Supernatural: The Rapture

The End of Innocence
by Sylvia Bond
Supernatural Episode Review – Season 4, Episode 20
“The Rapture”

To me this was a Sam episode. Not a Samhair episode, though there was lots of that to sigh over, but a Sam episode. Yes, I do realize there were other characters abounding, most notably Sam’s older brother. But for me, this ep was about Sam. The younger son. The baby of the family. The guy with the birthday in May. Astrology sign of Taurus. Tall. Handsome. Fabulous hair. Green eyes. Sweet smile and gorgeous dimples. Manly shoulders and a voice that could sing Grendel to sleep. Remember Sam? The guy who’s story we’ve been given such a paucity of so as to render him almost invisible? Yes. Him. Sadly, Show mucked about for most of the ep wasting time telling someone else’s story, namely that of the Soap Angel. 

We get to find out how the Soap Angel got his wings, and that’s fine. It was interesting to be shown how he went from being Dean’s pal back to his nasty angel status, with the directive to serve God instead of humans. And indeed, having the Soap Angel and Dean be pals isn’t as interesting as having the angel on Dean’s shoulder be some flinty, unpleasant fellow in wrinkled rain coat who isn’t all that helpful. What I don’t get is why Show spent 75% of an ep on a character we will never see again, because we spent most of the ep on some guy, who is, most notably, neither Sam nor Dean. 

I’m not so very interested in anything to do with the Soap Angel in the first place. Sure he’s mysterious and all and not so hard to look at, but even with all the emphasis on his character, I have failed to join the bandwagon. However, I’m even less interested in his vessel, who is apparently some guy named Jimmy from Illinois. (The only interesting thing about Jimmy was that he liked to fall asleep in front of the TV, much like The Dad before he became The Dad.) In real life, he’s a salesman who sells commercial time for some AM radio station, and if anything is more white bread than that, I don’t know what it is. 

In an earlier ep, Dean questioned the angel’s possessing a human. The Soap Angel told Dean that his vessel was a good man who was willing in that he “asked for this.” This being possessed by an Angel of the Lord. Now we find out that yeah, Jimmy asked for it, but only after being badgered to death, because apparently the Soap Angel kept at him, whispering in his ear, telling him some pretty crazy stuff until Jimmy succumbed and started putting the majority of his arm into a large pot of boiling water. 

Jimmy tried to explain to his wife that angels had been talking to him, but his wife didn’t believe him. As an aside, the wife spent her time throughout the ENTIRE episode weeping in an annoying manner that didn’t even muck up her eyeliner – she got very dull, very fast. She also disbelieved Jimmy, and felt that he needed “help” and insisted he get it, counseling, antipsychotic meds, the works. What is it about some Christians who, when confronted with the very elements and powers in which they profess to believe, and which they have spent centuries killing other folks who don’t believe, don’t actually believe? When confronted with the divine, their so-called faith vanishes like a fart in the wind. 

These are the kinds of Christians who, when the Rapture comes, and Jesus walks among us, will take one look at the guy and go, “Uh, not our sort. Doesn’t comply with the righteous right, doesn’t understand that women and minorities must be kept down, doesn’t understand that all Hindus and Muslims and Jews MUST GO,” and then they’ll pump him full of thorazine and lock him in the loony bin outside of their local fair city. Then, when we’re all swimming in a lake of fire and ice, and asking “Where’s Jesus?” the Christians will go, “Oh, him? George locked him up; but the place is ten feet under by now.” It’ll be like Hurricane Katrina only on a global scale. And we won’t be able to get a glass of water then either.

To Show’s credit, and my delight, the story about Jimmy was interspersed with the story about Naughty Sam, a great improvement from previous eps where the Dean ‘n Sam goodies were just tacked on at the end. Besides Jimmy’s dead now, so let’s move on, because there’s better, more fun stuff abounding, if you look for it. For example, there’s lots of to-ing and fro-ing in the Impala. In the rain. (Nice doom and gloom feel there, because the rain is constant.) Dean and Sam drive and thither, and really people. Just how many people and entities get to ride in the Impala before I do? Weepy Wife, Blonde Kid, and White Bread all get to go. Later, White Bread gets to ride again, in the back seat for what looked like a whole hour and how does he acknowledge the privilege? He falls asleep, the wanker. 

