Dear Jensen – The Triumph of Supernatural’s “The Executioner’s Song”
Dear Jensen,
On behalf of the Supernatural family, I want to thank you for the tremendous gift you gave us in “The Executioner’s Song”. The emotional depth you put into your performance left us breathless.
You conveyed intensity alongside tenderness, and courage that coexisted with fear. You exposed Dean’s vulnerability, then his strength to “do what had to be done”. When Dean admitted that he didn’t expect he’d be facing his final battle so soon, you conveyed the deepest of human emotions, that of confronting our own deaths. The moment was tender, raw and honest, as you gave Dean’s fear a voice. Then, as Dean walked up the stairs into the barn loft to face Cain, you moved slowly, purposely, showing us the warrior who must enter a battle that, regardless of outcome, he knows he cannot win. When Cain overpowered Dean, you showed a brother more horrified by the prediction he would kill the one person he loved the most than by the thought of his seemingly imminent death. The climactic triumph, though, when Dean outmaneuvered Cain to finally gain the advantage, was your portrayal of a Dean torn apart by Cain’s brutal honesty that the bearer of the Mark cannot and will not stop killing on his own. Your eyes betrayed Dean’s pain. Your body’s defeated poise conveyed the torment of knowing that ending one killer would help to create another. Instead of being a trite scene of a victor gloating over the enemy, you filled the moment with Dean’s gut-wrenching conflict. Then after the battle, Dean’s emotional and physical trauma was evident in your deliberate movements that revealed how close Dean was to utter collapse. Your eyes met Crowley’s when you earnestly told him that you had deceived him. In that moment, I couldn’t tell if Dean’s honesty was meant as a confession or a taunt, which wonderfully conveyed the duplicity of the relationship between Dean and Crowley. You then allowed Dean to look at Castiel, taking comfort in recognizing a steadfast friendship. The brilliance of the scene, though, was how you had Dean avoid looking at Sam, because you knew that Dean would fall apart under the weight of the prophecy of what would come. It wasn’t until Dean fell into Sam’s embrace that Dean could let go of the control he had been maintaining throughout the entire ordeal. In just a few seconds, your eyes, movements and breath showed Dean’s sheer need to have Sam carry Dean’s pain, doubts, relief, exhaustion and fear.
All of this had to have taken a tremendous emotional toll on you. If I am not mistaken, you also did your own stunts, repeatedly rolling off punches and diving onto hard ground during the battle with Cain. That meant you had to remain technically vigilant to the demands of the scene while also allowing yourself to channel the extreme tension of Dean’s torment. I just want to tell you that you succeeded masterfully in doing both. From my interaction with fellow fans on Twitter and this website, I know others feel the same way as well.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Timothy, Misha, Mark and Jared also gifted us with exceptional performances. Every line they delivered conveyed their character’s anguish. Timothy was utterly outstanding as Cain. Everything about him brought to life Cain’s long history, embattled conscious and conflicted desire for the Blade. I felt sorry for the Father of Murder, and wished he could have found redemption. I felt Castiel’s empathy for Adam and Eve’s oldest son when Cas tried to understand why Cain was killing again. I felt Crowley’s confused desire to receive love and acceptance from his mother, and his shattered betrayal that Dean had tricked him. Lastly, Jared’s portrayal of Sam’s support for his brother brought a ray of hope to the entire episode. In every scene, Jared delivered a presence of unfailing strength to you, Jensen, and as Sam to Dean. Sam’s heartbreak at watching his brother’s death march was agonizing. To powerfully end the drama, the timing between Misha and Jared in the closing scene poignantly emphasized Sam’s plea “Cas, Dean’s in trouble”.
Behind all these great performances was Robert Berens’ superb script. Fans have waited a long time for the inevitable show-down between the two bearers of the Mark of Cain, but Robert gave us so much more than a fight of good vs. evil. He looked beyond the battle to create a story about the emotional conflict of the doomed warriors. He turned it into a climax for both Cain and Dean’s search for redemption, ending one journey and derailing the other. It was an impressive addition to the list of the series’ best, classic episodes. Congratulations, Robert.
The episode was also immeasurably strengthened by Jay Gruska’s music. His score powerfully underpinned every emotional moment and epic battle. Phil Sgriccia’s direction was also superb, as was Serge’s cinematography and Jerry’s set design. Everyone put forward the best of their talents, creating a masterpiece. Our sincere gratitude goes to all of you.
