Recap – “You Can’t Handle The Truth”
Okay, now for the mind-blowing, super mega brotherly drama. The scene that will be talked about for years. Sam and Dean wake up and they’re both tied to railings in the spa. Too bad there isn’t any water in there, I’m sure a nice hot bath would have been relaxing as they air their dirty laundry. Veritas, in full outfit of nice gold evening dress and complete jewelry set, you know, the stuff you would expect to see on a Goddess, plays the perfect hostess, telling them to sit tight. They’re up next. Well at least she’s a cannibal with manners.
She then helps herself to a snack with the dentist’s body. His tongue. Eww. She boasts how the tongue is the tastiest part. “It’s where the lies roll off of.” Then Sam and Dean’s must really be delicious! Striking that thought from my mind before it gets too dirty. Of course during this time we find out Sam has a knife (he normally does) and he starts working his way out of the ropes. She munches, Dean winces. “I cannot wait to eat yours. I mean I’ve seen liars before but you two, gold standard.” She’s got this evil snark about her that’s so good. Definitely one of the better villains.
Dean jokes about professional pride so that targets him as the first to blab. Makes sense, since he’ll give the honest answer. “I wouldn’t be so cocky Dean. You know what happens when you base your life on lies, right? The truth comes along and…” she flicks her wrists, forewarning that this is about to get painful. Man is she right, just not the way she thinks. “How about we play a little truth, or truth?” She turns to Sam, asking if she should ask Dean something personal about him. Sam just gives her the cold stare. Yeah, she’s scared.
“I’m curious, what do you really feel about your brother?” Time to spill Dean! “Better now. Yesterday I wanted to kill him in his sleep. I thought he was a monster. But now I think…” Veritas prods for more. “He’s just acting like me.” She wants more. “It’s the gig. Your covered in blood until your covered in your own blood. Half the time you’re about to die, like right now. I told myself I wanted out, that I wanted a family.” “But you were lying,” Veritas says. “No. But what I’m good at is slicing throats. I ain’t a father. I’m a killer. And there’s no changing that, I know that now.”
You know what was really hard about that part, other than the obvious heart breaking sympathy you have for Dean brutally telling himself the truth? Sam watching that whole thing without expression. Aside from a tiny amount of surprise at hearing that Dean wanted to kill him in his sleep, he didn’t react. He just blankly listened. I know Sam can’t help it but man that’s rough. Feel your brother’s man pain! Veritas is all happy with that answer, giving Dean a “that a boy” pat.
Veritas moves over to her next subject, commenting that Sam walking back into his life must have been a relief. Oh yeah, Dean’s so feeling the love. “Mallory to your Mickey.” A Natural Born Killers reference. For those that have never seen that film, don’t. It’s pretty f-ed up. She asks Sam the next question. “And how do you feel about the band getting back together?” Sam hesitates, looks at her and then Dean and it’s so obvious he’s not affected by her. Dean blabbed right away. “Look, what we do is hard, but we watch out for each other. And that’s what’s important, and that’s it. That’s the truth.”
Veritas so NOT happy. She’s actually quite freaked by that stupid answer. “No. No it’s not.” Cut to Dean who’s suddenly joining her in the freaked out camp. “You said yourself I can’t lie,” Sam claims. She was wrong. “How are you doing that? That’s not possible. You’re lying to me!” Sam says he isn’t but sorry Sammy the Goddess of Truth is the primo authority on these matters. “What are you?” She turns to Dean asking what is he since she knows she’ll get the truth out of him. Dean’s perplexed look gives her an “I don’t know.”
Sam tries to carry on the front, claiming he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Here I am, believing the freaking MOTW over Sam. That’s pretty sad. “Really, I doubt that,” she answers. “I doubt anything that comes out of your mouth right now.” Okay, time for the bombshell! “You’re not human.” That get’s Dean’s attention. “What?” She turns to Dean. “You didn’t know that? Now that I believe.” Oh poor Dean. This truth really does hurt.
Sam knows that now is the time to take action. He finishes cutting, breaks free of the rope and slides the knife to Dean before going after Veritas. He grabs the dog blood knife, but she easily takes him down with a few swipes and the knife goes sliding. Then she chokes him. Really, you’re a Goddess. That’s how you take out people? Dean breaks free at this time, grabs a metal hook of some kind nearby and plunges it through her. That only proceeds to make her madder and I love the cat like snarl she gives him. Great VFX!
That is enough of a distraction where Sam can grab the knife dipped in dog’s blood and stab her through the heart. She does her dramatic “villain is foiled” fall to the ground and slumps dead. Sam is catching his breath, almost ready to relax over their job well done but Dean won’t have it. As far as Dean’s concerned, only one of the monsters in the room has been exterminated. He holds up a knife at Sam, who’s quite surprised to see this. I guess Dean believes the Goddess too!
Now for the most intense two minutes I’ve ever seen on this show. Honestly, my heart did stop this time. Suddenly, Sam isn’t so cavalier. He starts pleading and backing away. “Dean, it’s me.” He sees that wild crazed look in Dean’s eye, the look Dean saves for the worst creatures imaginable. “You are not my brother,” Dean says. Sam begs him to listen. “What are you!” Dean yells, following Sam who’s still backpedaling.
Sam insists he can explain. “Why the hell should I believe anything you say.” He’s got you there Sam. “Okay, okay, you want the truth. Here it is. God’s honest.” Sammy’s looking pretty desperate now. “She was right. There’s something wrong with me. Really wrong. I’ve know it for a while. I lied to you, yeah, and I let you get turned by that vamp. Because I knew there was a cure Dean and we needed in that nest and I knew you could handle it.”
Ooh, that just makes Dean madder. “Handle it? I could have died! I could have killed Ben.” “That should stop me cold,” Sam admits, “but I just don’t feel it.” With Sam’s anxious behavior, now I’m believing him. It takes this? “Ever since I came back, I am a better hunter than I’ve ever been. Nothing scares me anymore because I can’t feel it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I think…I need help.” Oh Sam, you had me completely until that last sentence. You’re not really sure about that last part, are you? At least there’s traces of puppy dog in the eyes this time.
Dean softens, looking quite sad about everything he just heard. He takes a long pause to think things through, and it’s incredible just from the subtle changes in his expression how much of a debate goes on in his mind right there. He turns around, slowly puts down the knife, and stays turned away from Sam as he thinks it through more. The camera rolls around Dean and focuses on Sam, who’s looking genuinely upset behind him. Not teary upset, but shaken. He seems relieved that Dean is considering what he just said. Dean looks at him again like he’s believing him, Sam looks relieved that he got through and…the bottom falls out.
Something inside Dean snaps. We can see the precise split second when it happens with a slight eye raise. Artfully done. Dean suddenly clocks Sam one and hard! It’s a massive sucker punch that Sam didn’t see coming. Sam falls to the ground with a big thud and before he has a chance to figure out what just happened Dean jumps on him, grabs his shirt and starts wailing on him. One absolutely vicious punch after another. Sam has no chance to defend himself or stop Dean. He just lays helplessly on the ground and around punch number 7 or 8 (counting the first punch) it looks like he loses consciousness. Dean doesn’t stop until punch 14.
Sammy! I know you all heard collective thud of the entire fandom dropping their jaws. We’re just speechless in the dead silence of the final shots, Sam battered, bruised and unconscious on the floor and Dean staring down at him, a combination of both regret and severe anger plaguing him at the same time. He’s probably impressed that he stopped and didn’t kill Sam. You know he wanted to though. He probably still doesn’t believe this is his brother. There’s still too much doubt.
What an unsettling way to go into next week. Thanks show. Sam’s actions have been reprehensible lately but man, he didn’t deserve this. At the same time though, this has been a long build up for Dean and it was his powder keg moment. He’s lucky he didn’t kill Sam. I’m hoping he stopped himself for the same reason he put the knife down. Whoever this is, it’s his only hope to getting the real Sam back. Man these two are very, very broken right now. There’s a long path to healing coming.
That’s a recap! Until next week…
Alice Jester is the founder, editor-in-chief, head writer, programmer, web designer, site administrator, marketer, and moderator for The Winchester Family Business. She is a 30 year IT applications and database expert with a penchant for creative and freelance writing in her spare (ha!!) time. That’s on top of being a wife, mother of two active kids, and four loving (aka needy) pets.
Alice,
Great recap as usual.
So much about this episode has already been said, so I won’t reiterate.
The thing about Cas finding the boys. He doesn’t show up unless they call (pray) to him. Maybe they are invisible to angel eyes unless they go shouting angel names.
Dean has shown like for animals (rabbits!) but not Yorkies. And Sam did have that dog during his run away time. Equal like maybe? Well, not now Sam, but Sammy Sam.
Thank you ever so much for referring to Sam’s shirt as skimpy! Though I believe it unfair that in this show, that is what we get to call skimpy. *shallow sigh*. And I agree that the tub should have been full of hot, steamy water….*more shallow sighing* The pic you put up to mention Sam’s hair? Great, but I couldn’t stop looking at Dean! The expression on his face…heh.
Thanks again for the recap!
Hey Alice,
I am pretty sure our lovely Goddess is driving a 1960’s Jaguar XKE otherwise known as an E-Type (possibly a 1962 in specific). 😀
Also, I was thinking. If Sam’s logic chip was working, he would have realized playing the sympathy card (especially with no soul/emotion) would not work on Dean. Not this time.
A more honest answer from Sam would have been more along the lines of “I probably need help, but since I’m such a good hunter I don’t know if I want help.” I think Dean would have believed that over the unconvincing “I need help.”
Friday is almost here! I have my fingers crossed for more answers cause Sam really does need help.
Don’t hot dogs come with onions and tomato sauce … That’s two of your five-a-day right there! Also mustard is sort of plant based, at least in theory …
I think it’s cunning the way Souless Sam has inverted all the little things that used to define the character. His hair is perfect, he eats proper Man Food, he has actual sex, he’s altogether free from the ravages of guilt … He has become James Bond. Yuk. Bring back the old shaggy, finnicky, embarressed one that we know and love! ( but lets have a bit more angst and bondage first, because we’re worth it … ) 😉
Good recap Alice. Loved the calendar as 2010 too. Don’t need to be reminded that they kept the boys apart for a year.
Dean did resist his first impulse, which was to kill Sam. That was evident when he put the knife down. But there was no way Sammy would get off scot free. Sam’s plea for Dean to feel sorry for him saved Sam. Maybe Dean still has some brotherly bond with Sam, although after what Sam did, it can’t be much. As to the severity, you don’t poke a hornet’s nest with a stick and expect not to get stung! How Sam could have thought his brother was not going to unload on him I don’t know. Sam lost his feelings not his intelligence. Sam really should have really spent more time in having that beer with Dean!
Maybe after a year of lying to people and getting away with it, he thought it would work here too. It was a while before I believed Sammy was really telling the truth this time. And I have to wonder why he waited until he actually was caught red-handed before he told Dean the truth. Sam is lucky Dean didn’t kill him.
Chuckle, Alice, I too am an American made…or, well, Canadian made, American made…..OH you know what I mean, gal. I grew up in a 66 Cutlass Supreme.
However, I had a number of friends who were European car nuts so I learned my exotics too. 🙂
And hey, guessing is good – think of it this way, you were right that it was a European car!!
One of the things that bothers me the most about that episode was Bobby’s reveal that Dean is his favourite. I’d always have thought that Sam and Bobby had more in common, and Bobby seems to understand Sam, so I was kinda hoping….
Seriously though, is Sam anyones favourite? Makes me sad.
Also, the eating tongue thing? Wrong, on so many fecking levels. The dentist thing…. wrong. Anything to do with teeth, wrong….
Out of interest, what questions would people have asked Sam and Dean had they been in that situation?
Well, I’m glad that I’m not the only one to notice that Sam is no one’s favorite. Bobby, Castiel, Ellen, Jo, everyone prefers Dean. And as if it wasn’t obvious enough, now they have the characters say it aloud. I didn’t think Bobby’s words were funny. I was sad to hear them. I wish Samuel was “good” so he could make a connection with Sam rather than Dean, for a change.
In this case, don’t forget that Bobby’s words were inspired by a Goddess out to have folks committ suicide so she could eat them. Do NOT take Bobby’s words as TRUTH. He may have spoken the truth in that moment, but moments change.
To me, even what Dean said under the curse of truth was not!truth. There was an element of truth to it but it was truth pulled by Veritas with one goal in mind – to hurt someone else.
And if it makes anyone feel any better, BOTH boys are my favourite. 😀
Great recap Alice,
I think this episode should have been called ‘Somebody give Dean a Hug, He needs One’. 🙂
Goddess spells should have a declaimer on them:’side effects include suicide and becoming lunch’. 😆
You are right, when you side with the MOTW and not one of the starring characters there is a problem. 😆
Remember in ‘Time is on my side’, Sam told Dean that they were already on a case ‘Dean’s deal’, This episode Bobby tells Dean, that the case he is on is ‘Sam’.
I think that Sam (in the form of Colin Ford) is standing in the cage with Lucifer and Micheal/Adam, and he is holding on to Dean’s amulet, waiting for his big brother to come and get him. But that is just me. 😀
I just thought of something, when did Lisa ever see Sam and Dean together? In ‘the kids are alright’, she never saw Sam, in ’99 problems’, Dean was there alone. How does she know what kind of relationship they have or had? IMO she is just a jealous ‘female dog’.
I promise that this will be my last Lisa bashing. 😛