I don't know about the rest of you but for me Repo Man was a breath of fresh air. I've loved the last few standalone episodes but I have definitely been craving a little more substance as well. I've always been a big fan of the larger story arch format that Supernatural has taken on in past seasons. And while I've been enjoying the nostalgic feel of season seven I have missed that connection to a larger story arch in the past few weeks. It seems like we're getting back on track though.
The first thought that comes to mind regarding this episode is how much I enjoyed the monster of the week. I was so intrigued by this demon and so invested in the Jeffrey storyline that I almost didn't even register the obvious parallels being drawn between Jeffrey and Sam. But once I did it brought my enjoyment of the episode to a new level. 
Both Sam and Jeffrey have a darkness that they have had to deal with their whole lives. For Sam, it is the fact that he's had demon blood pumping in his veins since he was an infant. For Jeffrey, it was a twisted obsession with women coupled with serial killer tendencies.  Both Sam and Jeffrey tried very hard to keep their darkness under control but life got in the way. Jeffrey admitted that he never intended to harm the women he followed home. And it wasn't until he was possessed that he finally stopped trying to fight his darkness. He gave in to his urges and started to kill. As he explained it, he loved being possessed. Unfortunately for him, the demon wasn't interested in using him as a vessel anymore. Sam on the other hand has suffered through his own mental breakdowns, first he was addicted to demon blood then he spent a great deal of time without a soul and now he's got Lucifer on his shoulder day in and day out. The only difference here is that Sam hates being haunted by Lucifer. Unfortunately for Sam, Lucifer wants nothing more than for Sam to let him in. And he does. Was anyone else surprised by this? I wish we had gotten at least one more episode showing us just how present Lucifer is in Sam's day to day life. He's been there in the background for months so it's understandable that Sam would eventually break and let him in again. But did this episode give Sam a good enough reason to do so? 

Sam was desperate to find Dean which is why he ended up letting Lucifer in. But haven't Sam and Dean been in similar situations this season? And somehow Sam has been able to keep calm and ignore Lucifer. So what about this particular case was different? What finally pushed Sam over the edge? Is there something I'm missing? 
Can I just take a minute to sing endless praises to Mark Pellegrino? I don't think there's anyone else out there that could do what Mark Pellegrino does with Lucifer. I spent the episode hating Lucifer while simultaneously wanting to hang out with him. Mark just makes Lucifer soâ€¦likable. Which is also what makes him so dangerous. Sam knows better than to think that Lucifer is actually trying to be helpful. But at the end of the day he couldn't resist his devilish charm. Poor Sammy. There are going to be some serious consequences for opening that door back up. 

There was an interesting moment between Jeffrey and Dean in the warehouse. After Jeffrey revealed that he loved being possessed and that he blamed Sam and Dean for taking it all away from him he took a minute to lay Dean's crap bare. 
"You were so desperate to save the world back then. It kills you that people keep getting hurt and you can't stop it. I should say it's killed you, huh?"