Jensen, I know you’re not a person who takes bows or lingers on successes, but you should be proud of “The Executioner’s Song”. Your work on Supernatural is always outstanding, but this episode can count itself among the best. Thank you for giving us every last ounce of your talent. We recognize and appreciate your hard work. Your brilliance combined with the awe-inspiring work from an excellent acting partner, supporting cast and top-notch crew, created an episode that was, in short, a triumph.  Â
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Nightsky
Please feel free to add your feelings and reactions to “The Executioner’s Song”. If you were also stunned from it’s emotional impact, please add your appreciation to the outstanding actors and crew we count among our family.
- I’m the Co-Editor-in-Chief, Social Media Manager (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), Live Tweet Moderator, reviewer and feature writer for The Winchester Family Business. Before joining the Supernatural Family, I worked for 22 years at a global consulting firm, but after years of long hours, high pressure and rigorous demands, I quit corporate life to raise my children. After my first Supernatural convention, I was driven to share my shock and awe in a two-part essay that The WFB was brave enough to post, and my second life calling, that of being a writer, began. My first published book, Fan Phenomena: The Twilight Saga was released in late 2016. Please share in my cross-fandom excitement by following its Facebook page @FanPhenomenaTwilight and my personal Twitter account @LSAngel2.  You can read about this whole miraculous transition in my chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood, published in May 2017.
Could not agree more. This show, these actors, the writing and storylines……all are on a level few will EVER reach. The emotional investment fans have the opportunity to experience because of these amazing performances is just one of the many testiments to the unbelievable talent we get to witness. Thank you for all the work and passion you bring.
Thanks Nightsky for expressing so well what so many of us feel.
We are very lucky to have the dedication and talent of all the Supernatural cast. Your moment by moment analysis of Jensen’s performance was just how I felt. Truly remarkable.
It is an awesome episode. So much emotion, so well acted. Thank you all!
A beautiful letter for a wonderful episode. This show just keeps on giving its all.
I agree with your article 100%. The dedication, intensity and professionalism that Jensen brings to the screen is unequaled. This is a gut wrenching show and these guys put us through the ringer almost every week. Jensen’s Dean did just that last night. It was a stunning performance equal to his best (which are too many to list). Thank you so much for this dedication to all the hard work that Jensen (and Jared) put into this show and have for 10 years. They give it all they have. And I love them for it.
I second everything in this letter. This was truly a riveting hour of television & makes me proud to be a fan of this show and its entire cast & crew. Thank you, Jensen! And thank you to Jared, Mark, Misha, Timothy & everyone else involved in this episode!
Nightsky,
Thank you for this letter. I hope someone forwards it to all the folks involved with this amazing episode. Well-deserved congratulations to all!
BookLady
Well said! They all did an amazing job from the actors, the writer and the director but seeing Dean scared and raw … Jensen did such an amazing job I was floored.
Thank you for this Nightsky! Jensen (and Jared, and Misha and Mark) are what keep me riveted to this show. Even the less than sterling episodes. This one was stellar however and Jensen’s acting was outstanding. He, more than any other actor I am aware of, can just tear up the screen with his brilliance. Whether it’s over the top goofiness, very subtle facial expressions, gut wrenching emotions, or humor. He just nails it. It helps when the material is awesome as was this episode. In this episode what was noteworthy was his vulnerability and lack of the usual Dean bravado. It was so refreshing. He dropped his shields a little and it was nice. The Dean I adore. The one I know is always there somewhere under the surface. Bravo Jensen. See you in Seattle in March!:)
Leah – I agree with you 100% and couldn’t say it better.
Thanks Prix.:)
I love how you always seem to get it. I love this letter to Jensen and agree with you on every bit of it 100%. I haven’t posted up here in quite a while because frankly I was just tired of all the negativity but your reviews and articles are always so refreshing and enjoyable to read. Keep up the great work Nightsky.
