. In this show, we are consistently given "there but for the grace of God goes a Winchester" moments, and this episode is no exception. How easy would it be for Sam and Dean to cross a line, to stop being merely freaks and become something dangerous and perverted? I think episodes like this are intended to show us that razor thin line the Winchesters often walk as a consequence of their job. This episode is also about learning to become someone else. We've got the SW, who on a very literal level, has to learn to become each of his new victims. And then there's Sam, who is in the process of discovering who he will now be--which pieces of his life at Stanford will remain a part of him and how much of his former life as a hunter he wants to reclaim. This is also an episode about denying your true nature; the SW can't deny his true nature, even if he might want to. Though his speech to Becky is completely creepy, I can't help but think there's some truth there. He is lonely and he does want companionship and love; he just can't figure out a normal way to get those things. With Sam, this issue gets more complicated because we're left wondering what his true nature is. Those parts of him that thrived at Stanford, are they any less a part of who he is than the man who digs up graves to burn their bones?
2. Dean thinks Sam should cut his former friends out of his life. In his view, the job prevents friendships. It's unclear from this episode whether he means friendships with those uninitiated to the supernatural or friendships in general. In light of the rest of the show, I'm leaning toward the former. Dean thinks the joy of killing evil sons of bitches and being a badass outweighs the lack of friends. Plus, except for Sam's stint at Stanford, Dean's always had Sam. I think the show drives home consistently that as long as Sam was around, Dean was pretty much satisfied on the companionship front. I think it's telling that the one girl Dean's apparently had deep feelings for was one he met while Sam was away.
3. Here we find out that Dean is not as one dimensional of a character as we've been presented: he had dreams of his own that went unrealized, he's jealous of Sam, and he's afraid that everyone will leave him eventually. I think the SW is utilizing Dean's thoughts for maximum Hurt Sam potential, but I also think he's telling the truth. I had forgotten that we were given such insight to Dean's character this early.
Hook Man
THE SQUEE
1. Dean: "The things he can do with a brush."
2. Sam makes Dean bow his head and close his eyes in church (a little HotH foreshadowing)
3. Dean has librarian!sex fantasies, I know it! Watch him watch her walk offscreen.
4. Dr. Venkman
5. More doublemint twins talking at the same time!
THE SIGH
1. Sam kissing Lori is just awful. She's way too young for him; if she's a freshman, she's eighteen. Plus, her Puritannical code of behavior on overload is the source of all the killing. Yeah, that'd turn me on too, Sammy. My take on the scene is that he doesn't really want to kiss her at all, but can't figure out how to disentagle himself from the situation without being rude (notice that he is not wholeheartedly into the liplock). And when they're leaving, I take his silent nod as a vehement, "Let's get the hell out of Dodge so I can wipe that psycho's spit off my mouth with a Brillo pad."
THE FACTS
1. We're introduced to rock salt and it's many uses.
2. Sam drinks froufy coffee.
3. Lori's mom has just died so once again we're dealing with a fractured family.
THE QUESTIONS
1. Anybody else think Dean's look in the rearview at Sam and Lori is a little odd? It's not, "You go, Sammy, with the hot chick," like you might be expecting. What do y'all think it means?
Bugs
THE SQUEE
1. Dean watches Oprah.
2. All the brother stuff in this ep: fighting over who goes down into the sinkhole, Sam hitting Dean through the open window as he pulls into the garage.
3. Ah, the inaugural gay joke. I love how Sam seems more amused than anything by the mistake. And Dean smacking him on the ass is a bit of yay!
4. I like the actor that plays the kid Matthew a lot.
5. Sam telling Matthew to just suck it up because before long he can get the hell out for college. I love that Sam doesn't sound like the son of a hunter who's angsting over his calling; he sounds like a teenager. Dude, I remember saying and thinking stuff like that.
