1. It’s interesting how the last three episodes
of this season all flow into one another, one picking up the story started in
the other.
2. There are two
Horsemen in this one episode. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
3. “The Devil You Know” showed Sam’s anger, and
“Two Minutes…” demonstrates, conversely, the goodwill in him.
4. What irritates Dean more – that Sam’s plan is
stupid or that Sam didn’t share it with him in the first place? Dean, trust
issues again?
5. Aw! Is it the third registered case of Castiel
appearing in clothes other than the trademark trenchcoat?
6. Dean and the angel understand each other so well
now that they almost finish each other’s sentences. “You are not the burnt and
broken shell of a man that I believed you to be” – “Thank you. I appreciate
that”. What a dubious compliment, Cas.
7. Pestilence, of all Horsemen, seems to be the
most devoted to his family and “brothers”. I guess Death is the oldest of them
as Pestilence, War and Famine are just versions
of him.
8. The boys have got a “track record” with the
Horsemen? Nice to know even such badass blokes as these Horsemen are a tad
afraid of them!
9. All of Pestilence’s scenes were very gross. And I thought Famine’s show
was repulsive.
10. Ha, what a
slapstick action the guys are giving us when they’re staggering down the
hospital corridor.
11. Slash girls alert: multiple moments of
“brothertouching” in this scene. My favourite one is when Sam’s hand slips to
land (and linger) on Dean’s knee. Also: it’s a common practice in Wincest
fanfics when something is being done to Sam’s hair – but it never happens in the
show. But now Pestilence grabs him by the hair to look into his eyes – and, oh,
that was rough and violent and wrong.
Remember how in “Long Distance Call” the monster brushed the fringy hair away
from Sam’s face with a knife? Was also
wrong, in a weirdly pleasurable way.
12. Listen, Mr. Horseman, there’s no way these
two are gonna get a VD – they hardly ever got laid this year. Clinical
depression would be more like it.
13. Surprise!Castiel, what would they do without
you? It’s not without reason that Antichrist kid turned you into an Action Man.
14. Pestilence is like the plague, indeed – it
takes them longer than in the case of his “brothers” to wipe away his traces
from everywhere he’s spread his snot on. In general, all Horsemen (bar Death,
perhaps) presented themselves as riddles to the guys – they had to puzzle out
who was behind the cases before they could go and kill the monster.
15. Oh, Crowley,
you did persuade Bobby. And it’s gay kiss # 2 on Supernatural ever, huh? It’s
also French. Crowley likes him a mature man.
16. For once Dean is being more considerate than
his “Mr. Sensitive” brother. “Did you kiss him?” – “Sam!” – “Just wondering!”
Yeah, Mr. Singer, sticking around with a pair of “erotically codependent” guys
does nothing to strengthen your masculinity. And it’s adorable how Sam is most
interested in if the man kissed the demon rather than why he did it or what he
got in return. You’d better not be considering doing something to your soul, Sam. Crowley doesn’t like you, anyway.
17. I get it Crowley took Bobby’s soul in
exchange for helping himself finding out Death’s coordinates but also to ensure
his own safety (“Gigantor over there has a temper issue about [killing
demons]”) – and maybe the latter was the whole point and he knew Death’s
whereabouts all along.
18. Crowley’s
clever in that he leaves the dirtiest part of the job to the guys (meeting and
fighting Horsemen and Lucifer). He always leaves them to themselves at the most
crucial moments.
19. “Let me guess. We’re about to have a talk?”
Oh, Dean. You remember how you’ve been steadfastedly ignoring Sam’s need to
talk to you, repeatedly? And now you finally feel like it? Better late than
never. You don’t talk to him, he thinks up stupid ideas, you know that.
20. And Dean’s “Oh, Sam…” – yeah, he does speak
like a fan girl. Note that Sam never does an “Oh, Dean…”.
21. Sam’s “I’m the least of any of you… But… I’m
also all we got” is a nice twist from Dean’s “I just know we’re all we’ve got”
in early season 5. Once in a lifetime Sam gives himself a proper credit, even
if it’s tinged with such a sinister subtext.