What floored me is the scene where Cain tells Dean what his inevitable fate would be – ultimately having to murder Sam… and that Cain was sparing him from that by killing him, that the First Blade was the only thing which would prevent it all from happening – you could see the moment of recognition on Deans face/in his eyes that Cain would never stop and he knew he had to end him which would damn himself to all Cain said at the same time. Once he won the fight he tried to get Cain to tell him he’d stop so he didn’t have to go through with it. That final cry before he brought down the killing blow was so heart wrenching and the look on his face afterwards knowing what he just did, that there was no going back… Kudos Jensen. Your acting amazes me more every day.
I have to agree with you there on that scene. That was one of the most disturbing scenes I’ve ever seen on this or any show. It was beautifully written, acted and directed. Just outstanding work by everyone.
I hope this letter somehow finds its way to Jensen as it perfectly expresses what I’m sure most of us felt after watching the episode, I was completely in awe of both Jensen and Timothy particularly, I swear any other network/genre they’d be in the running for an Award also as you say everyone was fantastic including the writer and director. Well done all round.
thing is that jensen is always great, starting from get go (pilot). nobody is so expressive as he, since his eyes/face speak volumes alone, no words needed. add to that body languige, tone of voice & the fact that he becomes the character & you have an actor with capital A. (Edited by Alice. We are only allowing article feedback in this thread. You have other comments about the site, send them to the admin via “Contact Us”).
(Edited by Alice – Trying to keep comments on topic. We are have loose rules in discussion threads, but I’m being strict with this one). …but I believe this author to be genuine and I loved what they wrote 🙂
Sandra, I don’t want to send these comments off on a tangent because I want to send this page to Jensen. I would very much like for him to read our appreciation. I will just answer you that I know this site has the reputation of being biased towards Sam. We do have passionate Sam readers and commenters, but we also have just as passionate Dean lovers. The writing staff truly loves both equally. I won’t try to convince you of that, but it really is true. I invite you to read more of what we post and judge for yourself.
I wrote this letter because I was deeply moved by Jensen’s performance. I rewatched the episode twice before I wrote it to try to absorb and express the feelings it evoked. I assure you, I could only write these words if I truly felt and believed them. I’m not a good enough writer to fake this emotion convincingly. If you agree with what I expressed, let Jensen’s gift be a light in your life. Don’t dim its goodness with bitterness or negativity. The world needs more of the love that he poured into this performance, for us.
Nightsky thank you so very much for putting in words what I felt (and is still felling) while watching this episode.
All the performances in it were magnificent, breathtaking and out of this world..
Again.. thanks for showing us why this show is still on and is still our favorite…(at least it’s mine)
Take care and have a nice Thrusday (and weekend!!)
Clarice;}
Thank you Nightsky!You wrote down all of our emotions beautifully! Please try to send this letter to Jensen himself,or please someone read some of it for him in up coming conventions!
I gotta say how grateful I am to have the chance to be the part of spnfamily, to be the fan of someone who puts his heart and soul on this show every week and he never stops amazing me…thank you SO much Jensen for your brilliant performance as a broken hero…I really can’t thank you enough for the amount of emotions you made me feel with “Executioner’s Song”…thanks for your awesomeness…
Well done Supernatural cast and crew!you ROCK!
Nightsky,I’m agree with each and every word you said and once again, thank you for posting this article!
Taraneh, You are welcome.
I will wait a few days to allow time for more fans to add their love, then I will tweet the link to the letter to Jensen. Two years ago I wrote a similar letter to Jared for “Sacrifice” and then gave it to him at a convention. I know both he and Genevieve read that letter because a few months later they each tweeted me a Thank You. I’m not going to a convention until October (Chicago), but I will give this to Jensen then.
Great! And I remember sometimes you said sth about Jared recognizing that it was you who wrote a letter to him and I remembered how excited I got by hearing that!I really hope this would happen with Jensen too!
And as someone who doesn’t live in US and has a rare chance to go to a convention, I really can’t wait for you to go to ChiCon and give this amazing letter to Jensen!!!!!;)
Thanks again!
Thank you Nightsky, that was beautiful. And thank you to both Jensen & Jared for giving us 100% each and every week. Even after 10 years, these guys deliver the goods to the fans that love Sam & Dean Winchester until the very end.
amen to this. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been blown away by Jensen’s acting, but this episode blew me away. You could tell what Dean was feeling from a simple glance in his eyes. You could feel the fear he had going into the battle. You felt the overflowing love he had for his brother and his best friend. The horror at the thought that he may one day have to kill them. It absolutely broke my heart. Jensen is extremely, extremely talented and he definitely deserves more recognition for it, as do jared and misha. Bravo to all of the wonderful actors in this episode, you deserve to be proud of your work. Amazing job.
