1. The title is the name of a Led Zeppelin song, from the album “Houses Of The Holy”. And in Season 2’s episode “Houses Of The Holy” Dean had flashbacks to the proverbial “Angels are watching over you” phrase used by Mary and his disbelief in angels was seriously questioned for the first time. This phrase is repeated again at the outro of this episode – probably, the first time Mary coins it, and again angels are heavily involved in the episode.
2. And Supernatural’s not gonna stop until they use the whole lotta of Led Zeppelin’s catalogue for episode titles.
3. Some people complained that John in 1973 (in “In The Beginning”) didn’t impress them much. But, for instance, most of YouTube comments for this episode praise John. I guess it’s because back in 1973 he was a passive figure, but now, in 1978, he emerged as a hunter and showed his true character (namely, his typical authority). Note how good-natured and friendly John used to be and how hunting life changed him.
4. I LOVE Dean’s dreams. Cf. “The Rapture”. Seriously, sweet dreams make up for the dramatic dearth of sex in his current living.
5. “I love the Devil” – Dean, you know how you just admitted you love your brother as well? And not in a totally “non-weird, wholesome, family kind of a way”. The two go-go girls, dressed, respectively, as an angel (looking like a literal Playboy rabbit – fluffy but without the long ears) and a little Devil do a private dance for Dean in his own personal dream strip club. Yet more feminine/anima representations of our boys are always all right with me. They proceed to indulge in some soft-porn lesbian action, and then both lean down as if to kiss Dean. “That’s what I call peace on Earth”. Oh! My inner Jung has something urgent to say: We know how Michael and Lucifer are angels, and angels are androgynous. We also know how Michael and Lucifer are brothers. We also also know how Michael and Lucifer are heavenly doubles of Sam and Dean (brothers, not androgynous). We also also also know how Michael and Lucifer must be on Dean’s mind all the time. So, my take is, finally, Dean’s mind twists them into sexy and totally incestuous girls who are sisters if not in blood then in duty, and it feels like an extremely perverted/queer representation of Sam and Dean’s own drama. More of this, Supernatural, please.
6. If this goes on in Dean’s dreams, than what’s in Sammy’s head, when he’s sleeping? Not candy canes, you bet.
7. So, can any angel slam into the guys’ heads, or only those whom they trust and have a close relationship with?
8. Just a thought: how these Dean’s dreams are equivalent to Sam’s nightmares back in Seasons 1 and 2?
9. I always wondered where Anna went after “When The Levee Breaks”. So, she was imprisoned and tortured. God, Heaven is strict.
10. I didn’t follow very closely the chunk of Anna-related episodes in Season 4, and have never been too attracted to this character anyway (don’t we have enough oddball angels on the show yet?), so I wasn’t particularly amazed seeing her in “Then”, but, God, this episode rocks, with or without Anna. By the way, there haven’t been any other women angels in Supernatural yet, right?
11. So, Anna thought, the intimate nature of her and Dean’s connection regardless, Dean would still date her with Sammy in tow?
12. The scene of Anna waiting – cf. “Sympathy For The Devil” and “Lazarus Rising” as well, with all the sparkling lights and stuff illuminating the appearance of angels.
13. Castiel must’ve overheard Dean and Anna’s (Dean and Anna would make a DeAnna, slash fans) private talk – voyeur Angel that he is – and he obviously saw the strip show in his friend’s head, too. Really, the scene of Anna meeting Castiel instead of the boys begs for a slash interpretation. Castiel the jealous lover comes to find out why the hell another woman (!) would advance on his beloved one (mind you, I haven’t read a single Dean/Cas fic, yet still feel it).
Anna: Castiel? I was expecting Dean.
Castiel: You ever try to court him behind my back, I’ll kill you with this knife, you little angelbitch.
Lovespeak aside, the gist of their conversation amounts to that. Don’t touch my boys – Try and stop me.
