Supernatural S02 E22 – That’s not healthy

Previously: SAM DIED.
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All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2

Kirsti: We’re treated to another round of Carry On Wayward Son because obviously, then we see Sam’s dead body lying on a bed, Dean standing over him. Let’s just go ahead and do this, shall we?

Bobby walks in with a bucket of chicken, and tells Dean he has to eat something. Dean disagrees and swigs from a flask. Bobby suggests burying Sam, but Dean won’t have a bar of it. Bobby begs for Dean’s help dealing with the whole world ending thing, but Dean yells “Well, then let it end!“. He’s sacrificed enough and he’s done. He tells Bobby to leave. Bobby sighs and heads out, telling Dean he knows where to find him. Dean looks back at Sam’s corpse, a tear rolling down his cheek.

FLAME ON!

After the Not Credits, Jake’s camping in the forest. He wakes to find the Yellow Eyed Demon next to him. Jake tells him to fuck off, that The Hunger Games last-man-standing thing he’s been through was totally fucked up. YED informs him that he’s welcome to quit, but if he does? His mother and sister will die horrible deaths. Jake reluctantly agrees to play nice.

Meanwhile, Dean is talking to Sam’s corpse and it’s pretty feels-tastic. He talks about all the questions Sam asked when he was little, and how he always tried to protect Sam, even before Papa Winchester ordered him to.

He goes on to say that he’s let down everyone he loves, and he doesn’t know how to live with that. He starts sobbing and yells “WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?“. I haven’t talked a lot about the acting on this show, but Jensen Ackles knocked it out of the park in this scene. I mean, we learn that Dean was more of a parent to Sam than Papa Winchester ever was, and yet his self-worth is still in the toilet? Excuse me while I cry forever.

Cut to Dean driving recklessly down a dirt road. The Bromobile pulls up at an intersection, and Dean buries a box in the centre of the crossroads. There’s several seconds of silence before Dean yells out “Show your face, you bitch!” MISOGYNY SHOTS! Normally I wouldn’t call them for something this minor (in the grand scheme of this show), but let’s face it: we need the booze to get through this episode. A woman in a black dress appears behind him and relishes in the moment. Dean wants to make a deal, just like Papa Winchester did – he gets ten years and Sam gets to live. The Crossroads Demon scoffs and whispers in his ear that his soul is so tarnished she doesn’t want it. He offers nine years, then eight, then five.

She turns to leave, and he begs. He’ll do whatever it takes. She offers him a year, and says that if he tries to get out of the deal, Sam dies. Again. It’s a better deal than Papa Winchester ever got. Dean grabs the Crossroads Demon and kisses her, sealing the deal. Cut to Sam sitting bolt upright and gasping for air. Fade to black.

After the Not Commercial Break, Sam’s examining his back in the mirror. There’s a massive scar where Jake stabbed him. Dean walks in and can’t hide his relief. He hugs his brother tight and I have hayfever again.

Sam asks what happened, and Dean says Jake stabbed him, then ran off. But Bobby was able to patch Sam up again. Sam looks sceptical, but is distracted by his need to find Jake and murder his face off. Dean suggests they get some food first and Sam readily agrees.

At a restaurant, Sam’s just finished telling Dean what happened in Frontiertown, including YED’s “only one winner” spiel. He doesn’t understand how he and Jake can both be alive. Dean twitchily says that Sam was left for dead, so they assumed it was over. He suggests Sam get some rest before they try and find Jake, but Sam says they don’t have time for that. He wants to go to Harvelle’s and Dean reluctantly tells him that it burnt down and that Ash is dead along with a bunch of other hunters and probably Ellen. Sam tears up as he asks if it was demons. Dean confirms that it was, and says he thinks it was because Ash found something. Bobby, he says, is trying to work out what Ash knew. Sam decides they should go to Bobby’s because it’s only a few hours away. Dean begs Sam to rest, but he won’t have a bar of it. They Bromobile their way to South Dakota.

