Lower Decks

The following review contains spoilers for Supernatural through the current episode, “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” originally broadcast November 13th, 2008.

This was an interesting episode that both continued the Sixty-Six Seals story line (last touched upon in “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester”) and, through flashbacks, attempted to fill in some of what happened to Sam during Dean’s time in Hell. Judging from the reaction I’ve observed among fans of Supernatural, what was depicted in the flashbacks wasn’t particularly welcomed. On the other hand, most viewers seemed to have enjoyed the “present” story line, which involved a guest role from actress Julie McNiven (who portrays Hildy, a secretary, on AMC’s delightful Mad Men).

As the episode opens, a young woman named Anna Milton (Ms. McNiven’s character) is confined in the mental ward of a hospital and she is telling a doctor about the end of the world. Anna hears angels and the angels are worried that this Lilith character is going to manage to open 66 out of a possible 600 seals (closed-captioning gave the number of 6,000) in order to break Lucifer out of Hell. When an orderly comes by with her drugs, Anna realizes he’s actually a demon and manages to knock him out and escape.

So, just in the first few minutes, we’ve learned quite a bit about the Sixty-Six Seals. In “Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester.,” Castiel explained that Lilith was trying to open the 66 seals. Now it turns out there are actually 600 seals and Lilith only needs to crack open 66. With no way of knowing which 66 she is going after, the angels are having a tough time combating Lilith and her forces. This new information actually managed to turn an already dismal situation (Uh-oh, Lilith has to get through 66 seals) into an all but impossible one (Uh-oh, Lilith has to get through 66 seals but there are actually 600 and she can pick any 66 and there is no way to guard all 600).

Anyway, the Brothers Winchester get involved when Ruby tips them off about a woman who can hear angels being hunted by demons. Demons who want her alive. Although Dean is skeptical, if not downright hostile, Sam suggests they check it out. During the long drive to the hospital, Dean tries to get Sam to explain to him how he can be pals with a demon. Although Sam doesn’t respond, in a flashback we the viewers watch as he tries to convince the crossroads demon (is there more than one crossroads demon or does it just take many forms?) to swap him for Dean. It doesn’t work. But Dean is obviously in a lot of pain at the loss of his brother and has turned to alcohol.

Back in the present, Sam and Dean talk with Anna’s doctor and learn that she knows an awful lot about what is really going down. She even sketched out the first two seals that were opened (the Rising of the Witnesses from “Are You There God? It’s Me, Dean Winchester” and the Rising of Samhain from “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester”). When they drop by her house, they find her parents dead. Eventually, they find her hiding at her church. She knows all about them (and is impressed to finally met “The Dean”). Ruby shows up and demands they all high tail it away from the church because a really nasty demon is on his way. Before anyone can run anywhere, the demon shows up.

And it is a powerful demon. Sam tries using his powers but is brushed off. Dean, who recognizes the demon as Alastair from Hell, uses Ruby’s knife and does manage to slow him down. I was under the assumption that the knife was an all-powerful demon killer, but obviously it can’t take down a demon of Alistair’s stature. The brothers finally escape by jumping out the church window but they are forced to leave the knife behind. And Ruby has disappeared with Anna. Dean assumes she used them to get Anna and is long gone. But Sam insists Anna is safe and that they just have to wait until Ruby contacts them.

While they wait, Sam finally decides to tell Dean all his relationship with Ruby. We flash back again and watch a very drunk Sam returning to his apartment. He is jumped by a pair of demons, one of whom is Ruby. Sam is quickly subdued and even seems to welcome death at Ruby’s hand. But Ruby kills the other demon instead and the two drive off. Ruby, now in the body of a secretary, explains that Sam is the only one powerful enough to take on Lilith. Sam, meanwhile, isn’t comfortable with Ruby’s new body.

So what does Ruby do? She goes and finds herself a new body, this that of a woman in a coma just disconnected from life support. She even made sure the woman’s “spirit” was gone. Sam wants to go after Lilith right away while Ruby thinks it is better to wait and allow Sam to learn how to use his powers. They capture a demon so Sam can practice. He doesn’t do so well and gets frustrated. While trying to comfort Sam about Dean, Ruby comes on to him. He pushes her away but eventually the two go at it like the outrageously fit, outrageously attractive people they are.

Quick cut back to the present. Dean makes a joke about not wanting to know all about the down and dirty details of the story. Return to the flashbacks. Sam goes after Lilith against Ruby’s advice and is promptly captured by two demons using a little girl as bait. But then Ruby shows up, quickly dispatches one of the demons, and yells for Sam to take the girl and leave. He does. The other demon takes great pleasure in attacking Ruby. Before he can kill her, Sam returns and uses his power to pull the demon’s essence out of its body.

In short, Ruby saved Sam’s life when she rescued him from the demons at great personal expense. Furthermore, says Sam, she helped him come to terms with Dean’s death. The sex thing, though, that’s a little creepy. Prior to the revelation that Ruby’s new body was in a coma, there were some fans who felt any physical relationship between Sam and Ruby would have been rape. After all, Ruby the demon would have been in a woman’s body and the woman in question would have had no say in the matter. The fact that the body was in a coma hasn’t done much to quell the outrage, though.

Personally, although the consequences of having sex with a demon-occupied body could have led to some compelling television, I’m fine with it being passed over in favor of the bigger story. I’m not sure I want Supernatural tackling such a complicated issue as rape. As wonderful as the series often is, I do expect it to be enjoyable, and I can’t say I’d much enjoy a storyline where one of the brothers had to deal with the consequences of a one-night stand with a demon.

But back to the episode. After Sam wrap’s up his tale, a maid arrives with fresh towels. It’s Ruby, who has momentarily taken over the maid in order to slip past the demon’s stalking the hotel. She gives Sam an address. When they get there, they find Ruby and Anna, who is fine. Dean awkwardly thanks Ruby for what she did for Sam. Anna is told that her parents are dead and, while crying, tells the others someone is coming. It’s Castiel and Uriel and they want Anna. Not to help her or make her an angel or anything good. No, they want to kill her.

And that’s the cliffhanger. What will happen next week? Will Anna sacrifice herself? Will Sam and Dean once again defy Castiel? Will Uriel try to kill Sam? I didn’t even watch the preview for next week’s episode, so I have no idea. I can’t imagine Sam and Dean willingly letting Anna die, so I imagine there will be some sort of showdown.

To be quite honest, I’m not sure this episode went far enough in showing how bad things got for Sam without Dean. Yes, he was drinking pretty hard and yes, he slept with a demon, but other than that it was mostly business as usual. Killing demons, only with Ruby at his side rather than Dean. If we’re supposed to draw comparisons between the six months Sam spent without Dean and the six months Dean spent in Hell, I’m not seeing them. Dean was in Hell. Sam got drunk, had sex and fought hard. The scales here just don’t balance.

I’m also not too bothered by Sam and Ruby getting together. I am still not convinced replacing Katie Cassidy with Genevieve Cortese was a smart move, because I much prefer Ms. Cassidy’s take on Ruby. Much harsher, less soft and warm. Have we finally seen the real Ruby? Or are there still hidden facets of her personality yet to surface? It’s getting a bit tiresome having to wonder if she is truly a good demon or just on the long con. If it takes the rest of the season to find out, will anyone still care?