5.20 "The Devil You Know" review

1. “Then”’s first snippet – Sam and Jessica – BANGS! CUTENESS!

2. Hospital. The way they communicate with each other and the doctor with the help of their expressive eyes only is hilarious. And – finally – somebody’s attentive enough to pinpoint Dean’s weird, crazy remarks (“That’s the same time those statues started crying”).

3. Crowley appears at the backseat of the Impala, Anna-style. As expected, Dean freaks out. He always does that when somebody pops up from behind to say hi to him. Must be a hunter instinct.

4. That light is used by both Heaven and Hell to seek its potential victims is interesting.

5. Sam, did you just hurt the Impala? With the knife?

6. Crowley I like. And if he’s so immensely resourceful, why does he need humans to help him? Maybe a demon can’t kill his kind, the Devil?

7. Crowley throws an impressive drama queen fit of anger – and later chastises Sam for being unable to control his rage. Says who. Crowley’s short temper is easy to understand, though – it takes the cautious boys an awful lot of time to accept his offer.

8. Angry Sam is gorgeous – the way he sways his knife and all. And this episode shows his relapse into the righteous “badness”, for a change, when he’s been a “Saint Sammy” for a good few weeks. Sam’s got this hatred for demons now, very much like Dean in season 4. But there are demons and demons.

9. Crowley’s got a great, perverted sense of humour. “They ate my tailor!” “Call your dog off.”

10. Dean made an angel rebel, Dean killed some top brass angels, Dean tricked the mightiest archangel around, Dean dealt with demons and even tried to shoot the Devil – and have never been deceived by one – so, Sammy, sure he knows more. Trust him.

11. Finally, Crowley and the boys sink their differences and team up. And if Crowley didn’t have to save himself, would the boys be that lucky to get clues to finding the two remaining Horsemen?

12. Crowley is not that selfless and friendly to humans unless there is a necessity. That is why later he “pawns” Bobby’s soul to ensure his own security from Sam and his anger. And if Sam hadn’t been that dysfunctionally mad at him, probably Crowley could’ve managed without taking that soul?

13. Crowley’s log cabin. Does “used contraception” really suit for keeping the fire going, or is it just a figure of speech? And where does the gay demon take it from? Dirty!

14. Crowley’s put a “magical coin” into the car to overhear Sam and Dean’s conversations. “And, my, the things I’ve heard” – and I thought Castiel was the voyeur. Castiel, you should probably stamp the Impala with Enochian sigils, too. 

15. Yeah, Sammy, stay home and mind the fire. Shouldn’t have been so insolent with the host.

16. Sam’s face after Dean’s “What can I say? I believe the guy” says you’re choosing a demon over me. It’s another trial for his trust. Sure, at any given time Dean would be more cautious of a demon quite possibly luring him into a trap – but now he’s got little to lose.  

17. “Niveus Pharmaceuticals”. The writers used a popular trope of medical corporations as money-driven, anti-human syndicates. The disease in question is swine flu and the swine, very appropriately, is one of the animal incarnations of Satan, right?

18.  As well as the flies – this whole sequence afterwards is oh so very William Golding. Brady, the blond demonic executive, is possessed, and the scene where he’s talking to his boss, whether it’s Pestilence or Lucifer himself, is grossly funny. Come to think of it, Brady speaks the flies’ language. Every fly that pops out of the blood in this crystal ball cup known from “Croatoan” seems to be a phrase from Brady’s invisible boss’ mouth. It’s very folkloric – remember how in fairy tales bad characters’ words would come out of their mouths as mice or snakes. We can even tell that the Beelzebub gets angrier with every sentence as the flies buzz with increasing ferocity. And the boss seems to tell Brady off just as severely as Brady was telling his subordinates off minutes before, hee-hee.

19. Sam and his anger is the central emotional issue in this episode, and the MOTW expertly reflects it. The Devil you know, Sam, is you. He’s inside you, Brady, basically, tells him before he dies.