Is it that obvious that Dean is dead inside? It seems like Dean has been making leaps and bounds these last few weeks but even now Jeffrey can see through Dean's faÃ§ade. There was a good deal of truth to what Jeffrey said about Dean's desperation to save the world when they met four years earlier. And now looking at Dean, it's easy to see that he's lost that spark. He's lost his purpose. I do think he's on his way to getting it back though. This is now the second episode in a row that Dean hasn't had a drink. This may seem trivial to the casual viewer, but if you're reading this, chances are you are no casual viewer and you see the significance of Dean without a drink. Do you all agree? Do you think Dean has finally hit bottom and started to make his way back up?
Did you all enjoy this episode as much as I did? It wasn't perfect, but I'm still very happy to be getting back into the Sam storyline. I'm also more than ready to figure out what the heck is going on with the leviathan. I've seen one too many phone conversations between Dean and Frank. I need a little leviathan action before I start to lose interest. 
I've got a few funny quotes and some random observations to share. 
  • I really liked the premise of this entire episode. I always like when we get to see a part of Sam and Dean's life that was looked over earlier in the series. I also enjoy the episodes where the humans are worse than the monsters. They're a nice change of pace. 
  • Where is baby? I've had enough of these strange cars! I know this season is about isolating Sam and Dean and I think taking the impala away was absolutely necessary but I'm ready to have her back now. 
  • Did you see the preview for next month? Am I the only one who is constantly confused by the CW's previews? They are always so choppy and they don't explain anything. On the other hand I was so happy to see Misha's face again! 
  • Lucifer's tongue may or may not have starred in my nightmares after watching this episode. It's the little details like that that really get me.
  • Jeffrey: "Make sure of what? That I peed my pants today?
  • During this episode I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't just get Jeffrey a tattoo to ward off possession? Or they could have at least given him charms to wear for protection. I'm not really sure how they intended to stop Jeffrey from getting possessed.
  • The hallucinations that Sam had in this episode were pretty scary. Especially the people banging their heads against tables in the library. How has he been living with this for months? I would love it if they would take scenes from past episodes and write Lucifer into the background. I would really like to see more of what life has been like for Sam these past few months. 
  • Ok Dean. If you are trying to save someone and they are mumbling at you frantically, just turn around. The bad guy/girl is always behind you. Always. 
  • Lucifer: "He said shut up to me."
  • Lucifer: "Ay carumba. Mi cabeza." 
  • Dean: "He's a psychopath Sam, that's what they do all the time, is act.
    Act like they're normal, act like they're not balls to the wall crazy." Poor Sam. No matter what he does he'll always feel like freak in his brother's eyes. 
  • Russell Sams deserves a bit of praise as well for his portrayal of Jeffrey. I thought he was just awesome. 


Bharti Bedi
# Bharti Bedi 2012-02-21 13:25
My thoughts exactly!
Perfectly summarized.
# sofia 2012-02-21 13:31
Glad you liked it too! I thought this episode was a definite winner.
# merannoeu 2012-02-21 13:36
I, too, would have liked more overt coverage of Sam's hallucinations from ep 3 on, but when the DVDs come out, will look more closely to see the clues--I know there are a couple.

My reasoning for why Sam was more susceptible to the hallucinations was because they were working a demon case.

Also, at the end, the burning in hellfire as shown in his eyes was the same as the Unforgiven story in s6--in common was both times Sam had unfinished business or a revisit to the past cases....
# sofia 2012-02-21 15:15
I like the tie in between Unforgiven and Repo Man. I hadn't thought about the aspect of unfinished business.
# kazkriz 2012-02-21 13:40
Great review.... :)
this episode left me shoked.. it was sooo awesome and so sad and.. and... damn you Ben!!!! you did it again!!!!!
I totally loved the "4 years ago" .. yeah it was nice to see Sammy wearing his old jacked again.. and where there was no broken wall... or hellucinations. .. Talking about that... after reading the premise for this epi we knew it was abt a demon.. but when I saw the very first part of the episode ... when lilith appeared ,I froze. , for a very damn long second, thought she was back (I know I know absurd right? but o hell... I dunno..)

Gosh I LOVE MARK!!! he is sooo good as luci.. I hate him for making me love him... which drives me to.. POOR POOR POOR SAMMY!!!!! he's been trying to hold it together all this time.. man I gotta say I'm wondering how the hell he could!!?? I think the difference between this time and last times where Dean has been in risk is that lately Sam's noticed Dean's actions were like "I'll do what I can" back in 7x13 or all Dean's done after Bobby's death (ooo the agony!!) and the fact he knew his stone #1 was on edge ... that put a lot of pressure on his shoulders.. he felt like he had to be there for them both.... that's way too much for a boy who's been trying to stay vertical.

man... the end killed me....I was totally blank after the credits... and then there's March 16 promo. GOD!!!!! Sammy ... in a nuts house!!! how bad could it get to make Dean think taking his little brother into the hospital'd be the only way to help him?! .. Cas!!!!!! yay!!! he's back!!! ( not the full cas we know Of course)

I loved this episode ... it was so good and heart breaking to have this kind of things back in the show... Looking forward to next episodes and the season finale... man it's scary to even think abt it.... :(

Yep Ben you did it again... what can I say?
Ben is my king!
# sofia 2012-02-21 15:17
Yeah, I was actually nervous when I saw Lilith in the "then" segment too. But thank goodness they haven't found a way to bring her back!

