I know that this is rather late (it was supposed to be posted last Thursday), however I decided that I couldn't post my thoughts on
Are You There God? It's Me, Dean Winchester without posting my thoughts for the season premiere. So, here's hoping that like a good book you like to re-read, or a good movie you like to re-watch, the Season Four Premiere episode -
Lazarus Rising - is one you won't mind one more posting to read. Barring further real life inconveniences, my episode 2 ramble WILL be posted before episode 3 airs. I've got to get caught up!
Oh ... also ... just so you know ... I REALLY liked this episode and I REALLY got kinda lengthy. *shrugs* I know, you're really shocked. *grins*
Thanks in advance for stopping by ...
********************************
*dances into the Ramble Room*
Ahhhh!
Greetings my dear friends, Inmates, blog buddies, lurkers and Supernatural Obsessives! Has the joy of talking about our show worn off, or could you stand to re-live it one more time before tonight’s new episode?
*grins*
It is soooo incredibly great to back to rambling about new episodes of Superntatural! I cannot even begin to express my gleefulness. However … before I get to the actual episode, I have to share something about my girlies. You know, the ones who tease me unmercifully, grumble and mumble whenever I put in an episode of Supernatural and yet when it’s playing, never waiver in the attention that they give it and are also the ones who end up giving me some interesting thoughts and insights? Yeah, those girlies and while you won’t get as huge an explosion of delight as I did, hopefully you WILL get a grin when I tell you what happened. I’m, in fact, STILL grinning over it.
Let me take you back a bit in time …
The time was early evening, Friday night, not even 24 hours after
Lazarus Rising premiered. After a full day of real life work … okay, wait … let me start over …
After a full day of sitting at my desk in my office where normally I accomplish multiple tasks, thereby actually earning the paycheck that keeps a roof over my head and my addiction to internet supplied, I had managed to simply accomplish wearing an insanely happy smile, that seemed to come complete with a cheerful attitude that had now sparked the rumor that I have been abducted by aliens and replaced with a pod person, and gleefully playing with posting pictures from the previous night’s episode since I couldn’t string three words together coherently. When the appointed time came, I closed up the office and went to pick up my girlies.
The sun was shining brightly in a sky so blue that I swear it was celebrating right along with me. Baby had her sunroof open and the windows down and we were celebrating with a bit of Clapton on the stereo. It was a beautiful evening.
Now, my oldest girlie was not to be picked up. Being a senior in high school, she had other things going on in her busy schedule, however the twins … well, they came running out … smiles on faces, eager and anxious for our weekend. They jumped into the car, already chattering, and I began to adjust my hearing to carry on two different conversations. (It’s a skill that you tend to develop when you have twins that seem capable of only speaking at the exact same time.) That’s when I realized they were both essentially saying the same thing … something that I have waited through three seasons of laughter, teasing, eye-rolling, heavy sighs, overly dramatic negative exclamations to hear.
Five words that took the surge of happiness I had begun the previous evening to enjoy and set it afire with fireworks …
“
Can we watch Supernatural tonight?”
They were excited, they were intrigued, they were WANTING TO WATCH MY SHOW!!!!
Like I was going to say “no”. Ha!
I don’t think so.
We got home, accomplished a few chores, put together our dinner and then watched the episode … a fourth time for me … the first time for them.
It was the perfect ending to a week filled with anticipation and pleasure, Supernatural style.
Now, a week later, the joy of having my most favorite show returned hasn’t really dimmed. I’ve managed to actually get some work done, but when I stop and think about it, that little smile just creeps right back onto my face.
From the ROAD SO FAR, to the new title card (more gleefulness on that in a minute) to the entirety of the episode,
Lazarus Rising was quintessential Supernatural. It reached back and pulled together three seasons full of threads and began tying them off, yet at the same time it brought those same threads forward and adding another dimensional layer that will give an even fuller depth and deeper edge to the tapestry that The Kripke and his company began weaving September 13, 2005.
It really is true that the events of the past shape the future.
It is also true that Supernatural is a show that honors its past, even as it shapes a new future.
Roy LeGrange: “
Oh, no, I didn’t pick you Dean, the Lord did.”
Dean:
Can I ask you one last question?
Roy LeGrange: “
Of course you can.”
Dean: “
Why? Why me? Out of all the sick people, why save me?”
Roy LeGrange: “
Well, like I said before, the Lord guides me. I looked into your heart, and you just stood out from all the rest.”
Dean: “
What did you see in my heart?”
Roy LeGrange: “
A young man with an important purpose. A job to do. And it isn’t finished.”
How little did we know back when
Faith first aired where all this would lead.
God’s got work for Dean to do.
Okie Dokie then, folks, it seems as though this season is going to take it up a notch or two, don’t you think? Whew!
Alright … let’s see. I’m a bit rusty at this, but I’m thinking I should probably start back at the beginning, shouldn’t I? Before printers start panicking, I mean the beginning of this particular episode, not the actual beginning of the series … although I could … nope. Just kidding.
For now.
I’ll admit I’ve never actually been a great fan of AC/DC but this show just keeps giving me more reasons to rethink my position. From “Back in Black” to “Hell’s Bells”, each one has been oddly appropriate. Now this season’s opening adds yet another to my list as “You Shook Me All Night Long” set the back ground music.
First there is a red flash of
THE ROAD SO FAR and then a red flash of
NOW. In between the two comes a blend of scenes to remind and refresh the horrors that the boys faced last season, right up to and including Hellhounds ripping Dean to shreds, Sam’s surviving Lilith’s blast, Sammy weeping, cradling the head of the big brother he couldn’t save, and Dean’s tortured screams for someone to save him, calling out desperately for his little brother. Yes, because that image had not already been indelibly imprinted upon my brain four months and three days ago.
As if those final moments, as we heard Dean tortured screams, as we watched his face contort with agony and his eyes shift in fear weren’t enough … we’re immediately thrust back to hell with him as we watch visions … snatches … brief flashing glances shaded in bloody red … eyes that we know so well … constantly shifting … widening … pained … terrified … all set with a back drop of seeming echoes of screams fading in and out. Dean’s screams? Echoes of others?
