Ramblings On “Supernatural” Episode 8.01: “We Need to Talk About Kevin”

“I think Dad wants us to pick up where he left off. Saving people. Hunting things. The family business.”

And…we’re back! After what was the longest hiatus ever (or at least it felt that way), “Supernatural” returned for its Eighth Season on its new night, Wednesday at 9pm EST, 8pm C. I was hoping to get my review up sooner, like at the latest Friday night, but a couple things happened–like a writing workshop focusing on pushing through an idea and, quite honestly, a fear that I wouldn’t do the episode justice, because Jeremy Carver is back and the premiere gave us so much to think about!

When Carver left at the end of the Fifth Season I remained positive. Hey, sure losing Jeremy Carver was going to hurt. Remember the nome du plume that Chuck used in writing his “Supernatural” series–Carver Edlund? Well, Jeremy is where they got the Carver part. A fan favorite writer that gave us the Samulet and Dr. Sexy, but turned around and gave us some of the most gut wrenching, angst ridden episodes as well, Jeremy left “Supernatural” to work on his own project with his wife Anna Fricke. I hear she is still one of the show runners for Being Human (US) and Jeremy left to be showrunner for us.

The episode was directed by someone who needs no introduction, Robert Singer, who was parodied in Season Six’s Episode “The French Mistake” portrayed by Brian Doyle Murray.

This will be my first season writing reviews for The Winchester Family Business, but I have been writing reviews since Season Five’s “99 Problems.” Unfortunately, the website I wrote for, http://saltedandburned.com has shut down. I don’t have copies of most of my reviews, but between the two lap tops I wrote on I may be able to dig up some old reviews, and the second half of Season Seven is posted on my personal blog if you are interested. I’m excited for the opportunity to write here though with so many wonderful writers I now get to share ideas with…Many of whom I have either met, or will be meeting in a few weeks in Chicago!

The episode starts of with a flash of light and a couple of very scared campers in Maine. A very tense and dirty Dean Winchester is here! But he doesn’t know where here is, and the campers seem too in awe to help him other than to tell him that the road is 12 miles that way. Next thing we know it is four days later and Dean is fidgeting with his arm…somehow the D-Train has gone all “Prison Break” on Purgatory with someone who hitched a ride. Sam, in Kermit, Texas, leaves a woman and a dog in the middle of the night to meet Dean at Rufus’s cabin. Dean has been in Purgatory for a year. Sam has not been hunting. And where is Kevin?

And on to the analysis:

Each year I eagerly await the “Supernatural” title card. I think this may be my favorite title card after Season Six’s. With the strange language showing up over the “Supernatural” wording we know that those God tablets are going to be important this year. In fact this has been confirmed that the storyline is back to an angels and demons one. Although it doesn’t seem like the Season Four and Five variety…I’m thinking further back…Carver has given us a tiny preview of that in “The Road So Far” section, with it starting with Dean giving what may be some of my favorite words of the series–“I think Dad wants us to pick up where he left off. Saving people. Hunting things. The family business.” Dean is about ten years older now (the one year jump between five and six and the one year jump between seven and eight). He’s more mature. He’s not a kid anymore. But how he feels about hunting, how he finds himself fitting into the broad scheme of things, feels closer to how he started out–ready to start that road trip with his brother, taking over the family business.

Likewise, Sam seems to be closer to where he was at that time as well. He doesn’t have the attitude against his father and brother the way he did early on in Season One, but he has found something, like when he had Jess, and is looking to a future that doesn’t include being brutally ripped apart by the things that go bump in the night. Sam just seems tired more than anything of it and in need of a break…but more on that later. I’m supposed to be writing about the “Road So Far” sequence!

Clearly the episode started with that line for a reason. Also in the sequence we see the Impala’s glorious return in the Season Seven Finale showing us that she is back for good (and no outward signs of Sam-douchery either…except for the faint smell of dog). Brothers on a road trip. Baby is valid to these interests. And did you catch that Sam fixed up the Impala?

Another thing that struck me in this opening was that over Locomotive Breath (so awesome that was used by the way. I listened to it about sixty times in a row on Thursday at work) Bobby’s comment about when it is your time, just go was heard. A little foreshadowing as to why Sam wouldn’t have looked for Dean? It seems like Sam figured Dean was dead and that he was at peace for the first time in his life. Maybe the best thing he could do for Dean was let him go. Would bringing him back into this just be selfish? Sam genuinely didn’t seem to know Dean was in Purgatory. I think Sam thought that Dean had died in the explosion of Dick (heh, heh). Maybe Sam thought Dean must have gone wherever he was destined to go. When he found out Dean was in Purgatory, he sounded surprised. I don’t think the thought even occurred to him.

