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llywelaReally feeling the Dean!Love after this episode – man, the writers/producers really know how to tug on the heartstrings of the viewers, no? But I also came out of this episode absolutely blown away by the continuity of character development – this show as a whole is just so tightly plotted it's amazing.
If Hell House was solid standalone material, Something Wicked – while able to standalone as an episode – draws really heavily on what we've learned about the characters and their situation right the way through the series, and it is stunning in its detail thereof.
The opening sequence of the little girl lying scared in bed while the shape of tree branches outside her window gives way to a creepy, shadowy long-fingered hand is excellent – really spooky.
Then the lads – John has been in touch and sent them another set of random coordinates to follow up on, apparently. We aren't told how this happened – did he actually phone and talk to them? Or did he just text the coordinates randomly again? Either way, as usual, Dean takes the job on face value – what else is he going to do? – while Sam doubts and fusses but goes along with it. And despite all appearances of normality, the spider senses soon start to tingle.
And I like how alert they both are to the slightest sign of things not being quite right, leading them to the discovery of the pattern of children falling into comas for no apparent reason.
SAM: Dude, dude, I am not using this ID.
DEAN: Why not?
SAM: Because it says “bikini inspector” on it. (DEAN laughs.)
DEAN: Don’t worry, she won’t look that close. Hell, she won’t even ask to see it. It’s all about confidence, Sam. (He turns SAM to the front desk.)
Bikini inspector? Mwahahah. Only Dean could come up with a fake ID like that and then expect his brother to use it. He's right, though – nine times out of ten, if you look like you are supposed to be doing whatever you are doing, you won't be challenged. It's what Douglas Adams called the 'somebody else's problem' phenomenon.
Investigating the house of a couple of sick kids, finding the handprint…and pow. Flashback time!
The first scene of Young!Dean being left in charge of Young!Sam in a random, pokey little motel room while John goes hunting is, let's face it, something we all could have guessed was a regular feature of their childhood. Nice to see it confirmed on-screen, though. It also speaks volumes about the dynamics of their family, and how they became who they are, to see Young!Dean – who can't be more than about 10 years old – being given his orders, already so well drilled, while Young!Sam, who is still allowed to be a child, sits watching cartoons. And they are left alone, just the two of them – for, apparently, days at a time. Older brother, younger brother: the one is given responsibility far beyond his years, the other is allowed to retain something of his childhood; the one does the looking after; the other gets looked after. And that's been the dynamic of their relationship ever since. No wonder Dean has complexes.
So – Dean sees the handprint and instantly knows what this thing is, a Shtriga, and why John sent them there, and having established that – and that it got away, which flabbergasts Sam – clams up completely on the subject.
Then at the motel…
MICHAEL: King or two queens?
DEAN: Two queens. (MICHAEL sees SAM standing outside.)
MICHAEL: (under his breath) Yeah, I bet.
Okay, that amused me so much.
Young Michael having to help his single mother look after his kid brother, Asher, is an obvious set-up intended to resonate with Dean, seeing such strong parallels between these boys and his own childhood. It works, though.
Cue second flashback, which – again – confirms even more strongly the early dynamics of the brother's relationship. They are alone in that pokey little motel room. Young!Dean has made spaghetti-o's for Young!Sam, because that's what he asked for. But, with that frustrating contrary-ness you get with a six-year-old, Young!Sam has changed his mind and now wants Lucky Charms. But there's only enough left for one more bowl, and Young!Sam has already eaten the rest, and Young!Dean hasn't had any and wanted some. But Young!Sam gives him puppy dog eyes, and Young!Dean gives in, lets him have the Lucky Charms. Because Sam is the baby who has to be looked after, and who always comes first. And Young!Sam, being a cute six-year-old, then pulls the puppy dog eyes again and offers Young!Dean the toy surprise from inside the box as a consolation prize.
So, Dean has never been able to say 'no' to Sam, and I'm flashing back to every episode where we've seen that previously, right back as far as the pilot. Dad had gone missing, and Dean had gone looking for Sam's help because he didn't want to be left alone, and Sam agreed to help, albeit with a bad grace, but once that one gig was up he insisted on being allowed to go back to school and to his new life that didn't include Dean. And over the last eighteen episodes we've got to know Dean well enough to know how much that rejection must have hurt, but he gave in and took Sam back, because he can't say 'no' to Sam. Faith is another example, when Dean is the one who's dying, but he gives in to Sam's wishes and goes along to see the faith healer he doesn't believe in for no other reason than Sam wants him to. Sam's wants and needs come first.
