Supernatural: The Devil Went Down to Carthage
The heartbreak
So, so much heartbreak this episode. There was the group gathering at Bobby's and taking the last picture, with everyone going from glib and spite-the-Devil carefree to somber when they realized that yes, this really could be it. There was Jo getting mauled by Hellhounds, and telling her mom that it was too late, and she might as well be able to go out in a blaze of glory.
But the part that got us the most was Ellen.... oh, Ellen! She let Jo sacrifice herself, but she wouldn't let her do it alone. She stayed in that building and lured the hellhounds in, then sat next to her dead daughter as the beasts closed in. Only when they were literally breathing down her neck did she set off the bomb that ripped them -- and her -- to shreds. Sob! We'll miss you most of all, Ellen!
There's more -- read on!
The surprises
There were so many wha-huh? moments this week. We loved the boys confronting Crowley, and having him hand over the Colt without a blink. They were so discombobulated...For that matter, we loved Crowley, full stop. He was a step ahead of everything -- smart, snarky and utterly awesome. Too bad he's, you know, demonic.
But the Colt itself was a surprise -- sort of. We couldn't be the only ones who thought that using the gun would be too easy. Dean shot Lucifer point blank in the head, and we were ready to cheer ... except there was no light show, like you usually see after a Colt killing. Still, we jumped a bit when Lucifer let out that petulant "Ow!" Hee!
Probably the biggest surprise for us was seeing how Lucifer really did hold the demons in contempt. We kind of thought Crowley was being paranoid (awesomely paranoid, but still...), but then we saw Lucifer sacrificing demons willy-nilly. When Sam looked at him askance, he shrugged. "What? They're just demons," he said.
The creepy
Oof. The empty town that wasn't empty had our skin crawling. We were moderately creeped out by the empty streets, but when we switched to Castiel-view and saw the dozens of Reapers just standing there, waiting... brrr. (We were disappointed that it was only creepy old man Reapers, too. What, no Tessa?)
The funny
OK, so it's potentially the end of the world-- and likely the end of their lives -- and our heroes still manage to bring the funny. We loved Castiel downing six shoots and then saying "I think I'm starting to feel something." We loved Dean snarking about Sam having trust issues with a demon, and Sam replying "Thank you again for your continuing support." We loved Bobby forcing everyone to get in the picture by invoking the right of the Beer Bringer. We loved Cas and Lucifer discussing what it's like to travel by automobile instead of at angel speed. We loved Dean reacting to the news that Lucifer was trying to unleash Death by pointing out that he'd died several times. The one bit that didn't work so well for us? Jo going in for a kiss with Dean, then turning him down. Come on! Turning down DeanSex? Are you CRAZY?
The bad-assery
There were plenty of moments of bad-assery -- shooting the hellhounds, the bomb, Crowley taking out his own men, Sam and Dean facing down Lucifer surrounded by motionless townspeople/demons -- but the part that really blew us away was Cas and Meg. It was impressive enough when he used he Angel Fu to unscrew a pipe that could smack Meg into the circle of holy fire. But we were really impressed with his ability to improvise: When he no longer had the Angel Fu to gank demons, he drew Meg in for a kiss... then threw her down into the ring of holy fire and used her body as a bridge. It was necessary, of course -- he needed to get out of the circle so he could whisk Sam and Dean away form Lucifer -- but still: that's hardcore.
The upshot
OK, so now we know that:
- The Colt is kind of useless ... so much for the gun that can kill anything. Sigh. (And what are the other four things that it can't kill?)
- Lucifer has unleashed the Angel of Death, and the last time Death was roaming around, Noah was building a boat
- Lucifer buys the whole "Oh, Sam, you fought with your daddy and your brother called you a freak once, too, so we're completely alike!" thing. Sam... seemed to be seeing the parallels. No, Sam!
- Lucifer hates humans, but he has even worse contempt for demons
- Many demons are too stupid to pick up on that fact
- Lucifer predicts that Sam will give in to him within six months, in Detroit
- We're all screwed.
And that's what we have to ponder until January. Great. Thanks a lot, Kripke & Co.!
What's your take on the episode? Did you get all sniffly when Ellen and Jo sacrificed themselves? Did you ever believe the Colt would do any good? How are the boys going to save the world -- or will they? Talk about it in the comments!
Comments
ACK... JO! ELLEN! They've survived too many times when we thought there was no hope of survival, but now they're definitely dead. I don't usually cry over movies, but by the time the Hell Hounds breathed on Ellen's face, and Sam and Dean were running away when there was that explosion - I was nearly sobbing.
