Last night ’s episode of Supernatural , “ Defending Your Life , ” was all about guilt and how to cast it . Plus , it was hopefully the only clip Sam and Dean will become entangle in one of those Star Trek - way “ putting humankind and/or Data on run ” episode that are candidly never a safe idea . It was a fairly uneven instalment , but earned incentive point in time for many reference to Judaic High Holy Days and for consecrate us some really satisfying aroused processing .
Spoilers !
Ghost Cars and Ghost Dogs in Michigan
The episode was packed with skilful jokes , including some bit where the brother made fun of “ haunted car ” ( a recall to the bizarro “ racist truck ” episode of yore ? ) , but had a fairly rote monster of the week . For some reason the Egyptian god Osiris is hanging out in Michigan bar , listening to people ’s guilt - twit sob story — and then , if he view as them guilt - ridden enough , he sends representatives of their guilt to slaughter them . So we see a haunted car pop a guy who once killed a little little girl when he was driving intoxicated ; and a guy who used to run a dogfight pack is vote out by a precious specter dog . scan about these weird deaths in the newspaper , Sam and Dean get on the case .
They quick figure out that all the the great unwashed who died were drinking at a particular bar , which is how Dean get hold himself downing whisky next to Osiris . But unfortunately Dean is so wrapped up in guilt over killing Sam ’s childhood lady friend Amy last week that he nose up spilling his grit to the cute bartender — not about the killing per se , just about how sometimes work really sucks .
It ’s Yom Kippur Time !
When Dean stumbles out of the bar , Osiris snatch up him and place him on trial . Turns out he ’s less concerned in whether Dean is hangdog than in whether he palpate guilty . fortuitously , Sam arrives just in time to “ defend ” Dean . In this snip , you’re able to see Sam ’s reaching and some backchat with sexypants Faran Tahir , playing Osiris with campy assuredness . Despite the fact that everything is better with Tahir , the whole trial panorama is a little ho-hum — especially when Osiris brings out Jo and Sam as primal informant . We kept wait for Amy to show up as Exhibit C , tipping Sam off to Dean ’s betrayal , but it did n’t come about .
Still , it was heart - pull to see Dean crying over feeling responsible for dredge Jo and Sam into “ the life . ” I also liked the mind that Osiris was victimizing people based on how shamefaced they felt — it tied in nicely with this episode ’s Yom Kippur theme . For those of you who did n’t arise up Jewish like me , Yom Kippur is the “ twenty-four hour period of atonement ” when we starve ourselves all day , and recollect about the crappy stuff and nonsense we ’ve done in the previous twelvemonth , and seek to retch ourselves of guilty conscience . And just in font its chronological proximity to Yom Kippur did n’t slant you off that this was a Very particular Judaic Holy Day Moment ( which aboveboard there should be more of on boob tube , since us Jews palpate kind of left out when it add up time for Very extra Christmas Moments ) , there was a fillip conniption with a shofar — the Aries ’s horn that ’s blown on Yom Kippur — just to drive the dot home .
Could n’t We Just Resurrect Jo Instead of Turning Her Into an Emo Ghost ?
In fact , we find out that the only style to banish Osiris is to jab him with a shophar . And once Osiris find out Dean unambiguously shamefaced , Sam has to break into a rabbi ’s office to grab a shophar and stab Osiris before the Egyptian god compels Jo to kill Dean . Though it may have been fulfil for hoi polloi who were fans of the Dean / Jo geminate to see the two of them together again , there ’s a fair draggy scene where she ’s train to kill him and looking all weepy about it . I roll in the hay — I have a heart of ember and should be tormented by Osiris for saying that . But seriously , we really did n’t ask to serve our feelings about Jo again .
What we DID need was to process our feelings about freakin ’ Amy . But of course , as Dean articulate at the end of the instalment , there are so many people he ’s done wrong to that Osiris ’ Exhibit C might have been anyone .
And Now It ’s clip to Process Our Feelings
Though some of this instalment ranged into “ meh ” territory , we got a particularly warm moment of relationship processing between Sam and Dean at the end . Sam wonder why he was n’t place by Osiris , since he ’s the person who has really done terrible things , like go all diabolical and turning into Lucifer and clobber like that . The reason , Sam realise , is that he does n’t experience shamed anymore after what he went through in Hell . He feel purify , like he ’s protrude with a clean slate . Dean patently does n’t finger the same way .
What I wish about this conversation , which bind back into our Yom Kippur theme , is that it called our attention to the way lingering guilt can actually be just as poisonous as the Acts of the Apostles that led to the guilt feelings in the first office . Supernatural has always been a show about the opening of atonement , of leaving behind your regretful ego and bad human action to become a well mortal . Unlike Christianity , which often learn that human sin can only be forgiven by God , Judaism focuses on human being forgiving themselves . And that ’s what Sam has done .
Dean , however , may never be able-bodied to forgive himself . Does that make his future darker than Sam ’s ? It ’s an interesting interrogative to mull over as we proceed through the time of year .
telly
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