January 15th Episode - Tell us what you think

[jennagayle2006]

my thoughts...also on supportsupernatural.com where you will find interviews with many guest stars of Supernatural, information on charity work, episode information, pictures and much more.

Give me a “Supernatural” episode like this one any day of the week. An episode that is scary, dark, and back to basics – Two brothers hunting evil. Has it been done better before? Yes. Did I still love it? Yes. The boys are in a dark place, and struggling to get back in sync so they can prevent Lucifer from walking the earth. We see at the beginning of the episode that they are tired, really tired. They have been hunting without a break or much sleep for over a month. Dean is running, running from his pain, his memories, and his guilt. So, they may not be on top of their game when they come to help the Carter family.
It’s interesting to see the evolution of how the Winchesters handle “humans” with their jobs now. In the past they went to a lot of trouble to keep the truth from civilians. They didn’t have too much trouble making the decision to tell the Carter’s the truth. It’s also interesting to see Dean come a little more unhinged with the way he treated the Uncle. Dean has never been one for patience or tact, his goal was to save people, not coddle. However, his rough housing with the Uncle demonstrated the state of mind he’s in at the moment.
I also enjoy throwing in an episode where the adversary is of the non-supernatural variety. I thought that the daughter who was kept a secret for all these years presented an interesting baddie for us to learn more of throughout the episode. The writers really do love to torture the boys. It never gets any easier for them when a human loses their life when the Winchesters are involved, however they do seem to be getting better at compartmentalizing. I am fearful of how the loss of three humans on this job will affect their already fragile states.
My only complaint is, if we are going to have an old fashioned horror movie of the week stand alone, let it be that. Dean’s soliloquy at the end of the episode was a bit much for me. We have been over it, we know his pain, we can imagine his guilt, and God help me Jensen Ackles can rip your heart out with those scenes, I just didn’t think it worked with this episode.
Let’s not forget why the boys needed this job. The Carter’s were struggling, fighting to keep the family together. The horror that they faced brought them closer, and helped them realize what they have in each other. No matter heaven or hell, angels or demons, death and resurrection, Family Remains.
8.5 out of 10 Pentagrams.
Welcome back Supernatural!!

[lfnikita]

I didn't have any problem with the Dean reveal at the end because it is an insight in to mental state of Dean. More character development. More layers. The brother to brother talk is a needed balance to the blood and carnage they just participated in.

On another issue:
I love animals and completely believe we should stop abuse, neglect and respect all living creatures.

BUT it will forever freak me out to hear people point out a dead animal in a movie but overlook the pile of dead people. In last night's show, a young child was kidnapped and tied up - traumatized. There was incest and rape of a young woman by her father. The two feral children were abused and neglected (but were taught to spell hmmmm..... whatever) and as a result died horrible deaths after "living" horrible lives.

Broken humans take out their pain on animals unfortunately. I respect people who fight for the rights of animals (this is a very important problem) but I am always going to be the voice that chimes in ....let's respect human life too.

Balance in all things.

Peace

[cadoug79]

Originally Posted by LovinJensenA

I still think there is a knight under it. And you're right, not all soldiers react the same. But those who have been in the battle, on the front lines, fighting for survival, day in and day out, having to kill the enemy, the shoot or be shot mentality....those are the ones I'm talking about. The ones who have to like killing because if they can convince themselves of that, then it doesn't hurt so much when they actually have to kill. Not all soldiers are like this. But many are. Dean is one of those, IMO. Like soldiers returning after war, in the "real" world this mentality makes no sense. That's why they have so much trouble dealing with what they did overseas. They can't fathom having to kill someone once the confines of war are stripped away, and they have to deal with the fact that they DID kill and the DID like it, or so they had thought. Dean has great remorse for what he did and the fact that he liked it. He's struggling to make things better, trying to make amends. He did what he did, he's being honest about it, and he's trying to overcome his "demons" so to speak, just like my uncle. Like I've said before, Dean is still a hero to me, in fact even more so.

Dean never really said "I liked cutting people up and torturing them." He said he liked the fact that he got off the rack, got to get some of that pain and suffering out of his system. He liked the relief it gave him--no more pain, and chance to get some of that anger and pain out of his system. To be really sick and twisted, it was therapeutic for him!

[Germanchick1980]

Originally Posted by LovinJensenA

I still think there is a knight under it. And you're right, not all soldiers react the same. But those who have been in the battle, on the front lines, fighting for survival, day in and day out, having to kill the enemy, the shoot or be shot mentality....those are the ones I'm talking about. The ones who have to like killing because if they can convince themselves of that, then it doesn't hurt so much when they actually have to kill. Not all soldiers are like this. But many are. Dean is one of those, IMO. Like soldiers returning after war, in the "real" world this mentality makes no sense. That's why they have so much trouble dealing with what they did overseas. They can't fathom having to kill someone once the confines of war are stripped away, and they have to deal with the fact that they DID kill and the DID like it, or so they had thought. Dean has great remorse for what he did and the fact that he liked it. He's struggling to make things better, trying to make amends. He did what he did, he's being honest about it, and he's trying to overcome his "demons" so to speak, just like my uncle. Like I've said before, Dean is still a hero to me, in fact even more so.

