And then there's the end. Dean dumping the amulet in the trash. Ouch, man. Just... ouch. (You know Sam pulled it out before he left and will give it back at an emotionally opportune moment.) But here's where we get to Nay!land because I sat back and went, "Wait a second. Something's not right here." Sam gave Dean the amulet as a Christmas gift. It was supposed to be John's gift, but Sam gave it to Dean because Deadbeat John left them alone on Christmas. So the amulet symbolized their bond -- the fact that when their world is shit, the guys are always there for each other. It also symbolized the fact that John was a shitty dad, but that's just my secondary take. It was only this season that the amulet was given "special meaning," as a tracking beacon for God. I get that Dean dumping the amulet in the trash was his way of giving a giant single finger salute to the man upstairs but, in the process, he also dumped his relationship with Sam, which is not the ending message I think Show was trying to send. It was that Dean's faith, what little of it there was left, has evaporated because every father figure in his life has let him down. But if that's the case, what does Dean have left? His brother. The amulet. So as emotionally draining as it was to watch Dean hover over the trash, dangling the amulet over the gaping chasm, deliberating before letting his fingers go lax and hearing the trinket clatter in the metal, I don't think a consistent message was there to support it.
The old characters suffered a bit from the same problem. Ash was awesome, don't get me wrong, as was Pam. But they seemed to be there more for the shiny-value; you know, that little voice that goes, "Eeeeee!" when you see a character you haven't seen in a while? (I'm thinking John in All Hell, Part 2, Meg and Victor in Are You There God?, Jess in Free to Be You and Me, Rufus in Good God, Jo and Ellen in Abandon All Hope, etc.) It's a little gimmicky. Plus, what's the message? "Hey, Winchesters? You totally got us killed, but we're in a better place now, so it's all okay." Eh. That doesn't make it suck any less.
My final qualms about this episode go back to Zachariah and they're recurring problems I've had with the character from the start. For a villain/foil/whatever you want to call him, he's just not that foreboding. Not imposing. Not scary. Just... a middle aged guy in the suit. And this has nothing to do with Kurt Fuller, because I think he's doing the best with what he's got. But time and time again, it becomes clear that this guy just doesn't get the Winchesters. He seemed like he was going in the right direction with using Mary as his luuurve slave (and it wasn't clear to me if that was just an illusion or what), but what does he do? Starts punching Dean in the gut. Yeah. Real effective. I just can't take the guy seriously after he's utterly failed time and time again. It's like, "Well, Sam and Dean COULD be in danger, but this is Zachariah, so all we have to do is wait for him to screw up and then we're home free again. Oh, hey! There's Morgan Freeman. I mean... Joshua."
But those really are minor qualms for me and this probably ranks up with The End as one of my favorite episodes of the season. Just... oh so close. So what do you think, folks? Fantastic hour of awesomeness or fluff masquerading as a fantastic hour of awesomeness?
I so agree with the amulet comment. If Dean was trying to say a big f*** you to God, then well done but it came across more to me that he was saying "Sam, we're over and I'm done".
BREAK MY HEART! I believe the untimely demise of the amulet in fact had more to do with his and Sam's relationship than anything else… it played out through the entire episode. Dean really sees that Sam is not as into the brotherly thing as he is and it hurts him… it was so sad! I just hope they can finally mend their relationship before season six! If they don't have each other, the show loses something…
I really enjoyed this episode. All the emotions they fixed into it made it one of my top ones. I was thinking about that amulet part. In Heaven with his brother he was reminded of some of the saddest moments in his life, for example when Sam went away for that week and when he left for Stanford. I thought this could unsettle the bond they were starting to mend in that Sam's happiest moments are some of his worst, while also being like an 'eff you god, you dick, we'll do this ourselves somehow' kinda message. I do believe that all the faith he did have has finally gone by finding out the strongest being that's supposed to exist has given up hope on everyone. Especially Castiel showing annoyance to God who he had obeyed for almost his whole life and still had faith in to do the right thing. I do think this may bring Castiel and Dean closer in their opinions and views as they have both experienced a type of betrayal of faith and of their father figures. Also the return of Ash, Pamela, Little Sammy and Mary was great, especially all in one episode, along with seeing the other side of the parents' relationship. Their version of heaven was interesting as well as it wasn't the whole angels everywhere and all your dreams come true but their happiest moments in their life. Overall I enjoyed this episode a lot.
Maybe the next thing we'll be told that John made Dean and Sam watch as he slaughtered innocent puppies and kittens while drunk.
"and dumping the amulet in the trash was his way of giving a giant single finger salute to the man upstairs but, in the process, he also dumped his relationship with Sam, which is not the ending message I think Show was trying to send." That, I think was exactly the message the show wanted to send. In heaven all of Sam's memories were selfish ones and worse than that, ones where Dean bore the brunt of the repercussions from Sam's actions. Dean never cared about the amulet because it could help find god he cared about it because it was a gift from Sam. But when he witnessed Sam's "best" memories he realized that Sam maybe doesn't care as much as Dean. By now I would hope the shows writers and creators know what there doing and that final scene when Dean dropped the amulet in the trash meant exactly what it was supposed, not as a "screw you" to the man upstairs but rather to Sam. It's as thought Dean was saying, we'll hunt together but brothers we are not, not anymore" and, perhaps to Dean, watching Sam's memories, never for him.
what fucking awful writing.
I mean this review, not the show. The show was good, this though I feel like I wasted my time on.
Ouch. Would you mind being more specific? I've honestly never heard that before.
"… all of Sam's memories were selfish ones …"I disagree. How is eating Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's house selfish? How is going away to college selfish? Running away can be interpreted as selfish because he should have known that Dean would catch hell from their dad, but how old was Sam and what prompted him to run? Did he and his dad have a vicious fight and Sam in a moment of desperation saw his chance to get away? Plus, Dean is a grown man. Why does he need and want his brother with him all the time? He, like John, tries to control Sam. I'm not criticizing Dean; I'm just trying to see things from Sam's point of view. The show is often shown from Dean's, and the viewer often interprets Sam's actions from Dean's point of view rather than more objectively. Sam said he had no control over the memories. Who was controlling them? Zachariah? I doubt they were Sam's happiest memories… they were probably chosen by Zachariah to inflict as much emotional damage on Dean as possible.
Yeah, this is about a year too late but forgive me, I just got into the show. This review is amazing, as are all the reviews you write. You help me to notice and understand things about the show that went missed on my front. And when I have difficulty dissecting a particular part of the show, I often find myself coming to read your reviews. And no episode thus far has confused me as much as this one did, especially with the message it was trying to send at the end. I too was confused with what the writers were thinking at that part. Upon initial viewing, I was sure that it was Dean abandoning the little hope he had left in God. But upon second viewing, it seemed more like he was letting the flame burn out in his relationship with Sam. So I just don't know.