Friday, April 16, 2010

...Set: Supernatural 5x18 "Point of No Return"

Supernatural turned 100 tonight with this ultra intense episode that also seemed to feature quite a lot of references to certain homo-erotic tendencies the show has from time to time. A couple lines had me laughing just because I know they’ll cause either fits of glee or mountains of uproar. For the most part, though, this episode, appropriately titled “Point of No Return,” was all about the angsty drama-rama, and featured a surprise appearance I had not a clue about until the “THEN” sequence that altogether gives too much away sometimes. Did everyone else know? I’ve been keeping away from spoilers.

Now let’s get this recapping business going, shall we? We begin with Zachariah, drowning his sorrows and lamenting to what will soon be an angel-fried dude named Stewart about all of his years of hard work, all for naught. But then he gets a call from the boss man, and it appears he’s given another chance to set things straight.

Recap/review of Supernatural 5x18 "Point of No Return" by freshfromthe.comMeanwhile, in a heartbreaking scene, Dean is packing up all of his belongings. His leather jacket! The keys to the Impala! His trusty pearl-handled gun! But before he can send that off and go and say yes, Sam shows up to stop him. And herewith begins many of the reverse similarities to the end of last season. Instead of Dean going after Sam, it’s now Sam going after Dean. Tables, they are turning. Dean is ready to put up a fight, but Sam has brought in backup in the form of Castiel, and with that – WHOOSH!

Bobby’s place. Everyone is giving Dean guff about his giving up, but then Cas gets a weirdo headache and does a SOLO WHOOSH off to forest unknown. There, he meets a couple angels he ka-pows, and then pulls something trying to push its way out of the ground. Now, if we hadn’t seen that “THEN” sequence earlier, it might have actually been a surprise as to who it was. But alas, all of the camera angles back at Bobby’s to keep us in suspense were for naught because, HELLO, we just saw that one Adam Milligan (Jake Abel), the Winchesters’ half-brother who was killed back in season four, was going to be in this episode. Obviously, why else feature him in the “THEN?”

Adam comes to, and it turns out the angels have been talking to him in heaven. They’ve told him he’s the vessel for Michael, and he’s going to save the world. Naturally, Sam and Dean are against him doing that. While Sam tells him that they’re finding another way, Dean mostly just doesn’t want him to be the patsy for what’s supposed to be his job. Anyhow, this Adam, very unlike the ghoul version, is rather snippity and actually quite like Dean in many ways. He doesn’t care about Sam and Dean and what they want, because his family was his mom, who the angels have promised him he will be able to see again if he does this.

Sam locks Dean up in the super special panic room (another callback to “When the Levee Breaks”), and they have a rather dispiriting chat where Dean basically says that he doesn’t have any faith that Sam wouldn’t say yes. He’s convinced that one way or another, they’d get him to do it. Sam is, understandably (mean Dean!), upset by this, and leaves Dean locked up in there before he can let the manly tears flow. Shortly after he’s left, Cas comes down to check on Dean, hears some sort of commotion inside, and stupidly opens the door to go check what the deal is. Right into Dean’s trap, you have walked, Cas. Dean does that get-rid-of-angels-quick symbol and escapes. And here I will point out the further reverse similarities to WTLB. When Sam was down there, Cas was the one who let him out, but on purpose. Now he does it again, but his intentions were the opposite!

While Sam freaks out about Dean escaping and goes to I guess look for him, he leaves Bobby to watch after Adam, who I keep wanting to call Jake, because that’s his real name and he looks more like a Jake than an Adam. Digression, sorry. But Adam has a dream conversation with Zachariah, and when Sam gets back, Adam’s plum disappeared. Whoopsie daisies.



But wait, you ask, what’s Dean been up to? He’s been looking for a sidewalk preacher, because we know that the angels have those loonies on the lookout for Dean. Dean’s got the guy about to phone up big Z when Cas beats him to the punch. Ahahaha, what a pun. Because Cas? Actually does beat Dean up, quite a bit. Then does his little forehead finger whammy to knock him out and take him back to Bobby’s.

Zachariah has brought Adam to that special fancy room we last saw in “Lucifer Rising” to drop the bomb. The angels have been lying to Adam all this time. He’s not Michael’s vessel, he’s just bait to get Dean there. Because Zac knows that Sam and Dean will put aside their differences to come rescue Adam. Adam starts asking what Zac considers annoying questions, so he does what he does best and starts twisting around his insides so he coughs up blood. Uh oh.

But, Zachariah’s right about one thing. Though Sam has Dean handcuffed down in the panic room, he unlocks him to help find Adam. He trusts him to make the right choice when push comes to shove, even though Dean basically tells him that he’s going to say yes, no matter what. Unlike you, Dean, your brother has faith in you.

