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When next Thursday rolls around, you’ll want to make sure you have a crying towel on hand and a few friends to squeal to come 10:00 because the next episode of Supernatural is one of the best of the season.
The angels were kind to me this week, giving me the episode early – which was a boon because I won’t be able to watch it come Thursday. Believe me, though, I’ll be thinking of all of you because I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this one.
Look at Dean over there, all crushed and serious. . . .
SPOILERS AHEAD
But mostly just my usual teasing
ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK
It’s no secret to anyone reading this far that the next episode is about another trip back in time to see John and Mary when they were young and just starting out. It’s called “The Song Remains the Same” and it’s a terrific mix of action, angst and story.
This time Castiel sends both Sam and Dean back to the seventies to stop Anna who plans to pull a Terminator and kill Mary before she can give birth to Lucifer’s vessel (aka Sam). It’s a tough trip for Castiel since he’s working with only half a mojo and that means that the boys are pretty much on their own once they arrive.
Amy Gumenick and Matt Cohen reprise their roles as the young Mary and John and I enjoyed every minute of their time on screen. We didn’t see much of Matt in “In the Beginning,” but this time around we get to see a lot more and it works. Amy is both charming and tough as the troubled Mary Winchester, the hunter who wants to have a normal life. Needless to say, she’s less than thrilled to see Dean show up on her doorstep again. Now if she can only figure out why the tall one keeps staring at her like a puppy who needs a hug!
There’s not much time for humor in the story as Dean and Sam have to figure out a way to save their parents without giving away the whole truth. Demons are one thing, but even for an experienced hunter like Mary, time travel and nasty angels are a little hard to buy.
Unfortunately, Anna does the explaining for them, when she initiates a fight scene that had to leave a mark on a couple of the show’s expert stunt men! (Oh, and I had to laugh at how misleading this photo of Anna is — it’s not at all what it looks like.)
What really makes “The Song Remain the Same” work is that everyone is really only trying to do the right thing in their own wrong way. Anna wants to kill Mary so that Lucifer won’t have a vessel. Dean just wants to save his brother. . . his mother. . . his father. . . Mary wants to have a home and a family with the man she loves and Sam . . . well, he just wants to not be responsible for the end of the world. Small stakes, huh? Hardly.
Let me now take a moment to sing the praises of Jared Padalecki. Yes, really. You all know that I’m a Jensen fan – a “Dean Girl,” if you will – but Jared has one scene in this episode that made my heartache. (That’s a good thing in this case.) It’s Sam’s one chance to tell his father how he really feels about him, even if John doesn’t understand that’s what’s happening at all.
That’s followed up with a poignant Dean and Mary scene that rivals his “don’t get out of bed” speech from their last episode together. The quiet moments don’t last long, this is Supernatural after all, and that means the bad guys get one more shot at winning the war. Before it was done two big things happened – one made me gasp and one had me shaking my head in wonder of the scripted elegance.
There aren’t many shows that can keep you glued to the screen with nothing but two actors trading dialouge. Could have been two minutes. Could have been ten. No pyrotechnics, no special effects, no jokes. Just really good storytelling and that, my friends, is Supernatural at its best.
Watch Supernatural: “The Song Remains the Same” Thursday, February 4 at 9:00 on The CW.
Photo: David Gray/The CW ©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
It’s an equal Sam and Dean ep – how about that, huh? They both have some great scenes if you like heartstring tugging angst!
And the only other thing I can say is don’t try to pin down the whole Time Travel thing – Terminator movies have made a career out of the idea and if you try to figure it out you only get a headache. Because yeah, you could kill Mary or you could go further back and kill Mary’s parents or go further back and so on and so on – it’s time travel, so you gotta just buy the whole quilt and not pick at the frayed ends.
*Rolls eyes at Kim* Can’t it be about BOTH brothers?
Cynthia, can you at least specify the ep? Is it Sam centered or Dean centered? I’d like to know to decide if I’ll watch it or skip it.
Episode looks excellent Cynthia. Thanks for getting us even more excited.
I do have a question. It’s been reported that Anna goes back to 1978 which is the year before Dean was born (Jan 1979). So if her only real target is Sam, why pick this year to kill John and Mary? Is the year significant in any way? Is it actually 1978 or is that just a foiler? Really this is all getting curiouser and curiouser.
Thank you Liz, that is what I meant and I’m quite surprised that stating some simple facts gets me scolded for an accusation I feel was unwarranted.
Annie, I see Dean as the one who has sacrificed most for his family, thus my remark. True it doesn’t matter which brother dies, but the fact is, if Dean broke the first seal, why is Anna just going after Sam when it would be logical to go after both, becuase killing Sam won’t really guarantee that the last seal won’t be broken, but killing Dean will avert the first seal from breaking, thus avoiding the rest of the seals from breaking.
Cheryl, while I do feel you have accused me wrongly, I do agree with your suggestion that Anna go back before the deal was made and stop the deal from being made.
The timeline just doesn’t make sense, if Sam is the only target is what I’m saying and Dean being the first deal breaker would be, in my view, a lot mmore dangerous than the last, since all it took to break the last seal was to kill Lilith.