Sam’s anger has been a recurring theme through the season and even the series as a whole, and monsters have always tried to use his rage against him. Anger was a substantial part in his letting Lucifer out. Season 5’s topical question was whether he’d be strong enough to control this beast inside. It first resurfaced in “Free To Be You And Me”, and he battled it successfully. In “Abandon All Hope” he was itching to unleash his ire but the rival he was facing was much stronger by definition, so Sam had to cool down, and Lucifer flat out noted how his short temper would be useful when they become one. Then, in “Sam, Interrupted”, the rage kicked back and it’s only by chance that Sam could suppress it, and a doctor said his ire made him inhuman. In “My Bloody Valentine” – finally, and after a struggle – he took control of his rage, and put it to good use (by the way, it’s much easier for him now to manage the rage caused by demon blood but much harder to control his own natural anger). Then he’s been Saint Sammy for a few weeks, and, suddenly, in this episode he’s excessively enraged again. He was literally an inch from breaking but still managed to handle his fury himself. He went on to kill the monster that caused it all the same – for therapeutical reasons – some people need to shout or kick their pillows every once in a while to get rid of their anger, and Sam Winchester needs to kill a demon for the same purposes every so often. And in “Swan Song” it all came to a crescendo: first he let Lucifer take over but then at the very last moment took control of his rage back.

20. In this episode we see his dark side in all its gory glory, see how evil he can get and what he can do, and “Two Minutes To Midnight”, conversely, reveals his good side (check out his old school remorses when he shoots Croatoan-ized zombies and him saving all these other people). And even anger and evilness can be put to good use if you know how to manage them (he did need anger to throw Lucifer down into the Pit together with himself).

21. Sam was to have become a lawyer – it’s a very symbolic profession – if he did, he and his outlaw family would probably be on the opposite sides of the bar. On a bad day he could take them to the court. John had every reason to take offense – his son wanted to side with the other party, defenders of the law rather than outlaws. Also, perhaps this profession felt like a moral recompensation for Sam – he was forced to live the life where usual laws didn’t apply, so he attempted to bring some harmony, logic and sense of security (if token) into his life by going to college to study. If he became a lawyer, he’d still be “saving people” – not with guns but with words (perhaps, his strongest weapon). God, don’t even ask why this guy loves arguing so much – he’s just keeping his oratorical skills in shape!

22. Crowley can’t lead the guys to the actual monster but he knows a person who knows Pestilence – it’s a very folkloric moment.

23. Crowley’s supernatural habits are pretty angelic (disappearing without warning etc).

24. And when did Dean ever let a demon onto his passenger seat? Sam in special states of mind doesn’t count.

25. They don’t fully trust each other. How many times did Dean, in panic, think Crowley has just cheated him? And, admit, Crowley’s ready to risk Dean’s health to win.

26. Crowley sends Dean onto the 12^th floor with a “Go get ‘em, tiger” (cf. Dean to Castiel in “Free To Be You And Me”) for the road – and brave, brave Dean keeps his brave face on even though he must be shuddering inside.

27. Ha, Sam, what to do to heal your pain of dejection: drink yourself into a 12-year-old girl.

28. And then Sam works himself into a quiet rage and reveals his plan to Bobby. Bobby’s “Are you idjits trying to kill me?!” is awesome. Yeah, guys, the man didn’t line up to be your anti-suicidal agony aunt. 

29. Crowley always makes Dean look like a fool. Even back in “Abandon All Hope”.

30. And what, Dean’s got instructions not to oppose the Horsemen’s stableboy?

31. Crowley is a jack of all trades and a manipulative psychologist of high class. He speaks in riddles and hints. The only time he has to go with Dean’s decision is when they finally bring their hostage to his lair.

32. Crowley’s irony is perfect. “Go – ruin our last best hope”. He may well be the only demon who won’t use Sam’s anger against him but would rather warn Sam of the dangers it causes to their plans.

33. Sam’s face when Crowley says how Dean had made him drive back to the house (“He replied with a colourful rejoinder about my corn chute” – lemme guess, was it “Shut your cakehole”?) – there is this derisively proud smirk playing across his lips and in his eyes – like, yeah, Crowley, my brother outargues you at any time. Sam’s beautifully happy to see Dean is still with him more than with the demon. He wins – so he wins.

34. “I’m doing this ‘cause I trust you”. Here they go again. And, sure, Sam thinks he knows better but has to live up to Dean’s trust in him. A minor argument like this could knock them out of sync and result in some angry breakup even a year ago, but not now – now that they’ve got little time left they can’t afford arguing. Good for them.

35. Hell yes, angry Sam is hard to stop. He was walking such a thin line with falling back into his evil mode this episode he even went as far as to lock Dean in the bathroom. Still, with madness growing in his eyes and ire rising and pulsing through his face muscles, he is a beautiful sight.

36. I guess it’s good Dean has dragged Sam out of Stanford, in the long run – with friends like Brady Sam couldn’t have lasted long on his straight and narrow path.

37. Brady makes it worse for himself – why did he have to blurt, “Come on! Do it if it’ll make you feel better!”? Big mouth. It only stopped Sam from killing him.

