SPN - Defending Your Life
First, allow me to give you a heads-up. There's a very good chance that this will feel confused and patchwork. I'm at my mom and dad's this week, as my dad is still having some problems, and I've not had a chance to actually sit down and give it my concentration. I've been doing it piecemeal, when I have a few minutes here and there, and though I've tried to at least break it into acts, I've only met with a modicum of success in that regard as well.
This episode was actually pretty straight forward on the character work for me. Nothing too surprising, though probably laying or building on the groundwork for later developments. In fact, some nice truths that we the audience are aware of but that Dean really needs to get a clue about came to the surface.
Then . . .
What you need to know about Sam's hallucinations and management, and Dean going behind Sam's back to kill the monster/guest star from last week.
Now . . .
Dearborn, Michigan, night. Dude is running from a phantom car. Ends up running up the stairs to his apartment. As he's trying to convince himself that he's okay, Phantom Car appears behind him (yes, in the apartment), and splats him into the wall.
Vic splat turns title splat. (Nice edit.)
Now . . .
The next day. The Impala pulls up at the crime scene, and Agents Winchester and Winchester (though obviously they don't introduce themselves as such) exit. Sam hears Lucifer's whispers in his head, presses his healing palm to banish the voice. Dean says it feels wonky. Sam's all, "What?" like there's something wrong. Working a regular job, Dean says. Bobby will call if anything shows up on the leviathans, Sam says. In the meantime, dude, case. Weird, weird case. Dean is quite happy with a cut-and-dry case. And Sam seems good. Sam agrees; he is good, for him. And this might be the new "Winchester normal." Because okay is relative.
By the way, Sam says, stopping Dean a moment. He offers a heartfelt thanks. Why? Dean asks. For Amy. He knows Dean didn't want to let her go, but it was the right thing to do, Sam says. No problem, Dean replies. And he knows this is going to come back to bite him.
In the apartment building, the lead detective on the case informs them that the vic was crushed to death. If they weren't on the 10th floor, he'd say it was by a car. Hm . . .
in the apartment there's blood splatter on the wall, and the CSIs are examining the scene. Seriously, they're CSIs. It says so on their jackets, complete with the CBS show's logo. Ha! The latest spin-off, CSI: Dearborn.
EMF (as opposed to EMT, for which it's too late) says it's a ghost. Sam finds dirt on the floor, suggests that maybe it's like Christine. Dean points out that even possessed cars can't climb staircases, so it must be something spectral. Dean finds an AA 10 year chip in Vic Matt's catch-all bowl. Sam finds a stack of bank statements on which appears a recurring charge to a place called Jane's. To split up the legwork, Sam tells Dean to take the AA lead while he investigates Jane's. But Dean is very uncomfortable with that idea. He gave up AA for Lent. But Sam and Dean aren't Catholic, Sam points out. Dean says that AA gives him the jeebs. No surprise to Sam. The thought of AA scares Dean. :-/ He's drinking heavy since S4, and it appears only to have gotten worse. Eventually something's gotta give.
Alright, Sam says, he'll hit the AA meeting while Dean hits on Jane.
At the AA meeting, Sam discovers that Matt was about to fall off the wagon the night he died. Tortured soul, called a sponsor, she talked him down. But she doesn't know what he was tortured by.
Meanwhile, Dean discovers that Jane's is a florist. On the way into the shop, he almost runs into a pretty blonde. He smiles and lets her pass, but he doesn't openly scope her out like he would have in his younger, more carefree days. He has a bit of reserve holding over from his year with Lisa. She's still in the back of his mind, and while he's loosening up since the, um, split, it's going to take a while.
Talking to the clerk reveals that Matt sent flowers regularly to an Elizabeth Duren, and that before he died, he paid for three years of deliveries in advance to keep them going. Dean asks for Elizabeth's address.
Which, as it turns out, is a local cemetery. Whoever she was, she died when she was ten. They don't know who she was, so they head back to the motel to figure it out.
Back at the motel, Sam looks up the girl's death while Dean has a beer. Elizabeth was run over when her neighbor backed out of the driveway and didn't see her. Neighbor was Pancake Matt. No arrests; it was ruled an accident. "Kinda makes you wonder if he wasn't drunk when he ran her over," Dean says, pausing to eye his beer bottle before taking another swig. Yeah, he sees the irony there. At least it gave him pause.
Sam sees it too, and is not amused.
They head out to burn the bones and put the girl to rest. Dean is less than enthusiastic.
A dude is being chased down the sidewalk by a German shepherd. (Past McOwen's, where haunted kidney girl would go after work in "Mannequin 3." Must be a chain, huh. *snerk*) Running Man runs into a diner, locks the door, and hollers to keep the dog away. Except there's nothing there. He runs into the bathroom and calls 911. The dog is sitting in the corner (aw, German shepherd) and attacks.
Early next morning, the guys are getting in from the salt-n-burn. They've stopped to pick up breakfast and a paper. Dean is wiped and heads immediately for the bed to lie down. Sam is reading about the guy who was killed in an animal attack. "It's a dangerous world," says Dean, peeling off his jacket and lying down with a groan.
"He was in the restroom of a diner," says Sam.
Dean pops back up immediately. "Yeah, that doesn't sound right." (Dean's down. Dean's up. I'm amused.) Dean takes a slug of coffee and delivers a breakfast burrito to Sam at the table.
Dog vic was arrested for running a dog fighting operation. Dean theorizes that a ghost dog attacked him for causing so much misery. Ghost dog? No stranger than ghost car. Dean thinks dude had it coming. Sam, not so much. After Christopher Fisher (aka Dog Vic) got probation and served his community service at a dog shelter, he kept up with the volunteering, really seemed to get into it and enjoy it. "People change," Sam says. Dean's not convinced.
Sam tells Dean to get suited up, they need to go check out the body. Dean is so not up for this. He's exhausted, bone tired, weary in his soul. But okay, awesome. Let's do this.
But apparently, Dean waits outside at the car while Sam goes to the coroner's office. Where he found red dirt under the DB's nails and on his shoes. To which I say, wait. First red dirt in Indiana (TKAA), and now in Michigan? A state that is essentially a sandbar? I spent a lot of time in Michigan as a kid. The soil is sandy, not red. Writers, have you even been to the Midwest?
But whatever. You need a clue. The Winchesters also need a clue. So, red dirt it is. *handwave*
An apple farm? Because something in the red dirt is good for apples. Okay, whatever. *double handwave*
Dean is rather testy about the whole thing. He doesn't want the apple trivia, as he doesn't eat apples (except in pie, obviously). And he hates the idea of having to search a few hundred acres of apple farm.
Suddenly, a guys runs out in front of their car! Zoinks! Guy is obviously freaked and in need of help, so Sam and Dean take him back to the motel to get his story.
