Supernatural – In The Beginning

Well, Sam/Jared Padalecki fans may have found themselves throwing things at their tv’s last night, given that his half of the Winchester brothers was onscreen for oh, about five seconds. We saw him sneak out of the hotel room and go somewhere with Ruby, to do something that he was “definitely” ready to do. What was it? Who knows – that’s the last we saw of him for the rest of the night (but it certainly wasn’t the last we heard his name – more later). Even without Sam though, this episode is sure to be a favourite amongst dedicated SN viewers as we learned so much about the Winchester’s history with hunting and Mary’s connection to the YED who ultimately killed her while Sam lay in his crib.Dean, sleeping in the hotel, is told by Castiel that he “has to stop it” and wakes up on a bus stop bench with no idea where he is. With a quick shot of a newspaper, we discover that Dean is in Lawrence, Kansas and the date is April 30, 1973. This episode was, despite the seriousness of the story and the importance of the story to the overall mythology of the show, also somewhat of an homage to Back to the Future, and those little moments made me smile. Particularly Dean sitting next to a handsome young man in a diner and someone walking in shouting “Winchester!” and both Dean’s and the other man’s head swivel in response (almost an exact replica of the scene where Marty McFly meets his dad). Turns out it’s young John Winchester at the counter, and Dean quickly realizes this. Dean runs into Castiel, who informs him that he has to stop something, but we don’t know what that is. Sadly, the episode does not require Dean to get his parents together and end with him playing Chuck Berry at their high school prom, but luckily it’s pretty fantastic nonetheless.

Dean decides to follow his Dad and finds him at a car dealership, considering used cars. Dean talks him into purchasing a black ’67 Impala, and SN fans are forever grateful. We soon discover that John is dating Mary, but strangely John seems to know nothing about ghosts/demons/etc. when Dean casually mentions triggers like sulfur or cold spots in the atmosphere (subtle, Dean!). Was John just a really good actor? Nope – turns out it’s Mary who’s the hunter(!) – along with her father, played by X-Files’ Mitch Pileggi. Mary’s parents, Samuel and Deanna (awww – now we know where the boy’s names came from) keep a tight rein on their daughter and Dad doesn’t approve of her relationship with John as he’s just a “civilian”.

Through a series of events, we learn that the YED (he’s baaaa-acckkkkk) is making deals with people all over town, in exchange for the promise of a return favour ten years later. We get some insight into why when Dean is talking to Samuel and decides to explain who he really is (Samuel’s grandson from the future). Samuel takes this surprisingly well, and we soon realize why. He’s been possessed by the YED (and let me just say that Mitch Pileggi was outstanding in this episode – he was so extremely creepy – loved it!), and he’s feeling chatty, so we get treated to more of his plan. He wants to create a generation of psychic kids to serve a purpose that is still undefined, and in order to do so he needs permission from the parent (master breeder, ew) of these future children to come to them later and claim these kids for himself. In order to gain permission, he exchanges favours like curing cancer, or death by combine.

Back to Dean, YED stabs himself as a means of killing Samuel (no way will Samuel survive the wound once his body is abandoned) and also does away with poor Deanna. He then locates Mary and John, who had planned on running away together because Mary just wanted a normal life, and quickly snaps John’s neck – he informs her of her parent’s fate and goes in for the deal to save John. He’ll revive John and she’ll have the life she wants – as long as ten years later, he can swing by her place and pick up a little something (i.e. Sam, but he neglects to mention that) and do so uninterrupted. Dean arrives to prevent the deal and suddenly John is revived – apparently Mary had already accepted.

Lastly, Castiel informs Dean once they’re back in 2008, that he couldn’t have stopped the deal – it was destiny and couldn’t be changed. Turns out the thing that Dean has to stop was not back in 1973 – that was just backstory for Dean’s benefit – but rather now. Castiel and his fellow angels don’t know the path Sam is heading down and they fear that it won’t end well. Dean is charged with stopping Sam from heading down a dangerous road, or “they” will. And scene. We’re left with a “to be continued”!

SN fans, there was so much to love in this episode I couldn’t possibly name everything, so I’ll leave it to you guys to continue in the comments section. However, I have a few memorable quotes that I just have to mention:

• Dean introducing himself to John: “Dean Van Halen”

• Dean: Do you know where I can get reception on this thing? John: U.S.S. Enterprise?

• Did you find anything on the web….of information you’ve assembled?

• Best line of the night: Sammy, wherever you are, Mom is a babe. I’m going to hell….again.

• Most heartbreaking line of the night: “Promise me that on November 2, 1983 you won’t get out of bed, no matter what you see or hear. Promise me.”

— posted by Nicole
Nicole is a lawyer by day and will be GMMR’s resident Supernatural and Privileged expert this year. She lives just outside of Toronto, and as such, you’ll have to forgive Canadian spellings and maybe the occasional “eh” when they pop up in her reviews. Nicole is still in mourning over the loss of Arrested Development and desperately hoping that the movie happens soon. While she’s a lover of music and movies, television is near and dear to her heart and she’s really excited to be a part of the GMMR team!