“Holy Crap; That’s BRILLIANT!!!!!”
In my last short outing, I looked at my top (or bottom?) moments in Supernatural when something in an episode took me straight out of the show by being something I simply couldn’t accept. This time out, I’m doing the opposite: I’m going to call out my top moments from the show when a concept in a story flabbergasted me in a very positive way and either made me reconsider things I’d seen before or be stunned by future possibilities.
It goes without saying that the basic premise for the show and the way it was originally executed – including the casting of Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, classic rock music, and the 1967 Chevy Impala four-door – were essential elements that drew me in. I’m taking all those initial creation elements for granted, here; but none of these would exist without those coming first!
- Faith: High-concept philosophy and psychology exploring faith, mission, motives, commitment, sacrifice and Dean’s total lack of self-esteem – his belief that anyone other than he was more worthy to be saved – combined with Sam’s willingness to pay any price to save his brother’s life opened my eyes to levels in the show I’d been missing. Although I’d watched Supernatural from the beginning, this was the episode that made me realize it had far more depth, message, and potential than I’d ever realized or paid attention to. (I’d missed Home, which might have done that sooner) I smacked myself in the head and exclaimed, “How did I MISS all this? I’ve got to see the episodes I missed; I’ve got to see it ALL again!!!” And here I still am!
- Malleus Maleficarum: All demons were once human; they were what remained of human souls who forgot their humanity in the torments of Hell. That was a masterstroke idea, particularly as Dean approached the end of his year and finally began to appreciate the true horror of what awaited him in Hell. It also laid the groundwork for every demon-related development since, including burning bones to destroy a demon like a ghost and potentially “curing” a demon by making it again able to see itself through human eyes and experience remorse for what it had done. There’s still more to plumb from this concept.
- Lazarus Rising to Lucifer Rising, and onward: Angels. I did not see that game-changer coming, especially after having heard Kripke speak at the 2008 L.A. convention, but the introduction of angels to the show’s mythology opened up so many avenues for stories to drive down, and simultaneously fit the existing structure so very well, that the logic seems obvious in retrospect. And angels not being the gentle, beneficent guardians of religiously-inspired contemporary popular culture but instead being creatures of power and pride, many of whom were manipulative monsters, was the perfect development to give the show powerful story-arc legs to carry it potentially many seasons into the future. Angel enemies, angel allies – they could come in all flavors. And we even realized that sometimes, we just hadn’t seen them for what they were: having the Trickster revealed as the archangel Gabriel in hiding was one heck of a twist.
- In The Beginning: Mary was a hunter from a family of hunters! And in the supreme irony, she made the first deal that set the pattern for all that followed, when all she had wanted was to escape the hunting life for normality and family. I loved the whole idea of the Campbells, establishing the existence of families who preserved knowledge and passed on the hunter tradition from generation to generation. I was bitterly disappointed with how the Campbells were used, misused, and thrown away in season six because I thought their potential was utterly wasted. I suspect part of the rationale for that was the writers’ decision to always deny the Winchester brothers any real hope of finding a balance that included both hunting and some semblance of a normal life. In the Winchesters’ world, the decision has always been presented as binary – either you hunt, or you live in the ‘burbs, but you can’t do both. Samuel and Deanna gave the lie to that, and I hoped we’d explore that more. (I finally did that in some fanfic of my own, because the waste bothered me so much.) I’ve got my fingers crossed that my next pick below might allow that to happen a little now …
- Everybody Hates Hitler: The brothers inherit the Men of Letters bunker! I’ll admit I have a lot of issues with the MOL and the Henry Winchester story; organized secret societies that exist for centuries but get wiped out overnight make my eyes roll, and the sudden new family background for John irritated me no end. But I love the MOL bunker itself. It’s Bobby’s house and library, John’s storage unit, and the Campbell family compound’s underground archive all rolled up into one and multiplied exponentially. It can be a source of stories, as it was in this episode; a resource for information and arcane weapons and supplies; a command center allowing central direction and coordination of activities; and a safe house to be intelligently used. Those last two items are particularly scary for the writers. There’s always the fear that having a safe harbor will somehow negate all conflict and danger, but since the brothers have to go outside the bunker to accomplish anything and will never be content to hide just to be safe, I don’t really see that as an impediment to good storytelling. The show has also always shied away from giving the brothers any real, consistent support structure; having Bobby as their go-to research guy also manning the phones to back up their fake IDs was the most they were ever allowed. I hope the writers will explore more of the MOL and let the brothers actually benefit from it. I’d hate to see it destroyed out of some fear that it makes the brothers too powerful or too comfortable, because that doesn’t have to be the case. It’s also one of the most beautiful sets I’ve ever seen, and I’ll bet every director who gets to use it is thrilled because it offers so many different ways to shoot scenes in it. It’s both practical and visually stunning; a tribute to Jerry Wanek’s design and construction and Serge Ladouceur’s gift for lighting.
