Fresh Blood (Supernatural)
Encyclopedia
"Fresh Blood" is the seventh episode of the paranormal
drama
Supernatural
s third season
on The CW
, and is the show's fifty-first episode overall. The episode was written by Sera Gamble
and directed by Kim Manners
; it was first broadcast on November 15, 2007. The narrative follows the series' protagonists Sam
(Jared Padalecki
) and Dean Winchester
(Jensen Ackles
) as they have their final confrontation with hunter Gordon Walker (Sterling K. Brown
), who has been turned into a vampire.
It also features the demise of recurring antagonist Gordon Walker. Brown, who was forced to leave the show due to commitments to the Lifetime Television
series Army Wives
, was horrified at Gordon's actions in the episode. Mercedes McNab
of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
fame made a cameo appearance
, and was also busy filming the television series Reaper
during the episode's production.
The episode received ratings near the season average, and garnered generally positive reviews from critics. Brown's performance was praised, as well as the twist in his character's storyline. Also applauded were both Sam's confrontation with Dean over his recent reckless behavior and the resulting reconciliation at the episode's end. While critics enjoyed McNab's cameo and wished it had been longer, many found the presence of recurring character Bela Talbot
(Lauren Cohan
) in the episode to be pointless.
(Padalecki) will one day turn evil and become involved in a demonic war against humanity, escapes from prison. He tracks down Bela Talbot
(Cohan)—a thief and frequent thorn in the Winchesters' sides—and threatens to kill her unless she reveals the location of the brothers. She refuses at first, but eventually acquiesces in exchange for a priceless mojo bag. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean
(Ackles) capture the vampire Lucy (McNab), who has previously taken two victims. They interrogate her, and discover that another vampire named Dixon spiked her drink with his own blood at a club, transforming her. Dixon had taken her back to his home, but she escaped to feed. Lucy, still believing that she has only been drugged, is then killed by Dean, as there is no known cure for vampirism.
The brothers locate and confront Dixon, but are interrupted by Gordon and fellow hunter Kubrick. Sam and Dean escape, but in the mayhem, Dixon kidnaps Gordon. The vampire later explains to Gordon that hunters killed his nest, and now he wants to rebuild his family. Though Dixon had planned on using Gordon as food, the hunter's continuous taunting prompts him to feed him his blood. When the brothers—having forced Bela to locate Gordon with a Ouija board
—arrive at Dixon's hideout, they discover that the vampiric Gordon has escaped. Elsewhere, Gordon returns to Kubrick. He requests that he be allowed to live long enough to deal with Sam. Despite this, Kubrick attempts to kill him, so Gordon retaliates by ripping out his heart.
As night approaches, the brothers have not been able to find Gordon. Dean decides to go after Gordon while Sam stays hidden, but Sam refuses. He then confronts Dean about his reckless behavior since his deal with a Crossroads Demon, which left him only a year to live. Dean claims that he is not scared of his impending death, but Sam challenges this. Dean eventually relents, agreeing to behave more like his old self again. The two then prepare to wait out the night.
Gordon later calls Sam and Dean, threatening to kill a young woman if they do not meet him. They head to the location and find the woman, but Gordon uses a rollerdoor
to separate the brothers. The woman is revealed to be a vampire turned by Gordon, and Dean is forced to shoot her with the Colt—a mystical gun capable of killing anything. He then attempts to help Sam, but Gordon prepares to bite him. Sam prevents this and garrote
s Gordon with a razor wire, decapitating the vampire. Sam and Dean later stop on the side of the road to check a rattling noise made by the Impala. Sam is confused when Dean starts explaining the engine's problem. Dean, however, reasons that Sam should know how to fix the car when his remaining time runs out, and also notes that, as his older brother, he should be showing him the ropes.
