Review for 4x15 'Death Takes A Holiday'

[galathea]

And another great instalment in S4, provided by Jeremy Carver. While Carver might not always have the best grip on the plotting part of his episodes, he’s always a good bet when it comes to delving into the psychology of Sam and Dean, and this week’s episode is no exception to that. Death Takes A Holiday is an excellent follow-up to Sex and Violence in tone and atmosphere, as well as characterisation. I really wished all mytharc episodes this season were this character centric.



Death Takes A Holiday continues the slow deterioration of Sam and Dean’s relationship, as depicted over the last couple of weeks. They might still work together, but it has mostly become a side by side instead of a with each other, the chasm between them seems insurmountable at the moment. The show has always been dark, but the intimacy, trust and loyalty between Sam and Dean always provided the necessary optimistic core to counter the darkness, and now that their bond is fractured and brittle at the seams, the tone of the show became outright bleak. I have to admit that I find it emotionally draining to witness the downward spiral of the Winchesters, and it’s only the hope that we need to cross the dark valley to come out on the clearing, that keeps my spirits up.

Despite the depressing direction the brothers’ relationship has taken, I have to admire the slow and consistent forward movement of the character arcs over these past five episodes. Midseason I was under the impression that they changed from a character driven narrative structure to a plot driven one, and I am very happy to find that this isn’t the case anymore. The way Sam and Dean’s motivations were made transparent over the last couple of weeks, step by step, once again demonstrated the excellence of this show when it comes to character development.

It nearly puts me into a forgiving mood for the fact that even though Dean’s post-hell story made a turn to the better after the midseason two-parter, I still think his trauma is handled in an unsatisfactory manner. The story focuses solely on Dean’s guilt for being turned into a torturer, while it disregards any other facet of Dean’s hell experience, like for example that he was tortured for the equivalent of 30 years as well and that he needs to process that, too. His continuing ability to mostly function normally, without confronting that issue, even if only for the duration of one episode, still doesn’t sit well with me, because it diminishes the gravity of that particular plotline. I can understand that it’s inconvenient for the writers to go there at this stage in the story, but it still remains a weak point in this season.

Sam: "The normal rules don’t really apply to us, do they? (…) I’m infected with demon blood. You’ve been to hell. Look, I know you want to think of yourself as Joe, the Plumber, Dean, but you’re not! Neither am I. The sooner you accept that, the better off you’re gonna be."

Over the course of the show Sam and Dean flipped positions back and forth many times, but Sam’s speech about accepting that they exist outside the normal set of rules, has to be the most disconcerting role reversal between them yet. Back in S1 Sam was the one who craved normality and wanted to be your average Joe, while Dean tried to convince him that they are not like everybody else. Granted, Dean wasn’t talking about the natural order back in Skin, but about their place in society, still, his vehement insistence that they are no different from other people is striking, and I think it’s most likely a direct reaction to Sam’s alarming statement. Dean wants to be normal, because their outsider existence brought them nothing but grief, but most of all he wants Sam to want to be normal as well.

On the surface Sam’s argument seems to just state the obvious: He does have demon blood in him, but the demon blood is part of who he is ever since he was six months old, and that didn’t hold him back from living his life as a law-abiding, gentle and caring human being. It’s not the blood that makes him different, it’s his approach to it. Sam fundamentally changed his position by fully embracing his demonic heritage, even if he likes to delude himself into thinking that he can remain the same and only has the best intentions in mind. His argument is the strongest hint yet, how much Sam’s latest secret activities with Ruby affected his self-perception. He’s on a power trip, in every sense of the word.

It was scary to watch Sam using his powers with such a grim determination and arrogant attitude. It clearly comes like a second nature to him by now, he was simply reacting, no conscious effort required. Gone are the struggle, the headaches and the hesitation. He is powerful and he knows it and most of all he likes it. S2!Sam would look at his current self and be horrified, insisting on Dean making true on his promise to kill him should he ever turn into something he is not. Far was he from suspecting back then that he would make a deliberate choice to walk in that direction. Now, Sam's development is worrying, but it’s also hard to blame him, since there’s really nobody who presents a better solution at the moment, and he has yet to cross a line. Still, his troubled expression at Pamela’s warning that his so-called best intentions are simply a convenient delusion, indicates that deep down he knows that he is deceiving himself. It’s unlikely though that he will give up on his activities, if that is even still possible, as long as there’s no viable other option available.