So, those are my big “Holy CRAP, that’s cool!” idea/concept moments from the seasons so far. Some others grew out of these, like the tablets of the Word of God becoming quest objects and the whole idea of power struggles in Heaven and Hell in the wake of the Winchesters short-circuiting the apocalypse affecting Earth. Some of my “honorable mention” ones include The French Mistake‘s acknowledgment of the existence of multiple dimensions where the rules are different (I wonder if that idea might come back one of these days), and the show’s incarnation of Death as a contemporary of God.
Your turn! Which show concepts caught you by surprise and made you exclaim in happy wonder? Chime in!
Bardicvoice: “Although I’d watched Supernatural from the beginning, (Faith) was the episode that made me realize it had far more depth, message, and potential than I’d ever realized or paid attention to.”
We are so on the same page here. I only found Supernatural part-way through Season 1, but Faith was the very first episode I saw. I was expecting brain candy: two cute guys hunting demons – a nice treat at the end of a long day. For the reasons you cited, I got so much more and as a result I’ve been an avid fan ever since.
One more “Holy Crap” moment (and one that cemented my loyalty to SPN): the demon-driven 18-wheeler T-boning the Impala in the Season 1 finale. It was so well paced (thank you Kim Manners); it made me jump the first time I saw it (and has done so on multiple viewings since) and truly established the term “hellatus.” 😮
I love to read articles like this; thank you so much.
I don’t know if it is possible for me to be more blown away by absolute brilliance than I felt while watching the episode “Swan Song”. IMO that entire episode is brilliant. There isn’t any detail that I would change or could ever hope to improve. That scene in Stulls cemetery beginning when Lucifer beats Dean and then Sam sees the little green Army man in the back seat ashtray of the Impala and takes control back of his body then jumps in the cage is so emotional for me that my breath seems to back up in my throat and I cry like a baby. I still react that same way, and I have watched that episode close to 20 times.
Each time I watch “Swan Song” it feels like a treasure that Eric Kripke crafted and gave to me. There isn’t a superfluous word or detail, everything fits together seamlessly to create such a powerful impact that it feels like a physical blow. I just can’t find adequate words to express how strongly this episode affected me.
This list is pretty well spot on. There are so many things that this show has done that have blown my mind. The conception of Lucifer in “The End” was an outstanding one; the world in “What Is and What Should Never Be”, Dean’s deal when Sam dies and the parallels of this with Sam’s dark, grief driven turn in “Mystery Spot” – yes, there are some moments where the writers have dug deep and not held back when it comes to exploring the depths of the human mind and soul, and how far someone can be pushed. Those are some of my favourite “Holy crap, did that happen?!” moments. The others are the ones on your list, by and large. The only other that I loved was the concept of purgatory. The way it was presented, from the filming technique to the idea of it – I just loved it.
Thanks for this list – so much fun to reminisce about the wow factors!
[quote]I don’t know if it is possible for me to be more blown away by absolute brilliance than I felt while watching the episode “Swan Song”. IMO that entire episode is brilliant.[/quote]
Agreed. One of my absolute favourite episodes, hands down.