as the vampire hunter Gordon Walker. The character's story arc for the season was intended to be longer, but Brown's commitments to the Lifetime Television
series Army Wives
limited his return to only two appearances. The episode was "really hard" for the actor; though he was fine with the character dying, the idea of Gordon turning an innocent girl into a vampire was "horrific" to him. Although Gordon's actions in previous episodes were questionable, Brown had always believed the character to be "ultimately good". On this change, Brown commented, "His endgame is to kill Sam, and anyone else who has to experience detrimental effects because of that is not a concern of his. That was tough for me to process and get on board with." However, series creator Eric Kripke
reasoned that the character was now a monster and should follow his instincts instead of logic. The writer of "Fresh Blood", Sera Gamble, also penned Gordon's initial episode and helped Kripke conceptualize the character. She felt that she "lucked out" in being able to write the character's final appearance, and found there to be "something so satisfying about turning him into a vampire and chopping his head off with a razor wire".
Mercedes McNab
, well known for portraying the vampire Harmony Kendall
on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
, guest starred as the recently-turned vampire Lucy. Although hesitant to play another vampire, McNab came to realize that the character was less of a vampire and more of a "girl who woke up and was basically drugged or was changed and didn't know what was going on". The actress also noted that Harmony was generally used for comic relief, whereas Lucy was intended to be "serious and more dramatic". Her previous experience with director Kim Manners
on the television series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
also influenced her decision. Because many of her recent characters tended to die, McNab was delighted by Lucy's offscreen death. The actress was also working on an episode of Reaper
during the filming of "Fresh Blood", and the Supernatural production staff was able to fit her into the shooting schedule. The actress found them to be "really helpful" in making sure that her scenes did not take too long to film. Her portion of the opening scene only took a few hours to shoot, allowing her to return to Reaper the next morning.
Michael Massee
returned as the hunter Kubrick, who believes himself to be on a mission from God to kill Sam Winchester
. Massee discussed his character with Brown beforehand, and envisioned him as a long-time friend of Gordon who could be depended upon. Brown described Kubrick as a "well-meaning...sweet guy", and noted that his wife had a "visceral response" to the character's death when later viewing the episode. Matthew Humphreys
portrayed the vampire Dixon, and considers him a "deeply misunderstood" character. The actor found it "easy to rationalize what he did" because Dixon was at odds with how to start his own family as a vampire, and he maintains that the character had no evil intentions behind his actions. Humphreys hopes to one day return to the role.
took place in Vancouver
, British Columbia
. The opening sequence was filmed outside at night, though the subsequent scene—Lucy's interrogation and execution—occurred in a motel set constructed on a sound stage. Atypical to the series, the motel room did not have a noticeable theme. Production designer John Marcynuk commented, "That motel room was essentially a killing floor for the boys...and it was kind of a cold interrogation scene, so we tried to keep it not so friendly. When you walked through it, it definitely felt like a place [where] a murder had been committed. It wouldn't have been the first time a murder had been committed in that room, either. It was the type of place where bad things happen." Marcynuk took a different approach for Gordon's death scene, utilizing green tones and a cool color palette to create a greater visual contrast with the blood.
department used molds of the actors' mouths to create the fanged acrylic dentures, McNab noted that it was very difficult to speak while wearing them. Blood-like makeup around the actors' mouths helped to round out the vampiric visages.
praised the episode, commenting that "it was really nice to get an enjoyable episode high on intensity, brotherly interaction, blood and gore". Although she had grown a "tad bit weary" of the character's continuous attempts to kill Sam, she was still "really sorry to see Sterling and Gordy go". Charles felt that his transformation was a "good twist", and liked that his "black-and-white beliefs" remained the same even after becoming a vampire. She also enjoyed the character of Lucy and her "really sad" ending, and wished that McNab's role had been larger. It was noted that the "brotherly interaction was front and center", and Charles was "beyond happy" that Sam confronted Dean about is behavior. The "moment that [she had] been waiting for all season long" finally came to be when Dean took Sam seriously and actually listened to him instead of replying with sarcasm. Charles also deemed the final scene with the brothers to be "just heartbreaking". Likewise, Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune
not only gave the episode an A+, but ranked it as the sixth-best episode of the 2007-2008 television season. She praised writer Sera Gamble and director Kim Manners for "creating the best bonding scene we've had all season", and lauded Padalecki and Ackles for "making us care so much and believe so fully that a scene like this can leave us gasping".