38. And the way Brady’s laugh goes from demonic to disappointed and he weakly closes his eyes when Sam lets go of his throat, is very expressive, too.

39. There must be pre-series fanfics slashing Sam and Brady. Judging from what they say to each other here, their friendship could possibly grow into a bromance. Imagine two hot human demonic guys. Imagine Brady slowly dragging Sam into the role Lucifer/YED designed for him. Imagine Dean’s reaction.

40. If they wanted Sam to accept his Boy King role, why did they have to first give him a girlfriend, and then violently take her away? How did they hope to attract him to their unseelie court with that? Who would ally with the foe?

41. Crowley’s got a thing for giving Sam and Dean animalistic names. Dog, moose, tiger. Yeah, Sam’s definitely not been a kitten this episode.

42. Boys, if this hellhound followed this Magical Coin, then you could at least throw it out of the window. Not hold it in your hand. Go get it, Fido.

43. Crowley is a shameless demon. “Lovers In League Against Satan”. He may be the first ever recurrent gay character of Supernatural. Maybe the show should throw in a gay angel for a literary symmetry? Note the gay=rebellious=rule-breaking parallel.

44. By the way, it would be interesting if we had a more or less consistent relationship story between some demons or angels. Like that century-long love affair between the witches in “The Curious Case…”.

45. Seriously, one difference of this series from other horror TV shows, is that neither angels nor demons on Supernatural seem to be able or interested in forging a friendship or romantic relationship with one of their or another’s kind. No horror Shakespeare for ya. They either use their charms on humans in their foul interests or don’t need love at all. Sure, there are exceptions such as Castiel and the archangels with their twisted brotherly love. Demons, unlike angels, seem to manage without “garrisons”, so they are mostly lone rangers, yet – don’t they feel any need at all? I so fancy Crowley having a pretty demon boy lover somewhere he’d care to save from death by Lucifer, too.

46. I mean, why of all angels, Castiel is the one who you sympathize with the most? Not in the least because he cares for somebody else bar himself.

47. Crowley’s hellhound is as big as the ones in Andersen’s fairy tales. And the two dogs’ fight is impressive – all props to the sound crew. Out-of-the-box thinking, Crowley. Interesting thing is, hellhounds seem to be impartial to who exactly they are tearing apart – humans or demons.

48. Brady finally gives them Pestilence’s coordinates and then Crowley leaves the threesome alone – and Brady doesn’t make any attempts at escaping, the perspective of being tortured forever by the Devil scaring him more than death by Sam’s knife. Suicidal demon for a suicidal hunter – perfect match.  

49. The scene of Sam taking out his righteous anger on Brady is disturbingly ambivalent.

Remember, once upon a time there was a boy who cried over the monsters he killed. He’s not there anymore.

Sam corners the tortured demon to the wall (decorated with a faded fresco of one man doing something with the other’s throat, by the way).  It’s clear that after Brady had given them the information they needed, after the abominable things the demon guy had done to Sam’s life and after Crowley had ruined Brady’s reputation for Lucifer, Brady is all but better off dead than alive (just like that nurse in 4.22), so all his defenses are token. Sam does him a favour.

Still, in this scene Sam felt dangerously, overly cruel. It would’ve been natural if he was enraged in this scene but the way he silently, coldly advanced upon his defeated rival, ruthless murder in his eyes, was even creepier than his “loud” fury. When he screams his anger out, he’s still Sam but when he’s so quiet in his rage he’s much more like Lucifer (in every occasion when we met the Devil this season he was very calm, even when he killed others – his only emotional outbreak being when he had to kill his brother Gabriel). What else creeps me out (and probably creeps Dean out as well) is Sam’s willingness to torture Brady rather than let him die easy: when he jabs the knife into the demon’s solar plexus, Sam doesn’t take it out quickly, no, he keeps it there for a good few seconds, not letting Brady die, seems to revel in his pain, and only a long moment later lets the body slip off of his knife, and goes away without looking back. Brady must be a bastard, but in scenes like this Sam does live up to the “interesting theory” Brady proposes to him: “Maybe you hate us so much because you hate what you see every time you look in the mirror… maybe the only difference between you and a demon... is your hell is right here”. Dean’s got all the right reasons to be disturbed. Openly angry Sam is less dangerous than sneaky Sam who hides all his ire within. The white line between Sam and Sam as Lucifer is very thin – and look how symbolic the white salt line Dean pours out of the bag to draw limits of Sam vs. Brady battle looks – he actually leaves Sam inside this salt trap – and then, when it’s over, Sam walks away from it – so far Sam can step out of this salt line but one day it may become hard for him to do.