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Supernatural: Free to Be You and Me

Castiel: "His name is Raphael."
Dean: "You were wasted by a teenage mutant ninja angel?"

There I was, thinking Dean had gotten the more interesting "separate vacation," until we reached the end. And boom. I was right about Sam being Lucifer's chosen vessel. Makes sense, of course. It must have been obvious, because I don't usually guess these things.

Will Sam succumb? Of course he will. He has demonic delusions of grandeur, after all; how could he resist the lure of that kind of power? And Sam can't even kill himself to get away from Lucifer. (Do you hear that, Mr. Winchester? That is the sound of inevitability.) So, obviously, we are going to get brother against brother this season – except it won't actually be them. Because if anything would make Dean let Michael take him over, it's saving Sam from himself.

I love how they just go for outrageous and make it work. They've pulled off so much wild and crazy already. But Michael versus Lucifer as Dean versus Sam? I'm apprehensive about this storyline, because it could very well be their series finale. Where can they go with it but out the door with both of them dead or in wheelchairs, like Bobby? And if they don't do it right... I don't even want to consider it. Maybe I'm just depressed about one of my favorite shows coming to an end, and probably tragically.

Anyway. Dean and Castiel felt awkward together, but they also cracked me up about a dozen times. It was nice to see Dean having fun again. (Although there was an underlying sadness to Dean acknowledging that he couldn't have fun with his brother any more.) I loved Castiel holding the fake badge upside down, mostly because he was oblivious to the fact that he was holding the fake badge upside down. Dean may not have gotten Castiel laid, but he's already corrupted him; by the end of the episode, Castiel was calling Raphael his little bitch.

Raphael really believed that God was dead. He said that God wouldn't have allowed bad things to happen like they did in the 20th century. But... but... terrible things happened before the 20th century, too. Really terrible. And there were even fewer people for God to keep an eye on back then, so what was his excuse? Interesting subplot for a fantasy adventure show, this thing about the existence of God. I like it.

There's an open phone line between a vessel and his angel. Dean can reach Michael, then, if he really wants to.

Bits and pieces:

— Every time I saw the title of this episode, I laughed out loud.

— I liked the opening scenes where we saw Dean and Sam doing the same things. A visual reminder that they're still connected, even while apart.

— Lucifer appeared to Nick as Nick's dead wife. I should have realized what Jessica was right away, but I didn't.


— An archangel can be trapped by a circle of burning oil from a specialty store in Jerusalem. What do you want to bet we see Dean in one of those circles by the end of the season?

— Garber, Oklahoma; Greeley, Pennsylvania; Waterville, Maine. Sam was living at the Great Plains motel, which was all red and black with lots of wrought iron. Perfect sort of place for Lucifer to visit. Or more accurately, Lucifer's astral projection.

— Does Castiel have cooler hair this season? Actually, I think Castiel has Dean hair now.

— Dean was Detective Bill Buckner, a baseball star, according to Google. Dean was Agent Alonzo Mosely and Castiel was Eddie Moscone, two characters from Midnight Run. No rock stars this week.

— Keith?

— My cable went out twice during this episode, so if I missed something important, please post it!

Quotes:

Dean: "Eat it, Twilight."

Dean: "Whoa, whoa."
Castiel: "What?"
Dean: "Last time you zapped me someplace, I didn't poop for a week. We're driving."

Dean: "You mean to tell me you've never been up there doing a little cloud-seeding?"
Castiel: "I've never had occasion, okay?"
Not even with Anna? When they so obviously had a thing?

Dean: "There are two things I know for certain. One, Bert and Ernie are gay. Two, you are not going to die a virgin. Not on my watch."

Hunter: "No offense, but what baggage is so heavy it can't be stowed away for the freaking Apocalypse?"

Castiel: "This is a den of iniquity. I should not be here."
Dean: "Dude, you full on rebelled against heaven. Iniquity is one of the perks."

Dean: "This whole industry runs on absent fathers. It's the natural order."
That one was sad and true. Not funny at all.

Sam: "I did it. I started the Apocalypse."
He finally admitted it.

Dean: "I've had more fun with you in the past twenty four hours than I've had with Sam in years. And you're not that much fun."

I'm not sure how I felt about this one. I enjoyed it a lot, but it felt odd to me. Maybe it was because Dean and Sam were apart, which was screwing with the natural order of Supernatural things.

Billie
---
Billie Doux adores Supernatural which is a good thing since apparently, it's eternal.

10 comments:

  1. I enjoyed this episode but some parts of it felt off. There was some odd pacing and editing in the scenes where Dean and Castiel lit the flame circle around Rafael’s vessel and the when Rafael arrived at the house. Was there a scene cut for time? Was it just me or did it all seemed rushed and sudden.

