This episode is important for several reasons. 1) It establishes that there is a demon war coming and that the psychic kids will play a part in it. 2)It introduces the character of Ava, who will come up again. 3) It brings Gordon back on the canvas. 4)Sam finally admits that he is Hunting because he thinks its making a real difference in the world. 5)It reveals what John told Dean in "In My Time of Dying": Dean must either save Sam or kill him. This is an important episode and you really can't skip it.<br /><br />"Hunted" revolved around Sam finally learning about John's dying words back in "In My Time of Dying." Apparently having some idea of Sam's destiny, John told Dean that one day he'd have to either save Dean or kill his brother. Dean is confused by what his father meant by that, and why Sam's immune to the "Croatoan" demon virus and how his visions are connected to the Yellow Eyed Demon. Dean thinks that they should lay low. Sam disagrees. Angry and scared he takes off for the Roadhouse leaving Dean behind. While he's there, he gets Ash to find out more about the psychic kids. It turns out one has been killed recently and Sam heads off to investigate.<br /><br />Sam soon meets up with a girl named Ava, who says that she has visions of people's death, just like Sam. She's seen Sam being blown-up. She and Sam begin investigating the other psychic guy's death. Dean arrives in town, just in time to stop Gordon from killing Sam. Gordon kidnaps Dean and explains that he's on a new mission. He's heard of a coming war between humans and demons. The psychic kids are suppose to be helping the demon side. Gordon tries to trick Sam into triggering an explosive device, but thanks to Ava's warning, Sam survives. He and Dean escape Gordon and call the police so Gordon is arrested. Dean says that they should lay low, especially when they learn that someone at the Roadhouse tipped off Gordon. But, Sam insists that he's committed to Hunting now and that what the brothers do makes a difference in the world. Meanwhile, Ava vanishes and her fiancé is killed. The boys find traces of sulfur at her apartment and think she might have been taken by demons.<br /><br />There are some good parts to this episode. I like the scene with Sam & Dean discussing John. Dean is trying to explain things to Sam, but all Sam can hear is that he might go evil. I think Sam knows that Dean will try to shield him and that the only way he'll ever get any real answers is to go out looking for them. Otherwise he could one day just wake up "darkside" and hurt his brother. It's an interesting. And I like Ava. She's such a cute, funny little thing in this episode. She and Sam are actually a good team, as they investigate the case. Her line, "Can't you just leave town before you blow up?" just makes me laugh. And I always like Gordon. He's such a good villain because he BELIEVES what he's doing. When Dean attacks him in a blind rage, punching Gordon and the two of them fight on the rooftop it's really cool. The phone call where Dean tips Sam off with the code word "Funky Town" is perfect. And I like the trip wires going off as Sam breaks into the abandoned house. Dean's panic as he thinks that Sam has been killed is incredible. When Sam comes into untie him, Dean just grabs at his brother, checking him for injuries and immediately heading into kill Gordon. But, Dean leaves the house when Sam asks him to, because he trust his brother's judgment. It's sweet.<br /><br />One interesting feature of this episode is the question that Gordon poses to Dean. Gordon is convinced that Sam is evil. An unclean Anti-Christ type figure. He's convinced that he's right in his quest to kill Sam. Gordon can sort of understand Dean's hesitance to get on-board with the "lets-kill-Sammy" plan, seeing as Sam's his brother. But he also thinks that, as a professional Hunter, Dean should be able to understand the bigger issues here. He sees Dean as blinded by emotion. So Gordon asks what Dean thinks John would have done. If Sammy went evil, if John could stop him, would he shoot his own son? It's an interesting question. John seems to have told Dean to do just that in "In My Time of Dying." But, realistically, John HAD to know that Dean would NEVER shoot Sam. Not for any reason. No matter what. Before John told Dean that he might have to kill Sam one day, he started crying and telling Dean that Dean was the one who'd kept the family together. ("You took care of me, you took care of Sammy...") And that was also just hours after the events of "Devil's Trap," where John heard Dean begging Sam to not shoot John, stopping Sam from killing the YED once and for all. So in "In My Time of Dying," could John have really BELIEVED that Dean would kill Sam if it came down to the line? Did he really WANT Dean to? Could John have done it himself? I just don't know.<br /><br />On the down side, we never do get any resolution on how Gordon got the information on Sam from the Roadhouse.<br /><br />My favorite part of the episode: Ava at the psychiatrist's office, acting as a distraction for Sam. "I just remembered that when I was a kid, I ate like 6 things of Pop-Rocks and then drank a whole can of soda! You don't think that counts as a suicide attempt, do you?"