I always find it interesting when the Supernatural writers tack on a crazy ending to an otherwise steady episode. ‘The Girl Next Door’felt like a nice break after the epicness of the first two episodes of the season. I don’t want to call it a filler episode, because it certainly moved along the storyline, if a bit slower than the two previous episodes. And it was enjoyable, as most episodes focusing on the brothers and their relationship is. But that ending….
Let’s get to that shortly.
After the cliffhanger at the end of the previous episode, we saw the Winchesters (and Bobby!) escape from the hospital fairly unscathed after their last encounter with the leviathans. They quickly moved their base of operations to Rufus’ Montana cabin and Dean proceeded to spend the next three weeks resting his broken leg and watching Mexican soaps (he’s ridiculously addicted to them, by the way). That is, until Sam noticed a story in a newspaper and took off to handle a case involving a monster who eats brains.
But not just any monster: a girl he had known as a teenager. Cue Colin Ford, teenage Sam and the flashbacks. As it turns out, Sam had met a girl named Amy when he was staying in a small town while Dean and John went hunting. While researching the monster his father and brother were trying to kill, Sam came across a young Amy and proceeded to befriend her. Until he realized she and her mother were monsters. But Amy convinced him that they shouldn’t kill each other and Sam was going to let them escape town before the other Winchesters caught up to the women and killed them. Unfortunately, Amy’s mother was far less charitable and attempted to kill a teenage Sam, only to be killed by Amy herself.
In present day, Sam seemed determined to kill Amy, but she explained that she was now a mortician who only ate the brains of dead people. The only reason she had killed was to give her son ‘fresh meat’because he had gotten sick. She swore to Sam she would never kill again and he decided to believe her. After all, this is the girl who killed her own mother to save him when they were both kids.
Enter Dean, who – the moment Sam disappeared – cut off his own cast and got back on the road, chasing his brother down. In the end, it looked like Sam had convinced Dean to simply let Amy be. But we soon realized that was not the case. Instead, Dean went to Amy’s motel room and stabbed her because, as he said, one day she would kill again. Cue the Kill Bill moment, when Dean turned around only to realize that Amy’s son was now in the room. He let the boy go, but the boy swore he would kill Dean as revenge for his actions.
Concluded on next page…
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First, must note that what Dean did was not a bad thing — he killed a monster, even tho' he let its offspring live (a mistake, but understandable–this is still Dean). The older Winchester has been through a "refiner's fire;" all the soft, squishy, non-essential parts of his personality have been burned away. The Dean that is left is the essence of pure survival in an increasingly hostile, unsafe, untrustworthy, and quickly emptying Winchester universe. There are no safe ports in the raging storms bearing down on Dean, Sam, Bobby, and whoever else is still upright in their old world. How frightening, and how much Dean and the others must throw away in order to survive; and how each step seems to land on quicksand. Bobby's love for the two brothers carries vital and important weight in Season 7. Dean and Sam are struggling to reach some kind of equilibrium, which in light of what they've been through, is being manifested quite normally (!) for them — they are, after all, unique. Season 7 is magnificent so far; have no doubt that it will continue to blow all of our minds!
I agree! Dean should have taken the kid out too.
Dean’s actions were perfectly justifiable. Amy was a monster and Dean did what any good hunter would do. This episode was a replay of Metamorphous. Sam wanted Jack, a Rougarou, to live because he felt he could control his need to feed, which he could not and Sam ended up killing him. Now if the issue surrounding Dean’s position is that he was not honest with Sam, well who could blame him. Dean didn’t tell him because he knew Sam wanted him to trust him, which Dean clearly does not. I didn’t believe for one minute that Dean was telling Sam the truth. What has Sam done that would allow Dean to trust his judgment? Nothing! In fact, Sam’s poor judgment has cost Dean everything. Imagine if Sam let Dean kill Ruby. So much agony would have been averted.
To say Dean is less righteous because he killed a sympathetic monster, or was not upfront with Sam, well, that’s going too far. I certainly hope Sera Gamble does not try to do the unthinkable and commit character assassination against the one character holding SPN together. It was bad enough when they said Dean enjoyed torture, but to make this into an exercise which places Dean in the same realm of betrayal as Sam is unthinkable. What Gamble should be doing is developing a myth arc for Dean that makes sense. I had such high hopes for this season, but now I’m feeling less optimistic.
