galathea | Review for 3x14 'Long Distance Call' (Reply)

Jeremy Carver and Robert Singer cooked up this week’s episode, a solid exploration of the brothers as the end of the year draws near. Carver’s characterisation of Sam and Dean over the course of this season has been highly enjoyable for me, and I hope we have him on the team for S4 as well! My brain wasn’t all that cooperative with this review, but I hope it’s still remotely insightful! *lol*

The opening scene between Sam and Dean was fabulous and set up the tense tone between the brothers for the rest of the episode very nicely. So, after Dean’s little 'vacation' at the Morton House, Sam finally got his wish and the brothers have been trying to find a way out of Dean’s deal in a combined effort. While the fruitlessness of that effort doesn’t seem to faze Sam, Dean is starting to run out of hope and does what he does best, looking for a diversion as a means of coping. I wonder if Bobby really called Dean in order to send them on a hunt, after all, he knows the boys are running out of time. It seems more likely to me that Dean either jumped on a casual remark of his’ or asked Bobby about a case right away.

Anyway, it’s interesting that Sam obviously tried several times over the last couple of weeks to convince his brother to contact Ruby for help, but Dean evaded Sam's attempts. Sam still holds on to the hope that, even if everything else fails, Ruby will make good on her promise to save Dean, and Dean allowed his brother to hold onto that hope for as long as possible, although he knew better. ♥ I am not sure if he ever intended to tell Sam that he is nurturing a false hope and that Ruby lied to him, it’s more likely that it slipped out in the heat of the moment. Sam is obviously crushed at the news, and I am really interested to see if his behaviour towards Ruby will change, now that she has absolutely no leverage over him anymore. Sam’s indignation over Dean keeping secrets is the pot calling the cattle black though, and I was happy that Dean finally called Sam on his hypocrisy here, even if he doesn’t force the issue of Sam keeping secrets as well. In the end Dean's little dig achieved what he wanted, i.e. Sam giving into his plan to check out the case.

Sam: "The fact is we got no hard proof here, Dean. After everything, you’re still just going on blind faith!"
Dean: "Yeah, well maybe that’s all I got, okay!"

In many ways Long Distance Call is the exact mirror to last year’s Houses Of The Holy with reversed roles for the brothers. Back then Sam desperately needed to believe that there is a higher power watching out for him, that he can be saved from his destiny and find redemption, if he followed the orders of the alleged angel. He shoved away every caution and every reasonable doubt that Dean threw at him in favour of blind faith, born out of desperation, only to get his faith and hope ripped away from him in the end, realising that they are on their own and can only count on each other. It figures that where Sam put his faith in God and angels, Dean puts his in John.

The last couple of episodes after Dream A Little Dream Of Me we have seen Dean more at peace than in a long while. The realisation that he wants to live and doesn’t deserve to go to hell, and Sam’s reassurance that they will find a way to save him, were enough to give him hope and a new sense of determination. All year Dean was all too willing to push the consequences of his deal to the back of his mind, concentrating on his job instead, but now, after he finally allowed himself to focus on his own salvation and two months of intense research produced no results, all that determination seems to crumble. For all his 'I don’t care what Ruby thinks' tantrum in the opening scene, he’s ready to believe her statment that there is no way to save him. So, it’s no surprise that he latches onto the miracle of John’s intervention, throwing all his usual common sense out of the window in the process.

It’s very painful to see Dean regress into the frightened little boy, who needs his father to fix things, hero worship firm in place, after he took huge steps to become independent from John ever since his father died. The Crocotta's approach to Dean is actually pretty clever: He doesn't try to convince Dean that he is indeed John, but in fact tells him he can't be sure of that fact, thus easily overthrowing Dean’s only short moment of doubt. In typical John Winchester fashion he then reprimands Dean for selling his soul, hitting Dean where he is most vulnerable, which gives him an opening to present his own solution to the problem, namely killing the demon who holds Dean's contract. He also effectively erases Dean's only reason for not actively pursuing his own salvation yet, i.e. the danger to Sam's life, by reassuring him that his plan is a foolproof way out of the deal for both Sam and Dean, no harm will come to either one of them. The floodgates are wide open for the Crocotta's deception from there on.