14. Unsusceptible to angelic or female charms, Castiel reads Anna’s intentions surprisingly quickly. Why he realizes her intentions – they see each other’s minds so clearly, surely he will. Anna’s the new Gordon, huh?
15. Promiscuous Castiel. Used to be a Dean Girl, but now he’s more of a BiBroBoy.
16. It must be painful for Castiel to realize it’s his fault Anna was so severely reprogrammed up in Heaven’s jail – ‘cause he called the police back then.
17. Anna has always been somewhat suspicious of Sam – her last words to Castiel before she disappeared for over half a year were “Why did you let Sam Winchester out?”
18. Heaven’s Government must be screwed up – first they needed Sam to start the Apocalypse yet, now they want to punish him for having done exactly that?
19. So, why was Castiel so harsh to Anna back then? She tried to stand in the way of fulfilling the heavenly orders he was receiving, and now it’s vice versa – she’s got orders, he’ll do anything to stop her. Role reversal. Basically, in Season 4 Anna was what Castiel was going to become – a rebellious angel who chose the Earth over Heaven. Unlike Anna, Castiel did not become physically human; having rejected his heavenly status, he remained an angel but with a more and more human soul. Maybe that’s why he’s always been so uneasy talking to her – he could feel that she was a living projection of his destiny, hence she was a threat, a temptation he felt right to resist. He acted ambivalent towards her – once he’d curse her, then ask her to teach him how to be like she is. She even saved him when Uriel wanted to kill him. So, guess in “When The Levee Breaks” he was on the verge of doubt, at the peak of his faith crisis – he didn’t want to let Sam out, but he did ‘cause he had the order – so when Anna came to him, like a conscience alive, and reproached him, he just let it go and let them take her away. In fact, she suffered for him. ‘Cause at the end he did become a rebel like she was. But she, on the contrary, regressed to a Uriel-like stage of bad-angel-killing-anyone-who-messes-with-the-Heaven’s-plan. In fact, she’s a victim. Maybe she loved him, too, why would she go at length trying to reassure him?
22. I guess she’s more like a zombie acting on Heaven’s order rather than on her own accord.
23. Wait, where does Castiel’s knife come from? I totally failed to trace the origins of both Sam and Dean’s and Castiel’s knives.
24. Anna caves in and reveals the plan, and does she hope Castiel would sympathize, help her or, at least, won’t stand in her way? Too bad she’s been away too long. The last time they met Castiel was still serving God and Heaven, and could see sense in sacrificing Sam’s life but now he’s more like a human and has probably acquired this “watch out for little brother” attitude from Dean. Castiel, could you be more adorable with your protectiveness? He is becoming even more vociferously protective over Sam than when it concerns Dean. It feels like Castiel is considering and weighing Anna’s offer seriously at one point, but eventually he still sticks with the harder choice. ”We’ve been through much together, but you come near Sam Winchester and I’ll kill you [and yeah, what exactly have you been through together?]… The answer’s still no. Because Sam is my friend”.
26. Anna suggests scattering Sam’s cells all across the universe so that Lucifer won’t be able to find him and bring him back. Remember that Egyptian myth of Osiris, the god whose body was torn into limbs and scattered across the land – and then his wife looked for his body parts everywhere and found them all but one and put them together? And how filthy it makes Anna’s plan. I already picture Lucifer tearing around the globe picking up Sam’s cells – one time he’ll regret his vessel is so big and tall and strong.
27. Dean, you now obey Castiel’s orders? Don’t go there, baby, it’s dangerous, let me do it myself.
28. Sammy’s sacrificially suicidal again and his trademark obedience in the face of “destiny” kicks back. Well, I guess, his options, the way he sees them, are all bleak – either he becomes Lucifer’s bitch or gets murdered by Anna, thus robbing Lucifer of his meat – which is nobler – sure, he’s willing to go with her plan. Unless there are wiser men around.
29. I LOVE this face Dean pulls when his brother is speaking self-deprecating nonsense or when somebody speaks nonsense of his brother – he’s literally in pain when he hears that – his eyes! his eyebrows! his stop-it-now-Sam expression – are priceless.
