Reviews That I Missed: Supernatural 13.15 – “A Most Holy Man”

I’ll lead with this, I absolutely loved “A Most Holy Man.”  I loved it when it first aired and I appreciate it more now.  In a season where both of our characters have struggled with lost faith and hope, this episode not only was a fun Sam and Dean caper but it reinforced that good deeds come with rewards after all.  More than Sam and Dean realized.  It was actually uplifting, which is a nice way to go into a fun series classic like “Scoobynatural.”  

“A Most Holy Man” is a first time collaboration between the season 13 showrunners Andrew Dabb and Robert Singer.  It is an homage to the noir films of the 40’s, with The Maltese Falcon being the biggest inspiration.  You see it everywhere.  I mean come on, the skull is stolen from Malta!  Supernatural tried noir before in season six, but it didn’t go for the classic noir like this episode does.  This time, they got it right.  The crisp dialogue, unusual camera angles, contrast lighting, scheming characters, cloak and dagger intrigue, and the twisty plot that leaves you guessing until the end, it was clear they did their homework.  Not only did this rich plot have entertainment value, but it enhanced the season mytharc and brought some organic character growth with it.  In season 13, that’s a tall order.  This point in the season it’s really needed though, because the season ending stretch is around the corner, and it doesn’t help if your leads are in a mope.

Another Quest

Last we left our heroes, they have their latest mission, to find the four items to open the rift to another dimension, but just how psyched are they about this?  Sam is still coasting on fumes, well, fumes for him.  He’s walking the walk and talking the talk, but his confidence level lukewarm at best.  Heck, Dean isn’t confident either, asking Sam, “What’s the last ingredient of this spell we’re never gonna find?” Sam starts with the low hanging fruit item needed for the spell, the blood of a most holy man.  He’s guessing the blood of a saint.  You’re a saint Sam!  You should try it.  Nah, he decides to go to the online black market for religious relics instead.  Fine, whatever suits your fancy.  

From here the pace takes off and keeps running until the end.  The noir themes were all there.  One morally ambiguous character after another entered the quest for a stolen skull, brilliantly building up a web of deceit and a setup for backstabbing and betrayal.  There was the seductive femme fatale Margaret Astor, and the eccentric artifact dealer Richard Greenstreet, who easily saw through Sam and Dean’s fake story which gave him a door to use them for his bidding.  Then there was mobster Santino Scarpatti, bringing a Godfather element to this story with a team of henchmen lurking in the shadows.  Finally, there’s the pivotal character, Father Lucca Camilleri, whose introduction made him look like the bad guy, until he, Sam and Dean had their enlightening conversation in the hotel lobby. He was definitely the fish out of water in this scenario, and the true inspiration for this entire episode.  

Director Amanda Tapping really ran with this noir theme!  Unusual camera angles are a must with this theme and we got plenty of that, enhancing the mystery behind each character.  I’ll also take different angles of the Sam and Dean pretty!   A bulk of this story took place at the Patricia Hotel, a lower budget, well known seedy establishment in East Vancouver (the same hotel used in season four’s “Criss Angel is a Douchebag”).  The eccentric vibe and low lighting in the hotel really enhanced the noir.  The urban hotel, along with the dark warehouse and city alley scenes, sold the seedy nature of the story.

One couldn’t help but think when watching this episode, all of this for a skull?  There is a bit of absurdity in this quest, and it was never clear why so many people wanted it, which is also is a common element in this genre.  It reflects on the cynical nature of man, who will go to lengths to grab a prize, even one that isn’t all that exciting.  

The intricate and ever twisting plot my have taken place in a dangerous underworld, but there was plenty of lightheartedness in the episode too.   The brothers got deeply involved in this caper because of Margaret, who was used for laughs with her over the top flirting with Sam, despite her treachery.  Sam played along perfectly!  The brothers were often loose and fun with each other, taking that chance to play a little oneupmanship here and there.  Dean had the ideal joke after Sam was knocked out…again.  This explains so much!  No wonder Sam just bounces back each time:

Dean: Sure you’re not drowsy? How many fingers am I holding up?
Sam: I’m fine.
Dean: Okay, I’m just saying, you’re taking a lot of shots to the head lately. I mean, I know that Disney Princess hair gives you some padding, but, uh…

Then there’s Sam producing a key from his pocket after he and Dean were handcuffed to the radiator: 

Dean: Look at you. You’re like a Boy Scout. You’re always prepared.
Sam: Yeah. You’re like a…
Dean: Yeah?
Sam: I don’t know what you’re like.