Guy was put on trial and sentenced to death. (And, man, his voice sounds familiar. *does search* Ah-ha! He was the doctor in IMToD. He looks very different a few years older, with a beard, and it would seem, a little bit thinner as well.) He held up a liquor store and killed the owner and his wife. He wasn't thinking. He was young.
Young? When was this, Dean asks. 1981, guy says. Dean is incredulous. "And they're just now putting you on trial?" No, guy says, he just got out of prison. Which makes no sense to Dean, who is losing patience. But Sam wants to hear the whole story.
"Did thirty years, I just got paroled," guy says. And this hits too close to home for Dean. Look at his reaction. Pricelessly subtle and immensely telling. Dean closes his eyes, takes a shuddering breath. A shiver, as if he's trying to fight off a flashback of his own. Such a great character moment.
Not that you're ever really free of that, guy says. You think about it every day.
Guy continues his story. Everything was nuts. One minute he was at Neal's Tavern (a clue!) and the next he was in a courtroom in a barn. There was a judge, and guy is very surprised that Sam and Dean believe him. "We kinda specialize in crazy," Sam explains.
Guy doesn't remember much, but there were these weird symbols. Sam asks him to draw the symbols while Dean asks for a word with Sam in private.
They step outside to talk. Here's where it gets a little interesting, really rather depressing, and oh, Dean. Once upon a time ("Folsom Prison Blues") Dean didn't think that convicted criminals deserved death by ghost. Back in S2. Now? Now he's having a hard time not rooting for the ghosts on this one--people who have killed, and not quite gotten what Dean thinks they have coming. Remember when he was Death for a day? And he let the convenience store robber suffer before taking him? And Dean doesn't exempt himself from his fatalism. He's pretty much judged himself as deserving whatever comes to him. "When those ghosts come to kick my ass, they've got a compelling case." Dean's reaching the end of his rope. He's seen bad, he's seen worse.
So what is Dean saying, Sam asks. He doesn't want to work the case? No, Dean's just really looking for one simple day on the job.
Sam's going to go check out the barn. Dean's going to check the bar. "To work or drink?" Sam asks. "I haven't decided," Dean replies with a smug smile. Then as he turns to walk away, he rubs his hand down his face, trying to ward off the fatigue. We've been here before, also back in S2. He's tired. Tired of the job, tired of the decisions, tired of the weight. Oh, Dean.
Yeah, Sam. I think drinking is probably on Dean's agenda once he hits the bar.
Sam knows it's bad, but what can he do? Well, Sam, you might want to figure it out before Dean completely bottoms out.
Sam goes back to get Liquor Store Guy (Warren), but dude is NOT going back to that barn. His victims are out there waiting for him. Sam can't convince him, so Sam leaves him in a circle of salt, watching TV. Sam calls Bobby about the symbols Warren drew for them.
At Neal's, Dean gets shouldered by a guy in a baseball cap on his way to the bar. And the following scene is probably one of the best in the ep. (Not the least reason being that Jensen looks really good, as always.)
The environment is comfortable ("Dive, sweet dive") and the bartender is pretty. Dean orders Scotch and soda, then promptly tells her to hold the soda and make it a double. A little bit of flirting, then, he's got some questions, but she's been gone all week. So, no work-related questions will be answered tonight. Dean orders another. Bartender pours. Work or love life, 'cause two quick doubles, it's something. And her name is Mia, btw. That's a complicated question, and he's Dean, btw. Dean's in luck; she's like a captive shrink with unlimited alcohol. Heh. And she's taken an interest in Dean, because really, she's not blind. And she makes her interest rather clear.
Since she asked, it's about work, and here's where he opens up just a little bit. "You ever do something behind someone's back because you had to?"
"And now you feel bad?" she asks. If he had to, why feel guilty. It doesn't make any sense.
"There's not enough room for the worms if we pop that can, sister." Because Dean has so freakin' much guilt I can't even come up with a metaphor for it.
He asks for his fourth (?) double, and she cautions him to slow his roll. She gets off in an hour and she doesn't want him passing out on her. Dean decides to switch to beer. Dean, my friend, I do believe you were just picked up.
Sam finds the barn, and . . . it's a barn. With barn-type things in it. And red dirt. While there, he receives a call from Bobby, who is working out of one of his storage units. He's found what Warren's symbols mean: Osiris, Egyptian god of the dead. Weighs each person's guilt, and if he finds more than a feather, you're done. (I'm having flashbacks to my high school World Civ class.) Apparently, he pops up every so often, does his thing, then disappears.
Bobby: You know what this means.
Sam: Yeah. We gotta find him before he goes underground again.
Bobby: No, ya idjit. It means you two gotta get the hell out of Dodge. This guy homes in on people that feel guilty. Who does that sound like to you?
Sam: *realization* *zoinks*
Dean paces in front of the bar, giving himself a pep talk. It's kinda cute. It's been a long time since he's been in this scene, and I'm very pleased that he doesn't just jump right back in there with no consideration to where he's been. He's been a year with Lisa, a woman who genuinely cared about him as more than a hook-up. He's been a father figure to a "son." They loved him, and he loved them. He was faithful to her while they were together, and even when he was back on the road with Sam. Even when they were in that weird "are we or aren't we" stage. He's been out of the dating scene for over two years, and he's been with the same woman for a year. He knows what Lisa likes. He knows how to push her buttons, erm, so to speak. And she knows his. There's familiarity there, a comfort. Now, he's back in the random hook-up scene. Convincing himself that he's not cheating on Lisa, that random bar hook-ups "is what he does," convincing himself that he's ready to get back in that game. Like getting back to dating after a divorce. Which is pretty much the dynamic going on here. I really like the way Jensen plays this--light, but with a definite sense of where Dean has been and where he's coming from.
Unfortunately, he never gets that far, because he gets snatched right off the sidewalk.
And in getting snatched, he drops his phone and keeps missing Sam's calls.
Finally, someone does pick up one of Sam's calls--Mia. She found his phone, but no Dean. This makes Sam a leetle bit frantic.
In the motel room, lights and TV flicker, cold spot appears. Warren freaks out, breaks the salt line, and takes off down the hall, only to be confronted by the ghosts of the people he killed. They shoot him, the way he shot them. We all saw that coming, right?
Sam meets Mia outside the bar. She gives him Dean's phone, and she points out where she found it. Upon investigation, Sam finds red dirt.
Sam heads back to the barn, this time armed with a shotgun.
Establishing shot. Pan around the room. An empty Egyptian throne, several large statues, fire pots burning, and Dean chained to a chair in front of a table.
Dean: Really, Warren? All you noticed were the symbols?
At the end of the 360º pan, the throne is no longer empty, but occupied by Osiris.
