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[personal profile] raloria
This review contains 186 caps from my DVD recording of the episode. Yeah, I went cap crazy again. With a Dean-centric episode, can you blame me?


Each of the images in this review are small clickable thumbnails. Clicking on each of them will take you to the full-sized 720 x 480 images.

The usual request of a credit if you take and use any of the caps is still in place. But I don't expect many takers because I know there are much better and bigger caps already out there.

All quotes are in bold and in a few spots I quoted entire scenes. I just loved them so much I felt a need to know exactly what was being said.

***Special Bonus! - Audio Files***
I also recorded 7 MP3 audio files of scenes from the episode. They're all zipped in a folder and can be downloaded here on SendSpace.

Here's a list of the MP3's, their times, and what scenes they cover:
01DeanGoesHomeToMom.mp3 (2:09) -- Starts when Dean drives up to the house and stops just before he mentions John playing softball.

02NothingInCommon.mp3 (1:36) -- The entire conversation between Sam & Dean after the group returns home from dinner out.

03AtDad'sGrave.mp3 (1:48) -- The entire scene of Dean at John's gravesite.

04StillBrothers.mp3 (2:19) -- Starts when Dean tackles Sam after he's broken into the house and goes through the Jerk/Bitch confusion.

05Lamb'sBloodAndHunting.mp3 (0:59) -- Starts with Dean explaining about the knife and the lamb's blood and goes through Dean telling Sam to sit tight.

06Decision.mp3 (5:48) -- Starts with Dean realizing that he's tied up in the building, Sam & the others trying to convince him to stay, Sam finding Dean, the Jinn's death, and rescuing the girl.

07TheCostAndWorth.mp3 (2:37) -- The final scene from where Sam asks if Dean's okay through to the end of the episode.


It's hard to put into words how I feel about this episode. It more than met my expectations, it blew them away. This episode will easily go into my top 10 (if I could chose a top 10 episodes of SPN) and it belongs on the shelf with other great Jensen episodes like Home and Faith, and from DA, The Berrisford Agenda. If someone wants to see the quality of Jensen's acting they should watch this episode. As much as I appreciated and loved his acting in S1, he's built on that fine foundation and stretched himself even further this season. What Is And What Should Never Be shows Jensen at his best...dramatic and emotional acting with the subtle nuances of humor mixed in easily. He can do it all. His face and eyes expressing all the emotional trials of his character as well as the elation and sarcastic snarkiness.

To say I loved this episode would be putting it mildly.

* New license plates for the Impala! And they're Ohio plates, too. (Kripke's from Toledo, Ohio) CNK 80Q3

Sam: "Yeah, bein' fugitives is a freakin' dance party."
Dean: "Hey, man. Chicks dig the danger vibe."


* Dean said "diddly-squat"! *gigglesnort*

* Wouldn't you know Dean would be a big Barbara Eden fan! Too cute how he's only half listening to Sam, too.

* You just had to know things weren't going to go well with Dean venturing someplace on his own. When will these boys learn?

* I like the progression of Dean's awareness as he searches the place. He goes in almost casual-like, then senses something and brings out his knife. Now he's in full hunter mode (stalking). But oh, man, that Jinn was on him in nothing flat. Dean never had a chance!

* Cool tattoo work on the Jinn guy! Must've spent some major time in makeup for all that.

* What is that thing carrying that woman on the TV? I was like...what the....?

* Sorry if I get a little fangirly here. OMG! Half-naked Jensen!!! *flails* Why isn't there more light on him, dammit! I don't care if it is at night! New necklace, too and on a gold chain (St. Christopher Medal?). Jensen looks so sexy here *guh*

* Aw, darn! He put clothes on! :P Hey, there's a guitar by the wall, Dean must play. It looks like he's wearing the same shirt he wore in Playthings.

* He calls Sam right away of course, but Sam thinks he's been drinking (a running gag in the ep for a while).

