Supernatural: Devil’s Trap

Take Me For A Scrape Across the Rocks
by Sylvia Bond
Supernatural Episode Review, Season 1 – Episode 22
“Devil’s Trap”

This episode is so full of crucial events, but I’ve only got half a bottle of wine, I’m not sure that it will be enough. And keep in mind that while watching this ep, I am always on the edge of my seat, no matter how many times I’ve seen it, no matter that I know what’s coming, no matter how relaxed a day I’ve had. The story comes at me like a steam train, and I wonder at the power of Show, that while watching it, all my troubles (and everyone else’s) fade so quickly away.

This ep starts with Dean asking in his best broken glass voice where The Dad is. Meg won’t tell him, and the camera pans back lovingly from Dean’s face, which is filled with being overwhelmed by all the things that have suddenly gone horribly wrong, which is heartbreaking at the same time it is beautiful. He does a facepalm to contain all those emotions that threaten to boil to the surface. Then he starts packing, and enjoins Sam to do the same. (There’s a sweet moment where Dean sticks the Colt down his pants. I’m kinda glad the boys don’t own holsters.) Sam starts asking, why, why, why, and Dean tells him because they’re not ready for anything else. He calls Sam tough guy, in an effort to buck him up, whereas a moment ago he called Sam Sammy, which was a rather nice way of apologizing for snapping, even as he’s doing it. And when Dean says, we go, with that look on his face, you go. I would.

Then they are in the Impala hurtling towards certain doom. They leave because Dean is in charge, but Sam says he wants to fight the demon. I love how Dean says “What?” to Sam’s silence, and they dither. Sam wants to do what The Dad would have wanted, but Dean states that, in addition to The Dad not being dead, nothing is more important than rescuing The Dad. The boys, at this point, are 180 degrees from each other. Because Sam kinda thinks The Dad is dead, it’s as if he’s taking over The Dad’s role, becoming obsessed with the killing thing. He’s a linear thinker and it shows. Dean, on the other hand, is more flexible. Given that the players and the field have changed, he’s willing to shuck the old plan and come up with a new one. This is a sign of a very intelligent brain, which many a general would give his left arm to find in a commanding officer.

Dean allows that they need help, so the boys hightail it to South Dakota, where we are introduced to Bobby Singer, sole owner of Singer’s Salvage Yard, and try saying that three times fast. Of note (besides rusty things and peeling paint) is the large Rottweiler sitting on a faded blue tow truck, with a heavy chain trailing from him to an unseen four by four dug into the ground. (What kind of dog needs that heavy a chain, I ask you?) There’s so much that could be said about Bobby, but what you really need to know (for now) is that he’s a true friend to the boys. He’s had run-ins with The Dad in the past, but that doesn’t keep him from being there for Sam and Dean, and for that reason alone, I adore him with all my heart. During this scene, as Sam waxes poetic about the Key of Solomon (which is an old book of ancient lore, something sure to soften any geekboy’s heart), watch for the long camera angle on Dean. Why? Because he looks damn good, and you see him clench his jaw like he’s gearing up for battle right then and there.

Amidst this interlude, in tromps Meg after killing the dog and kicking in the door. (Why did she kill the dog? Was she actually afraid of the dog, or just being cruel? The door kicking, I get. That’s drama, baby!) Needless to say, she’s “underwhelmt” with the two “chucklehets” and wants the Colt. Right. Now. Dean approaches her and she FLINGS him into the bookcase, which is not fun for him, but it is for me, since I always appreciate a little Throwing of the Dean. (How he manages to get up and just shake it off, off screen, is beyond me, but he doesn’t seem the worse for wear. Or perhaps he’s just good at hiding it. That’s typical Dean for you. Oh, and there is tummy porn.)

[nms:CW Supernatural,2,0]

Meanwhile, Meg advances on Bobby and Sam. Bobby seems scared and maybe he shouldn’t because he’s an experienced hunter. But I’m riveted by Sam, who has Bobby tucked behind him for safety, and is dragging him along by a shirtsleeve. Sam is no less vulnerable than Bobby, and surely he knows that. At the same time, it bespeaks well of his desire to protect at the cost of sacrificing himself. I just love that about him. Hide behind me, he says, and I will protect you. Does it get any cooler than that? I don’t think so.

