Devil's Trap

[feliciakw]

Oh, there is so much chewy goodness in this ep, I'm sure I'll forget to mention something. Even though there are some really uncomfortable spots in this ep for me, I love it like chocolate.



First? Our second classic rock recap of ever. \o/

Second, Dean with a plan. He's the strategist. *nods* He wants to have a plan when going up against the demon. While Sam is totally spoiling for a fight, damn the consequences.

Also? With Dean, it's all about family. But I've said that before. "Everything stops until we get him back." And he's completely unwilling to acknowledge the possibility that John might be dead.

Hello, Bobby. Nice to meet you. You are awesome.

You know what else is awesome? How Sam puts himself between Bobby and Meg.

Also also? I love the turn-about twist with trapping Meg in the devil's trap.

Also x3? Dean can be very, very intimidating when you make him angry.

This is the extended version of the exorcism in "Jus in Bello."

Dean's insistence that they exorcise the demon and put Meg out of her misery--his shock and concern that "you mean there's an innocent girl trapped in there?"--reminds me of his insistence that if Sam was going to die from his withdrawal, at least he'd die human. Dean has such a respect for humanity that when a human isn't acting humane, they become a monster by his definition. (However, if you threaten his family, human or not, all bets are off.)

And now we know why Bobby so readily recognizes a possessed girl. (See "Dream a Little Dream.")

Also x4? (Wow. I'm up to x4, and they haven't even rescued John yet.) I love the change in Meg when the demon is gone. Clearly and distinctly a different character, and she's thankful for being released from the evil. This is how I choose to remember Meg.

Also x5? Dean looked really good in this ep. I mean really good. Just sayin'.

Oh! There's the pen flip maneuver that Jared learned when he was on his school's debate team. *chuckles*

And here we have it: Dean pointing out how alike Sam and John are, and pointing out that he's going to be the one to have to bury them both. Oh, Dean.

"I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up."
"You never told me that."

Well, Sam? Dean's life was pretty well set for him at age four. But just because he never told you about his childhood dreams doesn't mean he didn't have them. And think about it. Of course he'd want to grow up to pull people from fires. Pulling you out of a fire is one of his earliest memories. In fact, he kinda makes a habit of it, you know?

WATER TANKS FULL OF HOLY WATER!!!!!! \o/ \o/ \o/ I've often said that the arsenal totally needs to include SuperSoakers. Water canons FTW!

And Dean shoots a possessed man and feels horrible for doing it.

Note: Even though Sam turns out to be YED's fave, that obviously doesn't buy him special treatment from YED's minions.

Then we get to the cabin, and all sorts of angst and hidden feelings and motivations come to light. Dean scares himself with the single-mindedness with which he's willing to protect his family. Sam is thankful for Dean and when in doubt sides with Dean against John.

I still, to this day, cannot directly watch JDM with the yellow contact lenses. Sometimes they glow and reflect, too. But I just . . . can't . . . watch. I have to look at the corner of the screen and watch him out of my periphery and just take quick glimpses because is so freakin' creepy.

Also x . . . 6, is it? It occurs to me that JDM actually originated the role of the YED. Yeah, there was the shadow figure in Rosie's bedroom, but JDM was the first to actually play the part.

Now. What does it say about John and Dean's relationship that praise from John raises Dean's alarms, to the point that he knows his father is possessed? It does not speak well, that's for certain. It means that the criticism outweighed the praise, or the praise went assumed and unspoken. (I've had directors like that--they'll only correct you, not tell you what you're doing right. Which means that no notes are good notes, or if they do praise you, you really knocked something out of the park spectacularly.) But to only expect criticism and anger from his father . . . But Dean loves him, because John's his dad. *hugs him*

And here's the kicker: John knows this. The first time I saw this ep, and YED started spouting off about how Sam was always John's favorite and how the family doesn't need Dean . . . I read it as the demon pulling those thoughts out of John's head. Things that John actually felt, or (more likely) that John knew Dean believed. That John knew Dean believed.

Now looking back four seasons, I could go along with the idea that this is something YED knows about Dean--knows Dean's weakness and lack of self-confidence--and is playing that against Dean. But you know what that means? It means John is now learning this about Dean. So, being awake and all, he now knows about Dean's issues and (mis)perceptions. (We'll get into how he handles this knowledge in the next ep.)

Then we have the all too painful shredding of Dean's innards while Sam watches, shrieking Dean's name in terror. And Dean's begging John for his life. And John being strong enough to stop the killing, at least momentarily, long enough for Sam to shoot him in the leg.