Can't wait for the 16th!
# cd28 2012-02-21 13:55
Sofia, I enjoyed your review and agree with most of what you said - especially the part about being glad to get back to the episodes with more substance. There's just one part that I wanted to comment on:

"Sam knows better than to think that Lucifer is actually trying to be helpful. But at the end of the day he couldnâ€™t resist his devilish charm. Poor Sammy."

I'm having a hard time believing that after more than 150 years being trapped in close quarters with Lucifer, Sam would be taken in by Lucifer's charm. With Ruby it made some sense, but Sam should be beyond being fooled by demons or devils at this point. Sam should now know Lucifer better than he knows Dean. And if Lucifer was his torturer, as we've been told he was, Sam would never trust him - so I don't think the answer to why Sam let Lucifer back in is that simple. I hope we get more clarification on this in upcoming episodes.
# percysowner 2012-02-21 14:32
Except as far as we and Sam know, Lucifer isn't really Lucifer, he is an hallucination. Yes, the hallucination is part of Sam's psychosis and is dangerous to engage, but to Sam's knowledge it ISN'T Lucifer he is engaging in, it is part of his mind.

I saw Lucifer coming up with suggestions that could well have been implanted in Sam's subconscious. Should he ignore that when Dean's life is on the line? Lucifer remembered Sutton's name, but Lucifer wasn't possessing Sam the last time he met Sutton, so the obvious conclusion is that the hallucination is pulling up information that belongs to Sam. The same applies to Sam's search of Jeffery's apartment and using "Lucifer" to access every part of HIMSELF to help Dean. He isn't dealing with Lucifer, he is dealing with himself.

Now, admittedly I think there is a chance that Lucifer is not an hallucination. However, Sam BELIEVES he is because DEAN told him that he is. Sam was willing to entertain the idea that Lucifer was real, Dean told him that Lucifer was not. Dean, in turn, was acting on information given him by Castiel, who claimed that if part of Lucifer had escaped the Cage then the angels would know. Castiel turned out to not be a reliable authority on the Cage, who could access it or what could be saved from it, so Dean may well be basing his conclusions on a lie or Castiel not knowing or caring much about the truth.

In any case, the idea that Sam is willingly engaging the real Lucifer and therefore is an idiot or like Jeffery wants to be evil just isn't how the story has been told. Sam is engaging in a part of himself to save Dean. A part that he believed he could suppress once the case was over. As things stand now Lucifer doesn't HAVE devilish charm. He has an image in Sam's mind that was providing Sam with information that Sam wasn't processing partly because it takes so much energy to ignore the hallucination.
# sofia 2012-02-21 15:09

I really like your use of logic regarding whether or not Sam is interacting with Lucifer. It's true that this could very well be a hallucination. It's also possible that he's not as you pointed out. And I don't for a second think that Sam was engaging with "Lucifer" for any reason other than to save Dean. Please don't misunderstand. Sam isn't weak. In fact, he's a lot stronger than expected now that we know what's been going on in his head these last few months.

As far as Lucifer's charm goes, let me elaborate a bit. Even if Lucifer is in fact just a hallucination, he is one charming hallucination. Not only does he provide Sam with helpful reminders of his own sub-conscious but he does it with a certain flair that in my opinion makes him harder to resist. And even if he is just a hallucination, he should still be resisted. He's got a very bewitching quality about him.
# cd28 2012-02-21 15:12
This is getting so confusing. My head's starting to hurt.