Ah brothers!  

Father Lucca was a character himself, a priest out of his league in this dark underworld because he wanted back what was stolen from his monastery.  The final showdown in the warehouse, where everyone tried to con each other and it devolved into a massive gunfight, was more enjoyable and intense only because of Father Lucca’s praying in between the shots.  It goes to show, everything works out well when you’ve got a priest praying for you in the middle of it all!  

The even better part is because of their actions, Sam and Dean accidentally stumbled into what they were searching for the whole time.  Talk about a twist of fate.  Sam and Dean, after they helped Father Lucca get the skull back instead of being everyone else’s pawns, learned that the blood of the saint thing they were after didn’t exist.  It all seemed for nothing more than a good deed done, until the goodbye scene with Father Lucca.  Sam, who wisely did his research, asked about the honorary title Father Lucca received from the Pope.  Un uomo santissimo. Father Lucca humbly provided the translation…a most holy man.  The stunned look on Sam and Dean’s faces after hearing that were priceless!  They were true to themselves and got their prize after all.  They have the blood of a holy man now.   

The strongest part of this episode though are the wise perspectives offered from Father Lucca himself, a POV that Sam and Dean desperately needed.  They got to be heroes again for the right reasons.  They did what was true to their nature, and were reminded of who they were.  It was the shot in the arm they needed.  Heck, we all needed it.  

Faith and Supernatural – Revisited

Back in 2015 samanddean10 did a thorough and thought provoking analysis of faith and Supernatural up to season 11.  Faith has certainly played a role in this show.  As observed in that article as well, the context of faith dwindled in the later seasons.  Dabb and Singer found faith worth a revisit.  I found it worth an analysis!  

I suspect both Dabb and Singer were thinking of this line from season one’s aptly titled “Faith” when building out “A Most Holy Man.”  

Leah:  “If you’re gonna have faith you can’t just have it when the miracles happen. You have to have it when they don’t.”

Okay, maybe it was just me thinking about it.  I do go there quite a bit when these matters come up.  The brothers have both deeply struggled with faith this season ever since Mary’s disappearance and the loss of Castiel. Dean, whose issues are always more transparent, started fast, in episode 13.01.  Remember his tirade against God/Chuck in that episode?

Okay, Chuck… or God or whatever. I… I need your help. See, you — you left us. You left us. You went off… You said… you said the Earth would be fine because it had me and it had Sam, but it’s not, and we’re not. We’ve lost everything. And now you’re gonna bring him back. Okay? You’re gonna bring back Cas, you’re gonna bring back Mom, you’re gonna bring ’em all back. All of them. Even Crowley. ‘Cause after everything that you’ve done, you owe us, you son of a bitch. So you get your ass down here and you make this right. Right here and right now! Please. Please help us.

This isn’t Dean’s first crisis with faith, but he has been a little more energized since Castiel came back from the empty and he found out Mary was alive.   Still, he’s a skeptic, afraid of being too optimistic.  He’s been burned before.  He also has that multitude of trust issues and an obsessive need to be in control.  When things fall apart, so does he.  As I’ve criticized too many times before, he gets easily lost in the man pain.

As for Sam, he’s usually been steadfast in his faith,  but ever since the events in “Wayward Sisters,” he’s been stuck in a crisis.  That’s a pretty big deal coming from the usually solid brother, but as it was revealed in “Various & Sundry Villains,” he’s reached this point because of a long hidden pain, not a sudden development.  He’s tired.  He doesn’t notice the wins anymore, only the pain.  And he doesn’t have Dean to reach out to, because he doesn’t understand.  Pinpoint focus on the mission is all he has left, but even that is on shaky ground.   

That’s why the encounter with Father Lucca is such an important turning point.  He saw beauty of all things, even if something that mattered deeply to his community was stolen.  He believed in the beauty of the skull, aka, a hunk of bone, because it symbolized something and meant a lot to the sisters of his order.  It brought faith, it brought comfort, it brought hope to those that came to see it.  When it was stolen, the sisters at the convent had faith in him to bring it back.  He failed in his first attempt, but his faith kept him going.  He wasn’t going to let failure stop him.  He knew a way would be found, and that way ended up being the Winchester brothers.  

