Review for 3x04 'Sin City'

[galathea]

Geesh, this season is messing with my head, but then demons tend to do that, right? This season’s plotline is shaping up to be either devastating for the Winchester boys or liberating, not sure which at the moment, but they really know how to notch up the tension this season and putting question marks all over the story so far. At the moment I am wrecked with anxiety and anticipation on how this season continues.


Let’s start with the absolutely adorable opening scene at Bobby’s! ♥ The boys feel visibly at home at Bobby’s and the easy conversation and banter between them is just heart-warming. Bobby truly steps up as a father-figure this year and the relaxed atmosphere between the three of them is so different from the tension charged atmosphere they had between them and John, it just makes me happy. I cherish these short moments of domesticity and happiness between the boys and Bobby even more with all the secrets that are building up between them this season. We haven’t seen the boys smiling with each other like this for a very long time!

It’s also lovely to see that instead of Sam and Dean running from to hunt to hunt (I mean the normal, non-demon war related ones) they take the time to just have a couple of days off, staying with their friend and working on the Colt and on research, relaxing. That’s a nice change from last season’s desperation driven search for hunts, for people to save, if only to save Sam’s soul or to ease their pain over John’s death. It’s just such a rare moment that feels like 'normalcy', at least on the Winchester scale of normality anyway! ;)

This is also the first time we meet one of Dean’s friends from the time when Sam was at college. They start to drop some nice pre-series back-story this season, which I totally love as well. Ritchie was the first 'hunter' we met so far that was actually likeable. A tad sleazy maybe but still, not a bad person and certainly not an unhinged sociopath, which of course destined him to die a horrible death in this show. *lol* It figures that Dean actually becomes friends with a laid-back 'loser' like Ritchie, who obviously isn’t cut out for a life as a hunter, but managed to find common grounds with Dean nonetheless. I loved Dean’s concern for his friend!

Also utterly enjoyable was Sam’s breaking and entering scene. Sam going from total badass to stammering dork within seconds was just absolutely fabulous. Jared’s comedic timing and delivery so far is just fantastic, it really is a joy to see how far he’s come in his acting while working on Supernatural.

Sin City feels a lot like an expositional mytharc episode, putting out a lot of information that supposedly is crucial for this season’s storyline, I’ll come back to that later. I don’t know if it could’ve been handled a tad more exciting than just locking Dean up with a demon for 20 mins of the episode, but the exchange was played well enough to keep me interested, still it slowed the pacing of the episode down considerably. Dean chatting up a demon for information, when he just berated Sam for doing the same in the last episode, and even bonding with her, was at least noticeable though, given his distaste for demons and spirits. That's an interesting character development.

It was always one of the most fascinating (and worrisome) things in the show, that we get so much information about character motivations and purposes from demons. The fact that they tend to twist and turn the truths, that they receive from their human host's emotions or read from their human opponent's minds, into half-truths and lies and use them in order to confuse, devastate or turn people around for their own goals, makes them actually nearly more dangerous when they talk as when they act. Information gathered from a demon is always ambivalent even if it sounds genuine and true and it’s easy to forget that, when doubts and fears have wormed their way into a character’s mind already.

Dean’s exchange with Casey finally revealed the fears Dean harbours deep down about the consequences of his deal and that he so hard tries to cover up towards Sam. He is visibly subdued and worried when he questions Casey about hell and even his usual bravado, when she asks him if he isn’t at least a little bit afraid, doesn’t fool anybody! Again, since Dean can’t talk to his brother about the fears he harbours in regard to himself he talks to a stranger, a demon even, not unlike him opening up to Gordon in Bloodlust or Lisa in The Kids Are Alright and I still don’t like that. The fears and doubts he harbours towards Sam he talks through with Bobby, seeking reassurance where he would usually be the one to give it himself. He doesn’t know what to think and his’ as well as Bobby’s reassuring routine screams denial more than anything else.