I don't disagree with most what you said. But I never suggested Sam was an "idiot" or "like Jeffrey wants to be evil." But I think this is more complex than what other people have been suggesting --that Sam was manipulated by Lucifer (or the Lucifer hallucination), or that that he sacrificed himself to save his brother. I think it's a lot more complicated than that, and I don't have the answers.

There are still too many questions such as whether this is in fact just a hallucination, or whether it's a psychic bond with the archangel. Another is whether letting in Lucifer represents letting in madness or letting in what Lucifer represented to Sam (his dark side). Even if Sam did want to let in the dark side, that doesn't mean that he wanted to be like Jeffrey. Jeffrey's true state was a psychopath and the demon gave him the clarity and focus to find his mission in life. Sam's true state is something different. Sam might find some strength through the demon blood, which doesn't necessarily mean he's evil. He's always been encouraged by his family to fight that side of himself, but it's led to Sam almost being split into two different people (literally so during the soulless period). If the Lucifer hallucination represents his demon side, which he's always tried to repress, maybe part of him wants to let that in to became whole.

I'm just throwing out thoughts and questions here. Nothing more.
# sofia 2012-02-21 15:35
Now my head is hurting! :)

I agree that this whole situation with Sam and Lucifer (hallucination or not) is more complicated than it seems. I really wish we'd had a bit more buildup to Sam's eventual breakdown. I definitely feel like I need a little more explanation about what we're dealing with too.

I don't know if I think Sam WANTS to let his dark side in. I think he's always felt like a freak and I don't think it's something he likes. I definitely think things would be a little easier for him if he wasn't constantly fighting those parts of himself. But that would mean abandoning the person he's worked to become over these last seven years. And it would mean sacrificing his relationship with Dean. He's already done it once, I don't know if he'd ever go there again.

I love to discuss these kinds of ideas. Feel free to keep your thoughts coming!
# cd28 2012-02-22 11:57

This is an interesting point about his pattern of running away in an attempt to be "normal." One interpretation is that he was running away from the demon blood, or evil, that he felt inside himself. But another way of looking at it is that he was a monster living in a family of hunters. (And I mean monster in a physical sense, he didn't act like a monster.) His father was watching him wondering whether he might some day need to kill Sam. Sam must have sensed some of this, so it's easy to understand how this would cause internal conflict. He tried to get away from not just monsters, but also hunting. He wanted to live in neutral environment where he could be his own person. When Lucifer was talking to Sam in Swan Song, Lucifer said that Sam always felt that his family was more a like a foster family, and that every time Sam ran away he was running toward Lucifer. Whether this is true or not is unclear because it wasn't Sam saying it, but at the time, Lucifer was in Sam's head, and Sam wasn't denying it.

I wish they had explored this connection more at the time. It's such a huge leap to imagine that Sam was connected to Lucifer, and I'm not sure the writers succeeded in really building it, so if they explore this more in coming episodes, I will be happy. That doesn't mean I want Sam full-on evil, but I would like to see more depth in his character exploration.
# sofia 2012-02-23 08:09
I have been wondering ever since Swan Song if there was truth to what Lucifer said. I don't doubt it. Especially now that we've had some more childhood flashbacks to Sam struggling with being 'different'.

What I understand of Sam's connection to Lucifer is his destiny to become Lucifer's vessel. I thought that part of the season was explored pretty well. And if we agree to believe in destiny where Supernatural is concerned then I think it's fair to say that anything Sam did would lead him toward that inevitable fate. (Whether or not that's what he intended.) What I'm unclear on now is what their connection is now that Sam is no longer Lucifer's vessel. I have to believe that was never part of the plan, right? And then there's the obvious question. Do they even have a connection? Are Sam's hallucinations entirely made up or is Lucifer somehow driving them?
# sofia 2012-02-21 14:57
I agree completely that we don't know why Sam let Lucifer back in. As I mentioned in my article I'm not sure why Sam gave in to Lucifer in this particular situation. What about the events of this episode finally sent him over the edge? I don't doubt Sam knows Lucifer well. But something made him give in, right? What could it have been?
# alysha 2012-02-21 14:05
I enjoyed the episode too, but wondered how Sam managed to fight Lucifer in "Slice Girls". Sam was frantic trying to get back to Dean when he knew that Emma would be headed there to kill him. I thought there was much more urgency in that episode. Dean in peril will always be Sam's trigger. But i wish they'd shown something earlier.
# emmau 2012-02-21 14:12
I'll agree, Alysha, that Dean has been in danger many times before this during the season, and we haven't seen Sam's trigger pulled, so to speak. In terms of canon, we might be able to explain it by saying Lucifer has been working on Sam all this time, and this time was just one too many. It pushed Sam over the edge.

