In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« Bardicvoice's Supernatural Descant
3.16 No Rest For the Wicked: We Are Not Gonna Make the Same Mistake
3.16 No Rest For the Wicked: We Are Not Gonna Make the Same Mistakes All Over Again
No more deals, no time.
Sam shrugs off Lilith’s best shot;
Dean’s soul screams in Hell.
Episode Summary
Waking from a nightmare of hellhound pursuit and attack with only thirty hours remaining on his contract, Dean learned that Bobby had figured out how to locate Lilith. Sam attempted to reassure him with the promise that he wouldn’t go to Hell, but Dean’s momentary hallucination of Sam warping into a demon hellhound made that ring hollow.
Bobby’s spellcasting located Lilith in New Harmony, Indiana. Sam was ready to move out immediately, but Dean raised practical objections about relying on Bela’s intel, which was the only indication that Lilith was his contract holder, and pointed out that even if they cornered Lilith, they had no way to kill her, which they would have to do in order to void the contract. Sam advocated summoning Ruby both to confirm that Lilith was the right target and to obtain her demon-killing knife, but Dean refused point-blank, even overriding Bobby’s support, protesting that Ruby had lied consistently. Saying that just because he had to die didn’t mean that Sam and Bobby had to die as well, he insisted that they find a different way to save him, and not rely on Ruby.
Sam ignored his order and summoned Ruby anyway. She confirmed that Lilith was Dean’s contract holder, and said that she hadn’t told him before because the brothers would have gone up against her unprepared and would have died. Ruby said that he was ready now, and that the time was right because Lilith’s guard was down and she was taking some time to enjoy herself. Sam confirmed that he and Dean still had the hex bags she’d given them during Jus In Bello that would prevent Lilith from knowing where they were. But Ruby refused to give him her knife, telling him that the knife wouldn’t matter, and that he had the power within him to destroy Lilith. She said that his psychic abilities were only dormant, not gone, and that she could help him unlock all of them, not just the visions. She told him the powers were why Lilith was afraid of him. When he challenged her about why she hadn’t mentioned this before, she pointed out that he wouldn’t even have considered it until he was desperate enough. She claimed never to have lied to him, only to Dean.
Dean interrupted them, refusing to let Sam consider accepting her training. When Ruby insulted him, he hit her, triggering a brutal fight that left him in possession of the knife and Ruby caught under a devil’s trap that he’d painted on the ceiling some time earlier, fully expecting Sam to summon her. The brothers left her there. Sam argued that he should at least learn what he could do, but Dean maintained that there was a pattern in everything that had happened with both John’s deal and his that prompted each of them to sell their souls for the other, and he refused to let Sam consider following their example and sell himself for his brother. Dean confessed that Sam was his weak spot and noted that he was Sam’s, and said that the demons were using that against them. He advocated refusing to play the game any more and just going after the demons the way John had taught them.
Lilith, meanwhile, was enjoying herself by terrorizing a suburban family. Possessing a ten-year-old girl, she forced the girl’s parents and grandfather to do whatever she wanted and pretend to be happy, killing the family pet, her elderly babysitter, and her grandfather along the way for being mean to her or trying to get help from other neighbors.
Bobby disabled the Impala to ensure that the boys couldn’t leave without him. Dean argued that it wasn’t Bobby’s fight, but Bobby insisted that family didn’t end with blood, and challenged that the boys needed him because Dean was further handicapped by the hallucinations that came with being pursued by hellhounds. Dean had hidden them well enough that Sam was surprised, but once Bobby put it out in the open, he admitted to them. On the road to Indiana, with Bobby following in his Chevelle, Dean refused any emotional discussion, but diverted Sam into a Bon Jovi sing-along, their last light-hearted moment. Nearing New Harmony, a cop pulled the Impala over for a burned-out taillight, but Dean, looking at the cop, saw his real demon face below the human one, and killed the demon with Ruby’s dagger. With Dean approaching Hell himself in only five hours, they realized that he could now recognize other Hell creatures for what they were.
Despite creeping Dean out, his new talent came in handy as they cased the place from an empty house up for sale across the street, because he could identify Lilith in the little girl and the demon guards possessing various neighbors. Sam and Bobby both said that the little girl host would have to be sacrificed because Lilith absolutely had to be stopped in order to save everyone, not just Dean, and Dean finally reluctantly agreed. Dean drew out the postman and next-door neighbor guards, and Sam used the dagger to kill the demons and their hosts. Bobby meanwhile turned the water supply for the lawn sprinkler system into holy water. As the boys headed to the house, Ruby waylaid Dean, demanding her knife, but Sam stopped her. Dean got his first true look at Ruby, seeing through the host’s beauty to an ugly spirit within. Ruby maintained that they were too late, that Dean was dead and she didn’t intend to let Sam die too. Dean pointed out that they’d attracted the attention of all the neighbors, who were all possessed by demons. They bolted for the house with the demons in pursuit, and Bobby turned on the sprinkler system to prevent the guard demons from reaching the house. Unfortunately, the demons were between Bobby and the boys, so he had to retreat again to the vacant house and couldn’t help or even reach the brothers.
