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1[floatboxright:
2
3Next: Recap/SupernaturalS01E02Wendigo]
4
5'''[[Recap/{{Supernatural}} Recap]] of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'''''\
6'''Season 1, Episode 1:'''
7
8!Pilot
9
10[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/800px-1-01_pilot_5013.jpg]]
11[[caption-width-right:350:[[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive "You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are.]] [[HunterOfMonsters One of us.]]"]]
12
13->'''Dean:''' Dad hasn't been home in a few days.
14->'''Sam:''' So he's working overtime on a Miller Time shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later.
15->'''Dean:''' Dad's on a ''hunting'' trip. And he hasn't been home in a few days.
16
17Written by Creator/EricKripke.
18
19Directed by Creator/DavidNutter.
20
21Airdate: September 13, 2005.
22
23Dean asks his brother to join him when their father disappears investigating a supernatural creature in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho,_California Jericho, California]].
24------------
25
26On November 2, 1983, [[Characters/SupernaturalTheWinchesters Mary Winchester]] was killed in the family home in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence,_Kansas Lawrence, Kansas]], by an unknown supernatural creature, in front of her husband [[Characters/SupernaturalTheWinchesters John]] and her sons, [[Characters/SupernaturalDeanWinchester Dean]] and [[Characters/SupernaturalSamWinchester Sam]]. In the present day, Sam is a law student at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University Stanford University]] with a loving girlfriend named [[Characters/SupernaturalOtherHumans Jessica]] and a promising career--until Dean arrives, asking for help in tracking down their father. John has been on one of his frequent "hunting" trips, where he tracks down and kills supernatural creatures: John and the boys have been doing this since their mother's death, but Sam left the hunting life to attend college after a falling-out with his father. John hasn't returned from his latest trip, and Dean is worried. Sam agrees to help Dean look for their father.
27
28The brothers track down the last creature John was hunting, [[Characters/SupernaturalGhosts a Woman in White]] named Constance Welch, who had killed her children and then herself after learning her husband was cheating on her. Constance's ghost kills unfaithful men who drive across the bridge she jumped off of. Sam and Dean force her to return home to confront the waiting spirits of her children and she vanishes, screaming. They also find John's journal, full of all his information on various creatures as well as the record of his hunt for the creature that killed Mary, but they can't find John.
29
30Sam returns to Stanford, but when he returns to his dorm, he finds Jessica suspended on the ceiling, bleeding and consumed by fire, the exact same way his mother died. Now that it's personal, Sam agrees to partner up with Dean and return to hunting, hoping that along the way they can find their father and finally destroy the creature that killed their mother and Jessica.
31
32!!Body count:
33
34For this episode = 3 humans and 3 ghosts, starting ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' off with the death of a LoveInterest and a Parent.
35
36!Tropes:
37
38* AMinorKidroduction: The episode opens with Dean as a 4-year-old and Sam as a baby.
39* AttackHello: The brothers' reunion at Stanford, at least on Dean's part. With Sam, it's more a case of FriendOrFoe.
40* BewareOfHitchhikingGhosts
41* BigBad: Constance Welch, the Woman in White haunting the stretch of road.
42* BigBrotherInstinct: Dean saying good night to baby Sammy and taking him out of the house in the fire.
43* BigNo: Sam screams this when he saw Jessica on the ceiling dead.
44* BookEnds: The beginning of the episode has John's wife gutted and roasted above Sam's crib while she's wearing a white nightgown. The ending has Sam's girlfriend/would-be fiancée gutted and roasted above her and Sam's bed while she's wearing a white nightgown.
45* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Jessica's death shows Sam he must return to hunting and was not meant to [[RefusalOfTheCall continue his college studies]].
46* CarMeetsHouse: Sam rams [[CompanionCube the Impala]] into the Welches' abandoned house. Dean was not pleased.
47* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In retrospective, Dean looks more immature in his first appearance than he was portrayed later. He breaks into Sam's apartment, assaults him in the dark to test his practice, flirts briefly with Jessica, and only then reveals that he came because their father went missing. Later, Dean takes stuff like that seriously and would tell Sam from the jump what's going on.
48* CoolCar: Dean's 1967 Chevrolet Impala with an armory in the trunk and a tape deck.
49* CoveredInMud: Dean after he jumped off the bridge.
50-->'''Sam:''' ''[to Dean]'' You smell like a toilet.
51* CreepyChild: Constance's children.
52* DangerTakesABackseat: How Constance sneaks up on Sam.
53* DeadpanSnarker: Dean.
54-->'''Officer:''' So, fake U.S. Marshall. Fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?
55-->'''Dean:''' My boobs.
56* DisappearedDad: The central plotline for the first season kicks off when Dean comes to get Sam from Stanford because John's gone missing.
57* DisposableWoman: Mary Winchester and Jessica.