Of course there is a part of me that wrestles with seeing Sam’s decision to just close shop and do…wait, what was he doing for a job? Guess we’ll have to see on that one! All we know is he was driving around aimlessly and hit a dog. I suppose it is too early to say I dislike Amelia, but my first impression of her is not favorable…Very odd that she watched him leave and didn’t say anything. Either they had talked about him leaving, or she knew eventually he would leave. There has to be a story there. And I’m sure there is a story for Sam. Back to my initial question about Sam closing shop…I think the fact that Sam didn’t even bother to look for Dean (by his own admission), and that he left loose ends, bothered Dean more than Sam stopping the family business. Especially considering how into the work Sam had been by the end. Dean was the one that was struggling, but his trial by fire and apparent abstinence of everything from girls to bacon cheeseburgers (and best, booze) gave him a sense of self and purpose we haven’t seen in a long time. And this time it isn’t fueled by his need to make Dad proud. He’s come back for himself. Kinda like when Agassi came back to tennis…but I digress…

What I wanted to point out was that Dean took a year off hunting as well, when he was with Lisa and Ben. He didn’t stop looking for Sam though, even though he promised he would. I guess this initially stung, but what I feel I have to point out is that Dean KNEW Sam was in Hell. He knew that Sam was Lucifer and Michael’s chew toy in the box. I think it will take some time, but Dean will get past Sam not looking for him because of these reasons. I think that Dean’s focus on Kevin is because for Dean this is really where his problem with Sam’s behavior is–When Dean walked away from the life, Bobby was alive and they went their separate ways. Cas was alive and going back up to Heaven to see if he could make some sense of the craziness (a battle Dean couldn’t really help him with). The Apocalypse was averted and Lucifer was back in the cage. Things were kind of complete–with the exception of Sam and Adam being trapped in the cage with Lucifer and Michael. That last part is what Dean struggled with.

In the situation with Dick, however, Crowley took Meg and Kevin and took off. Crowley had THE PROPHET. The King of Hell had a Prophet of the Lord. Dean and Cas were gone with no part of them remaining in the room. The head Leviathan was gone, but leviathans still roamed the earth as a “new” monster of nightmares. In other words, the world was in shambles. And Sam just…quit? So I could theorize all day on that one. But I will leave it at…what exactly did Sam find that justified quitting to him?

Did you see that shadowy silhouette when Sam was leaving? Here’s the thing…I don’t think Crowley for a minute lost track of where Sam was. I think he was just sitting on him. He probably had some kind of a restriction on touching him–Crowley has cleared the boys’ path regarding demons before. It could be something else, but since like Meg has said, “It’s always about Crowley”, my guess is it is him. Maybe someone has been Sam’s little guardian making sure he doesn’t have any visitors (of the supernatural kind) that might draw him back into the life. Keep him lazy and out of practice. When the demon inhabiting Channing makes the old fashioned call, she first brings up that the Prophet has not showed up, but that the person on the other end should know that Dean Winchester is back. My guess is that is what Crowley was waiting for.

I would put money on Crowley knowing EXACTLY where Dean Winchester was for the year, and waiting to see how it was he re-emerged. Crowley may still have his sights on Purgatory and those souls…of course he could have his sights on something else…Since everything (besides Dean and Cas) in Purgatory are only the souls of the dead and their actual corporeal forms are buried rotting on Earth somewhere, they would need to hitch a ride to get out. The souls in Purgatory IN PURGATORY feel very corporeal, but my guess is it is kind of like the hollideck on Star Trek–when on the hollideck, you can be physically abused by the images, but they cease to exist outside the deck. No portal will open for them and just let them out. They need to ride something alive, get top side, and then get back into their body. I thought what happened with Benny was very interesting…and I wonder if more than just monsters could do something like that. Remember that Cas didn’t really burn Crowley’s bones in “Caged Heat”, so CROWLEY STILL HAS THEM. Could Crowley potentially bring his body back? What would he be then? Human? a human demon? part monster? And since Dean has been in Purgatory for a year, would his blood qualify to open the portal again? Like when Bobby’s ex got through?

Crowley having an escape plan will, potentially, become very important if Sam, Dean and Kevin are successful in closing the Hell gate permanently. This is the goal of the season and presumably, Crowley doesn’t know because he can’t read the tablets. But Crowley is smart….if the tablet has information about opening the Hell gate, it stands to reason there would be information about closing it well…

Just brainstorming here! But suffice it to say there is a lot to play with!

Going more into Dean and Benny’s friendship, I think this is going to be very intriguing to the storyline. This whole friendship with an enemy thing is very new for Dean, but war makes for strange friends. First, their departing from the scene of Benny’s resurrection seemed very prison break like. They got out! And now they have to go their own separate ways. I loved that Dean noticed in Purgatory that Benny said to trust him, then said not to trust anyone. The fact that Dean noticed and commented on makes me so happy. It was that Ruby 1.0 moment that I just felt Dean needed to be smarter about and wasn’t. He should have known when Ruby said something similar that she was including herself in the “don’t trust demons” line. Dean has learned from his mistakes.