Brett Love of TV Squad posited that Gordon's return in the "great" episode was "well worth the wait". He noted that the revelation that Lucy was just an innocent girl was a "nice twist", and deemed it a "great choice" to have Gordon turned into a vampire. Love was sad to see Gordon depart from the series, finding the "outstanding" Brown to be "so intense and committed" to the role. However, he considered Bela's appearance to be unnecessary, and pointed out the implausibility of it being easier for Gordon to track down Bela than it would have been to just track down the Winchesters. Like Love, Julie Pyle of Airlock Alpha
believed Bela's appearance "[felt] forced". She was saddened by the deaths of Gordon and Kubrick, and had hoped that their storylines would have been further explored. Pyle also criticized the episode's lighting, commenting, "With the added gore this season, the show should seem darker. Instead, it’s like Supernatural Lite." While Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune
found the concept of Gordon hunting down Sam to be "inspired", she noted that "'Fresh Blood' didn't do much for [her]".
's comments about the recently resurrected Sam in the episode "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two
"—that what came back may not be "one hundred percent pure Sam"—Don Williams of BuddyTV
questioned if something really is wrong with Sam. Williams added Gordon's death to his list of Sam's recent out-of-character actions, which already included Sam's brutal execution of Jake Talley in "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two" and his killing of the Crossroads Demon in "Bedtime Stories". However, he did point out that both characters "kind of deserved to bite the dust". Peterson, too, noted the "cold, dead look in Sam's eyes" after the killing. On the other hand, Padalecki posited that the "darker side of Sam" was depicted when he killed Gordon "with pure hatred", but reasoned that Sam was thinking, "He's a vampire! He's killing people; it's time for him to go."
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
s third season
Supernatural (season 3)
Season three of Supernatural, an American television series, began airing on October 4, 2007. This is the second season to air on the CW television network...
on The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, and is the show's fifty-first episode overall. The episode was written by Sera Gamble
Sera Gamble
Sera Gamble is an American television writer and producer, best known for her work on The CW series Supernatural.- Early career :Sera Gamble was born Sarah Frieda Liwnicz, but changed her name during college to Sera Gamble. Gamble graduated from the U.C.L.A. school of drama and film...
and directed by Kim Manners
Kim Manners
Kim Manners was an American television producer, director and child actor best known for his work on The X-Files and Supernatural.-Early life:...
; it was first broadcast on November 15, 2007. The narrative follows the series' protagonists Sam
Sam Winchester
Samuel "Sam" Winchester is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of The CW Television Network's Supernatural along with his older brother Dean. He is portrayed by Jared Padalecki.-Background:...
(Jared Padalecki
Jared Padalecki
Jared Tristan Padalecki is an American actor. He grew up in Texas and came to fame in the early 2000s after appearing on the television series Gilmore Girls as well as in several Hollywood films, including New York Minute and House of Wax...
) and Dean Winchester
Dean Winchester
Dean Winchester is a fictional character from The CW Television Network's Supernatural, portrayed by Jensen Ackles. He hunts demons, spirits and other supernatural creatures with his younger brother Sam.-Background:...
(Jensen Ackles
Jensen Ackles
Jensen Ross Ackles is an American actor. He is known for his roles in television as Eric Brady in Days of our Lives, which earned him several Daytime Emmy Award nominations, as well as Alec/X5-494 in Dark Angel and Jason Teague in Smallville...