30. So, Dean, what’s wrong with you and banging monsters?
31. He accepts the news that Anna, his one-off lover, is now his foe quite matter-of-factly. He’s beyond wonders already.
32. “She’s Glenn Close”. Castiel, your human humour is developing apace. You’ve good good teachers, after all.
33. So, Sammy’s the little rabbit psycho Anna wants to torture to death? More of Glenn Close references: Anna is the jealous lover herself – she wants to take the beloved one from Dean.
34. When a vision of another angel’s whereabouts flashes through Castiel’s crystal ball mind, it must hurt, judging from his reactions.
35. Dean, if angels can travel in time, why did it take Anna’s threat for you to have arrived at this brilliant idea of going back to the past and preventing whatever you couldn’t back in “In The Beginning”? Like, can’t you go straight into 2, November 1983 and just, I don’t know, tie your Mummy to the chair so she won’t go to the nursery? *cringe*. And why can’t they travel to the future and stop something there (or rather, then), or just see how it all ends?
36. So, travel in time is harder than travel in space.
38. Dean, why do you think you can fight zombified Anna better than Castiel? Admit, you just want to see your parents again. And show Sammy your “babe” mother.
39. Anna lands on the car’s hood, embellished with a picture of a Phoenix
40. The boys are back to ’73. Ooh, Castiel. And, Sam, do you think breathing is a sure sign that an angel is 100% okay? C’mon, I bet he can go on even without breathing, like he can go on without eating. He’s a 3D wavelength of… you get the drift. “Five nights up… in the honeymoon suite”. How does Dean know Castiel will be alright without meds or whatever, that the only thing he needs is rest? God, why do I have to be so nitpicking?
41. “The moustaches alone”. “Dope”. “What do I look like – Dr. Angel, Medicine Woman?” (> “Dr. Quinn…” – such a filthy reference). “We ought to stick around here, buy some stock in Microsoft” – boys, you wish.
42. Sam even considers the possibility of staying in ’73 forever, if Castiel won’t come to. Everything’s better for him than be snatched by the Devil. Just hide-and-seek in the past.
43. “Sam. Sam. Wait, wait, wait, wait… what exactly are we gonna march up there and tell ‘em?” – “Uh, the truth”. Oh, Sam, let Dean straighten that loose tie of yours and put a fake badge in your pocket, ‘cause how you remind me of the naïve Castiel in “Free To Be You And Me”. Like him, the prospect of meeting your parents makes you lose your mind.
44. “Those movies haven’t even come out yet”. What a meta moment. Like you can convince people something is real if you tell them it happened in a movie. Fiction is truer than life, indeed.
45. They ring the bell with… determination.
46. Casting directors, bravo, your John even has Dean’s “luxurious eyelashes”. Or it’s vice versa.
47. John is totally down at Mary’s heel. He’s not even very masculine. In conclusion: a pussy. Loves being bossed around. Just think how this relationship is mirrored in Sam and Dean’s bond. John is totally the softer one, Mary’s authoritative. God, women in this family have always been the strong ones, and men… now you get where all this Sam and Dean’s propensity for whining and crying come from? Wusses.
48. Mary’s been a hunter all her life up until her parents were mercilessly murdered by the demon, so this tragedy made her stop. And the same kind of tragedy made her younger son start hunting again. He wanted to get away from the “family business” before it happened, not after. And the common reason for Mary to stop and Sam to start hunting was that they both cared for their family. Go figure.
49. I’m crying soppy tears over the reunion scene. Sammy hasn’t seen his Mom alive in over 25 years, he barely remembers her, so he stares and stares like he’s seen an angel. And the way he holds and holds and holds John’s hand and can’t let it go until reminded – a typical comic situation here transforms into a very touching one for real. Sam’s lost to the world, so it’s up to Dean to do all the talking.