Then nothing … just total blackness. Darkness broken only by the gasp of life that is reminiscent of Dean’s gasp back to conciousness, back to life, in
IMTOD.
Darkness is broken by a flash of a lighter and realization of where he is dawns and the harsh breathing becomes rough, dry, gasping calls for help and then, before panic takes over, determination sets in and Dean makes his escape by literally digging, clawing his way to freedom … finding sunshine, a small handmade cross, and a surrounding forest laid waste.
Don’t you love the imagery of Supernatural? As the camera pulled upward and we watched as Dean’s shadow lengthen and became a shadow of a man in the shadow of the cross, we should have guessed right then that a demon did not bring Dean back, that a demon WOULD not bring Dean back. Yet, like Dean, we’ve gotten so used to the evil that it never occurred to us.
Okie dokie, pause here for a moment, please … I must be allowed a gleeful moment of title card happiness here.
NEW TITLECARD!!! I love this show!! The sounds and flashes of clashing wings followed by the blood red Supernatural were simply awesome. Another wonderfully brief moment of imagery … just as last year’s inky smoke burst with a devil’s trap … this year we have the shadows of wings … question is … are they wings of carrion – scavengers of death – or are they wings of angels?
Have I mentioned before how much I love these title cards?? Hee Hee!
Planted in the middle of nowhere (they didn’t think to bury him with a cell phone?), Dean trudged down the dusty road towards an empty gas station and I will take a moment to pause and give the DeanGirls a moment to sigh and drool over the sight of his slight bowlegged walk towards the camera. I know who you are and I know that you did!
I loved these opening moments … the silence was so natural it was awesome. Dean doesn’t just talk to hear himself talk. After his initial call for help before he dug out of his grave, we have a solid five minutes (remember, this is a 42 minute episode and 1/8th of it was devoted to Dean’s silent journey of re-entering the world) in which Dean only says two words … a call of “
hello?” upon reaching the empty station and then a questioning “
September?” upon finding the newspaper which revealed how long he’d been gone. Otherwise all is silent. Not even any background music, which I think is awesome, just the regular noises of life … of Dean … back from the dead.
Then again, music or dialogue weren’t really needed. Jensen has always seemed to be able to convey Dean’s thoughts through facial expression and actions alone. This time is no different, especially as he finds a sink and splashes water on his face, almost as if he needs a “wake up”, something tangible and real to remind him that he is really awake, he truly is alive and not just dreaming. His confusion shows in his face as he hesitantly lifts his shirt, remembering the pain … the feeling of that same chest being shredded by Hellhounds … and finding his chest smooth and whole, not a scratch, not a scar, nothing except the “no demon possession allowed” tattoo that remains on the upper left side in a very nice moment of continuation from
Jus In Bello – from
BUaBS. However, it’s obvious that he does have something wrong as he turns and, wincing, pulls up his left sleeve to reveal a fresh burn scar in the shape of a handprint. Watching him staring at the scar and his reflection in the mirror, his face searching and puzzled, we begin to understand – Dean has no recollection whatsoever of what happened to him.
We saw the opening flashes of terror filled eyes.
We caught the glimpse of enduring torture. However Dean woke to the dark and, in a sense is still there. He’s back. It is months later, he’s definitely not dreaming, and he’s got a fresh handprint scar burned onto his shoulder. That’s as much as he’s got. It’s time for him to get answers and that means moving on … it means finding Sammy.
But first … supplies …
Loading up his bag with candy bars and other goodies, as well as bottles of water and the grin inducing newest issue of Busty Asian Beauties, we silently get a brief glimpse of the Dean from the first season … the one who weighed honesty against fun and easy, with fun and easy usually winning … the one who doesn’t see anything wrong in opening a lonely cash register and relieving it of it’s coins and bills. That is, until a static filled television and radio began to take a life of their own. Then it’s back to something else he remembers all too well – the need for protection. Grabbing up a canister of salt, he began to lay lines but the sound became to intense, to painful to do anything but clutch at his head and try to protect his ears before the noise became so loud that windows began shattering and glass began flying.
Question … finding out what we did at the end of the episode about where the ear splitting, mind numbing noise came from that interrupted Dean’s little … um … shall we call it “borrowing without the intent to return”? Don’t you wonder what Castiel was trying to say to Dean in that voice that broke sound barriers? Perhaps something to the effect of “
Thou shalt not steal”? Or at the very least “
Dude! Leave an IOU!”? Just one of those little things that popped in my brain after watching it a couple times, especially after my one girlie who always seems to have a “tsk tsk Dean” whenever he goes outside the law, was fussing at him for stealing. (We won’t mention the fact that I’ve taught them how to talk to characters on the television screen now, will we?)
Seeming danger is present … the time for silence, for being alone is over. He needs to get back … back to security … get back to Sam.
Phone booth … line no longer in service … Sammy’s not available.
Nope. Nothing is ever easy in the Winchester world.
Next up – Bobby.
“
Call here again and I’ll kill you.”Oh. Kaaaaay. Evidently a phone call is not gonna work. How about hotwiring a car and booking it from Illinois to South Dakota? Yep. That’s a plan and that is the Dean we all know and love … hands under a dash, bringing an engine to life, tires spinning onto the road. May not have been the Impala, but at least it was a classic car.
Bobby.
“
Surprise!”
Yeah. How about brain boggling, gasping shock?
Of course, that’s shock that passes quickly into action and Dean is forced to protect himself from this man he thinks of as a father …
“
Whoa! …Whoa … whoa …wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer, you became a hunter after your wife got possessed, and you're about the closest thing I have to a father...Bobby it's me.”
Couple things came to my mind, seemingly at the same time, with this moment – 1) *gleeful* Bobby Trivia! His middle name is Steven. Good to know!, and 2) Dean doesn’t appear to have lost any of his fighting edge, also good to know.
Bobby gives pause, however he’s still a hunter and knows the tricks of evil, and feigning acceptance, he approaches and places a hand hesitantly on Dean’s shoulder. Luckily for Dean, Bobby’s face gave him away before damage was done and Dean was able to wrest the knife away from him. Unfortunately, Bobby wasn’t going to be convinced by simple words and it became necessary for Dean to prove he was not a shape shifter or a revenant by drawing the silver knife across his left bicep. Ouch!
