SN104: "If this is an emergency, call my son Dean. He can help."

[llywela]

Episode four, post recap –and I would just like to mention my favourite shot in the recap, which is Dean standing around outside the motel in the pilot and Sam's hand snaking out to yank him inside by the collar! – opens on a very nervous flyer preparing to board a plane. He has my deepest sympathy. Planes are not my favourite thing in the world, either. When he is left alone to stew, black smoke comes gushing out of a handy nearby vent and into his eyes, and by the time he gets to the plane, to be greeted by the friendliest, most helpful stewardess ever, his fear is gone – and his eyes are completely black. Our first glimpse of what demonic possession looks like. Then, forty minutes (and a very lame "wow, time really does fly" joke) into the flight, he gets up, opens the emergency door, and depressurises the plane, which crashes.

End tease.

Next up is one of my favourite shots ever – a long, slow, panning shot of Dean sprawled asleep on his stomach on top of the bed covers, a shot which is just made of GUUUUH!



I would like to thank the programme makers for including this shot…

…

…Okay, I'm back.

Dean wakes on hearing someone coming into the motel room, sliding a hand beneath his pillow…

"Morning, sunshine!"

But it's only Sam, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed despite the early hour. Dean's I'm-still-asleepness is a beautiful contrast to Sam's wide-awakeness. It's 5.45am.

Dean (grumbling): "In the morning? Where does the day go?"

But he doesn't actually complain about being woken up at that hour.

Dean has the bed nearest to the door. Worth noting, because he always, always does. And half-asleep he still might be, but he's instantly onto the Sam-monitoring.

Dean: "Did you get any sleep last night?"
Sam: "Yeah, I grabbed a couple of hours."
Dean: "Liar."

Sam hasn't been sleeping well since Jessica's death in the pilot, and I'm glad that Dean is calling him on it here.

Dean: "When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"
Sam: "I don't know. A little while, I guess. It's not a big deal."
Dean: "Yeah, it is."
Sam: "Look, I appreciate your concern, but –"
Dean: "Oh, I'm not concerned about you. It's your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp."

Oh, how male, using shorthand and wisecracks to communicate rather than say what they really think. But then:

Dean: "Seriously, you're still having nightmares about Jess?"

Who says Dean would do anything rather than talk about something personal or emotional? This is only episode four, very early days, and he's quite prepared to raise painful subjects that are going to be hard for them both to talk about if he think it's in Sam's best interest. It's his own stuff that Dean prefers to keep strictly to himself; Sam's emotions are fair game. He can only be allowed to brood silently for so long before it gets unhealthy, and I love that Dean so clearly recognises that and is handling Sam so very carefully in these early episodes, walking a tightrope between allowing Sam to deal with his grief in his own time and space, and providing him the emotional support he needs.

Dean knows his brother so well. That one direct question is all it takes to get Sam to drop his front and own up that yes, he's still having nightmares about Jessica – and everything else. He'd forgotten how this job can be, how it can get to you.

You can't let it, Dean tells him, you can't bring it home. Just get the job done and don't think about it.

Sam: "You're never afraid?"
Dean: "No, not really."
Sam snorts and pulls out the wicked looking knife Dean keeps under his pillow.
Dean: "That's not fear. That's precaution."

Heh. Personally, I'd be more worried about nighttime accidents with a thing like that beneath my head, but that's just me.

Then Dean's phone rings. He picks it up and just looks at it like he's never seen a phone before. Not expecting any calls, clearly, which tells us something about Dean. The call, it transpires when Dean finally gets around to answering, is from a guy named Jerry. Dean and John helped him out a couple of years previously with a poltergeist problem, and I'm very impressed at how quickly Dean remembers both the name and the specific case attached to it.

Jerry has a new problem – the plane crash from the teaser – so the boys head on over to hear what he has to say. There is no argument about whether or not to take the case on in this episode, not even a hint of Sam considering it a distraction from the hunt for John. he's completely on board right from the start, which follows on nicely from what Dean has been telling him for the last couple of episodes about needing to be in for the long haul rather than burning himself out over their inability to find John quickly.

