(Season 4, Episode 13 – “After School Special”)
This week, the Winchester boys go back to one of their many high schools, and the result was not at all what I expected. Perhaps it’s because I saw the promo pics with Coach Dean in his ridiculous gym shorts. Whatever the case, I was expecting something much more lighthearted and goofy. Instead, it was a trip down memory lane, and as is so often the case, not all of those memories are pleasant. That’s not all bad though. It did give us another peek at just what made Sam and Dean into the people they are today.
Let’s start with 1998 1997. A lot of this story felt awfully familiar. Not so much learning new things about the Winchester past as it was reinforcing what we already knew or suspected. John was away a lot, working, and that left the boys to fend for themselves. That’s not the best environment to grow up in, and it gets right to the core of all of those family issues we’ve seen so much about.
Through Amanda (Candice Accola), we got a good look at Dean’s struggle with the family business. “You’re just a sad, lonely, little kid.” That fits with what we know. More interesting to me is seeing the beginnings of the rift between Sam and Dean that was caused by Sam choosing his own path. Mr. Wyatt (Chad Willett) fits right in with the Sam and Dean we met in the first season. The only real drawback of the 1998 portion of the episode was the decided lack of Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I suspect that was a budget issue as much as anything, but it would have been great if we could have seen John with young Sam and Dean.
Getting back to the present day, we also had a pretty solid monster of the week. Oozing black liquid from the eyes and ears is always a crowd pleaser. And the hand jammed into the food processor, just the right amount of grisly. There was also a clever little clue for who the baddie was if you were paying attention. After they figured out it wasn’t Barry, Dean repeats the ripping lungs out line, which he used the first time referring to Dirk.
It was a bit of a rough ride for Sam, as he blamed himself for what happened to Barry, and later, Dirk. For a moment, it looked like it was all going to wrap up rather nicely for him, when he went to see Mr. Wyatt. Ah, but they weren’t quite done, leaving it all open ended as he asked the big question, “Are you happy, Sam?” That was well played by Jared Padalecki, because you could see it wash over Sam. For a moment, it looked like he was going to say yes, but then he thought about it and reconsidered.
The more interesting bit with Sam though, might have been the showdown with busdriver/Dirk. Were you a little shocked at how quick on the trigger Sam was? That’s definitely different. “Croatoan” era Sam would not have done that. And once again the question becomes – Is that hardened hunter Sam? Or is it something more? I’ll also just toss this one out there. When Jennifer Tanaka (Maggie Ma) suddenly knew Sam’s name, did anyone else think it might have been Lilith in there?
Of course, while the episode did take a decidedly more serious turn than expected, there were a few yucks to be had along the way, courtesy of Coach Roth. The explanation of the rules of dodge ball was good, “There’s only one rule… dodge.” But the fact that he just pasted the little kid in front of him was hilarious. Sure, it’s mean, and probably inappropriate, but it was funny. There was also a bit of the classic Dean on display. “FYI, three of the cheerleaders are legal. Guess which ones.”
Overall, another solid episode. I have to add though, that I am ready to get back to the big story. It’s been over two months since the big showdown in “Heaven And Hell.” It’s time to get back on the horse. It looks like we’ll have at least one more stand alone before that happens, but it’s hard to argue with a promo that features the line, “Strippers Sammy… strippers.”
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Jan 30, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
And the main reason it worked out so well was the kid who played young Sam and who was brilliant. Poor poor Barry.
I really enjoyed the episode. They always achieve a bittersweet effect on me with these flashback stories, it’s just so sad to get to see how they grow up, when you know that probably they will not get a happy ending.
Coach Dean sure made me lol. Solid episode as always.
I thought it was interesting that young Sam was the same kid he has been in the past (and a better choice for young Sam there could not be), but Dean was aged and the kid playing him was new. That made me wonder how apart there ages are…for some reason I cannot remember how old Dean was when their mom died. I think that, although you think this is a standalone episode, the journeys to the past always add something very important to the overall arc of the storyline. They are so enjoyable, and it’s great to know just how well the writers have the characters fleshed out. That’s very rare in television.
@ Modwild: Dean was four when their mom died. He and Sam are four years and four months apart–January 24, 1979 and May 2, 1983 are their respective birthdays. (and I didn’t have to look that up…that makes me a geek, doesn’t it?)
@ Brett: I think the flashbacks were supposed to be in 1997, not 1998, since Dean is supposed to be 18. No matter what, the math doesn’t work out unless Sam was skipped a grade or Dean was left back a year.
*POST AUTHOR*
I’ll have to go to the video tape when I get home to double check, but I thought they had flashed 1998 on the screen, and then said that Barry died in 1999.
Checked. And Amanda is correct, 1997. I’ve fixed it in the post.
Re: Trigger happy Sam…I’m pretty sure that, even at this point, Sam didn’t use actual bullets on the busdriver. He used the shotgun and the shotgun is usually loaded with rock salt rounds. Since the baddy was a ghost, and rock salt repels ghosts, it fits.
Another good, though sad, episode. I didn’t really dig this “young Dean” – he was more Eddie Haskell than Jensen Ackles. The kid they usually use is so much better, but maybe he just couldn’t portray a highschool senior.