:heart: Dean.
Conversation about how to kill the Shtriga reveals that Dean remembers a lot more about the family's previous encounter with one than he'd initially let on. But when called on that he clams up like an oyster all over again, and Sam lets it ride, because what else can he do?
The old lady in the hospital with the inverted cross on her wall was a nice mislead, but when they arrived and the doctor walked past, I so called that it was the doctor – nice to be proved right later on. As for the scene with the harmless-after-all old lady…gotta love it. I love that despite all they've seen and done in their lives, the boys still get spooked. They still get freaked out and scared at the thought of some of the things they find themselves hunting, still get seriously grossed out when they come across desiccated corpses, and it's a really lovely, human touch. Because, at the end of the day, they aren't superheroes. They're just people, living in extraordinary circumstances that they find pretty overwhelming at times and trying to do the best they can with the hand they've been dealt.
Sam laughing at Dean is always adorable. He is just such a kid brother.
And then comes the kicker. Back at the motel, they find that young Asher has become the latest victim of the mysterious illness, and big brother Michael is blaming himself fiercely, which awakens all kinds of empathy in Dean, especially when Michael says, straight out, "It's my job to look after him." Because Dean totally gets that – he said exactly the same thing about Sam only a few episodes ago. So he completely leaps into knight-in-shining armour mode, insisting on driving the mother to the hospital himself rather than let her go alone in such a state of distress, and becomes very vehement in his insistence to Sam that they find and kill this thing.
Sam continues with the research, which throws up a photograph connected to a similar incident over a hundred years ago, and Doctor Hydecker is in the photograph, and I completely called that it was the doctor, so am now counting coup. He goes back to the motel, rejoins Sam, and rages.
SAM: I’m surprised you didn’t draw on him right there.
DEAN: Yeah, well, first of all, I’m not gonna open fire in a freakin’ pediatrics ward.
SAM: Good call.
DEAN: Second, it wouldn’t have done any good because the bastard’s bulletproof unless he’s chowin’ down on somethin’. And third, I wasn’t packin’, which is probably a really good thing ‘cause I probably would’ve just burned a clip in him off of principle alone.
SAM: Gettin’ wise in your old age, Dean.
DEAN: Damn right.
I really enjoy this scene with the brothers working off one another, full of all kinds of different emotions, including ruthlessness – the Shtriga works through siblings, which means they know where it will strike next: Michael. And as much as Dean empathises so strongly with the boy, he's quite prepared to make use of him in order to get to the Shtriga. Sam is less willing, which leads to arguments – which leads to the truth about the past coming out at last.
DEAN: This isn’t about you, Sam! (He turns away.) All right, I’m the one that screwed up. It’s my fault. There’s no tellin’ how many kids have gotten hurt because of me.
SAM: What are you saying, Dean? How is it your fault? (DEAN is silent. SAM sighs.) Dean, you’ve been hiding something from the get-go. Since when does Dad bail on a hunt? Since when does he let something get away? (DEAN sits down.) Now, talk to me, man. Tell me what’s goin’ on.
Cue flashback three.
Three nights in that pokey little motel left in charge of his little brother, and at such a young age, it is completely understandable that Young!Dean would have cabin fever running high. So he left Young!Sam sleeping and went across to an arcade for a bit of kid time of his own, and got back to the motel to find the Shtriga attacking his brother. Didn't panic – he grabbed the shotgun, took aim, and then John came rushing in just in time to save the day and chase the demon away. And man, Young!Dean manages to do pretty much the same intense eye thing that Jensen pulls so impressively while being berated by John for leaving his brother alone.
DEAN: Dad just grabbed us and booked—dropped us off at Pastor Jim’s about three hours away. By the time we got back to Fort Douglas, the shtriga disappeared. It was just gone. It never resurfaced until now. Dad never spoke about it again. I didn't ask. But he, uh—he looked at me different, you know—which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order, and I didn’t listen. I almost got you killed.
SAM: You were just a kid.
DEAN: Don’t—don’t.
And now I'm flashing back to the Roosevelt Asylum and Sam ranting about Dean always following John's orders blindly, and it occurs to me just how little he really understands his brother. And how very different they are. Sam gets to rebel because of the position he holds in the family. Dean doesn't have that luxury because he's learned from painful experience what the consequences can be, so any rebellion or resentment he feels has to be swallowed and internalised, and he moves on. It's the only way he can function. His complexes have complexes.
