kate38
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“Tricia Helfer as Molly is SO perfectly believable as someone who is scared and lost and confused that it really kills me. She is easily the star of this one and Sam and Dean are playing more supporting roles (especially Dean).”
WOW! I SO agree here! Tricia did an amazing job of showing Molly’s fear, vulnerability, and heartbreak. That final scene, when she sees her husband alive and with a new wife, just kills me. Can any of us imagine that?! I’m so glad that the episode ended with Molly calmly walking into the sunrise and into a peaceful ever after.
kate
I like the plot twist/reveal at the end of this one. It’s what I remember first when I think about the episode. The atmosphere was also PERFECT throughout – cold, snow, rain, dark, depressing, spooky cabin, creepy ghost dude, and a story that kept me guessing – this episode checked off all the right boxes in that regard. The lighting in that last scene was also gorgeous! I don’t even care if it was CGI; it didn’t look it to me 😊.
In retrospect (i.e. when I rewatch) it’s hard to not pity Molly. It was also nice to see a spirit go peacefully instead of flaming away like most of them do.
I like Sam’s explanation for vengeful spirits and how they hang on, etc. It’s a rare early-season Sam moment that I enjoy watching. However, I thought this writer (Raelle Tucker) tried too hard to show the contrast between the brothers, though – Sam having pity for ghosts and Dean seeming to have none. It felt clunky and heavy handed. That’s kind of unlike her. I normally like her writing.
Side note: I guess Raelle had to suspend the show’s canon/reality in order to make us believe that Molly wasn’t a ghost the whole time, but what’s up with her opening and closing doors by herself, moving branches out of her way, and doing other things that ghosts wouldn’t do? I guess I give the writers some latitude on this one. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to fool us.😊
kate
“The part between the brothers was the best part. Love how smart Bobby is. That he saw Sam and Dean’s behavior as the biggest clue. And why is it so much fun to see Sam and Dean yell at each other??? I mean, not like it is in the “you leave, you never come back” way of later episodes, but in this one, I loved watching them lose it with each other. They even apologized at the end, though, yes, Bobby is right; don’t stop and talk and apologize while you want to get out of there before the cops find the body of the Trickster!”
You’re right, JBB!
Watching the brothers argue in this one was fun — for me it was because we knew there wouldn’t be any real consequences. As you said, it’s not like they’re gonna fight and separate or anything like that. This was harmless — maybe like the practical joke episode a while back.kate
I’ve never been a giant fan of Gabriel/Trickster/Loki. He was fun for a short time, but I found him tedious after a few episodes. That said, this episode was probably the most fun I’ve had with that character in the whole series. I think I prefer Richard Speight, Jr. as a director (I really liked “Stuck in the Middle With You”) than as any of the characters he’s played in this series.
RSJ aside, I kinda’ like the concept of a “Trickster”. A being that can manipulate reality, and seeks to punish evildoers and bullies would’ve been fun to explore further. I’m disappointed that in Supernatural canon, the Trickster never really existed aside from being a cover story for Gabriel.
Plot armor alert: I’m sure Sam has seen plenty of alligators (wink, wink), so he could immediately identify a belly scale embedded in the remains of a dead guy. That scene would’ve had more credibility if Sam had recognized the object as some sort of reptile scale, and then later he researched it and realized it was from the belly of an alligator.
There are a few things I liked about this episode:
I chuckle at the HILARIOUS differences in the stories the brothers are each telling Bobby from their own perspective. Of course, I’m sure the truth lies someplace in the middle, as if often does. But the fact that the brothers saw and interpreted those situations SO differently makes me chuckle every time.
I LOVE how Bobby came to their rescue, and how he IMMEDIATELY figured out what the problem was.
I enjoyed the chemistry between Jensen and Jared in this one, and the fun dynamic between the brothers. They’ve learned how to push each other’s buttons artfully! And being on the road together all the time MUST expose some of both brothers’ most annoying habits and quirks. I chuckle when Dean is eating chili fries on Sam’s bed! That scene always makes me want chili fries. (Dang! Just thinking about it makes me want chili fries. BALLS!)
The wordless apology at the end was very sweet. The eye contact, the timing, the mutual (wordless) agreement to not make each other say the actual words. So adorable. And I LOVE Bobby’s response: “You guys are breaking my heart. Could we please just leave?” LOL!!