Meg turns to Dean, who is taunting her with his good looks. She wants to know if they actually thought she wouldn’t find them? Dean says, we were counting on it, and then raises his eyes to the devil’s trap, and it’s a blast watching Dean announce, “Gotcha,” using his best Elvis Sneer. When he bears his teeth like that, it makes me uneasy, he’s sexy scary. However, I want to know whether Bobby’s always had that devil’s trap painted on his ceiling or they somehow knew Meg was coming and whipped it up there. It’s strange to think that he would always have this on his ceiling, as if he expects demons to tromp through his house every day. However, if it wasn’t already there, it says they’ve been at Bobby’s longer than I thought, because that intricate drawing would take a few hours, and never mind the crick you’d get in your neck. And if it’s a working devil’s trap, then by definition, there’s no need to tie Meg up, because she can’t actually get free, right? (Bring me more wine! Let me drink it while I just gloss over this puzzle, which is very tiny in the face of how marvelous everything else about this ep is.)

The wine goes well with watching Dean use interrogation techniques that would make the Inquisition proud. He’s all gathered up, like an arrow, and he’s going to GET to her, she’s going to tell him where The Dad is. Dean even whacks her across the face, which is something he would never normally do. I want to say, in my best-bad Mae West accent, hey baby, you can interrogate me any time, but really? Just, no. Too scary, even for me. Even for Sammy, who is throwing worried looks his brother’s way, as if he doesn’t know this Dean, and isn’t sure he can stop his brother if things get out of hand. Which they are sure to do, any minute now. You can see it in his darling face, and I don’t know how he does it, but this fully grown (and very tall) man is able to make himself look very young and scared in the blink of an eye.

Bobby warns them that she’s just a girl, which seems an odd time to tell them this, but hey, we just met Bobby and maybe he operates on a need-to-know basis like The Dad. Anyway, the first thing out of Sam’s mouth during this conference is to ask Dean if he’s okay. Dean says, “She’s lying, he’s not dead.” Note that Dean doesn’t answer the question, and I think his evasion says, loud and clear, that he’s NOT alright, and that he’s paying the price for pushing ahead with this whole horrible plan.

When Dean learns that she’s a human possessed by a demon, he knows just what to do: Get Sammy to perform an exorcism. (“Hit it, Sam.” This made me laugh in the midst of all this, I kept expecting a piano solo or something!) Sam reads the Latin ritual (in his charming, diffident style), somewhat daunted by this whole task, a little leery of causing harm. Dean ups the ante by being white-lipped and furious; I’m completely glad he’s not interrogating me. I would have folded long ere this.

At one point, Meg taunts him with the fact that The Dad is dead and that he begged for his life when she slit his throat. Dean is IN her face, all teeth and eyes and that horrible, fascinating anger, and he tells her that she BETTER be lying because if she isn’t, then he is fully prepared to march into hell and kill every one of you sonsofbitches. And you know what? I believe him. Totally and completely. When Dean comes unglued, he comes unglued, so just get the high hell out of his way. DO it.

As the exorcism continues, Meg wants to know why Dean can’t take dead for an answer. Suddenly Dean explodes, “He’s not dead, he CAN’T be.” Rather like he believes that if he says it enough, it will be true. (Dean’s continued denial that The Dad isn’t dead is rather sad in a way, cause you just know he won’t last a day without his Dad.) You can see the rage twitching in Dean’s face, the way he tries to hold his mouth still and fails, and the quiver that runs up and down his body. (It’s amazing; how does Ackles do that? With people watching?) Then, as if realizing the spectacle he’s creating, Dean turns to Sam and says, “What are you looking at, keep reading.” Which Sam does.

Bobby warns them that if they exorcise the demon the girl will die (the idea that she’s nothing but broken bones always gives me the creeps). Dean is full steam ahead and Sam keeps reading, partially because he’s doing what he’s told (almost as if he’s on auto pilot) but also because he believes that Meg will be able to tell them about the demon, the one they’re chasing. (He never asks about The Dad, because that’s not on his list, he’s focused on the original goal. The Colt. The Demon. And ending it all.) But what Dean knows (better than the other two at this point) is that even if exorcising Meg means that they kill her, this will be a mercy. Then they finish it.

