Some investigating to do in SUPERNATURAL: "DREAM A LITTLE DREAM OF ME"(2008).
© CW

Mania Grade: B+
Episode: Dream a Little Dream of Me
Starring: Joel Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Written By: Sera Gamble & Cathryn Humphries
Directed By: Steve Boyum
Network: CW

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SUPERNATURAL: Dream a Little Dream of Me

This is a pure monster of the week situations with only a couple of minor exceptions. Now, with many shows that would mean a bad thing but with Supernatural, or at least with most episodes of the series, these single story episodes are still really great. The exceptions I mentioned are that something does happen right at the end of the episode that’s going to change the landscape of the series for a few episodes plus we do get some character evolution from Dean that may also change the way Dean approaches his current situation.

Let me start off by saying that I’m glad this episode started off with some classic rock. The classic rock seems to have been downplayed a bit over the last several episodes. The whole road picture aspect of the series has been a bit downplayed for a while to me too. Lately they just magically appear from one place to the next. It was still like that last night for the most part other than Dean’s caffeine induced driving sequence. But hey, at least we got some rock back! Oddly enough I don’t have some great love for the Doobie Brothers but I do love energy the music gives the series. The opening scene find Sam getting drunk in a bar and Dean being freaked out again by this role reversal that’s been happening between them. Sam is changing a little at a time and I can’t wait to see how these changes play out by season’s end. The argument gets stalled when Dean gets a call that Bobby is in the hospital.

Sam and Dean find that Bobby is simply asleep and he won’t wake up. Since the doctor can’t explain it, then it must be magic! It turns out that Bobby was on a hunt and the hunter ended up getting hunted. He was investigating a doctor that was doing some magic enhanced sleep studies. Well, in total Dreamscape fashion one of his patients turned on him and used his new found control of the dream world to kill the doctor and this kid is doing it to Bobby now. The guys need some special dream root so who’s the go to person for something that’s hard to fin? Bella of course. Dean calls for Bella and Sam has a sexy dream about her. The dream wasn’t connected to what was happening with Bobby at all, it was just there for a gag, a really funny gag. Bella shows up with the root and agrees to stick around to help because Bobby saved her life once. So Sam and Dean dive into Bobby’s head and rescue him. That’s when Bobby tells them that the villain got into Bobby’s head because he accepted a beer from him giving the villain a DNA sample that allowed him to connect to Bobby’s mind. Well, Dean took a beer too so he went on a caffeine binge while he and the gang searched for the renegade “Dream Warrior”. Dean on caffeine is also a really funny scene.

Inevitably, Dean does fall asleep and he and Sam end up in his worst nightmare. While Sam fights the true bad guy Dean faces his worst nightmare, predictably, himself. They crack wise with each other and then Dean beats the crap out of himself. The outcome of the dream is more interesting than the actual demon of the week story. Dean has realized he does in fact want to live and he doesn’t want to go to Hell so he and Sam agree to fight for his life, something Dean hasn’t been willing to do up to now. Bella never does anything unless it benefits her and Sam and Dean realize that when they learn from Bobby that her story about Bobby saving her was an extreme exaggeration. What did she take and slither away with? The demon killing Colt revolver of course! At the end of the episode Sam and Dean pack up to track her down. The interesting question is; who wants a gun that can kill demons? Demons would love to be in control of this weapon to keep it from being used on them like the mysterious “demon out West” that doesn’t like Sammy that much. 

This episode features themes and a storyline we’ve seen many times before. In fact most of it was completely predictable. So what makes this a great episode? The answer is simple; the characters. Sam and Dean are great and I also really like Bella and even Bobby always add something when he appears in an episode. This week the characters are made better than the storyline and they successfully elevate an episode that could easily slip into “I knew that was coming” and “I’ve seen this before”. I’m hoping that chasing Bella is gonna put Sam and Dean back on the road isolated, the way the series started. Another great episode, now I hope along with the Bella chase, we get some more mythology next week.