22. His “if there was another way… But I don’t
think there is” is an almost direct lift from his and Lucifer’s first
conversation, so it sounds almost scary.
23. Crowley’s
“And… scene”. Let me tell you, you haven’t seen their real scenes, dear demon.
24. “You two are lucky you have your looks”.
Supernatural Wiki says “Niveus” stands for Latin for “snowy”, “white” (=death
connotations?) but I actually thought (when Crowley asked them if it rings a bell or not)
that “Niveus” was a play on “Nivea” (the German cosmetic company whose name had
some associations with the Nazi ideology in the 1930s). Of course they don’t
“get it”, Crowley.
They don’t use beauty products like you, a gay demon that you are, obviously
do. They don’t care about staying forever young because they can’t tell if they
are alive tomorrow.
25. Beautiful how this season 2’s “Croatoan”
virus resurfaced in season 5 with such easiness.
26. They split up – and it’s one of those rare
cases where this work sharing is not only justified but will be for good
effect.
27. “Remember when we used to just… hunt
wendigos? How simple things were?” – “Not really” – why is Sam having a
nostalgic moment here? He has to face the possibility that if Dean goes to
fight against Death, he might not be coming back. Or, more likely, it’s a way
to remind us all what a long way the show and the guys have come – starting
from minor folkloric monsters, now they are getting to hunt Death himself.
28. Again, Sam’s daring mind lets him think you
can that easily cut Death’s ring off – hence the knife he offers Dean (cf.
“Free To Be You And Me”’s final scene). By the way, whom did Crowley have to blackmail to get this Death’s
scythe in no time?
29. It’s curious how Castiel and Crowley do not have a
fight or anything at all when they first meet.
30. “No, I’m gonna Riverdance!” – “If you want
to impress the ladies”. Ha. Ash called them “bitches”, now they are “ladies”
all of a sudden. One of them is a literal Lady of the Lord, you remember that, Crowley?
31. Castiel rebelled and Heaven deprived him of
part of his powers. But Crowley
rebelled and Lucifer didn’t take away
any of his powers. So that Crowley
can do what Castiel couldn’t back in early season 5 – heal Bobby’s legs. Hmm.
32. Crowley
states, “I’m an altruist”. Oh really?
33. “Are you really gonna bitch – to me?” Yeah, first it’s Sam, now it’s Cas.
Mr. Singer, you could totally start a business being hunters’ shrink.
35. “Of course [it’s the worst plan Cas ever heard]. I
am happy to say that if that's what you want to hear. But it's not what I
think… You and Dean have a habit of exceeding my expectations” – cf. Gabriel in
“Hammer Of The Gods”. Castiel is the first to render Sam’s plan possible, damn
and bless him.
36. Don’t
want me no demon blood no more, please, Sam’s face says. And how about
Castiel’s comment in late season 4 that consuming the amount of blood it took
to kill Lilith would change Sam forever? It didn’t
turn him into a demon but I assume the amount of blood needed to trap Lucifer
would be even higher – so what is that
supposed to do to Sam? Scary.
37. The vaccine packs are even stamped with this
suspicious “Croatoan” logo (version of Devil’s Trident?).
38. The look in Sam’s eyes when he sees all
these freshly zombified people is a complete opposition to the cold murder in
his eyes in the previous episode – he regrets
they were too late to their rescue – and then he aims with determination and
shoots and shoots without a twitch.
39. I forgot, he’s immune to this
virus-turned-vaccine – or, at least, used to be. ‘Cause, ha, this virus makes
people kinda demonic, and how more demonic can he possibly get? His bad blood contains a hidden virus that’s
within him for keeps. So he goes into the depths of this warehouse to save the
remaining victims without fear or hesitation.
40. Sam-being-choked segments I’ve never
particularly liked, but this one is cute. Castiel squeezes a headshot into this
zombie, and a stunned Sam (come on, Casitel with a shotgun is like Dean with
research) gasps and gulps on the floor – and it looks so manneristic I think I
adore it. Castiel is as good at fighting badass humans as he is with demons and
angels now. Left with minimum angelhood to him, he’s still a pretty tough one.
