Preview and Episode Discussion – Finale – 6.21 and 6.22
6.22 “The Man Who Knew Too Much”
In this episode, Sam deals with the wall that Death has put in place to hold back the memories of hell. How does Kripke view the wall? “We’re going to deal head-on with the story of what happens when those memories come flooding loose.” Kripke continues, “I will say we conclusively deal with … the fact that he doesn’t remember what happened to him in hell,” Kripke says.” He’s got this bit of drywall in his head, but it’s a shabby, unstable piece of drywall and it”s only a matter of time before the wall falls down, and in the finale, the wall falls down.”
Kripke also stated that they are saving the best and scariest for last. “It does come down, and as Death warned, it’s a catastrophe,” Kripke reiterated. “Sam has to battle something he’s never battled before, which is himself.” He adds, “Sam is going to have to ultimately confront what he did soul-less and did in hell. There”s a lot of Sam soul searching.”
“It’s something that Sam is both afraid of and also he’s dying to know what he did that year that he was soulless,” Gamble adds. “It”s something that Dean has great fear about. Every ounce of big-brother protectiveness inside him wants to shield Sam from what might happen if the wall comes down, so it’s a pretty major thing for them.”
From the video clip released for this episode, it can be speculated that Sam develops total amnesia when the wall crumbles. We first see him running frantically down a street and later see he is being pursued by a squad car. Not an uncommon situation for the boys to be in, but Sam is alone, no Dean or Bobby, and that is uncommon.
We have no idea how Sam became separated from Dean and Bobby or why the police are after him, but at one point, he hides down an alley from Castle Storage. Does that sound familiar? It should. It”s the place where John has his storage locker, where Dean found out he was Michael’s Sword, and Sam had his legs broken and his lungs removed by Zachariah.
Sam gives them the slip by taking refuge in a closed bar and meets up with the bartender, a young woman named Robin (played by Erica Serra who plays Jo in “Eureka”.) Once she realizes Sam is running from the police, Robin decides she doesn”t want his kind of trouble and asks him to leave.
Behind the bar she covertly picks up a baseball bat with which she plans on reinforcing her request if necessary. Sam convinces her to let him stay, she puts the bat away, and asks him his name. Sam replies, “I don’t know.” “What do you mean you don’t know?” she asks. His answer, “I mean, I don’t remember”
The video ends at that point, but numerous BTS photos show Sam and Robin on a street outside a hotel, which some astute fans have pointed out is the Nite Owl Motel – the same motel where Dean was turned to a vamp in “Live Free and Twi-Hard.”
With how prominently this sign, and the one for Castle Storage were displayed, that can’t be a coincidence. We are supposed to remember them and probably there will be more during this time for Sam in the episode. Sam”s lack of memory about his soulless year, his amnesia now, a bloodied Sam telling himself, “this is your last chance”, the photo of him driving Robin in the impala, and the fact that Castle Storage and the Nite Owl Motel are establishments in two different parts of the country, I say means these are memories for Sam, maybe so is Robin.
It”s seems likely that Sam is not in the conscious world at all but in his subconscious, dealing with the good and bad memories as best he can. Maybe here he will relive some of the events that took place when he was soulless, and fine something locked in there that will help Dean and Bobby unravel more of the mysteries of the season. (PLEASE let the overturned Baby be one of Sam’s dreams!)
At PaleyFest, Kripke did comment somewhat on how he would depict the crumbling wall. “You don’t want to blow it off,” he says with a laugh. “You don’t want him to be a drooling vegetable on the floor either because that”s not super-exciting to watch last I checked. But I think it’ll be good. I think it’ll be really powerful and emotional. Hopefully, the fans will enjoy it.”
And while Sam battles his own demon, which Bobby and Dean are powerless to stop, they continue the fight with Crowley and Raphael all the while not knowing whose side Cas and Balthazar are on. And judging from the some of the clips, Cas doesn”t seem know which side Balthazar is on either.
What does Padalecki think about the collapsing of his mind? “I’m really excited about that,” he says. “I love playing deep dark Sam, so I love that we”re gonna finally see the wall break.”