    So far we’ve had Lucifer, Uriel, mentions of Michael and now Rafael, all the major archangels mentioned in the Bible, I think, bar one; Gabriel. Are we going to see Gabriel at some point this season? Perhaps Anna was Gabriel before she fell. That would be interesting. Are we going to Anna at all this season or has she been exiled to the Sterling Cooper offices for good.

    Dean and Castiel were fun together but I feel they played it too much for cheap laughs.
    The brothel scene was maybe too much, more a b-plot from a comedy episode. However, their climatic confrontation with Rafael was great. It was odd that he singled out the 20th century as the worst ever. Maybe the angels just don’t like rock music. After all, to paraphrase Bart Simpson, all the best bands are associated with Lucifer. Something Christian Rock has show time and time again. Plus, Sam alias might’ve been a reference to Keith Richards.

    We got to see Lucifer proper this week and he’s an interesting character. No devilish moustache twirling for this fallen angel. Lucifer was calm, sympathetic, honest but thoroughly chilling. Mark Pellegrino is doing a great job even it might only be temporary until Sam gives in.

    I’m also going to be sad if the show ends, Billie. But it’s better to end now on a creative high than go on simple for the sake of going on. I like the fact that this is a show where a character, an archangel no less, can declare God dead on primetime national telly and no right-wing religious windbag is kicking up a fuss as a result. Sometimes it pays to underrated, everyone leaves you alone to do what you want to do.

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  2. Castiel makes me think of Anna in how he is mingling with the civilians he's supposed to control. He's rebelled and used free will to say no to the higher ups. Then he got smoked and resurrected and though he has a job to do helping Dean he's pissed off and he's beginning to become more and more like...us.

    I wonder if Sam will give in because of a need for power or because Lucifer blackmails him somehow?

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  3. The constant references to fathers and absent fathers in the series are becoming too frequent to ignore--who on the writing staff has unresolved daddy issues?

    When God finally does show up (and he has to, doesn't he?), think he'll look like Big Daddy Winchester? Wouldn't that be intense? Dean as Michael, Sam as Lucifer, and John as God.

    And their mother's name was Mary. Possibly just a coincidence, but interesting.

    KAM

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  4. KAM, I *love* that! John as God! Perfect. I've heard that Jeffrey Dean Morgan is willing to come back, too, and they never did tell us what became of John.

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  5. Billie,

    Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh... I think I might have just pulled something hopping up and down in front of my computer. I hadn't heard Morgan was willing to come back, but what actor wouldn't be? Just imagine the finale: the Winchesters acting out their typical dysfunctional family dynamic on a cosmic scale, with Bobby and Castiel along, too.

    Side note on this ep: What was Dean thinking, trying to get an angel laid? I know, I know, he had sex with Anna, but that was before she got her grace back and re-ascended. Plus, Castiel is still in someone else's body. What about Jimmy? Was he down with having sex with some nineteen-year-old hooker (with daddy issues, of course)? It was just ick, all around.

    KAM

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  6. I think they might end up with such drama..Sam and Dean killed by John to save the world. Or Dean accepting to be Michael's vessel and killing Lucifer to save Sam and ending up dead! Whichever way, seems like we are in for a tragedy!

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  7. In watching this episode, I was reminded of the Buffy episode "Anne". Sam is trying to figure his issues out, and he's taking himself out of the game to do it. But he still tries to do good and he calls for help rather than doing it himself. It takes a certain amount of strength to do that.

    I have to admit that having the hunters try to force feed Sam blood rang false for me. There was no need for it. They would be plenty pissed with Sam starting the apocalypse. They didn't need to try to do the blood again. It just felt clunky to me.

    Always great to see Jessica again. Adrianne Pallicki was a favorite from Friday Night Lights...

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  8. I really liked this one. But let´s hope Sam and Dean get together soon.

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  9. I'd prefer it if God only showed Himself through occasional acts like putting them on the plane, I think. I know this sounds weird in context - the fact I'm a churchgoer may have something to do with it - but it seems more realistic that way. Plus it leaves the question of faith up to the audience, like in real life. You either believe or you don't - no absolute proof either way. (I was glad to hear Castiel still has faith, even if Ninja Turtle has lost his).

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  10. I just want to say that I highly enjoy Supernatural's characterization of heaven as anarchy with an absent father and an angel civil war. I find it somewhat cathartic and in a strange way the characterization makes the most sense to me. It's nice they didn't take an easy way out explaining why bad things happen to good people.

    I love how Supernatural goes there. Very daring indeed to say God is dead on network TV.

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