And when everything goes down, Sam's immediate action is to check on Dean, to reassure Dean when he starts asking for Dad. And then, when John demands that Sam kill him (John), and Sam is totally ready to do so, it's Dean's quiet plea that stays Sam's trigger finger. If Dean had not been there, I've no doubt Sam would have pulled the trigger. But Sam knows what kind of an effect Sam's killing John will have on Dean, and he can't do it.

And in the car, John is still harping about the demon, and he thought Sam was in agreement that killing the demon came before everything, but Sam disagrees. Because Sam will put Dean first (at least for now) if that's what Dean needs. (S4 royally screws a lot of this up, but right now, Sam is all about saving Dean.)

So they're making plans, they're going to go after the demon again, and

;L;SLDKUT;OIASLDKNVL;KXCNVLKZICXUXF;ASLDKRJ/ALWNEF./,MAMSDV/VDS.SKMVIWERUTPQEO8W75[AWL;ERU

THAT'S CHEATING!!!!!! THEY CAN'T LEAVE IT THERE!!!!!!

Um, yeah. Pretty much my reaction the first time I saw this ep. Immediately started in on Geo about getting S2.

And he'd already bought it.

Comments

[leelust.livejournal.com]

Great ep indeed :)

You make me thought about what YED told there to Dean - were those words from John's head or not. If it was YED's interpretation then how did he know about all Dean's family issues?

But Sam knows what kind of an effect Sam's killing John will have on Dean, and he can't do it.
Actually i've read it otherwise - Dean knew what effect Sam killing John will have on Sam and he asked not to do it for himself and for Sam because no matter how much Sam disagreed with John knowing he killed his own father would kill Sam too.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

A most excellent ep, and a fine example of the work Kripke can turn out when he's on his game.

If it was YED's interpretation then how did he know about all Dean's family issues?

It's a matter of demons being able to observe humans. If it's observable, demons can know it. All you have to do is watch Dean interact with his family, listen to him when he talks to them and about them. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Dean's got issues, and if you're a creature who's watching and waiting for a weakness to exploit, it's easy enough to find Dean's.

Dean knew what effect Sam killing John will have on Sam and he asked not to do it for himself and for Sam because no matter how much Sam disagreed with John knowing he killed his own father would kill Sam too.

Interesting. That puts the motivation of the request on Dean rather than the compliance to the request on Sam. Between the two points of view, it's the brothers taking care of each other. :-)

But I tend to go with Dean's motivation being at least equal parts not wanting his father dead as well as looking out for Sam. Sam would have been eaten with guilt, but his need for revenge would have also been satisfied. It would all be over. He could go back to school and live his life. And he and John were in agreement that they were willing to do whatever it took to stop the demon. They understood each other. (At least until Sam realized he couldn't finish it, for Dean's sake.) And look at the way Sammy rationalizes drinking demon blood in S4. Somehow, I think he'd eventually be able to come to terms with what he'd done, even if he weren't able to forgive himself completely. It would eat him up, but it wouldn't kill him the same way it would kill Dean to witness one of the two people that mean everything to him kill the other one.

[andromakhe001.livejournal.com]

But actually season 4 tells that what Sam would have turned into, if he'd killed his father to get the demon, would not have been a good thing. I think the guilt would have eaten him up inside and he'd never come to terms with what he'd done.

What Sam would do instead of twist himself into knots looking for justifications and it would have ultimately just put him in a bad bad place mentally. At first he might go back school to live his life but I think it wouldn't last. Killing John himself would have destroyed Sam. Rationalizing the demon blood drinking almost turned him into a monster, not because his eyes turned black but because of the sort of person he was becoming. It would have been worse if he'd killed John. Might not have been supernatural but he'd have turned into a bad person.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

This is a logical chain of events given what we know looking back. I think we're looking at this differently. It wouldn't have been a good thing if he'd killed John in the cabin. But if things had ended in the cabin, I don't think Sam would have become evil. I see him being eaten up with guilt and constantly trying to make up for it. A tragic outcome, but I don't think it would have made him evil (even a non-supernatural evil). Put him in a bad place mentally, definitely, but I don't think it would turn him into a monster, proverbial or otherwise. This is assuming, of course, that the chain of events as know them were terminated--no YED, no opening of the devil's gate, no deal, no Ruby, no slippery slope, etc.

But I think we can agree, yes? that in the scene as played, the brothers were looking out for each other. Dean begged Sam not to shoot John, and Sam listened to Dean. :-)