Inside, the three split up, with Dean knocking out the innocent father and taking him to safety behind a salt line in the basement while Sam and Ruby went upstairs, checking different rooms. Sam found the bedroom where the mother lay rigid in fear beside the daughter she had read to sleep. Terrified, the woman begged Sam to kill the girl. He struggled against his reluctance, but finally struck as the girl awoke and screamed – but Dean caught his arm at the last moment, saying that Lilith wasn’t in the little girl any more. They got the mother and daughter safely into the basement with orders to stay there no matter what they heard. Sam told Ruby to tell him what he needed to do in order to save Dean, and Dean again refused to let him consider it, telling him instead to keep fighting and remember what he’d been taught by John and Dean.
Midnight struck, and Dean saw a hellhound approaching. They fled into another room, slamming the door and lining the door and window with goofer dust. Ruby again told Sam to give her the dagger, saying she might be able to fight the hound, but Dean realized that the entity in Ruby’s body wasn’t Ruby any more, and she flung Sam up against a wall and laid Dean out on a table. Lilith in Ruby’s body opened the door to the hellhound and sicced it on Dean. The invisible hound ripped and mauled Dean to bloody death in front of Sam’s horrified eyes, and then Lilith raised her hand and flung her power against Sam – but when the white light faded, Sam was still alive and unhurt. Sam stood up, picked up the dagger, and would have killed her if she hadn’t abandoned Ruby’s body in a cloud of black smoke. Weeping, Sam knelt beside Dean’s still body and mourned, cradling his head.
And somewhere behind Dean’s dead and staring eyes, his soul hung suspended on chains in a murky crystalline emptiness criss-crossed by flaring energy lines, attached by hooks embedded in his bleeding body, crying out for help and screaming Sam’s name.
Commentary and Meta Analysis
Two days before this episode aired, I told a friend that even though “Carry On Wayward Son” by Kansas had become a tradition with Supernatural finales, I wasn’t expecting to hear it this time precisely because it promises hope – there’ll be peace when you are done – and given that I expected Dean to die and go to Hell, there’d be precious little peace to promise to either of the Winchester brothers. Curiously enough, when I heard the opening chords of Kansas kicking off the recap after all, I felt obscurely comforted not because I believed that Dean wouldn’t die and Sam wouldn’t be left bereft, but simply because the song still promised that despite it all, there will be peace when we are done. That may not be for at least two more years (I hope!), but I still feel that it’s a promise not only to us, but to the Winchesters.
I have a lot to say about this episode, enough that I’ll wind up saving some of my brother discussion for the hiatus. But I definitely want to spend some time now with Dean facing his fate, and with observations and speculation on Ruby, Lilith, and Sam.
Dean Winchester: Playing For Keeps
Nightmares were always Sam’s forte during the series, not Dean’s, but Dean’s opening nightmare of fleeing in panic from nothing only to confront and be brought down by a hellhound gave evidence of Dean’s increasing terror. Dismissing it and teasing Sam about taking a fun run to Tijuana, even if it was only a half-hearted attempt at humor, spoke just as eloquently to his determination not to yield to his fear. His hallucination of Sam’s face morphing into something demonic and then returning to normal – the same effect we saw in Crossroad Blues when the doomed doctor looked at the motel manager and when Evan was saying goodbye to his wife – disturbed him profoundly, but he kept his game face firmly in place for Sam successfully enough that Sam was surprised when Bobby asked Dean about experiencing hallucinations.
Despite his steadily growing fear of Hell as he approached death, Dean stayed firmly in big brother mode, determined to watch out for and save Sammy no matter what, even – perhaps especially – from himself. Dean knew all too well from his own example what guilt and grief and love could do, and tried desperately to keep Sam, just this once, from following in his big brother’s footsteps.
For all that Dean has never been given to introspection, it was very clear that he’s given a lot of thought to his situation over the past year, and when he pushed Sam to see things his way, he pulled out all the stops. When he refused to consider letting Sam summon Ruby for help, his explanation was an eerie echo of what the Trickster had told Sam in Mystery Spot, warning that Hell is using the brothers’ love and need for each other against them for its own purposes. Dean followed the progression to its logical conclusion and refused to allow it, determined that the sacrifices would stop with him. He saw what he had done in bringing Sam back as him having fallen into the same trap that had snared their father when his own life had been on the line. He’d had no choice but to accept what John had done for him, and he was willing to accept the consequences of his own action, but he wasn’t willing to let Sam follow his example and give Hell a Winchester trifecta. His own sacrifice would have meaning only if Sam survived and remained Sam, and he concluded that Sam following a demon’s advice or seduction could lead to as much a forfeiture of soul as its outright sale.
I would posit that he was particularly concerned precisely because Hell has always shown a particular interest in Sam, and would likely play the game most subtly with the prize it most wanted to achieve. Dean’s and John’s deals had been overt and outright, predictable for someone who knew how to push their buttons. Dean feared that Sam’s would have been less obvious, a temptation to do seemingly right things for right reasons, putting him on the slippery slope of power corruption without him even realizing it. He said as much: Ruby’s just jerking your chain down the road. You know what it’s paved with, and you know where it’s going. That would be the road to Hell, paved with good intentions.