* His girlfriend's name & address:

Carmen Porter
#53 Barker Ave.
Lawrence, KS 66044

* What a great reaction by Jensen in this scene. He's happy to be with this beautiful girl, but still freaked out by the circumstances of it all.

* The photos he looks at are sort of weird - like bad Photoshop composits.

* Great music cue (yay! Lennertz!) as Dean sees one photo and then drops it to the floor. We never see it, which was a little frustrating to me, but it's all on Jensen's face. Love how the instant those notes are played one thinks of home, which is where Dean's going next.

* Awwwwww! His stricken look as he sees Mary. *whimper* And then the broken "I don't know" that he gives her. Just spot on acting here.

* I like how they revisit the memory Dean told to Sam in HOTH when he recalled how their mom would tuck them in at night and tell them angels were watching over them. Even if this isn't real, it was so great for Dean to get a chance to hug his mom again. *sniffle*



* All the photos are actually old photos of Jared & Jensen!

* John played baseball! Even Dean finds that weird. Sad to hear he died from a stroke in his sleep, but Dean seems relieved that his dad didn't die at the hands of the Demon.

* I love how Dean doesn't want to leave his mom or a house with happy memories. It's just beautiful when she touches his face and kisses him goodnight. You can see him lean into that kiss for a moment as he closes his eyes. It's been so long since he's felt his mother's touch. *cries for Dean*







* A closeup of Dean sleeping! I'm in love! :)

* What?! He just barges onto a college campus and talks to a professor? I feel like something's missing here.

* Hee! Not much in the Impala's trunk - just some garbage and a few mags.

Dean: "Who'da thought baby? We're civilians."

* Is that a train station???? Whenever you see a woman in a white dress on this show, you know it's bad news.

* Man, can Dean eat! The boy loves his food, especially Mom's!

* So Dean works at a garage? Cool! It's one of 2 jobs I've always though Dean would be best suited for - the other being a firefighter.

* "What A Wonderful World" by Joey Ramone

* I love how eager Dean is to do something as normal and mundane as mowing the lawn. But check it out - there's no blade on that mower! The garden gnome, waving to a freaked out neighbor, and a white picket fence with roses. Dean's livin' the dream! Even finishes with a beer afterwards! He looks so pleased with himself too. *g*

It's also kind of interesting how he's going against the very thing he put down in Bugs. The "manicured lawns, hey honey how was your day...I'd blow my brains out." I think since John's death, Dean's re-evaluated his life and come to the conclusion that he does want these things, these simple elements of everyday family life that he never had. Even in Playthings he laments the fact that he never really had a home. Season one's Dean embraced life on the road, hunting, being the hero. In Season two, Dean sees how a stable life at home is something he never got a chance to have.

* Sam & Jess arrive! Love the big, crushing hug Dean gives Jess "can't breathe". Heehee!

* It's kinda sad he didn't know it was their mom's birthday, but then in real life he wouldn't have a need to remember after all these years.



* Fancy dinner out - it's so not like Dean. It's great that Carmen sees it.

Carmen: "What do you say later we get you a cheeseburger?"
Dean: "Oh God yes. How did I end up with such a cool chick?"


* Love the little smile he gives when Sam & Jess kiss. He's so happy to see them together again. Awww...

* Sammy & Jess are engaged! Uh, oh, creepy white dress chick again. And she's looking a little more worse off than last time.

* How sad that the brothers don't have anything in common here. They don't talk besides on holidays. Great scene though. Jared and Jensen did a phenomenal job. It's hard for me to accept that hunting is the only thing that's keeping the brothers together. You can see how hard Dean tried to find a connection here to Sam. He wants things to be the same between them here as it is in real life.



* Look how Dean's already working on planning to fix things with Sam, to make things right. He always wants to have his family together.



* Yes!!!! More Dean/Jensen kissing! They could just keep that up all night and I'd be happy! What??? Don't push him away like that you crazy girl!

* "Night shifts on Thursday" heehee! That made me giggle. And I wonder if they chose Carmen to be a nurse on purpose. I'm just doing a whole "Grey's Anatomy on Thursday night opposite SPN" kind of connection here. :)

Dean: "I'm dating a nurse. That is so - respectable."