He, basically, returns Sam’s favour from “On The Head Of A Pin”.
41. Death’s arrival to a moody gospel acapella,
in slow motion, is impressive. Yet again, the show illustrates the metaphor (“a
brush with death”) – thanks, SuperWiki – cf. “clap” and “elephant in the room”.
42. How can the scythe possibly hurt Death himself?
His own weapon? Well, if archangel’s sword can kill an archangel…
43. For once, the show replaces pies with pizza.
I guess it would’ve been too many omens at once – pies and Death in one shot.
44. That’s one great ackting: you believe Dean
drops the scythe on the floor and his hand starts shaking because of his nervousness just as much as because of
the too-hot-to-handle factor.
45. Finally, there’s one monster Dean is visibly
and unashamedly scared of. Think about it, Death is quite possibly the
mightiest monster he’s ever met. And, ironically enough, the politest: Death,
basically, shares his meal with Dean.
46. I regret Sam missed the chance of dining
with Death. No way Dean’s telling him what a little boy lost he’s been in this
scene.
47. Are Death and God somehow related? Like, the
two sides of the same coin? One sows the seeds, the other reaps.
48. By the way, what kind of things these
Horsemen are? They aren’t demons or angels or reprogrammed humans, who then?
49. Of all Horsemen, Death is a Lucifer-hater,
like Crowley. Did other Horsemen serve the Devil of their own accord?
50. First, Death calls Dean and his domestic
drama on Earth insignificant. Then he laughs at him when Dean, being a hunter,
suggests he should save Death. Has
Dean ever thought one day he’ll help Death
get free from his chain? And then the amiable monster presses Dean into
accepting his ring. Death thinks Sam’s plan is exactly spot-on. That Sam is the
only one who can stop Lucifer. See, it takes that much to persuade Dean. Wow. Woe. Weep.
51. Dean’s “yes” is more than hesitant – when he
learns Death’s condition he goes all silent ‘cause, come on, how could he even
accept this? But then he takes the ring anyway, obviously thinking he’ll figure
out how to get away of their contract. Hell, Death should know he’s dealing
with Dean Winchester – the man who promised a
lot – to his Dad, his brother, Heaven, archangel Michael – but cheated them
all. They both understand what’s on each other’s mind. Mr. Death, do you get
what you just asked of him? You asked him to assist his brother in his suicide,
while all his life Dean’s been doing exactly the opposite – helping him
survive. That goes against all his moral values.
52. How tragic is it that even Death tells Dean that Sam’s choice is
right? And it’s an impossible choice, too. If he were given the chance, I
believe Dean would have preferred to cheat Death for real. Hell, I bet he’d
follow Sam in the dark if Sam had let him.
53. Dean asks Bobby an evasive rhetorical
question – “What do you think Death does to people who lie to his face?” – and
Bobby’s answer is straight yet no less rhetorical: “What exactly are you afraid
of? Losing? Or losing your brother?” None of the two options would be good
enough for Dean. As I wrote in late season 4 reviews, it’s a Sophie’s Choice –
anything Dean chooses is wrong and right, moral and immoral at once. If the world around him goes
back to normal, the only person who made his life worthwhile would be gone.
Losing his brother would mean losing everything. I think that’s what you call a
Pyrrhic victory. And if they don’t go for that, the world around them would
crumble, smiting everyone, them including, into oblivion. It’s a Catch 22 as
well – Dean wants his brother to live but, to live, he’s got to have a place to
live in, and for this place to remain safe Sam needs to sacrifice his life.
Which is better, to die but together or to live but alone, for Dean? There’s no
answer to this question he could give
– ought not to – so he has to pass the final decision on Sam (see the beginning
of the next episode).
54. If they hadn’t done anything, at the end
they would’ve probably ended up like Adam and Eve – the twosome on bare earth
and no one else around, and angels left the planet.
55. By the way, suppose Lucifer destroyed
everything he wanted, what would he do then?
56. Why, or why can Michael fight with and cast
Lucifer back into his cage only when they’re in their human forms?
57. The episode ends in silence. Oh Dean. Oh
Dean. Oh my.
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