58* DopeSlap: When Dean starts snarking at the police investigating the latest missing person, Sam steps on his foot. So, as they're walking away, Dean swats him across the back of his head.
59* DoomMagnet: The Winchester brothers, Sam more than Dean in this episode.
60* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Averted when Constance tries to forcefully take Sam.
61* DrivenToSuicide: Constance.
62* {{Foreshadowing}}
63-->'''Sam:''' What would I do without you?
64-->'''Jessica:''' Mm, crash and burn.
65-->''[They kiss]''
66* ElectromagneticGhosts:
67** The static on the baby monitor, when Sam's crying wakes Mary up.
68** The flickering light in the hallway that Mary taps.
69** EVP on John's message to Dean.
70* EtherealWhiteDress: Constance Welch's story is in the tradition of La Llorona and many other women in white who haunt rivers and lakes. The ladies in this episode start the fine ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' tradition of white dresses meaning that the character wearing said dress is evil, dead, or both.
71* TheFaceless: The shadowed silhouette only seen from behind standing over Sam's crib.
72* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Sam explains the phenomena.
73-->'''Sam:''' See, when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them. And these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children.
74* FirstEpisodeTwist:
75** Jessica's death.
76** Sam rejoining Dean as a hunter.
77* GoodIsNotNice: It's made clear that our heroes are not {{Occult Detective}}s but are operating outside the law, funding their activities through petty crimes like credit card fraud.
78* GoryDiscretionShot: Blood on the windows of the Volkswagen.
79* GreatBigBookOfEverything: John's journal. Dean steals it back from the police when he is temporarily taken into custody.
80* HairpinLockpick: Dean unlocks his handcuffs with a paperclip.
81* HeavyMetal: The soundtrack of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' is established:
82-->'''Sam:''' ''[going though Dean's tapes]'' Music/BlackSabbath? Music/{{Motorhead}}? Music/{{Metallica}}? It's the greatest hits of [[HairMetal mullet rock]].
83-->'''Dean:''' House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.
84** Music/EaglesOfDeathMetal--"Speaking In Tongues".
85** Loveless--"Gift to the World".
86** Music/TheAllmanBrothersBand--"Ramblin' Man".
87** Music/{{ACDC}}--"Back in Black" and "Highway to Hell".
88** The Living Daylights--"Gasoline".
89** Kid Gloves Music--"My Cheatin' Ways".
90* HeWhoFightsMonsters: The life of a hunter.
91* {{Homicide Machine|s}}: The ghost sends the Impala after the Winchesters, and they have to jump off Sylvania Bridge to avoid getting crushed. Dean ends up covered in mud, but it wasn't Baby's fault: she was possessed.
92* HistoryRepeatsItself: Sam loses his girlfriend in the same way he lost his mother when he was a baby, and he is taken to safety by Dean both times.
93* HorrorDoesntSettleForSimpleTuesday: A double whammy: it's Halloween (October 31st) and, later on, the anniversary of their mother's death (November 2nd, which is also All Souls' Day or the Day of the Dead).
94* ICantDoThisByMyself: Sam and Dean have been estranged for several years when Dean shows up to recruit Sam to help him find their dad. Sam is reluctant to join, but Dean insists he needs his brother.
95-->'''Dean:''' I can't do this on my own.
96-->'''Sam:''' Yes, you can.
97-->'''Dean:''' Well, I don't want to.
98* IconicItem: From the very start we have:
99** Dean's amulet: a horned head held around his neck on a black string.
100** The 1967 Chevrolet Impala.
101* IJustWantToBeNormal: Sam Winchester.
102-->'''Dean:''' ''[to Sam]'' So, what are you gonna do? Just live some normal, apple-pie life? Is that it?
103* ImMelting: Constance Welch and her children become a puddle of water after flashes of light and fire.
104* InsaneTrollLogic: Constance feels perfectly justified in trying to kill Sam after he's "unfaithful" - that is, after she attempts to sexually assault him. It doesn't end well for her.
105* InsistentTerminology: It's "Sam", not "Sammy".
106-->'''Sam:''' You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old. It's Sam, okay?
107* ItsPersonal: For John and Dean after Mary's death, but Sam was only an infant then. It's not personal for him until Jessica's death exactly twenty-two years later.
108* KarmicDeath: More like "karmic dragging down to Hell", but this is what happens to Constance when she goes home.
109* KilledOffForReal: Mary Winchester and Jessica Moore.
110* LiteralCliffHanger: Sam and Dean jump off the bridge to avoid getting run over. Sam ends up on a pipe attached to the bridge, but Dean falls in the river and gets CoveredInMud.
111* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Jessica.
112* TheLostLenore: Sam is haunted by Jessica's death for a long time.
113* LoveableRogue: Dean, who [[TheBroCode hits on his brother's girlfriend]], runs credit card schemes, [[ImpersonatingAnOfficer impersonates officers of the law]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking plays his music loud]].
