Episode: Supernatural 6.05 – “Live Free or Twi-hard”
Original Air Date: October 22, 2010
Screencaps by rawr_caps.
Wait, you mean we get an episode where Dean gets turned into a vampire and it’s not even Christmas? Indeed we do! I’ve seriously been anticipating this one since the summary was announced and I have to say that I was not disappointed. I was also not expecting the plot turn that we were treated to either — an occurrence that happens quite frequently on Supernatural.
Vampires have gotten smarter and their plan is quite ingenious. With the increased popularity of these creatures of the night in pop culture, teenage girls are not running from them anymore, but instead running straight into their arms in search of forbidden love. Dear Twilight, I’m looking at you. But our favorite hunters know that vampires are dangerous, not sexy, and the Winchesters must save these girls from becoming yet another statistic. Along the way, maybe they’ll figure out why the supernatural creatures are once again acting abnormal.
"He could hear the blood rushing inside her, almost taste it."
The boys head over to the bar where Kristen, the last victim, was set to meet her suitor-to-be, the vampire Robert. Once split up, each taking a potential suspect on their own, Dean and Sam are met with very different outcomes. Sam kills his vampire, while Dean’s turns out to be a fake. Oh, but the fun’s not over for him yet, since he runs into a real one before all is said and done. And like a gift from the fanfiction gods, the vampire gets the jump on Dean and turns him. Let’s pause for a moment and rejoice in this. I know, I know, Dean’s a monster now, but more importantly — Vampire Dean!
He has a tremendous amount of angst and suffering in the beginning as he is overcome with the heightened senses. Light’s too bright, hearing’s sensitive, and the blood rushing through everyone’s veins is calling to him. That super-hearing also allowed him to listen in on his brother’s heartbeat, which is not going very fast. Instead of being upset or scared, Sam’s being quite cool about all this. Well, that’s… strange. What’s even more strange, but mostly disturbing, is what happened when Dean was turned. Instead of rushing to help his brother, staving off this attack, Sam stopped and watched; smirking as his brother became a creature of the night.
We’ve gone past Sam being simply creepy and we’re firmly into psycho territory now. I didn’t want to believe that Sam had willingly used the baby shape-shifter as bait back in “Two and a Half Men” to lure the Alpha Shape-Shifter to them, but it seems pretty sure now that he’s used his brother as a pawn in his attempts to get closer to the Alpha Vampire. He allowed his own brother to be turned! Not only that, he knew how to turn Dean back and didn’t tell him. Grandpa had gone over the cure with him a few months ago, yet Sam’s keeping that knowledge to himself. I’m just at a loss. I know there’s something seriously wrong with Sam, but he’s just an unfeeling shell at this point who is out for the bottom line of “mission accomplished.” I want Sammy back; remember him? Oh, I long for those days. I trust in the writers and I’m sure this will all develop into a wonderfully fulfilling plot, but for now I’m becoming more and more disturbed by Soulless!Sam.
In comparison to Sam, everyone’s less creepy, and that includes Grandpa. He was helpful, finding a way to turn Dean back to his human self. And he was also suspicious of Sam’s actions. Grandpa’s sure he told Sam all about this cure before, yet his grandson forgot? He doesn’t think so and neither do I. But I am not going to be lured into a false sense of security of “maybe Grandpa’s not so bad,” because he is still working for some higher-up that hasn’t been revealed yet. I still think the Campbell clan is up to no good, no matter how many good gestures they seem to be making.
"I didn't drive all this way to kill you, Dean. I'm here to save you."
And I believe this episode signified the end of the Lisa and Dean relationship. I can’t be sure because it was kind of vague, but if it’s true I will be very sad. Yes, Dean showed up out of nowhere in her bedroom and was all creepy and violent, but he just wanted to say goodbye to his family! She’s involved with a hunter, it’s a dangerous job, and sometimes that danger comes into your house. It’s not Dean’s fault, yet he’s being punished for it. If he’s lost Lisa forever over this, I’m going to be extremely unhappy. Even more so, I’m going to be blaming Sam. Lisa never fit into his plans. He was continuously trying to talk Dean out of the domestic life, after he pretty much forced his brother into it, and when one tactic didn’t work, turning Dean into a blood-thirsty killer seemed to achieve the goal.
I’m very happy that Dean, during the painful process of turning back, remembered seeing Sam just standing there smirking at him as he watched his brother become a vampire. Well, I’m sad for Dean, since now he’s even more sure that this person in the passenger’s seat is not his brother as he once was. I hope we get some answers soon because I don’t like the discord between the Winchester boys.
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
I still don’t trust Grandpa Campbell! That dude is shady.
I love Sammy no matter what. Can’t wait to find out what’s going on.
Please let them tell us next week! I want a brother to brother, heart to heart talk with lots of angst, tears and hugs. C’mon Sera!
I am more than willing to figure out what’s up with Sam because “Creepy Turned Psycho Sam” is not endearing to me ;) And I still don’t trust Grandpa. When Dean Winchester is the most stable person in the room, there’s something wrong there :D
Ewwww. How did you manage to capture the screen shot of the exact moment in time when Sam’s mouth quirked subtly yet unmistankingly upwards at the sight of Dean being turned? Well done, because it illustrates just how wrong Sam has gone. I’m done with creepy Sam. Please fix him, Sera. Thank you.
I understand (maybe) why he’s acting this way, but still it leads to more questions of what brought him to this point. Bring back his soul! Creepy Sam is creepy :(
But if Sam’s soul is gone, why is he acting evil, yet when Crowley had Bobby’s soul, Bobby was still Bobby? And I notice that the Campbell clan seems to be going after the Alpha’s (Vamps, Shape-shifters, and possibly Jinns). Why are they doing that? I haven’t figured that out yet. So far I like this season of Supernatural, but at the same time I am kinda getting tired of not having any answers to anything at this point. I hope before Thanksgiving we get a big clue or something, but right now I am kinda losing faith in this season. But I still have hope in Sera. I do believe in her. She has written some great episodes in the past, and I hope to see more of that greatness in this season as showrunner.
“But if Sam’s soul is gone, why is he acting evil, yet when Crowley had Bobby’s soul, Bobby was still Bobby?”
Bobby sold his soul to a demon (just as Dean did) when he made his deal. Sam, however, likely sold his soul to an angel (since that was introduced as a plot point early on). Whole other set of rules we’ll have to deal with there. Or if he was simply stripped of his soul when he was put back on Earth (aka, his soul’s still down in the cage), then we’re dealing with yet another situation. And Sam’s not acting full-on evil, he’s instead acting emotionless as if he’s trying to understand what proper responses would be and emulating those.
“And I notice that the Campbell clan seems to be going after the Alpha’s (Vamps, Shape-shifters, and possibly Jinns). Why are they doing that?”
That would be one of the over-arching plots of the season ;) I don’t think we’ll learn that answer for a long time.
“but at the same time I am kinda getting tired of not having any answers to anything at this point.”
I understand that, but on the other hand…we’re only 5 eps in. All the answers aren’t going to be coming this early in a season. If we can get resolution of Sam’s soul by perhaps mid-way, we can then focus on the Alpha plot to carry us through the rest of the season. There is a plan, but we just don’t know what it is yet. It sure is fun guessing, though! :D