Dean: "Sam, do me a favor? You’re gonna keep your little secrets and I can’t really stop you, but just don’t treat me like an idiot, okay."

When it comes to his brother, Sam is in a difficult position at the moment. Dean offers Sam an out, twice even. An out of staying with Dean ("Sure you want me going with you?") and an out of the lies ("Don’t treat me like an idiot."), and Sam doesn’t take either opportunity to come clean. He is caught between a rock and a hard place. If he admits to having secrets, he also indirectly admits that what he said in Sex and Violence was the truth, rather than the spell of the siren talking. It would render his desperate attempts to convince Dean that he didn’t mean it, null and void. If Sam does not admit to his secrets though, he is hurting Dean and enforcing even further that his brother cannot trust him. Either way, he can’t win. He’s trapped in a cage of his own making and has no idea how to escape the net of lies he spun for himself.

Dean’s repeated attempts to address their 'verbal sparring' from Sex and Violence shows at least that they don’t pretend it never happened. Well, at least Dean isn’t, even if it’s only in form of taking sarcastic digs at his brother. I would have expected for Dean to close himself off after Sam’s words, refusing to touch on their hurtful content ever again, allowing them to fester away within him, but that’s not the case. While it is clear that he is disappointed with Sam’s inability to take the opportunity to come clean and build a new foundation of trust between them, he still keeps the possibility of a genuine communication open for Sam - by coming back to the topic over and over again, and that’s positive in a twisted sort of way.

Anyway, at the moment it seems to me that nothing is further from both Sam and Dean’s minds than deliberately abandoning their brother. They hold on, even if they have no idea how to reconnect. Far and few between throughout the episode, there were moments of care (Sam’s hard tone towards Tessa upon learning who she was, his inquiry about Dean’s concussion) and laughter (learning nifty 'ghost moves' from Cole, Dean poking his arm through Sam) and silent team work (bringing the chandelier down together in order to break the trap that held Tessa) between them. These little glimpses of their brotherly bond made me hopeful that their distance is not irreversible, no matter how fractured their relationship seems to be at the moment.

Tessa: "You’re the one that got away, Dean. You’d be surprised how little that happens to me."

I absolutely adored that they brought Tessa back in this episode, not only because I always loved her character and her dynamic with Dean, but also because it presented the opportunity to bring closure to Dean’s lost memories from In My Time Of Dying and retrospectively added a new layer of characterisation to Dean’s arc in S2/3. His admission that he felt incomplete for the whole duration of that year and that he wished he’d gone with Tessa for good, lends even more weight to his desperate attempt to justify his sacrifice for Sam’s life to Bobby with the argument of correcting the natural order. It also affirms that one of the reasons for his lifted spirits at the beginning of S3 resulted from ridding himself of this burden of a borrowed life.

Everything that happened to Dean ever since he came back from that coma, reinforced his belief that he should have died back then. He held on, because he couldn’t bear the thought of what would happen to his family if he wasn’t around to protect them, but in the end he came back to a dead father, watched his brother die as well and inadvertently facilitated Sam’s descent into darkness. When Dean tells Cole that staying amongst the living is worse than death and that one day his family will be gone, with nothing left here for him, I had the chilling feeling that he wasn’t only talking about his own past, but also about his present.

Dean’s realisation that the Sam he knew is gone and left him with this stranger, whom he has difficulties connecting to, leaves him stranded and without the purpose that defined his life for almost three decades. The attempt to re-establish the life that he was familiar with failed spectacularly and at the moment he is unable to adapt to the new situation and take control of his life again. The situation is further complicated for him by the fact that he doesn’t know anymore whom to trust and whichever way he turns, the options are equally bleak. If he dies, he probably goes back to hell and eternal damnation. If he lives, he might watch his brother self-destruct, or worse, will be forced to kill him himself. He can’t trust Sam and he clearly has no idea how to reach his brother at the moment and change the course Sam has taken. He can’t trust the angels either, because, as Castiel openly admits, they are manipulating him to their own advantage as well. His situation is truly desperate and isolated, and in the end he is even stripped off his last hope - the hope for redemption.