Setting up the scene. Dean and Osiris exchange snark, and O calls Sam out of the shadows. Sam fills Dean in on who this dude is, then O. orders Sam to leave. Sam tries to take Dean's place--or at least stall. "If anyone should be on trial, it's me." When that doesn't work, he demands Dean's right to an attorney be respected. Sam will defend him. O. finds this idea amusing, and agrees.
O. declares the list of witness against Dean endless. Sam objects. It's not fair. (Not really a strong legal argument, but definitely gut reaction Sam.) O. overrules.
O. says he only needs to call three witnesses. Again Sam objects. Grounds? Calling witnesses without prior notice. (Which he got from The Good Wife. Heh.) A fine objection, but O. overrules and tells Sam to stop objecting, or he'll be held in contempt of court. In other words, O. will kill him. (I sense a rigged trial going on here.)
Prosecution calls Joanna Beth Harvelle.
And there she is. Not exactly the reunion of friends that any of the three would like, but it's Jo. A soft greeting, then she gets called to the stand.
And this is how SPN does clip shows. Bits and pieces of previous eps to show memories. Nice. Efficient. Purposeful more than time-filler. I like.
Osiris questions Jo regarding her relationship with Dean, her feelings for Dean, etc., etc. I'm tempted to call him on leading the witness. This rather ticks Jo off, too. She's not going to be led into saying that Dean is a bad guy.
O: So Dean had nothing to do with your first case?
Me: Well, he saved her life. If he hadn't been there, she'd have died. So there is that.
O: You would have chosen the exact same road.
Me: Yes, she would have. She wanted to hunt because of her dad.
O: Ended up in that hardware store.
Me: Well, no. Probably not that.
Dean does call O. on leading the witness, but O. silences him and threatens to cut out his tongue. He then allows Sam to question Jo.
Sam gets to the heart of it, questions Jo about her father, because that's why Jo got into hunting. "Daddy issues. Definitely." She would have taken that case regardless, and if it weren't for Dean and Sam, she wouldn't have lived long enough to end up at the hardware store.
I do like this little exchange between Jo and Sam. They understand each other, and they understand Dean.
"Listen, Dean, I don----" But Osiris cuts Jo off. "I don't blame you," is what she wanted to say. She knows how much Dean blames himself, and she knows it's not his fault. But O. can't have her relieving Dean of any of his guilt.
Methinks O. sees that this is not going to be as easy as he anticipated. His witness holds no animosity toward Dean. She's actually very fond of him still, and doesn't want to harm him. O. offers Sam and Dean a moment to strategize before calling his next witness. He directs his statement to Dean with such knowing, it's obviously a threat.
Sam thinks Dean knows who the next witness will be, but Dean's got no clue.
As it turns out, it's Sam.
Osiris proposes that Sam was happily out of the life, gonna be a lawyer, gonna marry Jess, until Dean pulled him back in. "It's complicated," Sam says.
That one act--taking Sam away for one hunt--had quite a domino effect. Sam comes back, Jess is dead. "That wasn't his fault," Sam says, like it should be obvious. Sure, O. says, and neither is everything that came after it, all the bloodshed and death.
And Dean starts thinking of all the friends and family he's lost, people he dragged into their situation, or people he thinks he should have been able to save: Sam's demon blood issues; Lisa and Ben in danger from vamp!Dean; Ron getting shot at the bank; Pamela and Jo and John; Sam, killed at Cold Oak; Lisa, bleeding to death in his arms; all the souls he's tortured . . .
Don't you think he pulled you back in, Osiris asks, because he'd rather damn you with him, than be alone.
Sam looks at him with a smirk. Dude is so far off the mark, he can't help but smirk. Then he looks at Dean, and sees the defeat on his brother's face. It's not so obvious to Dean, Sam sees, and his reply is much more serious, perhaps less certain at first. "No," Sam says. "One way or another I'd have gotten pulled back in." Which is totally true. "I'm positive," Sam says definitively when questioned about his degree of certainty. Because demons had been watching Sam and manipulating his circumstances all his life when necessary to serve their own ends.
Osiris, as it turns out, believes Sam. But it's not Osiris who needs to believe him; it's Dean. This is all about weighing the guilt that Dean carries in his heart himself, how he feels (what he believes about himself). IF Dean thinks he's innocent--and that's a big IF. (Cas has actually talked about this with Dean, when he first met Dean and realized that Dean doesn't think he's worth saving. Oh, Dean.)
People, Osiris says, want to be judged. And I don't even know where to begin with that statement. Ot1h, I kinda get what he's saying, and otoh, I want to ask him hasn't he noticed how humans seem to go out of their way to avoid judgement? It just . . . yeah, not really focused on that particular point in the ep.
So Sam, knowing he has to get Dean to understand that he's got no reason to feel guilty, calls Dean to the stand. O. puts up a fuss, but decides to allow it. With a snap of O's fingers, Dean's chains fall away.
With Dean on the stand, Sam asks whether or not Dean knew Jess would die. The answer, of course, is no. How could you, Sam asks. You're not psychic, right? "That's a question," Sam tells Dean when Dean doesn't answer immediately. Hee! No, Dean is definitely not psychic. So why feel guilty about not predicting the future? Good point. Dean agrees.
About Jo, did Dean kill her? No. Isn't it true that Dean is just sad about it? Actually, maybe, yeah. (Osiris is amused.) Does it really feel like any of this is on Dean? Not really. "Then is your heart heavy with guilt? Or just plain heavy, and none of this guy's business." The second thing. "Then I rest my case," Sam says with confidence.
I really like that whole scene, because. Because it's Dean being told point blank that things aren't his fault. Because it's making Dean think about them and answer them, even if he's not convinced of his own answer. Because it presents him with the possibility that maybe--just maybe--most of the stuff that's happened to those around him isn't actually his fault.
Sadly, it doesn't stick quite yet.
Osiris has also enjoyed the exchange, and because he enjoyed it so much, he gives Dean the option of choosing whether or not O. calls the third witness. Dean knows who it will be, and that he is guilty of going behind Sam's back, then lying to him about it. Sam is puzzled: what's the guy talking about? But Dean is ready for the other shoe. "It's not gonna make a difference, Sam!" (Also, Jensen looks good.)
"I find you, Dean Winchester, guilty in your heart, and sentence you to die. I suggest you get your affairs in order quickly."
*gulp* says Sam. And you can see the wheels spinning, what to do next?
Back at the motel, Warren's body is being loaded into the coroner's van. In the room is the broken salt circle. Osiris would have gotten to him one way or another, Dean says. The guy's batting 1000.
But Sam's not giving up. "There's still time. We can figure something out." Sammy, on a mission to save his brother. Rather like old times.
Sam puts a call in to Bobby. Dean does some on-line research. Eventually, it's Dean with a whiskey and Sam awaiting a return call.