Even Anna Banana shows up in the back seat at some point, as well, floating in on her invisible angle wings. I think the actress must have been under some sort of contractual obligation or something, because Anna Banana’s presence does nothing to forward the plot. Anna Banana goes, “Yap! Yap! Yap!” then says something interesting about Sam seeming different (which Dean could easily have done), and then floats out of the plot on her useless wings, never to be seen again. So, too much Jimmy, too much Soap Angel, too much Weeping Wife, random acts of Anna Banana. Have we gotten all of those obligations out of the way yet, Show? 

And then there was Dean. I’m not fickle. I’m still a Samgirl and I dream of Samhair night and day, but I like it when Dean’s like he is in this ep, wearing his Angry Eyes and stalking about with his head held high and his mouth pursed in that adorable moue of concentration. Granted, there’s something to be said for an angsty Dean, somewhat battered, perhaps weepy and disillusioned. But we’ve gotten plenty of that this season in all sorts of ways; it was nice to see Dean assume the role of big brother, looking out for Sam.

I like to watch Dean. I like to watch him fishing (although it was easy to see that was a dream influenced by the idea of The Dad fishing with some other boy). I like to watch him brushing his teeth with his boyish blue toothbrush as he talks to Sam around the foam. I like to watch him driving the Impala. I like to watch him get smacked around. And this because the whole time he’s watching Sam out of the corner of his eye, keeping track, checking for what’s up, and for what’s going down. He doesn’t know for most of the ep, but his serious expression of concentration is quintessential Dean; his attentiveness to Sam is like a balm to my shattered workdayweek nerves. 

Then we get to see him stomping around in the warehouse (the one that shows up in lots of eps on LOTS of TV shows), with his brother. I like the boys wandering around in the half-darkness, not afraid of it, flashing their flashlights. Working together. That’s how it should be. Then, in spite of the fact that the boys have to deal with the angel part of the plot, there’s even a good old fashioned dither about what to do about White Bread in front of the motel. In the rain.

Afterwards, Dean is cool and all business, like in the scene where they’re trying to convince White Bread that he should never go home. Dean’s always at his best when delivering bad news. He does it quickly and succinctly, never allowing himself to wallow in another person’s angst. In the same scene, Sam talks to White Bread, using Dean’s body as a shield. His shoulders are curved forward in a diffident manner, he pulls himself small as if he doesn’t want to create too big a target out of himself. (He’s got angel issues, even if White Bread isn’t currently an angel.) His Samhair is sticking up all OVER the place. Cutely. 

Yet for all of that, when White Bread tries to make a run for it, Sam turns into Mr. Brick Wall and nobody’s getting past him, but nobody. Something about a body that powerful and strong just rather turns up the heat in the room, don’t you think? (Plus it was nice to see, for all Sam’s scenes are so short, that Padalecki grabs everything out of them that he can, moving his body to fit the attitude of his character, like in this scene, impacting each line of dialog by small twitches of his jaw, flicks of his eyes, and nervous, though lovely, movements across his mouth.)

Next is where the fun starts. The Soap Angel is supposedly asleep. Dean is sleeping, as well, which is always a treat. Sadly, once again, Dean sleeps on top of the covers, boots and everything. This would make sense if he was the one on duty, but in which case, he wouldn’t be sleeping, would he. But he isn’t on duty, so what’s up with that? How I long to see him in his jim jams!!! Or better yet, when am I going to get to see Dean in his boxers while he sleeps? (For an eyeful like this, you’ll need to harken back to Season 1.) 

Sam is on watch duty, the only one awake, but he is up to no good. He not only leaves his post, he leaves it to go get a drink and it’s not of soda. By the light of the drink machine, Sam taps something dark and interesting into his palm from a silver flask. It’s blood. Some of that Skank Ruby’s blood, rife with nastiness and riddled with demon-ness, no doubt coagulated by now. He licks at it with his tongue, and sucks the last of it from his skin while his hair falls about in that way it has that makes me love it so. And, yes, he could have done this while locked in the bathroom, but I like the way the silver light flickers in his eyes, and the way the wind whispers through his hair. Besides, I have a feeling that he didn’t want to be too near Dean while doing this bad thing. 

And it is a bad thing, so much so that Chuck the Prophet left it out of his books because he didn’t want Sam to appear unsympathetic. So much even more so that Sam, while having revealed to Dean every other dark thing he did while Dean was in hell, failed to tell him about this. Right now he’s got circles under his eyes and he’s pale, in a totally interesting way, but no one has noticed, and he wants to keep it that way. 

