Supernatural: Sam, Interrupted

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  January 22, 2010 @ 2:32pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

After more than two months of hiatus, Supernatural fans welcome back their two favourite brothers in the week's episode "Sam, Interrupted". Though this episode is not returning to this season's story arc involving Lucifer and the angels, the Winchesters take a break to get some therapy.

Sam and Dean receive a call from an old hunter named Martin about some kind of possible demon involvement with the apparent suicides taking place in the psychiatric hospital. Before they meet up with Martin inside the hospital, Sam recalls that he was a really good hunter but Dean divulges he used to be before a situation in Albuquerque where he apparently made a costly mistake. How do the Winchesters get into the crazy house? They tell the truth about angels, demons, the apocalypse and Lucifer which reminds us just how insane the story is. As soon as the doctor hears their story, they are immediately sent to the in-patient check in for a thorough physical examination (rubber glove and all).

After another patient commits suicide, the boys take a closer examination of the body in the morgue and discover the patient was killed by a wraith which sucked his brain of all of its fluids as it had done with the other dead patients. We even get to see what I call the "brain blade" at the end! The episode does have its share of mystery, there is also a hilarious moment involving pudding (which I won't spoil).

Sam and Dean entered the mad house with the intention of stopping the monster but didn't realize they could be pushed over the edge while inside. It's here that Dean takes the opportunity to chat with the attractive doctor about the kind of stress he is under every day but in a manly way of course! Dean expressing his feelings of obligation to save everyone in the world is a daunting weight to have on his shoulders. This gives the audience a better understanding of what kind of pressure he puts on himself and why he is so hard on the people around him.

Sam also has two great moments in the episode. The first is when he is drugged up so much he fits right in with a number of the other patients, telling Dean he loves him even though he messed up...but not in a manly way. While not a fantastic moment it demonstrates how the show's creators know how to make fun of all of the heart to heart talks Sam and Dean which have become all too familiar. The second moment is at the end of the episode when Sam takes responsibility for himself. Throughout the series Sam has always placed his blame on his father, brother Dean and the demon Ruby. For Sam to openly take responsibility for his actions rather than lash out at others presents more character development than expected at this point in the series, showing that Sam may develop even more as he faces these issues.

Later on in the episode we find out that Martin didn't enter the hospital just to catch the wraith, but to get help for himself. His reasons for entering always keep the brothers' future headed into a dark direction and dying of old age less likely. This keeps the tone of the series dark with the looming possibility that they will either die like their father or end up in a hospital like Martin. This dim outlook on their futures foreshadows things getting much worse for the Winchesters before they get better and is really keeping the audience on its toes.

Overall, "Sam Interrupted" was not as exciting as previous episodes of Supernatural but it did have its moments for the brothers. While low on action it does make me look forward to the next episode and its eventual return to the main story.

Tags: Supernatural, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Castiel, Demons, Sam, Interrupted

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