In My Time of Dying
Original Air Date: 09/28/2006

The second season begins where the first ended, with the crash of the Impala. The Winchesters are taken to the hospital, where a comatose Dean has an out-of-body experience in which he is stalked by a Reaper; and John considers making a grave sacrifice.

Notes

Writer

Eric Kripke

Director

Kim Manners

Guest Stars:

Lindsey McKeon (Tessa)
Jim Beaver (Bobby)
Fredric Lane
(Janitor/Demon)

Filming Locations:

Riverview Hospital

Completely Useless Trivia:

Subtitling shows what is heard over the PA system. The four announcements
are as follows:
-Dr. Bender to the mental ward please, Dr. Bender.
-Michael Crawford call 3-4-0, Michael Crawford, 3-4-0.
-Blue team to the ICU please.
-Dr. Kripke, room 237. Dr. Kripke, code blue room 237.

Review

Okay, first things first. "Then" opening recap. Hmmm. Not too fond of this one, although I understand why they opted to go this route. It was dark and dreary, set to the song "Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent. It left me feeling discouraged and was a complete 180 from the "Carry On my Wayward Son" recap which left me feeling optimistic and proud to be a fan of the show. Does that make this recap bad? No. Do I hope they change it for next week? Absolutely!!! On to the "Now" opening scene. Did they get a different truck driver? This guy looked a lot larger that the other guy. Maybe they thought we wouldn't believe that the skinnier guy could pull the door off the Impala? I don't know. Interesting that Sam was awake and seemed willing to use the last bullet.

A side note regarding the new flaming title card. I love it so much! I actually let out a squeal when I saw it! Sad, isn't it? I'm so totally not a squealer, but it just popped out unexpectedly. I like the pentagram "A", it reminds me of the Stargate titles with the earth symbol.

I really REALLY loved how Dean gets up and out of bed and the camera angle is from the floor. That was really well planned, and to top it off I got to see Jensen's very shapely feet! Am I allowed to talk about Jensen's shapely feet? Not sure about that one, but trust me when I say they're one of my favourite features. Well, one of the top 10 anyway… So Dean gets up, takes a stroll, then realizes he's on his deathbed. He seems to handle it quite well. I think I would've at least tried to wake myself up or something. Then when Sam comes in, one of Dean's lines was "find a hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on me or something", then later when Sam is talking to John he repeats the same line word for word. I love how he looks off to the side with a "where did that thought come from?" expression. His first inkling that Dean might be nearby.

Sam goes to the wrecking yard to check out the Impala with Bobby. Poor Impala. Very sick little car, sicker even than Dean, I think. Bobby wants to junk it or sell it for scrap, but Sam won't let him. Way to go Sammy! He knows that Dean would never let that car go, so he fights for it. Also, it's a tangible reminder of his brother and by saving the Impala he feels as if he's working to save Dean. Very touching. I love when Bobby looks in the trunk and the trunk lid falls off! And Sam tries to open the laptop but the cover falls off. Both are not-so-subtle reminders that everything the boys know and love, including Dean himself, are hanging in the balance between life and death. Strong images which are very much appreciated.

Dean watches John watching Dean, and gives him the "are you just going to sit there?" lecture. I love that Dean said "What the h*ll kind of father are you anyway?" FINALLY someone questioned John on his parenting skills! Too bad John couldn't hear it… But the question is overshadowed by our first glimpse of the reaper. Very cool reaper! Beautiful reaper! Mind-blowingly intricate reaper! I love the skull face and dreadlocks! Someone spent a whole lot of time on that sequence, and I'd love to shake his hand. Well done! The one problem I have with the reaper is when she takes the choking woman. We see her flash into the room, then Dean runs in and sees the woman choking and saying "I can't breathe", but the reaper isn't there anymore. If she's already done her thing and taken the woman, then the woman shouldn't be talking. If she hasn't taken the woman yet, then she should still be visible in the room. Just one of those things that bugs me I guess.