I really like Jerry. He comes across so naturally on-screen and is just loads of fun: hard-working, good at his job (whatever it is – something technical), laid-back, and – given his previous experience – completely accepting of and matter-of-fact about what the boys do. He unashamedly admits that he owes his life to Dean and John, which is a nice little reminder for Sam that while he was away at college, they were getting on with the business of saving innocent lives. Life went on for all three during their estrangement.

And then Jerry drops the bombshell on Sam that John talked about him while he was away and told people that he'd gone off to college – hardly the expunging of his name from the family record that he was expecting.

Jerry: "He was real proud of you, I could tell. He talked about you all the time."
Sam: "He did?"

Sam looks amazed. Dean doesn't – he's heard this before. Probably many times, if what Jerry is saying is anything to go by.

There were only seven survivors of the plane crash, of which the pilot was one – a good friend of Jerry's, hence his intense interest in the case. He has got the cockpit voice recorder from the plane that went down and plays it for the boys – there's EVP on it, confirming that this is their kind of thing and that Jerry made the right call.

I love Jerry – living proof that the people they help can go on to live their lives normally, but with eyes now wide open, and can put their new knowledge to good use by calling in 'experts' when they recognise trouble of this nature and thus potentially help save more lives.

Love Sam rattling off a list of everything they're going to need, passenger manifests, etc. Sounds so professional. Jerry's all, 'No problem', except for the part Dean adds about needing to see the wreckage. That's locked down in an evidence warehouse – no access.

Then Sam gets to sit and wait – and research – while Dean potters around a copy store making them fancy new fake IDs. What kind of education did this boy have…?

Dean: "You can't rush perfection."
Sam: "Homeland security? That's pretty illegal, even for us."

Sam is always so concerned about the legality of what they do, which amuses me no end. How, given the upbringing they had, did Sam end up wanting to be a lawyer, exactly? Complete reaction against everything they were taught?

The EVP on the cockpit recorder cleans up as "No survivors." Except that there were – there were seven survivors. Then the boys chatter randomly about potential theories for what's going on, thinking aloud and bouncing ideas off each other in a way I always enjoy, because they really do make a great team.

The first survivor they interview has since checked himself into a psychiatric hospital, which is pretty convincing evidence that he might have seen something weird. Dean handles the first stage of interviewing in his usual brusque manner, and then smoothly hands over to Sam to work his sympathy and sincerity mojo on the guy. Works a treat. Survivor#1 saw Possessed!Guy opening the emergency hatch, which should, of course, be completely impossible while the plane is in flight.

So, next on the visiting list is the widow of Possessed!Guy, who they don't of course know yet was possessed, and so are still trading theories about what exactly he might have been. Turns out he was a dentist with acid reflux – not exactly evil personified, although you could make a case regarding the dentist part of his credentials, perhaps.

They need to see the wreckage – which means looking the part. Cue another favourite scene, as the boys exit a rental store dressed to the nines in their newly acquired suits. Sam carries his off easily enough; Dean is deeply uncomfortable with such formality.

Dean: "Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers."
Sam: "No, you don't. You look more like a seventh grader at his first dance."

*snicker*

I think they both look fab. And the combination of suits, fake ID, and radiating confidence at security gets them in, no worries.

Another fab moment as Dean pulls out his homemade EMF meter, and is just so damn proud of it, despite Sam's disparaging failure to be even remotely impressed.

It might be homemade, but it takes them straight to the emergency door handle, which has a strange substance all over it. Dean touches it, and then wipes his fingers on Sam's jacket, which never fails to amuse me. Sam, all earnestness and focus, takes a sample. But then the real homeland security team arrives, and the alarm is raised, which – why? How do they know the first team that went in wasn't the real deal? Because they were both so young and hot compared to the sides of beef that just showed up?

Anyway, the alarm is raised, which means Sam and Dean have to make a hasty exit…

…Leaping over the gate in athletic fashion…

This is a great episode. It has fantastic moments in it.