Dean obviously thoroughly learned the lesson he acknowledged in last week’s Time Is On My Side, that he can’t force Sam to do or not do anything, and he acted on it this time. Knowing that Sam would be stubborn and insist on summoning Ruby on his own, contrary to his brother’s orders, Dean clearly took stock of their surroundings, figured out where Sam would likely try it, and took his own steps, painting a devil’s trap on the lower barn ceiling without Sam’s knowledge and well in advance of Sam’s summoning spell, probably while Sam and Bobby were otherwise engaged. Suckering Ruby into the devil’s trap by engaging her in a fight in which he was totally outclassed was a quintessential Dean maneuver, and he played it to his advantage. His weary, wounded triumph as he walked up the stairs and left her trapped held a satisfaction that her curses couldn’t dispel. Similarly, his later glee when the sprinkler trap worked momentarily overrode even his fear of his approaching fate.
Enroute to the battle, Dean wouldn’t let Sam dwell on what was coming. Instead, he turned aside the “misty goodbye speech” with his impromptu Bon Jovi sing-along. Belting out rock, he could pretend to be carefree, and teased Sam into pretending right along with him until both of them were howling with full hearts. Sam started singing only to humor him, but then it became real for both of them, just brothers together in the moment, sharing laughter and silliness and joy in each other right up until it came home to Dean that this really was the last such open laugh he and Sam would ever share. He still savored the moment, but it turned bittersweet.
Knowing that he couldn’t force Sam not to pursue the knowledge that Ruby had offered, Dean nonetheless did all that he could to make Sam realize how adamantly opposed to it he was even as the time ran out, and tried at the same time to absolve Sam of any guilt he might feel over failing to have done absolutely everything that might have been possible to save him. I’m sorry. I mean, this is all my fault. I know that. But what you’re doing – it’s not going to save me. It’s only going to kill you.
Dean smiled reassurance for Sam even as the clock struck midnight, even as they both knew it was over. His mauling death was horrific, and that Sam was forced helplessly to watch as he screamed and died made it all the worse; Dean would never have wanted him to see that and be scarred by it. And this was the second time Sam had been forced to stand by and watch Dean be tortured, the second time Dean couldn’t spare him.
In the aftermath of his death, we saw Dean suspended in continuing agony, crying for help, screaming for Sam. I found it telling that the necklace Sam gave to Dean all those Christmases ago is so much a part of Dean’s self-image that his consciousness is wearing it even in Hell, or whatever place of torment he’s currently suspended. No matter what, he’s still got his brother’s love, and everything else that necklace represents. And maybe next season we’ll finally learn what mojo it carries.
Sam, Ruby, and Lilith
Somehow, I don’t think Sam will ever be the Antichrist Superstar. He may go to some very dark places to bring his brother back, but he’s a Winchester, and his father and his brother taught him well. I have to believe that his humanity will triumph in the end.
I have always shared Dean’s distrust of Ruby. I don’t doubt that Ruby wanted Lilith dead, but for her own purposes. I wasn’t surprised when Ruby proclaimed that Sam had the power to defeat Lilith, if he would only let Ruby teach him; nothing else explained Ruby’s persistent interest in him. Still, whether his psychic abilities are humanly innate or were generated by the demon blood Azazel fed him when he was only six months old, giving another demon the keys to them seems a spectacularly bad idea.
All season, Ruby pushed Sam to become more ruthless, to kill without hesitation. Some of that lesson has taken; witness how viciously Sam took out the demon guards with Ruby’s knife. But at his core, Sam still remains Sam; witness his struggle to bring himself to kill the little girl, even after having been the one to advocate doing it in the first place. Sam lived what he could become in Mystery Spot; he hasn’t forgotten the horror of that.
Ruby also tried to make Sam trust her the best way she knew how; she told him the truth whenever she could, but selectively held out information she didn’t want him to have. She wanted and needed him to be desperate not only to overcome his distaste and fear of being different, but to get him to listen to her, and not to Dean. All season, she did her best to separate them, playing on her knowledge of both of them to sow secrets between them, understanding precisely how divisive secrets can be. She used Dean to manipulate Sam more than once, while also relying on him to keep Sam safe until she could use him.
Ruby had more in common with Azazel than with Lilith. I was grimly amused that Sam used the same incantation to summon Ruby that John had used to call Azazel in In My Time of Dying, just using a different sigil inscribed on the floor and none of his own blood. Both Ruby and Azazel wanted to use Sam and his gifts; Lilith simply wanted to destroy him. I would posit that Ruby saved the brothers when she could only because she wanted to use Sam when the time was right. And I would submit that Ruby showed her true feelings for Dean in the curses she heaped on him for trapping and leaving her, saying that she wanted to see him suffer.
