Thoughts
Dead in the Water is one of the only Supernatural episodes that I can remember being truly cinematic. Of course, there are many episodes with a tight story, amazing acting, emotional resonance and slick editing. But this episode is like a movie you’d see in a theater. The story is completely contained in the series arc. It also features many familiar horror-genre devices: pasty kid with psychic powers and trauma; beautiful, vulnerable young woman; shady father figure(s). Most importantly a spectacularly sinister poltergeist.
The direction and acting help transcend the ordinary horror script into something much more macabre. First, the direction is top-notch. The story is tight. The shots are unique and heighten the creepy factor, most notably the scene where Andrea (Amy Acker) is in the tub. One shot that sticks out in my mind is the perspective of Andrea’s feet adjusting the faucet knobs. The knack for ordinariness (who doesn’t do that in the tub?!) brings a truly menacing element to what happens next.
The atmosphere and tone the director (Kim Manners) sets is grim and dank. There is hardly any sunlight, only a layer of gray clouds. Everything from the town’s buildings to the trees to the actor’s skin tone takes on a watery hue. A sense of dread and claustorphobia permeate the episode. Also, the trademark humor between Sam and Dean is mostly absent, replaced by an urgency to solve the mystery.
Amy Ackers is, as always, lovely. Andrea, her character, is the generic nice, sweet, single suburban mom. I’ve read other sites calling Andrea the proto-Lisa, and I’d have to agree. Lucas is played with an ordinariness that helps surpass the usual brooding-weird psychic kid cliché. Ackles and Padalecki further establish Dean and Sam. Dean puts on an empathetic child-psychologist role that he surprises himself by being good at. This episode demonstrates that both Dean and Sam care about the people they save, and their mission is more than just killing baddies.
Mythology
Vengeful spirit, trauma-induced child psychic abilities
Under the Old Oak Tree 