In the end, Melanie and Dean had the classic season 1 parting scene between one of the brothers and the girl of the week, then Sam and Dean had their own conversation and it was a glorious thing to behold. Sam willingly decided to reunite with Dean and admitted that Dean may have been right to kill Amy and that Sam’s friendly feelings towards her may have prevented him from doing so. But he also demanded that Dean not lie about being ‘fine’and wanted his brother to explain his destructive behavior lately. Dean’s explanation? He clearly still feels grief over the loss of Castiel and he was also feeling incredibly guilty about keeping the Amy secret from Sam. In the end, the brothers made up and drove off into the sunset together (OK, there was no sunset, but you get the point).
So do you understand why I feel hope? Yes, sometimes this show likes to manufacture conflict between the Winchesters, particularly in the most recent seasons. But I think Supernatural has learned its lesson that after so many seasons of strife, we don’t want to see that anymore. Not only are Sam and Dean back on track, but they managed to resolve their current issues in a mature, rational way that spoke to their love for each other and their role in each other’s lives.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Sam had a right to be angry with Dean. I’ve said before that I think what Dean did to Amy was right, and I really do think Sam was more upset about the fact that Dean didn’t trust him and lied to him, as opposed to actually killing Amy. This episode allowed Sam to be angry, but it also gave Dean an opportunity to explain his actions, even if he was frustrated with Sam while doing it. In the end, both characters demonstrated their maturity when they understood each other’s viewpoint.
The fact that Dean actually told Sam he had ramped up the drinking because he felt guilty about lying blew my mind. Can you imagine? BOTH brothers apologizing to each other without really saying ‘I’m sorry’, and talking about their feelings? Is this the apocalypse?
The truth is, I still think Dean was holding back a little in his explanation. We know that Dean’s drinking has been getting worse since he returned from Hell. To be honest, I think that excessive drinking is his default setting. And yes, it was worse lately and that is likely attributed to lying to Sam. But I also think it’s because of what happened to Castiel and because Dean is worried about Sam’s visions (which will come back into play). I believe that Dean’s life in general is something he needs to work hard at every day to cope with. I don’t think there will ever come a time when Dean doesn’t drink excessively. The things he’s seen and done – the people that he’s lost – all of this weighs heavily on his heart and mind. He will never be Mr. Optimism like Sam. And I guess that’s OK, as long as he’s not trying to drink his liver into an early grave.
Like I said, this episode made me so happy. Not only are the brothers back on track, but the whole episode felt like the earlier days of Supernatural. You had a ghost (who was actually very creepy), the boys dug up some graves and flung salt around, and there was a fun and awesome female guest star that connected with one of the brothers. Throw in a few allusions to gay ‘brothers’and this could be any random episode from the early days of Supernatural. Except we need that freaking Impala back, because every time Dean has to drive a clunker like he did in this episode a little piece of my soul dies.
I think we’re in for a treat in next week’s episode when one of the brothers makes the plunge into marriage (watch a trailer here). And while I’m sure we’re all thrilled that the Winchesters have reunited, you can still browse through the slide-show we posted earlier today about their most memorable fights. Let’s never forget how bad it can get so that we can be happy when they work out their problems.
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I really enjoyed this episode as a MOTW ep (ghosts are ALWAYS creepy!), but the end speech actually sucked out a bit of the excitement for me. I was happy to see the guys get on the same page again, but it felt really unbalanced with Sam just admitting Dean was right and instead of even discussing how lying to Dean was wrong, and turning it into how lying to Sam affected DEAN (which Dean also basically said earlier in the episode was Sam's fault for being traumatized). All the focus was definitely on Dean's issues in this episode while Sam walked around glaring and huffing until they finally skipped right past Sam getting to confront or make Dean understand that even if killing Amy was understandable, lying to Sam was not and Dean's angst over it could have been avoided if he'd just trusted Sam enough to be honest.
And don't get me wrong, I loved seeing even a little glimpse of Dean acknowledging his issues, but it didn't feel like much development-wise or give me any feeling like we'll be seeing any discernible change in Dean in the near future. At the same time, all of Sam's issues from this season seem to be resolved or stuck on the distant back burner. I really hope they're able to achieve better balance in handling the brothers' individual emotional arcs in the future, because as much as I love those "brotherly chats," this one felt dreadfully skewed.
But overall, I really enjoyed the early-season feel to the episode. They're definitely trying hard this season to make it remniscent of the early SPN days!
