Scenes I Love . . .
"Something Wicked" (cont.)
In the final scene, Michael’s mother returns from the hospital with the good news that Asher is getting better, and he’ll be coming home tomorrow, and the rest of the kids will also be checking out in a few days. She also reveals that Dr Hydecker was conspicuously absent:
Spoken like a true honorary Winchester.
Which, I guess, indicates some emotional progress since that first flashback scene where he was envying little Sammy for his blissful childish ignorance. However, there’s nothing said about what he might wish for himself.
One of the things I particularly love about the early seasons is that they are always careful to present two different points of view - those of the two brothers - often entirely at odds with each other. But a third point of view is always implied: that of the viewer. Often there is information in the action or subtext that enables us to transcend the limitations of their individual viewpoints. Something Wicked is an exemplar of an episode that is beautifully crafted to show us more than the brothers themselves ever see. A final example of this is in the song that plays out the closing moments which, of course, only the viewer hears, but which provides a subtle commentary on the action we've been viewing.
For those who watched the episode when it originally aired, or later on DVD, the closing moments gave us one of the great music cues of season one: as the brothers climb into the car, the opening bars of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Road to Nowhere” play over their departure. The first lines in particular highlight a third and final interpretation of the episode title.
Then it cuts to the refrain, but the lyrics that were omitted seem equally significant:
When John allowed his nine-year-old son to take the blame for what happened in Fort Douglas, that was something wicked that he did to Dean. But Dean has continued to shoulder the responsibility as an adult, because he’d rather blame himself than objectively examine the behaviour of the father that he idolizes as a hero. And that is something wicked that he has done, and continues to do, to himself.
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In the final scene, Michael’s mother returns from the hospital with the good news that Asher is getting better, and he’ll be coming home tomorrow, and the rest of the kids will also be checking out in a few days. She also reveals that Dr Hydecker was conspicuously absent:
JOANNA
Dr. Travis says the ward's going to be like a ghost town.
SAM
Dr. Travis? What about Dr. Hydecker?
JOANNA
Oh he wasn't in today. Must have been sick or something.
https://supernaturalwiki.com/1.18_Something_Wicked_(transcript)
Dr. Travis says the ward's going to be like a ghost town.
SAM
Dr. Travis? What about Dr. Hydecker?
JOANNA
Oh he wasn't in today. Must have been sick or something.
https://supernaturalwiki.com/1.18_Something_Wicked_(transcript)
When she asks if anything happened while she was gone, Michael plays it cool:
Spoken like a true honorary Winchester.
As mother and son leave to visit Asher on his last day in hospital, Sam rather sadly watches them drive away.
SAM
It's too bad.
DEAN
Oh, they'll be fine.
SAM
That's not what I meant. I meant Michael. He'll always know there are things out there in the dark --
he'll never be the same, you know?
(Ibid.)
It's too bad.
DEAN
Oh, they'll be fine.
SAM
That's not what I meant. I meant Michael. He'll always know there are things out there in the dark --
he'll never be the same, you know?
(Ibid.)
Sam expresses the wish that he could still have that kind of innocence and, after a long pause in which he gazes thoughtfully back at Michael being driven off to see his brother, Dean responds:
Which, I guess, indicates some emotional progress since that first flashback scene where he was envying little Sammy for his blissful childish ignorance. However, there’s nothing said about what he might wish for himself.
One of the things I particularly love about the early seasons is that they are always careful to present two different points of view - those of the two brothers - often entirely at odds with each other. But a third point of view is always implied: that of the viewer. Often there is information in the action or subtext that enables us to transcend the limitations of their individual viewpoints. Something Wicked is an exemplar of an episode that is beautifully crafted to show us more than the brothers themselves ever see. A final example of this is in the song that plays out the closing moments which, of course, only the viewer hears, but which provides a subtle commentary on the action we've been viewing.
For those who watched the episode when it originally aired, or later on DVD, the closing moments gave us one of the great music cues of season one: as the brothers climb into the car, the opening bars of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Road to Nowhere” play over their departure. The first lines in particular highlight a third and final interpretation of the episode title.
I was looking back on my life
And all the things I've done to me.
The song continues
I'm still looking for the answers
I'm still searching for the key.
And all the things I've done to me.
The song continues
I'm still looking for the answers
I'm still searching for the key.
Then it cuts to the refrain, but the lyrics that were omitted seem equally significant:
The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me
It just won't leave me alone
I still find it all a mystery
Could it be a dream?
(Source: Musixmatch)
It just won't leave me alone
I still find it all a mystery
Could it be a dream?
(Source: Musixmatch)
When John allowed his nine-year-old son to take the blame for what happened in Fort Douglas, that was something wicked that he did to Dean. But Dean has continued to shoulder the responsibility as an adult, because he’d rather blame himself than objectively examine the behaviour of the father that he idolizes as a hero. And that is something wicked that he has done, and continues to do, to himself.
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