But Sam isn’t MIA for long – the persistent trio is in for the long haul.
And Cas isn’t let out either. Hopefully he is still behind the boys just as he is in the picture.
Dr. Visyak in also very much behind the boys and Bobby, but she doesn’t fare as well as the trio. Both BTS photos and an episode photo depicts her as one of the casualties this time.
“There will definitely be deaths,” said Executive producer Sera Gamble, who penned the episode for Season 6. She warned that the season finale will feature at least two unexpected fatalities and Bobby’s friend appears to be one of them. It has been speculated that Balthazar may be the other “surprising” death or possibly Raphael will get killed. But that’s a guess. Of course that doesn”t mean that we will only have two deaths, au contraire, this is “Supernatural!” Deaths are a common occurrence here.
We also know that someone will be transformed and speculations are wide as to who that might be. Dean reversing to vamp mode is high on the list because of the appearance of the Nite Owl Motel as is Cas’ possible change to a human as one possible results of the civil war. Nobody knows, and nobody will know until Friday.
One thing we do know is that no matter how daunting the truth maybe, it will not tear apart the brothers. “We”re actually enjoying that, for the first time in a long time, the brothers are a really strong, cohesive unit, so we”re going to keep them like that for the foreseeable future,” Kripke says. Works for me!!!
————————————————————————————————-
The official synopsis 6.21 “Let It Bleed”: Dean”s worst nightmare comes true. A demon kidnaps Ben (guest star Nicholas Elia) and Lisa (guest star Cindy Sampson) to get to Dean. Sam and Dean are forced to join with an unlikely ally to free them.
Guest cast (IMDb) includes: Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, Cindy Sampson (Lisa), Mark Sheppard (Crowley), Sebastian Roche (Balthazar), Nicholas Elia (Ben), Kim Johnston Ulrich (Dr. Visyak), Peter Ciuffa (H.P. Lovecraft), Panou (Dr. Matt), Antony Holland (Westborough), Adam Greydon Reid (Judah)
John Showalter, a talented veteran to the series, directed this episode. He has also directed “Mommy Dearest”, “Clap Your Hands if You Believe”, “Two and a Half Men” and one of my favorites “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.” Executive producer and showrunner Sera Gamble penned the episode and needs no introduction.
The official synopsis 6.22 “The Man Who Knew Too Much”: The wall comes down in Sam”s head and all hell breaks loose. Dean and Bobby are, for once, at a total loss on how to help him and are forced to stand by and do nothing while Sam breaks. The battle for heaven comes to a head.
Guest cast (IMDb) includes: Misha Collins, Jim Beaver (Bobby), Mark Sheppard (Crowley) Sebastian Roché (Balthazar), Lanette Ware (Raphael), Kim Johnston Ulrich (Dr. Visyak), Erica Cerra (Robin)
Creator/ Producer/showrunner Eric Kripke wrote the episode which was directed by Executive Producer Robert Singer.
BTS photos from 6.22
http://community.livejournal.com/all_spn/32910.html
http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_spnparty/398546.html#cutid1
The CW promo videos for the episode are below.
Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRHMtFVNzfs
Supernatural 6.21 and 6.22 Extended promo for season 6 finale.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkEUecnILI
The first promo clip for 6.21 “Let It Bleed”. Narrated by Sera Gamble it explains how HP Lovecraft is involved in the episode and more Cass/Crowley plans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4uSGVB0rUY
The first promo clip for 6.22 ” The Man Who Knew Too Much”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V0hh4i0ttI
In his interviews, Edlund refers to Dean as the “heart of the show”, but doesn’t give out a lot of new info, aside from saying that the writers have only started laying out season seven, and that there will probably be another uberplot for the next season. He also says that “the cliffhanger is deeply involved with Castiel’s fate,” though he refuses to answer whether that will really have much to do with Jimmy, Castiel’s vessel.
He also strongly hints that Dean (and Castiel, of course) may be at the center of the season finale. However, this comes with a grain of salt, since Edlund is not writing the season finale, Sera Gamble and Eric Kripke are. However if the whole mytharc comes down to Crowley and Dean both vying for Cas, who has all of heavens weapons BTW, then this statement has a lot more weight.