50. John remembers Dean. “You look familiar” – “Yeah, you do, too, actually, you know?.. Small towns”. “This is Sam” – “Mary’s father was a Sam” – “It’s a family name”. Ooh, Dean, this game of wit must be tougher than “Nut Cracker”.
51. John’s so hospitable. Used to be a real gentleman with women back then. The only time he’s being bossier than May is when he insist on their staying at their place. Thrice! Maybe he feels some connection. John really wanted to learn more about Mary’s relatives at first. If only he knew. By the way, why would Mary’s parents start hunting? Somebody killed their Moms and Dads?
52. “Mary’s Dad was, uh, pretty much like a Grandpa to us”. Dean, you’ve got an amazing ability to tell lies and be true at the same time.
53. John strutting this dark shirt with rolled sleeves, his beer bottle in his hand, his posture – like son, like father.
54. Mary’s like oh my, now there are two suspicious blokes in my house.
55. Compare Dean’s “Mom is a babe” to Sam’s “You’re so beautiful” (Dean rolls his eyes at that – he has to verbally bounce back for the two of them now, and John’s all what?). Language! Boys in a nutshell. And, guys, looks like you both have a crush on your Mum. Slash writers, your reward.
56. And all these things – verbal trickery, eye contacts, sparks of familiarity are going on at the same time, that’s beautiful.
57. On the phone, Anna is speaking in John’s employer’s voice. And, John, is your car workshop open all night or something? Who would invite you for a job meeting in the middle of the night, you naïve head?
58. Mary doesn’t believe angels, let alone bad angels, exist, just like Dean used to do. And maybe she lost her faith when her parents died? But then, after the following events, a vague memory of them must’ve still remained, so later she’d chant to young Dean the “angels are watching over you” tagline.
59. Angels are watching over Dean, Dean is watching over Sammy. That makes him his brother’s angel? *melts*
60. Yeah, 24-year old John is that naïve. You see your boss lying on the floor, dead, man, what do you do?
61. That’s a beautifully constructed fight scene. And Mary rocks. The way she twists the knife in her hand like a freakin’ Uma Thurman – come get her, redhead. Mary’s definitely the best fighter in this scene. Yeah, boys, both your parents were heroes, and your Mum kicks ass.
62. Mary was actually fighting for the three lives – her own, her husband’s and her unborn baby’s. Speaking of the baby, this must’ve been a big stress for him. No wonder hunting is in Dean’s blood – his mother was teaching him it before he was even born. Sam, meanwhile, didn’t have that opportunity – hence him being the “pansy”.
63. Just a thought: Enochian to angels is what Latin is to humans?
64. Physical force alone won’t stop Anna but in both cases (with Sam’s sigil and Michael’s intervention later) it’s just by touch they get rid of her.
65. It’s probably the once-in-a-lifetime chance you guys ever gonna have of driving around in your car with your whole family around. And, typically, it’s behind the wheel – where he feels best – that John first ever shows the early signs of what he is to become in later years. John’s frustration is in the fact that the truth has been kept away from him and that his unawareness could cost him and his family a life. Like Sam, his father was forced into hunting even before Mary’s death – he had no choice, and initially he was a “reluctant hero”, too, wanted to keep his kids away from it, but Mary’s murder totally settled it.
66. Mary’s parents’ house. Had it been abandoned for the five years since they died?
67. John’s this practical kind of guy (“I don’t care what it [the sigil] means. Where does it go?’”), very much like Dean, even more so. And yeah, what exactly do the sigils mean, Dean?
68. John, don’t you think this cut across your palm could make it more difficult for you to fight, should you have to? Okay, at least we see you’re a brave guy ready to rise up to the challenge of your rivals. No kidding.
