Supernatural

Season 1 Episode 2

Wendigo

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8.7
out of 10
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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

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Sam and Dean pose as Park Rangers to help a brother and sister search for their lost sibling, who the Winchester brothers believe may have been taken by a Wendigo.
SUBMIT REVIEW
  • Creepy Monster In The Woods

    9.5
    OK, so the Wendigo was defiantly creepy looking but it was also pretty cool too. Forgetting the part where it eat human flesh (gross but interesting), I think it was a total bad a** hunter. But thankfully it couldn't take the brothers down. And the fact that it sets in the woods makes the episode one scary piece of art. An awesome second episodes!!!
  • Wendigo

    7.0
    Starting a tradition of weak second episodes, Wendigo is a good episode, but lacks a lot of characteritics that made SPN epidodes so great. Highlights go to the guys work and for the iconic sentence: "saving people, hunting things... Family bussiness"
  • 102-"Wendigo"

    10
    Great Episode and scary!! more good, scary good story with great special effects, which continue the pilot episode but with a different case, one week after the previous case, and after Dean and Sam were unable to find anything about who killed Jessica, and decide to follow the daily coordinates of the parent to find it, (that Dean found in the previous episode), and the brothers end up fighting in a forest a Wendigo, I found pretty cool when Dean kills the Wendigo with a shot of a flag, it was cool the way he (the Wendigo) was burning and disintegrating after the shooting of Dean,'' the episode "Wendigo'' 'besides giving me a hell of fear, reminded me much of an X-Files episode where the theme was virtually the same.moreless
  • 102-"Wendigo"

    7.0
    After having no luck in the investigation of Jessica's death, the brothers follow instructions found in their father's journal and head to Blackwater Ridge, Lost Creek, Colorado. Posing as park rangers, they help a young woman named Haley (Gina Holden) and her younger brother Ben (Alden Ehrenreich) search for their lost older brother Tommy (Graham Wardle), who disappeared while on a camping trip. Sam and Dean soon realize that he was taken by a wendigo that has terrorized the woods since 1936. While searching, Haley and Dean are kidnapped by the creature, but Sam and Ben are able to track them to a mine. After Dean, Haley, and Tommy are freed, they kill the wendigo with a flare gun.



    Story by: Ron Milbauer & Terri Hughes Burton

    Teleplay by: Eric Kripke

    Directed by: David Nutter



    My thoughts: this one was definetly a step down from the pilot this one was a filler it felt boring at times but it had quite a few good moments as well(esp. with dean) overall not SPNS best its hard to do a great follow up ep.



    Rankings:

    1)"Pilot"

    2.)"Wendigo"moreless
  • In a strong second episode, Sam and Dean continue the search for their father following a clue noted for Dean in John Winchester's journal. This leads them to a national park, outside of a small town in Colorado, where several people have gone missing...moreless

    8.5
    At the opening of the episode, we see three friends out camping in the woods, at Blackwater Ridge Colorado. It's night and they're in their tents (incidentally, one of them is played by Cory Monteith who now stars in "Glee"). One by one, the campers are attacked by a growling entity, tearing apart the tents and surrounding foliage.