114* MaleGaze: Constance Welch's cleavage, seen through the eyes of the driver who picks her up.
115* {{Mangst}}:
116-->'''Sam:''' Hey, Dean, what I said earlier about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry.
117-->'''Dean:''' ''[holds up his hand to shut Sam up]'' No [[ChickFlick chick-flick]] moments.
118-->'''Sam:''' All right, jerk.
119-->'''Dean:''' Bitch.
120* MeaningfulEcho: Constance always tells the drivers who pick her up "take me home." The problem is, she can never go home because her vengeful children are waiting for her inside the abandoned house that ''used'' to be her home. When it's over and Constance has been banished, Sam tells Dean he's through hunting and Dean says, "I'll take you home." The problem now is that Sam can't go home because Jessica is dead, the yellow-eyed demon is responsible, and Sam leaves college and normal life behind to become a Hunter once more.
121* MissingMom
122* NaughtyNurseOutfit: Jessica's Halloween costume.
123* NostalgiaFilter: Dean listens to music from the 60s-80s on a tape deck.
124-->'''Sam:''' I swear, man, you have got to update your cassette tape collection.
125-->'''Dean:''' Why?
126-->'''Sam:''' Well, for one: they're cassette tapes.
127* OffingTheOffspring: Constance drowned her own children before jumping off a bridge and committing suicide. [[SelfMadeOrphan They get their revenge at the end of the episode when their spirits drag hers to Hell]].
128* OurGhostsAreDifferent
129* PlotTriggeringDeath: Mary Winchester.
130* RainOfBlood: The blood dripping onto John's hand in Sam's crib and the blood that drips on Sam when he lies down in his bed.
131* SacrificialLamb: Mary and Jess.
132* SentientVehicle: The ghost possesses the Impala and uses it to chase down the Winchesters and force them off the bridge.
133* ShoutOut:
134** To both ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' and the ''Series/TheCosbyShow'':
135--->'''Sam:''' We're not exactly the [[Series/TheBradyBunch Bradys]].
136--->'''Friend:''' And I'm not exactly the [[Series/TheCosbyShow Huxtables]].
137** When Dean sees Jessica's tight shirt, he says, "I love ''Franchise/TheSmurfs''".
138** Sam makes a lot of references to alcohol when talking about where his father might be:
139--->'''Sam:''' So he's working overtime on a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_Brewing_Company Miller Time]] shift. He'll stumble back in sooner or later.
140--->'''Sam:''' Yeah, he's just deer-hunting up at the cabin, and he's probably got [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Beam Jim]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Daniel%27s Jack]], and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Cuervo Jose]] along with him. We're just gonna go bring him back.
141** Dean calls two FBI agents [[Series/TheXFiles Agent Mulder and Agent Scully]].
142** When the police spot Dean, he calls Sam and says, "Dude, [[Series/HawaiiFiveO Five-O]]. Take off".
143** Dean asks the police if he is in "misdemeanor trouble, or, uh, [[Film/{{Deliverance}} squeal-like-a-pig]] trouble?"
144** Sam asks Dean what he was thinking when he shot [[WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost Casper]] in the face.
145* SiblingTeam: Dean and Sam.
146* TheSpartanWay: The way the Winchester brothers were raised.
147-->'''Sam:''' You think Mom would have wanted this for us? The weapon training and the melting the silver into bullets. Man, Dean, we were raised like warriors.
148* SpeakInUnison: This will be a RunningGag for the Winchester brothers.
149-->'''Sam and Dean:''' What do they talk about?
150* SpontaneousHumanCombustion: Mary and Jessica, but with a supernatural cause.
151* TemporaryLoveInterest: Jess for Sam.
152* ThemedAliases: Dean claims to be Music/TedNugent, when questioned by the police, starting his list of classic rock aliases.
153* ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight:
154-->'''Sam:''' Yeah? When I told Dad when I was scared of the thing in my closet he gave me a .45.
155-->'''Dean:''' Well, what was he supposed to do?
156-->'''Sam:''' I was 9 years old! He was supposed to say "don't be afraid of the dark".
157-->'''Dean:''' Don't be afraid of the dark? What, are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid of the dark! You know what's out there!
158* ToughLove: The way John raised the boys and how Dean raised Sam.
159* ThroughHisStomach: Jessica baked Sam cookies while he was away.
160* WalkingTheEarth: The loss of their mother and home is the start of a nomadic life for the Winchesters.
161* WatchingTroyBurn: John Winchester, hugging his sons in the light of the fire trucks, realizes [[YouCantGoHomeAgain all that he has lost]].
162* WhamShot: Jessica burning pinned on the ceiling.
163* WhiteSheep: The source of Sam's two-year-long estrangement from his family is his decision to go to college.
164* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Constance Welch.

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