Supernatural – Recap & Review – The Song Remains the Same

photo: the cw

Supernatural
The Song Remains the Same

Original Air Date: Feb 4, 2010

Nicola – Associate Staff Writer
nicola@thetwocentscorp.com

Once again, we are privy to Dean’s erotic fantasies, which maybe he should start keeping to himself. But I suppose since it’s a dream, he is keeping it to himself. Besides, heaven and hell? Kinda hot.

And there’s Anna. Well, that killed Dean’s buzz.

Anna’s been seeking Dean out in dreams because Castiel’s made it impossible to track him in real life. She gives Dean an address and tells him to meet here there. When she arrives at the creepy, old abandoned warehouse she finds her fellow angel Castiel waiting for her instead. C’mon, what does she expect? He had her locked up. He says that there’s no way she could’ve broken out of angel prison, that they must have let her out to do their dirty work. She says she escaped, for the purpose of killing Sam so that Lucifer can never possess his body. Doesn’t sound like a bad idea in theory. But hey, I’m a Dean girl. Either way, Cas sticks up for Sam and tells Anna he’ll kill her if she goes near him, so she heads to the 70s in a sulk. Or something.

Cas hooks up with the boys again to tell them what Anna’s up to. Sam angsts a bit about her being right (see, I told you!), and Cas does a ritual to find out where she is. She’s gone to 1978 to kill their parents! If Mary and John don’t live to procreate, problem solved! So of course Dean and Sam need to go after her. Castiel says it’ll weaken him to make the journey with the two of them, but he’ll do it.

They make it, but Cas is not well. They check Cas into a hotel and head over to find their parents. They have to figure out what to say to them, especially since Mary already knows Dean. Mary tells Dean she doesn’t hunt anymore, and tells John that they’re her cousins. This is all just a little much for Sam, who gets all emotional at seeing his parents again. While they’re all sitting down for a little awkward family time, Anna calls up John and pretends to be his boss to lure him away. While he’s on the phone, Dean and Sam tell Mary about the evil angel coming to get her and then they realize John’s gone.

John goes to the garage where he works to meet his boss and finds him dead. But Anna’s there for company. The cavalry arrives just in time, and the Winchester hunters kick her around for awhile, until Mary skewers her with a crowbar and Sam banishes her. Then it’s time to get the hell out of dodge.

John finally gets to hear all about monsters and hunting, only just starting down the path to the John we all know and… love? Mary drives them all to a safe house, her solution to Bobby’s iron bunker. Dean and Sam teach Mary and John about how to defend against angels. Dean gets weird about having to show his father the ways of the hunting lifestyle, and it’s obvious he wishes he didn’t have to.

Sam and John have a heart-to-heart and John says that Sam and Dean’s dad must have been crazy to raise them to this lifestyle. Sam gets really defensive and tells him that he understands why he did it now, though he didn’t always. Cue the sappy music as we have as many opportunities for heartfelt Winchester family talks as possible.

Meanwhile, back in crazy angel land, Anna enlists Uriel’s help to kill the Winchesters, telling him they’ll kill him in the future. This younger, hotter Uriel also seems to be dumber and more obedient, because he doesn’t really question her.

Mary starts asking those awkward questions Dean and Sam were hoping she’d forget to ask, things like why are ANGELS suddenly after her, and Dean spills and tells Mary that they’re her sons. Um, bad idea?! They’re trying to protect her but Sam says that the only real way to keep her from dying is to leave John, so that Dean and Sam are never born. But she says it’s too late because she’s already pregnant.

John bursts in and says the anti-angel signs and oil are gone. Then the Anna and Uriel burst in. There’s plenty more fighting and Sam ends up dead on the floor. Like THAT’s never happened before. All is not lost though, because John becomes Michael’s vessel and burns Anna to a crisp! He banishes Uriel and knocks Mary out before turning to Dean for a chat. He tells Dean that being his vessel is part of a bloodline, that he descends all the way from Cain and Abel and it’s in his destiny to do this. He says he doesn’t want to kill Lucifer because he’s his brother but he’ll do it because God says so and he’s a good soul. He says he’ll wipe John and Mary’s minds clean so they go back to the way things are. He’ll save Sam. But they can’t fight what happens to Mary.

And Dean makes a stand, tells Michael what he thinks about the whole fate vs. free will issue, and tells him to shove it. For all the good it does him. Michael sends Sam and Dean back to the present day, whole again. Castiel follows shortly after.

Now we’re getting somewhere. This episode was hardcore to the max. Finally we get a glimpse of Michael, and yes, he is as big of a dick as the other angels (minus Castiel, of course). It’s starting to feel more and more like just a big test put on by God. Isn’t that what the fate vs. free will debate is all about? It’s either a matter of you drag your heels as hard as possible and you still end up doing what God wants you to do, or you find your own way to do it. But unless you know exactly what God wants you to do, how do you know if you’re doing it or not? The Winchesters have helpful angels on their side, telling them God’s supposed will, but can you really trust angels?

Either way, this debate is too big for this R&R.

It’s going to get harder and harder to swap back and forth between apocalypse NOW and monster-of-the-week episodes. I mean, doesn’t next week’s preview look a little silly after the vastness of this week? How do Sam and Dean justify these little jaunts to conquer minor deities when they still have to beat the devil and the legions of heaven?

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