Jerry's buddy, pilot Chuck, is preparing to go out for his first flight since the accident – just a teeny little two-seater, to ease himself back into the saddle. He's clearly very nervous about it, despite the attempts of another, nameless friend to reassure him. Easy prey for the Black Dust Cloud of Demonic Doom.

Jerry analyses the substance that was on the emergency door handle – sulphur, which is a sign of demonic possession. The boys now know what they're up against, if not what to do about it.

Jerry: "If you fellas will excuse me, I have an idiot to fire."

I really like Jerry.

Forty minutes into his flight, Possessed!Chuck rattles off that same tired old joke the demon possessing him had previously used ("Time really does fly!") before plunging his plane into the ground, killing both himself and his buddy. What's up with this demon and the bad joke repetition? Standard evilness not enough for it?

Elsewhere, in the motel room of the week, the boys have got papers covered with their research pinned all over the walls, a la John's abandoned motel room in the pilot. It's a nice touch whenever they do something they've clearly picked up from their Dad without even noticing, almost.

The exposition of the mythology can be a wee bit clunky at times as the usual TV format is to have one character asking questions for the other to answer, thus filling the audience in, but when both characters are meant to be equally experienced in the same field, the technique doesn't work quite as smoothly. But basically, they've come to the conclusion that this is a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to up the body count.

It's Dean's turn, this week, to come out and say aloud that he wishes John was there to offer advice. He might have worked alone on a few gigs prior to fetching Sam from Stanford, but carrying the whole thing alone, permanently, is something completely different. Dean tends to come across as cool and confident most of the time, giving the impression that he can handle anything, that nothing really gets to him, but he hasn't been flying solo for long as the one with ultimate responsibility for the cases they work, and it's important to remember that. This level of ongoing responsibility is new.

Poor Jerry has now lost his friend Chuck, and this latest incident proves that the demon responsible for bringing down the first flight is now on the trail of the survivors. Because there weren't supposed to be any.

"Well, thank you for taking our survey, and if you do intend to fly, please don't forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines."

Sam conducting telephone surveys on the survivors amuses me immensely; he adopts the most perfect tone for it. Seems most of them are unlikely to ever set foot on a plane again, unsurprisingly, but just one remains unaccounted for – the air attendant first seen in the teaser, Amanda. And she, it seems, is about to take her first flight since the accident – a five-hour drive away. Dean speeds up.

These boys never sleep, apparently.

They get to the airport in time. Next job is to keep Amanda off that plane. Lying seems to be Dean's first recourse, every time. Which is understandable, since he's completely unable to tell anybody the truth about what he's doing most of the time, so it would become second nature. But calling Amanda to tell her that her sister has had an accident falls flat since Amanda had spoken to said sister just moments earlier and is instantly suspicious. Dean doesn't give in, which is a character trait seen over and over that I really appreciate – if he's called on a lie, he'll just play along with whatever the other person accuses him of until he hits something that works, anything to stall, to attempt to convince. By the end of this conversation he's got Amanda almost eating out of his hand, convinced that he's a friend of her boyfriend trying to help them patch up their differences. But she hangs up before he can convince her not to get on the plane.

The Black Dust Cloud of Demonic Doom follows her.

Sam: "All right, its time for Plan B: we're getting on that plane."
Dean: "We– Now just hold on a second."

The panic is starting to set in for Dean, in tone and expression, long before Sam notices. Sam has been completely focused on this case from the start, and remains so now. There will be over 100 passengers on the plane, and if they are right it will crash and kill them all – the only way to stop it is to get on the plane, find out who the demon is possessing, and exorcise it before it can take them down. Simple, and Sam just rattles all that off, expecting Dean to be completely on board and thinking the same thing, and he probably is thinking the same thing, but from a completely different angle – that of really, really not wanting to do it.

Sam finally notices there's a problem.

Sam: "You okay?"
Dean: "No. Not really."

Dean, it seems, has a phobia about flying.

Dean: "It's never really been an issue until now."
Sam: "You're joking, right?"
Dean (frantic): "Do I look like I'm joking? Why d'you think I drive everywhere, Sam?"

Both of them are so, so funny in this scene. Or rather, Jensen is funny, with all that embarrassed agitation, with Jared's absolute seriousness providing the perfect straight man to play off.