69. Exactly what makes Dean remember his father in this young John’s behaviour?
70. Emotional moment # 1 – Sam and John’s talk. It’s laughing and crying, guys, laughing and crying. John vociferously protests against Sam’s father’s decision to have trained his kids as hunters. “The number it must’ve done on your head…” – you’ve got the point, man. We’re having a weird time warp moment here: realizations like this usually come after years of parenting, but John has no children so far, yet is totally able to think ahead. Everybody takes a piss out of John, but, hey, it’s him who brought to you in every way the two charming haunters (yes! HAUNTERS! Haunter Hunters!) for your viewing pleasure. Would you be so interested in watching these pretty boys’ lives unfurl before you, had they been, say, the guys from “It’s A Terrible Life”?
71. And Sam, for the first time maybe, defends his Dad’s choice… to his Dad. “He died trying [to protect us]”. Sam even used to hate him but now he understands why John did that to them, and now he loves him, says Sam, looking his future father up with his sensitive, dewy eyes, and John! the eyelashes! seems to get his point, and this confession is probably Sam’s only (both too early and too late) chance to shake this guilt off his mind, and he’s getting so personal, John could’ve felt something, like, why is this guy getting all touchy-feely in his face, but… oh. Too bad John’s never going to remember these words.
72. We’ve never got so many “I love you”s in a row of consecutive episodes in Supernatural before. First, it’s Sam’s “high” confession to Dean in “Sam, Interrupted”. Second, it’s John’s woman friend telling them their father loved them, in “Swap Meat”. Third, it’s Dean with his “I love the Devil” in this episode. Fourth, it’s Sam saying his future Dad he loves him, here. Fifth, it’s Michael telling Dean he loves his brother Lucifer but he will kill him, later in this episode. I spy, nothing good comes out of this chick-flickery.
73. Anna tells the ’78 Uriel that in the future “these people are going to kill [him]”, so won’t he kill them first now? She lies to him blatantly, as in the future it’s no one but her who will stab him to death – tragically enough, for good reasons.
74. Emotional moment # 2 – Dean and Mary (and why confront Sam with his father and Dean with his mother – maybe because the figure of father was more of Sam’s sore spot, as well as the figure of mother meant the same to Dean?). Dean doesn’t want Mary to know who they really are – why?
75. Now we even know such trivia as Mary’s favourite song. And why these two little facts Dean gives Mary to prove to her he’s her son produce such a great impression on her? He’s not even born yet, how is she to know she’ll be cooking tomato-rice soup and lulling him to sleep with “Hey Jude”? Anyway. Whatever.
76. It’s Mary’s only chance to actually feast her eyes on the two dreamboats her two little boys grew up to become. So sad she never puts it into words, she’s more shocked by the thought that she “raised [her] kids to be hunters” Normal life was a real priority for Mary. One wonders, would she have survived had she not relinquished hunting? Maybe she could’ve protected herself better on 2, November 1983, then? I even get the feeling Mary could be protecting her kids with even greater ferocity than John. She wouldn’t have let them die. Fanfics aside, just imagine how it all could’ve been if Mary were behind the wheel of the “family business”? She would make a total Ma Baker.
77. Look, Mary’s this fragile beauty, but she’s tough inside. She’s hearing the news of her destined death in the future with such composure. Now the boys are tough, but oh how they crumble at their hearts all the time. Amazing.
78. Really, this conversation amounts to some capital-E epic family saga.
79. Dean’s reciting his “do not go in there” instruction again, and, man, why can’t you explain to her what exactly’s gonna happen if she goes up to the nursery? Maybe she’ll remember better this way?
80. Well, Sam’s got a point. Even if Mary stays alive, the demons will still haunt him, so he’s cursed cursed cursed, destiny boy.
82. No way Mary’s leaving John (and note how Dean suggests without hesitation Mary’s active role in the possible breakup), Dean, she loves him and won’t leave him in danger – you of all people should understand.
83. The fact that she’s pregnant seems to be the lesser reason, frankly. Interesting how the news of her expecting to become a mother is immediately what makes their divorce impossible. Are they both of such highly moral/religious upbringing that they won’t even consider stopping her pregnancy? I guess being murdered in his mother’s womb is too much even for Dean. If he can choose between never being born and dying fighting, he’ll stick to the second option.