It”s really hard to judge how the finale will turn out. We know there will be a big cliffhanger and several sources have claimed that all of the season”s mysteries will be “solved” by the end. Will the door to Purgatory be opened? This show is all about worst-case scenarios, so I suspect it will. Besides, like the opening of Devil”s gate, when all those monsters come out, we can spend season seven dealing with them. Maybe there are a few down there we don”t even know about. Beyond that what will happen is anybody’s guess.
But you might not want to hold your breath for a total resolution to the season as the producers are leaving the finale wide open. Kripke says,” It’s a cliffhanger, so everyone needs to be prepared that they’re going to be tearing their hair out all summer.” Okay, now tell us something we don’t know!
“This is a cliffhanger unlike any other,” Padalecki says. “We’ve had Sam die and Dean die and dad die, so we”ve had a lot of deaths. This one doesn’t necessarily end with death, but with a whole new beginning.”
That”s the best line I can think of to wrap up season six and lead us all in season seven! A whole new beginning would be awesome!
Happy episode all! Come back and tell us what you think. And see you in season seven!!!!
Many thanks for putting up what is possibly the most important preview for this season. 🙂
may i repost this? great preview!!
may i repost this? great preview!
Yes, as long as you credit us, and Sablegreen most importantly, as the original source. Provide a link!
thanks muchly!
Glad you liked it enough to repost it. Can you tell me where? Would love to see it.
Glad you liked it enough to repost it. Can you tell me where? Would love to see it.
is that Sam getting out of the car? because if it was flipped over, then he’s getting out of the driver’s side… it does look more like that Sam, though.
Whenever a car overturns, it will always land of the hood because of the weight of the engine. Whoever got out, and it does look like Sam, got out on the passenger side. Freaky!
ah, of course – you’re right. Either way, it doesn’t look good!
Dean is the heart of Supernatural and what pray Mr Edlund is Sam ? no wonder alot of Sam fans hit the roof over the episode 2 wks ago . Iand Bens interviews . iIf Dean is the heart then Sam is the soul I get tired of the dismissive attitudes of the writers of Supernatural where Sam is concerned .
I actually agree with Edlund that Dean is the heart. Since season one he was the one who cared more about keeping the family alive and together. But the question becomes, what is Sam? Sam used to be the one with the drive, the smart one, the one who saw more complexity and shades of gray, the strategizer. That all got tied up into the Lucifer storyline, and Dean is being seen more and more as the one with the plan. So the question is, what is Sam now now that his whole demon blood story arc is over?
Thanks Sablegreen, as if my appetite hadn’t been whetted enough!!
Less than 20 hours….
Your welcome. Love doing these. Now less than 7 hours! YEA!!!!!
I can wait but there are thunderstorms forecast in our area. 🙁 Does anyone know of a good site to watch after the fact if our power goes out.
Thanks so much for the preview. :)z5va
This just ramps up the excitement even more! Wow, you saw things in the extended promo I completely missed. This is going to be epic.
BTW, I did not get the impression Sam didn’t recognize Lovecraft’s name, but that he was surprised Dean didn’t, although I could be wrong about that. I cannot love more that Lovecraft is getting into the act!!! Also, I think that is probably Moishe Campbell. Moishe is a Jewish name; hence the New York reference. That’s our Sera!
I love Lovecraft getting into the act too. He wrote some great pieces. And thanks for the spelling of “Moishe.” I really couldn’t find it online.
Thanks for the comment. Glad you liked it.
I am so, so very scared… all the mayhem and the heartbreak and the darkness… not anything new, I know, but still…
I’m very interested to see how they put Lovecraft in the story. He wrote some great stuff, but wasn’t exactly the nicest person imaginable.
Tomorrow for me, here in Europe… stocked up on chocolate, tissues and everything else necessary…
Great preview, Sablegreen!!!