Cas does another WHOOSH to take them to Van Nuys, where the special fancy room is located in an abandoned warehouse. But it’s being guarded by five or six angels, so Cas is getting ready to go in alone to face them so that Sam and Dean can follow and get Adam. And I don’t know about you, but when Cas took off his tie I was like, “whoa, this must be serious.” He goes inside, tussles with and kills one angel, then proceeds to get surrounded by the rest. But we find out that that razor blade he took in with him, he used to carve that get-rid-of-angels-quick on his own chest. And BOOM! All of those angels, including himself, are FLASHY WHOOSHED right out of there. If you can’t tell, I’m having a little too much fun with all of the whooshing.

Dean heads into the special fancy room, where he finds Adam still with the bloody coughing. Zachariah comes in and Sam tries to surprise him from behind with one of those special angel-killing knife thingamajigs, but Zachariah is not so easily surprised. He slams Sammy back against the wall and gives him a matching case of the bloody spits. It’s decision time. Zachariah gets up in Dean’s face, and Dean breaks down. He says he’ll do it, he’ll say yes.

Zachariah is not convinced that Dean is telling the truth, but at this point, he really is. But then, while Zachariah is chanting for Michael to come on down, Dean looks over at Sam. And it is a look fraught with meaning. Because as soon as Michael’s form starts to quaky shake the room, Dean gives Sam a little wink. What! Dean has a surprise up his sleeve yet! He tells Zac that before he says yes, he’s got some provisos, a few conditions. And at the top of his list is that Michael has to burn Zachariah to dust. Zac isn’t so hot on that idea and gets up in Dean’s face about his worth to Michael, and how he won’t kill him. So Dean’s like, “No, but I WILL!” BOOM BANG with his own hidden special angel-killing knife thingamajig right in Zac’s face!! Whoa!

Sam has nary a moment to be relieved before they realize that Michael is still on his way down. Dean manages to get Sam out of there in time, but when he turns back to get Adam, the door slams shut and the place lights up ever so bright. By the time the light is gone and Dean is able to open the door again, the special fancy room is long gone. And with it, Adam. Is he dead? Will he be coming back later on? It seems like maybe they could have Michael use him as a temporary vessel like he used John in the past. I guess well have to wait and see on that one.

Impala. Aftermath. Sam wonders what changed Dean’s mind, because he saw his eyes, and he knows he was going to say yes. Dean explains that when he looked over at Sam, he just didn’t want to disappoint him. And then he proceeds to do a real proper apology! What growth! And, on top of that, it looks like he’s found some fight in himself yet. Because he tells Sam that they’re going to screw destiny and go face their foes their own way.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I kind of wanted Dean to say yes. And really, how exactly are they going to fight everybody if they’ve found no way to do it yet? There better not be some dues ex machina that comes along, that’s all I can say.

And, um, can we talk about how lame next week’s episode looks? This is basically the end of the Apocalypse arc, and the way that preview played, it looks really stand alone. It could just be the preview, which have been frenetic and rather stupid lately, but who knows.

Quotes:

“Eight months of turned pages and screwed pooches, but tonight. Tonight’s when the magic happens.” – Dean

“You’re not my father. And you ain’t in my shoes.” – Dean

“I was dead, and in heaven. Except it was my prom, and I was making out with this girl, her name was Kristin McGee.” – Adam
“Oh yeah, that sounds like heaven. Did you get to third base?” – Dean

“Well, we’re working on the power of love.” - Dean
“How’s that going?” - Adam
“Not good.” – Dean

“Trust me, the one thing worse than seeing Dad once a year? Was seeing him all year.” – Sam

“Tell you one thing, attitude like that, you’d fit right in around here.” – Sam

“Well Cas, not for nothing, but the last person who looked at me like that, I got laid.” – Dean

“You know Sam and Dean Winchester are psychotically, irrationally, erotically co-dependent on each other, right?” – Zachariah

“What the hell happened to him?” – Sam
“Me.” – Castiel

“Hey, if it’s any consolation, you happen to be the illegitimate half-brother of the guy we do care about.” - Zachariah

“Word to the wise, don’t piss off the nerd angels.” – Dean

“Before Michael gets one piece of this sweet ass, he has to turn you into a piece of charcoal.” – Dean

“If you’re grown up enough to find faith in me, the least I can do is return the favor.” - Dean

“So screw destiny, right in the face. I say we take the fight to them, our way.” – Dean
“Sounds good.” – Sam

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2 comments:

  1. Love your quote choices.

    Since you read the synopses for next week I will mention that the preview is making it off like a comedy, but the synopsis said it was about demi-gods and possibly more, but I don't want to say more unless you ask. Let's just say I find the info ocnflicting.

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  2. Hmm. I will say the previews haven't been very good lately, so it may turn out to be better than expected based on that alone. I did read the synopsis about the demi-gods tracking them down, but don't know much more than that. Hopefully it will exceed my expectations!

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