I’ll be honest. When I saw the promo for the Hook Man, I was a bit skeptical. I’ve never really taken to that legend, and it felt like an early grab for ratings, given how often it’s been used as a theme over the years. But it didn’t take long for the concept to win me over, because it wasn’t treated like something above and beyond the norm for the Winchester brothers. Instead of a stunt episode, this was a solidly dark tale.

Normally, the hot women on this show are little more than skinny eye candy. Even Amy Acker was tossed out for show, with very little character to work with (leaving aside commentary on her acting). Jane McGregor, on the other hand, blew me away. Her role still wasn’t overly complex, but since her psychology was at the center of the story, Lori and her interaction with Sam was critical to the episode’s success. I’ve never seen this actress before, but I was impressed at how quickly she could turn on the hotness.

Speaking of Sam, I wasn’t nearly as disappointed in his character as I have been in the past.

In my comments on earlier episodes, I mentioned that Dean was becoming a far more compelling character than Sam. After this episode, I still feel that this is the case. What’s more, I think the writers are beginning to recognize it. This is ostensibly Sam’s episode, delving into his world and his emotions. Yet what I took away from it was a better sense of Dean’s issue with Sam and his previous life.

Sam was the one who escaped, and for that reason alone, Sam should have a lot of internal conflict with his current situation. He thought he had escaped his past, and it came back to bite him. Intersections with his old life are almost impossible, because he has to lie to them, and there’s an inevitable barrier of deception.

Jared plays the character as someone trying to contain his broiling emotions behind a flat affect, which can work if there’s sufficient acting ability. Think of Edward Olmos on “Battlestar: Galactica” and how clearly he can communicate with just a minimal shift of facial expression. Jared doesn’t have that, and so what is meant to seem like an extreme bit of conflict doesn’t necessarily shine through.