Ruby’s escape from the devil’s trap shouldn’t have been surprising. We’ve seen other demons able to affect the world beyond the confines of a trap – remember Meg in Born Under a Bad Sign, saying that she’d learned some new tricks and cracking the plaster of Bobby’s ceiling to break the integrity of the design, and Casey in Sin City trying a similar trick, but only bringing down the basement stairs, not succeeding in cracking apart the floor where Dean had laid his trap. My guess is that Ruby managed to crack one or more of the barn boards on which the ceiling trap had been painted. I don’t think that she needed any assistance to get out; she clearly had resources beyond the usual run of ordinary demons.
And so did Lilith. Lilith managed to sneak out of the little girl, evict Ruby from the body she was possessing, and masquerade as Ruby until Dean’s doomed soul-sight unmasked her as an imposter, all without any visible sign. Most of the times we’ve seen demons possess or depart from hosts, they’ve done so in a noisy and obvious cloud of black smoke – but not all possessions have happened that way. Remember the bystander and the fireman in Devil’s Trap, who were possessed without any obvious outward sign. I would suggest that demons operating in a hurry or under stress can’t waste time and effort on being subtle, but that an old power like Lilith can be more circumspect when she has the opportunity.
I further suspect that, while Lilith was ostensibly having fun torturing the suburban family, she was actually laying a trap all along, one that Ruby either fell into or chose to lead the boys into as still being her best bet. Considering the number of neighbors possessed by demons acting as her guards, Lilith didn’t strike me as being on shore leave. I think she was waiting for an attack, inviting it, even, and was thus very ready to undertake a bodyswap at the first sign of an infiltration. I’ll confess to a bit of surprise at Lilith being able to ambush and replace Ruby in utter silence, but we haven’t seen every demon power on display yet. And I think it’s clear that Lilith outweighed Ruby in a one-on-one: Ruby never demonstrated anything to match Lilith’s white-out killer power.
Sam surviving that power blast was the most certain demonstration we’ve seen of the power he contains. He had no opportunity to learn how to summon what he has, and whatever happened this time used the same simple repetitive unconscious triggers of ultimate shock and horror and no and stop and Dean as his telekinetic breakthrough in Nightmare. Unlike the situation in Devil’s Trap, where Sam was trying deliberately to summon the Colt to him and failed, this time, as in Nightmare, there was nothing specific in his mind; just pain and need and negation. He was as surprised to be alive and unhurt as Lilith was to see him that way, and his further immunity to her usual demon power to throw him up against a wall meant nothing more to him than the chance to kill her for what she’d done to Dean. Her hasty departure – in a noisy, roiling cloud of black smoke scrambling for survival, how inelegant – left him with nothing but his overwhelming grief and loss, no awareness of new power.
We’re left to wonder what will happen when Sam emerges from his first crushing experience of Dean’s death to realize that he’s changed in more ways than he knows, and to chance what that may mean in terms of getting Dean back. I’m certain that speculation will rage furiously all summer until we learn what Kripke has in store.
I’m also betting that we haven’t seen the last of either Ruby or Lilith. Lilith may have flipped Ruby out of the body she wanted to take, but somehow I don’t think she had the time to send her all the way back to Hell, or if she did, Ruby may be ready to take advantage of Dean’s presence again. I believe that Lilith, on the other hand, won’t be looking for a head-on confrontation again any time soon, not after what Sam did in negating everything she threw at him. I think that Lilith will pull back and regroup.
Production Notes
I’ve had “Wanted Dead Or Alive” on my Supernatural mood playlist for a long time. I’m a little Dean-like in that there’s nothing I enjoy more than tooling down the road in my beloved convertible with the top down and the rock music cranked, uninhibitedly singing along. But yesterday, for the first time ever when my iPod tossed up “Wanted Dead Or Alive,” I choked up and started crying two-thirds of the way through, when we hit the verse the brothers had sung. I have a feeling that’s going to happen to me a lot over the next few months. And what that tells me is that this episode achieved its goal perfectly.
Eric Kripke’s script hit all the right notes for the brothers, and succeeded in defying expectations at the same time. I know that a lot of people were expecting Sam to go darkside in order to save his brother, and weren’t expecting Dean actually to die. I’m glad that he didn’t go the predictable route. And I’m not even going to try predicting how he’s going to manage to bring Dean back in Jensen Ackles’ lovely body, after killing him so thoroughly!
Kim Manners brought the emotion with his direction, as always, and his collaboration with director of photography Serge Ladouceur is magnificent. I loved the “hellhound vision” pursuit shots and camera work in Dean’s dream. All of the emotional exchanges between the brothers were spot-on in tone, timing, and look; I will never forget the singing scene in the car, with the light and the darkness on the boys’ faces. And for some reason, I really enjoyed the moment in the house when Dean spun and grabbed the father. It was a stunt shot that just really worked.
A tormented Dean chained and suspended with steel hooks embedded in his shoulder and left side in the midst of a nothingness laced with chains and shot with thunder and lightning remains one of the most disturbing images I’ve ever seen. Whether that represents his lonely Hell or a prison constructed of his own mind, I’m not even going to guess. I thought his gruesome, savage, agonizing death by hellhound was bad enough to see, but the aftermath, with him crying out to Sam for help, was hideously inspired.
