Review: Supernatural Season 2, Episode 20: What is and What Should Never Be
If I think about this episode too much, I’m going to start sobbing.
Wow, this episode was a tearjerker! I felt so bad for Dean in this episode. When he sees his mom and hugs her...like, I really FELT that. You know? That had some emotional impact.
In this episode, Sam and Dean are trying to track down a genie. Unfortunately, the genie gets to them first and sends Dean into an alternate reality where his mother never died (kind of like a wish fulfillment thing). The only problem is the alternate world only exists in his mind, and Dean is actually strung up in a warehouse with the genie feeding off his life force. A bit problematic, no? Anyway, Dean has to make a choice to simply exist in the alternate world where he has a happy, normal life or return to the real world, which is full of pain for him.
Of course, Dean has to make the morally correct decision and come back to the real world, but it’s a really difficult moment because you can tell he really wanted to stay. Throughout the course of this season, Dean has said that he doesn’t want to keep going several times. Obviously, that’s distressing as a viewer because we all love this character, but I get why he feels this way. At his core, Dean just wants his family to be safe and together. Sam is the only family he has left, and now that Sam might be in danger from the yellow-eyed demon—and Sam wants Dean to kill him—Dean is struggling to go on.
The fact that Dean decided to come back is really an extraordinary testament to his commitment to saving people, his character, and the strength of his convictions. I mean, it’s really a triumph of willpower. There’s a lot of stuff going on on the psychological level of this episode; it really helps you understand where Dean is coming from. If you didn’t love Dean before this episode, I guarantee you love him afterward.
On another note, this whole episode reminded me of Harry Potter. The whole alternate-reality thing gave me a Mirror of Erised vibe, and I was reminded of Harry questioning why he has to be the one to destroy Voldemort when Dean asks Sam why they have to be the ones to sacrifice everything. Both those aspects were fantastic for character development (although Sam and Dean are already well developed), and they also made me catch some feelings over this episode. Seriously, I’m consistently impressed by the emotional impact Supernatural is able to generate, mostly on the strength of the acting alone. The way Jensen and Jared approach their characters adds a lot of layers to the show.
Other than that, the best part of the episode was the weirdness of seeing Sam and Dean living normal lives. Like, Dean is so excited to mow a lawn. It’s adorable! It’s also adorable to see Sam and Jessica getting engaged. That moment got a big “awww” from me. However, I do have to agree with Dean. Alternate-reality Sam is kind of a wimp.
(Plus, ten points to the show for another killer Led Zeppelin reference in the episode title It’s spot on.)
Rating: 9/10
Wow, this episode was a tearjerker! I felt so bad for Dean in this episode. When he sees his mom and hugs her...like, I really FELT that. You know? That had some emotional impact.
In this episode, Sam and Dean are trying to track down a genie. Unfortunately, the genie gets to them first and sends Dean into an alternate reality where his mother never died (kind of like a wish fulfillment thing). The only problem is the alternate world only exists in his mind, and Dean is actually strung up in a warehouse with the genie feeding off his life force. A bit problematic, no? Anyway, Dean has to make a choice to simply exist in the alternate world where he has a happy, normal life or return to the real world, which is full of pain for him.
Of course, Dean has to make the morally correct decision and come back to the real world, but it’s a really difficult moment because you can tell he really wanted to stay. Throughout the course of this season, Dean has said that he doesn’t want to keep going several times. Obviously, that’s distressing as a viewer because we all love this character, but I get why he feels this way. At his core, Dean just wants his family to be safe and together. Sam is the only family he has left, and now that Sam might be in danger from the yellow-eyed demon—and Sam wants Dean to kill him—Dean is struggling to go on.
The fact that Dean decided to come back is really an extraordinary testament to his commitment to saving people, his character, and the strength of his convictions. I mean, it’s really a triumph of willpower. There’s a lot of stuff going on on the psychological level of this episode; it really helps you understand where Dean is coming from. If you didn’t love Dean before this episode, I guarantee you love him afterward.
On another note, this whole episode reminded me of Harry Potter. The whole alternate-reality thing gave me a Mirror of Erised vibe, and I was reminded of Harry questioning why he has to be the one to destroy Voldemort when Dean asks Sam why they have to be the ones to sacrifice everything. Both those aspects were fantastic for character development (although Sam and Dean are already well developed), and they also made me catch some feelings over this episode. Seriously, I’m consistently impressed by the emotional impact Supernatural is able to generate, mostly on the strength of the acting alone. The way Jensen and Jared approach their characters adds a lot of layers to the show.
Other than that, the best part of the episode was the weirdness of seeing Sam and Dean living normal lives. Like, Dean is so excited to mow a lawn. It’s adorable! It’s also adorable to see Sam and Jessica getting engaged. That moment got a big “awww” from me. However, I do have to agree with Dean. Alternate-reality Sam is kind of a wimp.
(Plus, ten points to the show for another killer Led Zeppelin reference in the episode title It’s spot on.)
Rating: 9/10
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