Bobby answers the door to find Sam on the other side. He has a pretty excellent poker face, considering Sam was dead the last time Bobby saw him. Sam thanks Bobby for fixing him up, and Bobby says it was nothing before looking pointedly at Dean, who’s all “Isn’t it great that Sam’s better?”. But really awkwardly. Inside, Bobby tells them that he’s found a bunch of demonic omens in Wyoming, all surrounding one area. He asks Sam to take a look at it, and tells Dean he needs help carrying in more books from the truck.

Outside, Bobby demands to know what Dean did and how long the demons gave him. Dean tells him, and Bobby’s disappointment and heartbreak is painful to watch. “What is it with you Winchesters?” he yells. Dean says that he should have died at the start of the season, so at least this means he can do some good and still be dead like he’s supposed to be. Ouch, my feels.

Dean tears up as he tells Bobby that he couldn’t just let his brother die. He makes Bobby promise not to tell Sam that he’ll be going to Hell in a year, and tears roll down Bobby’s face. There’s a clanking noise from the depths of the junk yard and they both spin towards it. They creep over there and grab the intruder. It’s Ellen. She breaks down, and Dean says “Ellen. Oh God,” and hugs her. Fade to black.

After the Not Commercial Break, Bobby hands Ellen a shot of holy water to check that she’s not a demon. She downs it and then asks for whisky. Which is legit. Dean asks how she got out, and she says that it was a fluke. They ran out of pretzels, so she was out getting more when the demons attacked. Ash phoned and told her to look in the safe, then the call cut out. When she got back, everyone was dead. Sam offers his condolences and she tears up, struck by the same survivor’s guilt that Dean’s carrying.

Bobby asks about the safe, and Ellen pulls a map from her pocket. It’s of Wyoming and it’s got black Xs marked on it. The boys are all “The fuck is that?”. Cut to Bobby reading from a big book. “I don’t believe it,” he says. Apparently each of the Xs Ash marked on the map is an abandoned nineteenth century church. They were all built by Samuel Colt, and they’re connected by private railroads. Bobby draws in the railroads and it makes a 100 square mile Devil’s Trap.

The boys are in awe of Samuel Colt’s badassery. Especially as they know it’s still intact thanks to the demonic signs surrounding it. Ellen asks what’s inside it, and Bobby’s says there’s just an old cemetery. Dean suggests that maybe the Devil’s Trap is to keep something in, rather than keeping demons out. Bobby says there’s no way a demon could get in anyway. “No. But I know who could,” Sam says.

Cut to Jake pulling up by an old railroad track. The Yellow Eyed Demon appears and tells him that fifty miles from where they’re standing is a crypt, and he wants Jake to open it. Jake tells him to do it himself, but YED says he can’t. He tells Jake he needs a key, and hands him the Colt. He says it’s the only weapon in the world that can kill him, and gets all “didn’t see that coming” sarcastic when Jake points the gun at YED’s head. YED tells him to do it, but he won’t get his life back. He’s AWOL, so the army won’t take him back. But if he does what YED’s asking, he’ll be starting a better world where his family are royalty and he’ll be leading an army. Jake thinks for a second, then lowers the Colt.

Night. Jake walks into the cemetery and heads towards a big crypt. We see Dean hiding behind another tomb. “Howdy Jake,” Sam says as he, Bobby and Ellen appear from the shadows. Jake’s shocked because there’s no way in hell Sam can be alive. He sasses that Sam won’t kill him because he had his chance and didn’t take it. Sam says coldly that he won’t make that mistake again. Jake starts laughing, and tells Ellen to point her gun at her head. She shakily does, tears rolling down her cheeks. Jake sasses that Ava was right – once you embrace your powers, you can do anything. Ellen, her voice trembling, tells Sam to shoot him. Jake sasses some more and tells the boys and Bobby to drop their guns. They do.

