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Like Looking In A Mirror: Haley in Wendigo
I wonder, was it intentional on the part of the writers that Haley so closely resembles Dean? Many of the parallels between the two characters wouldn’t have been evident so early in the series so it might well be coincidence. On the other hand, if it’s not coincidence, the foreshadowing is quite something.
The Collins family in Wendigo is almost a perfect reflection of the Winchesters. Their parents are long gone, as is Mary Winchester, which has resulted in a close bond between the remaining brothers and sisters. The eldest brother, Tommy, is missing on a camping trip. Though Tommy and Haley seem quite close in age, it’s reasonable to suggest that Tommy would have naturally taken over the paternal role in the family after their father died: he therefore parallels the missing John Winchester. Haley herself is Dean: practical, pro-active, protective of her younger brother and determined to find the missing Tommy. She even places herself between Sam and Roy when the two men fight; a gesture almost identical to Dean breaking up Sam and John’s fight in Dead Man’s Blood. The younger brother, Ben, parallels Sam, though in function only: he’s the youngest, the one who needs to be looked after. That’s not too far from where Sam is in this episode, so soon after Jessica’s death.
It’s not stated directly in the episode, but Haley’s reaction to Tommy’s failure to make contact suggests that Blackwater Ridge is known, locally, as a dangerous place. When the Winchesters show up at Haley’s door she tells them Tommy has been out of contact for only three days. In that time Haley has contacted the local Rangers’ office often enough to piss them off, and has hired a guide to take her into the mountains to search herself. It’s not surprising Ranger Wilkinson thinks she’s overly paranoid.
Yet our first impression of her doesn’t fit Wilkinson’s portrayal. She displays a healthy caution when Dean and Sam show up claiming to be with the Ranger service and demands to see some ID. The ID is evidently convincing enough, and Dean’s story is consistent with her experience so she welcomes them into her home and answers their questions. Our first sight of her is quite a domestic one: she’s in the middle of serving dinner (or is she clearing the table? It’s not quite clear to me) for her younger brother when Dean and Sam
arrive.
What’s most interesting in this scene is what Haley does not do. This is not a woman hysterical with worry over a brother who’s having too much fun camping to call. She’s calm and collected. She explains to Dean and Sam why she believes something has happened to Tommy and her reasoning is logical, but she doesn’t talk like someone desperate to convince them. No, she goes right on serving dinner. She doesn’t much care if they believe her: she has already made up her mind to take action herself.
DEAN: Well, we’ll find your brother, we’re headin’ out to Blackwater Ridge first thing.
HALEY: Then maybe I’ll see you there. (SAM and DEAN both give her a look.) Look. I can’t sit around here anymore, so I hired a guide. I’m heading out in the morning and I’m gonna find Tommy myself.
DEAN: I think I know how you feel.
Haley doesn’t need Dean and Sam’s assistance. She doesn’t expect it. She’s extremely self-reliant. The script doesn’t specify how long ago her parents died, but her calm confidence as she discusses Tommy’s disappearance suggests that Haley was orphaned quite young. She’s a person who instinctively relies on no one except her own family. Again, this parallels Dean, who (though not an orphan) had a similar attitude drilled into him by his father from an early age.
Haley’s self-confidence is on display again the following day. She’s not heading into the wilderness on a whim; when she challenges “Ranger” Dean about his clothing and supplies she’s showing that she knows what she’s doing out there. She’s an active person and has evidently gone camping and hiking before; but not at Blackwater Ridge itself, since she needs a guide.
Roy is the one man Haley appears to rely on for help, but even with him, she’s the one in charge. She hired him. When we first meet Roy, he and Haley are disagreeing about taking Ben along on their search: she gets her way. She defers to his judgement in the areas of expertise for which she hired him, but she leads the way in everything else. She’s the one who challenges Dean’s story, she’s the one who decides to let the Winchester boys tag along, and she decides, over Roy’s objections, to take their advice after their first encounter with the Wendigo.
It’s Dean Haley appears to trust. She’s such a practical person, we might expect her to share Roy’s scepticism, but she accepts Dean’s word and his leadership with remarkable little need for persuasion, though she knows he’s already lied to her once – about being a Ranger. Perhaps it is because Roy’s way would have her brother dead - the bloodstained, torn up tent speaks for itself - while Dean’s offers some hope that he’s still alive.
Though she remains relatively composed throughout the crisis, Haley’s actions suggest she’s more desperate than she appears. If she truly believes Dean’s story about a super-powered monster that eats human flesh, the one thing that should be obvious is that they are all in very serious danger: including her younger brother Ben. Yet she prefers to keep Ben with her rather than send him to safety. True, it’s probably too late for that, but still it says a great deal about her that she will not leave while there’s hope for her brother, despite the danger they are all exposed to by her staying. It’s yet another parallel with Dean’s actions as the season progresses.
That said, she is taking herself into danger, too. Haley’s courage is not in doubt. Neither is her devotion to her brother. The closest she comes to falling apart is not when she is trapped in the Wendigo’s lair, it’s those few moments when she thinks Tommy is dead.
Dean expressed empathy for Haley at their first meeting. She appears to feel some connection with him (attraction, maybe), but it’s only at the end of the episode when Tommy has been rescued and is receiving medical attention that she allows herself to express it. Her brief exchange with Dean is full of affection:
HALEY: So, I don’t know how to thank you.
(DEAN leers at her.)
HALEY: Must you cheapen the moment?
DEAN: Yeah.
HALEY (kisses dean on the cheek): I hope you find your father.
Guest characters who show up so early in a new show rarely turn into regulars. In this case, I think it’s a shame. The relationship Dean formed with Haley is one of the most real in the series.
[All screen caps from SPN Media or raloria.]
Crossposted from my blog at Devil's Trap. You can comment here or on the blog.
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