To his credit, Sam simply takes this all in his stride and, instead of wasting time making a fuss or teasing, just adjusts his plan accordingly – he'll go alone. Dean's panic levels promptly rise even higher – no way he's letting Sam work a case alone. Especially not knowing that the plane will crash if he fails.

So, Dean is forced to face his fears and get on the plane, and now that they have time to play with and nothing they can do until the plane is in the air, Sam does start to tease, and Sam making fun of Dean is always impossibly cute. But as well as teasing and smirking at his brother's distress, he also says all the right things to keep him as calm as possible and focused on the job at hand – they're back on the clock once the plane is in the air, with a lot of lives at stake, including their own.

Dean reminds Sam, and tells the audience, that demonic possession works best on people with some kind of emotional problem, or addiction – a chink in the armour that allows the demon to gain easy access. First suspect is Amanda, what with this being her first flight after being in a crash. So Dean goes to talk to her, to find out if she is either a candidate to get possessed or already is – if she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God.

Sam: "Say it in Latin."
Dean (tense): "I know."
Sam: "Hey."
Dean (irritated): "What?"
Sam: "Uh, in Latin it's Cristo."
Dean (deeply frustrated): "Dude, I know, I'm not an idiot."

Oh dear. Now, Dean I can forgive for this because he's so agitated, but Sam? Sam, sweetie, I thought you were educated. 'Cristo' is Greek, not Latin. Even I know that.

Sam can be worryingly mistrustful of his brother's knowledge at times, for no good reason that I can see. Just a wee bit of a control freak where the old information is concerned. Although here he can get the benefit of the doubt since Dean is so very on edge and possibly more liable to forget details.

Nervous about being on a plane Dean might be, but he handles Amanda smoothly enough. She's so well balanced it is almost scary, which means that the demon could be in anyone else on the plane. They don't have long to work out exactly who and perform an exorcism, and Dean is still stressed about just being on the plane in the first place.

Dean: "Sam, this plane is going to crash, okay, so quit treating me like I'm freaking four."

Sam really is using the kind of tone you'd use with a distressed toddler. It's funny. And really doesn't work, since Dean just gets frustrated with him until Sam loses the soothing tone and lays it on the line that panicking is bad, leaves him open to demonic possession and he needs to calm himself down. Whereupon Dean is sensible enough to do as he's told, even if it is coming from his kid brother.

Dean responds better to orders than to cajoling. A point worth pondering.

Sam has continued to research and found an exorcism ritual in John's journal. But it isn't going to be easy, and finding the demon is only the beginning.

Dean wanders down the aisle with his little homemade EMF meter, and I'm amazed he doesn't attract more attention from skittish passengers in the process, even if it does still look like the Walkman he made it out of.

Dean: "Maybe the thing's just not on the plane."
Sam: "Do you believe that?"
Dean: "Well, I will if you will."

Heh. Turns out the demon is in the co-pilot, which has me wondering exactly how it managed that, what the chink in the armour was for him, and has the boys wondering exactly how they're going to get near to him to exorcise it. I have to point out that it doesn't exactly flinch at the name of God, mind – he just goes all black-eyed and walks away to the safety of the locked cockpit.

So, they go and recruit Amanda, and I'm glad to see that she gets all flustered and disbelieving when these two madmen start telling her that something is wrong with the plane, because it really does sound nuts, and they really are scarily intense.

Sam doesn't trust Dean to explain properly, and interrupts to do it himself. This is another thing that happens on several occasions throughout the series.

It turns out that Amanda did see the black, demon eyes of the possessed man who brought down her last flight…

So she goes and fetches the co-pilot for them, still not really any the wiser about what's going on. It then comes as something of a shock to her when they promptly overpower the man, knock him to the ground and put duct tape over his mouth. That shock quickly turns to horror when Sam pours holy water on the man and it burns him – bet that'll smart when the demon is exorcised and he's back to normal!

Sam's soothing tone works a lot better on Amanda than it did on Dean, who must be completely immune to it. It probably helps that being outside the curtain and away from all this madness is no doubt her preferred option at this stage anyway. As for keeping everyone else out – I'm amazed no one has come to see what all the noise is about already.