Well, all I can say is that my husband has been on the frontlines. He's had had to make the shoot or be shot decision and like I said, he never enjoyed it. Maybe that's why it's hard for me to understand, because I've never met any soldier who said they enjoyed it. Sure some of them could just be lying...and probably are.
Anyway, I just can't see Dean as a hero anymore. To me he's not any better then the very things he spent his life hunting.
The difference for me between a hero and a villian is that even if the hero does something wrong/conflicted, he never enjoys it.
After they defiled Sam the way they did, I wish they had at least left Dean alone.
As for SN not being a happy fairytale, well, I never needed it to be that, but I did need an inkling of hope somewhere that pure good exsists and that was taken last night. There's no good whatsoever in the SN universe, just relative good and relative bad. Angels and Hero's are bad, Demons are good, what a sad world!
I'm glad it's only fictional

[LovinJensenA]

Originally Posted by Germanchick1980

Well, all I can say is that my husband has been on the frontlines. He's had had to make the shoot or be shot decision and like I said, he never enjoyed it. Maybe that's why it's hard for me to understand, because I've never met any soldier who said they enjoyed it. Sure some of them could just be lying...and probably are.
Anyway, I just can't see Dean as a hero anymore. To me he's not any better then the very things he spent his life hunting.
The difference for me between a hero and a villian is that even if the hero does something wrong/conflicted, he never enjoys it.
After they defiled Sam the way they did, I wish they had at least left Dean alone.
As for SN not being a happy fairytale, well, I never needed it to be that, but I did need an inkling of hope somewhere that pure good exsists and that was taken last night. There's no good whatsoever in the SN universe, just relative good and relative bad. Angels and Hero's are bad, Demons are good, what a sad world!
I'm glad it's only fictional

I respect your opinion completely, and I see where you're coming from. I guess because of what my uncle went through, I can understand totally where Dean is coming from. Since your husband went through what he did, I can see why you would have trouble with Dean enjoying it. I guess I just figure Dean is like my uncle, a wonderful man who in the battles of two wars, was convinced that he enjoyed doing what he did. He enjoyed it, he was good at it, and he could justify it because it was war. Then when he returned, he had MAJOR issues with guilt and remorse. He retired a Lt. Col. He still has nightmares, and says that while he finally learned to forgive himself, he will never forget what he did. He's a hero to me, though, because he cares for people, helps people, is very open about what he went through over there, especially Vietnam. The fact that Dean is remorseful and trying to make amends is what keeps his armour shiny for me.

[xxtrinionelovexx]

omg i like this episode lol... it was great.. i really tought that the gilr was a ghost... lol but it was great am excited to see the new episode next week... lol

[pizzapixie]

This episode was unoriginal, overdone and chockfull of Desperation Dean and Wallpaper Sam. The weepy confessions from Dean at the end of the episodes has lessened my sympathy for him. It angers me that now Dean is trying to redeem himself by saving as many people as he can, just as Sam did last season. Please, get over it. Hell is Hell.

[bts3com]

Didn't like it. Don't like seeing so little of the Winchester Brothers onscreen (why was so much screentime devoted to scenes with the family?). Don't like Sam as a background character and don't believe that he would have no words of gestures of comfort for Dean when his brother is baring his soul. Dean's confessions and Sam's lack of response is getting a little old. Luckly, Jared is a great actor and shows a lot with his facial expressions because he sure doesn't get any good dialogue to sink his teeth into. I love both brothers and I love to see them together, caring for each other.

Next week's episode seems to feature the "guest stars" again - more Winchester Brothers, please. And please bring Sam back into the show more. The season is more than half over and the lopsided approach this season has taken is impacting the brother dynamics. I love Dean, but enough, already...

[pizzapixie]

Originally Posted by Crazy4Jensen2

I so agree with everyone! The first thought that came back to my mind was the Boys Are Back!! It felt like I was watching classic Dean and Sammy and it has been the best episode this season. That hour went by so quickly! I am happy to see a few episodes that remind us why we are fanatic about this show....well done everyone!

I didn't get that feel at all- Sammy was nothing more than wallpaper.

[jody54]

Another episode of wallpaper Sam and angsty Dean. Enough with the emo scenes on the hood of the impala. These writers are really lacking in originality. Also, do they have to give Dean even more to feel guilty about. He should be in a straight jacket by now curled up in a fetal position in a locked ward forever. They should never have gone this far with the hell thing if all they can do is have Dean emote on the car every few episodes. At least have him act out the PTSD once in a while. That would be a heck of a lot more interesting than "Sam, I'm a monster". "You were in hell, Dean". As it is, we got one episode where he was drinking too much and a few eye flashes. Wow, I guess Hell isn't all that bad after all. And don't even get me started on Sam. Way to waste a great actor on this show. Why does it always have to be all about Dean.