18. No Rest for the Wicked
Season 3, Episode 16
With the clock of Dean’s mortality winding down, many audience members expected an eleventh hour Hail Mary to save one of the two show leads. But “Supernatural” proved it wouldn’t fail to deliver on promises, even after its complicated season arc got condensed due to the WGA strike. Series creator Eric Kripke and episode director Kim Manners had a tall order here, in wrapping up Ruby and Sam’s alliance, Lilith’s reign of terror, and Dean’s ultimate untimely demise, but they did it all deftly, and they delivered as much of an “all hands on deck” scenario as a show with a rising body count for its supporting hunters could provide to boot when Sam called in Bobby and Ruby to try to save Dean. Of course, Sam’s efforts, though emotional, proved futile, and this third season finale delivered one of the strongest brother moments to date when Dean accepted his fate and told Sam to “keep fighting” and “remember what I taught you.” It also gave the audience its first, albeit brief, look at a one-Winchester world when Sam, immobilized with grief, cradled his dead brother in his arms – as well as the first real look at the show’s depiction of hell, a place often discussed but heretofore not seen, when the camera zoomed into Dean’s eye to find him on a slab in the underworld, screaming for help.
– Danielle Turchiano
ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV%2Bcrq24xKuwaKulpbKzusCtrKuZnGKvpr%2FTZpypoaOksaa%2FjKuYp6OVmXq0rcxmm56ZnmLEqrrCoZysrJWnfA%3D%3D