THE SIGH
1. Wow for fucking up a reasonable facsimile of the passge of time, SPN. That night was what, ten minutes long? LOL
THE FACTS
1. John would to go Stanford now and again and check on Sam without Sam knowing.
2. Curses can't always be fixed; in that case, your only option is to cut and run.
3. John taught the boys to hustle pool and presumably run other scams.
THE META
1. We're given yet another method of contrasting the brothers in this episode (and one that will resurface in later eps). Dean is characterized as a "liar" and Sam as a truthteller by the Native American man they go to visit. This is actually a really interesting distinction between the two of them, I think. Sam wants to tell the truth as often and as much as possible (although clearly he's not above lying about his credentials or backstory when it serves his case). One of the ways this desire manifests is demonstrated in his off-hand remark at the beginning of the episode that he wishes he and Dean would get day jobs sometimes (in other words, legitimate methods of income) rather than always resorting to fraud and hustling. Sam appears to want to be as truthful as possible about the supernatural with the victims they encounter (we see this over and over again with his character). Dean, in contrast, seems to prefer lying. (Note: I'm not suggesting that Dean is an evil liar *g* or that he malicious twists the truth or that he lies in ways that are intentionally hurtful.) He would rather not tell the truth about himself, about his background, or about the supernatural, even when that truth might be well received or the appropriate course of action. I think at least part of Dean's impulse here is his desire to keep people as innocent as possible. I think Dean believes that he and a handful of other people like him suffer and bleed and face almost unendurable horror so that the rest of the world does not. In fact, so that the rest of the world doesn't even have to know that horror exists. I think it gives him comfort to know that many of the people he saves will never have to have nightmares and fear over the evil that has touched their lives. (I think people's ignorance also pisses him off at times, but mostly, I think he likes it that way.) He doesn't want to rob anyone of her childhood, so to speak. I also think that Dean likes all the badassery associated with hunting; he likes putting on a persona and bopping into town and getting all the girls' panties in a twist.
2. Once again we've got a family that illuminates the Winchester family issues. We've got a dad who is authoritarian, who doesn't listen to his child, and who denigrates the things that are important to his child because he doesn't share that interest. We learn from Sam that he perceives John in much the same way; Sam is interested in soccer instead of bow hunting, for example, and John doesn't support that interest. Sam feels that John isn't simply disappointed in him for leaving for Stanford but that he has always been disappointed with him for not cleaving more closely to the mold. I love that Dean is surprised that Sam thinks he disappoints John; he looks sincerely floored when Sam says that, although I'm not sure if it's because he thinks John's not disappointed in Sam or because Dean himself could never be (or a little of both). Sam eventually says that he wants to find John so that he can apologize and Dean clearly thinks that Sam has things to apologize to their father for. But what kills me about this and is one of the reasons that I often end up being so ambivalent about John's character, is that John is the adult. That's right. He's the grownup. He is the parent. He is more culpable for his actions than his child. Period. Sure, Sam can be sorry for hurtful things he said or did, but ultimately the onus for apology in my book is on John.
3. We're told that when Sam received his full ride to Stanford, instead of being proud, John tosses him out. Dean says that John was scared of what might happen to Sam if he wasn't around to protect him. Now, this whole tossing out business is problematic for me for a couple reasons. Let's say John's whole motivation is fear for Sam's safety; kicking him out is counter to that goal. Given what we find out in IMTOD, I think it's reasonable to assume that John also doesn't want Sam to leave because he knows what the demon has planned for him and wants to keep tabs on Sam in case he starts behaving demonically. Again, kicking him out runs way counter to that mission. The only way John's reaction makes any sense to me is if John said a bunch of things he didn't mean in the heat of an argument and then was too much of an ass to suck it up and take them back. Or if there's just something else going on there that I'm not clever enough to think of.
4. Dean and his hatred of suburbia begins to rear its head in this episode. He says he doesn't want normal and the notion of living a normal life horrifies him. The implication in this episode is that Dean would find that normality boring, but Dean's issues with normal will expand as the series progresses.
PS: I realized that in these posts, I'm just briefly touching on ideas about family that I have fleshed out much more completely in We Are Family: The Notion of Family in Supernatural