So, Bobby's found a way to put Osiris down for a couple hundred years, at least. Sam is a little freaked that the solution is only temporary, but Bobby's all for slapping that bandaid on and letting someone else deal with it later. They'll need to stab Osiris with a ram's horn. Well, where the heck is Sam supposed to find a ram's horn in Dearborn, Michigan, he wants to know.
Why, the local synagogue, of course. "Apparently, Jewish people blow through them once a year." Yes, Sam. It's called a shofar, and it's part of Jewish High Holy Days, yeah? You should know this. All that obscure knowledge you have? Encyclopedia of the weird? This ain't that weird. Of course, this is exposition for the audience, and I suppose I can take pleasure in the fact that for once they've made Sam's knowledge unrealistically limited. So I'll just mock them a little bit and move on.
"Where you gonna find one this time of night?" Dean asks.
"Uh, synagogue?"
"You're gonna steal from a temple? That's a new low."
But Sam has bigger concerns. "You're on death row, Dean. Quit jokin' around."
It's kinda nice seeing Sam work so frantically to save his brother again.
Osiris is going to sic Jo after Dean, Dean says. You're a hunter, Sam reminds him. You know how to handle ghosts.
"Are you suggesting I kill her again?"
"You didn't kill her." And yeah. That whole thing back in the barn didn't convince Dean of anything. "I'll hurry." Because Sam knows that when push comes to shove, Dean won't fight it.
Dean puts himself (the damsel in distress, according to Jensen. Go to about the 1:20 mark) inside a circle of salt.
And tells Jo it's okay to come out now. (Oh, Dean.)
Sam breaks into the rabbi's office and snatches the shofar.
And gets caught by the rabbi. Oops.
At Neal's Tavern, a redhead is pouring her heart out to Mia, and O. is listening in.
Now, this whole scene with Jo? If I quoted everything I like about the scene, I'd essentially be writing a transcript. I'll try to keep that to a minimum.
Jo would never do this willingly. Dean knows. Jo tells Dean that he deserves better. No, Jo deserved better, Dean says.
Meanwhile, Sam's got the shofar (I'm figuring that he told the rabbi he needed it to kill an Egyptian god. Given the history between the Jews and the Egyptians, Rabbi was included to loan the artifact).
Jo had a good life, she tells Dean. But Dean believes O. was right about Dean. Jo and Sam were both kids. But hunters are never kids. Dean never was. (Oh, Dean.) But he didn't want to do it alone. Who does. *This is me breaking out the chocolate chip cookies and fuzzy blanket for him*
Jo: He was right about one thing.
Dean: What, your massive crush on me?
Me: Hee!
I love how they acknowledge it without making a big deal out of it. Jo and Dean are friends now, would have been great friends, given time they didn't have.
Jo: You carry all kinds of crap you don't have to, Dean. It kinda gets clearer when you're dead.
Dean: Well, in that case you should be able to see that I am 90% . . . crap.
("They just outlawed 90% of your personality." ~Sam, "99 Problems")
Me: :-(
Dean: If I get rid of that, what then?
Me: Gold. Diamonds. Treasure beyond worth. *clings*
Jo: You really want to die not knowing?
Me: No. No, you don't, Dean. *clings*
The non-verbals in this scene break my heart. Just . . . gah!
And it's time. Time for Jo to visit judgement on Dean. She zaps herself over to the gas stove and turns on all the burners. (If a fire doesn't get him, the fumes will.) Death by explosion.
At Neal's, Osiris lies in wait for redheaded lady. Oooh, nice notes with the soundtrack there. Rather shofar-ish. Only more instrumental, less calling the people-ish. (Yes, we heard the same instrument earlier in the barn/courtroom, but here it seems to draw more attention to itself.)
In the motel room, the salt line won't protect Dean. Jo used to be a hunter; she knows the tricks. She freezes the window to the breaking point, and a wind comes through and blows away the salt (and allows for a modicum of circulation for the gas, but probably not enough).
And Jo's right there, in front of Dean. "He's making me do this," she says. Dean tells her it's okay.
Osiris grabs redhead.
Jo reaches into Dean's jacket to retrieve his lighter. She flicks it open. The gas is permeating the room. Dean remembers putting the fuse in Jo's hand.
Sam ambushes Osiris, runs him through with the shofar. He "dies" with what was pointed out to me as a Goa'uld eye flare. Nice.
You know what I like even better? The fact that a Jewish artifact was used to take down an Egyptian god. Imminently appropriate, methinks, given the history of the Israelites in Egypt. *thumbs up*
Jo has been released (though Dean does not know this). She tenderly caresses Dean's cheek, a heartbreakingly comforting touch. A soft goodbye. (And a little chilly, I'm thinking.) She drops the lighter and vanishes. (Much to Dean's surprise.)
And have I mentioned that Jensen looked mighty fine during this entire thing. *nods*
The next day, riverside, over beers, Sam and Dean debrief. Jo didn't seem in pain. Just a little faded. Just regular Jo. Maybe a little happier.
Dean has a question for Sam. Where did the idea to act as Dean's defense come from? "He was gonna kick me out, Dean," Sam says. And Sam wasn't about to leave Dean to his own devices where Dean's guilt is concerned. Dean compliments him on his legal prowess. "I'm oh for one, Dean," Sam points out.
"It's not your fault," Dean says. "You were pretty convincing." But apparently, not convincing enough to convince Dean. *sigh*
Sam asks again who the third witness was going to be. No idea, Dean says. (Riiiiiiggght.) It could be just about anybody dead we know. And that, at least, it true.
One more question: It's obvious why Dean went on trial. "I got guilt comin' out my pores." But why skip Sam?
Because Sam doesn't feel guilty anymore. Dean finds this hard to believe.
Hell, Sam says. He's done a lot of things, spent a lot of time feeling guilty, but somehow he feels that his time in Hell (and Hell flashbacks?) paid a lot of dues, and he's come out the other side.
Not that the slate is wiped; sometimes Sam still sees Lucifer while brushing his teeth. But he feels now like his past is his past. And he can hopefully move on with his life.
Easier said that done, Dean says. No argument from Sam there.
"Well, I don't know whether to be jealous or weirded out," Dean says.
"You get used to it," Sam says. "I mean, I don't want to sound lame, but I kinda feel good, Dean." For Sam, anyway.
"Well, you are going to be a pleasure to ride with," Dean declares.
Or, as Dean said in "Playthings" when Sam decided not to stew over Ava when they'd hit dead ends, but rather chose to work a case. Not giving up on Ava, but not letting other people die: Wow. That attitude is just way too healthy for me, and I'm officially uncomfortable now. Thank you.
So, Sam. Now that you've got your issues under control and are, for all intents and purposes, feeling good, please, please keep an eye on Dean so he doesn't self-destruct.