Love, Jas
I will start. I honestly was impressed with the way Gamble wrote Dean Winchester. I didn’t think she knew the real Dean but she did. I was very impressed with “Let It Bleed” and I hope everyone else was too. And I’m so glad Lisa and Ben lived. Gamble was spot on with how Dean would react and adjust and as sad as it was, it is what Dean would always do. Sacrifice himself for his friends and loved ones. Sorry Ben doesn’t remember Dean as I always hoped he would follow in Dean’s footsteps, But Dean is right…it is the best choice for them.
Kripke’s rendition of “The Man Who Knew Too Much” was great. I for one will not be pulling my hair out this summer. The boys and Bobby are as I remember them from the earlier years. As for Cas, he sacrificed a lot to save heaven and the boys won’t desert him now. Dean never leaves anyone behind.
Sorry Balthazar is gone. Cas was wrong in that, but no one stays dead on SNP so I hope the boys get him back. And Crowley is alive. So cool! Want to guess who’s side Crowley will be on next year? Love the way this is all going.
Hope you all had as much fun with this as I did. I was really impressed with both scripts. The handling of Sam’s wall was fine and I’m glad that is behind them now. I am really looking forward to s7. Hope you all are too.
I agree with you. It was a fantastic finish to the season.
I think Cas has to come back crashing to Earth before all is said and done. You know what they say. Power Corrupts. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. He’s gone even one step further than Lucifer did. Lucifer never claimed to be God. He simply was angry that God had chosen humans over angels and was throwing a temper tantrum. Cas has now taken on the mantle and I wonder how that will end up.
I felt goose bumps at the way Kripke handled Sam’s Wall. I wasn’t sure if were going to be stuck with a comatose Sam for the summer or an insane one or what. He’s much more functional than I had expected! I loved how it took Sam facing off with both his Soulless self and his Hell self and fusing the two back in to himself. Fantastically done and I bow to Kripke.
Gamble handled Lisa and Ben’s exit perfectly. WE had Sam shove Dean at them in Swan Song and we had to find a way to handle them. Dean would not break a promise to Sam—especially a last request. So, you knew he would be wit them. Somehow you had to deal with the aftermath that would emerge once hunting caught back up to him. I had both Lisa and Ben on my list of who I thought was the ones to die. I’m pleased that they won’t—despite how sad it was to see Dean let them go. He knew it was the right thing to do after all the danger they had been in because of him. I thought it was handled beautifully.
Oh, and my big win? Hearing the song Play With Fire. Perfect choice for the show’s subjects of the night—both Cas’s plans and for Sam’s attempts to put himself back together again. I knew it two notes in—see my name. Major Stones fan, so it just made me giddy.
I’m anxious for the Fall to see where this goes next, but I’m not as torn up as they had us believe we would be. Sam and Dean are squarely on the same team again. Despite Cas’s obvious new God Complex, I think he’s still the Cas we all know and love under it all. And Crowley’s still out there to raise a little Hell. All good things for the story.
I just think it’s great to see the Heart (Dean) and the Soul (Sam) of the show back where they belong—united and together as a force. Cas might think he’s all that and a bag of chips at the moment, but he’s obviously falling into the same pitfalls others have when opposing the Winchesters. He’s underestimating them and in the end it’ll cost him dearly.
Either way, I look forward to rewatching the season and putting together the essay that won’t leave me alone. We learned a lot this season and it’s been a fun ride. Let Season 7 not only match it, but top it!
I totally agree with you. I thought it was a great way to end this season. It’s a shame that Cas is going to have to learn that age old lesson that power corrupts. Maybe Chuck/God will come back next season to reign in Cas and take him down a peg or two. For now, I’ll be content with re-watching this Season and previous ones. 😀
My money on who will provide Cas’s epic smack down? Dean’s BFF, none other than Death. Death said he’d reap God—Real God, one day. What is a newly minted “God” to him?
Either way, I think it’ll be a wild ride.
Whew, I finally have some time this evening to chime in on this.
I’m still stuck on “Whoa!” I swear, I can’t get past that. It’s funny, that very same quote that Far Away Eyes said is what I thought as soon as the final shot. “Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.”