Dean "Still, you know, I’ve done things. Horrible things. And someone upstairs still decided to give me a second chance." (…)
Tessa: "Stop lying to yourself, Dean. The angels have something good in store for you, a second chance, really?"

In the beginning of the episode Dean argues for the possibility that miracles might happen in this town, which is a striking opposition to his attitude back in Houses of the Holy and shows not only that he came around to accepting the existence of a higher power, but also how much he clings to the thought of having a second chance in life. Tessa’s warning that Dean deludes himself into believing that the angels have something good for him in store, takes Dean’s hope away that the 'miracle' of his resurrection was an act of forgiveness for what he perceives as his sin, the torturing of souls in hell. And all signs seem to point in the direction of Tessa being right.

Castiel’s admission that they used Sam and Dean as tools in order to capture Alistair, manipulating them into doing their bidding, was disconcerting to say the least. Instead of approaching them openly and just asking for their help, the angels used lies and deceptions to get the brothers to do what they wanted. The only message this kind of behaviour sends to Dean is that despite his decision to rather sacrifice himself than the innocent townspeople in It’s The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester, the angels don’t trust him to do the right thing if they give him a choice. It’s clear that they have no scruples to use whatever means necessary to gain the upper hand in this war, even if that means bending Sam and Dean to their will. The end justifies the means and it’s all about the bigger picture.

While Castiel in the end only sees the victory of preventing another seal from being broken, for Dean Castiel’s display of distrust ultimately means yet another betrayal of someone he came to see as an ally, undermining the tentative understanding and fragile relationship he build with the angel in the process. That doesn’t bode well for the future and more and more suggests that the angels will end up as antagonists in the long run. Castiel’s expression of doubts about the righteousness of their orders earlier in the season might still come into play later, but in Death Takes A Holiday he clearly has no regrets about manipulating Dean.

Sam: "Go to hell!"
Alistair: "Ah, if only I could, but they just keep sending me back up to this arctic craphole."

I have to say that I was surprised to see Alistair back, because I was under the distinct impression that being subjected to Anna’s grace had destroyed the demon. Apparently that was not the case though, so that raises the question: What could possibly pose a threat to a demon of Alistair’s calibre if even pure grace can’t harm him? The only thing that seems to have an effect on him is Sam’s newly boosted power and wouldn’t it be the kicker if it turned out that Sam is indeed the only one who would be able to best him and, by extension, Lilith? If the angels prove to be powerless against ancient demons like Alistair, it will no doubt strengthen Sam’s case for the pursuit of his powers, even if it means to sacrifice his own humanity in the process. So far we have only seen he angels at a clear disadvantage in a direct confrontation with demons and the fact that the angels are rapidly losing the fight over the seals doesn’t inspire any confidence either.

As a sidenote: It was odd that while Alistair easily got the upper hand over Castiel in Heaven and Hell, the angel has no problems capturing the demon in Death Takes A Vacation. Granted, the angel had the element of surprise on his side, with Alistair being focused on Dean and clearly unaware of Castiel’s presence, still, I have to wonder why Castiel and Uriel didn’t find a way to contain him in their confrontation earlier this season and turned to hand to hand combat instead. It doesn’t seem to make much sense to me.

What else was noteworthy:

(1) If I have one serious complaint about this episode, it’s the way Pamela met her demise. As I said before, while Carver is good at mapping out the boys’ psychological status, attention to plot details isn’t his forte. I mean, there’s really no reason why the brothers wouldn’t have warded the room where their unconscious and helpless bodies were guarded by a blind woman with devil’s traps, especially since they knew that demons were on the loose in the town. I accept that salt lines were a no-go, since it would have trapped their own ghosts as well, but devil’s traps would have provided protection against the very things that were after them. They left themselves and Pamela in an extremely vulnerable position and that’s irritating.

When Sam came back and found Pam wounded he should have gotten her to a hospital and even if they needed to stay in the room for Dean’s sake, he should have at least called an ambulance, despite her objections. They didn’t even make an effort to save her, once Dean was back, simply sitting by, while she bled to death. Granted, the fact that she died within a minute made clear that the wound was fatal, no matter what, but it still doesn’t sit well that the brothers were completely inactive. Pam’s self-resigned attitude didn’t make much sense to me either, since she has always been depicted as a strong willed person with a zest for life.