Again, Sam and Dean were separated for a good chunk of the episode, with Dean learning a lot about Sam’s role as the army’s leader and Sam still considering Ruby’s offer and the possible consequences for him. The informational chasm between them seems to become bigger with every episode. It makes me wonder if this will be the first season, where demons and other outside forces will manage to break the Winchester team. :( At least now Dean can no longer pretend that Sam is safe from any danger: with the knowledge that Gordon and his buddies are hunting Sam again and that the demons are still going after his brother, even if for different reasons, he has now new reasons to be worried for Sam and it stands to expect that this will put a severe damper on his carefree attitude. Leaving Sam behind, when he considers him saved, is one thing, but with the new dangers teaming up against his brother, I can see him struggle more with his contentment in regard to his upcoming 'death'.

I loved how this episode also referred back to Houses of the Holy, with Dean confessing that he wants to believe in a God, in a good balancing force in the universe. His hesitation to outright deny the existence of a higher power here, like he did in Faith and the beginning of HotH, shows that not only did his experiences ignite a more open mind towards the idea, but maybe also the thought about his own mortality and damnation makes him hope for something more in the world than only evil.

I have to admit, Ruby showing up at Bobby’s surprised me. How she knew that Bobby had the Colt remains a mystery, but she probably just kept tabs at Sam’s location. What even surprised me more was Bobby shooting Ruby without hesitation, with a weapon even, that he must have known wasn’t fatal for the demon, but nonetheless fatal for the girl it was possessing. Given the compassion Bobby showed at Meg’s exorcism in Devil’s Trap this seemed awfully out of character to me. Since Bobby also wrote off Sam’s kills as necessary casualties, after he still was fazed by the victims in The Magnificent Seven, it stands to reason that the seemingly hopeless war-situation hardened Bobby’s stance as well, considering compassion a luxury they can’t afford at the moment. The moral murkiness seems to increase a lot this season.

That Bobby was willing to trust Ruby with the Colt and work together with her after their exchange makes me even more nervous. So far Bobby was shown as nearly paranoid when it comes to demons, so I am really curious how she managed to convince him and I am a bit disappointed that this happened off-screen. I have to say again here, that I just find Ruby and her help way too convenient so far. Her all-knowledge and power is too easily used at the moment to weasel the boys out of serious situations. The demons we encountered so far are way more powerful than the standard demons we met over the last two seasons, with the exception of the Meg-demon and I would find it more believable if Sam, Dean and Bobby would actually fail a lot more spectacularly against them, instead demon-girl gets them out every time, which cheapens the dangers a bit in my opinion. But maybe that’s just me, I’d just prefer if they would find a way out of the mess on their own.

I also find it a tad disappointing that they were able to re-charge the Colt. I always loved the fact that it was such a rare weapon with only limited ammunition, carried over centuries to come into the possession of the Winchesters, with literally the last bullet killing their arch enemy. In addition with its function as a key to the devil's gate, the weapon had something epic and special and it served its purpose. The fact that it is now unlimited takes a bit away from its specialness for me and makes the confrontation with demons way too easy. :(

Now there was a lot of new information to take in, in this episode and it all opens up to a manifold of possibilities on how this season can go and I think the writers are deliberately playing with the audience and their expectations at the moment. So I’m going ramble a bit about some speculations that popped into my mind when watching the episode. I am going to work with some bits about the Azazel myth, that intrigue me, so if you don’t wanna know that, you might skip over the next part!

Some lengthy speculations about the YED, Ruby and Sam:
So good old yellow-eyes is finally named as Azazel and I remember the speculations about what that means for Sam’s destiny flying high already last season, when attentive fans identified the sigil that John drew on the floor to summon the YED in In My Time Of Dying as Azazel’s sigil. Hebrew mythology tells us that Azazel was the demonic leader of the fallen angels, who taught humankind the use of weapons and the manufacturing of jewellery and mirrors and was punished by the arch angel Raphael for giving away the heavenly secrets, thus initiating the degradation of humankind. Also connected to Azazel is the myth that he and his followers mated with human women, who bore their children, who grew up into powerful men. I avoided speculations before, since the YED was never officially referred to as Azazel, but since this is now confirmed canon, I may indulge in a little speculation:

