Supernatural: Devil's Trap
June 3, 2021 7:21 AM - Season 1, Episode 22 - Subscribe
On a mission to save their father from Meg, Sam and Dean seek help from an old family friend, Bobby. When Meg shows up on Bobby's doorstep, the brothers lure her into a trap and exorcise the demon from her body after learning where John is being held prisoner. While trying to rescue John, the demon shows up and a battle ensues between the Winchesters and the yellow-eyed demon they have been searching for all their lives.
Not just women. Dean throws that B-word around at everybody and everything.
Thanks for taking charge and posting these, orange swan. It has been fun not just jumping into a a new show to watch but a new FanFare community.
posted by sardonyx at 11:15 AM on June 3, 2021
Thanks for taking charge and posting these, orange swan. It has been fun not just jumping into a a new show to watch but a new FanFare community.
posted by sardonyx at 11:15 AM on June 3, 2021
That poor Impala.
Glad that Jim Beaver will became a regular.
posted by porpoise at 5:01 PM on June 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Glad that Jim Beaver will became a regular.
posted by porpoise at 5:01 PM on June 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Dean is too fond of calling women bitches.
Ugh, seriously.
If Yellow Eyes wanted the Colt, all he had to do was possess Sam, who was holding the Colt, after leaving John, but then strategic thinking doesn't seem to be his strong point.
I promise this will make sense later.
Thanks for doing these posts! I'm really enjoying them!
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:43 PM on June 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Ugh, seriously.
If Yellow Eyes wanted the Colt, all he had to do was possess Sam, who was holding the Colt, after leaving John, but then strategic thinking doesn't seem to be his strong point.
I promise this will make sense later.
Thanks for doing these posts! I'm really enjoying them!
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:43 PM on June 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thank you for making these posts orange swan and very happy to hear we're doing season two, this has been a lot of fun!
My favorite thing about Bobby in this episode is him saying offhanded that he'll come up with a convincing lie to tell the cops for how a woman who disappeared in Massachusetts the previous year, whose autopsy will show she died of a multi-story fall onto concrete, did so inside his living room in rural South Dakota, and btw he absolutely was not involved in any legally actionable way. Even better that the cop he explained this to was probably Jodie Mills, who maybe did not even laugh in his face and arrest him instantly. (I interpret this as actually, Meg is buried out back somewhere and Bobby told the cops nothing, jesus god.)
It's not like this hasn't been a violent show up to now, but Sam getting the absolute shit beaten out of him by Meg's brother is still startlingly brutal.
The cabin scene kills me. I think Yellow Eyes DOES want the Colt, though I don't know he wants it more than he wants the rest of his plans. It's interesting to think what his next move would have been with Sam, if he possessed him, stole the Colt, maybe killed Dean and John or maybe just took off in one of their bodies. Like it's not 100% logical and any number of people could have left that situation happier than they actually did, but I still love the cabin so much.
God the WEEKS after that cliffhanger, waiting to see if this clunky low-rated netlet bubble show would get another season. Bad Moon Rising is already a pretty spooky song but this made it SUCH a spooky song. (I know it's not Bad Moon Rising anymore, that's okay, it will always be Bad Moon Rising to me.) The alternate universe where this was a one-season story that ends with all the characters getting smushed into road pizza is both hilarious and dark as hell, and I kind of love a little that they just rolled the dice on that.
Dean calling women bitches and skanks is SUPER off-putting and IIRC gets noticeably worse in season three, then gets noticeably better, and is much less a thing later on (don't get it twisted, there's still misogyny.) There was even a fan letter-writing campaign about it in like 2007ish; I don't know how big it really was or if it made any difference at all, that was also the season shortened by the writers strike, but that's the only time in my life I've written to a TV show or even thought about it.
posted by jameaterblues at 7:37 PM on June 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
My favorite thing about Bobby in this episode is him saying offhanded that he'll come up with a convincing lie to tell the cops for how a woman who disappeared in Massachusetts the previous year, whose autopsy will show she died of a multi-story fall onto concrete, did so inside his living room in rural South Dakota, and btw he absolutely was not involved in any legally actionable way. Even better that the cop he explained this to was probably Jodie Mills, who maybe did not even laugh in his face and arrest him instantly. (I interpret this as actually, Meg is buried out back somewhere and Bobby told the cops nothing, jesus god.)
It's not like this hasn't been a violent show up to now, but Sam getting the absolute shit beaten out of him by Meg's brother is still startlingly brutal.
The cabin scene kills me. I think Yellow Eyes DOES want the Colt, though I don't know he wants it more than he wants the rest of his plans. It's interesting to think what his next move would have been with Sam, if he possessed him, stole the Colt, maybe killed Dean and John or maybe just took off in one of their bodies. Like it's not 100% logical and any number of people could have left that situation happier than they actually did, but I still love the cabin so much.
