Throw in Battlestar Galactica's gorgeous Tricia Helfer as a co-star, a couple of spooky shacks in creepy woods and a story which takes place during a single night and you've got a standalone episode that encapsulates Sam and Dean's mission as well as the show's Pilot.The vengeful ghost of a dead farmer haunts an isolated section of road, once a year, on the anniversary of his death.
Sam and Dean thus have one night to track him and lay him to rest, but they are flagged down by Molly (Tricia Helfer), whose car crashed after her husband swerved to avoid hitting the ghost of the farmer. Now her husband has disappeared and she's been chased through the woods by the gruesome ghost.
Molly refuses to leave the area until she can find her husband and so tags along with the Winchesters on their ghost hunt - even though she is initially sceptical (and scared) when they reveal their presence on the road was no co-incidence and that they are seeking to vanquish an apparition.
The story, which explores the brothers different approaches to the paranormal as well as the question of what happens to spirits after they are 'set free', has a brilliant twist, which I only began to suspect towards the turning point for the final act.
Roadkill is classic Supernatural; a welcome breather from the overarching through-plot of the season and a return to the show's roots.
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I made it through two episodes tonight. Another good one, and Tricia Helfer did a nice job.
I'm afraid I saw the twist coming right from the very beginning (well, from the first time Sam and Dean met Molly and exchanged glances). It didn't totally spoil the episode for me--in fact, the subtext of what was really going on flavored a lot of the development of the story--but it did let a little of the air out of the tires.
The moment in the "previously" section when we saw Sam and Dean arguing about whether all supernatural creatures were evil didn't exactly help keep the secret here. It did, though, with its flashes of previous episodes, remind me of some of the stronger episodes of the first season, with a little less of the overall story arc and more of just Sam and Dean fighting some scary creatures. I'm hoping we get back to more of those types of stories. Tonight for me, after a break of a couple of weeks from Supernatural, featured two episodes with Sam and Dean a little out of perspective (the untrustworthy narration of the Tall Tales episode and then Molly's POV here). I hope the next one returns to form a bit more.
And cheers, Tim, on 100 followers.
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Thank you for the congratulations - I know it doesn't really mean much in the greater scheme of things, but it's a certain validation that I'm not totally wasting my time here ;)
The monster-hunting episodes never disappear entirely, but do becomes less frequent as the show moves on through the years.
I'm rather torn about this because part of me loves and embraces the "Big Mythology-Building Story", but, like you, I also miss the more 'traditional' Winchesters Vs Creatures Of The Night scenarios.
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