85. The sigil on the door disappearing – could it be a symbol of John being unable to save his family/kids in the future? How come angels can even break them? Poor John’s hand.
86. The fight scene that follows is dark and chaotic, and Anna stabs Sam with this iron fixture, and this wound goes through his chest, and it all feels so much like “All Hell Breaks Loose”. He dies for real, and it’s supposed to be an epic event. See, everybody in this family tried to protect some of his/her relatives and died doing it. Sam here was trying to protect Mary. Dean has to see his brother dying, unable to stop it and help him yet again. Boo hoo. Seriously. Watch out or not, there’ll always be some bastard at the end of the book.
87. Michael, nice to meet you. Note how Lucifer comes to Sam as Jessica (his lover), while Michael manifests in front of Dean as John (his father). So, does he look like Cate Blanchett, Dean? He executes Anna, before even listening to what she has to say in her defense. By mere touch of his hand. And then he goes on to just snap Uriel out like an irritating fly.
88. So, wussy young John is strong enough to be Michael’s temporary vessel. Also, Lucifer is currently occupying the guy named Nick (connotations – “Devil”), and Michael’s wearing the guy named John (roughly meaning “God is good”) – very symbolic.
89. Whatever I said about Lucifer being suave and clever in his methods, Michael is even more so. And both Lucifer and Michael have these slick, suave voices.
90. Michael, letting a pregnant woman fall on the floor unconscious may not be helpful for her and the kid.
91. Emotional moment to end all emotional moments: Michael’s private chat with Dean. Dean’s first words to the Archangel are “Fix him!” (he says in a threateningly unstable voice, pointing an authoritative arm in Sammy’s direction). Not “what you did to my father/mother”, but this. And how is Dean to know Michael can do that or will? Really, here Michael could’ve asked anything from Dean. Like, oh yeah, I’ll bring your brother back, only you say “yes” to me first. And it’s scary to even think what kind of moral dilemma Dean would have to face then. Like, right, I say “yes”, you bring him back, and only to kill him again when he becomes Lucifer? Probably Dean realizes all that, yet he still goes for it and asks or rather demands from Michael to show his mercy. And who else could be so insolent with Michael but Dean?
92. Also, “Fix him” are the words Dean addresses (while laughing inside) to Dr. Fuller in “Sam, Interrupted” (“So could you fix him so we can both drive around the country and hunt monsters again?”). Should’ve knocked wood, Dean. Also, this is very much like the words Dean was telling to a dying Sam in “All Hell Breaks Loose” – “we’re gonna patch you up”.
93. Damn, Michael, where were you in “All Hell Breaks Loose”? If everything’s been long planned by God, why couldn’t you care about these boys before? Why would you let your One True Vessel (OTV – hey, it’s totally a term) being tortured in Hell? Especially that if you know everything, you should’ve known the demon’s plan for Dean, how if he gave in, it would be the first step for your brother to break free from his cage? Wait, so by your non-interference then, did you mean to show you secretly wanted to let your bro out? That maybe you felt some pity for him in spite of your father’s orders? God, this is so screwed.
94. This mess with One True Vessels and just Vessels – cf. religious arguments over who’s who in the Holy Trinity or some such quibbles.
95. But Michael’s so noble that he never offers Dean this black-mailing pact, he’s just, “First… we talk. Then I fix your darling little Sammy” (hi, TWoP). This talk has been long overdue, Mike, yes. He obviously wants Dean to accept him with full devotion, whole-heartedly, not because Dean’s been forced to. Lucifer’s not that different. They both need their vessels to embrace their roles with dedication and faith.
96. Lucifer, there’s an idea for you. Just do something for Dean when he’ll be in serious trouble – and the next time Sammy will find it much harder to refuse your offer.
97. Dean’s clutching at his belly or chest right where Sam’s been stabbed, like he feels the same pain.
98. Note that Dean’s talking to both Michael and his father at once. How Freudian. For Dean his father has been this superhero, so it’s only natural he comes to represent Michael, the most powerful Archangel on the block.