Thanks for coming and commenting, folks! I have way too many great episodes and great moments from episodes to do an article of reasonable length, which is why I cast this one as just top concept ideas. *grin* Swan Song is among my favorite episodes for all the reasons you mentioned, [b]suzee51[/b], and the last two minutes of the season one finale put it among the best of all time from all shows, [b]Scullspeare[/b]!
And[b] Elle[/b], you nailed it bringing up the show’s take on Purgatory, and its Dantean incarnation of Lucifer. Bang on!
Oh yes, the way this show has delved into religion and faith concepts right from day one is fascinating.
The whole concept of angels as less than “angelic beings”, the handling of demons and demonic intent vs. evil humans.
Death! He’s such a fascinating character on this show.
Lucifer – both JP and MP incarnations were incredibly well done.
And Swan Song. *sigh* What a deep, deep episode. So many levels, dark and light. Just Wow.
I loved all these but my list would be much longer and sometimes for different reasons. I didn’t holy crap Faith, I was just late to the game, I didn’t have that first moment until Dean reveals what his father told him on his death bed. And you realized WHY he has such a weird attitude about his father’s death. That one wasn’t super surprising, but I think the reason that hit me so much his because the more I thought about the worse it seemed and the better the story became. It had so much incredibly well earned angst and drama.
The same with Dean selling his soul, with both it just wasn’t the actually action, but the surprise of how well it fit within the characters and the story. It wasn’t some random plot device pulled out at the last moment but was built from the pilot. And rewatching the episode just made ALL of them better rather than revealing huge mistakes. I LOVED THAT.
The final thing season 2 did was actually kill the YED. Most shows don’t end things that quickly. Even my adored X-Files dragged some of the main storylines out well past their time. But S1, they found Dad. Then season freaking 2 they killed the demon that killed the mom, which was THE PREMISE THEY STARTED ON. I couldn’t believe that not only did they end things and not ruin the show, but they actually just kept getting better! A show that ends earned storylines even as it expands them. I was in Heaven!
The third moment was the end of MS. Carver not only took a tired idea and made it amazing, but he ended it in a completely scary, game changing way. Sam has never been the same. And for all his independent ways-SAMMY DOESN’T DO WELL WITHOUT DEAN! I was floored.
The other ones you didn’t mention. Actually sending Dean to Hell. WTF. Dean breaking in Hell and breaking the first seal. Sam drinking demon blood. The Books. Oh how I love that episode but especially that they actually again made it work. I would never have thought that was possible. BRILLIANT. Sam letting out Lucifer.
Another one that hit me but that no one seemed to think much about was in Free to Be You and Me. When Sam is trying so hard to be defiant of Lucifer and says he’ll kill himself. And Lucifer just casually says he’ll just bring him back. The look for devastation and fear on Sam’s face spoke a whole story. The show made not being able to die a BAD thing. Sam had NO recourse. NO ESCAPE. He had just made this error of Apocalyptic proportions and his will is the ONLY thing standing between Lucifer and total destruction. I will in such awe of that. Yes their characters died and came back but it didn’t matter because death was no longer the biggest threat. Living was. Amazing.
The season six moment for me was LFoTW when Soulless Sam smirked while Dean was being feed the vampire blood. EFFING TERRIFIC, I went for thinking something was a little off to yelling at the TV. And the French Mistake deserved an Emmy. There’s no way that should have worked without completely destroying the “reality” of the show. But it did. Same with the fairies and the talking teddy bear. Edlund is a mad genius.
And Cas a “God” would have to be up there too.
There are other but this has gotten quite long so I’ll stop 😀
Kelly I love your list!
Swan Song. Kripke’s bringing forward of the role of the Impala – as supporting character, the Winchester brothers’ home, and as a sort of surrogate mother.
In such such a huge car culture as the US, especially in the wide open spaces of the Midwest, he really touched on a universal theme. Most of us have fond car-related family memories. I certainly do. Maybe not great enough for me to wrestle free of Lucifer’s hold, but I’m not a Winchester. 🙂
Thanks, eilf! I kept thinking up more as I wrote.
Definitely agree with book lady about writing the Impala into Swan Song it was perfect.