I, personally, was really mad at Crowly for giving them the gun, because we'd already been told that it doesn't work. This is because we've already learned that the Colt doesn't work on angels. I'm guessing the only thing that can kill Lucifer is whatever Uriel used to kill those other angels.
Agk. JANUARY CANNOT GET OVER FAST ENOUGH!!! Why do we have to wait so long; I mean, come on! How cruel is it to put the APOCALYPSE on hold!!!
Kripkeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Posted by: Alexa | December 29, 2009 8:35 AM
ahhh it was awesome! btw Crowley has been in EVERYTHING! he was soooo good in Medium. Also I think he was in SVU.
and omg Jo and Ellen! I knew Ellen wasnt gonna leave her - but so sad that they r dead.
btw who else is sick of wheel-chair-bobby? give him his legs!!!
otherwise really fab ep! so good
Posted by: shailee | November 28, 2009 11:09 PM
I kind of knew that the colt would never work. I mean... he IS an Angel. I don't know weather to like him or hate him. I surprised myself when I cried over Ellen and Jo. I never felt any real connection to them, but I always liked Ellen. Castiel continues to be a total Bad-ass! When he was using his "Angel-Fu" to unscrew the pipe I thought it was for water to put out the fire. I hate Meg and I laughed my butt off when she got roasted by Cas. You mess with Cas and you get burned...Literally!:D
Posted by: Veronika | November 23, 2009 4:31 PM
And let's not forget the shout-out to the late Kim Manners! Ellen's "kick it in the ass" brought tears to my eyes. I thought it was so sweet of them to put that in there.
Posted by: Megan | November 23, 2009 3:13 PM
the only thing that i did love about this episode was dean & jo's kiss. i also loved dean flirting with jo, when he went to her and started with that end of the world speach that was total dean.i hated that jo & ellen both died for nothing,the colt didn't kill the devil and sam may give into him in 6 months like he said.
Posted by: sabrina | November 22, 2009 11:12 PM
OMG, I cried like a baby! Such a sad episode. January can't come soon enough!
Posted by: Liz | November 22, 2009 10:39 PM
I'm all for Dean!sex. But I prefer Jo deciding not sleep with Dean. Dean doesn't get to automatically bang every woman in the world just because he's Dean. What Kripke and Co came up with was perfect.
Anyway, it was nice to go back to a serious episode after such a long hiatus from one. Especially such an amazing one. I absolutely love that they got Mark Shepperd! Crowley needs to come back soon!
Ellen and Jo's sacrifice was depressing. But it won't be a season of Supernatural if we didn't have our heart broken?
Posted by: Sal | November 22, 2009 10:36 AM
I loved this ep, too, Billie. While I wish they hadn't killed off Ellen and Jo, war = casualties, and I had already heard we were losing two people in this ep. I feared one would be Bobby, and I'm so glad that didn't happen, but it still upsets me to lose the two hunter gals I've always been fond of, and in such a brave way, too! As a mom, I could never let my child sacrifice himself alone, and would do exactly as Ellen did. I blubbered hard during their scenes together, and give them kudos for their acting chops. The entire episode was a winner for me, from beginning to end. I'm so worried about the brothers now, though!
Posted by: Robin | November 22, 2009 8:13 AM
This episode was fantastic, the perfect mix of drama, humor and mythology. Loved it! I really hope we see more of Crowley, the he-witch, Chuck, Anna, Zach and Meg in later episodes.
Posted by: mel | November 22, 2009 7:20 AM
I cried like my dog just died when Jo and Ellen died
Posted by: Mel | November 21, 2009 4:31 PM
Come on people!!! I don't get the whole "how come the Colt didn't kill Lucifer?"... Doesn't anyone remember Uriel's words back in season 4's "On the Head of a Pin": "THE ONLY THING THAT CAN KILL AN ANGEL IS... ANOTHER ANGEL"!!!!
Why do you think Lucifer trapped Castiel inside the circle of holy fire?!?!?! 'Cause he's the only one in the gang that can kill him!!!
Posted by: ath3nasgard3n | November 21, 2009 2:39 PM
Jo turning down Dean was the only time I liked her. I cheered her. He's hot sex but hell no! When she wanted him a couple years ago he rejected her because she was too young for him. Take that, Dean!
Posted by: diddy | November 20, 2009 6:15 PM
I kind of had a feeling the colt wouldn't work ever since last season when they said only angels can kill other angels. Luci might be the baddest bad ass of all but he's still an angel. So now it's time for plan B. I cried when Ellen & Jo sacrificed themselves but I honestly saw it coming. Kripke knows exactly how to kill us. That man is an evil genius. And Luci's comment to Sam really worried me. About Sam saying yes within 6 months. This isn't a good thing at all. I mean I knew it was coming and we still don't know what makes Sam say that one little word that we don't want to hear. YES. Hellatus is going to be rough but I have no doubt that Supernatural will come back will a bang. Every episode thus far this season has been great, even those few stand alone ones. In my opinion this is shaping up to be the best season yet. And if this is the last one they sure will go out in a blaze of glory.