I have to admit, this is a very different finale that went along with a very different season. I LOVED poor Sam having to face himself like that. To think, he faced himself, bloody and broken by all those memories of Hell, and chose to accept them anyway so he could wake up and be there for Dean. Just beautiful. That and it’s about time Jared got to play opposite himself. Lord knows Jensen’s had to do that enough times.
Then there’s Castiel. Sadly, it was “evil” Castiel that killed Balthazar, the one that already got the souls. I know he wouldn’t have done that if he was himself. He valued friendship. I think he went ahead with the plan because he felt he had nothing to lose because his friends had abandoned him. I’m sure he had no clue what was going to happen. He didn’t realize what that kind of power does to a being.
Poor Dean. I get why he went with the memory wipe of Ben and Lisa but still that had to hurt. He remembers what they had. I just wonder, his turning away Castiel, it really did make a mess of things. If he had stood by his side, if it may have turned out different. Maybe not either. Who knows.
Bobby’s old lover was a monster? Oh, that had to be a shock for him. At least he hasn’t been a monk all these years.
So much more to absorb, all requiring a rewatch. I’m likely going to break the review up based on each episode. We’re going to be taking a heavy look at season six for the next month or so. There’s way more there than meets the eye.
You know what they say about great minds—
I really don’t know where they intend to go with this. I thought I had things figured out to an extent before tonight and they managed to blow my mind completely with what they did do.
I have to admit, in the scenes where Sam faced off with his Soulless self, I thought for a moment he was facing a version of Lucifer that his head had created—that quote Soulless Sam said threw me off track, the one about being in Sam’s grapefruit. I agree with you. It was fantastic acting on Jared’s part.
Now if my brain would, much like yours, get past “woah” I could work on my own essay on this season. Now that it’s complete I feel it was really good (though I felt that way pretty much straight through). Oh the humanity of waiting!
Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Head swimming at this stage! Well worth the 2 FREAKING HOURS it took me to download.
I’m trying to take the two episodes as individuals but it’s hard. It’s a shame they weren’t shown on two separate nights to allow valid discussion on both.
Dean had Lisa and Ben mind-wiped? Damn him. It saddens me that the boys world has just gotten a little smaller, again. They really are the Three Musketeers / Amigos now.
Castiel broke the wall, as a [i]distraction??[/i] Castiel, you fucking pup you! Jeez, that should have been an indicator right away that there was no turning back for Castiel. And how on earth was he planning on fixing it later? Did Castiel know the souls would turn him into a God? Though I have to say, Castiel played Crowley BEAUTIFULLY! All the souls, Raphael gone, all in one fail swoop. You might be a pup but your planning skills are awesome.
Poor Bobby’s monster ladyfriend is dead. Awww. ‘Bobby Singer, paranoid bastard’. Bobby, you’ve always been awesome and now you have one of the lines of the season. Kudos, my friend.
The acting all over was amazing. Dean, when he was talking to Lisa and Ben in the hospital. Devastation. And the three Sam’s? Sweet Jesus JP dude, but you can act!
The battle in Sam’s head… I read a fiction yonks ago about Dean having to go into Sam’s head and meeting a truckload of different Sam’s inside there. An absolutely amazing story (made me bawl like a baby. If anyone knows what it is…..) and ever since then I’ve hoped for something like it on the show. So Sam knows what he did as Soulless Sam. He knows what the Cage was like (but we haven’t seen it yet). Thank you, everyone in SPN for this episode. (Actually, did JP not hurt his head when Soulless Sam died cos he that ground an awful wallop?)
Castiel a God? Didn’t see it coming. They’re gonna need a bigger angel killing sword. Tee hee.
Can’t WAIT for next season!
Everything you said and more. I’m still trying to wrap my head around what we saw last night and fit it together with the rest of the season.
And the acting of everyone on this show was stellar. My other favorite line besides the one you pointed out was Crowley’s “And exit stage Crowley!” That one stuck out to me right away.
Definitely will need a re-watch for both as there was so much to take in at one time.
I loved that Balthazar came through for Dean in helping find Lisa and Ben.
I’m not happy that they killed Balthazar off. I really liked his character, he reminded me so much of Gabriel/Trickster. I think he would of made a great ally for the brothers.