His only mistake was that he didn't waste the kid. Cas def would have.
I have to disagree with you that what Dean did was a bad thing. As sympathetic a monster as Amy was, let's not forget that she was a monster. She said that she only killed those people to save her kid. That is completely understandable, and I don't know a parent that wouldn't do the same thing. But what about the next time her kid gets sick? She said that eating dead brains was dangerous, especially for a kid. So it stands to reason that if that's what caused her kid to get sick in the first place, it would happen again if she kept giving him dead brains. Which means she would kill again. Dean did what he had to do, and I think it was completely in keeping with his character. He's always said that it's simple for him: you're either human or you're a monster. There is nothing in between. I don't think he necessarily wanted to kill Amy. He understood why she did what she did but he also knew that he couldn't leave her to do it again. He didn't kill the kid because (1) the kid hadn't killed anyone and (2) it was a kid. Dean doesn't go around killing kids if he can help it. I don't think Dean was being callous at all. I think he was being practical and following his instincts. He didn't follow his instincts with Cas and look how that turned out. This may be splitting hairs, but I don't think Dean necessarily lied to Sam. I think he told Sam exactly what he was gong to do, but Sam couldn't hear him. He was telling the truth he he said he trusts Sam, but Sam was entirely too close to this situation. He couldn't hear anything Dean said about Amy being a monster and needing to be killed. Dean tried to tell him, but Sam wouldn't receive it. So Dean let it drop and did what he had to do. I may be in the minority, but I never for a second believed that Dean was going to go along with letting Amy just walk away. Especially after she killed 3 people. That's never been who he is, and that character trait is amplified now after all that's happened to him. I still think the Boys' relationship is on solid ground and we won't be walking the road of them hiding things and outright lying to each other again. Sam went off on his own because (1) he felt like this was his mess that he had to clean up and (2) Dean was gimp and couldn't have helped him anyway. Dean didn't tell Sam he was going to kill Amy because Sam wasn't able to see why Amy needed to die and would've tried to stop him. I'm a Dean fan, and I'm not upset by what happened in this episode. Dean did what Dean does: he killed a monster.
I don't think Dean did a bad thing. My first reaction was shock, but I really did understand it in the end. I think Dean may have been a bit more decisive about killing Amy this time (as opposed to maybe feeling more conflicted) because of his current circumstances.
We know she was killing people. Can we really trust that she'd never do it again? That's like suggesting that all the people in prisons that have done bad things, as long as they promise not to do them in the future we'll just let them go. I do realize that she was killing "bad" men, but that doesn't mean they deserved to die. I'm sorry, but he was completely justified. He didn't do a bad thing, he did what was necessary. Sam couldn't kill her, I understand that, but Dean had to. I think he should tell Sam, it's done now and Sam can't stop him.
Agree!! Dean is a hardcore hunter and he did what any good hunter would do.
If you actually pay attention to the flashbacks, Amy killed her own mother for Sam and never killed anyone at that point. Amy still didn't kill people when until recently (storyline) and it was to save her son. Too me… this storyline seems like a way more hardcore version of Les Mis…
Whether she killed to save her son or not is irrelevant to me. She's a supernatural character who killed human beings. Period. And if she could kill to save her son once she could kill to save her son again. I respect Dean for stepping up and doing the right thing.
Exactly!
Dean’s actions were perfectly justifiable. Amy was a monster and Dean did what any good hunter would do. This episode was a replay of Metamorphous. Sam wanted Jack, a Rougarou, to live because he felt he could control his need to feed, which he could not and Sam ended up killing him. Now if the issue surrounding Dean’s position is that he was not honest with Sam, well who could blame him. Dean didn’t tell him because he knew Sam wanted him to trust him, which Dean clearly does not. I didn’t believe for one minute that Dean was telling Sam the truth. What has Sam done that would allow Dean to trust his judgment? Nothing! In fact, Sam’s poor judgment has cost Dean everything. Imagine if Sam let Dean kill Ruby. So much agony would have been averted.
