Dream a Little Dream of Me (Supernatural)

"Dream a Little Dream of Me (Supernatural)"

"Devil's Trap" is the twenty-second episode of the paranormal drama television series Supernatural's first season. It is the season finale, and was first broadcast on The WB on May 4, 2006. The narrative follows series protagonists Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) as they search for their missing father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who has been kidnapped by demons.

Written by series creator Eric Kripke and directed by Kim Manners, the episode featured Nicki Aycox's final portrayal of recurring villain Meg Masters, and also introduced Jim Beaver as hunter and Winchester-ally Bobby Singer. Morgan's busy schedule affected the episode's storyline, and the final scene—which sets into motion the events leading to his character's death in the following episode—involved one of the toughest special effects sequences of the series.

Giving generally positive reviews, critics praised the actors' performances and the twist ending, though some had minor issues with the plot.

Plot

Trying to locate his father, Dean calls John Winchester's phone. The demonically-possessed Meg Masters answers it instead, and taunts him that his father has been captured. To determine a plan of action, the brothers go to family friend and fellow hunter Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver) for help. However, Meg tracks them down and attacks, but is quickly caught underneath a mystical symbol known as a "devil's trap" that the Winchesters and Bobby had painted on the ceiling; it renders demons immobile and powerless. Bobby informs the Winchesters that Meg is actually an innocent girl being possessed by a demon, so they begin to perform an exorcism. Dean promises to stop if she reveals the location of their father, and she relents, claiming he is being held in Jefferson City. Despite Bobby's warning that Meg will die from previously sustained injuries if the demon is exorcised, Dean insists that they go through with it, as it would be better than allowing the demon to continue to use her as a host. After the demon is sent to Hell, a dying Meg thanks them for freeing her. With her remaining strength, she warns them that the demons are setting a trap for them, and says, "By the river. Sunrise," before she dies.

This leads the brothers to the riverside Sunrise Apartments in Jefferson City, Missouri. The boys manage to overpower the demons guarding John, and rescue him. However, they are attacked by Meg's demonic brother Tom, and Dean is forced to kill him with one of the three remaining bullets of the Colt—a mystical gun capable of killing anything. When the Winchesters later find refuge in a secluded cabin, Azazel reveals himself to be possessing John. Dean, while being tortured by the demon, begs his father to break free and save him. John is able to temporarily gain control, and then begs Sam to use the Colt to kill Azazel. Unable to bring himself to kill his father, Sam instead shoots him in the leg, causing Azazel to flee to safety. The Winchesters rush towards the hospital, but their car is rammed into by a semi-trailer truck being driven by a demonically-possessed truck driver.

Production

Writing

Series writer Sera Gamble had been pitching a dream-based episode since the show's first season, but...? Although Cathryn Humphris was selected to pen "Dream a Little Dream of Me", she was teamed with Gamble to develop the story. On this pairing, Humphris commented, "I think that we complement each other well. Sera's great at the really scary moments, and I think I'm pretty good at some of the connective tissue and putting stuff together in the larger landscape."

"Dream a Little Dream of Me" delves into the backstory of hunter Bobby Singer. Humphris had earlier pitched the idea that he was an expert exorcist because of a previous failed exorcism, and the writers always knew his history would be "grounded in family". Reflecting this, the original teaser depicted the deaths of Bobby's children; while eating dinner with his family, his children's throats are supernaturally slit, and they would ask him, "Why, daddy, why did you let this happen?" However, the writers felt this made it hard to determine where to go from there. The final version of the episode instead reveals that he accidentally killed his wife while she was demonically possessed.

Other planned dream sequences were drastically altered due to production issues. One such scene, made to look like 80's-style film stock, had Dean being confronted by serial killer Jason Voorhees of the Friday the 13th film series. After production cleared the rights to use the character, Kripke made everyone view Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter to help them create the "perfect facsimile" of Jason. However, the movie studio that had granted permission realized a few days before filming that it did not actually own the rights.

Needing to come up with something else, the writers recalled Sam's dream scene with Bela. Sam's dream showed that underneath he was a "horn dog", and the writers wanted Dean to be opposite. He secretly wants a normal family, so they brought back Lisa from "The Kids are Alright". Gives sense that he has had dream many times. Retrospectively, Kripke preferred this scene over Jason, as more illuminating of Dean's character.

Turning point in Dean's storyline, starts gaining self-respect. Kripke noted that Dean started the season with little self-worth, and the writers realized that this outlook stemmed from Dean's father, John Winchester. Initially, Jeffrey Dean Morgan to reprise role as John, and browbeats Dean within the dreamscape. Morgan was busy filming Watchmen. Found inspiration in junkyard scene from Superman III, good and evil versions of Superman confront one another. Kripke noted, however, that conversation still focuses on John.

Filming

Principal filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Bobby's hospital scenes were filmed at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody, BC. (62)

Dream sequences, Serge ? used full blue lighting in the backgrounds - usually only uses half. To make a seamless transition between dream scenes, used long lens to compress the background. (64)

Reception

On its initial broadcast, the episode was watched by 3.99 million viewers. It received generally positive reviews from critics. Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune gave the episode an "A", deeming it "everything the season-closer needed to be". She noted that episode reveals why Azazel killed Jessica and Mary Winchester, and enjoyed the "creative way" Meg Masters was killed off, feeling the exorcism to be "amazing". Peterson also praised the cliffhanger ending, believing it to be "capable of pulling your eyeballs right out of your head". The acting was also praised, with Jensen Ackles being able to "wring every ounce of blood, sweat and torment out of Dean's photogenically haunted psyche", Jared Padalecki making Sam "real and conflicted", and Jeffrey Dean Morgan giving "his best and most believable performance of the season". Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune collectively referred to "Devil's Trap" and its two preceding episodes as a "really strong trilogy" of "must-see episodes". She found the possessed John to be "Morgan's finest work on the show to date", believing that he "was really on fire in that scene" and "brought a whole new intensity to his performance". She also thought that Bobby Singer's introduction and Meg Masters' exorcism were "well done".

Diana Steenbergen of IGN also praised "Devil's Trap", deeming it to be the episode that "moved Supernatural from the list of television shows that [she] liked to the 'must-see' list". Like Peterson, she cheered the twist ending, and was "completely taken by surprise". Steenbergen also felt that Jim Beaver as hunter Bobby Singer was "an excellent addition to the cast", and applauded Ackles, Padalecki, and Morgan for their performances in the episode's climactic confrontation between Azazel and the brothers. She found the possessed Morgan to be "menacing", and enjoyed his sadistic sense of humor; Padalecki to have done a "good job embodying the newfound strength" Sam develops in defying his father's order to kill him in order to stop the demon; and Ackles' defenselessness to be "affecting". However, she believed that Azazel's reference to having a family "[didn't] quite make sense", and noted that it seemed implausible for Sam and Dean—having been raised as hunters—to not have known that Meg was a demonically-possessed girl. Brian Tallerico of UGO also had issues with the plot, though mainly with the episode's outcome. He felt that the writers should have followed Buffy the Vampire Slayer's pattern of killing off the season's foe, as "fans don't like villains to be strung out for too long". He also would have liked for John Winchester to have died in order to "free the brothers up for a little second season revenge and a little less family angst".

References

General

1. Knight, Nicholas (2007). Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 1. Titan Books. ISBN 1845765354.
2. Knight, Nicholas (2008). Supernatural: The Official Companion Season 2. Titan Books. ISBN 1845766571.

Specific

External links

• Official website
• Devil's Trap at IMDb