Drinking demon blood makes Sam’s powers grow, and whether or not the powers will eventually be for good or for evile, I don’t know. Without the blood, without enough of it, he is weak. And I blame that Skank Ruby, who coached Sam to begin with and got him on the supernatural version of steroids and who now appears to be long gone. Back in the room, confronted by a jokey  Dean about White Bread’s escape, Sam is about as shaky as a guy who just sucked back some demon blood and feels it jitterbugging all through his system. Sam’s hair falls across his eyes here, in a very cute way. It’s totally disarming, even if it’s not actually very fun to watch Sam fall apart. (Although, honestly, it totally is.)

There’s plenty of fetching Samhair moments, in fact. In one of them, even Anna Banana gets in on the act. When she gets her two minutes of fame in the back seat of the Impala, she says to Sam, “There’s something different about you.” And Sam goes, “I got my hair cut.” Nooooooooooo! Sam!!! Never get your hair cut! At the very least, let your brother do it for you! (The only thing that pleased me about Anna Banana being there was that her face was obscured by the rainwater on the windshield of the Impala.)

On the road to pick up White Bread, the boys stop to gas up the Impala. Dean’s all laconic, leaning against the car’s bumper while Sam’s inside making a frantic call to that Skank Ruby because he is all out of demon blood. Oh, to watch Junkie Sam come apart like this has been a long time coming. His voice is shaky, his breath comes in starts and stops. His hair is slicked down as if Sam is aware that his descent into withdrawal is marked by his hair. It’s a wonderful scene, for all that it lasts only 17 seconds. (And yes, I clocked it.)

Elsewhere in the story, White Bread’s family gets attacked by a demon. It was easy to see that White Bread’s “friend” was actually possessed by a demon, even before his eyes flickered black. White Bread’s Weepy Wife can be excused from recognizing his true nature on account of her aforementioned disbelief that angels and demons walk among us. What was a nice surprise was to see Dean saving the day with the demon-killing knife; there’s nothing more attractive than watching a man who knows how to use his tools. (I also knew that Weepy Wife was then subsequently possessed on account of she didn’t accompany the rest of the gang outside of the house right away. That’s a rule on Show, you know. When a character gets separated from the herd? He or she gets possessed. It’s a rule.) 

Meanwhile, during the battle, Sam can’t kill the demon with the spread of his manly hand this time. He’s woozy and unsteady and so very, very tired. I like what the makeup people did with the circles under his eyes. I know I’ve said this before, but those circles make the characters look vulnerable, and I loves me a vulnerable Sam, oh yes I do. And then there was the rife-with-innuendo comment that the demon makes, “Can’t get it up, can you, Sam.” And Dean’s brother to the rescue response: “No, but I can.” Oh, yeah. I loves me a Dean in rescue mode, too.

Off everyone drives in the Impala, please see aforementioned rant. When they stop, there’s a dither about the fact that White Bread has to leave his family behind, or they’ll be in danger. He wants to know for how long;  Sam gives him this speech: “Don’t you get it? Forever. Demons will never stop. You can never be with your family. So you either get as far away from them as possible or you put a bullet in your head. And that’s how you keep your family safe. But there’s no getting out and there’s no going home.” 

I enjoyed Dean’s double take of concern at this, but it was Sam who broke my heart here. Because he believes it, you see, every word of what he’s saying, and is, perhaps planning for the day when he will have to do exactly that. (Samhair-O-Meter: Wavy, raintouched, still off his forehead. He’s not giving it a bit of thought, though, as the dark truths tumble from his beautiful lips.) 

After they ditch Weepy Wife and Blond Kid (without, note, any thought to protecting them against rogue demons), Sam n’ Dean drive in the Impala. In the rain. Dean finally notices that something is amiss with his Sam, and we get the “What’s up with you, man?” question. There’s some good back and forth here (not quite a dither, because it’s more personal than discussion about a gig), but the best part is where Dean says, “I’m not trying to pick a fight, but you’re scaring me,” and Sam replies, “I’m scaring myself.” For all his been hiding from Dean, Sam knows he’s in over his head. One second more of this conversation and Sam probably would have spilled his guts like a girl. Alas, the phone rings, and the trouble starts up again, trouble that doesn’t concern me because it isn’t about Sam. Or his hair. 