While I have no problem with Pamela’s death in itself, because I can understand it as a statement of how the war demands casualties on the side of good, thus making the war - which mostly played out off screen over the season - more tangible for the audience, the way her death was handled was completely unsatisfactory. In any case, Pam’s death isolated Sam and Dean even more, depriving them of yet another one of their rare sources of support in their efforts. Her ominous warning to Sam was certainly given more weight by the fact that it were her last words. I just wished the circumstances of her death would have been different.

(2) On a more positive note, I really loved Cole and thought they once again cast a really great child actor for the role. His grief and hesitation to let go of his life on the one hand and his juvenile joy about teaching Sam and Dean how to be ghosts on the other hand, were fabulous and came off as very believable. The conversation between Cole and Sam about watching the surviving members of your family grieve over you, was amazingly touching and chilling at the same time. The contrast between Cole’s honest fear and Sam coldly lying through his teeth in order to manipulate the kid into helping him was a scary parody of Sam’s usual empathic approach towards victims. I had to think back to Sam’s genuine sorrow about lying to the ghost Molly in Roadkill in order to get her to cooperate. I don’t think any of those scruples bothered him with Cole anymore.

In conclusion: Death Takes A Holiday leaves us in an even more desolated place than before, as Dean is stripped off his hope that his salvation from hell served to give him a second chance and Sam is stripped off the delusion that his intentions are pure and that he can use his powers for good. Both Sam and Dean are isolated in their own right, and their inability to reconnect as brothers might very well be the thing that dooms them in the end.

Comments

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Oooh, timing. I was just about to go and post a few thoughts about the episode - nothing like as well thought out and structured as this, though, as I've focused on recapping all day rather than reviewing. Meta is going to have to wait!

Incidentally, recapping has already reduced me to tears several times, which isn't like me at all! This is a powerful episode.

This is an excellent, review, Chris - you've captured all the nuances of the episode, all the ways in which it hits us and the characters right in the gut.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Heh, I already wondered why you didn't post a first reaction yet. *g* It really is a powerful episode and I had tears throughout watching it every time. *hugs*

Thanks, hon! Mostly I am just happy that I managed to finish it way before the AFAs start, so I still have a bit of time to myself before the insanity of that event hits. LOL I am quite happy with the review myself and really have to say that it helps to not put so much time pressure on myself and just allow myself to think it over for at least a day.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I just couldn't get organised enough to pull a proper review together! I wanted to plunge straight into the recap itself and get all the meta out that way, rather than dividing my energies. So I just scrawled a very brief reaction by way of review and left it at that. Posted now. If I can get all or at least most of the episode transcribed today, that gives me a head start on meta-ing during the week, if I get any free time. :)

Enjoy the AFAs tonight! May you win many categories *G*

it helps to not put so much time pressure on myself and just allow myself to think it over for at least a day.
Hee, I bet! This one is very nicely structured around all the major points - hats off to you!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Well, I think it only makes sense. Now that you have only limited time to actually work on your recaps, to further limit your time and divide your attention between first impression meta and full recap isn't really efficient. I really wouldn't put thaat extra stress on me if I were you. :)

This one is very nicely structured.

ROFL you know me and my obsession with order. *g*

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

ROFL you know me and my obsession with order. *g*
Hee. I do. I only wish it would rub off on me!

Today is the first time in a really, really long time that I have managed to get an entire episode transcribed all in one day. Now we shall just see how long it takes to get the meta part of it written - which will depend on how much free time I get this week!

Our conversation last night helped get a lot of my thoughts ironed out, which should help. :) Of course, you already have it all expressed very neatly here. *G*

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

You did! WOW! You have been a busy bee today! :)

Ditto, our fangirl chats always help me to get my thoughts in order and focused. Getting my emotions under control! I am very glad we established that little chat ouf ours! *hugs*

[impalalove]

My favourite scene, honestly, was when Dean and Sam both teamed up to hit Alistair. ♥.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

ROFL It's a valid scene to love. Team Winchester versus demons is always a sight to behold! :D

[karenmiller.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think Castiel does have scruples. I think Castiel's ambivalence is going to be a key turning point in upcoming events. And while I totally sympathise with him in this ep, because really, he needs to be sneaky -- Dean's not exactly co-operating -- I think he also appreciates he's put Dean in a terrible situation. But I think this scene harks back to the opening of 4.10. When Castiel sees that Dean's sided with Sam and Ruby, he's disappointed. And Dean's ashamed of that, I think. He knows Castiel's not going to smile about it. Castiel's problem is that he does see Dean's side, when he's not supposed to. He's meant to be able to use these humans as tools, and he does, but he's not entirely thrilled about it. And the more he gets to know Dean, the less he likes it. Which will lead up to some really great stuff, I'm hoping.