Shocked belief. If I had never loved Jim Beaver’s portrayal of Bobby Singer before, this would have been the moment to begin. My heart seemed to gasp along with him as he realized that this truly was the young man that he had grown to love as a son. Bobby didn’t just hug Dean, he clutched him to him in an embrace that seemed to be more like a desperate man clinging to a lifeline he had finally been able to locate and grasp. Flashes of moments between Bobby and Dean seemed to swirl in my head …
“
I could throttle you!”
“If it weren’t for you, I’d still be lost in there … or dead.”
“Family don’t end with blood, boy!”Bobby’s boy is back … but … just to make sure … splash of holy water, anyone?
I went from misted eyes to gleeful laughter so fast, I think I got whiplash. Which was better Dean’s spitting out of water thrown or Bobby’s sheepish shoulder shrug?
“
I’m not a demon either, you know.”
“Sorry. Can’t be too careful.”
The boy is back.
Now then … where the heck is our other boy? I’m looking at the length of this and realizing that I have yet to see my favorite Sasquatch. Dean! Find your brother!
After confirming to Bobby that aside from remembering being
“a Hellhound’s chew toy” before “
light’s out”, Dean has no memory of what happened, he in turn checks on his little brother.
“
Sam’s number’s not working … he’s … uh … he’s not …?”
Unfortunately, the news isn’t good. Sam’s alive – as far as Bobby knows – but in addition to getting a new cell phone number, he’s also gone off on his own … quiet and determined to get his brother back, as evidenced by the fact that he wouldn’t let Bobby do the salt and burn they normally would have done … luckily for Dean in this case. However, his going off the grid raises the alarm.
“
Damn it, Sammy!”
“
He got me home okay, but whatever he did … it is bad mojo.”
“
You should have seen the grave site. It was like a nuke went off.”
There’s no doubt in Dean’s mind that Sam was the one that brought him back. Afterall, according to Dean’s mindset, who else, besides Bobby and it obviously wasn’t him, would have the desire, have a reason to bring Dean Winchester back from hell?
Then Dean freaks Bobby out completely by showing him his new hand-made scar. (Sorry, couldn’t resist. *grins*)
Bobby: “
What in the hell?”
Dean: “
Yeah. It’s like a demon just yanked me out, or rode me out …”
Bobby: “
But why?”
Dean: “
To hold up their end of the bargain.”Bobby: “
You think Sam made a deal?”
Dean: “
It’s what I would have done.”
Oh. Dean.
Oh. Sam.
Where are you??
A cleaned up Dean is on the phone in Bobby’s kitchen. I loved the fact that in today’s world of wireless receivers, Bobby’s telephone was an old one with a cord.
Seems that Wedge Antilles had lost his phone and Dean needed the GPS turned on to track it.
“
How’d you know he’d use that name?”
Bobby followed Dean back to his desk, and computer, after Dean completed his call. Was it just me, or did it seem to anyone else as though Bobby seemed to stick rather close to Dean after he returned? Kinda like he couldn’t let him out of his sight? Dean’s death had affected the older hunter in a way he hadn’t been, I’m betting, since his wife had died. Perhaps not even then.
“
Are you kidding me? What don’t I know about that kid?”
Okay … whoa! Dean, honey, right now, that proclamation would be what we call a daytime dramatic statement. You know the ones … “I’m going to love you forever”, which is followed by a divorce or an affair within the next month or two … or how about … “It’s just a simple cough”, which is followed by a brain scan and tumor.
What don’t I know about that kid? Seriously. Shall we list the line up?
Do you know about your little brother being fed YED blood?
Do you know that your little brother found out that mom knew the YED?
Do you know that your little brother is boinking a demon? (Whoops. Might have gotten ahead of myself again there. Sorry!)
By the end of the episode this statement really takes a turn into a daytime dramatic statement.
However, for now, big brother does know enough to get the information to track down little brother. So he does know something.
“
Hey, Bobby? What’s with the liquor store? … hmmm? … Your parent’s out of town or something?”
Dean’s straightforward question is answered just as directly.
“
Like I said, the last few months ain’t been all that easy.”
Yeah. With honesty, and simple statement, Bobby reflects how hard it was on him having had Dean dead. There was a rawness, a sorrow not quite vanquished yet, about him as he confessed that made me feel that we’ve not gotten all of the story here. Dean’s friendship, his relationship with the gruff old hunter is simple and uncomplicated. There’s no actual chain of command, no drill sargeant involved. Although Dean tends to take the lead, he also defers to Bobby and the older hunter’s knowledge and expertise. There’s a give and take of respect that is unassuming and I love watching any scene involving it.
On one side of the desk, a solemn look of acknowledgement reflected understanding of the pain recognized in the face of the one on the opposite side of the desk.
Ahem. *clears throat* It’s those small moments that tend to grip me tightly.
Yeah.
Dean checks the GPS location and we have a winner. Sam is in Pontiac, Illinois – right where Dean had been buried … and resurrected.
“
Hell of a coincidence, don’t you think?”By this point, I desperately am in need of knowing what Sam is up to, however I’m also fearful of knowing at the same time. Still … my need for these brothers to reunite is getting too strong and is overriding any fear I might have. We’re 13 minutes into this episode, 8 minutes short of the halfway mark, and we’ve yet to see our favorite youngest Winchester.
It bothers me a bit that whatever Sam is doing, it seems to be behind the doors of a room with a heart on its door, especially when the door is opened by a girl in her skivvies. This is NOT a moment that reminds me of a shy Sam moving from chair to couch when Madison brought out lingerie to fold in Heart.
Yet, here IS where layers begin to truly form … the reason why you simply cannot watch an episode once. Through first watch, we don’t know … we don’t realize … the pause before demanding pizza, the telling glances, the quick explanations … the double meaning behind them.
We just see a girl in her undies demanding pizza.
And then we see Sam enter the room and all thought leaves.
He looks good. Freshly showered … healthy … shock sliding into his eyes as he sees who is at the door, the quick swallow, his eyes shifting to take in Bobby’s presence but then sliding quickly back to Dean’s face.