The other explanation is, of course, that it was time for Sam to go over the edge when Dean was in danger this time instead of any other is because the plot said so. It's show, sometimes we just have to accept some things at face value.
# sofia 2012-02-23 08:13
I'm afraid that's how we'll have to explain it, emmau.

In this case, the storyline just wasn't developed enough and it seems like we may not get much of an explanation of 'why now?'.
# sofia 2012-02-21 15:13

That is exactly the episode I was thinking of when I said this:

"Sam was desperate to find Dean which is why he ended up letting Lucifer in. But havenâ€™t Sam and Dean been in similar situations this season? And somehow Sam has been able to keep calm and ignore Lucifer. So what about this particular case was different? What finally pushed Sam over the edge? Is there something Iâ€™m missing? "

I do agree that there wasn't enough urgency in this instance. And Dean was up against a human too. Jeffery wasn't even Supernatural so I'd think Sam would be a little more comforted by that. Although Jeffery was planning to summon a pretty powerful demon...
# Sylvie 2012-02-22 15:44
I think the fact that Sam's hand trick stopped working in this instance. At one point he couldn't rely even on the pain to bring him back. I agree that had we seen a little more of the hallucinations he's had to fight off, maybe we would have realized that he was getting very near to cracking. My thoughts are that TPTB wanted this to be so cathartic that they decided not to let us in to what Sam was dealing with, i.e. Satan vision 24/7. That, and Mark Pellegrino can't be on SPN all the time!
# percysowner 2012-02-22 16:03
I agree that TPTB wanted this to be cathartic. As far as MP not being available, we saw "Lucifer" mimic Dean at least one time. As much as I love Mark's Lucifer, it would have been quite powerful if we had seen Sam's hallucinations throughout the season being Dean. Bobby and anyone else. It would have given us a much better feeling that Sam was truly battling every day to really see what was real and what wasn't. Heck, this episode would have been powerful if Sam was engaging with a "Dean" that he knew or suspected wasn't Dean to find a Dean that he thought might be in real danger, but couldn't be certain about. Then MP could have come in at the end with "Good Morning Vietnam" and Sam would be stuck with the knowledge that he had given into his hallucinations, was now unable to get rid of them, while not actually giving into "Lucifer".

In other words, if TPTB had been in the least interested in showing us Sam's slippery slope, they didn't need MP to show it. Heck, in light of the library hallucinations, Sam could be dealing with the idea that the clown attack may not have been actually real. It would have left us with a great episode and still let us see Sam sliding into being less and less able to tell what is real. He would simply have to be holding onto what "feels" real, a hunt for supernatural creatures that he can deal with. Sadly, TPTB were uninterested in showing us Sam's internal landscape and weren't creative enough to think to use anything other than Mark to demonstrate his hallucinations.