Of all the exorcisms, this one is my favorite. Besides being totally creepy (well done Show!), I think it’s because I feel for human Meg. Elegantly done is the blood and spit drooling from her mouth as she collapses in her ropes, a signal to me that she’s a ruined body, and cannot be blamed for it or held accountable. The boys lay her gently on the floor. Dean’s enormous eyes, yeah, I’m looking at them and almost miss the significance of what Sam’s asking for compared to what Dean’s asking for. Sam wants to know where the demon is; Dean wants to know where The Dad is. She’s able to tell them about The Dad; the only thing she can say about the demons is that they are bad. A very badda BOOM BIG bad, from the sounds of it.

They get a clue (“Sunrise”), and then Meg dies. (I’ll miss her quasi-Dutchboy hair, and her accent that was like a shot of lemon juice amidst the home-grown, blue-collar speak of The Dad and his boys.) The boys race off to Jefferson City. Along the way they stop at an industrial site. (I’m amazed at the location crew for finding these places that look and feel gritty and noisy and not nice, the ones that look like Anywhere, U.S.A.) Sam is drawing symbols on the trunk of the Impala (making it a lock box for the Colt), which gets him some quick attention from his brother.

Sam thinks the whole thing is a trap and wants to leave the Colt behind because that’s what the demons are after. He is still following the same line of reasoning, that their goal is to find the demon and shoot it, so the Colt needs to be kept safe. Dean, on the other hand, wants the Colt along, just in case they need to kill a demon or two on their way to rescuing The Dad. Sam announces (in that way he has, rather like he doesn’t care who his very sharp words wound) that he wants to end all this, that otherwise Dean’s coming to get him out of school will have been a huge waste of time, etc., and then Dean stops to look at him. Now you know he’s been listening all this time, because he always listens to Sam, and he says, very clearly, “You and Dad are more alike than I thought. You’re both selfish. All you care about is revenge.” Sam lovers might rise up and attack, but what strikes me here is how true this is: Sam is selfish, single-minded, and stubborn. These are good qualities to have in the right situation, but Dean knows now is the time for sacrifice of a different kind, that they need to lay aside the original plan (and the ego that created it), and realize that saving The Dad is the most important thing of all.

Because they are smart, they find the apartment building called Sunrise, and devise a plan. (Check out Dean’s cute freckles as they hide behind the tree!) I love the fact that they know that if they pull the fire alarm that the city will respond in exactly seven minutes. Whether or not this is true for your borough, the fact is that I imagine that The Dad taught them the response times for all emergency crews, from firemen, to paramedics, police, swat teams, everyone. They are well trained. While you and I are aware that on Fridays, chicken is on sale at the local market, these boys know how long they have before the firemen arrive. Anywhere.

There’s a funny bit where Dean distracts a fireman away from his truck with a cute story about his pet Yorkie, who pees a lot (and how come Sam never ever talks about peeing?), while Sam picks a lock or two, which allows the boys to get uniforms and sneak into the building dressed as firemen. (Sam, please note has classic Samhair, which is sticking STRAIGHT OUT from his head, and I have to admit, it makes him look like a 13-year old trying out hair gel for the first time. I love it!)

Once in the building, they use the EMF to search for demonsign, and Dean admits that he always wanted to be a fireman. This is so boyish of him that initially I laugh, and think how sweet. Then I think again, because I’m halfway through my cups and my brain is relaxed, and I wonder about firemen. Firemen are brave, the bravest of them all. Invite a policeman to your domestic squabble and one of you isn’t going to want him or her there. Policemen tend to be the uninvited but necessary guest who’s going to pick up the check. But. Someone sets fire to your house, who you gonna call? A fireman of course. He’s always welcome, always the first in the door with that special axe of his and that way cool gear that makes him impervious to the fire. They are the rescuers, and the mythology surrounding them makes them stand as tall as the sky. Naturally Dean is drawn to being one of them. But stop and look, really look at the qualifications: Be brave, and be willing to run into burning buildings and pull people out. Dean, as you know, over and over, again has pulled people from burning buildings, metaphorical and otherwise, so I’d say that Dean is ALREADY a fireman. He’s the rescuer you hear tell about.

