I’m just going to jump to the good part, because Sam’s stuff with Trotter was too ridiculous for words, as was Dean’s less than convincing outrage over Richie being killed. Dean traps Casey in a devil’s trap, and she traps him in the basement. He can’t do an exorcism from memory, as we see when the pages of the book fly away thanks to Casey. Sam can? We learn a few episodes down the road that yes he can, and it’s awesome. Dean tries anyway, and in one of the greatest lines of the season, Casey tells him “I think you just ordered a pizza”. There we go! “You Winchester boys are famous. Not Lohan famous, but, you know…” I love this Casey demon, and she and Dean do have some chemistry.
So, it’s a contest to see who arrives first, Sam, or Casey’s demon friend. I found interesting, Casey’s line, “You shouldn't underestimate, Dean. It might be the death of you.” The “death of you” line was strongly used a couple of times this season, and come to think of it, by the same writer in different episodes. Either it’s a convincing plot device to reveal the character weaknesses, or foes just like using that line a lot. So was Casey right? Does Dean underestimate situations too much? Could that be why he ended up giving his demon deal so much thought in the end? Who knows, but such a line stands out after seeing the rest of the season.
Sam looks for Dean, but I don’t care, because I’m more fascinated with Dean and Casey. “And that’s how it ends?” “No, that’s how it begins.” A demon gives a pretty convincing lecture on the corruption of humanity: Booze, gambling, murder, war, genocide, Dick Cheney. Demons are ready to take their turn, for they can’t believe they can do much worse (she won me over once our VP was mentioned). That’s actually scarier to me than some demon war, the idea of evil preying on regular human weakness. There’s plenty of it.
The dialogue between Casey and Dean is lengthy but exposes so much. Casey is a woman of deep faith, just in Lucifer. She doesn’t see much difference between her God and everyone else’s. Dean learns that hell is no picnic, and the trouble he caused is only going to make it worse for him. Then we get the backstory we have been wanting for two seasons. Yellow eyes was none other than Azazel. He had a chain of command, and Sam was the next in line. Imagine what could have happened if Sam did step up with Azazel dead. Or could happen. I loved how Dean did his best to hide his disturbed feelings when Casey admitted she would have followed Sam. That had to be very hard for him to hear.
Article comments
1 - ~ Mousitsa ~
Alice, I stand and applaud your mini-rant against CW and it's constant push of the oh so wonderful, tremendous, fantastic, stupendous Gossip Girl. (<== um, yeah, that was sarcasm there). I urge you to print the rant and mail it to darling-Dawn -- not that she would listen anyways, but it sure would make the rest of us feel better! Supernatural manages to survive on the Thurs. suicide time slot no thanks to CW and its lack of attention, recognition and promotion. I shudder to think of the positive effect that just a tenth of the attention afforded GG would have if put towards SN. Anyways, on to the episode...
While Sin City may have contained some clichéd elements of characterization and, in your view, lacked a substantial plot, the character exposition and information offered towards canon made it worth its weight in gold... er, make that silver -- it's more valuable to a hunter! The episode also made me feel so very, very sorry for the death of demon-Casey because the actress was wonderful! Beautiful, mature, alluring, mesmerizing, oozing sex appeal, and highly convincing as a demon to be feared -- a demon who could seriously kick your back end if she wanted. It made me sorry that we have to put up with this demon-lite known as Ruby and it made me wish for an alternate universe where demonRuby (an interesting character in the SN-verse) could have been better cast in a meatsuit like Casey's, so that I could at least look forward to her every appearance rather than rolling my eyes waiting for her teen-like annoyance to leave my screen. (Just knowing that Bobby fatally damaged Ruby's meatsuit was definitely a pleasant highlight!)
You really nailed all the nuances of the basement discussion between Dean and Casey. And Jensen proves once again, just how much he is able to convey with just a twitch of his face or a look in his eyes, without ever saying a word. (why doesn't this man have an Emmy yet?!) With Sin City, I don't understand Kripke's dislike of this episode. He has said that if he could do it over he wouldn't have Casey reveal so much. "Less is more, when it comes to demons," he stated. But when it comes to this episode, I respectfully disagree with Master Krip. I really enjoyed this one... it is one of the few this season that I have enjoyed re-watching, and a great part of the reason is that basement discussion which gave my brain cells an excellent workout. (ack! sorry... I ran off at the mouth again!)
2 - hermit
Alice, I had to laugh at your mini-rant against the CW and agree with it completely. You've stated everything we Supernatural fans have been stating for years. The CW sucks.
Anywhoo, about the exorcism. True, Sam knows it by heart, but I think Sam knows them by heart now because of the lesson learned here. Because up until after Sin City, Sam had to read it from a book, the same as Dean, Bobby and all others we've seen. So Sam knows the exorcisms by heart now, but I do believe that like Dean, he didn't before Sin City. :D
Other than that, I agree the best part of this episode was the dialogue between Casey and Dean. Both actors were magnificent and I have to say, if it wasn't for that, the whole scene would have fallen flat instead of being intriguing. Dean's fears showed so well in his eyes and demeanor, while his words and outside expression showed he had nothing to fear. LOL, great work.