99. “It’s a bloodline. Stretching back to Cain and Abel”. But does not all mankind come from these two? Excuse me while I go check the Bible. And yeah, fratricide was at the roots of the human race. And supposed to be the end of it, too.
100. Dean’s “What do you want with me?” and him stepping back from Michael’s touch is so very Sam’s first time with Lucifer.
101. “You got beef with your brother? Well, get some therapy, pal. Don’t take it out on my planet!” Whoa, Dean, watch out for your words, or he might reconsider his promise. And how Dean equals “brother” to the “world”. Just. No words.
102. Amazing: when Michael talks about his brother (“I practically raised him. Took care of him in a way most people could never understand, and I still love him… but I’m going to kill him because it is right and I have to” – and Dean’s “Oh, because God says so?” – it’s not even a question, it’s a bitter statement – passion! passion!) he glances at darling little Sammy lying on the floor, and so does Dean, his lips trembling at the mention of that, and what drama it is.
103. What Michael says, especially the “good son” part, puts to another test Dean’s belief in his father’s rightness and his own being-a-good-son virtue. Dean initially prided himself on exactly that – “because I’m a good son” are his actual words to Sam from some early episode. He believed his father’s orders were always just and wouldn’t question them, and it was his moral pleasure to comply with what his Dad had said. But then, after the “you might have to kill [him] unless you can save him” last ever order from John, Dean had to admit his unlimited trust in his Dad’s unfailing rightness is faltering. And, good for him, he came to understand his “good son” ideal is not altogether helpful all the time. “And you’re just gonna do whatever God says... take it from someone who knows – that is a dead-end street”. Michael has a long way to go, compared to Dean. He still needs to shake his Dad’s reigns off him. Dean actually sees from aside how destructive the utmost Daddyvotion can be, sees what he could’ve become, should he have followed Dad’s worshipping course. And note that worshipping Dad leads to bad effects, but Dean’s worshipping of his brother actually saves Sammy’s life. Again and again.
104. “And you think you know better than my father? One unimportant little man. What makes you think you get to choose?” Dean’s bitter “Because I got to believe that I can choose what I do with my unimportant little life” – goes in SPN quote book, straight.
105. Note how Dean knows Lucifer’s all bad to the bone but when Michael speaks of killing him, Dean’s voice sounds somewhat indignant, ‘cause, come on, it’s killing your own brother, so what he’s a Devil. Dean, sort of, forgets who Michael’s brother is for a moment, ‘cause it’s a brother we’re talking about, and therefore – sacred.
106. “Unlike my brothers, I won’t leave you a drooling mess when I’m done wearing you”. So when it’s all over, according to Michael’s plan, Dean will be back home in a perfect, post-Apocalypse world, safe and sound, with his memory cleaned and some additional bonus such as, I don’t know, increased awesomeness. Or maybe happiness. Maybe Michael would make him forget he ever had a brother some day, so that he’ll be free, single and happy as a kite again, could have a “normal” life at last. All “1984” , that is. This could be a fanfic. Sure, the memory of Sammy will have to flash and surface sooner or later, and then we’ll see…
107. And what will Lucifer do to Sam unless Michael casts them both down? What if the Devil wins? He may never want to leave his vessel then. Or if he does, will Sam end up a spectacu-lacular mess like a few episodes back?
108. Just an obvious thought: Dean goes farther from Dad, and Sam approaches him more and more with every year.
109. If anything, this talk with God’s good son can only enhance Dean’s unwillingness to become his vessel. No way he’ll be killing his brother. He didn’t listen to his Dad, why should he comply with Michael’s father? Also, Dean’s Dad gave him two choices, at least: save him or kill him. Then Michael’s Dad probably forgot to mention the “save him” part?
