Mini Review – “Faith”
I did a full recap of “Faith” during the last hiatus because it’s one of those early episodes that had a deep impact on season four. It’s the first episode to introduce Dean’s issues with God, something that went from the background to foreground in a big way. I think Castiel had something to do with that. Still, I don’t think “Faith” is an outstanding episode. It has some great lines, it’s a very interesting character study on Dean and his issues with low self esteem surface. He also doesn’t handle guilt well at all. However, despite this very emotional look at the older brother, the episode itself is very uneven. Layla is too freaking annoying for me because her sugary crap doesn’t blend well with Dean. Her mother is the worst actress in the world, and I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when you’re rooting for death for a character like Sue Ann LeGrange, she didn’t make a good impression.
I love just about every scene Dean is in, especially his wise cracking to Sam in the hospital. I still want to see him hunt that damned fabric softener bear. One Sam scene though really blew me away. It’s when he plays the game of “talk to John Winchester’s voice mail.” He’s so crushed, so heartbroken over Dean’s imminent death and just needs someone to be there for him. Sadly, no one is. This is one reason why I still have issues to this day with John. Man did he let these boys down big time.
There’s a line between the brothers that’s so relevant today it’s scary. Sam asks Dean “You know evil’s out there, how can you not believe that there’s good too?” Dean, like if he’s a prophet or something, answers, “Because I’ve seen what evil does to good people.” Oh, you mean like when someone you know embraces the evil powers inside of him in order to kill an evil being and only ends up starting the apocalypse? I could be reading too much into that, but maybe not. There’s another line that plays a big part to this day too. When Dean asks Reverend LeGrange why he saved him, he replies because he saw “a young man with an important purpose, a job to do. And it isn’t finished.” Yeah, like stopping that nasty apocalypse.
If anything stands out with “Faith,” or at least the most talked about scene, it’s the outstanding montage between Sam and Dean in the motel unraveling the mystery, Reverend LeGrange healing someone, and a woman being chased in the park by the grim reaper himself, all to the middle section of “Don’t Fear The Reaper.” This is why classic rock impacts this show in such a profound way, taking something normal to outright memorable. Without “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” we would have felt nothing.
My overall grade still stands at a B. This episode really showed a lot of promise for what’s to come.
If anyone is interested in the full recap, it can be found here:
Hi Alice,
I agree with your assessment of this episode. It is one of my go-to episodes of season one, despite the fact that it isn’t top notch. I enjoy Dean’s character development in this episode which is primarily the reason I rewatch it so much. I agree that Layla was a bit to far on this side side of nice and I have trouble believing Julie Benz in any role that isn’t deliciously-evil vampire.
I wonder just how much they told her to play nice simply because most fans (I’m assuming) of this show would be primarily familiar with her brilliant (okay, Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest was kind of ‘eh’ ’til they figured her out) role as Darla.
Normally, I like my villains to have some complexity, but I didn’t mind rooting for Sue Ann to get her bucket kicked because I can’t stand religious fanatics. Go, reaper, go!
And yeah, this is the number one moment that shoots a giant hole in my “John ain’t that bad” theory. How could you NOT call, Azazel be damned (too late).
(Don’t Fear) The Reaper is a song that simply cannot be heard enough. No such thing as being overplayed. I wish I would’ve written it, a pox upon thee, Donald Roeser.
Alice, that line ‘a young man with an important purpose..’ kept haunting me ever since I had watched that episode for the first time. Then I had no idea, of course, how this might become connected to a future story line (oh, hello Michael), but already noticing that Supernatural was going to take some breathtaking turns, I was excited and terrified…
And – I’m right there with you – this was the first episode I felt the unmistakable urge to nail John Winchester to a wall. When your son who hasn’t tried to contact you for a while suddenly calls you, obviously shaken up to the core, don’t you think it’s desperation? Don’t you want to see your other son who is dying at least one more time? Where are those nails…?
8-), jas
Hi Alice
I always liked this one and I liked Layla, syrup and all.
Dean’s classic lines.
I loved seeing Sam so protective of Dean.
Helping him to the chair when Dean first shows up at the motel.
When they first arrive at LeGrange’s, Sam trying to help Dean get out of the car. Of course Dean pulls away.
When inside the tent Sam grabs onto Dean’s shoulders and directs him to a seat in the front. Dean pulling away ‘Dude get off me’.
As for John not even calling Sam back to see if Dean was ok.
I ‘m with Missouri ‘John Winchester I could just slap you!’
This is another of my most loved episodes. It brings me to tears every time. Dean is so resigned to dying and accepting of it, it is so heart rending. And Sam is so very desperate to save him. His call to Big Daddy is heart breaking and made me so angry at John I wanted to strangle him!
I liked Rev. LeGrange. I think he is a good man and somehow he did connect with God who told him about the young man who had a big job to do and needed to finish it.
So sad for Dean thinking he didn’t deserve to live while others died. I thought Layla was sweet and I always like the ones who are kind to Dean. He gets that so seldom!
Another A++ from me.
I love this episode. It’s the episode where I finally fell head over heels in love with Sam, and it’s because of this.
Dean: I’m going to die, and you can’t stop it.
Sam: Watch me.
It was definitely a huge episode for Dean, but it was an important piece of foreshadowing for Sam too…the fact that as well-adjusted as he was on the surface, there was a Dean-sized hole in his healthy psychological development! This was when we first saw a glimmer of “do what it takes and don’t ask questions” that became much more relevant in Season 4.
Great mini-recap, Alice. I remember liking this episode a lot when I watched it the first time, but upon a second viewing, I cooled toward it a bit. I still enjoy it a lot, though, mostly for Dean’s character developments. I think it was also good to see Sam in the protector role this time around. We all know that Sam loves his brother that much, but it’s always nice to be reminded of it.
I’m with most of you in that I was so angry at John in this episode. Poor, poor Sam! When John did these sorts of things, it just made it even harder for me to see how much Dean worshipped the guy. John! Talk to your children! Ugh!
I loved this episode. This and ‘Dead in the Water’ are comfort episodes for me from Season 1. I love the brotherly moments and I didn’t mind Layla, but her mother, well, she’s another story.
And then there is John. We all know he was a lousy father but you still can’t help but love him. And yes, him ignoring Sam’s phone call is unforgivable. I just wish it would have gotten a little more attention than it did when it was brought up in ‘Salvation’, after the boys told John about Sam’s psychic dreams.
Yeah, this one is a really good eppie. It took me some time to start appreciating it ’cause I still can’t really grasp on Leyla and her mother, they just bug me (and I kept waiting for Darla fang out and jump Dean *snort*). Julie just didn’t work for me here, and the lady playing Leylas mom was as sympathetic as a wooden plank. But the brotherly -moments (and the tunes!!) were awesome. Most of it was just dead on (excuse the pun) and it worked!
I absolutely loved this episode, everything, the look, the story, including Layla, I actually responded quite positively to her. The ending scene where Dean says he’ll pray for her gets me every time. But yeah, your kid’s dying John, what’s the deal? Always wondered what in the world Dad could’ve been up to that he didn’t respond to something like that