There ya go. I really enjoyed the ep, but I've been busy and distracted this week. I also thought this was a pretty straight-forward ep. If anyone has a question on my take on something specific, let me know. In the meantime, it looks like we're heading toward a little lighter fare tomorrow.
This episode was actually pretty straight forward on the character work for me. Nothing too surprising, though probably laying or building on the groundwork for later developments. In fact, some nice truths that we the audience are aware of but that Dean really needs to get a clue about came to the surface.
Then . . .
What you need to know about Sam's hallucinations and management, and Dean going behind Sam's back to kill the monster/guest star from last week.
Now . . .
Dearborn, Michigan, night. Dude is running from a phantom car. Ends up running up the stairs to his apartment. As he's trying to convince himself that he's okay, Phantom Car appears behind him (yes, in the apartment), and splats him into the wall.
Vic splat turns title splat. (Nice edit.)
Now . . .
The next day. The Impala pulls up at the crime scene, and Agents Winchester and Winchester (though obviously they don't introduce themselves as such) exit. Sam hears Lucifer's whispers in his head, presses his healing palm to banish the voice. Dean says it feels wonky. Sam's all, "What?" like there's something wrong. Working a regular job, Dean says. Bobby will call if anything shows up on the leviathans, Sam says. In the meantime, dude, case. Weird, weird case. Dean is quite happy with a cut-and-dry case. And Sam seems good. Sam agrees; he is good, for him. And this might be the new "Winchester normal." Because okay is relative.
By the way, Sam says, stopping Dean a moment. He offers a heartfelt thanks. Why? Dean asks. For Amy. He knows Dean didn't want to let her go, but it was the right thing to do, Sam says. No problem, Dean replies. And he knows this is going to come back to bite him.
In the apartment building, the lead detective on the case informs them that the vic was crushed to death. If they weren't on the 10th floor, he'd say it was by a car. Hm . . .
in the apartment there's blood splatter on the wall, and the CSIs are examining the scene. Seriously, they're CSIs. It says so on their jackets, complete with the CBS show's logo. Ha! The latest spin-off, CSI: Dearborn.
EMF (as opposed to EMT, for which it's too late) says it's a ghost. Sam finds dirt on the floor, suggests that maybe it's like Christine. Dean points out that even possessed cars can't climb staircases, so it must be something spectral. Dean finds an AA 10 year chip in Vic Matt's catch-all bowl. Sam finds a stack of bank statements on which appears a recurring charge to a place called Jane's. To split up the legwork, Sam tells Dean to take the AA lead while he investigates Jane's. But Dean is very uncomfortable with that idea. He gave up AA for Lent. But Sam and Dean aren't Catholic, Sam points out. Dean says that AA gives him the jeebs. No surprise to Sam. The thought of AA scares Dean. :-/ He's drinking heavy since S4, and it appears only to have gotten worse. Eventually something's gotta give.
Alright, Sam says, he'll hit the AA meeting while Dean hits on Jane.
At the AA meeting, Sam discovers that Matt was about to fall off the wagon the night he died. Tortured soul, called a sponsor, she talked him down. But she doesn't know what he was tortured by.
Meanwhile, Dean discovers that Jane's is a florist. On the way into the shop, he almost runs into a pretty blonde. He smiles and lets her pass, but he doesn't openly scope her out like he would have in his younger, more carefree days. He has a bit of reserve holding over from his year with Lisa. She's still in the back of his mind, and while he's loosening up since the, um, split, it's going to take a while.
Talking to the clerk reveals that Matt sent flowers regularly to an Elizabeth Duren, and that before he died, he paid for three years of deliveries in advance to keep them going. Dean asks for Elizabeth's address.
Which, as it turns out, is a local cemetery. Whoever she was, she died when she was ten. They don't know who she was, so they head back to the motel to figure it out.
Back at the motel, Sam looks up the girl's death while Dean has a beer. Elizabeth was run over when her neighbor backed out of the driveway and didn't see her. Neighbor was Pancake Matt. No arrests; it was ruled an accident. "Kinda makes you wonder if he wasn't drunk when he ran her over," Dean says, pausing to eye his beer bottle before taking another swig. Yeah, he sees the irony there. At least it gave him pause.
Sam sees it too, and is not amused.
They head out to burn the bones and put the girl to rest. Dean is less than enthusiastic.
A dude is being chased down the sidewalk by a German shepherd. (Past McOwen's, where haunted kidney girl would go after work in "Mannequin 3." Must be a chain, huh. *snerk*) Running Man runs into a diner, locks the door, and hollers to keep the dog away. Except there's nothing there. He runs into the bathroom and calls 911. The dog is sitting in the corner (aw, German shepherd) and attacks.
Early next morning, the guys are getting in from the salt-n-burn. They've stopped to pick up breakfast and a paper. Dean is wiped and heads immediately for the bed to lie down. Sam is reading about the guy who was killed in an animal attack. "It's a dangerous world," says Dean, peeling off his jacket and lying down with a groan.
"He was in the restroom of a diner," says Sam.
Dean pops back up immediately. "Yeah, that doesn't sound right." (Dean's down. Dean's up. I'm amused.) Dean takes a slug of coffee and delivers a breakfast burrito to Sam at the table.
Dog vic was arrested for running a dog fighting operation. Dean theorizes that a ghost dog attacked him for causing so much misery. Ghost dog? No stranger than ghost car. Dean thinks dude had it coming. Sam, not so much. After Christopher Fisher (aka Dog Vic) got probation and served his community service at a dog shelter, he kept up with the volunteering, really seemed to get into it and enjoy it. "People change," Sam says. Dean's not convinced.
Sam tells Dean to get suited up, they need to go check out the body. Dean is so not up for this. He's exhausted, bone tired, weary in his soul. But okay, awesome. Let's do this.
But apparently, Dean waits outside at the car while Sam goes to the coroner's office. Where he found red dirt under the DB's nails and on his shoes. To which I say, wait. First red dirt in Indiana (TKAA), and now in Michigan? A state that is essentially a sandbar? I spent a lot of time in Michigan as a kid. The soil is sandy, not red. Writers, have you even been to the Midwest?
But whatever. You need a clue. The Winchesters also need a clue. So, red dirt it is. *handwave*
An apple farm? Because something in the red dirt is good for apples. Okay, whatever. *double handwave*
Dean is rather testy about the whole thing. He doesn't want the apple trivia, as he doesn't eat apples (except in pie, obviously). And he hates the idea of having to search a few hundred acres of apple farm.
Suddenly, a guys runs out in front of their car! Zoinks! Guy is obviously freaked and in need of help, so Sam and Dean take him back to the motel to get his story.
Guy was put on trial and sentenced to death. (And, man, his voice sounds familiar. *does search* Ah-ha! He was the doctor in IMToD. He looks very different a few years older, with a beard, and it would seem, a little bit thinner as well.) He held up a liquor store and killed the owner and his wife. He wasn't thinking. He was young.