There’s a demon fight, some salt throwing, and then, they find The Dad. He’s tied up on a dirty white bedspread, and he’s barely alive. Dean wants to get him out of there as soon as possible, and flicks out his switchblade (sexily). (Sam seems ready to be Sad, not about The Dad being dead so much, but about how much this would KILL Dean.) But wait! Sam stops him. Why? Because he wants to check to see if The Dad is possessed. Here, Sam’s linear thinking is quite sensible, he’s shoving his humanity down so that they can follow some sort of procedure that might help keep them all alive. Dean allows Sam to do the holy water test, because, yeah, sometimes Sam is smarter than him. (And Dean is smart enough to know when that is.) The Dad comes to, asks why Sam is pouring water on him, and the boys are reassured that The Dad is not possessed.

Then the great escape is on. (Check out Sam’s thighs as he pours salt on the windowsill. Oh, baby.) There’s some interesting camera angle work from above as the guys make it down to the sidewalk below. A demon shows up, launches himself at Sam, and proceeds to smash Sam’s beautiful face into the asphalt with his demon fist. This seems somewhat nonsensical to me, like, why is he beating up Sam and not Dean? Or The Dad, who is, at this point, the more vulnerable of the three? I am distracted by the Throwing of the Dean (into a car window, ouch!), and then, lo, Dean uses a bullet. I like to watch this on slow mo a lot, on account of how beautifully Dean is outlined as the camera pans from the smoking gun to his face. I wish I could write a poem on the spot about it, something like Ode to a Beautiful Face because he looks like a sculpture of a Greek god, or a Byronic Hero, freckles and all. But, you know, the plot, the plot, so I press play and watch Dean gather the broken bodies of both Sam and The Dad. Neither is a lightweight, but Dean seems up to the challenge of getting them both to the car, even with the sirens blaring and a dead body on the sidewalk.

The Impala shrieks into the night, and the Family Winchester holes up in a backwoods cabin. The cabin is particularly tawdry, with unpainted walls, rust stains in the sink, and I can imagine the smell of mold. Dean does first aid on The Dad, which is, sadly, off screen. Sam looks like hell, but in true Winchester style he shrugs the whole thing off like it was just a bad fall. Then the meaningful conversation starts. Sam says thank you, to which Dean replies, “I guess you’re glad I brought the gun, huh?” Trust Dean to deflect Sam’s emo with his shield of jokes. Then Dean starts talking, and this instantly worries me because he almost never does. He talks about the demon that he killed and that he doesn’t really care as he feels he ought to, because, as he says, “The things I’m willing to do or to kill for you and Dad scares me.” Well, it scares me too, Dean, as I have the sense that you stop at nothing to protect your own.

Then it gets creepy. One minute I’m listening to sad piano chords as Dean spills his heart on the floor, and then there’s The Dad. He starts talking about how Dean did good, that he’s proud, etc. Dean seems a little shocked by all of this, but quietly says thank you, and the first time I saw this, I thought, sure, he’s overwhelmed by The Dad’s praise, on account of he probably didn’t get a whole lot of it. The lights flicker and the wind rises, which is a sure sign that there are demons about. Sam shows up and The Dad sends him off to check salt lines, which he does, oddly obedient. Then The Dad wants the Colt. Dean takes it out, also obedient, and reports that they used a bullet when Sam shot at the demon and missed, etc. The Dad snaps out something, like “Give me the gun, son.” And then Dean pauses.

He pauses at a direct order from The Dad, which is very unusual, but it’s the look on his face that arrests me. And then he says, “You’re not my Dad, he’d be furious at me for using a bullet, he’d tear me a new one.” And THEN he lifts up the Colt and aims it at THE DAD. His mouth wibbles terribly, and my jaw drops open each and every time I see this. I never saw it coming the first time; for subsequent viewings I am no less unprepared. I love what Dean says though, “I know my Dad better than anyone.” That possessive pronoun says a lot, as if The Dad belongs to Dean and Dean alone. What’s even sadder is the fact that Dean KNOWS that this is not his Dad on account of the fact that the thing praises him. I am amazed that The Dad would not be proud of Dean saving Sam’s life, even if he did have to use a bullet. And saddened by the implications it creates. How do you raise a son without praise? And why would you? (Here. Wait. I’m going to finish this bottle, you want any?)