Firstly, the fact that Ruby was able to help Bobby to restore the Colt’s demon-killing abilities and her possession of a demon-killing dagger could place her as a true follower/demonic heir of Azazel, carrying his weapon building abilities, plus she refers to herself as a fallen angel. Altogether this could make her ulterior motives to push Sam into the role that the YED had planned for him all along, using Dean’s deal as leverage. In that case her motivation to help Sam would actually be genuine, if only for egoistic reasons, maybe hoping to prove herself to the new leader and being at least 2nd in command, since she isn’t able to unite the army herself.

Secondly, the connection to the Azazel myth can still reveal the influence of the YED during Sam’s conception, with the ritual at his crib only being an initiation/activation ritual, which would explain why Mary knew the YED ( though not why the YED killed all her friends/relatives). While I am still convinced that the show wouldn’t actually go so far as to make Sam not John’s biological son and hence not human, there are still scenarios how this could play out, via psychic connection or otherwise.

Thirdly, we often see characters filmed through mirrors in the show, not only today, where they have the overhead shots through the mirror over the bed or in the bar, but also in other episodes, Playthings or Bloody Mary come to mind for example. This is interesting since the use of mirrors and jewellery was condemned as leading humankind onto the path of corruption, degeneration and impiousness. This could just me being over-interpretative, but I really am a sucker for this kind of symbolism.

Now, what does this all mean for Sam? One of the most important lessons from the S2 finale in my opinion was that Sam is actually in control of his own actions and he has to consciously decide, to choose his path, to choose the role he wants to play in the bigger scheme of things and that the YED has no power over him that he doesn’t let him have and I think that the show will stick with that premise. With Dean’s deal and Sam’s desperation to save his brother from damnation though, they introduced a powerful weapon against Sam’s resolve to withstand the trials and tribulations that the demons throw at him. I would be disappointed if Dean’s ultimate sacrifice would in the end lead to Sam going darkside though and I still think the show won’t actually go there, but likes to play on possibilities and our (and Dean’s) fears. This is supported by the fact that they actually didn’t let Sam voice his own stance towards the whole 'not 100% Sammy' theory yet. Does he feel different? Is he questioning his own integrity as a person since he was resurrected? We just don’t know!

Sam was ruthless in killing the possessed couple, but they were actually threatening Dean’s life and I don’t see it as so much different from Dean’s actions in Devil’s Trap, when he chose to shoot Tom to save Sam’s life. Sam even stated a similar remorse over the innocents he had to kill as Dean did, not apologising but willing to live with the moral murkiness if it served to save Dean. So I think the scene can still serve as a showcase of how the last couple of months and events have hardened Sam, from losing his innocence when he had to kill Madison, to being more and more ruthless where demons are concerned, rather than Sam not being himself. His motivations are still entirely explainable within a human context and I really hope it stays that way.

Still, even with him being entirely himself, his exchange with Ruby at the end about how he might have to take casualties if he wants to save his brother, if he likes it or not, is all kinds of terrifying, because I can actually see Sam cross many lines if it means to get Dean out of his deal. It is possible that Sam trades the damnation of his own soul for Dean’s along the way! Man, this season throws all kinds of disturbing possibilities into the game .. and we are only at episode 4! The mytharc really gets more complex every day!

Talking about complexity: What I did find very interesting is how so far the demon’s actually fall more and more into a moral grey-area themselves. Not only were the demons in this episode not actively killing people themselves (apart from Casey killing Richie, but he was a hunter and hence a threat) as rather nudging their tendencies to be self-destructive, similar to the Seven Deadly Sins, but also were we shown loyalty and devotion between demons as well as compassion when Casey actually pleaded with her partner to spare Dean. That doesn’t make them less evil, but sure enough humans can carry evil tendencies as well, so it further blurries the moral lines in the show. From Luthor (Dead Man’s Blood) pleading for the vampire’s rights to live, over Lenore and her group (Bloodlust), to Madison (Heart), how to define 'monster' becomes gradually more difficult in SN.