“
Hey ya, Sammy”
Remember that moment in
IMTOD when Sam first enters Dean’s hospital room and Dean breathes his joy and relief at seeing his little brother alive into that one word … “
Sammy”? Yeah. My breath caught this time too.
With a face that seems to crumple into that of a young boy at first – deep swallows and chest heaving. We watche the emotions as they war across his face making it look so young and yet so old at the same time. Sam wanting desperately to believe and yet knowing what is really in front of his eyes can’t possibly be real … Sam takes it all in and then, as Dean steps into the room, he reacts – much as Bobby did – attacking. The difference is, instead of a silver knife, Sam is wielding the demon killing ginsue knife and it is everything Bobby has in him to hold him back as he speaks quickly …
“
It’s him … it’s him, Sam, I’ve been through this already … it’s really him.”
Sam begins to calm and again we see the conflict warring in his eyes … in his face …
“
But …”
Dean steps into the gap between them and does the only thing that could make the surreal moment real for his little brother … he cracks a joke …
“
I know, I look fantastic, huh?”… and with that, Sam seems to melt as he steps fast, reaching for Dean, reaching for his brother – the brother he had watched die. The brother he hadn’t been able to save. Their embrace is tight – a reaffirmation for both of them that the moment is real, drawing comfort and strength from the moment.
I’m sure much has been made of “the hug”. I’m simply going to say here that Sammy wasn’t the only one sniffling at this moment.
The boys are back …
“
So … are you two, like, together?”
Huh? Oh, yeah … the chick in the underwear. Back to the layers that become lies as the game is played. The question would be natural for a casual onlooker and Sam, reacts with a questioning glance that at first watch could be taken as a realization that she was still there but upon second watch becomes a quick cover up.
“
What? No. No, he’s my brother.”
A seemingly innocuous answer when we first see it, his reaction and statement later can be viewed as a coverup. Can’t say I’m very happy with Sam’s choice of … um … well, let me just call her a “romping partner” and leave it at that. And if I don’t like it, you can bet every single dollar that Dean wouldn’t have liked it … and still won’t.
However, she is out the door for now and we are on to more serious discussions.
“
So, tell me, what’d it cost?”
Sam is as oblivious now as he was when Dean and Bobby first arrived …
Dean: “
Like you didn’t do this?”
Sam: “
Do what?”
… only this time he thinks that Dean’s referring to the girl.
His reply of “
I don’t pay, Dean” hit me in a couple different ways. At first watch, my instant thought was of the scene in the motel in
Maleous Maleficarum when Sam confessed to Dean that in order for him to make it after Dean was gone Sam had to become more like him. I knew in my heart that Sam is a … um … well, let’s just say strapping young man and leave it at that … okay? Plus, let’s face it … his role model drove to Cicero, IN just because of the memory of a highly aerobic weekend … however this is SAM. Jessica’s sweet Sam who looked at her with eyes so full … “
what would I ever do without you?” This is SAM … the one tentative with Laurie in
Hookman and who really didn’t begin to feel ready to initiate anything until Madison in
Heart. Oy! Still … grown man … on his own … it happens.
Then … watching the second time … knowing exactly WHO SHE IS!!!! … Oh. Dear. There’s going to be some interesting repercussions on this one.
And don’t tell me he’s not paying. He’s paying alright, just not with money.
However the point of Dean’s questioning, this time, isn’t the girl. He want’s to know how his brother got him back.
Sam: “
You think I made a deal?”
Bobby: “
That’s exactly what we think.”
Sam: “
Well I didn’t.”
Now, for me, there was no question in my mind that Sam was not responsible for bringing Dean back. Sam’s face, his reaction when he saw Dean the first time, were all that I needed but evidently big brother needed a bit more convincing.
“
Don’t lie to me.”
Oh, Dean. You may be picking up on a “little brother’s lying to me” vibe but it isn’t about this.
“
Look, Dean, I wish I HAD done it. All right?”
Listen to him … hear him … watch his face … look at his eyes … on this one, he’s telling the truth.
“
I tried everything. That's the truth! I tried opening the Devil's Gate. Hell, I TRIED to bargain Dean … but no demon would deal, all right? <pause>
You were rotting in hell, for months … for months … and I couldn't stop it.”As much as he wanted to, as much as he tried, Sam wasn’t able to bring you back and it was breaking his heart to know where you were and he couldn’t do a darn thing about it.
“
So I'm sorry it wasn't me, all right?”
Dean’s soul may have been being tortured in hell, but Sam’s soul was being tortured in a different way, knowing that all his promises during Dean’s last year were for naught. He hadn’t saved his brother and it ate at him.
“
Dean, I'm sorry.”
A little brother’s sorrow is something that Dean finally believes.
Now we come to the heart of the matter …
Bobby: “
Don’t get me wrong. I am gladdened to know that Sam’s soul remains intact, but that does raise a sticky question.”
With Sammy’s eyes on him, watching … Dean raises the question that they (and we) all want to know …
“
If he didn’t pull me out, then what did?”
Brainstorming with beer … somethings never change and when it comes to the Winchester boys and Bobby … well, this was just one of those quick moments that makes it all so real. Catching up on why Sam had come to town – he’s been looking for Lilith and hunting down demons – was the main focus.
“
All by yourself? Who do you think you are, your old man?”
*Keeper tucks chin, hiding her gleeful grin at mention of beloved BDW – gone but still very much present*
I loved Bobby for this line. So many times, especially over the last couple years, we have come to realize how much Sam is like John. His father’s defining traits of meticulous research and single-minded purpose have come to also define Sam. Of course, we know that Sam wasn’t alone – not just because Dean finds the skanky ho … er … um … Kristy’s bra in the bed, but also by what we learn later about … um … *clears throat* … her.
There’s also the fact that this adds to the layer of things Sam is hiding. The fact that he avoided Bobby, not just because he’s his father’s son, but also because Bobby is able to pick up on who is and is not a demon and he couldn’t risk having him around Kristy, or Ruby or whatever her name is … I say we just go with SKDG – Skanky Ho Demon Girl. Does this work for anyone else?
Brainstorming and checking Dean’s feelings (hunger vs demonic) aside, Bobby knows a psychic and they agree to give her a shot to figure out who did the deed.