Dean insists that using Michael is the only way to get the Shtriga, the only way to stand any chance of saving the children it has already attacked, and you can see that he hates himself for suggesting it, but he's strong enough to go through with it anyway.
They tell Michael the absolute truth, and his reaction is fairly predictable. But once he's had time to think things through he comes back to them, all determined to do what he has to do for the sake of his little brother.
MICHAEL: You said you’re a big brother?
DEAN: Yeah.
MICHAEL: You’d take care of your little brother? You’d do anything for him?
DEAN: (in a very heartfelt way) Yeah, I would.
The reaction shot of Sam is fantastic there. He knows that Dean loves him, but I think he does tend to take that for granted at times. We all do – we take our families for granted, just accept who they are and the way they treat us, more or less without question. But in this episode Sam is getting a real insight into why Dean is who he is, and why he behaves and reacts the way he does, and it's a real eye-opener for him. He's always just taken Dean's obedience to John for granted and been frustrated by it before, without ever really questioning the why in any depth. Because he's the baby of the family and for all that he feels their way of life isn't really for him and wants more for himself, he really has been sheltered from the worst of it - or was, at least, for a hell of a lot longer than Dean was.
Dean handles Michael excellently getting him set up for the Shtriga trap. We've seen before that Dean is good with kids in these situations. Then the brothers settle into the next room to wait, and then Sam comes out with a little apology completely apropos of nothing.
SAM: Hey, Dean, I’m sorry. (DEAN is confused.)
DEAN: For what? (SAM sighs.)
SAM: Well, you know…I’ve really given you a lot of crap for always followin’ Dad’s orders. But I know why you do it.
DEAN: Oh, God, kill me now.
I'm flashing back to the Roosevelt Asylum again now, and I'm pretty sure that Sam is too, and I love the show for it. But even more than that I love that Dean is completely confused by the spontaneous apology and understanding, and its not just his deep antipathy for 'chick-flick' moments; he honestly does not hold Sam's attitude against him, not then and not now. He can't, because it's little Sammy (even if he is taller) and everything has revolved around Sammy for almost his entire life.
It's like there's a part of Dean that was frozen in time at the age of four when the world exploded in blood and fire and he was handed the responsibility for saving his brother's life. Four years old and his childhood pretty much ended then and there. His Dad relied on him to look after Sam, and that's what he's done ever since, and because Dean was the older child and was there to do that looking after, Sam was able to retain his innocence and childishness for a lot longer. And that is the difference between the two of them that has been apparent from the start but the reasons for which have been so slowly but surely drawn out over the course of the season.
I love the way this show handles its characters and their development.
So, then the Shtriga attacks and the boys go rushing in and shoot it, but it isn't killed and fights back. They both get flung around a bit, but while Sam is the one the Shtriga focuses on and tries to drain the life force out of, Dean is the one who ends up bleeding as a result of his inevitable collision with the wall. It occurs to me that Dean bleeds an awful lot over the course of the season – again, the writers/producers really know how to work their audience! And certain conventions must always be obeyed: Dean always gets thrown into walls, just as Sam always gets strangled. Dean is too manly to admit that hitting a wall at high speed hurts, so always gets right back up again, bleeding but able to dust himself off and plunge right back into the action. And Dean always saves Sam from whoever/whatever is doing the strangling this time. Actually, that's the biggest running theme of the entire show - Dean always saves Sam.
The Shtriga feeding off Sam like that has to bring back the worst kind of memories for Dean, but this time he's an adult and knows exactly what to do, and coolly takes it out – bullet between the eyes. And then a few more for good measure, and all that life force it has drained from the various children is released, allowing them to heal. And a personal demon that has haunted Dean for years is laid to rest, as well.
And then the clincher as the brothers prepare to leave and say their farewells to young Michael.
SAM: It’s too bad.
DEAN: Oh, they’ll be fine.
SAM: No, that’s not what I meant. I meant Michael. He will always know there are things out there in the dark. He’ll never be the same, you know? (DEAN nods.) Sometimes I wish that….
DEAN: What?
SAM: I wish I could have that kind of innocence. (DEAN turns and watches JOANNA and MICHAEL drive away, then turns back to SAM.)
DEAN: If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could, too.
Yeah. Because for all that Dean has spent his entire life protecting Sam, the life that they lead has meant that although Sam retained his childish innocence a lot longer than Dean did, he couldn't be shielded from the evil out there indefinitely – even when he tried to run and hide from it, Dean actively brought him back into this life and he does regret that. As much as he wants to have Sam there with him, needs to have his brother around him, he does regret it.