Casey’s attitude also indicates that not all demons are happy with the way things turned out, sure, they are relieved to be free from hell, but with everyone fighting for their own purpose, chaos reigns and the lack of unity can ultimately only defeat their purpose. Obviously there’s a good possibility that if Sam would ever decide to step up as the leader he was supposed to be, he would have a considerable force behind him. It’s also noteworthy that Casey mentions that a huge part of the demon community believes in the return of Lucifer, not unlike a dark inversion to the Christ myth, and with Ruby referring to Sam as the Anti-Christ it is possible that at least part of the army believes that Sam actually is their salvation. Now the question would be if Sam could use that power for a different purpose than destroying the world? Ahh, endless possibilities, it’s driving me nuts. *lol*

In conclusion: Sin City was definitely intriguing and at the moment I have no idea where it will all lead in the end. So far most of the season feels like one huge set-up of plotlines and inscrutable players and while Sam and Dean are still in the middle of it all, their family story overall makes place for a way bigger gameplan. This season boggles my mind.

Comments

[winterevanesce.livejournal.com]

I love your reviews. I've been reading a lot of other peoples opinions about this episode. So many Questions are running through my mind and every one else's!!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Oh thanks! I wasn't aware that you read my reviews, thought you only look for the art! ;) Yeah, this episode threw so much information out there, it's impossible to determine where they go with all this at the moment. Things stay exciting. :)

[joans23.livejournal.com]

This was such a huge episode, I had to go watch it again after I read your review! Maybe it's because I love Bobby, but his part in this week's ep is what really threw me. I was watching with my sister and when he shot Ruby I immediatly screamed at her "Bobby shot her! Bobby just shot an innocent girl!" I was in total shock. But then I thought about it. It's like you said, a total blur of the moral lines. We know he's been working on the Colt for a while (caught a glimpse in last week's ep), he knows that shooting the demon will kill the person as well and it must be something he has thought about all along. He knows they are in a war and probably gets more than anyone else how overwhelming the odds are stacked against them. He's been at this a long time and he knows demons and he probably figures they are going to need more than a few exorcisms to defeat them, if they even can. So I think all the while he has been preparing himself for this, that this was a step he was going to have to take. Still, you could see him hesitate, wrestling with it before he finally pulls the trigger. Like he said to Dean in their last conversation - it had to be done. On a purely fangirl side, I loved seeing him aiming and firing the Colt! This also ties in with something else you mentioned - that Bobby is so desperate to fix the Colt that he is willing to accept a demon's help. Maybe he trusts enough in his own ability to outsmart the demon (don't try to con a conman) when push comes to shove. Something else - it doesn't seem Bobby knew about Ruby. If so, it's another secret, this time one the boys are keeping from Bobby. If he did know about her, it could be another reason he would accept her help.
Another thing that threw me (as I suspect the writers intended) was the grey-areas for the demons. Casey saying she likes Dean, that she understands his deal and then telling Father Gil to leave him, not to kill him. Extremely confusing. Are they trying to butter us up that Ruby might not really be evil? Or trying to make her seem less evil now so that when her real evil plan is revealed we will be extra shocked and amazed? Hello, she is a demon, I'm pretty much with the evil here. Still, I can understand that they slowly want to reveal the character and her true motives throughout the season.
Dean's talk with Casey really hurt - he can't help asking about hell. Sure, a demon wouldn't pass up the chance to torment him about how horrible it is, but the way she said it, it's more than that. It really is ... well, hell. I liked how the demon basically proves that Dean should believe in God. Lucifer was cast out by God, so if she wants to believe that he is real, then God must be too. The one can't exist and the other not if they are part of the same story.
Last thing, I also noticed the mirrors. Especially in episode 2 when the boys barely talked and when they did, they were talking to each other in the mirror, not facing each other directly. At the time I only thought it was another way to show how removed they were from each other, this big thing between them that's keeping them apart. But you are right, the mirrors are everywhere.
Really last thing, there was another "Lohan" reference. Does one of the writers have a thing for Lindsey Lohan or what?
Oh, and did you see the leather jacket is back? I've been missing it - I even joked that maybe it got torn or something during filming, but this week it was finally back. It makes me happy!!
Wow, that was a long rant! But there was a lot to digest with this ep and your review definitely helped. Thanks!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

YAY, rants! :D

We know he's been working on the Colt for a while (caught a glimpse in last week's ep), he knows that shooting the demon will kill the person as well and it must be something he has thought about all along.