Plus, apparently they want fans to note that Sam is terrible for not letting Dean know how bad things are, instead of letting fans know that Sam may have told Dean how bad things are, but not told the right Dean. And the want questions like how can Sam have been so weak as to be deceived into interacting with Lucifer. If he were interacting with "Dean" or Bobby, or even Adam consistently throughout his hallucinations, there would have been more of a sense of deterioration and less of a sense of "why now?"
# Sharon 2012-02-22 16:29
I dont think it was meant to be cathartic they wanted to have Mark back they decided despite being creative writers they couldnt show us or didnt care enough to show us Sams hell without him so lets wait for Mark . Dont get me wrong I love Mark , I loved that finally at last we got a idea of what Sam has been dealing with but half a season gone except episode 1 and 2 before we touch upon Sams hallucinations again is just ridiculous IMO.
# fanotheboyz 2012-02-21 15:02
This ep is not at the top of my list. There were some good points: nice symmetry between what's going on with Jeffrey and the boys. Nice flashbacks; see the amulet? Good to know they still know where to find it in the prop room. Loved the shots with Pelligrino. He's amazing. I believe Lucifer is a hallucination. But both guys are falling apart here.

For me, just a little too dark and harsh. I like more of a twist, a mix of humor, references, and plot vehicle. Here, I liked the plot advancement, but not necessarily the vehicle.
# summer 2012-02-21 16:08
This episode was a winner, winner Winchester Dinner!
Mark really did make Lucifer likable.
But poor Sam, that son of a bitch needs a break.
And I do think Dean seems to be getting his spark back, either that or he's getting old.

Either way, you know what they say: "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villian."
# nancyL 2012-02-21 16:26
Sofia, I liked this episode.

This season started off with such promise and then we got a few sucky episodes ('Dr. Phil', 'Time for a wedding', I'm looking at you :lol: ), but now we have the second episode in a row that was enjoyable.

How wonderful was it to see the Impala again??? Ok it was a flashback, but it was the freaking IMPALA. :D Shame on you for not even mentioning it. :P Not to mention that Dean had the AMULET (that Sam hopefully rescued from the garbage, I'm just saying).

Is it safe to assume that we always thought that the people that were possessed by demons were 'good'? (Meg Masters, the pediatrician that was Alastair in '...Last Summer', the little girls and the dental hygienist that were Lilith etc.) But what happens if the person who was possessed was evil to begin with? Hello Jeffery. I think that this is the first time that a 'bad' person was possessed.

A smart man once said 'demons I get, people are crazy', Jeffery kept his crazy in his head, the demon helped unleash the crazy on the world.

You know who does a better job of Lucifer haunting Sam, that guy on 'Being Human' who plays Bishop, who is haunting Aidan. :lol: :lol: Is it a coincidence that Lucifer and Bishop return in the same week? I think not.

The tongue of Lucifer's, yeck. But, like you said Sofia, it was a cool little detail. Lucifer has a forked tongue, dah.

I really hope that the good episodes just keep on coming, because we are getting near the end of the season and it is time to get down to the nitty gritty and the main attraction, namely the Leviathan and Sam losing his freaking mind.
# sofia 2012-02-22 07:58
The flashback of the Impala just makes me want her back in the present day! Although I probably shouldn't be too greedy. :)

I think you might be right that this is the first time we've dealt with someone "bad" being possessed. It's definitely the first time we've seen someone enjoy it. I thought it was a very interesting take on what could have otherwise been your average demon story.
# Gwen 2012-02-21 17:04
I enjoyed this episode. I was so glad to finally get some insight into Sam's head and to actually see the horror of the 24/7 Satanvision we heard about in Slash Fiction. Like you though I do wish we'd had more build up to Sam breaking, other scenes in other episodes that showed us what Sam has been battling each day. But I am just so very very happy that we are finally getting back to Sam's story. My heart broke for the poor boy at the end. There's nothing I love more than some Sam angst so I am positively giddy with excitement for the next episode. :lol: I'd like to see more on the Leviathan too, I like them.
Mark P is amazing. I love his scenes with Jared so much. Those 2 have a fabulous chemistry.
# paintgirl770 2012-02-21 17:54
My question on re-playing the episode, and reading everyone's take on it, is this: We don't know if Lucifer is real, and back to torment Sam anew, or if he is a terrifying figment of Sam's memory. So, which is worse?