Dean:  Yeah, well, the world’s a screwed place, padre. What are you gonna do about it?
Father Lucca:  Change it.
Dean:  Yeah, good luck with that.
Father Lucca:  It’s not about luck, son. It’s about effort. All the time, I hear people saying the world’s not perfect. And they’re right. It’s not. But do you use that as an excuse? Do you use it to excuse your own sins? Your failings and your laziness? Do you use it to give a bad man power, because the world’s not perfect? Or do you work? Do you try and improve things in whatever way you can? Guys, the world will never be perfect, but if good men do good things, it can be better. Every day can get better.

That got a small smile out of Sam.  He desperately needed to hear this and was clearly taken by his words.  That is how Sam maintained his faith all these years.  He needed to be reminded what’s kept him going this long.  Sam instantly knew what to do next, they would help Father Lucca get the skull back.  It took a little convincing to get Dean to help, but Sam is his wise ways found Dean’s “skull”.  His baby.  (Another funny  brotherly moment!)

Sam:  I mean, if-if somebody, uh, if somebody stole the Impala, what would you do?
Dean:  Murder. I’d murder ‘em all.
Sam:  Right. My point being, I… I don’t want a dick like Greenstreet or Scarpatti to win. Not this time.
Dean:  There’ll be torture first. There’ll be, like, a lot of torture, and then there’d – it would end up with death. If I can’t have it, nobody can.

Dean needed more convincing, but because of Father Lucca, Dean finally got his answer to that prayer from the season premiere.  That’s not how God works.  That is not what faith is all about.  The beauty of God’s work is in everything surrounding them.  He just had to notice it. 

Father Lucca: You’re not a believer.
Dean: Oh, I believe. Hell, I know. God? He doesn’t give a damn about you or me or anyone else. So if you’re expecting some sort of a-a miracle to happen, well… good luck.
Father Lucca: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean God would reach down and protect us. Of course that’s not going to happen. But I believe all good things are God’s things. And what your brother’s doing, it’s a good thing.
Dean: Yeah, or a stupid thing.
Father Lucca: Or both. Many times, they can be the same.

And here we are full circle to Chuck’s comments at the end of Season 11.  Sam and Dean do have the unique perspective that they’ve actually met God, and know him to be a basic slob and hack writer who would rather let free will take it’s course than stop human suffering. This goes back to Chuck leaving the responsibility of saving the world to Sam and Dean.  Because they have the commitment, the drive and the ingrown passion to make the world a better place.  Sure, they struggle at times.  They have had their share of losses and heartache.  But they keep going because the world needs them.  Sam and Dean have faith in the goodness of the world.  Because of that, Chuck has faith in Sam and Dean.  

Dean: What about us? What about Earth?
Chuck: Earth will be fine. It’s got you… and Sam.

The whole encounter had Sam thinking at the end.  Is what they’re doing really important?  It seems everything they do, there’s always another monster, there’s always another apocalypse.  Can they truly make a difference?  Dean’s response was quite surprising, maybe because he saw it first hand.  Good men doing good things do make things better.  He’s also got one of those good men right beside him in Sam.  They are where they need to be. 

Sam:  I don’t know. Nothing. I mean – I mean, you know… You ever feel like we’re – we’re doing nothing but playing defense? You know, bouncing from one apocalypse to the next?
Dean:  Well, it’s not exactly our call.
Sam:  I know that, and I’m not saying we don’t do good. But – but no matter how many people we save, there will always be more people that need saving. No matter how many monsters we kill–
Dean:  There’s always gonna be another one around the corner.
Sam:  Exactly.  You think we could ever change things? I mean, really change things? You know, stop all the monsters, all the bad?
Dean:  That would be nice.
Sam:  Yeah. So, what are you thinkin’? Think that’ll work?
Dean:  I have faith.

A nice show of faith from big brother.  Warm fuzzies all over.  

Overall grade an A.  I wish Dabb and Singer would have put more effort like this into their other episodes!  Coming up next, pure lovefest.  A series classic that for some very bizarre reason I didn’t write a review for.  Get ready for “Scoobynatural.”