That is very true! Looking for a demon killing weapon implies killing the human host and Bobby knew that, if he didn't intend to use it, it makes no sense to look for it in the first place. I came to think about that a lot. In Devil's Trap he said that there are 3-4 demonic possessions a year, with the numbers increasing. That's very rare still, hence the situation with Meg was a singled out case for Bobby. With now hundreds of demons on the loose and literally no way to stop them, aside from trying to trap and excorcise them (which not always works as we have seen by now), killing the human hosts alongside the demon might be the only possibility to save humankind. As Ruby said to Sam: "In order to save Dean you might have to accept casualties." We can transfer that to the war situation in general. It's still a tough territory the show wanders in now and I hope they can keep the morality of the characters intact during that process.

Are they trying to butter us up that Ruby might not really be evil? Or trying to make her seem less evil now so that when her real evil plan is revealed we will be extra shocked and amazed?

Heh, I think the show tries to gradually unsettle the characters (and the viewers with them), trying to pull the rug of security out from under their feet, the secure feeling of what is right and wrong, questioning their own motives. Who is to trust and who's not, which action is justifiable and which not. They need to blur the lines to make extreme actions comprehensible. I don't know where it will all lead in the end, but I guess the writers will toy a lot with us, until they reveal the big game plan. LOL

Yeah, they threw out A LOT of information in this episode to mull over and over. LOL I am really curious where they are heading! And yeah, I noticed the leather jacket, I missed it as well, although I have to say, that I love Dean's other jackets as well, don't make him look so 'bulky'. *lol*

[sherrilina.livejournal.com]

Heh, I'm on a roll....:p

Interesting stuff about Azazel! (I didn't catch his name). And to think someone made a secret complaining about a lack of Jewish mythology on Sn on F!S!

So can demons have strong attachments then, as seen with the two demons killed this week? Casey did a great job, it was chilling to hear her say, "For the record, I was willing to follow Sam!"

Of course you already know all/most of these answers by now! ;)

I'm wondering though, will Henrickson and the hunters both be resolved this season then? Lots of loose ends to tie up in so few episodes....

And yeah, it was hilarious when Sammy realized his mistake! Jared is great at comic acting...well hell, they both are!

And now I need to stop watching SN and go to bed or do something productive! :p

I also need to get an SN icon....preferably a funny one!

Oh and I finally figured out the other day when I looked at your journal title what the title of your art site refers to--duh!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Heh, I just re-read this review for the first time since I've written it, and I have to say I am impressed at how accurate my speculations turned out with hindsight! LOL

So can demons have strong attachments then, as seen with the two demons killed this week?
Well, it seems so in Casey's case, but actually she remains an exception in the demon mythology. Overall demons are defined through hierarchy structures and as such loyalty, duty, fear, competition, etc are the more dominant motivations with demons.

I'm wondering though, will Henrickson and the hunters both be resolved this season then? Lots of loose ends to tie up in so few episodes
Yes, both plotlines will be resolved this season. Actually those are two of the best episodes of the season for me. :)

I also need to get an SN icon....preferably a funny one!
If you click on my art:icons tag you'll find tons of icons to look through. All my SN icons are free to use for everyone, so, if you find one that you like, snag it. ;)

[sherrilina.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I did notice that and checked out all of your icons up through the point to which I've watched last night! ;) I snagged the "provisions" one....because it's so true! :D Though I still have to upload it to LJ....

I might take the batman one too, it's so hilarious, you captured his expression there perfectly! :p