To say Dean is less righteous because he killed a sympathetic monster, or was not upfront with Sam, well, that’s going too far. I certainly hope Sera Gamble does not try to do the unthinkable and commit character assassination against the one character holding SPN together. It was bad enough when they said Dean enjoyed torture, but to make this into an exercise which places Dean in the same realm of betrayal as Sam is unthinkable. What Gamble should be doing is developing a myth arc for Dean that makes sense. I had such high hopes for this season, but now I’m feeling less optimistic.
Rofl be a little more insanely over-analytic
Okay, first off… Jack the rugaru was controlling his hunger… Until Travis tied his wife up and was going to burn them both. Secondly, Sam's poor judgment cost Dean everything? Really? I love Dean and I am very much a Dean girl, but I would never go that far and state that. Dean has made mistakes, I think we all remember the glorious deal that he made, and personally, I think he made another one by killing Amy.
Yes, I get it, she was killing men and eating their brains. She was a monster. But we saw with Lenore that monsters don't always mean evil. She was doing it for her son; she was doing what any parent would do. I just don't get why Dean couldn't see that. I mean, he would and has done anything to help and save Sam but yet he can't see that Amy only wanted to save her son. I don't know, for me Dean killing Amy doesn't feel like something he would do. Especially being so callous about killing her in front of her kid. It just didn't feel like the Dean I had watched for seven years. Then again, I guess we all probably think differently about that.
WOAH!! I am a mother, and like Amy I’m a single mother in a difficult situation, and as much as I love my son, and believe me I love him more than anyone else in this world, I would never go sacrifice other people to save him. I don’t believe he’d ever want me too. I understand and sympathize with her situation, I really do, but she wasn’t thinking like a mother she was thinking like a monster. If Dean, who is like a father to Sam, can let Sam jump into hell, then Amy's human side should not have killed those people.
It's interesting that you bring up Lenore, because she is a wonderful example of exactly why Amy had to die. Hey, I, like Sam and Dean, believed that she wouldn't kill again, but we were wrong. She admitted last year in "Mommy Dearest" that she had started killing again and drinking from humans. Dean was justified.
Let me preface my statement by saying, I am neither a Deangirl or a Samgirl. I'm a Winchestergirl. I love both the boys equally but in different ways. That being said…I agree that Dean has made mistakes, but Sam's poor judgment HAS cost Dean everything. The only reason Dean didn't kill Ruby way back in S3 was because Sam asked him not to. The only reason he continued letting her live through S4 was because Sam asked him to. It went against all of Dean's instincts and experience, but he did it because Sam asked him to. And look how that situation turned out. Sam vouched for a demon, Dean honored Sam's wishes, and the apocalypse got started. I'm not saying it was completely Sam's fault because it wasn't. But that an example of Dean going along with Sam instead of following his own instincts and it turning around to bite them both. Dean killing Amy in this episode is an outward manifestation of the dark place he's in right now. He's given up on trying to live in the gray areas of life because every time he's tried that, he's gotten kicked in the teeth. His world is rapidly spinning out of control. He's desperately trying to regain control in a world that he feels is slipping from his grasp. He's lost his wife and kid. It appears Sam is slowly losing his mind and there's nothing Dean can do to help him. He's being hunted by the Leviathans and he can't (as of yet) stop them. His best friend just died and he couldn't save him. He couldn't stop Purgatory being opened. The only home he's ever known has been burned to the ground. He has no control over any of those things. But what he could control was killing a monster that was killing humans. That's what he could do, so that's what he did. I don't think he intended for the kid to actually see him kill his mother. But when Dean turned around the the kid was there, what was he supposed to do? Drop to his knees, start crying, and beg for the kid's forgiveness?
I won't comment on the episode because I'm still digesting, and alot depends on how they resolve this.
But you spoke about trust, and that's something I've lost towards this team of SPN. I'm not sure why, but the accumulation of the last 2 years did it for me, and now I wonder whether they really care about the character of Dean the way I do. It's not this ending, but the experience of feeling incomplete on so many levels.
I'm enjoying season 7 so far, but.. The writers love to tell complex stories that interest them, but for a very long time, their version of SPN has not entertained me. They made me love these brothers, but I fear for this one, like an abandoned mutt in an alley.
