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Yellow Fever
Several men die from fright after being infected with a mysterious illness
that causes acute anxiety, which leads to total terror. Sam and Dean investigate,
and Dean becomes infected. Sam desperately searches for a cure before Dean
dies and is sent back to hell.
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NotesWriterAndrew Dabband Daniel Loflin DirectorPhil SgricciaGuest Stars:Jim Beaver (Bobby)Sierra McCormick (Lilith) Jack Conley (Sheriff) Stephen DuVall (John Garland) David Mattey (Luther Garland) Other Guests:Jerry Wasserman (Coroner)Darcy Cadman (Linus) Michael Roberds (Frank's Neighbor) Brady Schlecker (Frank O'Brian) Jessica Erwin (Jessie O'Brian) Darren Daurie Wade Fennig Filming Locations:Elgin Ave, Port CoquitlamRiverview Hospital (Peaceful Pines) Completely Useless Trivia: |
ReviewThis episode had so much potential, but they just didn't handle it well in my opinion. I had high hopes for a peek beneath the surface of Dean's psyche to learn what some of his deepest fears truly are, but instead of sincere terrors we're given an hour of fabricated moments of comedic apprehension. Not that I'm completely unhappy with that, Dean is very fun to laugh at and with, but there could have been so much more! I had expected nightmarish moments like when he confronted his demon self in Dream a Little Dream. Dean has such a wide range of experience with ghosts, ghouls and gremlins that he shouldn't be afraid of them anymore, his fears should be more about things he has less experience with, like letting innocent people die, or losing Metallicar, or even losing Sam. How much fun would it have been to see him look out the window and see someone leaning against Metallicar, and freak out because they could be scratching the paint and he can't get out there to stop them? In Dream a Little Dream we saw him imagining life with Lisa and young Ben, who could have been his son. It could have been fun to watch him worry that he may not be a good father, then realize that he might already be a father and freak out that he has dozen's of "mini me's" running around out there. All I'm trying to say is that there are so many things in this world that Dean could be genuinely afraid of, and instead they used only things that would never scare him normally.I also have to ask the obvious question about the mill. Did they close the place down immediately after Luther died? If not, why is all Luther's stuff lying around everywhere? It's as though the day he died, everyone just walked away from a working mill and left everything where it lay. I would think that the mill owners would want to sell the equipment, at the very least. On the other hand, if the boys can walk in and find murder evidence in every corner of the place, that means less watching them rummage through old records and run internet searches, and more watching Dean scream like a little girl. That's a good thing, right? Still, there were many wonderful moments to enjoy. Like Dean running from the miniature "hell hound" with the tiny pink ribbon. Screaming like a little girl in the locker room. The view of his rapidly retreating back after the ghost appears in the lumber mill. And of course the message in the book. "You're dying. Again. Loser. Baby gonna cry?" It's wonderful how the hallucinations shake. Anyone who has ever tried to stay awake for three days straight knows that the eyes can do weird things sometimes, and causing images to jump and shake is one of them. In this case, I found it added a sense of realism to the hallucinations. The one truly wonderful scene this week is the hallucination with Sam and his yellow eyes. Sam is so casual when confirming Dean's worries about going back to hell, it's truly chilling to watch. How twisted must Dean's life be for it to be possible for him to fear his brother like that? What makes it all the worse is how closely it resembles the confrontation with John Winchester when he was possessed by the Yellow-Eyed Demon. No wonder Dean can hallucinate Sam's descent to evil so easily; it's something he's seen before. Hopefully it's not something he'll have to see for real one day. According to Sam and Bobby, the solution to Dean's predicament is for them to scare the ghost to death. Scare the ghost to death. How many more things could possibly be wrong with this sentence??? What's worse than that, Sam decides the best way to do this is to recreate the original murder, where Luther was dragged behind a vehicle with a chain around his neck. So Sam puts a spell-enhanced iron chain around Luther's neck. Correct me if I'm wrong, but have we not learned from the past 3 seasons of this show that iron dissipates ghosts? Both iron and salt work to disperse ethereal beings because of their elemental purity. I don't see how Sam could possibly wrap an iron chain around a ghost, no matter what ritual he used on it. Still, it made an interesting twist to the story so I guess I'll let the boys have their fun. The fight between Dean and the similarly-afflicted sheriff is great, though. I love how Dean swats the gun away like he's afraid it might go off. It's so unlike him, it earns its laugh. Lilith on the other hand, is totally creepy. Little girls acting evil are always disturbing, but Lilith takes it one step further. When she so calmly discusses his visit to hell and he falls to the ground, things suddenly get serious. Not only does Dean's fear stop being funny, but knowing how short a time he really has left ramps up the tension a thousand percent. Sure, Lilith yelling "buboom! Buboom!" gets really annoying really fast, but it succeeds in adding pressure to an already nerve-racking scene. The final scene shows Dean, Sam and Bobby outside the old mill discussing the events of the day. We've learned in the past that outdoors in bright sunlight usually means a glimpse into the soul for one of the boys, however this time we're to be disappointed. I was so sure that Dean was going to spill his guts to Sam about not wanting to go back to hell, or being afraid of hell hounds, or some similar little grain of truth, but instead we get howler monkeys. Sure, howler monkeys are funny and make a great horror film soundtrack addition, but I don't understand why Dean is so unable to be honest with his brother! Face your fears, man! Embrace them! Look at them fact-to-face, then spit in their eye! Don't bury them so deep that when they come back to haunt you they're twice as powerful. Now, if (when?) sometime in the future Sam comes at Dean with yellow eyes, he will not be equipped to handle it because he'll be paralysed by the fear he failed to vanquish today. As you can see, I am not fond of this episode at all. It's one of the weakest we've seen so far. However, it is worth watching for that one, final minute of joy at the end. Dean, yes Dean, lip syncing to Eye of the Tiger. Not just singing either, he's got the whole dance routine going on. Pop that collar! Play that guitar! I'm so glad they shared this now instead of saving it for the gag reel! What makes it all the more priceless is listening to the crew members giggling in the background. It proves what they all say about this show and how it's fun, not work, for the crew. |