Young? When was this, Dean asks. 1981, guy says. Dean is incredulous. "And they're just now putting you on trial?" No, guy says, he just got out of prison. Which makes no sense to Dean, who is losing patience. But Sam wants to hear the whole story.
"Did thirty years, I just got paroled," guy says. And this hits too close to home for Dean. Look at his reaction. Pricelessly subtle and immensely telling. Dean closes his eyes, takes a shuddering breath. A shiver, as if he's trying to fight off a flashback of his own. Such a great character moment.
Not that you're ever really free of that, guy says. You think about it every day.
Guy continues his story. Everything was nuts. One minute he was at Neal's Tavern (a clue!) and the next he was in a courtroom in a barn. There was a judge, and guy is very surprised that Sam and Dean believe him. "We kinda specialize in crazy," Sam explains.
Guy doesn't remember much, but there were these weird symbols. Sam asks him to draw the symbols while Dean asks for a word with Sam in private.
They step outside to talk. Here's where it gets a little interesting, really rather depressing, and oh, Dean. Once upon a time ("Folsom Prison Blues") Dean didn't think that convicted criminals deserved death by ghost. Back in S2. Now? Now he's having a hard time not rooting for the ghosts on this one--people who have killed, and not quite gotten what Dean thinks they have coming. Remember when he was Death for a day? And he let the convenience store robber suffer before taking him? And Dean doesn't exempt himself from his fatalism. He's pretty much judged himself as deserving whatever comes to him. "When those ghosts come to kick my ass, they've got a compelling case." Dean's reaching the end of his rope. He's seen bad, he's seen worse.
So what is Dean saying, Sam asks. He doesn't want to work the case? No, Dean's just really looking for one simple day on the job.
Sam's going to go check out the barn. Dean's going to check the bar. "To work or drink?" Sam asks. "I haven't decided," Dean replies with a smug smile. Then as he turns to walk away, he rubs his hand down his face, trying to ward off the fatigue. We've been here before, also back in S2. He's tired. Tired of the job, tired of the decisions, tired of the weight. Oh, Dean.
Yeah, Sam. I think drinking is probably on Dean's agenda once he hits the bar.
Sam knows it's bad, but what can he do? Well, Sam, you might want to figure it out before Dean completely bottoms out.
Sam goes back to get Liquor Store Guy (Warren), but dude is NOT going back to that barn. His victims are out there waiting for him. Sam can't convince him, so Sam leaves him in a circle of salt, watching TV. Sam calls Bobby about the symbols Warren drew for them.
At Neal's, Dean gets shouldered by a guy in a baseball cap on his way to the bar. And the following scene is probably one of the best in the ep. (Not the least reason being that Jensen looks really good, as always.)
The environment is comfortable ("Dive, sweet dive") and the bartender is pretty. Dean orders Scotch and soda, then promptly tells her to hold the soda and make it a double. A little bit of flirting, then, he's got some questions, but she's been gone all week. So, no work-related questions will be answered tonight. Dean orders another. Bartender pours. Work or love life, 'cause two quick doubles, it's something. And her name is Mia, btw. That's a complicated question, and he's Dean, btw. Dean's in luck; she's like a captive shrink with unlimited alcohol. Heh. And she's taken an interest in Dean, because really, she's not blind. And she makes her interest rather clear.
Since she asked, it's about work, and here's where he opens up just a little bit. "You ever do something behind someone's back because you had to?"
"And now you feel bad?" she asks. If he had to, why feel guilty. It doesn't make any sense.
"There's not enough room for the worms if we pop that can, sister." Because Dean has so freakin' much guilt I can't even come up with a metaphor for it.
He asks for his fourth (?) double, and she cautions him to slow his roll. She gets off in an hour and she doesn't want him passing out on her. Dean decides to switch to beer. Dean, my friend, I do believe you were just picked up.
Sam finds the barn, and . . . it's a barn. With barn-type things in it. And red dirt. While there, he receives a call from Bobby, who is working out of one of his storage units. He's found what Warren's symbols mean: Osiris, Egyptian god of the dead. Weighs each person's guilt, and if he finds more than a feather, you're done. (I'm having flashbacks to my high school World Civ class.) Apparently, he pops up every so often, does his thing, then disappears.
Bobby: You know what this means.
Sam: Yeah. We gotta find him before he goes underground again.
Bobby: No, ya idjit. It means you two gotta get the hell out of Dodge. This guy homes in on people that feel guilty. Who does that sound like to you?
Sam: *realization* *zoinks*
Dean paces in front of the bar, giving himself a pep talk. It's kinda cute. It's been a long time since he's been in this scene, and I'm very pleased that he doesn't just jump right back in there with no consideration to where he's been. He's been a year with Lisa, a woman who genuinely cared about him as more than a hook-up. He's been a father figure to a "son." They loved him, and he loved them. He was faithful to her while they were together, and even when he was back on the road with Sam. Even when they were in that weird "are we or aren't we" stage. He's been out of the dating scene for over two years, and he's been with the same woman for a year. He knows what Lisa likes. He knows how to push her buttons, erm, so to speak. And she knows his. There's familiarity there, a comfort. Now, he's back in the random hook-up scene. Convincing himself that he's not cheating on Lisa, that random bar hook-ups "is what he does," convincing himself that he's ready to get back in that game. Like getting back to dating after a divorce. Which is pretty much the dynamic going on here. I really like the way Jensen plays this--light, but with a definite sense of where Dean has been and where he's coming from.
Unfortunately, he never gets that far, because he gets snatched right off the sidewalk.
And in getting snatched, he drops his phone and keeps missing Sam's calls.
Finally, someone does pick up one of Sam's calls--Mia. She found his phone, but no Dean. This makes Sam a leetle bit frantic.
In the motel room, lights and TV flicker, cold spot appears. Warren freaks out, breaks the salt line, and takes off down the hall, only to be confronted by the ghosts of the people he killed. They shoot him, the way he shot them. We all saw that coming, right?
Sam meets Mia outside the bar. She gives him Dean's phone, and she points out where she found it. Upon investigation, Sam finds red dirt.
Sam heads back to the barn, this time armed with a shotgun.
Establishing shot. Pan around the room. An empty Egyptian throne, several large statues, fire pots burning, and Dean chained to a chair in front of a table.
Dean: Really, Warren? All you noticed were the symbols?
At the end of the 360º pan, the throne is no longer empty, but occupied by Osiris.
Setting up the scene. Dean and Osiris exchange snark, and O calls Sam out of the shadows. Sam fills Dean in on who this dude is, then O. orders Sam to leave. Sam tries to take Dean's place--or at least stall. "If anyone should be on trial, it's me." When that doesn't work, he demands Dean's right to an attorney be respected. Sam will defend him. O. finds this idea amusing, and agrees.
