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Supernatural: The Song Remains the Same

Sam: "They all say we'll say yes."
Dean: "I know. It's getting annoying."

"In the Beginning" was a tough act to follow, but they absolutely pulled it off. I loved nearly everything about this episode. (Except for Anna's betrayal and her horrible death. Why do the cool female characters always die on this show?)

I really wanted Dean to tell Mary who he was, but I thought no, the writers won't go there. But then they did, and it really worked. And then they took it back again, and that worked, too. Which is why Supernatural is such a terrific show. The writers know it's all about the Winchesters, about their emotions, the tragedy of their lives, their love for each other, and that's exactly what they keep giving us. Good job, and thank you.

It's no secret that I'm deeply into Dean, and it was certainly a strong episode for him, but Sam got the best stuff this time. I was so moved by the way he kept staring at Mary with his heart in his eyes. And the best scene was Sam telling an unknowing John that he understood what John did to them and forgave him for his failings as a father. If they never bring Jeffrey Dean Morgan back, I think we just got some closure for their troubled relationship. (Although I still want Jeffrey Dean Morgan to come back before the end of the series.)

Michael's advent (so to speak) was a bit of a shocker, even though it was way past time we met him. And was he creepy, or what? That bloodline thing was set up a long time ago, so it made sense that John could be Michael's vessel, too; I've always thought we might get the twist of Lucifer trying for Dean, as well.

Supernatural has always been heavy with the unavoidable destiny. There's always this constant feeling of inevitability, that the worst will indeed happen, like Dean going to Hell in season three. And now we have Sam as Lucifer's vessel, Dean as Michael's, Michael has to kill Lucifer, yadda yadda yadda. I think they just introduced the possibility that it might not happen after all, that free will in the Supernaturalverse might actually exist, and I want that. I want Dean and Sam to avoid their big angel vessel showdown. (Well, duh.) It would be a great twist if they did exactly that, wouldn't it?

All this terrific stuff, and there was more. I also loved Dean trying to protect John, and John insisting on learning how to post the sigil. And the scene with John and Mary arguing in the front seat of the Impala, with Dean and Sam observing from the back seat, was priceless. "Wow. Awkward family road trip."

How sad that Dean and Sam would have been fine with never being born. Understandable, though.


Bits and pieces:

— The title of this episode was originally "Back to the Future II," but was recently changed. Maybe there were copyright issues.

— How lovely that Castiel now thinks of Sam as his friend, too. Sad that he turned in Anna, though. Damn it, I liked Anna.

— Bringing Uriel back but a lot younger was a fun choice, too.

— Michael assured Dean that unlike his brothers, he wouldn't leave Dean a dribbling idiot. And John seemed to be okay afterward. So there's that.

— I was confused about the sigils fading. What happened there?

— I knew Mary had to be pregnant, even though they didn't say when the boys landed in 1978. The cheap ceramic angel that Mary placed over Dean's crib was actually a callback to season two's "Houses of the Holy."

— Castiel mostly did a lot of passing out. How did Dean pay for Castiel's motel room? Okay, they probably stole some cash along with the car, but they must have done it PDQ.


— I'm going to just skip over the Cain and Abel stuff. And why didn't Michael just let Sam stay dead? Yes, fate, inevitability, but why didn't Michael just let Sam stay dead?

Quotes:

Anna: "This is what you dream about?"
Dean: "Awkward."
Strippers in devil costumes? Really?

Sam: "I mean, the mustaches alone."

Sam: "Is he all right?"
Dean: "What do I look like, Doctor Angel Medicine Woman? He'll wake up. He's, you know, tough for a little nerdy dude with wings."
Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman is mentioned now and then. I've always wondered if it was because Jensen Ackles played Jane Seymour's son on Smallville.

Dean: "What exactly are we gonna march up there and tell them?"
Sam: "Uh, the truth?"
Dean: "What? That their sons are back from the future to save them from an angel gone terminator? Hey, come on. Those movies haven't even come out yet."

Sam: "You are so beautiful."
Dean: "He means that in a non-weird, wholesome, family kind of way."

Dean: "All of a sudden, you really remind me of my dad."

John: "Your father was supposed to protect you."
Sam: "He was trying. He died trying. Believe me."

Dean: "There's a big difference between dying and never being born. And trust me, we're okay with it. I promise you that."

Michael: "It's in your blood, your father's blood, your family's blood."
Dean: "Awesome. Six degrees of heaven bacon." Groan.

Loved it. Four out of four Deloreans,

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

13 comments:

  1. Excelent review...agree with everything thats been said, one of the best this season.

    I think that they made it clear that if Sam died, Lucifer would bring him back to life. So it really made no diference to Michael. I think him bringing Sam back to life was to get Dean to trust him

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  2. Good point, Amazing Spider-Gregor. (Great handle, by the way.) But since they were trapped in the past, I was thinking that if Sam died there with the sigils on his ribs, would Lucifer ever know?

