Jimmy: "When you've an angel inside of you, it's kind of like being chained to a comet."
Dean: "Well, that doesn't sound like much fun."
Jimmy: "Understatement."
With four nearly full seasons behind them, I honestly believe that Supernatural has never given us an outright bad episode. Nearly every one has been good, or outright terrific. There have only been a handful of episodes that were so-so, mostly in season one. Unfortunately, this episode was so-so.
Predictable. And whoa, what a huge plot hole there in the road. I knew immediately that either Amelia or Claire had to be possessed by demons, and it was completely unbelievable that Dean and Sam didn't spritz them with holy water early in the proceedings. And it was also obvious that by the end, Castiel would be back inside Jimmy, or Jimmy would be dead. Having him sacrifice his life as a human for his daughter worked, but I could see it coming.
Nothing against Castiel, or even Jimmy. I love the character of Castiel, and I was looking forward to a story about him. Like Bobby, Castiel is one of the few continuing characters they've introduced on Supernatural who has consistently intrigued and entertained me, and I want them to keep him around as long as possible. And Misha Collins did a great job. He has such an expressive face, and he's such a good actor. It was easy to tell when he was Castiel and when he was Jimmy.
I also liked the comparison they drew between overboard religious obsession and mental illness. (Hence the title of the episode.) And some of it felt a bit like the Buffy episode, "Normal Again." Because what makes more sense? I didn't come home and didn't call because I was possessed by an angel for a year? Or my religious fervor got too fervent and I wound up in an institution and decided not to tell you?
The fact that Castiel tested Jimmy (boiling water, shudder) totally creeped me out. Why Jimmy? What's in his blood? Is he descended from a particular strain of people who are suited for angel possession, or something? Did an angel bleed into his mouth when he was a baby? (No, because Claire was one, too.) Clearly, the moral of this episode is that possession is just bad, even when it's an angel who is doing it to you.
What happened to Castiel? It's like the other angels took him to the woodshed or something. I thought for a moment that it wasn't Castiel at all, but that didn't quite scan. No more friendly, helpful Castiel. I don't like it.
Last but most certainly not least, demon blood in a hidden flask? Part of the reason I didn't love this episode may have been seeing Sam outed, with blood all over his face. (Caught red-mouthed, so to speak.) Dean's lack of reaction should have rung alarm bells for Sam. I just wonder if it's too late for forced withdrawal. Seems to me that demon blood must be more addictive than just about anything.
And I'm not stupid. They've been hinting, pretty much since the beginning of the series, that it will eventually come down to brother against brother. Is it finally about to go down?
Bits and pieces:
-- Good thing that angels can heal the people they possess, unlike demons. And that just made me wonder about Ruby, who got seriously messed up by Alastair and who is constantly cutting herself to feed Sam. But Meg died once she was no longer possessed and her injuries caught up with her... I'm confused.
-- Misha Collins got a long eating scene. Usually Jensen Ackles gets those.
-- The scene where a strung-out Sam licked blood from his hand was set in front of a neon-bright soda machine. Good symbolic visual there.
-- Why did Anna flash in on Dean and Sam, but couldn't flash in on Jimmy?
-- Jimmy Novak lived in Pontiac, Illinois with his wife Amelia and daughter Claire. Guess they're not going back there.
-- Despite the fact that this episode didn't thrill me, I would be happy with more episodes about Castiel, as well as Anna. Absolutely nothing like Touched by an Angel. Plus, hey, it's good for Jared and Jensen, who spend way too many hours working. I swear, I worry about them.
-- "Soon." Previews for the final episodes of the season. This episode ran short.
Quotes:
Dean: "Do you think he's lying? Do you want to go Guantanamo on the guy?"
Sam: "I was getting a Coke."
Dean: "Was it a refreshing Coke?"
Dean: "You used to be strong enough to kill Alastair. Now you can't even kill the stunt demon number three?"
Amelia/Demon: "You know what's funny?"
Dean: "You wearing a soccer mom?"
Not your typical Supernatural episode. Not that there are actually typical Supernatural episodes,
Billie
All of my Supernatural reviews are archived here.
Screencap credit: http://caps.oxoniensis.org/
(Season four, episode twenty)
4 comments:
I’m in total agreement. This was a surprisingly average episode, not as earthshattering as I was hoping it would be. It was nice to get some background on the man behind the angel (or the man around the angel) but in the end we learnt nothing new about Castiel or the other angels which is what I was really hoping for.
I really think Sam is a lost cause now. All he cares about now is getting revenge on Lilith, she’s become his own white whale. Ahab’s quest destroyed both him and his ship but Sam’s will likely destroy something far more important, his family, Dean and Bobby. The big question is who's going to play Cain and who's going to be Able?
One thing did bother me, where did Anna go? She pops into to give the brothers a head up on Jimmy and then… puff, she gone. What is her agenda, anyway? She’s not in with heaven, nor the rebels or the demons, so what is she up to?
Hi Billie,
Yeah, this episode left me with mix emotions, something in it that I really don’t like, although the acting of Misha and the girl who play the daughter were great. Maybe it was the darkness, helpless and sadness, present in every scene more than ever in my opinion. Maybe the tough that this time Sam is really lost broke my hart, and the new reprogrammed Castie? I don’t like that either. It is really like everybody is alone and by their own. I certainly like Anna, don’t know why, but in this war were not Heaven and certainly not Hell are the good ones, I suspect that maybe Anna is going to be the one that help Dean put everything in place, I hope so.
I really liked the acting of Misha here. And I agree, it was predictable and a bit average for a Supernatural episode but that scene where Jimmy asks to be Castiel´s vessel again instead of his daughter really moved me. And Sam, he´s been bad, that´s for sure!
Wow, guess I'm in the minority. First of all, I think several of the shows in the first half of season one were BAD - see my previous rants on 'Bugs' for instance. I thought this one was good, not great but better than so-so.
Yes, it was all rather predictable, but I enjoyed the ride. And, I certainly didn't see Castiel in the daughter's body until the reveal. I loved the scene where Jimmy agreed to thousands of years of 'being strapped to a comet' to save his daughter. It moved me to tears.
The Sam reveal was a long time coming, and it was disturbing in the extreme. Having said that, I think Bobby's and Dean's reactions were extreme as well. Having dealt with addiction in my family, forced withdrawal is the final stage -- often years after trying everything else. Dean seems to have lost all faith and trust in Sam.
I agree -- we are being set up for a brother v. brother finale.
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