I try to not take this episode too seriously. I think it was the writers having some fun. For that purpose, it was okay enough.
kate
“I really wish the song the frat boy was dancing w/ the alien to was “Dancing in the moonlight “.”
Hiya, Mckicat! Welcome to our wiki 🙂
I agree! “Dancing in the Moonlight” would’ve been funnier and more appropriate 🙂
…or for even more fun, Sinatra “Fly Me to the Moon”?
kate38
I will NEVER get tired of seeing Big Brother Dean to the rescue! Although it seemed (probably just my impression) that he hadn’t slept for days, he doesn’t even begin to relax until he knows he’s found Sam and he thinks Sam is okay. He smashes Steve Wandell’s computer, wipes all Sam’s prints, and does everything he can to protect Sam from the law and other hunters. Protective Dean makes my meatsuit all dewy 😉 😉
I like how this one was written. We (the audience) find out what happened essentially at the same time Dean is finding out. I like how the clues slowly reveal what’s going on. I also like the shocking reveal at the bar with the holy water.
When I list/recall the funniest one-off witnesses in the whole series, the convenience store guy makes my top ten. He’s so funny and pissed off! And the actor totally sells it.
It’s interesting that Sam confessed having feelings of rage and hate “for a few weeks”, but he was only possessed for about 1 week. That suggests that some of that rage is just plain Sam. Maybe the emergence of Azazel and the other psychic kids had something to do with amplifying Sam’s negative feelings? Much later, in “Sam Interrupted”, Sam confessed that he spends a lot of time being angry without knowing why. I suspect that’s just an aspect of Sam’s personality. I’m not even sure I can blame the demon blood for all of it.
When Dean and Sam are talking and Sam tries to convince Dean to kill him, Meg emerges at some point and knocks Dean out. I wonder how much of that conversation was Meg talking and not Sam.
I like the song that plays when Sam arrives at Jos’s bar, and I miss Dean’s cell phone ring tone. I also like the patch-up scene. Jensen TOTALLY sold that!
Sam was possessed for a whole week, but didn’t leave sulfur trace anywhere? Also, aren’t demons trapped inside a devil’s trap supposed to be powerless? Meg broke the devil’s trap while inside it. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a devil’s trap? Were those plot armor moments? Or maybe careless writing?
kate
“When Jo is patching Dean up later I thought her question about whether or not demons lie or tell the truth was mostly about her father’s death, but on rewatch it seemed like she was only asking to see if Dean’s feelings for her were platonic like the demon said or not.”
Hmmm…I guess I always thought it was primarily about her father. But you’re probably right that it was about both things.
kate
“Watching it with my spouse, when Sam shows up at Bobby’s and Bobby tests him with the holy water beer, my spouse asked how Bobby knew. I wasn’t sure; except that Bobby kind of tests everyone and he’s very smart. It seemed that Dean did not get the chance to tip off Bobby because they made a big show of Meg/Sam cutting the phone line to Bobby’s…so he wasn’t tipped off. I think Bobby is just that smart; knew Sam was “off” and thought it was weird that he showed up without Dean. Maybe Sam and Dean never “stop by when in the area” as Sam said he was doing and that let him know.”
Interesting. I always thought that Dean did successfully get a call through to Bobby. At least we hear the phone ring a few times, then suddenly cut off. Bobby would’ve known that Sam had gone missing – I’m sure Bobby would’ve been one of Dean’s first calls for help. So I suspect that with Sam missing, a phone call abruptly cut off, and the suddenly dead phone line to the house would’ve been more than enough to make Bobby suspicious when Sam suddenly showed up at his door.
kate
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“And I LOVE Dean clocking Sam one in the end. I can totally feel him knowing that it’s not SAM’S fault, but he’s pissed as hell anyway for what he’s been through with this whole mess. HA!”
LOL! I love that, too! I remember reading that Jensen did that as an ad lib, and the director liked it, to they kept it in the final cut. That’s SO Jensen 🙂
kate
“On another side note: HOW did Dean get away from the final “accident scene” with a witness there and doubtless police on the way? They would have retained him and found out his “wanted” status, no?”
Yep! I chalk that one up to plot armor 🙂
“On a side note, would THAT behavior even after death would get him to heaven? He didn’t flame or fritz out, he actually looked like he was going to heaven, right?”