Since he's possessed, the guy is extremely strong, so Dean has his work cut out keeping him down while Sam starts reading the Latin for the exorcism.

This time it really is Latin.

The guy manages to toss Dean and pull the tape off his mouth, and taunts Sam. "I know what happened to your girlfriend. How she died screaming, how she burned."

Dean promptly knocks him down again before he can say any more, but Sam is horrified, completely blindsided, and it's Dean's turn to yell at him and get him focused again.

The first stage of the exorcism gets the demon out of the man, but now it is loose on the plane, stronger than ever, and the journal has slid down the aisle away from Sam, who still needs to perform the second stage – sending the demon back to hell. While he chases the book, the demon is wreaking havoc on the plane, with all kinds of turbulence going on and, with his part in proceedings now over, Dean is free to panic to his heart's content, and does.

Can't help feeling that Amanda should now be making more of a fuss and blaming the brothers for the imminent danger the plane is now in, since she has no way of knowing they weren't up to anything dodgy, really. She's probably too busy panicking herself.

Sam comes through in the crisis, keeping his head and reclaiming the book and reading out the remainder of the incantation above the yells and screams and despite the plummeting of the plane, which also seems to get struck by lightning, only without actually frying everyone on board, which is a neat trick.

Turns out the lightning was the final exorcism of the demon, as the plane then straightens up, crisis over.

Good work, Sammy. And that's Dean's flying phobia either completely cured, or really deeply embedded, for the rest of his life.

Back on the ground, Amanda mouths 'thank you' at the boys while answering questions to the police, but whether or not she ever actually found out what it was that happened, I don't know. And I have no idea which airport this is, but it should surely be a safe bet it's a long, long way from where the boys left the car – so they'll either have to fly back to collect it, or find alternate transport…

Sam is back in brood mode now it's all over, leaving Dean to resume his big brotherly duties.

Dean: "You okay?"
Sam: "Dean, it knew about Jessica."
Dean: "Sam, these things – they read minds. They lie. All right? That's all it was."
Sam: "Yeah."

Whether either of them really believes that or not is another matter. But what the exchange does show is another example of Sam upset and brooding and needing to say what's on his mind, and Dean opening the door for him to do so and then attempting to reassure him, just as he did in their first scene in this episode.

Then, having collected the car, they head back to see Jerry and let him know how it all panned out. The mileage they've clocked up on this case must be awesome.

Jerry: "Nobody knows what you guys did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed. Your Dad's gonna be real proud."

Appreciation is important in their job, more especially because there are so few people that actually know what they do. And I really like Jerry – in theory, he could be a good contact for him in case of need. He's grateful enough to be willing to help in any way he can.

As an afterthought Dean asks Jerry how he got his cellphone number anyway, since he's only had it six months. "Your Dad gave it to me," says Jerry, which absolutely staggers the boys, although Dean's reaction is a lot more controlled than Sam's. He didn't speak to John in person, though, it seems: just called his number and got a voice mail message directing him to Dean's phone.

Jerry leaves and the boys are left to stare at one another – for the last three episodes they've been unable to get through to John on his cellphone; it's been out of service, completely unavailable. Dean dials the number, and holds the phone for Sam to listen.

"This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son Dean. 785 555 0179. He can help."

That message means so much, in so many ways, and yet also means so little. It means John is still alive. It confirms that he has deliberately taken himself into hiding without contacting the boys to explain why, and that he doesn't want to be found. It means he is placing his trust in Dean to continue his work without him, alone, but without being willing to discuss that with him or even ask how he feels about it. And there is no mention of Sam, of course, because he wouldn't be expecting Sam and Dean to be together.

Sam looks almost on the verge of tears, this coming on top of the demon pouring salt onto the fresh wound of Jessica's death, and there's nothing Dean can say. Finally, after all this time, a message from their Dad, and it isn't a message for them, or anything that can help them to find him. He doesn't want to be found. But he's their Dad and they both need him, in their separate ways.

They get back into the car and drive away, in silence.