Discussion of 1.20 "Dead Man's Blood" - Aired 4/20/06 (WB-US)

[prydain]

From The WB (http://www.thewb.com):

After Daniel Elkins, a vampire hunter (guest star Terence Kelly) and John's (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) mentor, is murdered, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) are surprised when John himself shows up to solve the case. John discovers the vampires have taken an antique gun, which has the power to kill all supernatural beings. The Winchester family sets out to retrieve the gun from the vampires so they can use it to kill the demon that took Sam and Dean's mother.

Sorry I didn't get this up sooner, I was gone until about midnight last night.

[goldenboy]

What did you guys think? I thought all the yelling and tension between Sam and his dad felt a bit forced. Maybe it was just bad acting, lol. I wish they would have attempted to explain...sort of why this gun can "kill anything". What's the mythology, the internal logic behind it all? Did I miss some exposition? (wouldn't be the first time, heh.)

I did like the idea of dead man's blood as a weapon.

[N4H]

I agree with both your points, but I still think this is one of the series best eps so far.

And I also thought that dead man's blood thing was a good twist on the vampire legend.

[prydain]

Well, I found this episode a little boring. I kept looking at the clock to see if it was almost over.

For some reason I really don't like their dad very much and I hope his role in season two is limited to recurring only. I liked him in the pilot but he's just so...I dunno, I just can't stand him.

As much as I appreciate them trying to change the vampire legend a little, I didn't like what they came up with. The things didn't have the feel of vamps at all to me, they just came across as a supercharged alcoholic bikers. That extra set of teeth was just weird and un-cool, and they were boring. There was no sense of danger at all. They should have just went with the Nosferatu look or something. But I felt like they ruined their vampires just because they were trying to hard to be different, especially from Buffy and Angel.

The gun thing was a little confusing. So...it can kill anything because there's a little symbol on it?!

I rate this a 5/10, which is shocking to me because I thought this episode was going to be excellent.

[historylover]

I liked the episode, and to me, it ended to quick. But, there's problems on the second time I view it. I agree with you: the acting in the fight between Sam and John seemed a little forced (with the exception of Jensen Ackles. He was note perfect. My heart went out for Dean to have to grow up between that!). If I were Sam, I'd be mad that John spent my college fund on ammunition. Instead Sam laughed about it.

There were also open-ended questions that should have been wrapped up. The vampires have Sam and Dean's scents. Are the vampires going to come after them? Why does the gun kill anything? Is it because of the bullets it fires? If dead man's blood is poison to the vampires, I thought poison kills. But, it knockes them out for a little while? Plus the actress who played the lead vampire, Kate? I thought she sucked. That's it.

I'm convinced that John is actually the father and is human (before I wasn't too sure). But, I still don't like the man. I think he's absolutely nuts. So, right now, I'm not thrilled with the family dynamic.

However, I liked it the first time around. And I like it now. It's just not my favorite by any means.

Kat