Jay Gruska’s underscore brought back some of my favorite musical themes, including the haunting musical depiction of Dean’s love for family that we heard back in the cabin during Devil’s Trap, this time playing under his “Eye of the Tiger” speech. I want recordings of his scores released, along with the ones by Chris Lennertz!
I don’t know who was responsible for making the cop car number 54 – Jerry Wanek, I suspect! – but it made me laugh on a rewatch when I noticed it as Sam, Dean, and Bobby were hiding it under branches and suddenly heard, Car 54, Where Are You? in my head! (Yes, I’m old enough to remember that …). And although I suspect that budget was the primary reason we didn’t get to see what Dean saw when he looked at demons with Hell-sensitized eyes, I think that leaving his Hell-vision to our imaginations, with just Dean’s expressions and reactions to go on, was inspired.
The most important notes for me were on the performances, which were all stellar. Jensen Ackles absolutely sold Dean’s desperation, resolution, courage, love, agony, and terror. Jared Padalecki matched him with Sam’s fear and determination, and his horror, denial, and wrenching grief at Dean’s death. The brothers singing Bon Jovi, with both Jensen and Jared deliberately hamming it up off-key, created an unforgettable moment of mingled transcendent joy and inexpressible sorrow. Jim Beaver’s Bobby, getting in Dean’s face about family not ending with blood, echoed Dean’s passionate determination to save Bobby in Dream a Little Dream of Me, and cemented Bobby’s role as a surrogate parent for the boys.
Katie Cassidy also demonstrated what she could do. Her flip into Lilith, when Lilith’s masquerade in Ruby’s body was revealed, demonstrated more range than she’d displayed while just portraying Ruby. Seeing Lilith’s spoiled little girl mannerisms translated into Ruby’s adult form was creepy in the extreme, and Katie’s delivery was a total departure from her tone and manner as Ruby. She managed to look and sound totally different, and establish Lilith as a new persona. And the look on her face at the end, the stunned surprise at seeing Sam still alive and unhurt, followed by the fear of realizing that her powers no longer worked against him and that he was going to kill her, were genuine.
I loved this episode, every heartbreaking moment of it. Going into it, I had no vested idea of what would happen. I didn’t anticipate or favor any one theory over another: Sam turning dark in order to save Dean, Sam taking Dean’s place, Dean going off on his own to keep Sam out of what would happen. Not being invested in any one concept, I was simply captivated by the way the story unfolded, and what it said about Sam and Dean. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here, and what more we’re going to learn about the Winchester brothers as it does.
And no matter how hard it is to believe right now, with those last searing images of Sam’s grief and Dean’s agony, this I have to believe:
There’ll be peace when we are done.
This ends the third season commentaries, but Supernatural University will be in session during the hiatus – beginning as soon as I recover enough to be able to write again!
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
May 18, 2008 10:38 PM
|
Mary, I'm thinking that Lilith was masquerading as Ruby from the time she slammed Dean into the fence and that it was Lilith who got out of the trap and not Ruby. People are speculating that it happened when Sam and Ruby had split up in the house, but there's something off with the episode. I've watched it several times and something doesn't feel right.
Maybe it's because Dean kept repeating the Trickster's words...about making the same mistakes. About being martyrs...and perhaps because I don't trust Kripke and Company. Also...there was something that I read....which is making me suspicious...but my brain can't fathom it yet.
Great job.
|
|
May 18, 2008 11:05 PM
|
I was just getting ready to sign off when I saw your blog pop up, Mary. I can never resist your reviews, so I stuck around so I could read it.
I was happy to hear the unofficial theme song show up at the beginning...although it didn't sooth me at all. I just figured Kripke was yanking us in. Peace will be the end result, and this ain't the end.
I'm so glad Bobby got to go on the trip. And that he didn't die. Thank you for not killing off Bobby, Kripke & Co!
I was watching 60 Minutes tonight and smiled big when a segment on Bon Jovi appeared. They even sang a little of
"Wanted: Dead Or Alive". And I was thinking about the brotherly sing-along as Bon Jovi did it. And that Jon Bon Jovi is pretty ripped for an old guy (although he is probably close to me in age!). Hubba hubba.
I was really impressed with Katie. I know Ruby bugs folks, but I want to know what her agenda is.
And no matter how hard it is to believe right now, with those last searing images of Sam’s grief and Dean’s agony, this I have to believe:
There’ll be peace when we are done.
Amen.
|
|
May 18, 2008 11:05 PM
|
First Thank you for your season long commentaries and insights.
This episode is among the top 5, it did not disappoint. As upsetting as it was to see Dean die,I'm glad there wasn't some quickie Dean save, that would have felt cheap.And I don't think Dean is in Hell,when I saw him suspended in the web,I thought 'limbo',the amulet may be the way Sam can save Dean.
I loved Bobby's 'family doesn't end with blood' comment. The brother moments were very compelling. The sing along added a lighter touch to a very angst episode.
I missed the Car 54 tie in, thanks for pointing it out.. I remember Car 54 also..