Annie – I think you misinterpreted Just Curious’ post because he/she is asking why the review says that Anna wants Sam killed because Dean did break the first seal, so why wouldn’t Anna want to kill Dean too? If you killed Dean (or the parents before Dean was born), then you won’t have the Winchester alive who broke the first seal. But the review makes it sound like Anna is only after Sam, which doesn’t make sense.
Thank you so much for the review! Love youn John and Mary! I think this is gonna be epic.
I just hope that Castiel will be in it more than 5 min. I miss him, for a regular on a show I have barely seen him.
Can’t wait to find out something about Michael and Dean.
It sounds amazing. I can’t wait to see Sam finally get to meet Mary. Glad to hear the angels aren’t too heavily involved and we get lots of time with the Winchester Family!
Enough already with the childish ,ridiculous and very petty remarks on what seal is more important or which brother cares more about their family. I love both brothers and it never ceases to amaze me how one can’t go anywhere online and read anything about Supernatural without someone taking a cheap unwarranted shot at one brother or the other. Right now Sam seems to be the target of most of this illogical hate and I don’t get it! The brothers are each other’s world and bashing one or the other means one has missed the whole point of the show ,which is love of family…uncondtional love!
Both boys broke seals! Dean broke number one by spilling blood in hell(after being tormented and hopeless and driven to it) and Sam broke seal number 66 (after being tormented and hopeless and driven to it) They are actually equal on the causing this mess front,Dean started the whole mess and Sam finished it but if either boy had been stopped,the whole thing would never have happened.( I borrowed this little summary from a friend who put it so perfectly simple)
My questiom is why go back that far at all? why doesn’t Amna just go back to when Sam was killed in “All Hell Breaks Loose” and stop or kill Dean before he makes the demon deal to bring Sam back. That demon deal is what started the chain of events that led to the first seal being broken. When you play around and alter the natural order of things like making a demon deal to bring someone back to life there will be some sort of repercussions.
Thank you so much for this sneak peek the episode sounds amazing and i’m glad sam finally gets to go on one of these mystical trips and see his Mom and make alittle peace with his Dad their last meeting wasn’t the best!
Thank you again it was most kind of you to post this!!
Thanks for the sneak peek , Cynthia. The episode sounds pretty intense! I have to admit, this Dean girl has been feeling a little down about the lack of Dean spoilers recently. The Sam spoilers have sounded really great: I just wish we had that same kind of stuff about Dean to look forward to. But I am excited about seeing how things turn out between the boys and their parents (not to mention seeing Cas again!) The episode looks like it’s going to rock.
Just curious No Dean isnt the only one who cares enough nor was he the only one affected by past events.Neither is it about which seal was more important there were 60 odd seals inbetween that had nothing to do with either brother. And has much as I love Dean he isnt the only important brother .
I just love the fact Sam will get to see his mother and talk to his dad or will you resent that as well?
845 days ago
[...] from SF Universe was lucky to get to watch the next week episode 5.13 “The Song Remains The [...]
I can’t believe they went there :( Where is logic in all this? So Dean wants to save his mother? That she’d burn alive in a few years? He wants to save his father that in a few years he’d become a monster obsessed with hunting who ruined Dean’s life? He wants to save his brother to let said brother to doom the world? If anything Dean would agree with Anna that it’d be better for everyone if all Winchesters would be dead or never be born.
Thanks for the review. This epi sounds excellent. Would you say that it is better than ITB? How about The End? They are two of my favorite episodes and have sort of set the bar for me terms of quality of story-telling and acting.
How about Castiel? Does Misha have much to do in this episode? I admit that I’ve really been missing him. Do we at least get a good Dean-Cas scene?
So the scene with the two actors trading dialog…care to give us a tiny hint about who is involved or what is going on? Just a little hint would be awesome. :)
Thanks for the sneak peek, Cynthia. I’m especially glad that both boys have moments with their parents, can’t wait to see those!
Count me in as one of those who is curious as to why Anna is going back to kill Mary and John before Dean was even born if this only has to do with Sam. Why apparently, the last seal being broken is obviuosly more important than the first, considering if the first wasn’t broken, the last never would have happened.
I can understand Dean wanting to save his family. He seems to be the only one that cares enough to put everyone before him.
I’m both curious and nervous about the two big reveals. I can only hope that Kripke keeps both guys important in the scheme of things.
Thanks so much for sharing, Cynthia! I can’t wait to see this episode.
And I’ll echo Sasha’s request on information about Michael, if you’re allowed to say anything! Thanks again! :D
I’m a bit confused about the timeline. They all go back to before even Dean is born if I’m not mistaken? So Anna’s agenda is to prevent Sam’s birth, why go back so far? Does she want Michael’s vessel dead as well? And wouldn’t Dean be interested in saving himself aka ensuring his own birth? Atm, I’m at a loss why they picked that particular date to time travel since it seems everybody is a couple years too soon for their perspective goals.
Also, can you shed some light on if Michael will make an appearance finally, of any kind (dream/illusion/disembodied voice)? They emphasized Mary telling little Dean “the angels are watching over you” so much, they could neatly tie it back to Mary being actually made aware of the existence of some helping angel. I know she meets Anna but in that light, her goodnight speech doesn’t make sense.