I understand Dean’s decision to wipe their memories clean. I feel he did it more for Ben then for Lisa. I think it was an attempt to spare Ben the horrors that he had witnessed. The death of his mother’s boyfriend, seeing his mother being possessed and putting a knife to his throat and then stabbing herself. Having to take a gun and actually shoot people and possibly killing them. Lets face it that was a pretty traumatic experience for a child to go through.
However it still won’t protect them from the supernatural world. Some evil entity can still use them as ponds to get to Dean. They may not remember who Dean is but Dean sure as hell knows who they are.
For some reason though I don’t think we will be seeing them again. I think maybe the Writers/Sera had wiped their memories clean as a way to putting the Lisa and Ben storyline to rest. Maybe they thought killing them off would have been taking it a little too far. I could be wrong of course, but it was just a feeling I got.
Sam facing off his memories was brilliantly done. Kudos to Jared! He was fantastic.
It will be interesting to see how he deals with these memories and how they impact him.
I was surprised Castiel let Crowley go at the end. I thought for sure he was next on the hit list. But I guess Cas has other uses for him.
Castiel! Oh Castiel!
I have to say I’m not sure how I feel about what they have done with him.
I think it’s great for Misha to get a chance to play the heavy and possibly the big bad.
But as a fan of this beloved character, I worry that they have and will take his character to a point where he cannot possibly be redeemed by either Dean, Sam and Bobby or by us the audience. But then maybe that is the plan. Maybe season seven will be Castiels last.
Is it weird that I am this depressed because of a fictional character? I don’t know if there is any way they can redeem Cas next season, but I hope they try rather than just kill him.
I’m not sure how they’re going to stop Lord Castiel. All I can see happening is either Cas comes to his senses or God/Chuck comes and knocks him down a peg. Or maybe Death comes to take care of it.
Oh, Tim the Enchanter, I think the story you’re looking for is Inner Sam by KKBELVIS.
“You know me, you know why..I’m not leaving my brother alone out there.” The most powerful and meaningful line in the entire finale as Sam s about to accept the Hell memories. That is what true family to for another, taking on the pain for the sake of another.
Which is why, in my opinion, Cas was never “family”. Since his arrival he NEVER took accountability and NEVER took responsibility and ALWAYS blames others. And on top of it he would rather sacrifice others as an ends to a mean and once he ran out of sacrificial lambs only then maybe, maybe he will sacrifice himself as a LAST resort. Where as the Winchester brothers would rather sacrifice themselves before all others.
Maybe if Cas actually own his part in actively (and with full knowledge) in bringing on the Apocalypse, then I may be more generous towards him. But he never did and it was the first of the lost list of unforgivable acts on his part. So him declaring himself a god is canon to his characteristics since season 4.
Breaking Sam’s protective mind wall, torturing and killing the monster doctor who never hurt anybody, and then stabbing Balthazar in the back; Cas had already hit irredeemable level, as if he didn’t already when he knew the real Sam was still trapped in hell and yet tried very had to convince Dean to leave his brother in the cage.
I would like to see in season 7 the revisiting of Sam’s memories of Hell and connecting it to Dean’s own memories of hell. Now is the time to deal with BOTH Sam and Dean’s hell trauma. Dean would do anything to help Sam so maybe he could finally deal with his own issues that he ignored all his life. If Dean realizes that he can help Sam by helping himself then that’s progress.
I 100% agree with you. I love Cas to an extent, but I have never seen him come clean with letting Sam out of the Panic Room. If he had simply left Sam in there it is possible they would have never killed Lilith and broke Lucifer free. He has never taken responsibility for that. It does suit his character to have gone dark side and his hubris is the biggest weakness he has—probably has always had.
And I agree with you on Sam taking those Hell memories in the way he did. That’s the brotherly bond at work there. I do think we will see some handling of Sam’s Hell in season 7. Sam is better off with that whole situation than I had thought, but I think it goes to back to what Hell Sam told him: you’re not strong enough to take these memories. It’s the line that gives Sam the strength to take them and function. He’s stubborn when he wants to be. I hope that we see the brothers handle their Hells together, too.