While Bobby makes the call, the boys take a moment and Sam returns his brother’s necklace. This really did bring me to a sniffle … and not only because of remembering that beautiful moment of flashback in
A Very Supernatural Christmas. For those of you who have missed it … our beloved Professor wrote one of the best fics I believe I’ve had the pleasure of reading this summer as a response to a Sweet Charity Auction. The reason I mention it now is because it is perhaps the best sequeways from Season Three to Season Four you could imagine. In the story, she has Sam taking the amulet, which was as much a part of Dean as his car. You can check it out
here.
The moment of returning the necklace is so nicely done … nothing truly dramatic, just a moment between the two brothers. Followed by Sam’s questioning Dean on what hell was like, his face reminded me so much of young Sam’s face in
AVSC. He wanted to know, needed to know what his brother had gone through. Unfortunately, or fortunately – depending on how you look at it – Dean doesn’t remember anything.
Yet the power of suggestion is strong and, taking a moment in the bathroom, Dean does some inner soul searching and has a flash of terror. No details, but enough to know that it wasn’t all candy canes and lollypops.
Now comes the ONLY thing in this entire episode that I didn’t like. It’s small and insignificant. It’s nitpicky. I know. I can’t help it.
Sam tosses the keys to the Impala to Dean.
“
I assume you’ll wanna drive?”
Dean responds … “
Oh … ohoh. I almost forgot.”
I ALMOST FORGOT???? Seriously? Are they kidding me? His girl? His Baby? His sweet ride? He almost forgot??
Huh-uh! I’m not buying that. Now, I realize that I could be extremely sensitive towards the Impala after having spent the last 41 days with seeing her through Mary’s drabbles as she did the countdown to the premiere, but still! You cannot tell me, when some of his last words to his brother were “
take care of my ride” that he would have almost forgot. You cannot tell me that when he was hotwiring that car in front of that station in the middle of nowhere that he wasn’t wondering where Sam AND HIS GIRL were at that moment. NO. I simply refuse to believe that Dean Winchester would have ALMOST (can you HEAR the derrision in my voice??) have forgotten the Impala. Dean Winchester’s response to his brother asking him if he’d want to drive would have been “HELL yeah!”
Sorry … nope. I adore The Kripke – ya’ll know that, but he screwed up on that one. Big time.
Of course, Jensen made up for it with the complete and utter look of delight and adoration on his face as he skimmed her side and got in.
“
Hello Sweetheart. You miss me?”
Much better. My diatribe is over. Now it’s Dean’s turn.
“
What the hell is that?”
“That’s an iPod jack.”
“You were supposed to take care of her, not douche her up.”
Sammy … Sammy … Sammy. You couldn’t have known this would not go over well? You couldn’t have snuck down while Dean was in the bathroom and remove the offending object? *shakes head*
Pause a moment … want to hear something funny? I just downloaded Visions, as well as a couple other songs, to my computer the weekend before and then made a mixed CD for my own Baby of Steve Carlson, Jason Manns and the J&J song. I had literally been listening to Visions just that morning! Yet when Dean started the car, and the music started playing, I’m sitting there trying desperately to figure out the song. Doh!
“
Really?”
Dean pulls out jack and tosses it into back. Classic! Jensen dissed Jason. Well, really it was Dean dissing Jason, but still … classic moment!
Oh dear. Look at the pages. Printers are starting to gasp. Let’s move on, shall we?
Has it been mentioned how this episode seems to have a little bit of everything we love in it? Conversation by Impala dashlight between the Winchester boys is always a highlight. I like the way Bobby is included in the travels, but he takes his car – giving the boys ample time to fall back together … to have those moments that we enjoy viewing … even ones such as this where the feeling is unsettled for several reasons.
Still catching up on events that happened after the Hellhounds attacked him, Sam fills Dean in on the fact that Lilith tried to kill him and couldn’t, that he seemed to be immune to her attacks which had her skedaddling pretty quick. This led to Dean questioning Ruby’s whereabouts and Sam telling him she was either “
dead or in hell”, which led to …
Dean: “
So. You been using your … uh … freaky ESP stuff?”
Sam: “
No.”Dean: “
You sure about that? … I mean, now that you’ve got immunity – whatever the hell that is – I’m just wondering what other kind of weirdo crap you’ve got going on.”
Sam: “
Nothing, Dean. Look … you didn’t want me to go down that road, so I didn’t go down that road. It was practically your dying wish.”
Layers and lies. *sighs*
On the one level I was simply enjoying the fact that the boys were having a conversation … that Sam was letting Dean know what had gone on after his death. Was I a bit bugged by the fact that he wasn’t forthcoming with the information, that Dean had to question it? Eh … a little, but then it seems that things generally need to be pried out of Sam. Did I think that perhaps Dean was a bit harsh in his questioning of the immunity … of Sam’s powers? Not really. Dean tends to get a bit harsher, a bit more sarcastic when he’s more fearful for Sammy. Tell me your first thought when Sam said “immune” wasn’t back to Croatoan and his immunity to the demon virus? I’m sure that it was for Dean. Demon immunity and ESP powers tend to freak out Dean when it comes to his little brother.
The questions, the answers, the responses, even the silences in this conversation simply added layers to their relationship. Time has passed for Sam, yet it hasn’t for Dean – not really. There’s got to be tension. At that point I was just thinking that was the only problem … that they needed some time to get back in synch with each other.
Of course the other level is the fact that we find out later that Sammy lied his way through that conversation.
Oh. Yes. THAT just fills my heart with bliss.
Not.
Still … the journey takes us to Pamela Barnes, psychic, and I gotta say … I really love this chick! I hope they figure out a way to bring her back. I loved Missouri and would love for her to come back, but Pamela? I wouldn’t just love more of her – I’d adore it. (Though, please please please. If someone knows something about her return, don’t tell me, don’t spoil me. Thank you!)
The minute she opened the door, laughed and grabbed Bobby, I knew this was a character I would enjoy. Full of life and freshness, attitude and female sexuality … she is everything that Supernatural fans could enjoy in a female character on this show. At least that’s my opinion.