Great question, PNP 🙂
The way Catholic teaching goes, if you repent/apologize at the moment of death, you can still get to heaven because you repented, so God will forgive your wrongdoings. I think Father Gregory was hanging on here because he thought vengeance was his mission. But once Father Reynolds convinced him that he was NOT an angel and that vengeance was wrong, Father Gregory let go of his tether here and went to heaven.
For the record, that was NOT Catholic last rites. That has always annoyed me a little bit.
kate
“So…what was really going on? Was God informing the dead priest? Or was the priest’s spirit working on knowledge he gained from these people in confession about the bad things they were planning to do or wanted to do? Trying to stop them before the did it. It would all have been okay if it didn’t turn other “regular” people into murderers. It sounded like the spirit of Father Gregory promised them redemption for carrying out his requests to kill bad people. Was that a real promise? Or was he promising something he couldn’t deliver?”
I don’t think God was involved at all. I think Father Reynolds prayed for deliverance from the violence going on in the neighborhood. Father Gregory (who can apparently read minds — a gift I don’t think I’ve seen in any other spirit in this show) thought he was answering Father Reynolds’ prayer when he decided that he was an avenging angel and started coercing people into committing murder. I think you’re right that Father Gregory got his information from confessions.
What’s always made me curious is why Father Gregory chose certain people to commit the murders. The two people we saw — the first woman and the drunk guy — were pretty messed up in life. Maybe they were in despair and/or vulnerable to manipulation, so that’s why Gregory chose them? If so, why did he choose Sam?
kate
“And yet…99% of the time, Dean is always right and he was right here as well. It WAS a spirit speaking to the murderers, but I did love how Dean had his certainty shaken with the way the final “bad guy” victim died; impaled like archangel Michael impaled the serpent.”
100% this! I love that Dean saw the case for what it was pretty quickly. In that sense, the “case” wasn’t really the case, because Dean figured it out right away. The actual case ended up revealing the truth to Sam, and both brothers having their pre-conceived beliefs tested.
I like your Michael analogy. I never saw that scene that way — until now.
kate
The one thing I appreciate most about this episode is how the brothers sort of switched mindsets. In the beginning, Sam admitted praying and having hope that (perhaps through divine intervention) he could somehow overcome evil and be saved. But by the end of the episode, he clearly had doubts and may have started losing hope and faith. In contrast, Dean started the episode not having faith, but the inexplicable way the would-be rapist died clearly made him wonder about God’s will.
This case was interesting. I appreciate the misdirection. Question: This priest/ghost was able to make people feel calm and experience religious ecstasy. He was also able to read minds. Have we seen a spirit before, or since, who could do anything like that? I don’t think so…
I like Father Reynolds a lot. Such a gentle and understanding soul. The actor was very good.
Plot armor alert: There’s NO way Sam saw those scratches and a single finger nail partially covered in plaster from ACROSS THE ROOM in a darkened basement. Also, Dean following a guy in a ’67 Chevy is anything but inconspicuous.
Dean is hilarious! “Magic Fingers” 😊. Give that man ALL the quarters 😊
I LOVE that moment at the very end. The brothers have a beautiful broment while “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” gently plays in the background. Simply lovely.
Speaking of lovely, the overall lighting and dark, brooding mood of this episode are amazing. SO.WELL.DONE.
kate
“AH, yes….Hendricksen and the FBI. Unpopular opinion but I never liked the involvement of the FBI as a story line. Its too big, too official. Too “real”. To me that’s something that would never really go away. So why go there? The Winchesters have enough on their plate without having to worry about Federal surveillance on them. Also, from a story perspective it didn’t add anything for me that they now had to fly extra carefully under the radar. They are operating on back roads and in the shadows as is.”
Hey, PNP!!
I think the writers did this because it was the elephant in the room. These guys commit SO many crimes that if the cops never came after them, fans would’ve wondered why. It did feel like they’d put the “Dean is a murderer” thing to bed after the shifter died in “Skin”, but then the writers resurrected that with “Usual Suspects”, so they sorta had to see it through.
I kinda like the involvement of law enforcement. I like Victor Henricksen, so there’s that. I also like that the rug keeps getting pulled from under the brothers’ feet, but they still keep moving forward. By season 3, not only are they trying to save Dean from hell and solve cases along the way, but the law is still after them in a big way. I appreciate the tension that story line adds.kate
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