Supernatural Season 5 Episode 1: Sympathy For The Devil

Supernatural season 5 kicked off with a BANG, if I do say so myself. If I was being totally honest with myself, I would probably admit that I've been looking forward to this season premiere more that even *GASP* the premiere of Heroes itself. The first episode promises to answer some very important questions like..

.. how will Lucifer's arrival be heralded?
.. will Castiel survive his encounter with an arc angel?
.. how will Sam deal with his demon blood addiction now that Ruby is gone?
.. will Sam and Dean's relationship be altered by Sam's betrayal?
.. what does Heaven intend to do with Dean now that they (grudgingly) have him on their side?

I have suddenly realized how weird and other-worldly all of this might sound to those who have missed Season 4. Yes, it is as controversial as it sounds, but I prefer to think of it as a mere work of fiction and nothing I see on the show will shake my own personal faith. Except maybe Dean and Sam in a shower scene... together. As in together.. together.

*cough*cough*

Moving on.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I wasn't sure what I expected when Lucifer escaped from Hell, but... did I hear the sound of a car engine in all that noise? After a while, it made sense that there would be a bright light instead of black smoke coming out of the erm, tunnel thingy made of the demon Lilith's blood? Lucifer is an angel after all. A fact that we keep being reminded of a few times in the episode, actually.

Things were looking pretty bad for the boys actually. It certainly didn't look like they were going to make it out of there alive without any divine intervention.

*silence*

Ehem! I said, it certainly didn't look like they were going to make it out of there alive without any divine intervention.

Beat. Thank you.

Cut scene and the boys were suddenly on an flight that was showing a cartoon featuring the Devil himself. Co-incidence or who ever that put them there had a wicked sense of humor?

*cue Twilight Zone theme song*

How did the boys end up on that flight? It looked like economy class seating, but still! Who saved them? Was it Castiel? How did Castiel escaped his own inevitable doom from the arc angel who was protecting TheProphet!Chuck? It looked like the plane was going to crash but the next thing we know, Dean and Sam were safely behind the wheels of the Impala. Huh?

*end Twilight Zone theme song*

They drive over to Chuck's only to find out that Castiel didn't survive his encounter and that his molar tooth was stuck in Chuck's hair. Gross! The smug Zachariah, Castiel's former supervisor, shows up with two angel henchmen. Dean uses his noodle (and blood) and sends the angels away.

True to form, the boys hide out in a sleazy motel. Sam tries to apologize but Dean brushes him off. Same 'ol, same 'ol.

This scene caused me to burst out laughing. We can see a girl intently sitting in front of computer, writing.. fan fiction? And not just any fan fiction.. a slash fiction! Oh, and a clavicle is collar bone is classified as a flat bone that makes up part of the shoulder girdle, in case you were wondering. Why on earth is Sam caressing Dean's clavicle, woman, when he can be caressing elsewhere?! Moving on.

Now we see the girl, Becky, receiving an incoming call from Chuck. Apparently, she is his biggest fan. Chuck asks says he is being watched and asks her to deliver a message to Dean and Sam. It didn't take her much to believe that the boys were non-fictional characters, did it?

Becky shows up at the motel to deliver the message. The entire scene is priceless! Now, if I had just discovered that my favorite fictional characters were real and get to meet them live, I wonder if I would sound as crazy as her?

Sam: *awkward* Becky, can you quit touching me?
Becky: *eyes closed and continues to touch* No.
Dean: *is pissed*

Bobby shows up and we find out that Chuck's message meant that the sword of Michael was somewhere here on earth and it was up to them to find and use it to kill Lucifer. Easy peasy.

Bobby says some things to Sam that was seriously out of character. Sam leaves to do some research elsewhere. Is nobody else's mental alarm ringing by now?

Dean figures out the location of the sword of Michel. All in one episode? Mental alarms ringing louder.

Oh, Bobby is possessed. Figures. Meg is back. Figures too. Why can't Sam have normal, non demon ex-girlfriends anyway?

Some demon ass kicking and side trip to the ER later, the boys are at the location where the sword of Michael is supposedly located. The boys found a couple of dead demons on the floor. They also found ThatSmugBastard!Zachariah waiting for them. The angels had sent Chuck a false vision in order to lure Dean and Sam there.

Question: Why?
Answer: Because the boys have the sword.
Question: They do?
Answer: Yup. Apparently, Dean is the sword of Michael.
Question: Huh?
Answer: I know *rolleyes*

It turns out that Dean is the future vessel for the arc angel, Michael himself. Can't say I blame anybody for trying to literally get under Dean's skin, but I digress. Since angels are such known bureaucrats and have more red tapes that most government agencies I have ever seen, it seems that they need the vessel's consent before being able to co-habituate. Predictably, Deans says no. Also predictably, ThatSmugBastard!Zachariah thinks he can bully Dean freakin' Winchester into anything. Bah!

Castiel shows up *wa-hey!*, inclusive of lost molar tooth and all, and saves the day. We find out that Lucifer is circling his chosen vessel, Nick, whose wife and infant son was murdered by someone breaking into their home.

I can understand why the title of the episode is named as such. We not only feel sympathy for Nick and his loss, we also feel a bit sorry for the Devil himself.


Stop right there. I don't mean that the Devil is just misunderstood. I am sure that he is plenty badass in his own way. But I like how Lucifer's character was written for this show. After all, the Devil does not need to lie, as he points it out himself. He truly believes in what he is doing, and by that I also mean that he truly believes that all human should be dead.

Nick eventually gives his consent. We can only shiver in anticipation at what this would mean.

Back at the hospital, Bobby finds out that he will never walk again. ThatSmugBastard!Zachariah keeping his word to Dean? In the parking lot later, Sam asks Dean if there is something that Dean would like to say to him.


Dean admits that he is having a hard time to "forgive and forget" Sam's betrayal, that Sam chose a demon over his own brother. Sam finds out that there is nothing he can do to make things right and can only hope that one day, maybe, Dean will learn to trust him again.

Overall? Definitely 4.5 out 5. Just for that weird Twilight Zone moment. It felt a bit rushed and surreal.