I understand what you're saying Leah, but I kind of disagree with you. I really viewed the last chat as merely a continuation of the one from earlier outside the girl's house. Sam had already told Dean that he was angry about being lied to. Dean in turn admitted that he was wrong for lying but only did it because he wasn't sure that Sam could handle it. I don't think Dean was blaming Sam for being traumatized or anything, but he made a very valid point that Sam hasn't exactly been on the most solid footing emotionally. When that part of the conversation took place, Sam was still angry and Dean was still frustrated. When they spoke at the end though, both of them had calmed down. Sam had taken the time to look at the situation from Dean's perspective which he hadn't done before. In processing what Dean told him earlier about his (Sam's) judgment being clouded by his emotions toward Amy, Sam realized Dean was right and told him so. I didn't feel like Dean needed to say he was wrong for lying again, because he'd already said it. He did admit that he hadn't fully trusted Sam (or anyone else) since that whole Castiel business. He didn't even really trust himself. I think there are several things at play here (1) Dean is grief stricken over the death of his best friend, (2) he's blaming himself for ignoring his instincts and (3) the job and everything associated with it is really weighing him down. The problems Dean admitted to Sam at the end of this episode were really just the tip of the iceberg. But I felt like this was a good Winchester brother chat, and it was a more mature conversation than they've had in the past.
I guess I just would have liked to have seen a concession on Dean's side too, that despite being Sam's brother he doesn't have a right to make choices like that on Sam's behalf, and that he's not qualified nor capable of determining when Sam is "healthy" enough to be told the truth. (I mean, he SAID he would have told Sam when Sam could handle it, but how was he planning to determine when that was?) It was a little like Sam just accepting that Dean's going to keep demanding full disclosure on everything that's going on in Sam's head to make sure he's getting "healthy", but that Dean won't be giving that in return.
And I think part of the reason I didn't like the final conversation–though it was more mature than their confrontation earlier–was that it seemed very regressive on a key aspect of the show. By having Sam agree with Dean, it validated Dean's position that the black-and-white approach on monster hunting is the right way. But the show's been deconstructing the notion that all monsters are evil and must die ever since season 2, so it was surprising to me that that was the stance they took when resolving the issue (especially when they made such a big deal out of the parallels between Amy and Sam in episode 3 of this season). I honestly thought the show would use this arc to help Dean realize that hunting ISN'T so black and white, and that it's his trust issues that are making him see that way. I dunno, it just felt to me like the most simplistic way of resolving the Amy issue, and though it fixed up their relationship easy enough, a lot of the individual intracacies I thought they'd set up in how killing Amy reflected Dean's troubled mindset and hers and Sam's parallels that they could be "freaks" but not dangerous were brushed away.
And I do agree that we got a glimpse at Dean's issues, but all I can see Sam walking away from this with is that he shouldn't put moral factors into place when hunting, which is really regressive, imo, and that if Dean couldn't trust Sam that Amy could be not dangerous, maybe Dean won't ever be able to trust that about Sam either, and that Dean would be right to.
(I apparently have a lot of feelings, haha.)
You forgot to mention the fabulous message from Ellen, "If you don’t tell someone how bad it really is, she’ll kick your ass from beyond.” You know what, I believe she would, she's really that stubborn. Ellen's message from the beyond is one of the greatest things this show has ever given me. Thank you writers! Of all the amazing females on this show, Ellen was my fav and the one I miss the most. Damn that woman is sassy, and I love it!
I loved the episode, I really did. I only have one bone of contention and it is minor, and it's just that it seems a bit too quick for everything between the boys to be good. I was thinking maybe next episode, but since Sam is going to need his brother to be his best man I am willing to accept the quick understanding and be happy. Ultimately I'm always happy when the boys get some issue of their chest. I always hope they learn something from when these issues arise, and sometimes they do so I'll keep my fingers crossed. I realize there's still stuff bugging Dean, but hey, this is a good start.
Great episode. Great review. Funny, though. I seem to be the only one who thinks that Dean's issues over Castiel isn't feeling guilty for his death, but more betrayed by who he considered to be a friend. Hence the trust issues. He's afraid to trust others because they let him down. That's how I see it, at least. Cas let Dean down and now Dean has major issues trusting others because of it. *shrugs* I could be wrong, but that's how I see it. :)
I think that's a valid point and certainly a large part of Dean's problem. Before Cas, Dean had never really trusted anyone outside of his family and he let Cas into his heart in a way few others have ever been allowed in. So for Cas to lie to them, put them in danger, bring down Sam's wall, and ultimately betray them the way he did really makes Dean kind of revert to his "safe mode" which is trust no one. But aside from the betrayal, at the end of the day Cas was Dean's friend and he (Dean) misses him. Dean never really got to make amends with him and now he's gone, and that hurts Dean deeply. So I think it's partly definitely the betrayal, but also partly that Dean just misses his friend.
So true Clarissa, I agree. I feel hope!
I hope future fights will never be the old lying and hiding kind again. I loved that they both stayed true to what they believed to be right, but made up anyway. Very mature way to end the fight that shouldn't have been written in the first place.
I loved this one!