O. declares the list of witness against Dean endless. Sam objects. It's not fair. (Not really a strong legal argument, but definitely gut reaction Sam.) O. overrules.
O. says he only needs to call three witnesses. Again Sam objects. Grounds? Calling witnesses without prior notice. (Which he got from The Good Wife. Heh.) A fine objection, but O. overrules and tells Sam to stop objecting, or he'll be held in contempt of court. In other words, O. will kill him. (I sense a rigged trial going on here.)
Prosecution calls Joanna Beth Harvelle.
And there she is. Not exactly the reunion of friends that any of the three would like, but it's Jo. A soft greeting, then she gets called to the stand.
And this is how SPN does clip shows. Bits and pieces of previous eps to show memories. Nice. Efficient. Purposeful more than time-filler. I like.
Osiris questions Jo regarding her relationship with Dean, her feelings for Dean, etc., etc. I'm tempted to call him on leading the witness. This rather ticks Jo off, too. She's not going to be led into saying that Dean is a bad guy.
O: So Dean had nothing to do with your first case?
Me: Well, he saved her life. If he hadn't been there, she'd have died. So there is that.
O: You would have chosen the exact same road.
Me: Yes, she would have. She wanted to hunt because of her dad.
O: Ended up in that hardware store.
Me: Well, no. Probably not that.
Dean does call O. on leading the witness, but O. silences him and threatens to cut out his tongue. He then allows Sam to question Jo.
Sam gets to the heart of it, questions Jo about her father, because that's why Jo got into hunting. "Daddy issues. Definitely." She would have taken that case regardless, and if it weren't for Dean and Sam, she wouldn't have lived long enough to end up at the hardware store.
I do like this little exchange between Jo and Sam. They understand each other, and they understand Dean.
"Listen, Dean, I don----" But Osiris cuts Jo off. "I don't blame you," is what she wanted to say. She knows how much Dean blames himself, and she knows it's not his fault. But O. can't have her relieving Dean of any of his guilt.
Methinks O. sees that this is not going to be as easy as he anticipated. His witness holds no animosity toward Dean. She's actually very fond of him still, and doesn't want to harm him. O. offers Sam and Dean a moment to strategize before calling his next witness. He directs his statement to Dean with such knowing, it's obviously a threat.
Sam thinks Dean knows who the next witness will be, but Dean's got no clue.
As it turns out, it's Sam.
Osiris proposes that Sam was happily out of the life, gonna be a lawyer, gonna marry Jess, until Dean pulled him back in. "It's complicated," Sam says.
That one act--taking Sam away for one hunt--had quite a domino effect. Sam comes back, Jess is dead. "That wasn't his fault," Sam says, like it should be obvious. Sure, O. says, and neither is everything that came after it, all the bloodshed and death.
And Dean starts thinking of all the friends and family he's lost, people he dragged into their situation, or people he thinks he should have been able to save: Sam's demon blood issues; Lisa and Ben in danger from vamp!Dean; Ron getting shot at the bank; Pamela and Jo and John; Sam, killed at Cold Oak; Lisa, bleeding to death in his arms; all the souls he's tortured . . .
Don't you think he pulled you back in, Osiris asks, because he'd rather damn you with him, than be alone.
Sam looks at him with a smirk. Dude is so far off the mark, he can't help but smirk. Then he looks at Dean, and sees the defeat on his brother's face. It's not so obvious to Dean, Sam sees, and his reply is much more serious, perhaps less certain at first. "No," Sam says. "One way or another I'd have gotten pulled back in." Which is totally true. "I'm positive," Sam says definitively when questioned about his degree of certainty. Because demons had been watching Sam and manipulating his circumstances all his life when necessary to serve their own ends.
Osiris, as it turns out, believes Sam. But it's not Osiris who needs to believe him; it's Dean. This is all about weighing the guilt that Dean carries in his heart himself, how he feels (what he believes about himself). IF Dean thinks he's innocent--and that's a big IF. (Cas has actually talked about this with Dean, when he first met Dean and realized that Dean doesn't think he's worth saving. Oh, Dean.)
People, Osiris says, want to be judged. And I don't even know where to begin with that statement. Ot1h, I kinda get what he's saying, and otoh, I want to ask him hasn't he noticed how humans seem to go out of their way to avoid judgement? It just . . . yeah, not really focused on that particular point in the ep.
So Sam, knowing he has to get Dean to understand that he's got no reason to feel guilty, calls Dean to the stand. O. puts up a fuss, but decides to allow it. With a snap of O's fingers, Dean's chains fall away.
With Dean on the stand, Sam asks whether or not Dean knew Jess would die. The answer, of course, is no. How could you, Sam asks. You're not psychic, right? "That's a question," Sam tells Dean when Dean doesn't answer immediately. Hee! No, Dean is definitely not psychic. So why feel guilty about not predicting the future? Good point. Dean agrees.
About Jo, did Dean kill her? No. Isn't it true that Dean is just sad about it? Actually, maybe, yeah. (Osiris is amused.) Does it really feel like any of this is on Dean? Not really. "Then is your heart heavy with guilt? Or just plain heavy, and none of this guy's business." The second thing. "Then I rest my case," Sam says with confidence.
I really like that whole scene, because. Because it's Dean being told point blank that things aren't his fault. Because it's making Dean think about them and answer them, even if he's not convinced of his own answer. Because it presents him with the possibility that maybe--just maybe--most of the stuff that's happened to those around him isn't actually his fault.
Sadly, it doesn't stick quite yet.
Osiris has also enjoyed the exchange, and because he enjoyed it so much, he gives Dean the option of choosing whether or not O. calls the third witness. Dean knows who it will be, and that he is guilty of going behind Sam's back, then lying to him about it. Sam is puzzled: what's the guy talking about? But Dean is ready for the other shoe. "It's not gonna make a difference, Sam!" (Also, Jensen looks good.)
"I find you, Dean Winchester, guilty in your heart, and sentence you to die. I suggest you get your affairs in order quickly."
*gulp* says Sam. And you can see the wheels spinning, what to do next?
Back at the motel, Warren's body is being loaded into the coroner's van. In the room is the broken salt circle. Osiris would have gotten to him one way or another, Dean says. The guy's batting 1000.
But Sam's not giving up. "There's still time. We can figure something out." Sammy, on a mission to save his brother. Rather like old times.
Sam puts a call in to Bobby. Dean does some on-line research. Eventually, it's Dean with a whiskey and Sam awaiting a return call.
So, Bobby's found a way to put Osiris down for a couple hundred years, at least. Sam is a little freaked that the solution is only temporary, but Bobby's all for slapping that bandaid on and letting someone else deal with it later. They'll need to stab Osiris with a ram's horn. Well, where the heck is Sam supposed to find a ram's horn in Dearborn, Michigan, he wants to know.