I think Sam's sitting right on the edge now. His humanity's not entirely destroyed, he can still be unhappy about manipulating Cole, but the point is he does it without hesitation. In fleeting moments he can have fun with Dean. But overshadowing that are the changes in him. And his utter dismissiveness of Dean, his complete taking over, the lies without compunction, the arrogance, the pleasure in his power -- he's losing.

I think Castiel and Uriel underestimated Alastair before. Now they don't.

I love how Dean can face him down. Despite the awful memories, he can look him in the eye and face up to their shared history.

I don't think Dean thought his rescue wasn't about a greater good. Castiel told him point blank, we've got work for you to do. But with the remembering of hell, and Castiel asking him if he didn't deserve to be saved, somehow he's kind of mixed it up, used it as a bandage over his wounds, that saving him meant he was forgiven. He's kind of in denial about the whole job to do thing. He's so damaged by what he did that it's the only thing keeping him sane. I know I did bad but God saved me so I'm worth a second chance. And it's Tessa who's making him face facts -- they saved you for a reason and you know the reason isn't good. Stop pretending you don't know that. Castiel told him -- I don't envy you, given what's coming. Dean's been warned, but he couldn't deal, so he denied. And now he can't deny it any more.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

I, too, think that Castiel's ambivalence will be of importance later in the arc, but here I didn't get a whiff of scruples from him. It's a slow road to Castiel's conversion and there have to be steps back from time to time. I think he learned a lot about Dean, but he is still on shaky ground when it comes to judging human emotions. He praises Dean for saving the deal, but I don't think he even has an idea how much he alienated Dean by sneaking behind his back. Castiel made it clear before that despite his doubts the cause is his main priority and he'll take whatever measures necessary. That doesn't mean he disregards Dean, just that he has troubles reading him. There's just no sense of guilt in Castiel, he's won the fight for a seal, I think it's his belief that that's the only thing that matters in the end.

And I have to strongly disagree that Dean is ashamed for siding with Sam in the conflict in HaH. I think that Dean is someone to follow his convictions and it was against every of his instincts to let the angels kill Anna, who despite of what she was, also was an innocent girl. Dean and Sam had just come clear with each other and Sam was 100% on Dean's side in this. And yeah, maybe Dean wasn't quite comfortable with Ruby, but I think he was even less comfortable with the angels attitude towards Anna. So, no, I don't Dean being ashamed.

Oh, yes. Sam is heading down his path with no hesitation now. He's always been someone who throws himself into into a cause with all his might, once he dedicated himself to something. He's inherited John's stubbornness and persistence. I think I just still sympathise with him because I can see all the steps that lead him here and he did start out with the best intentions in heart and mind. I hurt for Dean so badly, but I can see Sam's side in this, even if I am immsensely worried for him.

Well, I don't see Dean dropping to his knees and start praying any time soon. *g* But yes, I think Dean just needed some sort of forgiveness for his sins. He can't forgive himself and he can't accept forgiveness from Sam. Once he opened himself up to the possibility that God and Angels do in fact exist, it also opened up his mind for the dogmata it entailed, especially with the overwhelming guilt on his shoulders, and I think it brought him some relief. He always knew that a pay day would be coming and that miracles are not for free. So maybe my formulation 'for the greater good' is a bit misleading.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this great review. I've only seen the episode this week in the UK and it is lovely to read what someone else thinks of it.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading! I am glad you enjoyed the review. :)

[sherrilina.livejournal.com]

So did we really know for sure at this point that Dean would return to Hell if he died? I thought that since he was saved from Hell by Castiel that it meant he had a shot at the Pearly Gates....does Lilith still hold his contract or something?

Sam lying through his teeth like that was very creepy and disconcerting, although I suppose that he thought it necessary to save the seal. I was glad to see them save ONE seal at least, and not just have all failures....even though I know that ultimately they will fail....

