SPN 7x17 "The Born-Again Identity" rant
You know, I’ve really been pissed at Castiel for a while and I was fully prepared to walk through this episode and feel only a little bit better about things but the ending actually broke me. Like, it made me throw my hands over my face in horror as tears bubbled up.
This was a great episode. I mean, maybe it was a little rushed in places but it was seriously great. The amount of emotion it wrought out of me should be illegal.
Here’s my bullet points before I go for another watch;
+ Lucifer - alright, alright. I know that I go on about this a lot so I’ll get it out of the way early. Mark Pellegrino is superb. The comedy in his performance was suitably mixed with the wicked creepiness and I cringed and giggled in equal measures. And self-diagnosing himself as having narcissistic personality disorder? That was fucking hilarious! So yes, Mark was awesome as always and he had a few killer lines in this.
+ Sam and the drugs - it really does show how desperate he is. Considering his stance on it back in "Mannequin" last year. I wonder what Dean would think of that...
+ Sammy being tied down - I’m shallow, that’s the first thing I went for haha but seriously, Asylum storylines are always something I fucking adore which is why "Sam, Interrupted" and "Asylum" are two of my favourite episodes ever so I really enjoyed the usage of it here. But still, Oh Sammy *hugs*
+ Dean being super big brother worried level 42! When he busted into the Doctor’s office at the beginning I was so giddy that big brother was back and his desperation in the phone calls was great.
+ Montage of Asylum!Sam and Worried!Dean - I loved the way this was slotted together.
+ Bobby ghost helping out again - also again, I really wished this wasn’t the case but there you go.
+ Castiel. Yes I know I’ve been pissed at him and worried that everyone was gonna just let the whole “bringing down Sam’s wall” thing slide but I loved his memory montage when he killed the demons. It was well put together with some very apt music.
+ “It’s hard to believe you were the man who saved the world once.” - I want to draw special attention to this line because it’s honestly one of the most tragic lines of the entire show. It really shows how far Sam, a hero, has fallen and yet nobody knows why. They just assume he’s another mental person.
+ Dean’s drinking - was there anyone else hoping that Castiel would prove his powers are still in place by taking away Dean’s alcoholism/possibly failing liver?
+ Sam helping the girl. Ohhh I love that even when he was all mental from the place he still tried to help her. Although if I was her, despite Jared Padalecki’s beautifulness, I probably would’ve run like hell. Also, there was a tiny tiny part of me that just wanted her to be actually just crazy and not just haunted cos I think it would’ve been sadder that way and all that... actually... there goes a plot bunny for an episode tag...
+ Tiny mention of Crowley - I miss Crowley like woaaah! So any mention was awesome. I can’t wait for Sir Sheppard to return.
+ The Trenchcoat - I was SO sure I saw it in the promo and I’m more than a little bit glad that it came back at this point because Cas+Trenchcoat will always be the ultimate OTP.
+ Demons in generally returning. I missed the demons so very much. I mean, having them in every episode is overkill but having them pop up like ARRRRGH!! Was great great!
+Meg. I LOVE Meg!! Rachel Miner’s incarnation really has grown on me and I’ve sort of became a closet Cas/Meg shipper since around about Abandon All Hope so when she said she believed in Cas and went “That’s my boy” I was all “awwww!” <3 and her as a nurse? I’m very interested in that turn of events!
+ Electroshock therapy - I didn’t like this bit at all because AHHH!! SAAAAM!! But then I remembered him saying cracked ribs are a 3/10 on the painscale and that was probably about 6/10 considering his torture in The Cage. Then it made me feel sad because I’m sure Sam’s experienced a lot worse than that.
+ Castiel failing to heal Sam - I think that moment of disbelief when Sam said he wasn’t real and him saying “oh Sam” was just heart-wrenching.
+ The ending. I don’t know what to feel at this. Literally when I saw that shot of Castiel sitting in the room with the boys leaving, my hands clasped over my face in shock. It’s so fucking SAD!!
I gotta say that maybe he would be able to deal with things better than Sam cos he’s an angel and he doesn’t need to eat or sleep and emotions are a vague thing to him but that’s an extremely horrific way to leave that character - stuck with Sam’s hallucinations? How does that even work???? And what about Sam? Is that him permanently healed? I kinda don’t like that but perhaps that’s my love of Hurt!Sam showing.
Oh the ending confuses me and breaks my heart all at once. How not fair! I need another rewatch.
So all in all, yes I liked this episode even though it seemed a bit rushed considering it had the job of packing in two big storylines like Sam’s complete deterioration and Castiel’s return but I think all things considered, they did a great job with it
And the next episodes - SPOILERS HERE!! - I am looking so forward to that! But I think it’s gonna freak me out in equal measures as well. I love Japanese horror films but they tend to scare me the most, the Grudge?? Oh dear lord...