* Hee! Dean watching late night TV with a beer. Ron Popeel, Thundercats, then...uh oh. Phantom Traveler tie-in.



* So he sees all the lives they saved weren't saved afterall. That had to be a crushing blow. To know all those many lives were lost because you weren't there to save them. The news articles refer back to the following episodes: Phantom Traveler, Something Wicked, and Playthings.

* This bedroom set looks so familiar, but I can't place it.

* Ew! Creepy, shriveled-up dead bodies hanging in your closet are never a good thing. Creepy chick isn't looking much better.

* This graveside scene killed me! Jensen so deserves an award nomination for this. Outstanding! He asks all the questions you know he's been keeping in his heart for so long and in the end finds the answer he knew was there all the time. He's a hero because for whatever reason, this is the chosen destiny of the Winchesters. With heroism comes sacrifice. This is all brought up again at the end of the ep and this time, it's Sam who will re-affirm their life mission to Dean. You catching a running theme of the season? It's almost consistantly been about Dean being lost and searching for reasons to go on and Sam being the one to remind him that there is a reason for this burden that's been placed on them and that they must continue. As much as Dean is trying to save Sam, Sam has actually been saving Dean as well.

"All of 'em. Everyone that you saved, everyone Sammy & I saved. They're all dead. And there's this woman th-that's haunting me. I don't know why. I don't know what the connection is. I mean, not yet anyway. It seems my old life is comin' after me or something. Like it doesn't want me to be happy. 'Course I know what you'd say. Well not the you that played softball, but... You'd say "Go hunt the Jinn. It put you here, it can put you back. Your happiness for all those people's lives, no contest." Right? But why? Why is it my job to save these people? Why do I hafta be some kind of hero? What about us, huh? What, Mom's not supposed to live her life, Sammy's not supposed to get married. Why do we have to sacrifice everything, Dad? It's.....yeah."





* What a cool call-back to the Pilot! The lighting, camera move, the actor's actions, everything. And then Sam sneaking up on Dean with a baseball bat - 'cause this Sammy's no hunter. *g* And Dean takes him out like he's a little kid.

Dean: "That was so easy I'm embarassed for you."
Heehee!

Sam: "I can't believe we're even related."
Dean: "Sam, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we don't get along. And I wish to hell I could stay and fix it. But I gotta do this. People's lives depend on it."
Sam: "What are you talking about Dean?"
Dean: "Nothin'. Forget it. Just uh...Hey tell Mom I love her."
Sam: "Dean."
Dean: "I'll see ya Sammy."


* Love that final look he gives up towards the stairs before he leaves the house. Like he's saying a silent goodbye to Mary.

* Look how he just sits in the car, too. Probably second guessing himself. After all, why would he want to give all this up?

Dean: "I don't understand. Why are you doing this?"
Sam: "Because you're still my brother."
Dean: "Bitch."
Sam: "What are you calling me a bitch for?"
Dean: "You're supposed to say jerk."
Sam: "What?"
Dean: "Never mind."

I love it!!! The whole Jerk/Bitch exchange truly is the Winchester version of saying I love you! Heehee! I love this show so much!

* Another set of plates for the Impala: Kansas RMD 5H2

* Where'd he get the lamb's blood from? Not exactly something you're gonna pick up at the local mini-mart.

Dean: "It's true, Sam. Alright. There are things out there in the dark. There are bad things. There are nightmare things. And people have to be saved and if we don't save them then nobody will."

* Love how casually he rolls down the window and then grabs Sam's cell phone to toss it away.

* Too cute waking Sammy up with the flashlight!

Sam: "Where are we?"
Dean: "Well we're not in Kansas anymore."

Dean and his Wizard of Oz references.

* Again, great make-up work on the Jinn. Creepy how he smelled her. Ew!






