The Winchester Family Business

Updated 6/7.  I finally added the pictures and put in some far better commentary.  Enjoy this one! It raises some major questions, and has tons of fun at the expense of a misplaced Pinto. :))

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Noooooo!!!! To Be Continued???? Damn you…oh forget it. I’ve cursed Kripke’s name so many times it’s lost all meaning now.

Dean was pulled out of Hell to stop Sam! Mary was a hunter! Mary sold Sam’s soul in exchange for John’s life! Dean and Sam’s grandpa rocks! There I go with those damn exclamation points again!

Deep breath everybody…in…out…better? Hold on. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!! Okay, better.

I know when I’ve seen a great episode that affects me forever. It’s not the jaw dropping intensity of the drama, the out of this stratosphere acting that makes you wonder why genre shows like this are never recognized by the Emmy panel, the superior writing that makes me rush to my laptop to tweak yet again my own manuscript, or the fact that when the episode is over I’m so stunned I’m holding the remote and staring at the screen in disbelief for over an hour.

No, an episode for me is deemed great after the sleepless night. When the events of what I just witnessed play in my head over and over again and I can’t shut it off. When I wake up the next morning an emotional and exhausted wreck, so profoundly affected by what I saw that I struggle with basic function, then yes, I’ve watched the episode of a lifetime. It happened to me numerous times during the second season of The West Wing. It happened after “Mystery Spot”. It happened after “No Rest For The Wicked” and “Lazarus Rising”. Now here we are again, only two weeks later with “In The Beginning.” Mr. Kripke, you’re killing me!

 

Not just Eric Kripke but everyone. To think, one of the two leads wasn’t even in this one (except for a brief glimpse) and they still pulled off a classic with the best guest casting of the series, or of all television. Mitch Pileggi MUST get some sort of award for this one. Misha Collins continues to blow our minds, again giving us a chilling closing line that we can’t shake. The young Mary (Amy Gumenick) and John (Matthew Cohen) are two unknowns that we may be seeing a lot of in the future in other places after this one. They made a huge impression.

I did miss Sam, even though this story was for his benefit. His absence served its point, so I’ll let it pass. The only thing I won’t let pass is why was Dean driving a 1979 Ford Pinto in 1973. My family drove Pintos while I was growing up so I know. There, nitpicks over. Time for the pages of gushing now.

Who Needs Classic Rock?

This is a packed full episode, so no time for musical montages. There’s a great recap of season one for those of us that don’t remember all those unanswered questions that we’re still overly speculating about. They even showed Mary apologizing to Sam in “Home.” It’s about time that one was cleared up!

The writer this week is the most incredible, awe inspiring, master of storytelling and dialogue known as Jeremy Carver (I’m still openly begging for that interview). The director is Steve Boyum, who I haven’t had the pleasure of praising before. He previously directed “Crossroad Blues” and “Dream A Little Dream of Me” and added a gem here to his list.

Let’s Begin

Dean is asleep on the bed, and obviously he got back from something exhausting since he’s on top of the covers and has his clothes on. Sam has that tough guy “ready to waste some demons” glare, and he does the sneak out on Dean. Take a good look at that gorgeous face for that’s the last you see him until next week. Mitch Pileggi in an interview said that Jared went to Hawaii while this episode was filmed. As a joke, the crew taped postcards from Hawaii on the front of the camera while filming to irk Jensen. That story alone makes Sam’s absence worth it.



It’s the Willow Tree motel! That’s the similiar sign from “Mystery Spot," the motel Sam went to dig that bullet out of his ribs. Granted the inside is different, but I guess reusing signs is allowed. They did that with “A Very Supernatural Christmas” too (Cicero Pines), so I wonder if this is a norm for Jeremy Carver episodes. Probably just a coincidence.

Dean dreams of the red and black flashes from Hell again and there’s Castiel. I heard all those squeals of joy! Awesome how he pops in and out like that and when Sam isn’t around. He’s an imaginary friend or something. “You have to stop it.” Before Dean gets an answer, the magic angel fingers go in between the eyes and he’s being woken from a park bench. No time for a long slow setup. 



Dean’s cell phone doesn’t work and the park bench says “Sugar Free Tab.” He ain’t in Kansas anymore more. Oh wait… Dean, didn’t you notice all the classic cars around? You’d think a car guy like him would be in paradise. Also, isn’t this the same town square from Smallville? Yeah, I’m sure I could fill a whole article on shared sets of Vancouver shows.

“Rambling Man” by the Allman Brothers plays on the juke box as Dean enters the diner, which is another time warp error since that song wasn’t released until August 25th of that year. Yes, I know my classic rock too. Dean asks the person next to him where he can get reception on his cell phone and I yelled out “Starship Enterprise!” a second before the other guy said it. Who didn’t see that one coming? The kicker though is the devastation of the waiter (I want one of those fuzzy vests) and other man when Dean mentions that Sonny and Cher broke up. He finally figures something is wrong, and the date on the newspaper confirms it. April 30, 1973. Could it be all that nastiness happens on May 2nd, the day Sam was born? Possible, since Jess and Mary both died on November 2nd.