It's noteworthy that from the moment John's first call arrives, Dean stops working the case and instead starts trying to prove to himself and Sam that this spirit calling is a legit connection to the 'afterlife'. He finds evidence because he wants to find it, and he falls for every false information that is laid out for him by the Crocotta, brushing every of Sam’s very reasonable objections aside in the process. And like in Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things, Sam’s attempt to question Dean's motifs for his actions only drives Dean into a defensive stance. Sam's arguments bounce off of his brother's walls, only eliciting anger, sarcasm and hurtful remarks about Sam's own relationship with John.

While Sam tries his best to not completely nip his brother's newly found hope in the bud, his hesitation and doubts are winning out, especially when he sees how willing Dean is to just push all of his usual instincts as a hunter aside. I love that about the brothers; whenever one of them goes off the deep end, the other one it there to stir them back onto the right path. I do believe that Sam's statement that his cautious position isn’t about resenting John, is genuine. Ever since John’s death Sam has shown nothing but regret about his past tendency to butt heads with his father, and he tried to reconcile with John’s actions retroactively on several occasions, making his peace with him. No, Sam's objections aim at the fact that there is nothing to prove they aren’t being manipulated like the rest of the victims. So, Dean’s accusations towards Sam are below the belt, and he only succeeds in getting a rise out of his younger brother, who promptly calls him openly on his irrational behaviour.

Dean’s yelled confession that faith is all he has at the moment, has to be painful for Sam though, as it reveals that Dean doesn’t just have a small set-back here. Dean obviously lost any hope that Sam is able to save him, and that’s like a slap in Sam's face. He needs his brother on the same page in this fight, his depression and resignation in the months before Dean gave up his resistance against saving himself, clearly showed that. I think that Sam needs some distance from Dean after that argument is understandable, and I really loved that, despite his frustration, Sam’s concerns still win out and he pleads with Dean to not do something rash. Not that this ever stopped Dean from doing something monumentally stupid, of course. ;)

I really liked how their thematic division throughout the episode was constantly mirrored in their separation while working the case. Each of the brothers followed their own path, with Sam pursuing the leads of their actual case, and Dean hunting down the illusion of hope. In the end though, Dean has to acknowledge his own mistake, when confronting the alleged demon only reveals another broken victim of a tragedy, and the pained expression on Dean's face after he realises just how horribly wrong he was, is heart-breaking. I was profoundly glad for the fact that they don’t have the Colt anymore, because I am sure that in his delusional state of mind Dean would have killed the poor man on sight, and it would’ve wrecked him.

Dean: "I can’t expect Dad to show up with some miracle of the last minute. I can’t expect anybody to, you know. The only person to get me out of this thing is me."

Admittedly, I was very, very happy that the caller was not John in the end! Dean fought so hard to grow into a man of his own ever since his father died, and his personal growth would have been undermined for me, if John had saved the day and provided a cheap last minute way out of Dean’s deal. While it surely is incredibly tempting for Dean to fall back on the security net his father always provided for him, in the end that’s not who he is anymore. He has to draw from his own strength now, and in the end he takes his responsibility back and stops to rely on other people to get him out of his predicament, and that includes Sam. Dean's final realisation that he is the only one who can save himself, takes Dean’s character progression from Dream A Little Dream Of Me a step further. He is now ready to actively fight for his life!

It has to be said though, that the writers walk a very fine line with their deal-storyline here. Dean’s attempt to break the deal in Long Distance Call by killing the demon who holds his contract, should theoretically have activated the clause in Dean's contract which stipulates Sam's death in case Dean weasels his way out of it somehow. While it can be argued that it was all a deception anyway and Dean didn't actually break the deal, I still think it's a close call, storyline wise. Personally, I would even consider Dean’s participation in the research over the last couple of weeks a breach of that clause, but I am willing to give the writers some leeway here and narrow it down to a situation where Dean actually manages to break the deal on his own. I really hope they don’t intend to just 'overlook' the fine print in the contract, that would be really disappointing for me.

