What Is And What Should Never Be - A Review
What Is And What Should Never Be
Supernatural Season 2, episode #20.
Airdate: Thursday, May 03, 2007.
Written by Raelle Tucker.
Directed by Eric Kripke.
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Synopsis:Click here to read the episode summary
After an encounter with a Djinn, a genie-like creature that feeds on humans, Dean wakes up to find himself in a world where the Winchesters have never been visited by the yellow-eyed demon. His mother is alive; Sam’s attending law school and engaged to Jessica; and Dean is in a stable relationship. Dean happily settles into his world, until he finds out that all the people who the Winchesters saved are now dead. He goes hunting for the genie, only to realize that he is probably unconscious and dreaming, while being fed upon by the Djinn, himself. He stabs himself to force himself awake. When he opens his eyes, he find himself bound and strung up and the real Sam has come to rescue him. The Djinn attacks as Sam is cutting him down. Dean manages to free himself and kill the Djinn as it was about to zap Sam. The brothers walk away with another win, another rescue, and some more emotional scars. -
Praises: This is the episode I most looked forward to seeing this season. It dealt with a scenario that the majority of fans wonder about: what would the Winchesters’ life be like, if the demon had never crossed their path? And we got our answer: dull, dull, dull. Oops, this is the praises section, so here goes. This episode was very well done and it actually improved with a second viewing. JA’s performance was riveting and I was most impressed by JP’s acting. He was totally convincing in his wimpy Sam role. In fact, this version of Sam was such an epitome of wimpiness, that it was kind of funny. Even his clothes were wimpy. One scene I especially liked was the deja vu scene of the break-in. It brought back memories of the “pilot” episode. Also, having Dean’s girlfriend turn out to be the model from a beer ad was a twist that made me laugh. Some of the things that got my attention were: Dean being both ringless and talisman-less for the second time in as many episodes. He wore a gold necklace that looks like a locket, instead; The full body tattoos on the Djinn were very interesting and made me want to stare and follow the patterns; And the Impala got new license plates: Ohio CNK-80Q3. It was about time, considering the brother’s wanted status. But I will miss the old Kansas KAZ-275 tag.
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Nags: I know characters are supposed to grow and change, but a tearful Dean just doesn’t seem right to me. Plus, he cries like a girl. Where is my old macho Dean who would take out his emotional pain on the nearest supernatural creature or inanimate object? I miss him. If this role reversal keeps up, we’re going to have Sam become tough, emotionless and an efficient killer next. Oh wait…that actually might happen. In general, I was disappointed by the lack of “umph” in this episode. This version of Dean’s ideal life was just plain dull. Or I should say, the women were dull. Both girlfriends could have passed for doorstops. Decorative doorstops, but doorstops, nonetheless. Ok, I have to say it, Cassie would have been far more interesting (and controversial) then beer girl. Even alternate Sam was too dull. He should have had a lot of repressed anger towards his brother, especially about him stealing his prom date on prom night. We’ve seen him argue with his Dad, so we know Sam can blow up at his family, but this version of Sam didn’t have any intense emotions at all. If I attribute all this dullness to the fact that Dean wished for a boring life for a change, then this episode did an excellent job of achieving that.
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My Rating: Pretty good episode. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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