110. By the way, Michael, if you want Lucifer to be over with, why would you resurrect Sam? He’s dead already, so just leave him as he is, and no need to fight. Guess Michael is into rituals. It’s not enough depriving Lucifer of his vessel, it has to be a battle. He has to meet his younger brother face to face and defeat him, whatever that means. But why can’t Michael destroy Lucifer the way he is now, wearing this Nick guy? Why these two badly need Sam and Dean? ‘Cause they only can do it wearing these suits? ‘Cause the brotherly energy is required? ‘Cause maybe Michael is stronger in John, so he wants to give Lucifer a fair play? But isn’t he dead sure he will be this battle’s winner?
111. The last gift Michael gives Dean is swiping away his parents’ memory of the day. To think it all – Castiel bringing them to the past, Dean wringing his heart out, Sam dying – was in vain. Had Dean been in less distress, he would’ve smacked Michael in the face. Er, that would’ve been punching his father, so… no. It’s weird that Michael is also John, so when he talks about his plans, it’s like back to that hospital ward where John whispered these words in Dean’s ear.
112. So, that’s how you Archangels bring people from the dead – pressing your index and middle fingers to their temple. Beautiful.
139. Ooh, Dean, now you owe Michael a lot. It’s ironic that Michael is also your father’s form now, and you own your brother’s life to him nevertheless.
113. John, I bet you acquired your awesome personality after Michael had hosted you. “Better than new”. And Dean is too exasperated to protest.
114. The boys don’t even get to say “see you” to their parents. Neither do they buy a stock in Microsoft, alas. Poker and pool for ya, guys, here to stay.
115. So, back in time, and does Sam remember he had died? And sure Dean’s not gonna tell him, Sam’s fragile psyche is psyched out enough, yeah? And, guys, you owe us fangirls a hug – that’s what you’re supposed to do at situations like this, remember? Mingy-stingy, Supernatural. Did Michael wipe out this habit out of their brains, too? I can see why they don’t, though.
Dean: *hugs Sam*
Sam: Dean? What’s wrong?
Dean: Nothing. Just… long time no see, Sammy.
Sam: Dean. The last time we hugged was when you came back from Hell.
Dean: Yeah, so?
Sam: Did Anna…
Dean: No! Just… We’ve just been, like, re-born, man. Let’s drink to that.
Sam: *looks deeply suspicious*
…Or maybe they forget to hug ‘cause they are so worried about Castiel.
116. Castiel’s back – cf. how he appears behind Dean in “Free To Be You And Me” when Dean is standing in front of the mirror – and now the angel is playing the same trick on Sam. New bond emerging! And, alas, Castiel learnt private space lesson from Dean and follows it this time.
117. It’s such a mis-episode for Cas. He missed all the fun,
118. Boys, think of motels that serve three-bedroom suits now, will you?
119. Ooh, how they are gentle with him.
120. “Team Free Will”. Dynamic trio. With demon blood addiction, paranoia, narcissistic personality disorder, religious psychosis and comatoseness to them. Be afraid, be very afraid.
121. Sam’s “And if you could save Mom… what would you say?” at the end of this scene – yeah, boys, pack up, time your Delorean Angel on 11/02/83, and here you go. Only, what’s Michael’s point in saving Mary for the second time? She’s already given birth to her two kids, and if she lives, she’d raise them normal, they wouldn’t know how to defend themselves – probably not the best solution for future vessels they’re destined to be. Note: Sam thinks you can just put on an Archangel and do whatever you want. Fallacy, but not really. A useful one that’ll prove criminally crucial at the end of the season.
122. How is John to judge art, what is cheesy and what is not? Expert. This last scene is cheesy indeed but, yeah, I like it. It reminds me of “Star Wars II” ending, with the hero and his bride looking out of the window into the futuristic landscape that opens up in front of them and into their future. Also: note how in “Star Wars” there’s the father/son drama, here it’s a brother/brother drama.
123. Unborn Dean is a nervy baby. No wonder, his Mum’s been through much distress when he was barely conscious yet. And he shows his tough “troublemaker” character already. That’s our Dean.
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