Dean: "I’m scared Sam. I’m really scared."
Sam: "I know."

The quiet conversation between the brothers at the end of the episode was just absolutely wonderful! ♥ ♥ While Dean is desperate and scared, he doesn't hesitate anymore to share these feelings with Sam. He lays himself open, no secrets, no game face, he is past that. There is no use in spending his last days with his brother behind a mask! I love how sympathetic Sam reacts to Dean’s openness. He is in his best 'little brother' mode, just listening, a comforting and steady presence at Dean's side. He has already been where Dean is now, he lost his faith and his hope before, and he gets it. There is no need for empty words or big gestures between them. When Dean states that he is scared, Sam’s quiet 'I know' carries an unspoken 'me too' as well. After all he, too, just got his last hopes of a miracle rescue provided by Ruby crashed.

I absolutely adore that Sam throws Dean’s "you want a poem?" line from Fresh Blood back to his brother, when Dean tries to lighten their melancholy mood with a joking remark. I think Dean's mock question if that is all Sam has to say, is for once not about being uncomfortable with the chick flick moment, and most certainly not about Dean genuinely being frustrated with Sam, it's about the simple fact that Sam states the obvious. There is no need for reassurance here, Dean knows that Sam stands at his side in this. Sam’s little smile shows that he totally gets it, and he easily falls into a comfortable silence with Dean, letting the topic go! Brothers! ♥

What else is noteworthy?:

(1) I am usually not all that nitpicky when it comes to plotholes in the monster-of-the-week plot, but this week’s episode had a lot of very obvious inconsistencies. If the Crocotta needs to be present to suck the soul out of the body, where was he, when the man in the teaser shot himself or when little Simon ran in front of the truck? To push people into suicide from afar, i.e. via phone, doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense to me to be honest. Also, if the Crocotta worked through the actual phonelines, how could Simon's toy phone possibly be affected? Sam states that the Crocotta's usual MO is to lure victims into the dark in order to kill them, but the only time the Crocotta actually uses this MO, is with Sam. How the Crocotta was able to conjure a ghost image of Lanie's dead mother was never explained either, it's certainly not mentioned in his abilities. Throughout the episode there is no consistent MO to the monster.

(2) Sam and Dean’s first visit at the phone company was funny. I loved how Dean at first tries to play buddies with Stewie, but when that doesn’t work he switches to menacing in the blink of an eye. Heh! The little smirk he gives Sam afterwards is adorable. Oh, but the flies, a dead give away!

(3) This is one of the rare episodes, where we see Sam taking the bed near the door, while Dean has the one in the back of the room. Since there is usually a gesture of protectiveness connected to Dean’s habit to always choose the bed near the door, it’s interesting to see it reversed here. It’s also the first time that one of the brothers has a rental car, when they go separate ways. Usually they try to lay low, not leaving a paper trail if it can be avoided, but with the Feds off their tail, they can probably be a bit more generous. Still, I found it very disturbing to see Sam in that car!

(4) I also loved how Sam coaxes Lanie into admitting that she talked to her dead mother. Lately Sam wasn’t always the most patient and sympathetic one when it came to the victims, he often left the interviews to Dean, while he preferred to investigate the 'crime scene'. It’s good to have sincere Sam back. He might not have been happy about the case in the first place, but in the end he cared about Lanie nonetheless.

In conclusion: Long Distance Call provided us with much needed material on the brothers, and while the plot isn’t all that logical and episode doesn't really move the deal-storyline further, the interaction between Sam and Dean was really poignant. Only a couple of days are left of Dean’s life. So I guess it’s a safe bet to say that the next two episodes will very likely take us right to the last day. It’s a frightening thought!