    We then return to California where Sam is visiting Jessica's grave.. After moving to place a bouquet of flowers on her grave - in a Carrie-esque moment - a dirt covered hand shoots up to grab Sam and he snaps awake from his nightmare. We learn that after a week of fruitless searching, the brothers are on the road, following the coordinates their father left them in his journal, and heading to Blackwater Ridge, a national park in Colorado. Upon arriving, they speak to a Ranger who is disinclined to believe that anyone is missing. From there, the brothers then pay a visit to 'that Hayley girl' whom the Ranger mentioned as believing her brother was missing. As a close-knit family, Hayley (played by Gina Holden) plans to go looking for her brother and she hires a tracker, Roy (Callum Keith Rennie), to help them. Through research of local missing persons cases, Sam and Dean discover that every 23 years, people go missing at Blackwater Ridge and when Sam examines the last video that Tommy (Graham Wardle) sent his siblings, he discovers an incredibly fast moving shadow in the background which confirms their suspicions that something supernatural is taking place. They then interview the only survivor of an apparent 'bear attack' 46 years ago. Though only a child at the time, Shaw (Donnelly Rhodes) he tells the brothers of how his parents were dragged from their cabin with the roaring creature leaving him with a deeply scarred shoulder and a strong belief that something evil resides in the woods. The next day, the brothers insist on accompanying Hayley, Ben and Roy in their search and the group heads into the woods, where Sam and Dean are soon outed as not being the Rangers the claimed to be but explain they are looking for their father. Soon after reaching the torn apart camp site, their supplies are stolen and Sam and Dean realise that the creature who has taken the campers is a Wendigo. They settle in for the night until the Wendigo circles, tricking Roy into leaving the safety of the camp site and he is killed. In the morning the brother explain what they're up against, a once cannibalistic human, now an immortal superhuman creature that can only be killed with fire. They follow the Wendigo's tracks but the incredibly intelligent creature again tricks them, capturing Dean and Hayley. Sam and Ben follow Dean's trail of M n' M's to an abandoned mine that the Wendigo is using as its lair. Finding the captives alive inside, the brothers then try to get them out but the Wendigo again attacks. Will Sam and Dean be able to torch the creature or will they, along with the others, become the Wendigo's food before another 23 year hibernation? And if they save the campers, where will they go from here to find their father?



    A great second episode with an excellent choice in depicting an evil creature (not a spirit like the pilot episode) that they brothers have to hunt and great further insight into the siblings relationship. What I liked about this episode is that is has 'explainers' included in subtle ways so we discover that the show isn't just going to be about the Winchesters searching for their father but also them hunting evil things and saving people along the way. Almost as though the first episode told us something of their past, this second episode seems designed to illustrate the direction the boys future will take. It also shows how the boys feel about their father, Dean with obvious respect, wanting to follow his orders whereas Sam is less obedient, wanting to find Jessica's killer.moreless

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (11)

    • Trivia: One of the candles on Jessica's grave has "Virgen de Guadalupe" on it. This is based on an apparition of a brown-skinned Virgin Mary who appeared to future saint Juan Diego in 1531 and spoke in Nahuatl, the local language. She is also sometimes believed to be The Woman of the Apocalypse. That might be appropriate considering Sam's family background. The presence of this candle implies that Jessica could be Roman Catholic.

    • There is no "Black Water Ridge" in the Lost Creek wilderness area.

    • Trivia: It mentions that Jessica's birthday is on January the 24th. Dean's birthday is also January 24th.

    • Trivia: Sam's girlfriend's name is Jessica Lee Moore and was 21 when she died according to her headstone. (January 24, 1984 - November 2, 2005)

    • While driving in the middle of a forest, Dean tells Sam they're right outside Grand Junction, Colorado. However, Grand Junction and everything near Grand Junction is a desert without much plant life.

    • The coordinates John gave them in the Pilot episode aren't in Colorado, they are in Arizona.

    • When Dean shows his park service badge, it has his picture but says Samuel Cole. Haley must not have looked too closely since he did say his name was Dean.

    • Trivia: The book one of the boys was reading in the beginning was titled The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. In this book Campbell's unique perspectives examine the world's complex and interwoven mythology, folklore and religion, providing an understanding of the essence and genesis of humanness.

    • Trivia: The date on Jessica's, Sam's girlfriend, tombstone said November 2, 2005 as the day she died. That is the same date that Sam's mother died by the same spirit 20+ years ago.

    • In Wendigo lore, the Wendigo did not have the ability to imitate human voices. This is something new the writers added.

    • In the first scene, Sam and Dean say that they're from UC Boulder. The University of Colorado at Boulder is known as CU Boulder, not UC Boulder.