I plan on rewatching Seasons 1 and 2 over the summer.
|
|
May 18, 2008 11:45 PM
|
Dear Professor, I truly enjoyed this commentary. It brought tears to my eyes once again as I read through your synopsis and pictured all these events in my head. This truly was an amazing episode.
Dean - I always love Dean, but Jensen's performance in this eisode was stellar. I loved his reactions to the demonic faces you were seeing, and like you I think it's great that all we had to go on were those reactions. I also loved how looking into the face of his death, he remained true to character, putting up a brave face and putting Sam's well-being before his own.
Ruby - I've never trusted Ruby either. Any demon that takes a strong interest in Sammy can't be trusted. Since Thursday I've been thinking about her a lot and can't help wondering if maybe Ruby isn't who we think she is? Several months ago we were discussing theories that Ruby could actually be Meg, and I didn't buy it. But after seeing how interested she was in getting Sam to use his powers and her true feelings about Dean I can't help but wonder...
Sam - I hadn't put a lot of thought into Sam shutting down Lilith's powers. Sure I noticed it, but I was a lot more concerned about Dean by that point. It actually didn't even register with me that she couldn't even through him against the wall as she had just done a few minutes ago (I guess I just thought she was trying the white light thing again). But I agree with you that it'll be interesting to see how Sam reacts once he realizes what he's done.
Lilith - Considering the number of neighbors possessed by demons acting as her guards, Lilith didn’t strike me as being on shore leave. I think she was waiting for an attack, inviting it, even, and was thus very ready to undertake a bodyswap at the first sign of an infiltration.
I agree. Lilith knows the Winchesters and I'm sure she knows that even with the terms of the contract the Winchesters wouldn't allow Dean to be taken to hell without a fight. I'm sure she expected them to try something.
I loved all of your production notes. I agree completely. I don't think this episode could have been done any better, it was amazing. I can't wait to see how things turn out next year.
And one last note, I have been waiting for them to play some Bon Jovi on this show for 3 years. I always thought "Wanted Dead or Alive" would be perfect (especially when the boys were actually wanted by the feds); I was so excited when I heard it playing, but that last only about a second before I started to tear up. It was such a great brother moment and it makes the ending so much more bitter.
I'm looking forward to your summer lectures! This is going to be a particularly long hiatus and anything to make the time go faster will be greatly appreciated!
|
|
May 19, 2008 12:10 AM
|
What a treat to check in one more time tonight and find your analysis, Mary! It was wonderful, as always.
I was in awe of all that transpired in this episode. Yes, because of the strike they had to pack a lot into the last part of the season, but I felt Kripke and Co. did the very best they could without sacrificing quality. Jared and Jensen were mesmerizing and stellar in their portrayals. Katie was teriffic playing two completely different characters, and I feel the love every time we get to see Bobby again.
Dean faced his doom every bit the stoic hero we all love. I didn't feel death from him. I do feel he's in limbo in his own mind, and Sam will bring him back. And I'll be anxiously waiting until he does.
So thank you in advance for any lectures you can give us this summer to help ease us through this hellatus. Nothing makes me wish my life away like SN! Hurry October, Hurry!!!!
|
|
May 19, 2008 1:03 AM
|
Good evening Professor,
What can I say about the finale except, "What a way to end the season!!!"
This finale brought it all: brotherly love, angst and tension, ProtectiveBigBrother!Dean, Hero!Dean, ProtectiveLittleBrother!Sam, Fatherly!Bobby, classic rock (with the very special bonus of BOTH boys jamming out to it), scares, and gore, along with bittersweet humour and heartbreaking moments that are just as hard to watch the third time as they are the first. No other show has ever tugged on my heartstrings the way that SN does and, once again, I tip my hat to J2, Krikpe, Manners and Co. for this wonderful series that has become special to me in a way that I never thought a show could be.
Curiously enough, when I heard the opening chords of Kansas kicking off the recap after all, I felt obscurely comforted not because I believed that Dean wouldn’t die and Sam wouldn’t be left bereft, but simply because the song still promised that despite it all, there will be peace when we are done. That may not be for at least two more years (I hope!), but I still feel that it’s a promise not only to us, but to the Winchesters.
I'll add my AMEN to that! Everytime I hear this song I think of the Winchesters and truly hope that when the end does come, that both Winchesters (along with our honourary Winchester, Bobby) will have the peace and happiness that they have so well earned!
...he wasn’t willing to let Sam follow his example and give Hell a Winchester trifecta. His own sacrifice would have meaning only if Sam survived and remained Sam, and he concluded that Sam following a demon’s advice or seduction could lead to as much a forfeiture of soul as its outright sale.
Beautifully put, Mary! My heart melted right at Dean's "going down swinging" scene. With a mere 30 hours left, his first pritority is still looking out for Sam. And then that last scene, where Dean is giving Sam what he probably believes are his last words...*sniffles*. He knows that he's not going to be able to make everything better, but he's definately still going to try; always the protector. And that scene of Sam and Dean singing, I LOVED that song, and thought that it was perfect for the episode, though I too will be tearing up when I hear it...I still get teary eyed when I think of the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".