I still don’t know what to say. I liked First Born a lot but this topped it with flying colors. J2M2 And Omundson all did a great job and a great writing was part of the reason. I could have said “I love it all” but it would have been really short but quite literal answer. Jensen, you were phenomenal in this episode. Like all the others you give the episodes everything and sometimes it really stands out. “The Executioner’s Song” was one of those episodes. You and Jared always dominate the scene together and Omundson, Misha and Mark, you all worked so well together. The compliment is for all.
I was just speechless after this episode. You guys know how to play with the feels.
– Lilah
JENSEN,
I will just come out and say it, yet again. You are the best actor 30-50 yrs of any nationality. I have been saying this for about 6 years now. My only worry is that you will stop acting. Michael Jordan quit playing basket ball and he came back so there is hope for me still. Yes I know you want to direct and by all means keep doing so but you have a gift and it would be a WASTE OF TALENT if you quit ACTING. A crime against NATURE/universe.
Love your work,
NolaNola
Like Nolanola Jensen, I truly believe you are the best actor I have ever laid eyes on in all my years of movie and tv watching! You can make me laugh or wrench my heart painfully and don’t even have to speak to do it. I noticed you the first time I saw you when you made your first episode of Days. At that time I said to myself “that is the most beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on”. Watched you faithfully there until you left, then lost track as there was no internet then for me. Found you again while watching “Smallville”. Then bought “Dark Angel” and was blown away by your performance as “Ben” and then all of the second season. There was so much more to you than just beauty! You had instinctive acting talent and it showed.
Supernatural has been the best of any tv or movie I’ve ever seen. You are someone I admire, personally and professionally and you never fail to live up to that. The Executioner’s Song was deeply affecting emotionally and you mesmerized me with your performance. Bravo!! You have made me love Dean Winchester and empathize with him as if he was really that person. Never have I shed so many tears for any other character. Thank you.
This was an outstanding episode and would not have been without you, Jared, Misha, Mark and Timothy giving their all, along with the wonderful writing, directing etc etc from all of your amazing crew.
You are blessed with your talent and your co-stars together.
Love you,
Bevie
I admit to being a staunch Sam/Jared girl, but I happily acknowledge the consistent brilliance of Jensen’s performances. This episode was certainly no exception, and quite possibly a stand-out in the entire series. I add my admiration and thanks to Jensen – and the entire cast and crew – for always “kicking it in the ass”.
Nightsky – Just as you did for Jared after Sacrifice, you’ve written a truly lovely and heartfelt letter – Words we would all say, if we had the chance and the ability. Thank you again.
Hey everyone, just a friendly reminder. This is an article that’s a heartfelt homage to an actor we adore. There will be no comments allowed straying from topic, especially comments about bias on this site, anything remotely Jared vs. Jensen, Sam vs. Dean, bashing of any other posters, writers, characters, etc. All comments in this thread must be related to the spirit of the article. Anything that strays will be edited. Thanks much!
Alice,
WOMAN,
🙂 you know your kindness to a luddite like me was NIRVANA :p
thank you so very much for X-ing out Whatever nonsense was coming. ILY SIS.
I too tend to be a staunch Sam/Jared girl (waves at st50!) but Jensen was simply beautiful in this… so heartfelt with just a little of ‘I don’t know what’ in that final scene that made me go “uh oh” and wonder if we’ve seen the last of regular Dean for a while. Jensen and Timothy Omundson had such great chemistry together and that fight scene was fantastic! Kudos to everyone involved in this episode, it’s a standout of the season for me.
Congratulations Jensen on a great episode. You always manage to take everything and anything the writers give you and run with it so well, which considering how eclectic a show Supernatural is, is no mean feat!
Particularly congratulations on the very believable fight sequence with Cain which you really seemed to be doing most of (your side of) yourself, with some hard-looking falls. I hope they were mostly ‘hard-looking’ and not too hard, either way that’s some suffering for your art right there. 🙂
The tough guy, the sarcastic funny guy, and so on. So many personalities of Dean that Jensen has played brilliantly. Then he goes and plays a version of Dean who is truly scared, showing and speaking to Sam who he tries so hard to act the big brother role.
