The best horror shows I’ve ever seen were psychological thrillers, where some twisted bastard skillfully freaked me out with mindbending twists as opposed to a hockey mask and a chainsaw. So, I had to admit the idea of Supernatural tackling such a concept in “Dream A Little Dream of Me” was pretty intriguing. How could I not embrace a story that involved the Winchester boys doing a little mind screwing of their own?
The episode didn’t disappoint me, delivering a thriller with a strange combination of vivid imagery, a very creepy yet believable villain, Shaman folklore involving Silene Capensis, big character development, a shocking look into Bobby and Dean’s heads, and a scarier glimpse of what Sam can do if in one’s head.
In preparing for this review, I thought about how I could wow everyone with some intense dream analysis drawing from the vivid symbols provided in this episode, but I backed away as soon as I tried to explain peacocks on the wall and sex with Bela. Some stuff just needs to stay unexplored. The writer of this episode was Cathryn Humphris, who stepped in to finish a story first started by Sera Gamble. I wonder if, when she was given the concept “Sam and Dean go dreamwalking in Bobby’s head,” her first instinct was to run screaming. Or maybe it was homicidal, and the multiple uses of a baseball bat as a weapon might be a subtle message of her own about being tasked with this theme.
Despite how strange the concept sounds to anyone reading an episode plot summary, that’s what’s great about this show. They take any legend or piece of folklore out there, and somehow the creative team makes it work (okay, maybe not with “Bugs,” but Kripke tried). How much do you want to bet there was a big rise in demand for African dream root after this episode aired? Apparently it can be easily ordered on the Internet. I can see some guy puking up his awful tasting tea right now.
We got more than our quota of touching brotherly moments, with the first one happening immediately after the title card rolls. The scene opened in awesome fashion to “Long Train Runnin'” by The Doobie Brothers (the only song by them I do like), telling us that Kripke didn’t go over budget this week. Sam drinking in the bar alone at first seemed to come out of left field to me, but once we got to the end of the episode, I saw where Sam was coming from when he admitted to Dean that he couldn’t save him alone. He needed Dean to want to live, or the fight was worth nothing. Of course, drinking whiskey at two in the afternoon was a pretty interesting choice for dealing with the frustration, but considering how we saw that in season two’s “Playthings,” the behavior did maintain continuity. I’m a huge fan of continuity!
Article comments
1 - Beth
Alice-
I have a less horrifying take on the Sam-Bela dream: Sam's psychic abilities are returning, but he's not yet aware of them. He dreamt that Bela would show up and he would get screwed. She did exactly that in stealing the Colt. And how about her line that she was there for Sam? Is that potential foreshadowing that Bela's tie into Supernatural's mythology is linked to Sam? I wonder if the relative she killed might have also been a part of the psychic kids generation.
2 - Alice Jester
Beth - That's a great point! There were also many similiarities in that dream and when Bela actually showed up. I remember the line "I'm full of surprises" being mentioned both times, as well as the coat. I guess I was too busy getting squicked out to notice the tie in to Sam's psychic abilities.
I see foreshadowing for sure, since it was heavily used in other places in the episode. As for how far Bela is linked to the mythology, I've always thought she was in deeper than what's been revealed because of the "spirits" she contacts all the time. There has to be a tie in to Sam somehow, and I do wonder how. Hopefully by season's end we'll have a better idea. Thanks for sharing the possibilities!
3 - Alexia Krinit
Another (delayed) comment. We are not who we seem to be, what others think we are, who we try to be for our family and friends, we are just…ourselves hidden deep inside us. I think that’s what “Dream a Little Dream of Me” says to us. Who has the “kinky” dream (even without using the dream-drug)? Serious, shy Sam! Who keeps dreaming so desperately of a family? Promiscuous, happy-go-lucky Dean (remember how proud he was about his girlfriend, a nurse, in “How It Is And How It Should Never Be”, he uses the word “respectable”) and even in his dream, he still denies it fiercely to his brother, trying hard to keep his fake mask.