Supernatural: After School Special
By fred | January 30, 2009
(S04E13) There were some “misdirections” in this week’s episode of Supernatural. After the opening scene, one could have been wondering what the link to the usual universe the boys live in was, what would bring them here, because it didn’t seem to really involve any demonic force. Of course, there was something else at play here, and behind appearances there was work for our boys.
But that wasn’t all, because I think it would be very easy to see this episode as not bringing anything really new to the table. It wasn’t just a new case, we also had a few flashbacks along the way, but it didn’t feel like we were learning much about this brothers and the way they grew up. Let’s face it, we’ve seen them as little kids before, and we always knew what we saw there.
It’s nothing new that their father wasn’t really there much, that he left them by themselves, with Dean in charge, while he run out to hunt demons. Just like the brothers didn’t share the same view on their future live and what they had to do; we knew Sam wasn’t much into the “family business”, he wanted to be a normal kid and have a normal life, go to college and forget about the forces of evil in the dark. That Dean plays it cool and makes it looks like he doesn’t care, but that the real truth is that he’s “just a sad, lonely, little kid“ isn’t new, either.
But this wasn’t just a trip down memory lane for the sake of it or to learn how the kids grew up, but to find out about the place the boys are right now, especially Sam. It was to reiterate both how he changed, and how he (still) felt about this life. Last week we saw him go back to Ruby, to do whatever it is they do when they’re alone, after he and Dean had a chat about their future, the constant fighting and the lack of hopes when it came down to growing old and have a normal life at some point.
This week, we got to see that this was still haunting him, more than ever, he still has those hopes and dreams, and when his old teacher asked him whether or not he was happy, you could see him struggling with that one. He probably thought of just saying yes, but then realized it wasn’t that easy, he couldn’t really say it and mean it. And since it’s now been a while we haven’t heard of the likes of Lilith, Castiel and all that mess going on, that our boys haven’t really been involved in this critical fight going on currently, that I can only assume this is all part of the plan.
We all suspect that the brothers are in for some serious confrontation down the line, that they will turn on each other, they’ll disagree with what needs to be done, and might end up on different sides. And this was probably just another step in setting the way both of them feel, where they stand and what they have to struggle with and will eventually get them apart. Sam is back to lying and sneaking out when his brother is asleep, and that is because of his old dreams, his aspiration at a normal life, a life away from this Hell.
And quite frankly, I’m ready to get back to the whole big story at play: I’m all for the return of Castiel, Anna, Lilith, and the boys be in the middle of it all.
About the case itself, it was rather easy to see who the bad guy really was, and how it would come back and bite Sam in the ass, but that didn’t make things less interesting. The only thing might have been that it’d have been nice to see their dad, but I guess they couldn’t really afford to have Jeffrey Dean Morgan for just a line or two. But we still had some great lines, courtesy of Dean of course. My two favorites ones being “FYI, three of the cheerleaders are legal. Guess which ones.” and, of course, the awesome “The whistle makes me their God!”
One thing that did “shock” me during this episode, though, is when they finally faced Dirk and he escaped. Then Sam just shot it right away, no hesitation, no remorse, nothing. But the guy he shot was completely innocent, he was being possessed, and while I don’t know how he could or if he should have acted any different, it seemed like some time ago, Sam wouldn’t have done that.
We’ve heard him make the difference between killing people, innocent human being, and demons. We’ve seen him and Dean argue over killing people being possessed by a demon, and Sam was all about finding other ways (like using his powers) to save the “hosts.” Yet, right here he just pulled the trigger without even thinking about it, and I gotta say I was shocked to see them both just shoot at those people who really were innocent.
All in all it was a good episode, with blood, humor, all sorts of fights, and great tunes – exactly what you’d expect for the show. But it seemed to just put some little pieces in place for the unavoidable clash coming, and I have to say that I can’t wait for it. Because I want to be able to put that behind us, honestly, and because I really want to see them go back to what’s going on with Castiel and God choosing Dean, as well as whatever Sam is going through (with Ruby).
What did everybody else think ?
Posted in Reviews
Shows: Supernatural
You know, Supernatural fans just don’t watch this show; they get involved and invested into the show. If you’re like me, you’ve thought long and hard about what the boys were like when they were teenagers. And for the most part, what they showed us is kind of what I pictured. I pictured Sam as sort of a geek, but one that was well adjusted and not an outcast at all. And I pictured Dean as a loner but always had a girl. So I was OK with the way they were portrayed in the episode. At different times the boys broke my heart. Sam was quiet, serious and willing to stick up for someone he just met. He didn’t want to be labeled a freak so he took what the bully dished out. Even then he just wanted to be like any other family. As for Dean, he did get the girl, but wanted nothing to do with normal things like meeting her parents. This was all totally in line with what we’ve seen over and over for the last four seasons.
It certainly would be shocking if Dean and Sam had killed the possessed bus driver and student, but as they were only shot with rock salt, we can be pretty certain from Dean’s experience in “Asylum” that they survived.
yeah they were shot with rock salt with would not kill them
but i agree that this episode is somewhat useless
as well as the previous one.