I applaud you Jensen, for you always play Dean perfectly.
Well, this letter is as beautiful as Jensen’s performance in this episode. Like Jared in “Sacrifice”, Jensen laid it all out there. The ability to change expression with just so much as a blink, has always amazed me about his ability. This episode was so well done in every aspect, but it was one of those performances that was memorable in every way. Amazing that 10 years in and these guys, are still able to put such love and devotion into these characters. My heart broke for Dean this week and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season plays out. As always great performances are made even better by those around that role. And Jared was so supportively and protectively perfect here…so few actors can play off each other so well week after week. This show never fails to amaze.
Well said, I agree:)
No one else on this show delivers like Jensen does. No one.
I agree %100 this episode was absolute perfection and I am so emotionally wrecked about Sam ,Dean & Cass . Thank you all for sharing your wonderful talents with us.
I’m running out of words to describe how much Jensen amazes me each week so I’m glad someone else is capable of writing so eloquently how I also feel after watching the performances he gave in this episode. In a fair World where awards aren’t restricted by snobbery of the genre or based on social media promotional tactics he’d have an award for playing Dean Winchester. Jensen I’m sure your talent will be recognised one day but in the meantime know how much fans appreciate your incredible work along with Jared and the whole team.
Thank you for writing this letter to Jensen. I hope Jensen realises how much we appreciate the skill and dedication he brings to giving life to the character of Dean Winchester. He has never “telephoned in” a performance (even after all these years when he knows Dean so deeply and could be forgiven for “sitting back”) and we fans DO see that, for example, in every subtle, fleeting shadow of fear or doubt crossing Dean’s face as he fights with his emotions in a way that mere words in a script would be inadequate to convey, and also in his body language and gestures. During the Dean/Cain fight, I too was impressed at Jensen’s technical ability in throwing himself to the floor repeatedly (and indeed his willingness to do that instead of relying on a stunt double). That’s another example of how far he cares about his character and the show. My appreciation extends equally to Jared – we are incredibly lucky to have two such talented leading men who show such dedication to their characters, about whom we (and, transparently, they) care so much.
I watched the Oscar awards show last night and listened to the reasons why the awards are given…. we are moved, inspired, transformed, united in humanity. Well then the Oscar/ Emmy should go to Jensen for this mesmerizing, intense, beautiful, emotionally connecting performance in this episode. This is not his first outstanding performance; to name just a few: Faith 1.12, Devil’s Trap 1.22, In My Time of Dying 2.01, What is and What Should Never Be 2.26, All Hell Breaks Loose I & II, Long Distance Call 3.14, On the Head of a Pin 4.16, The End 5.04, Sam Interrupted 5.11, Dark side of the Moon 5.16, Swan Song 5.22 Hello Cruel World 7.02. Dean is my my most beloved character, transcending to the heights of great literature with the gift of visualization and interpretation through Jensen. I cannot help thinking that only a genuine, well grounded, intelligent, humorous, good person can give life to such an awesome character. It is true the character of Dean could be the subject of a dissertation, I love all aspects. I would say to Jensen that he excels at his craft and truly has left an indelible mark with his art. Your work is loved and appreciated and has made a difference to life, culture, and people- many of us you will never know or meet but nevertheless have touched. Best Wishes for your continued success and well- being on and off the screen.
Great job by everyone once again. Brought tears to my eyes (again!). I still don’t understand why these guys don’t have a room full of Emmys!
Happy Birthday Jensen. I hope you are having a lovely day with your beautiful family and friends.
What a beautiful letter Nightsky you always know how to write exactly what we all feel. I would just like to say a big THANK YOU to Jenson as well for a wonderful performance & all SPN for one of the best episodes – although there is many – the pain I get every time I watch this episode never dims. The sheer pain on Sam’s face when he watches his brother walk away, possibly never to see his brother again, the concern and caring of a friend Castiel and even a little of something from Crowly. WOW heart renching. xxxooo. Just a simple Thank You desn’t seem enough
I really don’t understand why the boys ( Jared & Jensen ) don’t get the accolades they deserve from the film industry.