) as they have their final confrontation with hunter Gordon Walker (Sterling K. Brown
Sterling K. Brown
Sterling K. Brown is an American actor.-Life and career:Brown was born in St. Louis, Missouri. An avid actor since he was a child, he went on to attend Stanford University, where he earned a B.A...
), who has been turned into a vampire.
It also features the demise of recurring antagonist Gordon Walker. Brown, who was forced to leave the show due to commitments to the Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
series Army Wives
Army Wives
Army Wives is an American drama series that follows the lives of four army wives, their families, and an army husband whose wife is in the army. The series, shot at ABC Studios, premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007...
, was horrified at Gordon's actions in the episode. Mercedes McNab
Mercedes McNab
Mercedes Alicia McNab is a Canadian-born actress perhaps best known for playing Harmony Kendall on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel...
of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
fame made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
, and was also busy filming the television series Reaper
Reaper (TV series)
Reaper is an American television series that focuses on Sam Oliver, a "reaper" who works for the Devil by retrieving souls that have escaped from Hell.The series originally ran on the CW from September 25, 2007 to May 26, 2009....
during the episode's production.
The episode received ratings near the season average, and garnered generally positive reviews from critics. Brown's performance was praised, as well as the twist in his character's storyline. Also applauded were both Sam's confrontation with Dean over his recent reckless behavior and the resulting reconciliation at the episode's end. While critics enjoyed McNab's cameo and wished it had been longer, many found the presence of recurring character Bela Talbot
Bela Talbot
Bela Talbot is a fictional character on The CW Television Network's drama/horror television series Supernatural, portrayed by Lauren Cohan. Appearing only in the third season, she is depicted as a character who uses knowledge of the supernatural world to her advantage rather than to help people...
(Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan
Lauren Cohan is an American actress. Her most recognized role to date is that of the role of Bela Talbot on Supernatural...
) in the episode to be pointless.
Plot
Hunter Gordon Walker (Brown), who believes that Sam WinchesterSam Winchester
Samuel "Sam" Winchester is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of The CW Television Network's Supernatural along with his older brother Dean. He is portrayed by Jared Padalecki.-Background:...
(Padalecki) will one day turn evil and become involved in a demonic war against humanity, escapes from prison. He tracks down Bela Talbot
Bela Talbot
Bela Talbot is a fictional character on The CW Television Network's drama/horror television series Supernatural, portrayed by Lauren Cohan. Appearing only in the third season, she is depicted as a character who uses knowledge of the supernatural world to her advantage rather than to help people...
(Cohan)—a thief and frequent thorn in the Winchesters' sides—and threatens to kill her unless she reveals the location of the brothers. She refuses at first, but eventually acquiesces in exchange for a priceless mojo bag. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean
Dean Winchester
Dean Winchester is a fictional character from The CW Television Network's Supernatural, portrayed by Jensen Ackles. He hunts demons, spirits and other supernatural creatures with his younger brother Sam.-Background:...
(Ackles) capture the vampire Lucy (McNab), who has previously taken two victims. They interrogate her, and discover that another vampire named Dixon spiked her drink with his own blood at a club, transforming her. Dixon had taken her back to his home, but she escaped to feed. Lucy, still believing that she has only been drugged, is then killed by Dean, as there is no known cure for vampirism.
The brothers locate and confront Dixon, but are interrupted by Gordon and fellow hunter Kubrick. Sam and Dean escape, but in the mayhem, Dixon kidnaps Gordon. The vampire later explains to Gordon that hunters killed his nest, and now he wants to rebuild his family. Though Dixon had planned on using Gordon as food, the hunter's continuous taunting prompts him to feed him his blood. When the brothers—having forced Bela to locate Gordon with a Ouija board
Ouija Board
Ouija Board is a Thoroughbred mare racehorse owned by Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby and trained by Ed Dunlop. In a career spanning four seasons, she won 10 of her 22 races, 7 of them Group 1s, including the Epsom Oaks in 2004 and the Hong Kong Vase in 2005...