Nice article. Although they are too many for me, the very first moment. the very first Holy Crap! moment was the whole episode of Home. This really was the episode that made me keep watching the show. The concept of the boys knowing so little about the ”night” that changed their life, Sam seeing his mother for the first time, the boys realizing was an evil force that kill their mother, learning form other people how their father react to the tragedy, wow! so much potential for this show and of course the phone call scene, Holy Crap! that Dean character was more than the kid who likes to kill things, he also cries and the acting! I knew Jensen was a good actor,(since that episode in Dark Angel where he played the killer guy), but that phone call to John, Holy Crap! it was about five seconds and I was crying, Jensen’s single tear, that tear man! and I was hooked!
I was watching a nice looking show, of two brothers killing monsters, that’s it, another TV show, but after Home, I didn’t watch it the same way. I guess that is why it’s a Holy Crap! moment for me.
Bardicvoice – great list of holy crap moments, and the ones in the prior comments are pretty awesome too.
Glad to see you included the Men of Letters bunker/storyline; it’s a testament to a show and everyone involved when they can still have “holy crap” moments in their 8th season. Yes, the retcon on John Winchester and his father made me cringe a little but I’m a little more forgiving. The MOL opens up a lot of fertile ground for storytelling.
Bardicvoice I love your choices which are often the major turning point concepts for the show. But for me it is more little things that make the characters so attractively believable – human flawed heroes I guess – that add together to become ‘wow’ :
I love the point in Faith where Dean doesn’t even try to stop the reaper because he wants the life that is already stolen to go to a more deserving (he feels) person
I love when Sam stops dead in Home and doesn’t scare the kids, but puts them down and tells them to run – you can see he is already caught by the poltergeist but that isn’t his main concern
Sam stands in front of three people he can’t protect in Wendigo, Dean gets between the stepmother and the psychic boy with the gun.
All the points where the brothers check to see if the other one is ok, the constant production of drinks for each other … none of this is important, or necessarily ‘brilliant’ but it is the attention to details and little subtleties that makes a show more than just ‘a horror’ and allows for all the drama that is so fascinating.
For me the real ‘wow that’s brilliant’ episode is ‘the monster at the end of this book’ I don’t think I have ever seen an idea quite like it in TV ever before. The French Mistake is great too but that is pretty much an endless set of in-jokes for the fans. You really have to be invested in everything to do with the show to get it.
With TMATEOTB you can be a first time viewer of the show (with an understanding of genre tv) and you can follow it. It not only explains everything that is going on but reintroduces the characters, shows that the writers are aware of what the fans are saying, makes fun of both the show and the fans in the nicest way possible, has a ‘things are fated to happen’ storyline AND a ‘we are all in a book being written’ storyline, introduces a really cool concept in the idea of the prophets and all of this is BEFORE Lilith shows up….oh and it is truly funny! The squick of the guys discovering Wincest is probably something that a lot of actors / writers would love to do but only SPN could get away with it I think 🙂
I also loved the Soulless!Sam big reveal – that was a wow that’s brilliant moment because it explained everything that had happened in the season to date in a totally unexpected way (well, to me, but I was catching up on episodes when I saw it) and opened the door for plenty more drama.
Anyway the show is pretty much an endless series of wow moments but those are my few….
Thanks Bardicvoice, that was a fun read. I find that when SPN presents an episode that is brilliantly written, directed and acted (which is always!), we get a 42 minute movie gem. And there are quite a few of those to chooce from, thank you very much! 😉
As an aside, I always watch “Home” & “Faith” paired together. They are the perfect bookends. Both make me sad and happy at the same time. I’m so glad I can share this with like-minded people, my friends & family just look at me like I’m nuts when I talk about this show! 😆
My first Wow! moment would have to be the cinematography on the first epiosde. I thought it was outstanding and still looks great 8 years later. That fight in the dark between Dean and Sam said so much about the two of them too.
But for me the best episode of season one would have to be Skin. It was a very deep episode and really brought the brothers characters front and center.I started to “get” them then.