Sam shows up. He’s aghast and The Dad tries to convince him that Dean is crazy. Dean says, I think he’s possessed, and when Sam asks why, Dean says, “I don’t know, he’s just different.” Which kills me, because if Dean actually stopped to figure out how he knows that The Dad is not The Dad? Then he might just take that Colt and waste a bullet on himself. Plus, even more horrible is that Sam now has to CHOOSE between them. Sam, almost by default, chooses Dean. Partially because he doesn’t really get along with The Dad, but mainly because he trusts his brother more than anything. Or anyone. The Dad, seeing his boys joined against him, says, fine, go ahead and shoot me. Knowing that this is not his Dad is not the same as shooting his Dad, and Dean, decides not to shoot. This is another awful choice, and he’s a pathetic, beautiful mess, his huge, huge eyes filling with tears, that mouth working, and he begins to lower the gun.

And then it gets more terrible, and when I say that I mean in the truest sense of the word, something so overwhelmingly bad that it makes you want to crawl under a rock and die rather than face it. Yeah, guess what? The Dad raises his head, and we see that he’s possessed by a demon. THE demon, the one they’ve been hunting, The Yellow Eyed Demon (YED) to be exact, who can resist the effects of holy water, and can trick two trained hunters into allowing him inside their protective salt lines. Who can do whatever the hell he wants, and he begins by flinging the boys against walls, and then taunting them. He could have killed them at any time, but this is a whole lot more fun. (Demons have a very strange sense of fun, do they not?) All the shots for this scene are close ups of heads and faces ringed in black so that there’s nothing to distract the viewer (that’s you and me) from the tragedy unfolding before our eyes. Kinda like Show’s version of that scene in A Clockwork Orange.

The YED torments Sam by calling him “psychic boy” and telling him to float the gun to him. Sam can’t. Then Sam plays the Distraction Game and gets the YED to leave Dean alone for a minute, whereupon the YED taunt them both about Jess and wedding rings, with the implication that what Sam never told Dean about Jess would further break the Family Winchester. (As if any single act could make this family more broken than it already is.) But mostly the YED’s focus is on Dean.

Everything the YED says freaks me out because I love the sound of The Dad’s voice, but I’m unsettled by what he’s saying. For example, he says to Dean, “He’s going to taste the iron in your blood.” The images that creates are almost too horrible to contemplate. Then the YED moves into Dean’s personal space, closer even than where they can smell each other’s minty fresh breath. It’s invasive to the point where Dean can smell the sulfur oozing from The Dad’s pores, where they are belly-to-belly, shoulders almost touching, as if at any moment, and if the YED wanted to, he could get Dean alone in a room somewhere, and use those pearly whites of his to take a chunk out of Dean, or maybe do other horrendous, un-fatherly things. Because of what’s said, and then what’s unshown, my mind makes stuff up. Terrible stuff. Stuff you wouldn’t want anyone who knows you to know what you’re thinking. Yeah, it’s that horrific.

The YED tells Dean that Sam is clearly John’s favorite, and that Dean needs his family more than they need him. And though demon’s lie, I suspect that the YED is not lying here. And more, that Dean knows it. Which is pretty much the saddest truth that this ep reveals, that Dean needs his family, and they count on him, but they don’t need him. And because Dean is all alone in this needing, the sense of isolation just weaves its way through every action he makes. And neither The Dad nor Sam knows this. Or knew it, I guess, since Sam is overhearing everything, and somewhere inside the YED, The Dad is listening. But will they hear?