I was also glad to see Castiel appear again, I want to see more of him so I can get a better handle on his character. I guess it was a betrayal of Dean's trust, although Castiel did kind of have a point--Dean already doesn't trust the angels, calls them dicks with wings, whereas he totally trusts Bobby, so I think pretending to be Bobby (how would he do that, anyway? More unexplained angel mataphysics?) was a good strategy....and provided an element of surprise for the audience, plotting-wise!

I was very happy to see Dean finally recover his memories of 2x01, I thought he never would! Though I was surprised to hear him say he felt her loss....did he mean that literally, like he knew something was missing, but didn't know what (because the memories were gone), or did he mean figuratively, like the borrowed life thing?

It was sad to see Pamela die, I know they have to have casualties on the side of good, but do they have to always be women? It seems like all the major female characters get killed off in this show....(I know about the two in 5x10, unfortunately). :(

Well I'm going to bed now, the next epp is the one that really depresses you, no?

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

No, we don't know that. Personally, I think that Dean paid his debt. He fulfilled his contract, so when he dies, he shouldn't go back to hell, but I think that Dean believes that he will return there if he dies. ;)

Oh, sure, Sam thought it was necessary, but it was just such a chilling contrast to his usual sympathetic behaviour. He showed no regret at all here. He didn't seem to care. :(

Well, obviously Dean doesn't trust the angels - they threatened Sam, wanted to kill Anna and smite a whole town! How could he have any trust in their good intentions? Still, he bonded on some level with Castiel and the angel didn't honor that fragile bond. Of course Castiel acted like a soldier here, but from a personal perspective, it was a betrayal.

re: the voice thing - Apparently angels can fake voices. It's not explained how they do it, but they use that ability again later in the season.

re: Tessa - I interpreted Dean's statement as figurative. He should have died in 2.01 and lived on borrowed time ever since, and he felt it like a physical ache. :(

I, too, was sad to see Pamela go, but not more so than any of the other recurring characters. Let's face it: Everyone on this show dies, no matter the gender, race or sexual orientation. The male recurring characters die as well, like John, Ash, Gordon or Henriksen. It's not only the women. With the show having two male leads, it's no surprise that they cast women in a lot of other roles and since it is a narrative point of the show that Sam and Dean are always isolated and depend on each other only, these women die like all other characters. The only (human) recurring character to ever survive dealing with the Winchesters is Bobby.

Uhm, yes, 4.16 is the darkest Sn episode ever for me. It's one of the few I just cannot rewatch as often as I should.

[sherrilina.livejournal.com]

Oh okay, I was wondering if I had missed something, re: Dean going back to Hell if he had died...;) Although you'd think that if God told an angel to pull you out that they could ensure you don't go back....Tessa seemed to be suggesting that they would not ensure this though...:s

Re: Pamela--I guess you do have a point there, everyone has pretty much died (even Dean and Sammy, though they then came back!)....I guess maybe it was just more noticeable to me since there are so few female characters on the show period...

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Well, Tessa simply suggested that the angels have less benign motives - in regard to Dean, and in general - than Dean might think. But I don't think she referred to his afterlife. ;)

Hm, there are plenty of female characters on the show, just like most recurring characters, they don't survive long. You shouldn't get attached to recurring characters, they are not handled like in other shows here, as they don't have a life of their own (they often barely get a backstory and only exist in relation to Sam and Dean) and they usually serve a certain purpose and then vanish or get killed, either for emotional effect or in order to move the storyline forward. That's a side effect of telling a story that's structured around a single focus: the brothers. Since Supernatural is the tragedy of Sam and Dean, every other character in the show is only instrumental to their story, and their story is mainly about loss. Of course I mourn the characters, too, but by now I am pretty used to see characters come and go on the show. *g*

[sherrilina.livejournal.com]

Well except for Bobby though--they did go into some of his backstory (well I suppose they have for some others too), and if he died that would be too horrible!

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Well, as I said before, Bobby is the exception to the rule. Thank God! I couldn't bear it if he died, he's the only emotional support for the boys and they need him desperately, especially Dean. Most recurring characters get some framework - like Gordon and his sister or the Harvelle's backstory with John - but it's really never extensive and only just enough to make their motivation clear to the viewer.

Of course Castiel is an exception as well, so far at least. I wouldn't necessarily bet on his survival of S5 though. In any case, he's no human, so the rules are different. :)