“
Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back into the frying pan, huh? That makes you a rare individual.”
Yeah. I like her!
Pam has “ouija-ed” her way through the spirits and doesn’t have any info on who brought our boy back, so she proposes as séance in order to get a look at the face of the one that did the deed. It’s while she prepares that the boys have a true moment that made me laugh out loud. When Dean notices Pamela’s … ahem … tattoo … elbowing his little brother (who was busy studying the symbols on the cloth that Pam had spread on the table) so that they both can appreciate the view, it reminded me of that waitress in Dead in the Water that made Dean’s grin light up with lascivious thoughts. Unfortunately it was too soon after Jessica and Sam’s hormones had not caught up to Dean’s at that point. Now, while perhaps not as much as Dean, Sam seems to appreciate the view.
Pamela’s declaration that Jessie’s loss could be Dean’s gain was just what he needed to hear.
Dean: “
Dude, I am soo in.”
Sam: “
Yeah. She’s gonna eat you alive.”
Dean: “
Hey, I just got out of jail. Bring it!”
Pamela: <walking past> “
You’re invited too, grumpy.”
Dean: <getting in Sam’s face, while Sam laughs> “
YOU are NOT invited.”
The moment was quick and easy and so reminiscent of the Dean that we remember from those early days before the weight of John’s secret or the fear of hell weighed on his shoulders and mind. The fact that Sammy joined in and it was a relaxed brotherly moment – not big brother, not little brother – just equal, red blooded young men teasing back and forth, made the moment all the more sweet and hysterical to watch.
Between that moment and the one when Pamela directs them to hold hands and then reaches to touch something that the “
mystery monster” by going under the table, we received a much needed smile before things took a turn for the horrific.
Was it when Dean cast a telling glance at Sam before removing his outer shirt from his arm and rolling up his t-shirt sleeve to reveal the raised hand-shaped burn scar or was its Sam’s look of surprise at the sight of it that was your first clue that Sam wasn’t the only one who hadn’t shared everything? Sam’s look over at Bobby and Bobby’s returned look of acknowledgement said that he, in fact, had already seen it, surprising him even further and had him sharing a look with Dean that clearly read “why didn’t you show me?” It was interesting that Dean had shared it so readily with Bobby and yet had not yet showed the scar to Sam.
“
I invoke, conjure and command you, appear unto me before this circle.”
With this chant, Pamela begins to seek out the face of the being she learns is named Castiel and while I enjoyed the eye peeking that first came from Dean and then was followed by his brother, what truly caught me was the forceful nature that seemed to come over Pamela. Gone was the playful, frisky psychic. Replacing her was the one that we could believe would truly wrest information from something supernatural.
“
I invoke, conjure and command you, show me your face!”
The chant changes as she learns the being’s name, as the breeze picks up and the television flicks onto static, and the table begins to shake. Told to turn back, she tells Castiel that she doesn’t frighten that easy and continues her chant. Bobby is uneasy and questions continuing and she declares she’s almost got it.
In a flashing flare of fire from the candles, we see the fire ignite in her terror filled eyes as she screams before fainting. She may have seen the being’s face, but the visage of it has taken her sight from her.
That’s not good.
Although … the special effects here WERE really good. They’re really spectacular if you check it out in the frame by frame pictures. Kripke’s team are masters at what they do … flames shooting upwards … white light shooting from Pamela’s eyes … awesome … ahem … in that, oh-my-goodness kind of way, of course!
Next up … another Winchester moment that we all enjoy … the meal at the small streetside diner … bringing back memories of diners and cafes scattered all through the three previous seasons. If they don’t have conversations in the car, it’s in the diner or over coffee outside. Walk and talks are great, and perhaps easier/faster to film, but I like these sit down conversations too.
This one comes complete with a demonic waitress serving pie and angling for a tip.
“
Dean … to hell and back. Aren’t you a lucky duck?”
“
So, you get to just stroll right out of the pit, huh? What makes you so special?”
Makes you wonder about who publishes that demon newsletter, doesn’t it? Whoever it is *coughRubycough* sure got the word out fast, didn’t they?
The thing is … for all her tough talk and threatening attitude … that’s all she had – just talk and ‘tude. Something that Dean immediately recognized. The demons – atleast these lower level ones – don’t know WHO brought Dean back and it scares them in more ways than one. We know from DFKM, as well as Casey that Hell is a pit of despair and pain and even demons don’t want to be there. The fact that someone broke the deal of having Dean’s soul in hell and brought him back to earth puts a definite fear in these demons. The fact that they don’t know who it was, and therefore don’t want to touch Dean for fear of getting on the wrong side of something so powerful, terrifies them. This demon may talk big and bad, but when she doesn’t do anything … when the other two don’t react at all … when Dean full-on punches her not once but twice was a very telling moment.
Now we get the walk and talk! They packed everything into this episode!!
Problem is … this walk and talk simply provides the basis to show that the two brothers are thinking two different directions. Dean is steadfast on dealing with the one job they’ve already got, while Sam wants to go back and take care of the demons they just found. Thing is … I can see Dean’s point of view – they do indeed have a big “mofo” to find and take care of, however Sam also has a point – these are demons and demons are never a good thing to leave lying around, even when they’re scared. Maybe especially when they’re scared.
Dean’s asleep.
Sam’s sneaking out.
This is not good.
He’s sneaking off in the Impala.
This is REALLY not good.
Don’t these boys learn? When Sammy sneaks off and the two of them are separated, bad things happen. Honestly, boys! Pay attention! Learn from these things!
Unfortunately … it is by them splitting up that WE actually learn some things. Some we really wanted to know, some we needed to know, and some that just flat make us (okay … me) clearly unhappy.
First we have to wake Dean up before we get anywhere. In order to accomplish this, we call upon Castiel, who seems to not understand the difference between inside, outside, and dimensional voices. Waking Dean with static televisions and radios is one thing. Waking him to ear and glass shattering panic and pain is another.
Through this we find out two things – 1) Sam’s bed is empty. Okay. WE already knew that. But Dean didn’t and he needed to and now he does. And 2) … Dean may keep a knife under his pillow, but he also keeps his shotgun propped beside his bed. That was a fangirl delightful moment to have him roll across the bed, grab the gun, stand and point all in one motion. I just have to question how many practice tries did it take Jensen to accomplish the manuever and will we get to see the goofs on the gag reel?