3 - vichi
Hi Alice,
I don't know anything about that tv network(only that Supernatural is aired there) so i can't pronounce about that.I see the show via internet and Dvd-s. But it will be a shame that the faith of SN is in somebody's hands that don't appreciate that wonderful show.
Gossip Girl?- never liked it, never will. Just not my type of show.
About Sin City, I kind of like it. The Dean-demon dialogue is really cool and unfortunately very true. And the Dick Cheney reference...lol:)
It was so funny when Sam splash some holy water on that guy thinking he's a demon but he only was a bad guy:)
I was surprised to find out that Dean could think twice before killing a demon. He really liked Casey...
Next episode, can't wait...very funny.
4 - Alice Jester
Mousitsa - You should read the article Diane Kristine just published on this site as to why the networks don't listen to online fandoms. They think us vocal online fans don't represent those that watch the show. So yeah, Dawn won't listen to us. She'll only pay attention to ratings - oh, The CW aren't getting those either. I'm not sure if she'll ever get the message then.
I actually like Ruby, but yes, Casey should have been a keeper. She was great! And yes, any episode that lets Jensen (or Jared for that matter) shine wins with me. That's likely why I love this show.
Hermit - Thanks, the rant felt great! I think Dean was saying at that time that Sam did know it by heart. That was the comment "he paid attention in class." I do wonder if Dean memorized it after that too though!
Vichi - I really hope that when you watch these episodes on the Internet, it's without all those CW pop up promos that block everything. They're completely unnecessary, especially during reruns. I don't why this network thinks its going to get me to watch these shows. It's going to get me angry at the network. I can't wait for the next episode either. It's one of my favorites of the season (like I can narrow it down!)
5 - Joan
Alice;
I am so glad I stumbled across this website! You are a 'true' fan of Supernatural and it does my heart good to read your fascinating and insightful reviews. I have read several of them but I believe I have only commented on a few of them. So, since I enjoy your reviews so much and because you are as passionate about this show as I am, I decided I needed to start adding my comments after I read each and every review.
Anyway, thanks so much for voicing my own opinion about the state of the CW. For the life of me, I don't understand why the CW neglects this show.
It has everything going for it and if this channel would just spend a little money on advertising then we, as fans, would be rewarded with the publicity and the satisfaction that the station actually 'cares' about this fabulous but seriously under-rated show. And, the ratings would definitely improve and THAT would make the CW happy. I mean...seriously..it would be a win-win for both sides.
Alice, like you, I do not fall into the 'Gossip Girl' demographic. I passed that age bracket, a few years back, but even if I were in that age bracket, 'Gossip Girl' still wouldn't interest me in the least because I want to watch a show which has some substance to it. I did 'try' to watch it once to see what all the fuss was about and I almost didn't make it through the episode. It BORED me to tears!
However, I was 'hooked' on Supernatural, from the very beginning and with each re-watch, I find something new to love. I seriously adore the Winchester brothers and I love the banter; the chemistry' the angst; the depth of the conversations; the urban legends; the bond they have; the writing; the humor; the stellar acting and most importantly....the strength of the bond these two characters have.
Jensen and Jared seriously 'OWN' my heart and this show 'OWNS' my soul.
6 - heraldtalia
Great review as always, and I 2nd your rant against the CW. I too am sick of constant Gossip Girl--and now 90210--promos during commercial breaks and painted over the ep itself. Couple this with the fact that I rarely see them play commericials for Supernatural during other shows, and it just makes me see red. I blush to admit that I actually watch Top Model, and during that finale, they aired promos for GG TWICE, and, you guessed it, not one single Supernatural promo, even though they advertised almost every other show they run. ARGH!
7 - Em
I agree with alot of what you said about this episode though I think I agree with Kripke that when it comes to demons, less is more. I don't feel I learnt anything about demons that was particularly important to the plot as a whole, lots of info most of it pretty cliched and useless(the old "we're just like you, only you're worse"/"We're not so different underneath", etc). However the acting in the scenes was really good so I'll give the cliches a pass. :)
I agree with hermitme, I don't think Dean implied Sam knew it by heart. Sam never knew it by heart before this. Every single exorcism we'd seen before this was read from a book, whether done by Dean or Sam or Bobby. If Bobby, who is the expert on the subject didn't have it memorized before this, I doubt any of them did. So I don't think Sam had it memorized either, Dean's just used to being looked down upon and building Sam up, so he just goes with the flow. Jeremy Carver also likes to write Dean as less intelligent than the other writers write Dean (Sera, Ben and even Eric all write him as intelligent and inventive, Carver writes him as a step above a moron), so I don't put much stock in the musings his characters have on Dean's level of intelligence or Sam's.