—arrive at Dixon's hideout, they discover that the vampiric Gordon has escaped. Elsewhere, Gordon returns to Kubrick. He requests that he be allowed to live long enough to deal with Sam. Despite this, Kubrick attempts to kill him, so Gordon retaliates by ripping out his heart.
As night approaches, the brothers have not been able to find Gordon. Dean decides to go after Gordon while Sam stays hidden, but Sam refuses. He then confronts Dean about his reckless behavior since his deal with a Crossroads Demon, which left him only a year to live. Dean claims that he is not scared of his impending death, but Sam challenges this. Dean eventually relents, agreeing to behave more like his old self again. The two then prepare to wait out the night.
Gordon later calls Sam and Dean, threatening to kill a young woman if they do not meet him. They head to the location and find the woman, but Gordon uses a rollerdoor
Bevel gear
Bevel gears are gears where the axes of the two shafts intersect and the tooth-bearing faces of the gears themselves are conically shaped.Bevel gears are most often mounted on shafts that are 90 degrees apart, but can be designed to work at other angles as well...
to separate the brothers. The woman is revealed to be a vampire turned by Gordon, and Dean is forced to shoot her with the Colt—a mystical gun capable of killing anything. He then attempts to help Sam, but Gordon prepares to bite him. Sam prevents this and garrote
Garrote
A garrote or garrote vil is a handheld weapon, most often referring to a ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line used to strangle someone....
s Gordon with a razor wire, decapitating the vampire. Sam and Dean later stop on the side of the road to check a rattling noise made by the Impala. Sam is confused when Dean starts explaining the engine's problem. Dean, however, reasons that Sam should know how to fix the car when his remaining time runs out, and also notes that, as his older brother, he should be showing him the ropes.
Guest stars
"Fresh Blood" featured the final guest appearance by Sterling K. BrownSterling K. Brown
Sterling K. Brown is an American actor.-Life and career:Brown was born in St. Louis, Missouri. An avid actor since he was a child, he went on to attend Stanford University, where he earned a B.A...
as the vampire hunter Gordon Walker. The character's story arc for the season was intended to be longer, but Brown's commitments to the Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
series Army Wives
Army Wives
Army Wives is an American drama series that follows the lives of four army wives, their families, and an army husband whose wife is in the army. The series, shot at ABC Studios, premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007...
limited his return to only two appearances. The episode was "really hard" for the actor; though he was fine with the character dying, the idea of Gordon turning an innocent girl into a vampire was "horrific" to him. Although Gordon's actions in previous episodes were questionable, Brown had always believed the character to be "ultimately good". On this change, Brown commented, "His endgame is to kill Sam, and anyone else who has to experience detrimental effects because of that is not a concern of his. That was tough for me to process and get on board with." However, series creator Eric Kripke
Eric Kripke
Eric Kripke is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for creating the television series Supernatural.-Biography:...
reasoned that the character was now a monster and should follow his instincts instead of logic. The writer of "Fresh Blood", Sera Gamble, also penned Gordon's initial episode and helped Kripke conceptualize the character. She felt that she "lucked out" in being able to write the character's final appearance, and found there to be "something so satisfying about turning him into a vampire and chopping his head off with a razor wire".
Mercedes McNab
Mercedes McNab
Mercedes Alicia McNab is a Canadian-born actress perhaps best known for playing Harmony Kendall on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel...