We were shown the water glass scene on the CW website so I knew what was coming. When I watched it online, my first thought was how it was a knockoff of the movie Ghost. I am so glad they realized this and let Dean comment on it! He knocks the glass off, then looks at Sam and says "Dude, I full-on Swayze'd that mother!" Kudos to whoever wrote that line, I love it!!! Unfortunately his anger takes a little too much out of him, and his body starts to fail. The doctors work to revive him while Sam looks on in fear, but it's too late, the reaper is poised and ready to take him. Dean, fighter that we know and love, shouts at her to get back. When she doesn't listen, he repeats with force behind the words. Very cool sound effect here where his voice echoes over and over in a deep timbre. It's emotionally charged enough for Sam to get a feel for his presence. Dean grabs the reaper by the arm but is knocked backwards into the wall. (a chilling reminder of Devil's Trap when the demon does the same.) The reaper leaves and Dean tells Sam he's not going anywhere. At this point Sam looks towards Dean's spirit, giving us the impression that Sam can sense his presence. Before we can process the events, we hear a woman calling out for help. Tessa. (Lindsey McKeon) Dean strikes up a conversation and explains that they're having an out-of-body experience. (a note about this scene, it's unfortunate that both Tessa and Dean go out of their way to avoid touching the people walking around them. I know it's been done a lot, but I would have liked to see someone move through them to prove that they're really invisible spirits. Partly because that's cool to watch, and partly because it would go a long way towards making me believe the illusion 100%) When Tessa asks if he's one of those "new agey" guys, Dean responds with "do you see me playing with crystals and listening to Yanni?" I love that line! Made me laugh out loud. One question about this inferior-care hospital they're in, are the doctors too preoccupied to bandage Dean's head? They say they're worried about the head trauma, but here's this gaping wound on his forehead and they can't even be bothered to put a stitch or two in it? Not even so much as a butterfly bandage? I mean come on, I'll chip in the extra dollar for the bandage, just give the guy a little medical attention! While Dean is talking to Tessa, we hear "Dr. Kripke, code blue" over the intercom. Nice shout-out to the creator of the show. Dean runs but it's too late. The reaper is already there and taking the life of a little girl. At this point Dean realizes that the reaper isn't evil she's just taking people whose time has come.

Meanwhile, Sam has realized that Dean is wandering the hospital as a spirit and has gone to buy a Ouija board. Wait, scratch that. What Sam actually buys is a "Mystical Talking Board". That totally cracks me up! Generic Ouija. Who knew? So he pulls it out and tells Dean they can communicate with it. Dean ("I feel like I'm at a slumber party!") sits down but doesn't really believe it will work. He's pleasantly surprised and proceeds to tell Sam about the reaper. Sam doesn't know what to do about it, so he gets the journal and looks up the reaper. (Yay! New pages in the journal!) Dean reads over his shoulder and finds that a reaper can alter a human's perception. He realizes that Tessa is the reaper and goes to confront her. She explains that it's his time, in fact he's on borrowed time already. (a reference to the Faith episode) He refuses to believe her and insists he has to stay to help his family. She explains that he can stay but he'll never get back into his body. He will eventually turn into an angry spirit himself; become the very thing he fights. A sobering thought.

Down in the basement boiler room, John summons the demon. I love how the Janitor (Fredric Lane), who's possessed by the demon, seems normal but when the demon shows himself the eyes change without any film cuts or blinking. They go straight from black to yellow while we watch. I think that was a first and I really liked it! John offers the Colt to the demon in exchange for Dean's life, and the demon agrees with one addition to the deal. Johns life, or so we assume. John agrees. Dean and Tessa are still discussing his situation. I love the "I'll pass on the 72 virgins" line here. That's a reference to a warrior's death and I like that Tessa called him a warrior. She has very plainly laid things out for him so he understands what will become of him if he doesn't let her take him. Take him where? "I can't give away the big punch line!" she answers. He takes a moment to think, then turns to give her his decision and… yeah, we'll never know what he was going to say. The lights flicker, he asks why she's doing that and she says it's not her. From the air vent a black cloud comes gushing and Tessa seems genuinely afraid. The demon takes her over and tells Dean it's his lucky day. He puts his hand on Deans forehead like the other reaper did in Faith, and his spirit is back in his body and he sits up choking on the breathing tube down his throat. Sadly, he doesn't remember a thing from his out-of-body experience. Side note- Dean choking on the breathing tube totally gives me the dry heaves! What a horrible sound that is! Also, yay Dean! Glad you're alive, buddy!

John comes in to check on Dean, and sadly calls him "dude". Hey, John? Your son just woke up from a coma, don't call him dude! Use his name, dumbass!!! On the upside, he very logically explained to Sam that he doesn't want to fight anymore. That was very sensitive of him. Granted, he knew he was about to die, but still, he should have done that years ago! He sends Sam out for coffee and proceeds to tell Dean all the things he should have told him long ago. How he's proud of him. How he's sorry that Dean had to be the father and take responsibility for the family. How he made Dean grow up too fast. Part way through, Dean asks "is that really you talking?" I love that they included that, I knew he'd have a problem believing his father after the demon abused that trust in Devil's Trap with his whole "I'm proud of you" speech. When he's finished what he wanted to say, John leans in and tells Dean a secret. My theory is that he explained what he knows about Sam and the other 'special' kids, but I don't know for sure. Note the discordant church bells in the background. A hint of things to come?

John goes back to his room, satisfied that Dean is all right. He meets the demon and hands over the colt. I find it interesting that they don't show the demon here. Is it the janitor, or is it Tessa? I choose to believe it's Tessa, I can't believe the demon would give up such a powerful entity once he's possessed her, and also the fact that he was able to take John's life leads me to believe he still had the powers of the reaper. Sam walks by and sees John's fallen body and screams for help. The doctors work on him but it's too late. Time of death: 10:41am. Poor John. Rest in peace.

In My Time of Dying Original Air Date: 09/28/2006