A powerful, emotional episode. I love this show so much.
If Hell House was solid standalone material, Something Wicked – while able to standalone as an episode – draws really heavily on what we've learned about the characters and their situation right the way through the series, and it is stunning in its detail thereof.
The opening sequence of the little girl lying scared in bed while the shape of tree branches outside her window gives way to a creepy, shadowy long-fingered hand is excellent – really spooky.
Then the lads – John has been in touch and sent them another set of random coordinates to follow up on, apparently. We aren't told how this happened – did he actually phone and talk to them? Or did he just text the coordinates randomly again? Either way, as usual, Dean takes the job on face value – what else is he going to do? – while Sam doubts and fusses but goes along with it. And despite all appearances of normality, the spider senses soon start to tingle.
And I like how alert they both are to the slightest sign of things not being quite right, leading them to the discovery of the pattern of children falling into comas for no apparent reason.
SAM: Dude, dude, I am not using this ID.
DEAN: Why not?
SAM: Because it says “bikini inspector” on it. (DEAN laughs.)
DEAN: Don’t worry, she won’t look that close. Hell, she won’t even ask to see it. It’s all about confidence, Sam. (He turns SAM to the front desk.)
Bikini inspector? Mwahahah. Only Dean could come up with a fake ID like that and then expect his brother to use it. He's right, though – nine times out of ten, if you look like you are supposed to be doing whatever you are doing, you won't be challenged. It's what Douglas Adams called the 'somebody else's problem' phenomenon.
Investigating the house of a couple of sick kids, finding the handprint…and pow. Flashback time!
The first scene of Young!Dean being left in charge of Young!Sam in a random, pokey little motel room while John goes hunting is, let's face it, something we all could have guessed was a regular feature of their childhood. Nice to see it confirmed on-screen, though. It also speaks volumes about the dynamics of their family, and how they became who they are, to see Young!Dean – who can't be more than about 10 years old – being given his orders, already so well drilled, while Young!Sam, who is still allowed to be a child, sits watching cartoons. And they are left alone, just the two of them – for, apparently, days at a time. Older brother, younger brother: the one is given responsibility far beyond his years, the other is allowed to retain something of his childhood; the one does the looking after; the other gets looked after. And that's been the dynamic of their relationship ever since. No wonder Dean has complexes.
So – Dean sees the handprint and instantly knows what this thing is, a Shtriga, and why John sent them there, and having established that – and that it got away, which flabbergasts Sam – clams up completely on the subject.
Then at the motel…
MICHAEL: King or two queens?
DEAN: Two queens. (MICHAEL sees SAM standing outside.)
MICHAEL: (under his breath) Yeah, I bet.
Okay, that amused me so much.
Young Michael having to help his single mother look after his kid brother, Asher, is an obvious set-up intended to resonate with Dean, seeing such strong parallels between these boys and his own childhood. It works, though.
Cue second flashback, which – again – confirms even more strongly the early dynamics of the brother's relationship. They are alone in that pokey little motel room. Young!Dean has made spaghetti-o's for Young!Sam, because that's what he asked for. But, with that frustrating contrary-ness you get with a six-year-old, Young!Sam has changed his mind and now wants Lucky Charms. But there's only enough left for one more bowl, and Young!Sam has already eaten the rest, and Young!Dean hasn't had any and wanted some. But Young!Sam gives him puppy dog eyes, and Young!Dean gives in, lets him have the Lucky Charms. Because Sam is the baby who has to be looked after, and who always comes first. And Young!Sam, being a cute six-year-old, then pulls the puppy dog eyes again and offers Young!Dean the toy surprise from inside the box as a consolation prize.
So, Dean has never been able to say 'no' to Sam, and I'm flashing back to every episode where we've seen that previously, right back as far as the pilot. Dad had gone missing, and Dean had gone looking for Sam's help because he didn't want to be left alone, and Sam agreed to help, albeit with a bad grace, but once that one gig was up he insisted on being allowed to go back to school and to his new life that didn't include Dean. And over the last eighteen episodes we've got to know Dean well enough to know how much that rejection must have hurt, but he gave in and took Sam back, because he can't say 'no' to Sam. Faith is another example, when Dean is the one who's dying, but he gives in to Sam's wishes and goes along to see the faith healer he doesn't believe in for no other reason than Sam wants him to. Sam's wants and needs come first.
:heart: Dean.