, well known for portraying the vampire Harmony Kendall
Harmony Kendall
Harmony Kendall is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. The character is portrayed by Mercedes McNab...
on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
, guest starred as the recently-turned vampire Lucy. Although hesitant to play another vampire, McNab came to realize that the character was less of a vampire and more of a "girl who woke up and was basically drugged or was changed and didn't know what was going on". The actress also noted that Harmony was generally used for comic relief, whereas Lucy was intended to be "serious and more dramatic". Her previous experience with director Kim Manners
Kim Manners
Kim Manners was an American television producer, director and child actor best known for his work on The X-Files and Supernatural.-Early life:...
on the television series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., often referred to as just Brisco or Brisco County,The series is referred to as just Brisco or by Brisco County by the creator and executive producer Carlton Cuse, actors involved with the show, and by many critics. Some examples include:* Cuse, Carlton, DVD extra...
also influenced her decision. Because many of her recent characters tended to die, McNab was delighted by Lucy's offscreen death. The actress was also working on an episode of Reaper
Reaper (TV series)
Reaper is an American television series that focuses on Sam Oliver, a "reaper" who works for the Devil by retrieving souls that have escaped from Hell.The series originally ran on the CW from September 25, 2007 to May 26, 2009....
during the filming of "Fresh Blood", and the Supernatural production staff was able to fit her into the shooting schedule. The actress found them to be "really helpful" in making sure that her scenes did not take too long to film. Her portion of the opening scene only took a few hours to shoot, allowing her to return to Reaper the next morning.
Michael Massee
Michael Massee
Michael Massee is an American actor perhaps best known for his roles as villains in film and television, as well as his unintentional and accidental involvement in the death of Brandon Lee.-Career:...
returned as the hunter Kubrick, who believes himself to be on a mission from God to kill Sam Winchester
Sam Winchester
Samuel "Sam" Winchester is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of The CW Television Network's Supernatural along with his older brother Dean. He is portrayed by Jared Padalecki.-Background:...
. Massee discussed his character with Brown beforehand, and envisioned him as a long-time friend of Gordon who could be depended upon. Brown described Kubrick as a "well-meaning...sweet guy", and noted that his wife had a "visceral response" to the character's death when later viewing the episode. Matthew Humphreys
Matthew Humphreys
-Filmography:* Bar Karma *We Fight to Be Free *The Good Shepherd *Chapter 27 *Obsessed -External links:...
portrayed the vampire Dixon, and considers him a "deeply misunderstood" character. The actor found it "easy to rationalize what he did" because Dixon was at odds with how to start his own family as a vampire, and he maintains that the character had no evil intentions behind his actions. Humphreys hopes to one day return to the role.
Filming
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
took place in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. The opening sequence was filmed outside at night, though the subsequent scene—Lucy's interrogation and execution—occurred in a motel set constructed on a sound stage. Atypical to the series, the motel room did not have a noticeable theme. Production designer John Marcynuk commented, "That motel room was essentially a killing floor for the boys...and it was kind of a cold interrogation scene, so we tried to keep it not so friendly. When you walked through it, it definitely felt like a place [where] a murder had been committed. It wouldn't have been the first time a murder had been committed in that room, either. It was the type of place where bad things happen." Marcynuk took a different approach for Gordon's death scene, utilizing green tones and a cool color palette to create a greater visual contrast with the blood.
Effects
To lend a strong air of realism to Gordon's death, the scene was created by combining various special effects during filming with post-production visual effects. Plastic razor wire with blood tubing aided in the initial phases of the decapitation; it would slightly sink into Brown's neck as pressure was applied, forcing out the fake blood. For the aftermath, Brown laid down on the floor, and the visual effects department removed his head from the shot and recreated it as a three-dimensional model. The department decided to "push it a little bit farther" by having the head rocking into place and the mouth twitching, but Standards and Practices found it too graphic and forced them to remove the motion. Established in the first season episode "Dead Man's Blood" were the shark-like teeth of vampires, and the design has been subtly improved with each vampire episode. Though the special effects makeupProsthetic makeup
Prosthetic makeup is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects...
department used molds of the actors' mouths to create the fanged acrylic dentures, McNab noted that it was very difficult to speak while wearing them. Blood-like makeup around the actors' mouths helped to round out the vampiric visages.
