Dean's personality really come into focus in "Dead in the Water." It only takes one scene, and his entire character is defined. While Sam looks on with his mouth agape, Dean sits on the floor next to a scared child, and describe how he thinks of his mother every day. How he was traumatized by seeing her death and how he tries hard to be brave because it's what he thinks his mother would have wanted. For the first time, we see behind Dean's self-assured, cocky mask, to the insecure, frightened boy who really just wants his family to be safe and proud of him. Dean's one of my favorite characters ever, so I have no problems shamelessly gushing about him. But, this episode just really sets the foundation of his growth over the next seasons. If you're watching on DVD, you shouldn't skip this episode, if only to watch him steal the episode.
This episode revolves around a haunted lake. It seems that people are dying on it and around it in mysterious ways. Sam & Dean investigate and soon discover that something supernatural is going on. It seems to be centered on two families, one of which is quickly picked off by swimming and boating deaths and a rather unique drowning in a kitchen sink. The other targeted family belongs to the local sheriff. His daughter lost her husband on the lake and now her son Lucas is acting strangely. Dean bonds with the kid, looking at his drawings and talking about dead parents. When Lucas gives him crayon picture featuring a red bicycle, Dean is curious.
He and Sam soon discover that the bike belonged to a little boy who's been missing for years. It turns out that the sheriff and his friend drowned the boy in the lake and now the dead boy is getting revenge by killing their families. Lucas is his next target and he lures the boy to the lake. Sam & Dean dive into save him, while the sheriff wades into the water to sacrifice himself in his grandson's place. The episode ends with Lucas beginning to recover from his ordeal and Sam & Dean driving off in the Impala.
There are some good parts to this episode. I like the beginning where Dean is trying to flirt with the waitress. He just looks so cute when he smiles like that. And I actually enjoy watching Sam fume about how the brothers are wasting their time, looking into mysteries, instead of finding John. He's so single minded I just have to smile. Sam and John are incredibly goal oriented. It makes them destructive and willing to ignore the world around them while they focus on their target. (See season one's "Devil's Trap") They need Dean around to remind them that -Hey!- There are trees in this forest. Dean keeps the Winchesters on track with his open ended mission to saving people. John and Sam focus on the past: Getting revenge on the demon who killed Mary & Jess. Dean focuses on the present and the future: Helping people today and ensuring that the Winchester clan survives the battles in the future. On the scary front, this episode also has some great moments. The water killing people is pretty creepy. And the kid in the lake is down right frightening.
This episode has a theme of buried secrets and pasts coming back to haunt people. The dead boy comes back to haunt the sheriff and his friend. They cannot escape what they did, even when they try to "bury" it, like they did with bike, or sink it below the water, like they did with his body. Jessica continues to haunt Sam. His impatience and desire for vengeance, which he has buried inside of his heart, eat at him. Mary's death is haunting Dean. He has never recovered from watching her die or for what it did to his family. He buries himself in his work, but each person he fails to save is another weight on him. John's still missing, holding secrets of his own and haunting the boys by remaining just out of their reach. Lucas is haunted by the death of his father. Watching his father drown traumatized the boy so deeply that he can't even speak until he is submerged in the very lake where his father died and where the town's secrets began. It's only after Dean drags Lucas to the surface -All the painful secrets exposed and confronted- that the kid begins to heal.
On the down side, does the missing boy's mother ever find out the truth about what happened? It's so sad that she might never discover how he died
My favorite part of the episode: Dean talking with the Lucas at the playground. For some reason Dean always does well with outcasts and people who are "weaker" in some way. He's a protector by nature and he identifies with anyone who doesn't quite fit in. (See season one's "Something Wicked" and season two's "Nightshifter" for other examples of this.) Dean sitting there, playing with army men and drawing a picture of his family is just really sweet. I especially enjoy the fact that he drew them all before the fire in Kansas. So his Mom's alive, his dad's there beside them and Sammy is a tiny little kid. Just a nice look into Dean's mind.
15 out of 17 found this helpful.
Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink