Supernatural Station

Sympathy for the Devil

Supernatural Season 5, episode #01.
Airdate: Thursday September 10, 2009.
Written by Eric Kripke.
Directed By Robert Singer.

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• Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary.

  Lucifer is on earth and the apocalypse has begun. Sam is racked by guilt because he caused it, Dean is stoic, smart-mouthed and trying to treat it like any other hunt. But the world-ending war still awaits two of it’s major players: Lucifer who needs a human vessel, and Dean, destined to kill Lucifer but refusing to corporate with the angels.

  The Winchesters survive Lucifer’s blazing escape because they were transported into an airplane flying above. Not questioning this seeming miracle, they seek Castiel’s help, but soon learn that he is dead, killed by an archangel. They are forced to lay low at a motel trying to figure out their next move while avoiding both demons and angels who want to nab Dean for opposing reasons.

  Chuck, the prophet, sends a message to them, via an obsessed fangirl, that there is a weapon on earth that can kill Lucifer…the archangel Michael’s sword. They recruit Bobby to help them decipher Chuck’s clues, but Bobby is demon-possessed and leads demon Meg right to them. When Meg orders Bobby to kill Dean, he manages to wrest control from the demon just long enough to stab himself, instead. The Winchesters prevail in the ensuing fight and escape with a gravely injured Bobby in tow.

  The brothers leave Bobby in a hospital emergency room, then head to upstate NY and John Winchester’s storage locker where they believe Michael’s sword is located. There, dead demons and live angels, including Zachariah, await them. Zachariah tells them that Michael’s sword is none other than Dean himself. He is chosen to be Michael’s vessel. When Dean refuses the “honor”, Zachariah begins to torture him and his brother. Then, the once-dead Castiel materializes armed with an angel-killing dagger and kills two of his fellow angels and forces Zachariah to flee.

  Soon afterwards, Lucifer finds a willing host…a grief-stricken man, angry at God over the murder of his family, Bobby is told he is unlikely to walk again, and Dean tells Sam that his choice of demon Ruby over him, his own brother, had been unforgivable and that he no longer trusts him.
  The end.

• Praises: This season premiere episode was all about the show’s mythology with strong tie-ins to past episodes. It is also the first season opener since season one that was not directed by the late, great Kim Manners and his absence was noticeable. Nonetheless, Robert Singer did a great job taking over this responsibility. He kept the show tension filled and his strength in character development was nicely showcased in the heartbreaking backstory about Nick, the man chosen to be Lucifer’s vessel.

  The caliber of the actors on Supernatural has gotten better with each season and this episode had some of the best. Jensen Ackles (Dean), Jared Padalecki (Sam), Misha Collins (Castiel), Rob Benedict (Chuck), Kurt Fuller (Zachariah), newcomer Mark Pellegrino (Nick) were awesome in their roles. Mark especially rocked as grief-stricken Nick. I am looking forward to seeing more of him as Lucifer.

  There was plenty of action, snark, a little humor, a little less scare, and some brotherly moments. It was those brotherly moments that was most difficult to watch. Not because it was bad…it was very, very good…but because it showed how much the brothers’ relationship has changed. Sam and Dean are no longer a tightly knit team. Dean said nothing to defend Sam when Bobby lit into him about starting the apocalypse. Sam has apologized to Dean and is trying to make things better between them, but Dean has given up. When he told Sam that “I just don’t think I could trust you”, I was as devastated as Sam. Not only has Dean lost faith in Sam, he seems to have lost all hope and optimism as well. This was made clear when his response to Sam’s suggestion about finding the colt was, “What’s the point?”

  John Winchester has been dead for over two years, but his influence is still strongly felt on the show. This episode most notable reminder of him was seeing Bobby regain control back from demon possession just long enough to prevent the demon from killing Dean. John did the same thing when he was possessed by the yellow-eyed demon in season one (1.22-Devils Trap). The reappearance of demon Meg also brought back memories of how Sam was unable to do the same thing when he became demon possessed in season two (2.14-Born Under a Bad Sign).

  This season opener added several new twists to Supernatural’s mythology. We learned that satan, unlike his demon minions, does not lie, he doesn’t need to. Plus, he is persuasive speaker with a kind and sympathetic tone…not good for humankind or the Winchesters. Interestingly, God may not be “absent” at all as was implied in season 4. Castiel thinks that it is God who resurrected him and also transported Sam and Dean to safety in the airplane. Another new twist is that archangels (including Lucifer) require permission before they can enter a human host and only a rare group of people can become host to an archangel, of which Dean is one. That was the most interesting addition to the show’s mythology in this episode.

  I have to admit that hearing Zachariah say that Dean was chosen to be the warrior archangel, Michael’s vessel gave me a little thrill. I would love to see Dean as a badass archangel…strong, confident, and with supernatural powers. But I wouldn’t want it to be permanent, though. Archangel Dean wouldn’t be snarky and that just isn’t right. Part of the reason I liked this twist so much is that there is a similar premise in one of my favoriteest Supernatural fan fiction of all time, The First Born by JustForSpite. I am dying to see how Kripke plays this storyline out.

  Finally, the previews for upcoming episodes showed past characters from previous seasons back again. I look forward to seeing them and to the twists and turns that Kripke and his writer minions are sure to take on this last leg of Supernatural’s awesome 5-year roadtrip. Thank you Kripke for giving us a great start to what is sure to be a great season.

• Nags: Though this was a great episode, there were a few things that just didn’t jive for me. The number one was that Bobby got demon-possessed. This had significant shock effect, but it was the least believable…uh, I mean, least palatable…part of the show. Bobby knows more about demons than almost anyone else. He is surrounded by devils traps and holy water and knows all the protection tricks. He is the last person I expected to be possessed by a demon. Kripke, us fans deserve an explanation of how and why Bobby slipped up so badly.

  The second is…why the hell did demon Meg kiss Dean? In their previous encounters it was Sammy who she flirted with. Dean, she just wanted to kill. The kiss seemed totally out of character for Meg.

  Lastly, though I liked the backstory about Nick, satan’s chosen vessel, it was entirely too long. Less or shorter scenes about that storyline and more about the deteriorating relationship between the brothers would have made this episode even better. Singer spends way too much time on secondary character development to the detriment of the overall story and it showed somewhat here.

• My Rating: Great episode. 4 out of 5 stars.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 20th, 2009 at 7:54 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.