I have always shared Dean’s distrust of Ruby.
Me, too. The other thing I found interesting is that we never really knew whether Ruby actually knew that Lillith held Dean's contract, as Sam asked her if she knew it was Lillith and she said yes. IMO, she could have just as easily not have known and just let Sam believe that she's always known that it was Lillith as, if her goal is to get Lillith out of the way, that would be a perfect way to try and sic Sam on her.
On another note, Ruby really did seem kind of scared, IMO, to be left trapped without her knife. Well I guess that's what happens when you try to play both sides...you end up with everyone as your enemy. I also think that Ruby trying to pick a fight with Sam, outside of Lillith's current residence, was her trying to activiate Sam's powers.
...just pain and need and negation.
ITA, I, too, am beginning to think that the reason Sam managed to move the dresser in Nightmare, but not in DT or in NRFTW, was because he wasn't thinking about trying to save Dean, but acting on instinct. As of right now, I think that he can only call on his powers instinctively, but can't summon them at will - what will happen should he ever be able to, though, remains a mystery.
Bobby insisted that family didn’t end with blood
This episode just make me love Bobby even more, and has once again confirmed why I conferred the title of honourary Winchester on him. He's stood by these boys through thick and thing, and I really hope that when the war ends that he's alright as well!
Nothing makes me wish my life away like SN! Hurry October, Hurry!!!!
LOL, Coug, I know what you mean!
Take Care all and I can't wait for our next lecture!
immie_8
|
|
May 19, 2008 4:04 AM
|
Professor, when Sam summoned Ruby, he began the incantation looking down at the symbols on the floor. After the first creaking noise catches his attention and he glances over his shoulder, he finishes the incantation looking up towards the ceiling. I've been wondering -was he looking at the devil's trap or was he unconsciously looking to God for help? Any thoughts?
I really loved your wonderful review of an outstanding episode. Thanks!
|
|
May 19, 2008 9:58 AM
|
so...not really important, but...this kinda made me laugh.
I just noticed that Dean's last word....other than the howls of pain from the hellhound attack, but his last actual word.......was "bitch".
somehow I find that to be very fitting. 
|
|
May 19, 2008 1:57 PM
|
Hi Mary! Awesome analysis as always.
I'm still out of sorts over NRftW. I think I might have to rewatch in order to form any coherent comments on it...I don't think I can bring myself to do it just yet (the wounds to my heart are too fresh).
This episode really hit on all cylinders & kept my level of anxiety on HIGH even during the more light-hearted moments.
I love Bobby & was so glad that they didn't kill him. Sam is going to need Bobby more than ever & I think he best be spilling his guts about certain things that he kept from Dean!
Random observation: Dean being able to see the demons within their human hosts reminded me of Dean Koontz's Twilight Eyes.
I loved Bobby's method for locating Lilith. That piece of equipment was uber-cool. I wonder if they can use it to find Dean, wherever he is. Also? I think Sam & Bobby better stock up on the Wound-B-Gone for when they get Dean's soul back in his body. *sobs*
|
|
May 19, 2008 2:15 PM
|
Mary- I knew your recap and comments would make me cry so I came prepared with chocolate at my side. Well you did it and the chocolate helped... a litte, anyway.
Wonderful blog. You touched on everything I was feeling about the episode. All I have to say is Ditto.
You know that I look forward to SN University and your contribution to Pann's Non-bookclub.
side note: I've always been a Bon Jovi fan and always thought Wanted was one of their best songs. Now I'm wondering if I'll be able to get through that song without crying.
Darn you Kripkie!!!
Carry on Wayward My Wayward son. There'll be peace when you are done.
God I hope you're right Bardic. 
There's nothing wrong with having hope.
|
|
May 19, 2008 3:00 PM
|
Mary,
AWESOME as always!! I LOVED your points! I so thoroughly enjoy reading your blogs because I find myself repeatedly going "I agree" or "I thought so too!" It's just delightful fun to be on the same page with you!
For all of its agonies, both on Sam and Dean, and me as a viewer, I LOVED this episode! It was well-done in all aspects and left me shivering with terror, sorrow, love, grief and loss. There was literally NOTHING I didn't LOVE about this episode. It fulfilled everything I would expect from a quality Supernatural episode and then some!!!
Dean knew all too well from his own example what guilt and grief and love could do, and tried desperately to keep Sam, just this once, from following in his big brother’s footsteps.
I loved this because it showed a world weary wisdom that Dean would logically and lovingly impart onto his brother as a big brother with more experience would. It touched my heart to see Dean "teach" Sam and coming full circle at the end when he tells Sam to remember what he taught him.
Dean followed the progression to its logical conclusion and refused to allow it, determined that the sacrifices would stop with him.
It is so like Dean to say that the "buck stops here" with sacrificing. Again, showing that wisdom and understanding he's gained over the year.
His own sacrifice would have meaning only if Sam survived and remained Sam, and he concluded that Sam following a demon’s advice or seduction could lead to as much a forfeiture of soul as its outright sale.
