Supernatural- Episode 4.03 “In the Beginning”

Dean Winchester just wants one piece of pie. He’s not specific as to type, but a slice of good ol’ American cherry pie would probably do the trick. Dean’s been looking so hard for pie, he’s falling asleep without bothering to put on his jammies these days. His brother Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki) is so lost in his dark knight work that he doesn’t bother to tuck his brother under the covers before skulking off with that Slutty Yoda.

Dean is left alone, with John’s Leather Coat for a blanket. Whenever Dean is snuggled under his leather pacifier, disillusion and pain are sure to follow. (Dean needs to stop wearing that coat of responsibility and duty. Can’t Sam accidentally throw the coat in with the laundry? My Mom used that trick to get rid of several security blankies around our house… and explains why the dog was afraid of the dryer.)

Sandman, I mean Castiel, sneaks up on Dean again while he is dreaming. Hell really did offer no rest for our wicked boy. All this sleeping can only mean plenty of insomniac nights ahead. Dean is starting to reach those hell memories… yikes! That is one door he really doesn’t want to open. (Is Voldemort on the other side?)

In Dean’s dreams though, he’s getting pie. (Yes, pie is a dirty sarcastic metaphor that will be used throughout this article). Eric Kripke, actually Jeremy Carver, the credited writer, bakes an entire pie, a la mode, plus triple chocolate brownies and a vanilla milkshake for Dean (and us) in this episode.

The Trickster, I mean Castiel, dumps Dean on a bench on April 30, 1973 in Lawrence, Kansas. Dean figures this out by reading the newspaper his Future Dad, aka John Winchester is reading. Corporal John Winchester looks a bit like Tom Riddle, but he acts like Sam dressed in a plaid shirt, green jacket, hands stuffed in his pockets. Dean gets to talk to John again! He and Dad share a coffee! This first bite of pie tastes wonderful. Thanks Kripke!

Nice Naïve Civilian
Dean first thinks he’s back to the past to protect John. He does this by making sure John buys the right car. Dean easily convinces John to buy the dusty ’67 Impala. She’s all set to carry the future Winchesters through life. Metallicar is a surprise to Mary Winchester, but she easily forgets that hippie VW bus that probably smelled like weed and patchouli. This pie is so tasty! I’ll have another slice. Got any milk?

Dean is driving some horrible car. The rational explanation is so that Metallicar will not get jealous. He continues to stalk John, but Dean only has eyes for Mary.

Mom is a Babe. I’m going to Hell. Again.
Dean ogling Mom is simultaneously endearing and sexy but not creepy (well played Jensen Ackles!). And that’s before Mary kicks his butt in an alley. Mary is an awesome three-dimensional woman (so you know she’ll end up dead despite Dean’s efforts). The ideal woman for Dean (and probably Sam) is the one woman neither Winchester can have. Ever. Now that’s an anvil of oedipal irony.

Mary takes Dean home for dinner and to meet her Dad. (Watch it Dean, Mary might be getting the wrong idea about you). Before Dean can get a home cooked meal, he has to pass the Hunters’ Sniff Test. Dean passes with flying colors knowing of course to always sever the head of a vampire. His brother Sam showed him that. Oh, and Grandpa Winchester is named Samuel Winchester. Oh, coincidence! Another slice of pie? Yes please… no wait, there’s a full meal first, cooked by Deanna Winchester… another coincidence.

Dean, hungry for family his whole life, gets to meet and learn about his actual relatives. He gets to sit down at a real dinner table in his family’s home. He eats food cooked with love, by his actual Grandmother. Grammy used her knife skills for cooking too! These folks are all hunters! The conversation flows easily since they are talking family business. There are no awkward pauses like some family meals when folks have nothing in common but their genes. This pie sure is sweet. And such big portions. Yes, a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side goes down nicely with it.

Over meatloaf, potatoes and gravy and vegetables, Dean figures out that his mission is not to protect John, but to butt into the job that GrampySam’s working. (Oh Dean, remember the last time you invited yourself to someone else’s hunt? You set Gordon on Sam’s butt.) Mary tags along on the hunt because this is family business. Dean never bothers to ask how these Campbells got into the family business though. They interview a distraught widow and her son, who made a deal with the Yellow Eyed Demon to make Bad Daddy stop being mean to Mom, by killing the Bad Daddy. All the boy had to do was give Yellow Eyes permission to drop by for a visit in ten years.

Once he knows Yellow Eyes is in the mix, Dean does not hesitate to act even knowing it means altering history in order to take out Azazel before he kills Mary. In Dean’s zeal to make things right and save his family, Dean chats over more pie eating and journal reading instead of keeping his mouth shut.

He tells Samuel and Deanna way too much about how he knows things from his Dad’s Journal of Mayhem and Love, like the name of the next target, and how Dean is going to get the magic Colt in Colorado and return to kill this son of a bitch. That pie was wonderful! Got any brownies for the road?