Posted by: Melissa | November 20, 2009 4:13 PM
Thanks for the recap. Yes, I shed some tears for Ellen and Jo. And I loved the darkness of the episode (it IS the apocalypse). I thought Mark Sheppard was so great as Crowley - hope to see him again. Our main group of 4 .. great as usual. And now .. now HELLATUS is here ...
Posted by: CandyMaize | November 20, 2009 3:56 PM
This episode is badass!!!! Can't wait to see what Death looks like (I picture him like as tall, blad, pale and dress like a goth). Plus I think the Colt can't kill the like of ghosts (because we haven't seen that happen let)and the Housemen of the Apocalypse (because they might be angels), and maybe it can't kill a golem like in the "Hell House" episode.
Posted by: Bobby Pilster | November 20, 2009 3:05 PM
By far the saddest episode of Supernatural yet. I love Jo and Ellen. I knew they had to die in this episode but i wasn't prepared. At least they went out like the awesome hunters they are. It was a good send off. But heartbreaking.
Posted by: o | November 20, 2009 2:27 PM
So Lucifer and Sam are now bonding over how much they think their big brothers suck. I have no words!
If Sam really agrees with what Lucy is saying, than Dean needs to cut his losses and leave this toxic relationship behind! Because no matter how much he gives, no matter how much he sacrifices, it's never enough. Half the time Sam treats Dean like an unwanted intrusion in his life. The rest of the time Sam uses Dean as a crutch, doormat and scapegoat while simotaneously reserving the right to not only resent and hold contempt for Dean in return, but he also gets to act like the victem while doing it. This relationship is dead to me!
Posted by: Con | November 20, 2009 12:43 PM
This was a truly amazing episode, IMO. There's nothing quite like the love of a mother, is there? At the end, I had the strongest urge to call my mom. I know several people that did. This show is truly about the love and devotion of family, and the sacrifice of Ellen and Jo is a perfect example of that. I'm going to miss them, but I couldn't think of a better way for them to go. I'm normally a rock, but that sequence made me cry.
I loved Bobby trying to keep Dean together on the radio. You can really for Bobby and his frustration that he can't physically be there to help.
Lucifer is such a badass. I seriously love him. He's so witty, smart, and creepily honest and sincere. It scares the crap out of me. He's so sure that Sam is gonna say "yes" to him. Within six months. In Detroit. GAH! I can't even imagine being Sam in that position. I mean, just knowing that you're destined to being Lucifer's vessel is one thing, but to have the guy be so sure that you'll accept him in, that nothing you do will be able to change that, and that being angry about it just seems to spur Lucifer on even more...
The final moment between Dean and Jo was beautiful. That kiss on the forehead...
I never thought the Colt would be able to kill Lucifer. When they first brought it up, I scoffed a bit. I mean, really? A gun that can kill an angel? No. But I guess desperate times call for desperate measures, and it really was their only choice besides trying to find God, or saying "yes."
As sad as I am that Bobby burned that picture, I feel like it was the Harvelles' funeral pyre. They don't have the bodies, so they pay their respects however they can.
It's truly a testament to the quality of the show that there can be so many moments in the episode with just silence. The communication between Ellen and Jo before Ellen verbalizes her plans to stay behind, Sam's silence after Dean asks about Jo's condition, the quiet remembrance of the girls by Sam, Dean, and Bobby... We feel so connected to the guys that they don't need to speak in order for us to know what they're feeling. The tragedy and heartache that they feel is felt by us, too.
All in all, great episode. Broke my heart all over, but it was beautiful, nonetheless. January 21st cannot come fast enough.
Posted by: Megan | November 20, 2009 12:31 PM
WOW, that was an episode with everything... I simply loved it
I really couldn't believe that Ellen and Jo are really gone now. That was heartbreaking D: and all they had left was to dwell on a picture that was cast into the fire... That was really depressing.
Castiel and Meg scenes were awesome. Agreed! It was total bad-assery and Cas deserved to be recognized for his ability to adapt to his surroundings and what he could do.
LOL at Castiel and Lucifer talking about traveling in a car. How was it? Slow...confining. <3 Castiel
Yeah, it was pretty sad to see their efforts and Jo Ellen sacrificing themselves - still to end up with Death becoming unleashed.
WHY THE HIATUS?!! I'll be obsessing over what happens next for 2 months!!
Posted by: Jess T | November 20, 2009 12:26 PM