A part of me felt that the hug between Benny and Dean was warmer than the hug between Sam and Dean. It was warm, but the “let’s do this” part was almost like they had to, instead of wanted to. Maybe it was because the Benny and Dean hug was more they’ve come through something together and made it and Sam and Dean is seeing each other after a long way apart and not sure how to react. Sam and Dean have a chasm of experience and changes between them. They will need to build a bridge over it. I’m glad that while there is this chasm between the brothers, Dean does seem to (begrudgingly) have someone he can talk to.

Although, really the relationship seems more like even though Benny is older than Dean, Dean is falling into the big brother role again. Which leads me to Benny’s call. Benny called Dean while he was watching a funeral. Was he looking for strength the way an alcoholic would call their sponsor when they are in a tight spot? Is Benny looking in a sense to Dean to help him find his humanity again? We know Benny hasn’t been top side for 50 years and we don’t know how long it has been since he was human. Benny seems to look up to Dean’s resilience and his attitude. I love when he comments on how Dean was right about Purgatory being “pure” and that he wished that he had appreciated it more like Dean had. I guess if we think about it, Dean was raised just for that kind of thing. Purgatory was all combat all the time and Dean was raised as a soldier… like that Metallica song “Disposable Heroes”.

But Dean not only didn’t tell Sam about Benny, but actually hid the call from Sam completely, masking it as a wrong number. Did you notice in the episode even Dean’s comments are tougher/ruder? So you put your peanut butter in her chocolate, and then hittin’ the head? Dean is still in soldier war mode. But why is Dean hiding Benny? Is it because he is afraid Sam wouldn’t approve and he doesn’t want to go into things? The conversations between Sam and Dean were choppy in the sense that both boys are hiding things. Both are hesitant to let the other know just how much they’ve changed. Sam assures Dean he is still the same guy while Dean admits he is a different person than he was when they last saw each other. Sam made it sound like he and Amelia are over, Dean just didn’t even go into how he got out of Purgatory.

A few side comments:

Yes, we have seen Benny before, or rather, we’ve seen Ty Olsson before. He played a vampire named Eli back seasons ago. I’m actually surprised that a show that has 150 episodes hasn’t recycled more actors than they have. Friday the 13th: The Series only had three seasons and reused extras every few episodes! Ty is on twitter by the way. Follow him @tyolssen

I loved the sepia almost Frank Miller feel to the Purgatory scenes. That is all.

KEVIN KEVIN KEVIN!!! I was so loving him in the episode. My favorite Kevin moment? “There’s a demon in you and you’re going to your safety school.” At least he didn’t say “there’s a demon in you, and worse, you’re going to your safety school”. That would have made him Hermione. Poor Kevin was under fire this past year as well! He had to fight for his life on his own because he couldn’t find Sam and Dean. Poor Channing is gone now, and Kevin appears to have similar issues to what Sam has had since Season One. Destiny kills his girlfriend and has big plans for him. Food for thought–Anyone else hearing Princess Leia in the background saying “They let us go. It’s the only explanation for the ease of our escape.” Crowley would be tricked that easily by Kevin? I figure that Crowley probably was waiting for Kevin to lead him somewhere. And now, with him killing Channing so easily not even touching her, but letting Sam, Dean and Kevin go? There’s something up.

And what about Cas? Dean said he saw enough…did he go all Marlon Brando in Apocalypse, Now? I am fairly confident that he is alive. The spell would only work on humans and probably allow the one tagalong. My guess is that Dean chose to take Benny and leave Cas in Purgatory. Cas couldn’t have gotten out on his own with the spell because he isn’t human, even though his Jimmy body was in Purgatory with him. Did Dean see Cas as having degraded too far and feel it was safer for the world and Heaven if Cas remained in Purgatory? Also Cas held all these souls captive in himself. Many could have had a personal vendetta against him, some might have developed Stockholm Syndrome.

Um…Dean…just wow. You may or may not have noticed all the caps of Dean muddy and dirty–and the directly above one showcasing those great bow legs. Our edgy ex-Purgatory!Dean has me all kinds of hot and bothered. And I so tried to keep the Dean swoon to a minimum. Sam girls, Sam looks sensational too…although I do feel his hair is a bit long.

The stage has been set for all kinds of things, and all I can do is theorize where this is all going to go. Let me know what you think about the boys and their new quest!

Screencaps taken from http://homeofthenutty.com/supernatural/screencaps. Songs used in this episode included Jethro Tull’s Locomotive Breath and Styx’s Man in the Wilderness.