God the WEEKS after that cliffhanger, waiting to see if this clunky low-rated netlet bubble show would get another season. Bad Moon Rising is already a pretty spooky song but this made it SUCH a spooky song. (I know it's not Bad Moon Rising anymore, that's okay, it will always be Bad Moon Rising to me.) The alternate universe where this was a one-season story that ends with all the characters getting smushed into road pizza is both hilarious and dark as hell, and I kind of love a little that they just rolled the dice on that.
Dean calling women bitches and skanks is SUPER off-putting and IIRC gets noticeably worse in season three, then gets noticeably better, and is much less a thing later on (don't get it twisted, there's still misogyny.) There was even a fan letter-writing campaign about it in like 2007ish; I don't know how big it really was or if it made any difference at all, that was also the season shortened by the writers strike, but that's the only time in my life I've written to a TV show or even thought about it.
posted by jameaterblues at 7:37 PM on June 3, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yeah, as Pope Guilty suggests, there are reasons why Yellow Eyes didn't possess Sam that will become clearer later.
One of the interesting things about the show that relates to things like the use of the term bitches and a lot of other little shifts and changes throughout its run is how the audience for the show really shaped its direction in a lot of ways. At first, from all appearances, they seemed to think of the show as it was so often described as Dukes of Hazzard meets X-Files/Buffy, where it was aimed at a 70s rock lovin' "guy" audience that wasn't interested in that whole "PC thing" as much, to finding their audience ended up being far more diverse than that and worked to fit the show to that unexpected fanbase, particularly after season 3 and the introduction of a new character to the show. It makes the "guyness" of it all the more interesting for how it caught the audience it did and how it developed.
posted by gusottertrout at 10:43 PM on June 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
One of the interesting things about the show that relates to things like the use of the term bitches and a lot of other little shifts and changes throughout its run is how the audience for the show really shaped its direction in a lot of ways. At first, from all appearances, they seemed to think of the show as it was so often described as Dukes of Hazzard meets X-Files/Buffy, where it was aimed at a 70s rock lovin' "guy" audience that wasn't interested in that whole "PC thing" as much, to finding their audience ended up being far more diverse than that and worked to fit the show to that unexpected fanbase, particularly after season 3 and the introduction of a new character to the show. It makes the "guyness" of it all the more interesting for how it caught the audience it did and how it developed.
posted by gusottertrout at 10:43 PM on June 3, 2021 [1 favorite]
ahhh ahhh I remember when this first aired and my absolute SHOCK at the way the very last scene played out. I was so glad the show got renewed.
And of course, the double horror of Dean realising that his father is possessed because there is no way his father would forgive him or praise him for deviating from his mission of vengeance. Birth of the infamous John Winchester, A+ Parenting tag.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 1:21 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
And of course, the double horror of Dean realising that his father is possessed because there is no way his father would forgive him or praise him for deviating from his mission of vengeance. Birth of the infamous John Winchester, A+ Parenting tag.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 1:21 AM on June 4, 2021 [2 favorites]
And of course, the double horror of Dean realising that his father is possessed because there is no way his father would forgive him or praise him for deviating from his mission of vengeance. Birth of the infamous John Winchester, A+ Parenting tag.
Yes, this! It really says something that a DEMON trying to pass as John Winchester gave himself away because he was too kind to his son.
That's one of the things that I really appreciated about early seasons of this show. You have a lot of really revealing moments that are just small parts of the scene, but they fill in so much backstory.
There's a lot of nuance here, which gets lost in the late seasons of this show.
posted by litera scripta manet at 1:46 PM on June 4, 2021
Yes, this! It really says something that a DEMON trying to pass as John Winchester gave himself away because he was too kind to his son.
That's one of the things that I really appreciated about early seasons of this show. You have a lot of really revealing moments that are just small parts of the scene, but they fill in so much backstory.
There's a lot of nuance here, which gets lost in the late seasons of this show.
posted by litera scripta manet at 1:46 PM on June 4, 2021
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Meg: An exorcism. Are you serious?
Dean: Oh, we're going for it, baby. Head spinning, projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards.
This is the first appearance of Jim Beaver as Bobby Singer, and as everyone knows, the character was named after the show's executive producer, Robert Singer. Bobby was originally intended to appear in just this episode, but soon became a series regular.
The secluded cabin in the woods was actually built on stage. The location had to be particularly atmospheric because the Winchesters were going to spend a lot of time in it. So the crew had to build a forest and then the cabin.
It's not hard to draw a line between Dean's childhood dream of being a fireman and his rescuing Sam from and losing his mom to a fire at four. That night changed Dean forever.
Dean is too fond of calling women bitches.
If Yellow Eyes wanted the Colt, all he had to do was possess Sam, who was holding the Colt, after leaving John, but then strategic thinking doesn't seem to be his strong point.
And that's the first season posted. I was afraid there wouldn't be enough participation in it to make a rewatch worth doing, but the threads have been quite satisfyingly lively and interesting, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Let's throw our grenade launchers in the trunk and head off into season 2, everybody! [revs the Impala's engine]
posted by orange swan at 7:30 AM on June 3, 2021 [4 favorites]