Okay … back to serious …
Riding with Bobby, Dean calls to check on Sam and actually buys the fact that he is out getting a burger. Granted, it was a typical moment for him to chastize Sam for taking the car, but it was also understandable since Sam has been using the Impala all by himself for the last few months. Both boys are hiding something and so, what seem to be implausible explanations are accepted.
Sam out to get a burger.
Dean and Bobby head out to get a beer.
Typically they woulda/shoulda figured on hooking up together. The fact that they didn’t … and neither called the other out on it … spoke volumes about them doing things behind each other’s backs. Of course, there’s a bit of a difference. Dean thinks he’s simply protecting Sam by not having him with them as they summon the thing that brought Dean back. Sam, on the other hand …
We watch Sam enter the demon diner, obviously intent on confronting the demons. Here’s the question … how many caught onto the fact at first viewing that Sam was doing this without the demon killing ginsue because Dean had just pulled it out and showed it to Bobby? If he’s planning on taking out some demons, shouldn’t he have taken the knife with him? Although … when you stop and think about it … if he had taken the knife, Dean would have recognized the fact that Sammy was lying about the burger.
This is getting too tangled.
Bobby … now he’s straightforward in his opinions …
Bobby: “
This is a bad idea.”
Dean: “
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more, but what other choice do we have?”
Bobby: “
We could choose life.”
Yet Dean’s not one to let something like this go … something brought him back, something had a purpose for bringing him back. He’s not going to be able to do anything else until he finds out the who and the why.
Meanwhile, Sam finds demons with eyes burned out, much like Pamela’s. The tip angling waitress demon fights, even while blinded and then provides some information that should have been one of our biggest clues …
Sam: “
It was here. You saw it.”
Waitress: “I saw it.”
Sam: “
What was it?”
Waitress: “
It’s the end. We’re dead. We’re all dead.”
What would scare a demon like that?
What would have a visage that would burn a demon’s eyes out?
What would bring about the death of demons?
Yeah. Big clue in small, easily overlooked statement. We’re all thinking evil, thinking monsters, thinking hell …. we were wrong.
However, so were the Winchester boys.
Then comes the layer that ties it up and deepens every nuance of every facial expression, every verbal statement that Sam has made since Dean has returned …
Raising his hand and closing his eyes, Sam sends the demon inside the waitress back to hell. No ginsue knife, no exorcism, no Colt … just a bit of intense concentration and focus.
Sam lied. As I thought when I discussed
NRFTW, when Sam repelled Lilith, he wasn’t just immune. He “flipped that little switch” and now …
“
Getting pretty slick there Sam … better all the time.”
“What the hell is going on around here, Ruby?”
Sam lied again. Ruby is not in hell. Ruby isn’t dead. Ruby isn’t gone. Ruby is right here in the flesh of another individual named Kristy and she’s been teaching him how to flip those switches, how to channel his freaky ESP powers.
AND AS EVIDENCED BY THE BRA SHE LEFT BEHIND HE’S BEEN DOING SOMETHING ELSE WITH HER THAT HAS MADE ME NOT HAPPY WITH HIM!!
Sam! Honestly! Do the words “Get thee behind me Satan” have absolutely no meaning? She’s a demon Sam!
Dean’s death was horrific and your inability to strike a deal and bring him back was heartbreaking. I know that you didn’t want to become the lonely, singleminded hunter from
Mystery Spot, but there were so many other ways you could have handled your grief.
Let’s take a moment, shall we, Sammy? Do you remember Dean saying this …
“
What you’re doing isn’t gonna save me. It’s only gonna kill you.”
This was not the answer, dude! Before he died, your brother told you to do four things:
1) Keep fighting. Okay … you did that. Not the best method, but you did keep fighting.
2) Take care of his wheels. Umm … I think we’ll leave the iPod debate for another time.
3) Remember what Dad taught you, and
4) Remember what I taught you.
Somehow I’m thinking that neither John, nor Dean taught you to align yourself with a demon and to test out powers that, no matter how hard you try to justify it, are not for good. Particularly when you lie about them to your brother. You’re hiding them. You know that he’s not going to be happy.
What you’re not recognizing is that behind the being pissed, Dean is going to be freaking scared FOR YOU!!
First season, first episode, first few moments …
“
Take your brother outside as fast as you can … Now, Dean! Go!”
Saving Sam has been an integral part of Dean’s being since he was four. He couldn’t live with the knowledge that Sam had died and so he sold his soul and brought him back to life. Saving Sam has been an integral key to the entire series and evidently, even though Dean has returned, it still is.
Granted, there’s a bigger picture and we don’t have all the threads in place yet to see it, but …
What if the battle for Sam’s soul isn’t over yet?
First step is to get rid of the SHDG (remember? Skanky Ho Demon Girl). Unfortunately, doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon, because Sammy doesn’t want her to leave. He may not completely trust her but he doesn’t want her to leave either.
“
What I do know is I’m saving people and … stopping demons … and that feels good.”
“
I wanna keep going.”
There’s a fine line and, Sammy, you are truly walking it here, dude. You’ve got me highly worried.
Meanwhile, Dean has convinced Bobby to summon who brought him back. They’re doing it in a barn that has enough protection graffiti painted all over, through, and around it to keep anything trapped and them safe.
Supposedly.
Afterall, Ruby just told Sam “human souls don’t just walk out of hell and back into their bodies easy. This guy bleeds, the ground quakes, it’s cosmic. No demon can swing that, not Lilith, not anybody.”
So they summon the being and they wait.
I thought this was interesting. Afterall, when John summoned the YED, when Dean and/or Sam summoned the CRD (all three times), and when Sam summoned Ruby – the demons all appeared within a few moments. Not the case this time. This time, Dean and Bobby had been waiting for the being long enough for them to each settle on a table, swinging legs and, in Bobby’s case, to take up whisling softly. Enough time had passed for Dean to question whether Bobby did the ritual right and earned himself a baleful look from the gruff, older hunter.
Have you ever heard the saying “God’s time, not ours?” I’m just saying.
