This is not the best "Supernatural" episode. But, it still has some cute moments. It gives us some more insight into Sam and John's relationship. Sam continues to be bitter about being -what Dean calls- the "Blonde chick from the Munsters" of the Winchester clan. He's never quite been able to fit-in with John's expectations of him. Plus, the episode shows the hurt and worry that Dean continues to hold on to regarding Sam's "abandoning" him to go to Stanford. He's always afraid that Sam might leave again and that Dean will be all alone. Still, the rest of the episode is sort of lackluster. Not very scary or interesting. Really, if you're in a hurry, you can probably skip this episode and not miss much story wise.
This episode revolves around bugs attacking a new housing development, called Oasis Plains. Construction is delayed when beetles kill a construction worker. It looks like mad-cow disease, and Sam & Dean are instantly suspicious that something supernatural is afoot. Pretending to be interested in buying a house for their poor, aging father they meet the housing project's head-honcho, who is also the first resident of Oasis Plains. Sam feels a connection to the guy's 16 year old son, Matt, who is a collector of bugs and often clashes with his father. When a realtor is killed by Spiders in her steam shower, Sam & Dean begin to suspect that there "Willard" type figure is controlling the bugs and their first suspect is Matt.
Turns out Matt's an innocent by-stander to the bug attack, though. It's really a Native American curse working to punish people living on the land. The new housing development is right on top of the land that the Native American's were driven off of. Sam & Dean interview a college professor and a old Native American guy who tells them the legend. They the boys head off to evacuate Matt and his family. The father doesn't believe them, though, and the bugs attack too quickly for them to get out. They have to defend the house from the bugs, holding them off until dawn. Afterwards, the father promises to close down the housing development. Sam, seeing Matt and his dad getting closer, tells Dean that he wants to find John to mend fences. Dean promises that they will.
There are some good parts with this episode. I really like the way Sam identifies with Matt. His advice to the kid to just get through the next 2 years and then escape to college, really confuses and hurts Dean. Dean is so wrapped in following John's orders that he really doesn't understand Sam's resistance. Plus, Dean has been standing between John and Sam in their fights for so long that he can see how they're BOTH sort of wrong. When Sam is annoyed that John never told him that he was proud or him, or thinking of him while he was away, Dean just quietly remarks that "The phones work both ways, Sam." He also explains that John does care about Sam and checked on Sam all the time when he was at college. Of course, I'm willing to take bets that anytime John secretly visited Sam at Stanford, it was at Dean's prodding. Honestly, I'd be surprised if anymore than a week of two went by without Dean checking in and making sure Sammy was okay. But, still, it's a cute moment. Also, I like the realtors trying to sell Sam & Dean the house, first assuming that they are a couple and then that they need the house for their "elderly" father. Dean's smirk when he calls Sam "honey" makes me smile. Finally, Dean in the steam shower is just too adorable. First of all HE'S adorable, so that helps, but it's also just a cute little glimpse of his life. He really appreciates little things, because he has such a spartan life-style. The shower is "Awesome!" to him, because he spends most of his life in the Impala or in cheap hotels.
There are some problems with this episode. First of all, I'm going to assume that a long time passed while they were in the attic, hiding from the bugs. But it's edited to seem like there were only about 4 minutes between midnight and dawn. Also, the bugs are sort of fake-y and not particularly scary. Not a lot of supernatural events actually occur. It's mostly Sam & Dean talking to Matt about bugs and investigating Native American burial grounds. Honestly, it can get a little dull in places.
My favorite part of the episode: Sam and Dean arguing about John. Sam is bitter because he wanted to play soccer rather than go bow-hunting. Dean's baffled, "But, bow-hunting's an important skill." Just cracks me up. He just doesn't get it. On a side note, in season three's "Bad Day at Black Rock," we learn that Sam really did get to play soccer, which is a cute touch.
This episode revolves around bugs attacking a new housing development, called Oasis Plains. Construction is delayed when beetles kill a construction worker. It looks like mad-cow disease, and Sam & Dean are instantly suspicious that something supernatural is afoot. Pretending to be interested in buying a house for their poor, aging father they meet the housing project's head-honcho, who is also the first resident of Oasis Plains. Sam feels a connection to the guy's 16 year old son, Matt, who is a collector of bugs and often clashes with his father. When a realtor is killed by Spiders in her steam shower, Sam & Dean begin to suspect that there "Willard" type figure is controlling the bugs and their first suspect is Matt.
Turns out Matt's an innocent by-stander to the bug attack, though. It's really a Native American curse working to punish people living on the land. The new housing development is right on top of the land that the Native American's were driven off of. Sam & Dean interview a college professor and a old Native American guy who tells them the legend. They the boys head off to evacuate Matt and his family. The father doesn't believe them, though, and the bugs attack too quickly for them to get out. They have to defend the house from the bugs, holding them off until dawn. Afterwards, the father promises to close down the housing development. Sam, seeing Matt and his dad getting closer, tells Dean that he wants to find John to mend fences. Dean promises that they will.
There are some good parts with this episode. I really like the way Sam identifies with Matt. His advice to the kid to just get through the next 2 years and then escape to college, really confuses and hurts Dean. Dean is so wrapped in following John's orders that he really doesn't understand Sam's resistance. Plus, Dean has been standing between John and Sam in their fights for so long that he can see how they're BOTH sort of wrong. When Sam is annoyed that John never told him that he was proud or him, or thinking of him while he was away, Dean just quietly remarks that "The phones work both ways, Sam." He also explains that John does care about Sam and checked on Sam all the time when he was at college. Of course, I'm willing to take bets that anytime John secretly visited Sam at Stanford, it was at Dean's prodding. Honestly, I'd be surprised if anymore than a week of two went by without Dean checking in and making sure Sammy was okay. But, still, it's a cute moment. Also, I like the realtors trying to sell Sam & Dean the house, first assuming that they are a couple and then that they need the house for their "elderly" father. Dean's smirk when he calls Sam "honey" makes me smile. Finally, Dean in the steam shower is just too adorable. First of all HE'S adorable, so that helps, but it's also just a cute little glimpse of his life. He really appreciates little things, because he has such a spartan life-style. The shower is "Awesome!" to him, because he spends most of his life in the Impala or in cheap hotels.
There are some problems with this episode. First of all, I'm going to assume that a long time passed while they were in the attic, hiding from the bugs. But it's edited to seem like there were only about 4 minutes between midnight and dawn. Also, the bugs are sort of fake-y and not particularly scary. Not a lot of supernatural events actually occur. It's mostly Sam & Dean talking to Matt about bugs and investigating Native American burial grounds. Honestly, it can get a little dull in places.
My favorite part of the episode: Sam and Dean arguing about John. Sam is bitter because he wanted to play soccer rather than go bow-hunting. Dean's baffled, "But, bow-hunting's an important skill." Just cracks me up. He just doesn't get it. On a side note, in season three's "Bad Day at Black Rock," we learn that Sam really did get to play soccer, which is a cute touch.