TOTALLY! If Sam became seduced into thinking that it was okay to bargain with demons as long as the end justifies the means (a philosophy Dean admits as his rationale for his actions) or fool himself into believing that he can handle delving in to the dark talents that are lying dormant without losing himself, then that would be the ultimate failure on Dean's part, that he couldn't stop Sam.
Suckering Ruby into the devil’s trap by engaging her in a fight in which he was totally outclassed was a quintessential Dean maneuver, and he played it to his advantage.
I LOVE this quality of Dean's. It's like Dean doesn't have any idea of his limitations or doesn't seem to care. Still, his skill as a hunter continues to prove that demons, for all their advantages, can be outwitted. All the more reason for Dean to flaunt his victory with a bloodied mouth smile.
Dean would never have wanted him to see that and be scarred by it. And this was the second time Sam had been forced to stand by and watch Dean be tortured, the second time Dean couldn’t spare him.
I LOVE this and plan to talk about the parallels in this episode that reflected others past. On a personal level, I felt as paralyzed and helpless as Sam did, watching Dean's agonized writhing and wrenching screams. I LOVED that Jared's voice broke so many times with high pitched squeals, unlike his usual deep throated yelling. Whether it was deliberate or not (like they had done the scene so many times that Jared was losing his voice), it was effective in bringing out a baby brother's helplessness to want to help his big brother.
I was grimly amused that Sam used the same incantation to summon Ruby that John had used to call Azazel in In My Time of Dying
This was one of those "I NOTICED THAT TOO!" moments with you!
I’m glad that he didn’t go the predictable route. And I’m not even going to try predicting how he’s going to manage to bring Dean back in Jensen Ackles’ lovely body, after killing him so thoroughly!
*died laughing and went all DeanGirl RE: Jensen's body and the killing him so thoroughly. It was pretty thorough, wasn't it?
I'm glad they didn't go predictable either!! I'm going to sound completely sick and twisted, but I LOVED every moment of Dean's death. Jensen played it to AMAZING EFFECTIVENESS!!! In the best of ways, we were spared nothing in detail and affirmation that Dean was being subjected to torture and agonies one would never wish on anyone, let alone a heroic man who least deserves such a fate also that given what he was going through, death seemed inevitable.
(Yes, I’m old enough to remember that …)
Me too, but I missed it, amazingly. Too busy trembling with anticipation to think straight I'm afraid, even after repeat viewings.
Jensen Ackles absolutely sold Dean’s desperation, resolution, courage, love, agony, and terror. Jared Padalecki matched him with Sam’s fear and determination, and his horror, denial, and wrenching grief at Dean’s death.
THEY WERE AMAZING!!!!!! Not enough words in the world to describe well enough how AWESOME their performances were and how they brought home the realism of that terrifying countdown towards Dean's death and descent into Hell.
I can’t wait to see where it goes from here, and what more we’re going to learn about the Winchester brothers as it does.
Me too!! I'm already dying with anticipation and it's only, what? 3 and a half days later? What AM I going to do?
A tormented Dean chained and suspended with steel hooks embedded in his shoulder and left side in the midst of a nothingness laced with chains and shot with thunder and lightning remains one of the most disturbing images I’ve ever seen.
I have a theory about this scene that I plan to share on my blog so come visit, nothing spoilery since I know NOTHING about what's coming in Season 4, but it came to me immediately after I saw this scene. It's based on a Kripke comment.
WONDERFUL AS ALWAYS, MARY! Thanks so much for your lovely insight!
|
|
May 19, 2008 3:10 PM
|
|
Emotional exhaustion aside, there's just one thing about this that bothers me (apart from Dean being dead and in Hell, that is, which bothers me very very much) and that's that for now, Lilith won. I swear, there'd better be some big time payback coming for that bitch. She was obviously scared by her inability to control Sam, so it wasn't a total victory, but I can't get that look of satisfaction she had when she opened the door to let the hellhound in out of my head. It's bothering me. A lot.
|
|
May 19, 2008 4:10 PM
|
Mary! Wonderful job as always!
This is a hard episode for me to discuss. I'm still getting up enough courage to rewatch and try and get more impressions.
One thing that did hit me was, as you mentioned, the job that Katie Cassidy did at the end. I've been with you in that her arm-crossing and pouting were starting to wear thin. Suddenly she becomes Lilith and (to me at least) kicks it up more than a notch. She did a great job in completely changing persona and selling Lilith.
It reminded me of the last scene in TioMS where Lauren Cohan pulls out what I think was her most powerful acting in this series.
I just wanted to say Kudos to both ladies for really bringing it to the last couple of episodes.
|
|
May 19, 2008 6:39 PM
|
I found Dean's echoes of the Trickster ironic, that somehow he learned the Trickster's lesson while Sam couldn't. (Although, actually, I'm not entirely sure what his lesson really was.)
I always had the suspicion that Dean would die. It's not Kripke's style to take the easy way out. Just for some reason, I wasn't expecting the violence of it. I never, for some reason, never put it together that the hellhounds would take him, although it seems very clear in retrospect from Crossroad Blues.
(x-posted at LJ)
|
|
May 19, 2008 7:55 PM
|
|
|