Of course there’s also the saying about patience being a virtue and we KNOW that Dean doesn’t have THAT particular virtue either.
Eventually, however, the being arrives. The wind howls, the metal sheets of the roof begin to flap, the lights begin to pop and explode in showers of sparks, the beam across the door begins to give way to pressure and the doors open revealing an ordinary looking man in a trenchcoat entering the barn calmly.
Guns don’t work. The traps and talisman don’t stop him. The man simply continues to approach the two hunters.
“
Who are you?”
“
I am the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.”
I love that line! I really do.
I am the one who gripped you tight …
I am the one that reached down into the bowels of damnation and took your soul firmly in my grasp …
…
and raised you from perdition.
… directing it upward into the light.
The scream you heard when this line was delivered, so completely calm … intent … direct … was me … because THAT was the moment that all of the clues fell into place for this Supernatural Obsessive. Every clue that this episode offered all came together in my brain at that moment and it was amazing! I loved it!
Of course, Dean hasn’t quite gotten there yet and so he slams the demon killing ginsue into the chest of the being in front of him.
Of course a blade that demons fear doesn’t do bupkis to this particular being.
“
We need to talk, Dean … alone.”
Bobby is out of commission. Not dead. Just knocked out without the bumping concussion to go with it.
“
Who are you?”
“Castiel”
“Yeah, I figured that much. I mean, what are you?”
“I’m an angel of the Lord.”
Quiet and direct.
Dean’s disbelief turns to angry defiance.
“
Get the hell outta here. There’s no such thing.”
Wary eyes, Dean holds himself ready, watching.
“
This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith.”
Um … wait … Dean’s got faith … it’s just … like he told Sam in
Faith …
“
You know what I’ve got faith in? Reality. Knowing what’s really going on.”
Dean believes in evil because he’s seen it. His life has been immersed in it. It was all too real the night his mother was killed. From that moment on, Dean had witnessed evil of all types – from monsters to spirits to demons to humans taking and trapping innocents. He watched a human make a choice, watched him kill his little brother in cold blood with a stab of a knife in his back. He protected his little brother from it as best he could, giving Sam a semblance of normal, of protection, of innocence … giving Sam the opportunity to believe … but for Dean? Faith in something better, in something good … ?
Yet Castiel remains standing, facing Dean, as the lightning flashes and fills the barn, chasing the shadows and from behind him unfurls the shape, the shadow of the part of his true visage that people most readily attach to angels – his wings. Almost menacing in size and appearance, these are not light and fluffy, cloud sitting wings. These are the wings of an angel on a mission, sent with a message.
Still … Dean, being Dean …
“
Some angel you are. You burned out some poor woman’s eyes.”
With some seeming remorse, Castiel looks down as he replies …
“
I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be … overwhelming to humans. So can my true voice, but you already knew that.”
Comprehension …
“
You mean the gas station and the motel?”
At the nod …
“
Buddy, next time lower the volume.”
Have you noticed that Dean is no longer trying to figure a way to destroy this being in front of him, that he’s not trying to get to any of the weapons? Have you noticed that he’s questioning, figuring, not believing but also not dismissing. He’s trying to figure the whole thing out and to do that – he keeps up the questions.
“
And what visage are you in now, huh? What? Holy tax accountant?”
Ha! With the dark suit, white shirt, dark tie and trenchcoat, I would have gone for Holy Fed. But that’s just me.
Castiel is in a vessel of a devout man who actually prayed for this.
It was interesting to me because for some reason I looked up the meaning of vessel. It’s not like I didn’t already know the definition, but … *shrugs* … I don’t know, I just did. Anyhow … there is a meaning that I hadn’t really latched on to before …
“a person regarded as a holder or receiver of something, especially something nonmaterial”
That struck me.
From those in
Phantom Traveler, to John, Sam, Ruby and so forth … we have become accustomed to demons possessing people … wearing their “meatsuits”. This is the understanding that the Winchesters have had. The experience of hunters. The humans are unwilling participants that are ridden hard and often don’t survive when the demon is expelled from them.
By using the term “vessel”, Castiel has implied something entirely different. The human tax accountant has received something nonmaterial – the presence of an angel – within himself and he is the holder of that presence.
The question was posed to me … what is the difference between a demon’s possession and Castiel’s “possession”? The human has now been shot, the demon ginsue plunged into his heart, when Castiel removes his presence, won’t the vessel die? My question posed back is this … “why should it have to die?” If Castiel has the power to grip Dean tight and raise him from perdition (yeah, that’s never gonna become old for me), then wouldn’t it also be possible for him to leave the vessel whole and intact?
Yes … I’m not unlike Dean in that I do have questions regarding Castiel and I am eager in my anticipation of those answers. Yet there’s something that compels me to believe.
Unfortunately, the same does not hold true for Dean Winchester.
“
Look, pal. I’m not buying what you’re selling. So who are you? Really?”
“I told you.”
“Right. And why would an angel rescue me from hell?”
Hmm. There’s that pesky “
I’m not worth it” belief that we have seen evidence of way too many times.
“
Good things do happen, Dean.”
“Not in my experience.”
Resistance.
“
What’s the matter? You don’t think you deserve to be saved.”
Interesting … statement, not question. Castiel is catching on. He was sent with the purpose of retrieving Dean’s soul, of bringing him back. He has some information but not all of it. He doesn’t know Dean, he can’t read minds, he doesn’t understand.
“
Why’d you do it?”
“Because God commanded it.”
For Castiel it is cut and dried. There is no other response.
“
Because we have work for you.”
What a wonderful way to end it!
“
We have work to do.”
Both boys have made the statement … both now seem to be at opposite sides of the spectrum – Sam exploring abilities that come from a demonic source, Dean has been (I gotta say it … one more time) gripped tight and raised from perdition by a godly source.
Roy LeGrange saw it all those years ago, when the blind man looked into his heart and saw a young man with a purpose and he wasn’t finished.
Dean Winchester has a purpose.
*******************
I know this is incredibly long, but I simply have to quickly state that I love the addition of Misha Collins as Castiel. His scenes with Jensen were truly amazing. This is going to be an awesome year!