Except it is. Outside of the warehouse, Sam’s shoulders stoop like he’s been carrying a huge weight for too long. He weaves a little on his feet, and his unsteadiness is further marked by the slight slurring in his voice, like he’s been at the drink and has managed to conceal it from everyone at the bar and is now trying to convince the barkeep that he’s okay to drive. Show did an excellent job in developing the slow, creaky moments like this one that let us know that not all is well with Sam. Dean is Oblivious Man, which, for Sam, might be a good thing. For now. 

Inside the warehouse there is an angel/demon battle, with much whumpage; it was a little hard to see the details but gratifying just the same. Sam gets a demon under him, and yeah, that’s all she wrote. Demons bleed you see, and Sam has been jonesing since the first reel. He slices her open and drinks the blood, and his descent into darkness looks pretty final from where I’m sitting. The music provides just the right background, coming to a sharp halt as Sam jerks upward to face his brother, demon blood ALL over his mouth. (Oh, he is in SO much trouble.)

I was looking for the dramatic moment where Sam would wipe his mouth with his sleeve, but it never happened. I realize it’s a bit of a cliché, but otherwise, Sam’s standing there like a naughty child who’s been at the raspberry jam. He’s a lost soul, so wild-eyed and powerful, an uncontrollable element of nature, something that Dean would flinch from, which he does when Sam stands up and raises his manly hand. For a second, yeah, I thought Sam had finally turned the corner; Dean’s flinch makes him look so very young and afraid, and Sam’s hair is IN his eyes, which is indicative of his state – blinded by passion and demon blood and the power now surging in his veins. 

Dean has to actually jump out of the way when he realizes Sam’s real intent. There’s exorcising of the demon and a dramatic goodbye scene from White Bread; the Soap Angel returns in all his snotty glory. Hurray. Enough of him already.

In the car, Sam is just waiting for it, but Dean doesn’t want to talk. He doesn’t want to argue or discuss or even dither. He’s done. I like to imagine that he’s tired of Sam lying to him; there’s a point you get to when enough is enough, and this is his. His jaw is set, his expression is flat, and he has no more to give to Sam right now. Ever thought you’d see the day? I didn’t. Bobby calls, and says that he’s got a demon problem that he needs Sam n’ Dean to handle. Only when they get there, Bobby announces that the demon problem is Sam; and he says this as Sam enters the iron-lined room, while he and Dean stay behind, on the other side of the iron threshold.

As they lock Sam up in the panic room (guaranteed to keep demons in or out), and the second before he realizes what’s going on, Show gives me two things. One is Dean’s expression, hard and cold and unyielding, and this towards his brother, his beloved Sam. To have reached this point? A lot of unhappy crap has gone down, and it here I see that truly Dean has crossed into the beyond and gone is the boyish boy from carefree earlier days. Okay, they weren’t all that carefree, but at least he had something. Now? All that’s lost. But it’s the other thing that Show gives me that breaks my heart, and that is Sam’s innocent and trusting expression the second before he realizes what’s going on. 

That Sam has gone down this slippery slope for a while now is not new.  When I think of him going down that dark path, it’s rather unique in that as he walks, the road beneath him disappears. He looks down and his footsteps vanish; he can’t even begin to trace how it is he got where he is. He is totally lost, and now, if you asked him in that moment, abandoned. The one thing, the ONE thing Sam always knew would be there for him was Dean. And it’s not that Dean isn’t, you see, but that Dean can’t be. Dean is doing hard love right now, the hardest. 

For Sam? It’s the last break, the last step, beyond the pale, out of the light, any way you care to put it. As the heavy metal door closes on him, the last shred of Sam’s innocence disappears here with a flicker in those green eyes of his and a soft sigh of dismay. He must have known it was coming, this day. The day when Dean Found Out about the blood; that was the one secret Sam kept to himself. This is what this ep was about, the moment of truth and the anguish of this discovery. Sam’s descent, the finality if the iron walls as they surround him, his dark hair curling around his face. And Sam alone. With himself and his demon-drenched blood. The whole White Bread/Soap Angel deal? That was just a distraction. 

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.

Never miss an update. Subscribe to Pink Raygun by Email or subscribe via RSS

Related Stuff: