Recap – “Like A Virgin”
The brothers are back! The long winter hellatus is over! There’s an opening classic rock montage to prove it.
Dun duh, dun duh, dun duh, dun duh…Oh yeah! Those are the thunderous raw and bluesy beats on a six-string bass by none other than legendary guitarist Joe Perry of Aerosmith. Whoo hoo, they’re kicking off the second half of the season right. And now, the trademark Steven Tyler scream. “I’M BAAAAAAAAAACK! I’m back in the saddle again, I’M BAAAAAAAAAAACK!…” I honestly don’t know how “Back in The Saddle” was never on my “must have classic rock” list for this show. Number one is still “Blaze of Glory” by Jon Bon Jovi, but wow, this was missing? It’s perfect! So how do I know so much about Aerosmith? At least for this classic era of the band, my brother is the largest Aerosmith fan there is. I heard him play these albums over and over again while growing up. He of course disowned the band after they went pop rock with “Permanent Vacation,” although I really like that album. For me, “Pump” and beyond are the sellouts. Yes, only in my recaps do you get a lesson in classic rock history as well as a detailed analysis of a TV show. I exist to educate and entertain.
Right, you want to know about the “Supernatural” episode. After air guitaring to the montage summarizing the first half of season six, I sit down breathless, eager for the drama to begin. After all, poor Sammy was left screaming! We’ve had 8 weeks now to stew over that disturbing image in our heads, including getting to see that repeat twice in two weeks now (thanks for nothing CW!). So, now that the moment’s finally here, we get a MOTW opener? Seriously? **Crickets chirping, buzz from opener crashing hard.** I picture myself plucking my tongue in disgust a la Daffy Duck.
Here, let’s breeze through this opener quick. Girl and guy in plane. Weather is bad. It don’t matter, because a giant bat like creature is taking them down. Bye bye red shirts. Seriously, it was worth killing my buzz for that? Oh well, the shattered glass heightens the anticipation again.
Uh oh, it’s the worried hand twitching by Dean. Something isn’t right. Heck, when is something right with this guy? Talk about unlucky streaks. There’s only one guy in this universe with worse luck and he’s lying in that cot over there is some sort of coma hooked up to an IV. At least he looks peaceful. Oh, before I go any farther, I’m going to note through this recap some exceptional shots done by director Phil Sgriccia done in this episode. He’s always been a solid director, but he had some gems in this one. Like the focus starting on Castiel’s arm and him rolling up his sleeve as he comes out of the panic room and then showing a glimpse of an unconscious Sam in the background. Nice touch!
Dean is being Dean. He’s a frantic mess which means he’s going to be bitchy with Cass. Of course Cass throws it right back, because he’s kind of pissed. Geez, these divas. “Well?” Dean asks. “His soul is in place,” Castiel answers, but he doesn’t seem happy about that. Dean wants more and asks if Sam is ever going to wake up. Castiel tries the cop out, claiming he’s not a human doctor. It wouldn’t matter Cass, a human doctor wouldn’t give a straight answer either. They’d use the excuse, “I’m not an angel, I don’t know.” An agitated Dean asks for a guess. So, an agitated Castiel gives his answer. “Probably not.” “Well don’t sugar coat it,” Dean snips back. Geez Dean, you’re the one that pushed the question.
Castiel gets to his point. “I’m sorry Dean but I warned you not to put that thing back inside him.” Dean comes back with a solid defense. “What was I supposed to do, let T1000 walk around, hope he doesn’t open fire?” Castiel paints the picture, the one that’s supposed to loom in our heads for the rest of the season and possibly beyond. “Let me tell you what his soul felt like when I touched it. Like it had been skinned alive Dean. If you wanted to kill your brother, you should have done it outright.” They have the grim tough guy stare down and then Cass disappears to the sounds of wings flapping because angels can do that. Why stick around for a fight when you have that power? “I’m an angel you dick, take this!” Dean is pretty used to this by now and his worry goes back to Sam, who is still in the same state on the cot.
Now, let’s take a paragraph here to analyze this little exchange. I do wonder if there’s more to it than Castiel being pissed about not being listened to. There seems to be this whole mystery surrounding the power of human souls and Castiel certainly gives the impression that a damaged human soul is the worst possible thing ever. Although if that is true, why doesn’t Cass say that? Right, he’s mysterious. I get the impression Castiel sees death as the better option than a grossly damaged soul. Then again, he could just be worried about Sam right now, thinking the poor boy is suffering. He’s really grown to care about both Dean and Sam, huh?
Dean goes upstairs and pulls up a chair to Bobby’s desk. Bobby, sitting behind the desk, pours a drink for both of them. I guess this ordeal hasn’t done much for Dean’s liquor habit. Bobby justifies it with an awesome quote. “Like my daddy always said, just cause it kills your liver don’t mean it ain’t medicine.” Yeah, can you imagine the size of Dean’s liver right now? I’m trying not to think about it. Bobby asks if Sam’s still asleep. Gee Bobby, can’t you tell by Dean’s distressed face the answer is yes? If something had changed, he would have said so. Dean gives a worried yes so Bobby tries to encourage. “Dean, he’s been through how much? Somehow he always bounces back.” Dean, definitely taking the glass half empty POV, says he’s never been through this. Yeah, but if you think about it, it’s not the worse thing he’s been through. Possession by Lucifer I really think trumps all.
Dean needs a distraction and asks about what Bobby’s reading. It’s an article about the plane crash we didn’t care about in the teaser. “Can I help, send me to the library, anything,” a weary Dean says rubbing his forehead. Something tells me he’s been cooped up a bit too long. Bobby talks about the crash. “A couple of Buddy Hollys doesn’t seem like news of the weird,” Dean answers. Yeah, but the pilot was found 17 miles away flambed and there’s no trace of the girl. No, Dean doesn’t see it. Of course he doesn’t get any further arguments, for one familiar voice disturbs it all. “Dean?”
A stunned Dean whips and around and he wasn’t hearing things. Sammy! You’re awake! A bewildered Sam slowly works his way across the room not believing what he’s seeing. Dean himself is pretty stunned, but he can’t tell what sort of state Sam is in. Bobby’s pretty much got the same look Dean does. “Sam,” Dean says getting up as Sam approaches. That’s the only invitation Sam needs! Sam rushes forward and pulls Dean into a HUGE, desperate bear hug. Dean at first doesn’t hug back because this was definitely not the reaction he was expecting from Sam, but then comes to his senses and puts an arm out. Bobby watches in the background with trepidation. Back to Sam’s POV and he’s gripping on tight, closing his eyes and never wanting to let go. Okay, NOW I’m weepy. This is the part that does it. This is the same Sam Winchester that grasped onto Dean at the end of “Mystery Spot.” There’s most certainly an aching, longing soul in there. Welcome back Sammy!
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.
What a pity Alice, I do love these recaps you write, but I understand you have a lot to do, so I’m gonna enjoy this one and you were not the only one to have fan moments of applauding or lauging a lot during the episode, I was right there with you…
Not to mention “the hug” Gosh, I wanted that hug for so long, I can’t tell you….
As usual your review is amazing.
Take care,
Clarice ; }
Sad! But I get why you don’t want to to them anylonger. They are lovely long so they must take a not nearly as lovely longer time to write.
I’ve wondered about the boys and their alcohol soaked organs as well. But then, haven’t they both died/been healed by Cas? I’m guessing (cuz I want it to be true) that the healing involved the inner damage as well. Fresh start! Longer for the boys to live!
I was wondering about how Sam would see the appearance of his new wardrobe and phone as well. Not to mention if Dean was able to delete all RoboSams number off. I’m playing pretend that Dean ‘splained as “You were asleep for a while. Thought I’d pick you up some stuff.”
Oh, and a side not on the journal scene. LOVE how far back Sam is sitting on the bed and his feet STILL touch the ground. AW! Gigantor!
I find it interesting that the Colt wasn’t brought up as a weapon of choice against the dragons. Dean said (lied?) to the Dr. that the sword was the only weapon they have, but they’ve gotta have some left over bullets from that bunch Crowley gave them. Right? Or maybe he didn’t want to waste the Colt on things that aren’t demons?
One last thing on the ep (sorry, feeling gabby) soon as Dr. Visyak made her comment about the most important artifact Dean’s touched, the thought of the Horseman rings jumped to mind.
Ok, done. Thanks for the recap Alice! Love reading them.
Awe, Alice, I understand where you are coming from but I will definitely be one of the few who will miss these recaps.
Now, as for the castles/mansions. There are actually quite a few of these kinds of places around the province. There are 2 here in Victoria in particular. Hatley Castle that many of you will know from X-Men, and Craigdarroch Castle. Both owned by the same family. Folks who got rich from coal. Over on the mainland, similar scenario, coal, lumber, pick a natural resource.
As for Sam’s clothes and cell phone, well for the cell at least, I don’t think it’s odd that Dean would have kept it around an charged up. How long did the boys keep John’s cell phones around? I would think the reason would have been the same for Dean.
And finally, the virgins. One WAS trying to open the trap door when the dragon arrived with broken arm girl. So while they were whimpering (and yes, I think it would have been nice if they weren’t quite so whiny – this is TV after all and we don’t need it to be THAT realistic – show a little back bone, will ya?) at least one of them was trying to break them out. Course they were not good on the stealth mode and Mr. Dragon hear them and heat sealed them in.
Ah well. Fun episode, great to have the brothers back together. Definitely an episode for re-watching!
Thanks again for having done all these amazing recaps Alice. Maybe come summer hellatus you could do them “special edition” for specific episodes. 🙂
Just wanted you to know, there are quite a few of us ‘lurkers’ out here who absolutely love your recaps. Understand of course if you need a break, but you will be missed 🙂
Thanks! I know there are lurkers, but being the site owner I get statistics on number of hits per article. Out of all our articles, my recaps statistically get the worst number of hits on a routine basis. These recaps take 15-20 hours per week to write. I’ve been doing them for 3 years, probably because I love writing them. However, I just can’t devote that time anymore for something that just isn’t catching on for a greater number of people. I do appreciate those that followed these and maybe I can come up with something that still goes over the key scenes in the same way but doesn’t cover the whole episode. We’ll see!
Thank you for reading these! I do appreciate the comment.
Love your recaps Alice. Too bad we won’t see them any more. I will miss that.
Aw, I read your recap everytime but didn`t comment.
What a pity, I will miss it very much. Awww!
Hi Alice what a recap! Loved it!
You know, in the part of the almost hug of Sam and Castiel, I have a different theory, I think Sam didn’t hug Cass cause he was trying to avoid Cass’s eyes, because Cass can read people’s minds looking them in to their eyes (like when Cass told Dean on [b]4.01[/b] “you don’t think you deserved to be saved” or when Cass read the Cupid’s mind on [b]5.14[/b].
I think that’s why Sam didn’t want to hug Cass for to avoid his eyes and manipulate him and ask him for the truth.
wow you really drop a bomb in the end. 🙁
Why you say that your recap don’t generate a lot of interest?, if you say that for the comments, well maybe is because you post your recap the day that the new episode is going to be aired and we are kind of anxious for the new episode, but I always read it and I usually don’t comment cause I think my English sucks and my writing too (I always had problems writing essays)… I like more the recaps that the reviews, they are really funny, you always have me giggling and laughing, you write in your recaps a lot of details (that other people doesn’t write) and are really interesting, and the way you express yourself in your writing… your recaps are [b]perfect[/b].
I was sad when I read you were not going to write more recaps, but then I remembered all the times that I was thinking: how she have time to do all this? I mean writing the review, the recap, adding things to the site, fixing it, and writing other articles, how she manage to do all this and having a job and a family and, its wow… Hey!, do you have some kind of device for to stop the time or something? 🙂
Alice, thank you so much for all this, your articles, the site, your time… Thanks
Alice, sorry to contradict you but
‘killing the evil creature has always been Dean’s number one priority’
is not a true statement. We all know that Dean’s number one priority is and always will be keeping his Sammy safe and sound(souled). 😆
This episode felt like it would fit prefectly into the first season, with all the brotherly love, John’s Journal, the forgetable MOTW (racist truck).
Sorry that you feel that these recaps aren’t appreciated. I look forward to them, but I can understand the frustration of putting in all the work and no one is reading them.
Thanks for all the hard work.
Thanks again Alice for another great recap.
I was so sad to read that this is no longer going to be a regular feature around here, I know I am not the only one to feel this way.
There are many articles on each episode now, but your recaps were really different and something special, I loved `re-watching` through your eyes. You always made me laugh and, on a few occasions, cry at the memory of a scene.
I understand that they were very time consuming, you only have to read one to see this, but I am hoping you maybe could still indulge us sometimes. Perhaps you could treat this like Jas does the Open Couch, write if an episode particularly inspires you, or maybe do a retro one like the recent IMTOD.
Whatever you decide you know you have our support and thanks for all the hard work, Love Ju
Hi Alice – I loved this recap! Agree with all of it and fangirled and laughed along with it.
I’m going to miss your recaps so much, as I look forward to them more than anything else on this site. Your feelings and thoughts along with the screencaps I enjoy immensely. (even though I really liked Lucky the skinwalker, lol)
Never could figure out how you could live your life with a family and a job and still have time to make this great site for all of us fans. Thank you for all of that and I do hope some episode inspires you to create another recap for us.
I found this site for the first time a few weeks ago, while going crazy waiting for hiatus to be over. Since then I have gone through and read as many of your recaps as I could, I absolutely love them. They saved my sanity waiting for the show to come back. I guess since this is the last one, I should take the time to say thank you for writing such awesome, entertaining recaps. I’ve enjoyed them immensely.