Both Death and Castiel implied that it would be the vivid memories of hell that would cause Sam to break - and who could blame him? On the other hand, it is believable in the 'verse of Supernatural that the Lucifer that Sam sees is indeed the real (and real pissed off) fallen angel, somehow loosed from his cage ( though IMO not as believable as the memories theory. )

I almost hope that Lucifer is the real deal - then Dean would have a better chance to fight him - angel sword, angel banishing sigil, exorcism, SOMETHING. If Sam has succumbed to the flood of 100+ years of torture, yikes. I don't know what therapy or pharmaceuticals could do to counteract that. What do you hope?
# sofia 2012-02-22 08:07
I think there's quite a few ways they could take this Lucifer storyline although I'm inclined to believe that in this case Lucifer is just a horrible hallucination. If it was Lucifer wouldn't he be torturing Sam in ways that can actually cause him physical harm? Unless the mental torture is more fun for him? But then why would he leave Dean untouched? I'm pretty sure he disliked both Winchesters equally. Just my thoughts, though. I have no idea what's going to happen!
# Ginger 2012-02-21 18:27
The problem with this episode was that there hasn't been enough foreplay to Sam's problems. For all intent and purposes, Sam has seemed just fine for several months now and then all of a sudden we see what he has supposedly been going through. For instance, Dean was in more trouble in Time After Time than he was now. Sam had no way of knowing if Dean would be touching Chronos when he performed the spell, except for some vague time thing. Look how much could have gone wrong with that, Murphy considered an all.

The best part of the episode was the sub-text, which has us all still talking. BE did an exceptional job with that.

I don't actually like the episodes with Mark P. in them because Sam is a support character to Luci in them. Mark gets to steal the scenes, because Sam is reacting to him. I also don't get too excited about Luci as a villian, because he of the way he is written. Personally, I like the truly mean guys, like YED, Alistaire, Meg, and Uriel better. And I love Crowley. None of this has anything to do with the way the performances are delivered; both guys were excellent. I am just not intimated by Luci, who seems like a 12-year old girl wanting all of his best friend's attention.

I cannot answer any of the questions you pose, as this episode left me totally confused as to where the story is going. I expect Dean to go off the rails, but his stories have been sidelined too many years now and the indications of dark or recovered Dean are too blurred now. If his alcoholism is now cured, I missed how that was done. Surely not sperm donating to a monster wasn't it.

I have no idea where Sam's story is going either. He goes full on mental, we know. He has to fix himself, and we know that he will and that he will be hunting again.

I loved this episode and, yes, it was not without problems, and I am more than ready to get to the Levi story and see how the season fits together (hopefully with some action involved). And I am beyond impatient about the Impala. Maybe Dean should pay Frank to find the d**med car!
# MetamorphicRocks 2012-02-21 22:13
I thought this episode was masterfully written and extremely well acted from everyone, including the supporting players. It was dark, disturbing and fascinating to watch.

I have only one minor complaint about this episode though, and that is all the references to the size of the victims or would-be victims. The use of "big girls," "fat Betty," "chubby chasers," and "cow" bothered me a little bit. Of course, it didn't minimize my overall enjoyment of the episode or anything, and of course all of those terms were used by Lucifer, so I could chalk it all up to his snark, but what I'm wondering is why Ben Edlund chose to write that in at all. He is a genius and I love his work, but I think the story could have played out like it did without any reference to the size of the women. Is it because Jeffrey had to use tranquilizers on these women in order to move them? Wouldn't he have had to do that for any size women? I think the thing that gets me, is none of these women (the pictures of the victims, the librarian, or Nora) actually were big girls, yet they were clearly classified as such! Oh well, go figure.