First up I'm loving Season 7 so far, the last three episodes have been great, a real throw back to the vintage Supernatural. I'm a big Cas fan, but agree with the fans that say having an all powerful being on the team makes life a bit to easy for Sam and Dean, getting back to basics is good and really made for a great episode. Although hopefully we'll see Cas again, big daddy Leviathan or human, either is fine. I'm not a puritan and have no problem with the boys world being expanded to include new characters.
In this episode I think Dean is working on pure instinct. His friend is dead (he's grieving), his brother is broken (he's worried) and his home is gone (he's lost). He's falling back into black and white – Monsters are bad and must be killed. No matter how shocking the ending appeared, Dean was right, Amy Pond (loving the Dr Who reference btw) was a monster who had killed people and would do so again. I can also understand Dean lying to Sam. Sam is in a fragile mental state so he wouldn't want to upset him or get into it with him, he just did what he thought he needed to do and protected Sam whilst doing it (Dean's default mode = protect Sam). I was however disturbed by the number of times Sam was smacked in the head this episode – I mean its already broken lets not make things worse.
The pace of the episodes have been great so far, the season started with a bang and rather than this episode being a filler it paid enough attention to the main story arc to keep things moving. The Leviathan are hunting the brothers and they don't know it yet. I really can't wait to see how the writers continue to develop the Leviathan story line.
On a final note, I've been so disappointed that the ratings are down by so much. What happened to the rabid fans who voted and won the TV Guide Cover? Some of the fans don't seem to be giving this Season a chance, which is sad because so far the writing, directing and acting has been great. Supernatural is by far the best show on tv just now and could end up being cancelled if the ratings don't pick up….. come on supernatural fans lets give the show that we all grew to love a chance.
Sorry I never comment because I tend to ramble lol
"I was however disturbed by the number of times Sam was smacked in the head this episode – I mean its already broken lets not make things worse."
Haha! I thought I was the only one who noticed that.
Jensen did a good job directing and Dean should have left Amy go . Sorry but Amy was a monster …but she was also a mom protecting her child and if not for her then Sam would have died years ago. I always remember how Dean once said that its people that scare him the most and are more dangerous then demons and monsters…well Dean proved that in tonites episode. Next week he will be all EMO about he's bad karma and he will be all kissing pie with a DEAD JO and frankly I won't give a dam….but I am enjoying season 7 …and still watch the series ,even though with poor ratings it looks like many SPN FANS have jumped the SPN horror express train and Sera Gambles and her current terrible SPN writers ……who after 3 seasons continue to further hurt the brothers deeply damaged relationship. Where is the Bromance?
Dean's job is to protect humans from the supernatural. He would have had to give in his hunter badge if he had neglected to stop a monster who was killing humans. He did the right thing.
Dean’s is “self-employed.”
There are no rules for him to follow. He does as his conscience dictates. That doesn’t mean it’s the right thing.
If it is really okay for us to just take whatever we want from anyone we think of as “bad,” then why haven’t we set up tissue, blood and organ banks at all the jails, prisons, and mental hospitals in the US? Is it okay for me to go to our local prison, about an hour from my house, and simply order a heart for my dying father? daughter? (no one in my family is actually dying, I’m just using examples) Each person who thinks that Amy was justified in what she did is really suggesting that we do just that. They believe its okay for us to take from anyone and everyone what we need, as long as we can call them “bad.” Okay, well my next door neighbor never mows his lawn, what a bad man. I think I will go take his TV. Grow up people – we can’t justify murder!!!
Except some states already do with the death sentence. So the morality is just as muddy on show as in society.
Mary Winchesters love of her sons caused her to be destroyed. What won't a mother do for her child if he/she is in danger/dying etc. She promises she won't do it but she did. Killing criminals doesn't make it any better for all their problems they're still people. Maybe there is a reason like can't read or mental issue that can be tended to with meds. She killed to protect her child once what's to stop her from doing it again when her child gets sick again? Dean knew she was lying. I'm surprised he didn't kill Jacob as well. He was a brain eater like his mom not to mention he might also turn evil like grandma.
Grate Article !!
I love the analysts the you gave about this episode.
Read this for a wonderful and elaborate explanation on Sam and Dean's actions. I can't wait to watch the next episodes of Supernatural! http://www.thewinchesterfamilybusiness.com/articl…