Conversation about how to kill the Shtriga reveals that Dean remembers a lot more about the family's previous encounter with one than he'd initially let on. But when called on that he clams up like an oyster all over again, and Sam lets it ride, because what else can he do?
The old lady in the hospital with the inverted cross on her wall was a nice mislead, but when they arrived and the doctor walked past, I so called that it was the doctor – nice to be proved right later on. As for the scene with the harmless-after-all old lady…gotta love it. I love that despite all they've seen and done in their lives, the boys still get spooked. They still get freaked out and scared at the thought of some of the things they find themselves hunting, still get seriously grossed out when they come across desiccated corpses, and it's a really lovely, human touch. Because, at the end of the day, they aren't superheroes. They're just people, living in extraordinary circumstances that they find pretty overwhelming at times and trying to do the best they can with the hand they've been dealt.
Sam laughing at Dean is always adorable. He is just such a kid brother.
And then comes the kicker. Back at the motel, they find that young Asher has become the latest victim of the mysterious illness, and big brother Michael is blaming himself fiercely, which awakens all kinds of empathy in Dean, especially when Michael says, straight out, "It's my job to look after him." Because Dean totally gets that – he said exactly the same thing about Sam only a few episodes ago. So he completely leaps into knight-in-shining armour mode, insisting on driving the mother to the hospital himself rather than let her go alone in such a state of distress, and becomes very vehement in his insistence to Sam that they find and kill this thing.
Sam continues with the research, which throws up a photograph connected to a similar incident over a hundred years ago, and Doctor Hydecker is in the photograph, and I completely called that it was the doctor, so am now counting coup. He goes back to the motel, rejoins Sam, and rages.
SAM: I’m surprised you didn’t draw on him right there.
DEAN: Yeah, well, first of all, I’m not gonna open fire in a freakin’ pediatrics ward.
SAM: Good call.
DEAN: Second, it wouldn’t have done any good because the bastard’s bulletproof unless he’s chowin’ down on somethin’. And third, I wasn’t packin’, which is probably a really good thing ‘cause I probably would’ve just burned a clip in him off of principle alone.
SAM: Gettin’ wise in your old age, Dean.
DEAN: Damn right.
I really enjoy this scene with the brothers working off one another, full of all kinds of different emotions, including ruthlessness – the Shtriga works through siblings, which means they know where it will strike next: Michael. And as much as Dean empathises so strongly with the boy, he's quite prepared to make use of him in order to get to the Shtriga. Sam is less willing, which leads to arguments – which leads to the truth about the past coming out at last.
DEAN: This isn’t about you, Sam! (He turns away.) All right, I’m the one that screwed up. It’s my fault. There’s no tellin’ how many kids have gotten hurt because of me.
SAM: What are you saying, Dean? How is it your fault? (DEAN is silent. SAM sighs.) Dean, you’ve been hiding something from the get-go. Since when does Dad bail on a hunt? Since when does he let something get away? (DEAN sits down.) Now, talk to me, man. Tell me what’s goin’ on.
Cue flashback three.
Three nights in that pokey little motel left in charge of his little brother, and at such a young age, it is completely understandable that Young!Dean would have cabin fever running high. So he left Young!Sam sleeping and went across to an arcade for a bit of kid time of his own, and got back to the motel to find the Shtriga attacking his brother. Didn't panic – he grabbed the shotgun, took aim, and then John came rushing in just in time to save the day and chase the demon away. And man, Young!Dean manages to do pretty much the same intense eye thing that Jensen pulls so impressively while being berated by John for leaving his brother alone.
DEAN: Dad just grabbed us and booked—dropped us off at Pastor Jim’s about three hours away. By the time we got back to Fort Douglas, the shtriga disappeared. It was just gone. It never resurfaced until now. Dad never spoke about it again. I didn't ask. But he, uh—he looked at me different, you know—which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order, and I didn’t listen. I almost got you killed.
SAM: You were just a kid.
DEAN: Don’t—don’t.
And now I'm flashing back to the Roosevelt Asylum and Sam ranting about Dean always following John's orders blindly, and it occurs to me just how little he really understands his brother. And how very different they are. Sam gets to rebel because of the position he holds in the family. Dean doesn't have that luxury because he's learned from painful experience what the consequences can be, so any rebellion or resentment he feels has to be swallowed and internalised, and he moves on. It's the only way he can function. His complexes have complexes.
Dean insists that using Michael is the only way to get the Shtriga, the only way to stand any chance of saving the children it has already attacked, and you can see that he hates himself for suggesting it, but he's strong enough to go through with it anyway.