Why, the local synagogue, of course. "Apparently, Jewish people blow through them once a year." Yes, Sam. It's called a shofar, and it's part of Jewish High Holy Days, yeah? You should know this. All that obscure knowledge you have? Encyclopedia of the weird? This ain't that weird. Of course, this is exposition for the audience, and I suppose I can take pleasure in the fact that for once they've made Sam's knowledge unrealistically limited. So I'll just mock them a little bit and move on.
"Where you gonna find one this time of night?" Dean asks.
"Uh, synagogue?"
"You're gonna steal from a temple? That's a new low."
But Sam has bigger concerns. "You're on death row, Dean. Quit jokin' around."
It's kinda nice seeing Sam work so frantically to save his brother again.
Osiris is going to sic Jo after Dean, Dean says. You're a hunter, Sam reminds him. You know how to handle ghosts.
"Are you suggesting I kill her again?"
"You didn't kill her." And yeah. That whole thing back in the barn didn't convince Dean of anything. "I'll hurry." Because Sam knows that when push comes to shove, Dean won't fight it.
Dean puts himself (the damsel in distress, according to Jensen. Go to about the 1:20 mark) inside a circle of salt.
And tells Jo it's okay to come out now. (Oh, Dean.)
Sam breaks into the rabbi's office and snatches the shofar.
And gets caught by the rabbi. Oops.
At Neal's Tavern, a redhead is pouring her heart out to Mia, and O. is listening in.
Now, this whole scene with Jo? If I quoted everything I like about the scene, I'd essentially be writing a transcript. I'll try to keep that to a minimum.
Jo would never do this willingly. Dean knows. Jo tells Dean that he deserves better. No, Jo deserved better, Dean says.
Meanwhile, Sam's got the shofar (I'm figuring that he told the rabbi he needed it to kill an Egyptian god. Given the history between the Jews and the Egyptians, Rabbi was included to loan the artifact).
Jo had a good life, she tells Dean. But Dean believes O. was right about Dean. Jo and Sam were both kids. But hunters are never kids. Dean never was. (Oh, Dean.) But he didn't want to do it alone. Who does. *This is me breaking out the chocolate chip cookies and fuzzy blanket for him*
Jo: He was right about one thing.
Dean: What, your massive crush on me?
Me: Hee!
I love how they acknowledge it without making a big deal out of it. Jo and Dean are friends now, would have been great friends, given time they didn't have.
Jo: You carry all kinds of crap you don't have to, Dean. It kinda gets clearer when you're dead.
Dean: Well, in that case you should be able to see that I am 90% . . . crap.
("They just outlawed 90% of your personality." ~Sam, "99 Problems")
Me: :-(
Dean: If I get rid of that, what then?
Me: Gold. Diamonds. Treasure beyond worth. *clings*
Jo: You really want to die not knowing?
Me: No. No, you don't, Dean. *clings*
The non-verbals in this scene break my heart. Just . . . gah!
And it's time. Time for Jo to visit judgement on Dean. She zaps herself over to the gas stove and turns on all the burners. (If a fire doesn't get him, the fumes will.) Death by explosion.
At Neal's, Osiris lies in wait for redheaded lady. Oooh, nice notes with the soundtrack there. Rather shofar-ish. Only more instrumental, less calling the people-ish. (Yes, we heard the same instrument earlier in the barn/courtroom, but here it seems to draw more attention to itself.)
In the motel room, the salt line won't protect Dean. Jo used to be a hunter; she knows the tricks. She freezes the window to the breaking point, and a wind comes through and blows away the salt (and allows for a modicum of circulation for the gas, but probably not enough).
And Jo's right there, in front of Dean. "He's making me do this," she says. Dean tells her it's okay.
Osiris grabs redhead.
Jo reaches into Dean's jacket to retrieve his lighter. She flicks it open. The gas is permeating the room. Dean remembers putting the fuse in Jo's hand.
Sam ambushes Osiris, runs him through with the shofar. He "dies" with what was pointed out to me as a Goa'uld eye flare. Nice.
You know what I like even better? The fact that a Jewish artifact was used to take down an Egyptian god. Imminently appropriate, methinks, given the history of the Israelites in Egypt. *thumbs up*
Jo has been released (though Dean does not know this). She tenderly caresses Dean's cheek, a heartbreakingly comforting touch. A soft goodbye. (And a little chilly, I'm thinking.) She drops the lighter and vanishes. (Much to Dean's surprise.)
And have I mentioned that Jensen looked mighty fine during this entire thing. *nods*
The next day, riverside, over beers, Sam and Dean debrief. Jo didn't seem in pain. Just a little faded. Just regular Jo. Maybe a little happier.
Dean has a question for Sam. Where did the idea to act as Dean's defense come from? "He was gonna kick me out, Dean," Sam says. And Sam wasn't about to leave Dean to his own devices where Dean's guilt is concerned. Dean compliments him on his legal prowess. "I'm oh for one, Dean," Sam points out.
"It's not your fault," Dean says. "You were pretty convincing." But apparently, not convincing enough to convince Dean. *sigh*
Sam asks again who the third witness was going to be. No idea, Dean says. (Riiiiiiggght.) It could be just about anybody dead we know. And that, at least, it true.
One more question: It's obvious why Dean went on trial. "I got guilt comin' out my pores." But why skip Sam?
Because Sam doesn't feel guilty anymore. Dean finds this hard to believe.
Hell, Sam says. He's done a lot of things, spent a lot of time feeling guilty, but somehow he feels that his time in Hell (and Hell flashbacks?) paid a lot of dues, and he's come out the other side.
Not that the slate is wiped; sometimes Sam still sees Lucifer while brushing his teeth. But he feels now like his past is his past. And he can hopefully move on with his life.
Easier said that done, Dean says. No argument from Sam there.
"Well, I don't know whether to be jealous or weirded out," Dean says.
"You get used to it," Sam says. "I mean, I don't want to sound lame, but I kinda feel good, Dean." For Sam, anyway.
"Well, you are going to be a pleasure to ride with," Dean declares.
Or, as Dean said in "Playthings" when Sam decided not to stew over Ava when they'd hit dead ends, but rather chose to work a case. Not giving up on Ava, but not letting other people die: Wow. That attitude is just way too healthy for me, and I'm officially uncomfortable now. Thank you.
So, Sam. Now that you've got your issues under control and are, for all intents and purposes, feeling good, please, please keep an eye on Dean so he doesn't self-destruct.
There ya go. I really enjoyed the ep, but I've been busy and distracted this week. I also thought this was a pretty straight-forward ep. If anyone has a question on my take on something specific, let me know. In the meantime, it looks like we're heading toward a little lighter fare tomorrow.