After all this is Supernatural, so the heartwarming family reunion can’t be all smiles, can it? Jimmy’s wife resents him for leaving, and isn’t sure she wants him back. The emotional strain on his family has been too hard, but Jimmy wants to try and start over anyway. Just when he’s finally happy over getting a shot at coming back, the demons waste no time in making their move, coming in the form of his neighbors.
Misha Collins takes this story and manages again to show us how strife is done. He's incredible in this dual performance, tasked with convincing the audience that he’s both a lost man eager to go back to his family and an angel who can’t grasp the concept of humanity. The distinction between the two personalities is well defined and very impressive. Thanks to convincing acting, both characters manage to get my full sympathy. They are both ultimately pawns in a high stakes game, and their fight is far from over.
Actually, that’s a parallel with Sam and Dean that this show likes to toy with so much. This week, it’s sacrifice. Jimmy had to give up everything, his perfect life, who he is, because there’s something in his blood. Sound familiar? As with Sam and Dean, Jimmy and Castiel’s calling is true, and their lives not their own. The question remains — in the end is this all for the greater good? Will their sacrifices be worth the price?
Speaking Of The Winchesters
Can things get any worse between these brothers? Judging by the previews, that can only be answered with a resounding yes. Sam, who’s crashing well beyond rock bottom, is weak, agitated, and desperate as the massive blood loss from the run-in with the ghouls has completely messed him up. He can’t get enough demon blood, and his dealer, I mean Ruby, is ignoring his calls. Sam is so bad off he can’t even exorcise “stunt demon #3” with his mind, worrying Dean and himself to no end.
In the request to come clean, Sam can’t offer Dean an explanation. “I’m scaring myself.” Sam is actually being truthful here, in that he’s finding out firsthand how much he doesn’t have control. He may not have told Dean about the blood, but he truly doesn’t have an explanation for what’s going on. Essentially, he’s an addict coming off a high, and the lack of control frightens him.
Article comments
1 - Luisa
I love your reviews, but you didn't talk about what they did to Cas while he was in heaven and what it is he had to tell Dean.
2 - Alice Jester
Luisa - Great point! I must admit, I didn't mention it because I have no theories. They did something, and I hope eventually Dean is the one that sets him straight. Or Anna. Or both.
3 - Huppy
Alice, I always look forward to your reviews, and enjoyed reading your latest one.
I wonder, though, why it now seems that all Sam's powers come from drinking demon blood. What about the psy-kid abilities of Season 2? Sam was immune to the demon virus in Croatoan and he was immune to Lilith's white light in NRFTW, and that didn't come from drinking demon blood, and neither did his visions nor any of the abilities of the other psy-kids.
It is obvious Kripke is liking the demon blood addiction story line, which I do find interesting, so maybe he is concentrating on that to the exclusion of any other source of Sam's powers. But I hope Kripke will tie all these loose ends up at some time.
4 - Saltnburnem/tngmd
Great summary and review. Some folks were put-off by a Castiel-centric epi, but I enjoyed it. Sammy going all Rugaru on that demon...Eek!...I probably had the same stunned look on my face as Dean did!! Then Jensen did that very brief scared/threatened WTH look as Sam raised up his hand toward Dean. Very quick look of fear, very subtle, but so perfectly done. That guy rocks!! And then they dropped the bomb on me as Sam was locked up in the panic room for a hunters intervention. Incredible ending! Thursday never comes quickly enough!
5 - Bethany
Huppy - I think you'll find that Sam's powers have always come from Demon Blood as revealed by YED in All Hell Breaks Loose (I can't remember which part) YED was in Sam's nursery to put Demon Blood in him to give him his abilities.
Great Review as always Alice, I too was having an OMFG moment at the end and I too am nervous for the next two episode esp as you know Kripke is going to end it on a cliff hanger which is going to have me fretting all summer.
6 - Baronius
The thing I wasn't prepared for is that I didn't like Jimmy. He knows how high the stakes are, but he was whiny about committing to the fight. That's going to make Castiel a less appealing character to me, I'm afraid.
7 - Huppy
Bethany, You're right, Sam's powers have always come from demon blood, but right now it seems any powers he is currently showing come from drinking demon blood, instead of coming from the YED blood already inside him.
8 - maguie
I love your reviews!
Did you watch the part with anna in the Impala when she asks to dean about he let Jimmy got away and Dean answers talk to ginormo refering to sam, I didnt get it, what is or who is ginormo
9 - Elle
Huppy, I think that when YED was alive, once the other kids gave into him they were able to realize their abilities more fully. The little bit of blood from YED likely connected him to them and, since he was more powerful than Ruby, he was able to exert some control and "feed" them. Also, Sam still had visions prior to drinking the blood - but only up until YED died, so I have to assume his existance had something to do with it.
Alice - great review. I agree 100%. I loved the exchange between Sam and Dean in the car - Dean was so desolate. Another powerful scene that really struck me, was the transition between Jimmy and Castiel, when Jimmy is first possessed on the porch and his daughter talks to him. That was very well done by Misha - the facial expressions, movements and tone all clearly illustrated two different entities in the same figure.
I too saw the wife possession right away. I think, following a demon encounter, all present parties must consume holy water before passing go and collecting $200.
The preview for the last two episodes - well, I have no words but I felt your description involving jello pretty much mirrored my reaction.
Can't wait until tomorrow night.
Thanks for another great review!