They tell Michael the absolute truth, and his reaction is fairly predictable. But once he's had time to think things through he comes back to them, all determined to do what he has to do for the sake of his little brother.
MICHAEL: You said you’re a big brother?
DEAN: Yeah.
MICHAEL: You’d take care of your little brother? You’d do anything for him?
DEAN: (in a very heartfelt way) Yeah, I would.
The reaction shot of Sam is fantastic there. He knows that Dean loves him, but I think he does tend to take that for granted at times. We all do – we take our families for granted, just accept who they are and the way they treat us, more or less without question. But in this episode Sam is getting a real insight into why Dean is who he is, and why he behaves and reacts the way he does, and it's a real eye-opener for him. He's always just taken Dean's obedience to John for granted and been frustrated by it before, without ever really questioning the why in any depth. Because he's the baby of the family and for all that he feels their way of life isn't really for him and wants more for himself, he really has been sheltered from the worst of it - or was, at least, for a hell of a lot longer than Dean was.
Dean handles Michael excellently getting him set up for the Shtriga trap. We've seen before that Dean is good with kids in these situations. Then the brothers settle into the next room to wait, and then Sam comes out with a little apology completely apropos of nothing.
SAM: Hey, Dean, I’m sorry. (DEAN is confused.)
DEAN: For what? (SAM sighs.)
SAM: Well, you know…I’ve really given you a lot of crap for always followin’ Dad’s orders. But I know why you do it.
DEAN: Oh, God, kill me now.
I'm flashing back to the Roosevelt Asylum again now, and I'm pretty sure that Sam is too, and I love the show for it. But even more than that I love that Dean is completely confused by the spontaneous apology and understanding, and its not just his deep antipathy for 'chick-flick' moments; he honestly does not hold Sam's attitude against him, not then and not now. He can't, because it's little Sammy (even if he is taller) and everything has revolved around Sammy for almost his entire life.
It's like there's a part of Dean that was frozen in time at the age of four when the world exploded in blood and fire and he was handed the responsibility for saving his brother's life. Four years old and his childhood pretty much ended then and there. His Dad relied on him to look after Sam, and that's what he's done ever since, and because Dean was the older child and was there to do that looking after, Sam was able to retain his innocence and childishness for a lot longer. And that is the difference between the two of them that has been apparent from the start but the reasons for which have been so slowly but surely drawn out over the course of the season.
I love the way this show handles its characters and their development.
So, then the Shtriga attacks and the boys go rushing in and shoot it, but it isn't killed and fights back. They both get flung around a bit, but while Sam is the one the Shtriga focuses on and tries to drain the life force out of, Dean is the one who ends up bleeding as a result of his inevitable collision with the wall. It occurs to me that Dean bleeds an awful lot over the course of the season – again, the writers/producers really know how to work their audience! And certain conventions must always be obeyed: Dean always gets thrown into walls, just as Sam always gets strangled. Dean is too manly to admit that hitting a wall at high speed hurts, so always gets right back up again, bleeding but able to dust himself off and plunge right back into the action. And Dean always saves Sam from whoever/whatever is doing the strangling this time. Actually, that's the biggest running theme of the entire show - Dean always saves Sam.
The Shtriga feeding off Sam like that has to bring back the worst kind of memories for Dean, but this time he's an adult and knows exactly what to do, and coolly takes it out – bullet between the eyes. And then a few more for good measure, and all that life force it has drained from the various children is released, allowing them to heal. And a personal demon that has haunted Dean for years is laid to rest, as well.
And then the clincher as the brothers prepare to leave and say their farewells to young Michael.
SAM: It’s too bad.
DEAN: Oh, they’ll be fine.
SAM: No, that’s not what I meant. I meant Michael. He will always know there are things out there in the dark. He’ll never be the same, you know? (DEAN nods.) Sometimes I wish that….
DEAN: What?
SAM: I wish I could have that kind of innocence. (DEAN turns and watches JOANNA and MICHAEL drive away, then turns back to SAM.)
DEAN: If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could, too.
Yeah. Because for all that Dean has spent his entire life protecting Sam, the life that they lead has meant that although Sam retained his childish innocence a lot longer than Dean did, he couldn't be shielded from the evil out there indefinitely – even when he tried to run and hide from it, Dean actively brought him back into this life and he does regret that. As much as he wants to have Sam there with him, needs to have his brother around him, he does regret it.
A powerful, emotional episode. I love this show so much.
