Supernatural: The Angels Are Back

Tonight’s episode of Supernatural brings viewers back to the story with another trip to the past. Trouble is brewing for the Winchesters when Anna decides to go rogue and take out Lucifer’s chances of rising on her own. The episode introduces a new character and brings back some old faces.

The episode opens with Dean sitting on a couch saying he loves the devil. The camera pans out to show Dean with a stripper in a devil’s outfit. Anna appears, interrupting Dean’s dream, and asks him to meet her at a spot since she is unable to track the boys due to the angel warding spell Castiel engraved on their lungs.

Anna arrives at the site, but becomes instantly annoyed to only find Castiel there. Anna tells him that she has escaped from “angel prison” and plans to kill Sam. If she can kill Sam then Lucifer will not be able to rise. Castiel threatens to kill Anna with a shiny new angel-killing blade if she even gets near Sam. Realizing she can’t touch Lucifer’s vessel with Castiel around, Anna travels back to 1978 to kill Mary and John Winchester, preventing the birth of Sam and Dean.

Castiel, using a tracking spell, finds Anna and sends the Winchester boys to the past with sacred oil and his angel-killing knife to stop her.  In the past, the brothers quickly find their parent’s house from the yellow pages and head right over.  Mary is unhappy to see Dean again as she informs him she has left the Hunter life behind. John invites both Dean and Sam in believing they are cousins of Mary.

Throughout the episode Anna comes close to killing either of the parents along with Sam and Dean. She even procures the help of the Archangel Uriel by convincing him that the Winchesters will be the cause of his death in the future.

The episode contains many emotional moments shared between the children and their parents. Sam has a heart to heart with the younger and innocent version of his father. Sam tells John that he understands why his father brought him up the way he did and that he never got the chance to thank him for everything he had done for them. Later in the episode Dean confesses to Mary that both he and Sam are her sons. Dean warns her about her death and tells her to run. Sam enters the room and tells her that running won’t help since the yellow-eyed demon will follow her anywhere she goes. The only chance she has of changing the future is by leaving John. Mary tells them it’s already too late since she is pregnant with Dean.

As the revelation comes to terms, Uriel and Anna attack the Winchesters. Anna punches John, sending him flying outside, kills Sam and grabs a hold of Mary as Uriel disarms Dean. Before Anna can kill Mary, John appears all healed and looking badass. It turns out John has said yes to Michael allowing him to take over his body in order to save Mary. Michael easily dispenses Anna by frying her with his hand and snaps his fingers to send Uriel back to heaven.

Michael and Dean finally meet face to face. Michael informs Dean that Michael’s vessel is a bloodline that traces all the way back to Cain and Abel, which allows him to enter John’s body. Trying to convince Dean that saying yes is his destiny, Michael starts bringing up the events where the random choices the brothers made over and over again just brought them closer to a Michael and Lucifer showdown on earth. Michael tells Dean that free will is just an illusion and everything has already been written from the start. The talk ends with Michael reviving Sam, erasing the events from the memories of Mary and John, and sending Dean back to think about the conversation they just had.

What I really enjoyed about the episode was the appearance of the Archangel Michael. To be honest, I thought he was going to be someone I truly hated, but the way Michael reasons with Dean and talks to him makes him a very likable character. While I don’t like the outcome of Michael’s goals, I can’t blame the logic behind his beliefs.

The episode really carries the tone that free will for the brothers is just an illusion, leaving me with a gloomy outlook for both Sam and Dean. Will the brothers say “Yes” to their destinies or will they say “No” and find a way to save the world using their free will? I don’t know what the characters will choose, but I sure as hell can’t wait to find out.

Season 5, Episode 13: The Song Remains the Same (Originally aired February 4, 2010)

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Photographs courtesy of The CW and David Gray.