Supernatural: Point of No Return

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  April 16, 2010 @ 12:07pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

After five seasons, Supernatural has its 100th episode and I am expecting a lot from this pinnacle moment in the series.

Apparently not even angels are safe in a time of recession and Zachariah hasn't been making his numbers on account of the Winchester brothers as he moans on about his job to someone in a bar. After a bit more chit chat the walls start to tremble, a bright light appears and a ringing sounds that brings everyone in the bar to their knees before they die. All the while, Zachariah is speaking with his "boss" who apparently gives him a second chance to get back in the game.

Back in another crummy motel, Sam catches up with Dean packing his stuff and they have a talk about how Dean is planning on going to the angels. Dean won't back down, but Sam brought Castiel in for backup who takes them all to back to Bobby's. Of course, everyone argues about how Dean wants to give in to the angels but Bobby mentions how he contemplates suicide all the time but won't give up because he promised Dean he wouldn't – prompting Dean to shut up. At the end of the conversation, Castiel is alarmed by a disturbance in the force and takes off.

Castiel arrives in a forest destroyed in the same way when Dean was brought back to life and notices some movement coming from the ground when suddenly two angels appear. He proves just how bad badass he is, taking them both down easily and then pulls a person out of the ground before heading back to Bobby's. Back at Bobby's place, it turns out the person in the ground was the Sam and Dean's dead brother, Adam, who doesn't like Sam and Dean as well as their father John. Apparently Zachariah brought him back to the world of the living to be a vessel for Michael since Dean keeps hitting the brakes on destiny and he got tired of waiting.

Meanwhile in the basement jail cell, Sam has another heart to heart with Dean. Dean is evidently "Tired of fighting who he is supposed to be", and admits it is because he doesn't believe in Sam. Whether it is demon blood or another hot demon chick, Dean is convinced Sam will eventually say yes to the devil and there needs to be someone there to stop him and goes so far as to tell him "Lucifer is going to wear you to the prom". Sam is noticeably upset and walks out, giving Dean the opportunity for Dean to trick Castiel in an angel trap and escape.

Sam notices both Castiel and Dean are missing and leaves Bobby to watch over Adam while he is gone. Unfortunately for Dean, Castiel finds him and gives him the beating of two lifetimes before taking him back to Bobby's only to find that Adam has disappeared. Sam speaks with Dean again and tells him they have a plan to get Adam back and they need his help but Dean doesn't understand why Sam still trusts him. Sam explains that although Dean may not believe in him, he believes in Dean.

When Sam, Dean and Castiel show up to rescue Adam, there are at least five angels guarding Adam which is bad news. Castiel goes in first and takes down one angel but before the other four angels/Matrix agents punch his ticket he reveals the angel trap carved into his chest which sends them all away, himself included, in a flash of light. Dean enters the room where Adam is being kept and finds him bleeding from the mouth. Zachariah reveals that while it seemed like Adam was to become Michael's vessel, the plan was actually to lure Dean in using Adam as bait. Sam tries to attack Zachariah but is quickly tossed to the side and now with both his brothers close to death, Dean finally says "yes" to the angels. In classic Dean Winchester style, his agreement comes with a few conditions: the most important being that Michael has to turn Zachariah to ash or as he elegantly puts it "Before Michael gets one piece of this sweet ass, he has to turn you into charcoal." Surprisingly, Zachariah doesn't like the idea that much and threatens Dean while the white light and trembling walls have returned but Dean winks at Sam just before he drives the angel blade through Zachariah's skull.

The heat is on and Dean is trying to get Sam and Adam out of the room before Michael arrives. Dean manages to get Sam out but the door slams behind them, trapping Adam inside. Dean attempts to save Adam but can't as he watches the white light disappear and finds the entire inside of the room gone when he opens the door. Back in the impala, Dean admits he changed his mind because he didn't want to let Sam down and apologizes to Sam for being a jerk. He also wants to take the fight to everyone else but in their own way as the episode ends.

While this episode has been better than the past few, it will not be a highlight in the series. Since it was the 100th episode and a hallmark not all shows achieve, I was expecting to be impressed by its storytelling or action but neither was very impressive. In the show's opening scene, the visual effects of the bar patrons having their eyes burned out didn't look very good at all and I would have preferred a simple choking death rather than a bad special effect. It's moments like those that can differentiate a show between camp and drama since it takes me out of the moment so easily.

What I did enjoy about the episode was how much ass Castiel kicked. Although he has been around the last couple episodes, it was good to once again see him in action and as an active part of the team rather than the angel who disappears for no apparent reason a lot of the time. Now that he knows God doesn't want to be found, it makes more sense for him to be around more since he has nowhere else to go, unless he is sightseeing or something. Also, I am glad Dean actually explained why he was determined to give in to the angels. He has been carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders for a great deal of the season without justification and it was dragging the series down in tone but now that it is out in the open, I hope the show moves past this with a reinvigorated Winchester.

The return of the Sam and Dean's brother Adam was a bad move. Considering his character only appeared in the episode Jump the Shark in season four, it seems like a forced move on the part of the show. This may be because the show was extended another season but this is not the most deplorable move the angels could have made considering they brought Dean back to life to be Michael's vessel and letting a lot of the seals that kept Lucifer in hell be broken. If the angels were to take a drastic move against the Winchesters and Castiel, they should have resurrected demons to fight for them with the empty promise of salvation in return. Not only would this have tarnished the angels further, it would have almost blurred the lines between good and evil. It would have been a treat to see the return of the original YED (Yellow Eyed Demon) in a strange twist. Although it was inevitable, Zachariah's death was nota good thing. Kurt Fuller did an excellent job playing him and I'm not sure the show will be able to fill the vacuum of space left when Zachariah died because he really did add a credible villain to the show, unlike Lilith of season three and four.

I still have no clue where the show is headed for the end of the season but maybe that is a good thing, I'll let the show surprise me and follow Dean's words "So screw destiny, right in the face."

Tags: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Castiel , Misha Collins, Zachariah, Kurt Fuller

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