  • QUOTES (16)

    • Dean: Roy, so you did a little hunting...
      Roy: Yeah, more than a little.
      Dean: Uh huh...what kind of furry critters do you hunt?
      Roy: Mostly bucks, sometimes bear.
      Dean: Tell me... uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?

    • Ranger Wilkinson: You boys aren't planning to go out near Black Water Ridge by any chance?
      Sam: Oh, no sir. We're Environmental Study Majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper.
      Dean: Recycle, man.
      Ranger Wilkinson: Bull.

    • Sam: So, Black Water Ridge is pretty remote. It's cut off by these canyons, here. The rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place.
      Dean: Dude, check out the size of this frigin' bear.
      Sam: And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure.

    • Sam: So, we got half a chance in the daylight. And I, for one, wanna kill this evil son of a bitch.
      Dean: Well hell, you know I'm in.

    • Dean: Since when are you all shoot first, ask questions later, anyway?
      Sam: Since now.

    • Haley: You didn't pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You're not rangers, so who the hell are you?
      Dean: Sam and I are brothers, and we're looking for our father. He might be here, we don't know. I just figured that you and me, we're in the same boat.
      Haley: Why didn't you just tell me that from the start?
      Dean: I'm telling you now. Besides, that's probably the most honest I've ever been with a woman. Ever. So we okay?
      Haley: Yeah, okay.
      Dean: And what do you mean I didn't pack provisions? (pulls out peanut M&Ms and walks away)

    • (playing a video game)
      Brad: Dude, you're cheating.
      Gary: Nope, you just suck.

    • Sam: We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right? I'm trying to protect you.
      Roy: You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you goodnight.
      Sam: Yeah? It's a damn near perfect hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid, sorry ass out of here.
      Roy: (laughs) You know you're crazy, right?

    • Sam: We can not let that Haley girl go out there.
      Dean: Oh, yeah? What are we gonna tell her? She can't go into the woods because of a big, scary monster?
      Sam: Yeah.

    • Dean: Chow time, you freaky bastard. Yeah, that's right, bring it on baby. I taste good.

    • Dean: You okay?
      Sam: Yeah, I'm fine.
      Dean: Another nightmare? (Sam clears throat) You wanna drive for a while?
      Sam: Dean, your whole life, you never once asked me that.

    • Sam: How do you do it? How does Dad do it?
      Dean: Well for one, them. (looks at Haley and her brother) I mean, I figure our family's so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little bit more bearable. And I tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons-of-bitches as I possibly can.

    • Haley: You're rangers?
      Dean: That's right.
      Haley: And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?
      Dean: Oh, sweetheart, I don't do shorts.

    • Dean: Hey, you want some white meat, bitch?!? I'm right here!

    • Haley: So really, I don't know how to thank you. (Dean gives her "the look") Must you cheapen the moment?
      Dean: Yeah.

    • Dean: (to Sam) I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things... The family business.

  • NOTES (3)

    • According to the official companion for Season One, Eric Kripke wasn't satisfied by the final look of the Wendigo: "I thought everyone did a valiant job trying to make the wendigo work, but the wendigo just didn't work"

    • International Airdates:
      Denmark: January 15, 2006 on TV3
      The Netherlands: October 16, 2006 on Veronica
      Portugal: October 16, 2006 on AXN
      Germany: October 30, 2006 on Premiere Serie
      France: December 4, 2006 on TF6
      Italy: February 20, 2007 on RaiDue

    • Music: Hot Blooded (Foreigner), Down South Jukin (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Fly By Night (Rush), Out of My Hands (Dave Matthews Band), and Linger (The Cranberries)

  • ALLUSIONS (2)

    • Visual: a trail of M&M's
      This is reminiscent of the 1982 movie E.T. where Elliot leaves a trail of Reese's Pieces for the alien E.T. to follow.

    • Sam: Better than bread crumbs.
      The trail of M&Ms Dean leaves after being captured by the Wendigo is similar to the legend of Hansel & Gretel, who left a trail of bread crumbs when they traveled into the woods so they could find their way back.

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