Jake pulls the Colt from his pocket and turns towards the crypt. He puts the Colt into the lock, and while he’s distracted, Bobby and Dean grab Ellen before she can shoot herself. Sam shoots Jake in the back several times. Jake falls to the ground, and begs for his life. Sam stares at him coldly and shoots him in the chest. Bobby, Ellen and Dean join Sam as he wipes blood splatter from his face. They stare at him in concern. There’s a clunk from the crypt and they look over to see the door locks spinning. Bobby realises what’s happening – “It’s Hell,” he says. Dean pulls the Colt from the door lock as Bobby yells at them all to take cover. They leap behind tombstones as the doors open and black smoke pours out. The camera pans out to show the mass of demons destroying the Devil’s Trap. Fade to black.

After the Not Commercial Break, black smoke keeps pouring out of the doors. Dean wants to know what’s happening. “That’s a devil’s gate. A damned door to Hell,” Ellen yells over the noise. She says that they have to close the door. Dean checks the Colt for bullets and YED appears behind him. He psychics the gun out of Dean’s hand, and Dean looks shocked. He throws Dean into a gravestone, which he hits head first. He lands on the ground, dazed. Sam, struggling alongside Ellen and Bobby to get the doors shut, sees Dean and rushes towards him. YED pins him against a tree.

Dean struggles up and YED pins him against a post and thanks him for resurrecting Sam because he wasn’t allowed to do it. He sasses Dean, pointing out how cold Sam was when he killed Jake, and says “How certain are you that what you brought back is 100% pure Sam?“. Dean looks shocked. Ghosts start appearing from the gate as YED tells Dean that it was his self-loathing need to save his family that’s made YED’s dreams possible. He points the Colt at Dean’s head, and PAPA WINCHESTER’S GHOST APPEARS AND GRABS YED. It pulls the demon out of his body, which falls to the ground, leaving Ghost Papa Winchester clutching black smoke. They wrestle, but YED breaks loose and knocks GPW to the ground before jumping back into his body. When he stands up, Dean’s got the Colt pointed at his head. Dean pulls the trigger, and shoots YED in the heart. It’s a pretty gorgeous shot:

YED falls to the ground, dead. Bobby and Ellen get the gate closed and turn to see Ghost Papa Winchester. GPW, in his only decent act as a parent EVER, looks proudly and tearfully at his sons.

They stare tearfully back at him as he vanishes in a burst of white light. The boys exchange a look. Fade to black.

After the Not Commercial Break, the boys stare at YED’s corpse. “Well, check that off the to-do list,” Dean says with a chuckle. Sam’s astonished that they’ve actually done it. And more astonished that Papa Winchester climbed out of Hell to help them. He asks where Dean thinks Papa Winchester is now, and Dean replies that he doesn’t know. Sam’s staggered that the thing they’ve been preparing for their whole life is over, and he doesn’t know what to say. Dean does: “That was for our mom, you son of a bitch.”

Sometime later, they’re heading to the Bromobile. Sam mentions how freaked Jake was to see him, and asks what happened after he got stabbed. Dean awkwards and Sam asks flat out if Dean made a deal to bring him back. His voice cracks as he asks how long Dean got. “One year,” Dean reluctantly replies, and Sam’s eyes fill with tears. He says that Dean shouldn’t have done that, but Dean insists it’s his job. “And what do you think my job is?” Sam replies. Dean looks confused, and Sam says there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to protect Dean. I get hay fever.

  Ellen comes up with Bobby close behind, and says that things are only just starting because a couple of hundred demons just escaped from Hell. Dean, in a nice bit of repetition from the pilot opens the boot of the Bromobile, tosses the Colt in and says “We got work to do.” Fade to black.

I love this episode, you guys. Sure, it’s the start of some serious co-dependence issues between Sam and Dean, but it’s laden with sibling feels and badassery and some awesome concepts (can they just do a spin off about Samuel Colt already? I would watch the shit out of that) and beautiful shots. It’s a fabulous season finale, and I don’t even resent the presence of Papa Winchester. Which, given my hatred of him, is really saying something.

 

Next time on Supernatural: Dean starts to live like he only has a year left in S03 E01 – The Magnificent Seven.