Review for 2x16 'Roadkill'

[galathea]

Slow pace, creepy, interesting point of view, funny brotherly banter and contemplative moments, Roadkill was a mellow and quiet, very lovely episode, designed to introduce newcomers to the show but offering long-term fans a new angle as well and I have a lot of love for this episode. It was a perfect mix of clear cut straightforward S1 casefile, with the competent, well-oiled Winchester tandem pursuing the family business and recurring S2 themes. Raelle Tucker once again convinced me with a solid, stand-alone MotW episode, well done.



So, Supernatural goes all The 6th sense and I very much enjoyed it. *g* I pretty much suspected Molly to be a ghost from the beginning, especially when she came out of that totalled car wreck without a scratch, but then I dropped that thought again for a while, thinking that they might just have been sloppy with the realistic details again (what?! they did that before *lol*) but Sam and Dean’s behaviour towards Molly reinforced that suspicion again and when Sam gave her the 'how spirits come into existence' speech, I knew for sure.

I love that Supernatural is never afraid to try new angles on their own concept. To completely show an episode through an outsider’s point of view, a ghost one's even, is a refreshing concept for the show and it allows the viewer to remain more distant and judge the boys behaviour from a new perspective. Sam’s and Dean’s attitudes towards Molly are pretty consistent with how they were depicted in former episodes and it’s no coincidence that the recap points towards Bloodlust.

Dean: "It's for her own good. Look man, I know you feel guilty, but let's just stick to the plan!"

I still don’t buy the 'Dean sees only black and white, while Sam sees shades of grey' concept of Bloodlust and Roadkill reinforced that feeling. True, Dean comes off as harsh towards Molly while they try to hunt down the farmer, he refuses to see the person behind the spirit because he has a job to do that will save lives and he can’t allow himself sentimentalities when lives are at stake, especially if they are on a critical timetable like in this case. As we see, Sam’s bonding with the ghost would have eventually lead him to tell her about her husband, risking to scare Molly away, endangering the case in the process. Dean’s professionalism as a hunter and his attitude towards spirits have a good reason, they allow him to keep a clear head.

But after Greeley's spirit is vanquished, we see that Dean shows a lot of compassion towards Molly, that he couldn’t express before. And while Sam does most of the talking to convince Molly to move on, Dean shows nothing but sympathy, his rough attitude gone. It’s not that he can’t relate, he just can’t afford it in his profession. He also shows a learning curve from Bloodlust’s 'I hate those things' to Roadkill’s 'I guess she wasn’t so bad for a ghost', undoubtedly connected to his brother’s destiny and I like that development.

Another point in Dean’s bluntness towards Molly is that she thinks she is still alive, disbelieving to the sheer concept of ghosts and that will make it indefinitely harder for the boys to convince her to move on, so telling her about ghost hunting and spirits to open her up to the idea right from the start makes actually sense. The sooner Molly accepts the spiritual world, the easier it will be to set her free. So in the end Dean’s attitude and behaviour are sensible and professional, but not free of empathy and that’s definitely no 'black and white' concept.

Sam: ”They weren’t evil people, a lot of them were good, just something happened to them, something they couldn’t control”

Sam comes into this case from a different perspective and I think it becomes most clear in the dialogue he has with Molly, where he tries to explain to her how some spirits hang on too tight. While he starts out this speech with the clear intendet to ease Molly softly into the concept of spirits and their motivations, he obviously becomes more and more self-referential as he goes on. To turn into some kind of monster, without having any control over what's happening to him, is Sam’s greatest fear for himself. I think he is bonding with Molly on that basis, involving him on a personal level, identifying with her dilemma.

I loved that Sam’s last line "It doesn’t matter, Dean, hope is kinda the whole point." showed that he didn’t lose his faith completely after Houses Of The Holy. He hangs on to the hope that he can change his fate and I think that’s important for Sam’s resolution to withstand whatever is coming for him. I also adored that we see that Dean is once again finely attuned to his brother's feelings, most of his snarks that are directed towards the ghost dilemma lack real bite and we see him listening closely to what Sam says.

He realises very clearly Sam’s involvement in the case and knows he needs to hold that at bay for Sam’s own good and for Molly’s sake as well, but his tone and bearing are pensive and sympathetic underneath the harshness at times, and I think that’s directed towards Sam rather than Molly. I think that Ackles plays this wonderfully understated and subtle, especially in the scenes in the car when they try to get Molly out, or in the house, when they are waiting for the farmer to show up. I really have to say, I loved both performances in this episode, though emo!Sam might have been laid out a bit too thick in the end.

Although this episode was rather quiet it did hold a lot of wonderful funny one-liners and brotherly banter as well. Sam’s helpless stuttering when Dean blunts out 'ghosts' was just priceless. 'You can call me Dean!', 'Follow the creepy brick road.' and 'You’re like a walking encyclopaedia of weirdness!' are classic Dean snarks and Dean patting the Impala with a heartfelt 'Oh, baby it’s been a long night.' was just adorable ♥

We also got some of the long missed S1 elements like badass!Dean saltgunning the farmer's spirit one-handed (“whoops”), a peek into the Impala’s weapon trunk, a regular salt’n burn, some grave digging, kicking down doors, geeky!Sam knowing obscure stuff and the usual Dean whumpage as he goes after the spirit while Sam is out of harm’s way, doing the salting and burning! So what’s not to love! *g*

I also am very much in love with the setting and atmosphere of this episode. Director Charles Beeson already showed in Playthings that he does haunted, creepy houses and sad ghost stories very well. This is the first episode, I think, that plays within the timeframe of one evening, completely out in the woods, at night and with constant rain pattering down, which sets a wonderful atmosphere. I also liked how they overlapped the sunrise at the end with the 'spirit vanishing' light effect they used for Father Gregory in HotH as well, to give it some kind of 'heavenly' association, if you want to see it. If you don’t want to see it, it’s just a sunrise, it's kept pretty much open to the viewer's preference, not unlike in HotH.

As for the infamous guest star: I have never seen Tricia Helfer before and I had absolutely no opinion on her, so I was a bit curious what all the fuss was about and I have nothing bad to say about her performance or characterisation of Molly. Considering that she was in nearly every scene and that the whole episode kind of rested on her ability to make Molly believable, but not giving the twist away too soon in her acting, she was doing a really good job. One of the better actresses they employed in Supernatural.

Surely Roadkill was no mind-blowing episode and didn’t do much in terms of plot and character development, but it took the time to further explore some of the issues that were addressed before and tied neatly back into episodes like Bloodlust and Houses Of The Holy. I’ve always appreciated Supernatural’s tendency to elaborate on special themes more than once from different angles and this was no exception.