* Dean makes the connection that he's there in the building somewhere, tied up and unconscious. The Jinn is draining his blood and Dean's been catching glimpses of reality by seeing the girl in white. Dean's "vision" of himself was done very well - the fast flashes, extreme angles and closeups.





* Awwww. Jensen is the king of the dead eyes look. I love this whole scene from where he wrenches out of Sam's grasp and says he can't be real. Wow! Such resolve on Dean's face, even being only 90% sure.





* This scene is another one that just killed me. All of them pleading with Dean to stay. Such strong temptations for him. He was happy, but even Dean knows it wasn't real. It was only an illusion of what he wanted, and a warped one at that. He had is Mom and a pretty girl in his life, but Sam was estranged from him and their Dad was still dead. They very nearly convince him to stay, though. You can see his strength waning. He's tired and it would be so easy to remain and live happily, but deep down he knows that's not who he is. He has a job to do and his visit to John's grave reminded him of his responsibilities. Great work once again by Jensen of showing Dean struggle. The tear-filled eyes just before he makes his decision and then the whispered "I'm sorry". Excellent scene with beautiful music, too.





Sam: "Why'd you have to keep digging? Why couldn't you have kept well enough alone? You were happy."
Mary: "Put the knife down, honey."
Dean: "You're not real. None of it is."
Mary: "It doesn't matter. It's still better than anything you had."
Dean: "What?"
Mary: "It's everything you want. We're a family again. Let's go home."
Dean: "I'll die. The Jinn will drain the life out of me in a couple of days."
Mary: "But in here with us, it'll feel like years. Like a lifetime. I promise. No more pain or fear. Just love and comfort and safety. Dean...stay with us. Get some rest."
Jess: "You don't have to worry about Sam anymore. You get to watch him live a full life."
Carmen: "We can have a future together. Have our own family. I love you Dean. Please."
Sam: "Why is it our job to save everyone? Haven't we done enough? I'm begging you. Give me the knife.
Dean: "I'm sorry..."




* Sammy to the rescue! More cute Wizard of Oz refs from Dean.

Sam: "Hey, hey!"
Dean: "Auntie 'Em. There's no place like home."
Sam: "Thank God. I thought I lost you for a second."
Dean: "You almost did."


* Hero!Dean! He not only finds the strength to save himself, he kills the Jinn, saves Sammy, and then he saves the girl, too. "I've got you." *dreamy sigh* Dean is my hero.



* The final scene reminds me of the one in HOTH. They seem to be similar in tone. The struggle for meaning. When I first watched the ep, I almost wished there was more at the end. It felt a little cut off, but on repeat viewings it worked. Guess I just wasn't ready for such a wonderful episode to end. :)

Sam: "How 'bout you? You alright?"
Dean: "Yeah. I'm alright. You should've seen it Sam. Our lives. You were such a wussy."
Sam: "So we didn't get along then, huh?"
Dean: "Nah."
Sam: "Yeah...I thought it was supposed to be this perfect fantasy."
Dean: "It wasn't. It was just a wish. You know, I wished for Mom to live. Mom never died, we never went hunting and you and me just never uhh...you know."
Sam: "Yeah. Well I'm glad we do. And I'm glad you dug yourself out, Dean. Most people wouldn't have had the strength. They would've just stayed."
Dean: "Yeah, lucky me. I gotta tell you though, man, you know, you had Jess, Mom was gonna have grandkids."
Sam: "Yeah, but, Dean...it wasn't real."
Dean: "I know. But I wanted to stay. I wanted to stay so bad. I mean ever since Dad, all I..all I can think about is how much this job's cost us. We've lost so much. We've...we've sacrificed so much."
Sam: "But people are alive because of you. It's worth it, Dean. It is. It's not fair and you know it hurts like hell, but it's worth it."







*Sigh* What a beautifully done episode! Hands down one of their best. I can only imagine how this is going to set things up for Dean in the finale.

And don't even get me started on the finale. *wibble* I'm dreading it (because it means it's the end of the season) but I'm eager for it (because it promises to be the biggest angst-fest of all). This is gonna be one long week.


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