Dean’s so vulnerable here, it kills me. But he’s doing his best to bluster, and even immobile, does a pretty good job of getting the YED riled up. At which point the YED punishes him. Oh, it’s awful to watch. Heart’s blood pours out of Dean’s chest, more of it burbles up from his mouth, and he’s in a great deal of pain. (Major points to the blood artists. Fans are still debating on the source of that blood.) But the thing that’s killing him here is the fact that the YED is using The Dad’s body to do this. And then he begs. It’s hard to hear him beg, not just because his voice is breaking in that unbearable way that it has, but that he’s been reduced to begging at all. Interestingly, he’s not begging the YED to stop, but for his Dad to MAKE it stop, because he’s a boy who still counts on his Dad to rescue him. Finally Dean passes out. Since he’s still pinned to the wall, he can only drop his head, while the blood elegantly drips from his mouth. And for a second, The Dad battles his way to the surface, and everything stops. Dean collapses on the floor, and Sam has the opportunity to grab the Colt, and aims it at the YED.

Sam knows that if he shoots the YED, The Dad dies. Sam solves his personal Kobiashi Maru by shooting The Dad in the leg, whereupon he collapses to the floor. (Would it be irreverent of me to notice the nice belly porn on The Dad at this point?) The Dad struggles with the YED, and orders Sam to shoot him. Now that’s obsession, to not only be willing to die for a cause, but to order your son to commit what is, ostensively, patricide. Sam’s earlier goal of ending the YED now conflicts with Dean’s goal of rescuing The Dad. He’s now confronted with a both choices at once. In addition, Dean is a bloody mess on the floor BEGGING him not to shoot. So what does Sam do? He does what Dean wants him to do, thus siding with the power of humanity over raw killing.

Since he doesn’t shoot, The Dad is furious, and then the demon leaves, making me wonder what the whole exercise was about. (And I mean exercise, not exorcise.) Because many demons died as the brothers tore through them on their way to The Dad, I think the YED was testing everyone, to see what they were made of, where they would break, how they would bend. How far they would go. Which, if true, is pretty smart on the demon’s part, because when you go into battle, it’s important to know your enemy’s strengths and weaknesses. So, perhaps, the whole thing was a setup on the YED’s part. (The devil’s trap is not just a trap for the devil, it’s a trap set BY the devil. Clever, huh?)

The moment where The Dad lets his head fall to the floorboards expresses his frustration in one solid thunk. He’s very disappointed in his youngest, you can tell. And Sam, sure, he hates letting The Dad down, but I think he’s actually worried about the bigger picture here, that the YED has gotten away and now he’ll NEVER get to go back to school. Sam, however, makes another choice. He steps OVER The Dad to get to Dean, so he can make sure he’s all right. Dean, though, he wants Sam to check on The Dad.

Sam drives them through the darkness in the Impala, because he is the only one up for the task, on account of Dean is surely almost dead, and The Dad was recently possessed and has a bullet in his leg, Which doesn’t stop him from tearing Sam a new one as they drive along, that he thought that he and Sam agreed that killing the demon came before everything. Sam, looking at bloody, dying Dean in his rearview mirror, says, “No, not everything.” Meaning, of course, that Dean comes first. Sam, on top of being already stubborn, and not normally inclined to agree with The Dad, has learned something. That most things, don’t come, and shouldn’t come, before family.

Sam starts talking about how they’ll start at the beginning, they’ve got enough bullets, they’ll just have to try again. And voila. The Impala is hit broadside by an 18-wheeler. Even fans who’ve seen this ep multiple times practically shake head to foot talking about how horrific it was, how they never see it coming, no matter how many times they’ve seen it. It’s obvious that the driver was possessed, perhaps by a lesser demon of the YED’s, on account of he needs to mess the Winchesters up so badly, they won’t be able to come after him. And the Winchesters? They are now unconscious and bleeding, broken inside their broken Impala. And then the screen goes black. In the biz they call this a cliffhanger till next season. I call it cruel. On top of which I am out of wine.

Sylvia Bond is a ten-year technical writing veteran with too many degrees under her belt to count. She lives in Colorado, but does not ski, preferring instead to spend her money and time at the annual Great American Beer Festival, taking road trips across the United States, and reading historical fiction from the comfort of her fluffy green arm chair. She has been involved in fandom since 1993 and been writing fanfic since approximately 1993. What she finds most amazing about fandom (besides the open heartedness of fans and the sheer amount of creativity) is how visible fandom has become. “In my day,” she says, “we had to hide behind P.O. boxes to get fanfic. But nowadays, people wear t-shirts that shout their affiliation and share their shiny toys on the internet.” It’s a wonderful world.

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