Music
The synthesized orchestral score of the episode was written by Christopher Lennertz. He feels that "people associate the sound of violins with vampires" due to the "connection with Eastern Europe and counts", and thus used a "very violin-heavy" score for the episode, avoiding woodwinds, brass, and piano.Critical response
In its original broadcast, "Fresh Blood" was viewed by an estimated 2.88 million viewers. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. Tina Charles of TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
praised the episode, commenting that "it was really nice to get an enjoyable episode high on intensity, brotherly interaction, blood and gore". Although she had grown a "tad bit weary" of the character's continuous attempts to kill Sam, she was still "really sorry to see Sterling and Gordy go". Charles felt that his transformation was a "good twist", and liked that his "black-and-white beliefs" remained the same even after becoming a vampire. She also enjoyed the character of Lucy and her "really sad" ending, and wished that McNab's role had been larger. It was noted that the "brotherly interaction was front and center", and Charles was "beyond happy" that Sam confronted Dean about is behavior. The "moment that [she had] been waiting for all season long" finally came to be when Dean took Sam seriously and actually listened to him instead of replying with sarcasm. Charles also deemed the final scene with the brothers to be "just heartbreaking". Likewise, Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...
not only gave the episode an A+, but ranked it as the sixth-best episode of the 2007-2008 television season. She praised writer Sera Gamble and director Kim Manners for "creating the best bonding scene we've had all season", and lauded Padalecki and Ackles for "making us care so much and believe so fully that a scene like this can leave us gasping".
Brett Love of TV Squad posited that Gordon's return in the "great" episode was "well worth the wait". He noted that the revelation that Lucy was just an innocent girl was a "nice twist", and deemed it a "great choice" to have Gordon turned into a vampire. Love was sad to see Gordon depart from the series, finding the "outstanding" Brown to be "so intense and committed" to the role. However, he considered Bela's appearance to be unnecessary, and pointed out the implausibility of it being easier for Gordon to track down Bela than it would have been to just track down the Winchesters. Like Love, Julie Pyle of Airlock Alpha
Airlock Alpha
Airlock Alpha, formerly SyFy Portal, is an entertainment news website focusing on science-fiction, fantasy and comic book television series and films.-History:...
believed Bela's appearance "[felt] forced". She was saddened by the deaths of Gordon and Kubrick, and had hoped that their storylines would have been further explored. Pyle also criticized the episode's lighting, commenting, "With the added gore this season, the show should seem darker. Instead, it’s like Supernatural Lite." While Maureen Ryan of Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
found the concept of Gordon hunting down Sam to be "inspired", she noted that "'Fresh Blood' didn't do much for [her]".
Analysis
Recalling the demon AzazelAzazel (Supernatural)
Azazel is a fictional character on The CW Television Network's drama and horror television series Supernatural. He serves as the primary antagonist during the first two seasons. A demon, he feeds his blood to infants so that they will grow up to develop demonic abilities. His endgame of using one...
's comments about the recently resurrected Sam in the episode "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two
All Hell Breaks Loose (Supernatural)
"All Hell Breaks Loose" is the joint title for the two-part second season finale of the CW television series Supernatural. It consists of the twenty-first and twenty-second episodes of the second season. "Part One" was first broadcast on May 10, 2007, and the second part aired the following week...
"—that what came back may not be "one hundred percent pure Sam"—Don Williams of BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
questioned if something really is wrong with Sam. Williams added Gordon's death to his list of Sam's recent out-of-character actions, which already included Sam's brutal execution of Jake Talley in "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two" and his killing of the Crossroads Demon in "Bedtime Stories". However, he did point out that both characters "kind of deserved to bite the dust". Peterson, too, noted the "cold, dead look in Sam's eyes" after the killing. On the other hand, Padalecki posited that the "darker side of Sam" was depicted when he killed Gordon "with pure hatred", but reasoned that Sam was thinking, "He's a vampire! He's killing people; it's time for him to go."