All of season 5 was great for me and the tail end of season 8. I’m glad te MoL bunker was mentioned because I absolutely LOVE it. It’s gorgeous and I would love to visit that set one day. I also loved Everybody Hates Hitler , the episode. It was just a great episode even without the MoL bunker.
But what really does it for me on this show are the one- liners. Yes, Dean gets all the best lines but every now and then we get a little moment from Sam too. (“I lost my shoe.”) A show that can make me lmao and then bring me to tears 15 minutes later is the “shizznickle, right over there”.
I love your list, #7Kelly! and #13eilf most of yours except for I still agree with Kelly about the French Mistake being award-winning.
I don’t know how to comment here nowadays… Forgive me.
[quote]I love your list, #7Kelly! and #13eilf most of yours except for I still agree with Kelly about the French Mistake being award-winning.
I don’t know how to comment here nowadays… Forgive me.[/quote]
Hi L2B, oh I am not dismissing TFM at all – it is one of my top 5 episodes (which I can’t put in any specific order) and is also wonderful 😀 Just the monster…. has the bonus of allowing you to introduce SPN at its best to a newbie (practically every other episode you need some idea of what happened previously).
Having said that, when I showed it to a friend who had never seen an episode her main response was ‘Are those two guys having a deep-voice competition?’
But I stand by my theory anyway.
I love all these examples so much, the greatness of all these episodes and their epic ideas are now running through my head making me want to have a marathon viewing session. Kelly, I love your list! It has pretty much every awesome moment that I can think of as well.
My number one “holy crap” moment was from Heart. I was pretty new to the show at that point catching it casually on re-runs, when I saw this episode. I spent the whole time going “oh, they’ll save her, of course they’ll figure out a way to save her, that’s how these shows always go… the hero saves the damsel in distress at the last minute in dramatic fashion.” But then they didn’t save her. By the end of that episode I was just staring slack jawed at my television set completely stunned. Not only did they NOT save her they actually killed her, they couldn’t figure out a way to save the damsel in distress and killed her instead because they had to, because she was a monster. I couldn’t believe it. I was devastated for her, and for them and became totally hooked on this weird show about two brothers who hunted monsters and rode around in their Impala and grappled with awful moments like this one. To this day, Heart remains one of my all time favs and never fails to bring a lump to my throat. 😥 (And it also has THE BEST rock song underscore of all time 😆 )
E, Heart was great. But the moment that hit me from it was the excellent directing in that last scene when instead of continuing to show Sam they focus on Dean face, somehow that was just even more heartbreaking.
I did think of another I HAD to add revealing the Trickster as Gabriel. The most amazing reconning ever. (at least I’m assuming in reconning since in s2 Kripke has said he hadn’t really thought of going the angel route) That kind of reconning makes me want to bow at their feet.
Too many good things to choose from… The last episodes of season 3 for me, I felt the same as E when she was watching Heart,”It’s just a show, ain’t be that horrible, they are gonna save Dean, it always happens on TV, so any minute now…” It was the first time when I took a TV drama so close to heart, so SERIOUSLY.
And yes, French Mistake. The concept alone is fascinating! The multidimentional universe, the world without magic, where angels lose their powers, godless world, where people are soulless (probably), at least most characters seem selfish, vain and downright bitchy, in short, the world very similar to ours. Safe from any supernatural dangers, but so insipid, pragmatic and cold. I wish I could write, because to me this world opens the whole range of possibilities. There could be a great place here for a new Big Bad the boys have to withstand. Just imagine what kind of mojo he should have to be able to suck dry all spiritual energy out of the whole world! Oh, the possibilities!..
Faith also was my 1st clue that this show was so much more than I could have imagined.
Another wow moment was when Lucifer gently but firmly assured Sam that he would let him in. I was amazed by the way Lucifer was written and what Mark Pellegrino did with it throughout season 5.
Death’s conversation with Dean left me speechless.
Still, the ultimate Supernatural moment for me was the creation of Team Free Will. A show that tackles free will verses destiny with angels and demons? At that moment I, like Castiel when he 1st laid a hand on Dean in hell, was lost. But in a good way 🙂