I still thought this was an excellent episode, and it leaves me very interested to know what is coming next.
# sofia 2012-02-22 08:16
I was actually wondering why no one had mentioned that here. I was a little put off by those nicknames for girls who really weren't even all that big. (Not that anyone should be called those names) I was wondering if it was a nod to The Silence of The Lambs where the serial killer specifically targeted large women. I could be wrong about that but it immediately came to mind watching this episode.
# Sylvie 2012-02-23 08:02
Yeah, I'm with you on that one. I wasn't going to mention it, but seeing as you have, I'll put my two cents in too. Except when they say that the killer goes after the same body type, I don't think it was necessary to use so many epithets to describe these women that were not even that big. But, I'll give Ben Edlund the benefit of the doubt and say that he would have used those same words to describe men had they been the killer's victims.
# kaj 2012-02-22 02:37
I think Sofia, Dean has been dead and hollow inside ever since MBV at season 5. Just like what he said to Sam in Family Matters "There's no doctor for someone who comes out of hell wrong"

Well, Dean has come out of hell wrong since 4 years ago. Even Sam said Dean has not been the same since then. People who come back from hell is bound to have crap inside their head, just the same as possessed victims. The difference between Jeffry and Sam and Dean is while Jeffry has no one, Sam and Dean have each other. They have been each other's strength ever since Mary died.

Dean never take failure easy. Years ago when John's approval was the one that measure his worth, Dean took the failure over the Sthriga as his personal failure and worked hard to fix it. John never forgave mistakes. That's what made him such a great hunter. He passed it on to Dean so that's also what makes Dean such a great hunter. Dean never allow mistakes, even if he's the one who makes the mistake, he never forgive himself. A mistake may cause his brother's life.

The last scene of Splice Girls reminds me of The Sthriga incident. Dean makes mistake, almost cost his own life and in turn will cost Sam's life. Add Sammy's desperate pleading... in the history of Supernatural Dean can never refuse Sam's pleading. So, i can imagine the scene after the end of Splice Girls. Dean is staying up in the middle of the night thinking that he must fix himself. Dean is the kind of man who live for today and fixes things that he can fix in front of him. Moreover, Sam basically calls Dean a hypocrite over Amy-Emma problem .

Sam. Sam's been worried over Dean ever since Death Door. The end scene of Splice Girl shows Sam on his last rope regarding Dean's spiraling down into despair. So when he gets a sign that his brother is in trouble and as Lucifer says probably dead, he panics. Sam have had near misses during last episodes. His overactive reaction at the end of Slash Fiction, the way he shot the bad guy during The Mentalist. M going to re watch the previous episodes to see if i can catch Sam's near misses.

Great review, Sofia!
# sofia 2012-02-22 08:22
I agree that Dean's trip to hell was no help to his psyche but I do feel like his "dead inside" mentality started much earlier than season 5. Even looking back to the season three episode Dream a Little Dream of Me is very telling. Here's a clip of the scene I'm thinking of.


And I think Dean's issues started way before that. I can't quite pinpoint a time which makes me wonder if he's always felt that way about himself.
# Sylvie 2012-02-22 12:54
I'm with you Sofia, I love the mytharcs on SPN. I realized this when I squealed with happiness when I saw the demon smoke (I actually scared my cats, they looked at me like I was crazy or something)! I love when Ben Edlund writes these kinds of episode, just like "On the Head of a Pin", they are quite chilling.

Lucifer seems like such a fun guy doesn't he? But I definitely wouldn't want him as a friend or a "bunk buddy" for that matter. Mark Pellegrino plays this role so well. And yes that forked tongue gave me the heebie-jeebies. He reminded me of the tenant in "Pacific Palisades" (showing my age here), he's super nice to the owners until he moves in and all Hell breaks loose. Hey, maybe he was Lucifer!
# sofia 2012-02-23 08:18
I think we can all agree that Ben Edlund is an evil genius! And I too was more than a little happy to see some demons again. It's been too long. It also makes me want Crowley back!
# BeccaB 2012-02-23 07:21
Great review Sofia. Dean feeling dead inside has been brought up in a multitude of episodes. But I seem to remember the first I really heard the phrase.

It was at the end of the Teddy Bear episode, I think, when Dean finally revealed to Sam just what has occurred in Hell. And he confessed that he wish he to not feel a thing. That was his plea, that he couldn't feel a "damn thing."

I remember thinking; be careful what you wish for Dean.