Supernatural: Dead Man's Blood
June 1, 2021 6:14 AM - Season 1, Episode 20 - Subscribe

After Daniel Elkins, a vampire hunter and John's mentor, is murdered, Sam and Dean are surprised when John himself shows up to solve the case, and tells them the vampires have taken an antique gun, which has the power to kill all supernatural beings. The Winchesters set out to retrieve the gun from the vampires so they can use it to kill the demon that killed Mary Winchester and Jessica.
posted by orange swan (6 comments total)
 
Sam: Hey, there's salt over here. Right inside the door.
Dean: You mean like "protection against demons" salt? Or, uh, oops I spilled the popcorn salt?

[Dean comes back after stealing dead man's blood from a mortuary]
Dean: Whew. Man, some heavy security to protect a bunch of dead guys.


During filming, Vancouver police closed down one of this episode's key locations, Stanley Park, when it was thought that a sniper might be at large. It actually turned out to be one of the crew's aluminum briefcases which some passing tourists mistook for a gun case.

The character Jenny, who is turned by the vampires in this episode, appears again in "Carry On", the final episode of the series. 

Holy crap do Jared Padalecki and Jeffrey Dean Morgan ever make the 6'1" Jensen Ackles look like a little guy. 

John Winchester really hadn't clued in to the fact that his sons were grown men. But there was a breakthrough for him and Dean and Sam in this episode, with John beginning to realize he needed to use a more collaborative, equitable approach with them, with Sam starting to understand his father's mindset, and with Dean beginning to stand up to his father the way Sam always has. I bet Dean had to run interference between his controlling father and independent-minded brother quite a lot during Sam's teenage years, and that it was another aspect of his formative years that wouldn't have been good for him psychological/developmentally.
posted by orange swan at 6:34 AM on June 1, 2021 [2 favorites]


'The X Files' had "mytharc" episodes - is there a name for 'Supernatural' non-MoTW plot arc episodes?

I wonder if the reflect-ey eye effect were simply special contacts? I like the effect.

John's truck seems spendy, as does his hunter's kit.
posted by porpoise at 3:14 PM on June 1, 2021


John's truck seems spendy, as does his hunter's kit.

John was a Marine once upon a time, but he's not above a bit of credit card fraud to fund his activities. I don't know how else he managed to feed those kids through their teen years. Plus the orthodontia bills.
posted by suelac at 4:21 PM on June 1, 2021 [4 favorites]


John's stuff is so much nicer that I wondered if he's just much better at credit card fraud than the kids. Surely it can't JUST be that Dean will adamantly drive a car from the Johnson administration into the ground.

"Vampires. Gets funnier every time I hear it." I always liked this one but it hits different after 15x20.
posted by jameaterblues at 7:36 PM on June 1, 2021 [1 favorite]


We almost never see Sam and Dean spend money on anything beyond the basics: weaponry, gas, health care, their laptops, cell phones. Dean maintains the Impala himself so that wouldn't cost so much. They eat at diners, they stay in cheap motels, they don't have much clothing and what they do have is hard-wearing and inexpensive (all that hand to hand combat and blood must ruin things regularly).

They have no home other than the car and need to travel light, but even after they get the bunker later on, they don't buy things for it. Aside from a few small indulgences such as Dean's porn mags and Sam's iPod, they only spend what they need to do the work they do, and live at a subsistence level. Spending more money would increase their chances of getting caught, but I think there's also a lack of any real interest in having a lot of material things. They were brought up living in a bare bones way, and even Sam, with his "finer tastes", doesn't seem to care any more than Dean about having stuff.

So yes, it is interesting that John has a pricey new truck and better weaponry kept in a specially fitted gun rack, and it has me musing over what that indicates about his character. Is he more self-indulgent than his sons and/or less principled than them?
posted by orange swan at 7:03 AM on June 2, 2021 [3 favorites]


what that indicates about his character

In the next episode, there's a hero shot of his opened mobile weapons locker.

Shuriken.

That's some real mall ninja bs.
posted by porpoise at 2:50 PM on June 2, 2021


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