1.03 Dead in the Water

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Dean and Sam in "Dead in the Water"
Title Dead in the Water
Episode # Season 1, Episode 3
First aired 27 September, 2005
Directed by Kim Manners
Written by Eric Kripke (creator)
Sera Gamble
Raelle Tucker
On IMDB http://imdb.com/title/tt0713613/
Outline Sam and Dean investigate a series of unnatural drownings caused by a vengeful spirit.
Monster Vengeful Spirit
Timeline 13-19 November, 2005 (speculation)
Location(s) Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin
[[{{{prevep}}}|« Previous Episode]] | [[{{{nextep}}}|Next Episode »]]

Synopsis

The brothers decide to investigate the drowning of Sophia Carlton, whose body was never found. At the sheriff’s office the brothers discover that there have been similar incidents over recent years. They also find out that the local dam is leaking, and the will soon drain away. The sheriff’s daughter, Andrea and her son, Lucas arrives at the office. Lucas' father was one of the victims, and that the boy witnessed the event and hasn’t spoken since.

Sam and Dean find Andrea and Lucas at the park. Dean talks to Lucas, telling the boy he knows what it's like to lose someone. Lucas remains silent but draws Dean a picture of a house. Andrea is stunned as she explains Lucas has been withdrawn since his father’s death.

At the Carlton residence, Will drowns as something drags his head below the surface of the water in the kitchen sink. Sam informs Dean of Will’s death, and they conclude that whatever is in the lake knows that the lake is draining and it’s running out of time to get its revenge. They assume that the father, Bill Carlton is somehow involved as the thing in the lake has targeted his children.

The brothers visit Lucas and Dean tells him about his own experience at loosing his mother; Lucas provides Dean with a second drawing depicting a house next to a white church, and a boy wearing a cap with a red bicycle. Sam and Dean find the church and the house. They visit the house, and find out that a young boy, Peter Sweeney, vanished 35 years ago with his red bicycle. Dean spots a photo of Peter with Bill Carlton.

The brothers think Bill killed Peter, and decide to visit him. They are too late as they witness Bill, in a boat, makes his way to the middle of the lake. The boat explodes.

While the sheriff tries to run Sam and Dean out of town, they sneak back, suspecting the hunt is not over.

At her home, Andrea is dragged under the water of her bath and is only saved by the arrival of Sam and Dean. Andrea tells Sam that she heard a voice say 'Come play with me'. Meanwhile Dean goes through Andrea’s photo albums, and discovers an old school photo of Andrea’s dad with Peter. Dean assumes that Andrea’s father was probably involved with Peter’s death, and that the ghost is targeting their loved ones.

Lucas leads them to a spot near the lake where Sam and Dean dig and discover Peter's bicycle. The sheriff appears and holds them at gunpoint, telling them that Bill and he accidentally drowned Peter, and let body sink in the lake. Suddenly Lucas is pulled into the lake by a ghostly hand. The brothers’ dive in after him with no result, until the sheriff walks into the lake calling for Peter to take him. Peter drags him under the water. Dean saves Lucas.

Sam and Dean prepare to leave – Andrea and Lucas see them off, Lucas has begun to talk again, and Andrea thanks them both for saving Lucas. As a parting gift, Dean teaches Lucas the phrase ‘Zepplin Rules!’

Characters

Definitions

Music

  • Black Toast Music- What a Way to Go
  • Ratt - Round And Round
  • Billy Squier - Too Daze Gone
  • Bad Company - Movin' On

Quotes

Andrea: [to Dean] Must be hard, with your sense of direction. Never being able to find your way to a decent pick-up line.
Dean: You're scared. It's okay, I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you. But see, my mom, I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe... your dad wants you to be brave, too.
Dean: All right if you're goin' to be talking now, this is a very important phrase, so I want you to repeat it back to me one more time.

Lucas: Zeppelin Rules!

Dean: That's right, up high

Trivia & References

Filming locations: Lynwood Inn, North Vancouver; Buntzen Lake
Lakehouse used in both Supernatural and Devour
Jared Padalecki's hand was broken while filming this episode, because he and Jensen Ackles got into a barfight. The way they tell it, they came into the bar after there already had been a fight and were then mistaken for the troublemakers. Another version of the story says that some guy wasn't very happy when his girlfriend approached either Jensen or Jared.
The same lakehouse and location in this episode was used in Jensen Ackles's movie Devour.
While there is no "Lake Manitoc" in Wisconsin there is a Lake Manitowoc, the city of Manitowoc, and Manitowoc county. This may have been the inspiration for the lake's name in this episode. "Manitowoc" comes from the Native American word "Mundeowk" meaning "home of the good spirit".
Jensen Ackles has cited this episode many times as one of his favorites. He especially points out the scene in which he had to erupt from the waters of Lake Manitoc while holding a child actor in his arms as one of the most "surreal" experiences he's had on the show. This was due to the stunt scuba divers that held both actors beneath the water's surface until the director yelled "action!".
Jensen Ackles again cited this episode in the premiere issue of the Official Supernatural Magazine:

"...but Dead In The Water holds a special place in my heart, too. I liked what my character had to go through in that episode. It was kind of the first time where I really got a sense of who Dean was, and I was able to peel back some layers. I thought it was a good story that was directed well, so that was definitely one of my favorites."

"When I had to hold my breath with that kid, holding him in my arms...I hope you've never had to experience something like that. When you're treading water, just getting your mind around having two people below you in the water, pulling you down...that was a really weird sensation that I wasn't prepared for, not to mention I was responsible for the life of this 10-year-old kid that was in my arms. He's supposed to be dead, so he's limp. I'm actually treading water, keeping us boath afloat with my left arm. And when they say action and I have to hold my breath, he holds his breath, and I have two divers pulling me down. So after the first time, I kicked the divers loose and I sprung right back out of the water and I'm like, 'Okay, wait a second - I'm going to need a minute for this one.' But we ended up getting the shot, and it was nice."
Guest star Amy Acker is, like Jared and Jensen, also from Texas. She attended Lake Highlands High School, bitter rival of Jensen's high school which made for many on-set jokes between the two.
Dean: I’m Agent Ford, this is Agent Hamill. We’re with the U.S. Wildlife Service.
Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill are the actors who played Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy. This is the first of several Star Wars references throughout the series. Also, Kripke has said that Dean and Sam are somewhat based upon Han and Luke.
Jaws-esque shot from "Dead in the Water"

Andrea: [to Sam] Tell your friend this whole Jerry Maguire thing’s not gonna work on me.

Refers to the movie Jerry Maguire, in which Tom Cruise plays the title character, who spends a fair amount of time trying to charm a single mother's child in order to get close to the mother.
The early scene of Sophie swimming in the lake, most notably the camera shots, is reminiscent of the opening scene of the 1975 film Jaws.

Minutiae

Sides, Scripts & Transcripts

Promotion

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