I want a Family. I want to be safe.
Before Dean leaves for Colorado to get the Colt, he asks Mary what John is like. Mary tells him that he’s sweet and kind and everything a hunter is not, so sorry Dean, you have no shot with Mary though she does think you’re super cute and she really likes your leather jacket.

Mary also reveals her deepest secrets. She hates being a hunter. She wants a normal life with a family. She says the things that both Sam and Dean want. Dean wants a family. Sam wants to feel safe. Mary also tells Dean that her greatest fear is that her children would be raised into the hunting life. So Dean gets to feel again that he’s a failure to one of his parents. Sniff. Can I have another brownie?

In return for all her caring and sharing, Dean tells Mary exactly how to avoid dying when Azazel comes to call in ten years. Mary doesn’t write this down though, as she gets too distracted by having to go help save her friend Liddy Walsh. She and GrampySam arrive just in time to shoot Azazel in the middle of making a deal with Liddy. GrampySam and Mary start getting beat up by Azazel. Azazel notices that Mary’s spunky and cute but then Dean busts in with the Colt! (Oh, those brownies were wonderful by the way.)

Azazel has Mary by the throat so Dean can’t get off a clean shot at Azazel before he abandons the now dead meatsuit. Dean’s heroics impress GrampySam though and he praises Dean. So Dean confesses more things he shouldn’t – how he’s his grandson, Azazel is going to kill Mary, and yes, this is the real Colt, but no you can’t hold it. Dean’s spidey sense finally starts tingling, and Azazel reveals he’s now possessing GrampySam.

I’m the One That Kills You
Azazel is back to his old ‘pin em to the wall’ tricks as he taunts and sniffs Dean, also sharing too much - how his deal is for the children of good breeders like Mary and John, how he needs permission to visit due to Red Tape. He even does a Darth Vader interrogation finding out that there is another sibling he can dope with Demon Blood to win the Yellow Jersey. He even tells Dean he has a Master Plan but he’s covering his tracks. But Azazel won’t say anything more, because he knows Dean has an angel on his shoulder (and we know those things leave a mark).

In thanks for sharing, Dean promises he is the one who will kill Azazel which makes him angry, so Azazel stabs GrampySam and then kills Grammy. Dean gets free when Azazel leaves in now Dead GrampySam’s body to find Mary. Mary of course is safe in Metallicar with John, about to give her a ring. Or she would have been safe if they locked the car doors! Possessed GrampySam yanks her out of the car and snaps John’s neck. John dies in Mary’s arms next to Metallicar. Sniff.

Azazel easily lures the now desperate Mary into making a Deal. Mary tried for a 3-people for 1-permission arrangement, but her lousy negotiating (which apparently Dean inherited) gets just one lover back to life. In exchange for John’s life Azazel gets a 1-day only free entry to come visit in 10 years with ‘permission’. Mary just has to stay out of the way and nobody gets hurt. Of course, Mary doesn’t write down the contract terms with the note she didn’t write about not getting out of bed on November 2, 1983. Which is understandable as this has been an awful day - what with not getting engaged, seeing her lover die and resurrect, watching a demon possess her Dad, and kill both her parents. Though, you’d think she’d remember every detail of what was probably the worst day of her life, up until Azazel stood over Sam’s crib ten years later on the last day of her life.

Dean arrives in time to not take a second shot at Azazel, but in time to see his Grampy kissing his Mom… ewww. And the deal is sealed. John wakes up (a lot like how Dean wakes in IMTOD, and how Sam wakes in AHBL Part 2). Azazel gets away. Dean is crushed, realizing he is seeing his parents on the day all their fates turned to hell. He tried so hard, and Dean failed to save his family. Again.

Nana, I mean Castiel, finally picks Dean up from his playdate. But he’s late. Dean is overfilled on pie and brownies, and all the running and driving around was for nothing. He’s got a tummy ache too. Castiel touches Dean’s shoulder and they fly home.

Dean wakes up to failure again. The Trickster, I mean Castiel, finally comes clean and tells Dean he never had a shot with Mary, nor at stopping Azazel sooner, or changing any of the past events. Castiel just wanted Dean to learn the truth about Mary and John and Sam. Mostly about Sam getting dosed with V, er Demon Blood. And by the way, if Dean thinks this effort was futile, now go and try to stop Sam from doing whatever he’s doing instead of getting Dean pie.

Oh Kripke, I love it when you shower me with gifts – tying up loose ends, answering questions before they are posed. All the pretty and shiny was such a pleasant distraction. This extremely sweet delicious episode tasted so good, went down so easy, yet left me so unsatisfied. I’m hungry for something filling. I got hyped up on alot of high fructose corn syrup. What I really crave is a nice savoury pie with plenty of eggs, stewy tomatoes, pancetta, melty fontina and a buttery crust.

You Son of a Bitch