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  3. I share your sentiment, Billie, about the show always killing off the cool female characters. I liked Anna and was sorry to see her get roasted by Michael, especially so soon after losing Ellen and Jo.

    Nevertheless, this was still a really great episode.

    Shame there's going to be a six week hiatus after the next one.

    SIX WEEKS! I don't know if I can hold out that long.

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  4. Why do cool supernatural women always have to turn psychotic and get killed in this show? First Ruby, then Anna. Damn it, I really liked Anna! That being said, an excellent episode. Although I can't help but feel that Michael's mind wipe was a bit of a cop-out. They do all this messing with the past, for the second time now, you think it should maybe have some consequences.

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  5. Billie, I'm with ya on SPN killing off its cool female charecters--or its few female charecters, period. It's annoying as hell, but not surprising, considering how hypermacho Kripke can get at times.

    I think Michael made Sam better because he WANTS Lucifer to inhabit Sam's body. He WANTS to fight Lucifer. These angels are the reason why the seals are broken--Zach basically said as much when he pointed out that they could have stopped the process at any point at all. They didn't. They wanted the seals to be broken, and Micheal either wants to fight Lucifer or he wants to join him. Uriel wanted to join with him and rebel, remember. Most of the angels are mighty PO'd at God.

    And that bit about how there's no free will is a load of bull-puckey. That's the basis of the Bible--everyone has a choice. You can make your choices and take the consequences. Which is why both Michael and Lucifer are trying so hard to psych the boys out, I think. Before the angels tried to torture/blackmail consent, coerce it, bribe it. Now they're playing headgames. But if it was inevitable, they wouldn't have to go through all of this trouble to get them to say yes, now would they?

    In fact, I'm thinking that if God does appear, she'll smite the poop out of them for flouting that basic precept: FREE WILL. It's a big part of Christianity. (OK, except for that predestination stuff, but that was to rationalize being rich and greedy).

    Loved the bit where John said he'd turn the car around.

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  6. The only thing (and it's a really small thing) that bugged me was how Anna got there in the first place.

    Cas made the point that if she'd 'escaped' then heaven let her. But surely the Michael of the present would've wanted to stop Anna going back in time and attempting to kill Mary and John. It just seemed to me overly convenient for the sake of the story that Michael had such a theatrical bent that he'd let Anna almost succeed twice before popping in and 'saving the day'.

    THat's probably why I kind of wish they left the Michael introduction to sometime later, but apart from that, I still think this was definitely one of the best of the season.

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  7. When they title an episode after a Led Zeppelin song, you know you're going to get the good stuff.

    Cynic Flawfinder, I think Michael didn't do it in the present because he has no suitable vessel nowadays. I understood from the conversation that, since there's a bloodline, he needs some Winchester to be his vessel, and Dean wouldn't say yes, at least for now. And we don't know how active and present Michael is up there in heaven, to affirm the angels are carrying his orders. Just thinking.

    Billie, I agree with everything you said. I'll miss Anna. Besides the fact that she was a good character, she was sooooooo beautiful (I have a thing for redheads). I don't think Michael had to kill her. If he had sent her back to the present, what would be the difference? Premature.

    But a great episode, nonetheless.

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  8. Great review and great comments from everyone. Loved this epi it was amazing, Up there with my top favorites. I really liked Anna & was sad to see her turn all militant. After what she was trying to do I cheered when she went up in smoke, but I liked the idea better of Michael sending her back to the present to repent and fix her way of thinking and errors.

    Best comedic scene...The Winchester Family in the Impala. Mary and John front seat & grown Dean and Sam in the back (I really saw Sam and Dean as little kids hehehe) John's "I'll turn the car around" and Dean's "awkward family trip. Hilarious

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  9. I love this episode. I love how Sam just kept staring at his mom with awe and how Sam forgave his father. Too bad Anna had to die because she wasn´t entirely evil and had understandable reasons.

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  10. When this show pulls out its emotional chops, it doesn't mess about!

    I'm usually a much bigger JA fan than a JP fan; however, the scene where Sam forgives him father had me in bits. And the way he kept looking at his mom. I forget sometimes that he never knew her. What a great save by Dean, "She's the spitting image of our mom."

    And the little angel statue at the end -- what a lovely way to tie everything all together.

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  11. This is it...

    One ex-blood junky, one drop out with six bucks to his name and one comatose guy.

    Loved it!

    I still enjoy each episode better when I can read your review while I am watching them.

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  12. The part in the beginning where Anna is thrown onto a car so that its decals look like wings might be one of my favourite shots they've ever done on the show. It's so beautiful and subtle.

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  13. Yeah I liked how they did that scene, whole episode was great, love watching these from the pilot again

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