Supernatural Flashback: "In My Time of Dying" Review - IGN (original) (raw)

Our look back at Supernatural's second season begins with the great premiere.

Editor's Note: With summer here, we've decided to go back and look at the one full season left of Supernatural we have yet to review – Season 2. Come back every week (and occasionally, twice a week) through the summer as Diana gives her thoughts on what was a big year in Supernatural's history.

The opening episode for Season 2 of Supernatural, "In My Time of Dying", remains one of the show's high points, even three seasons later. If the first season finale, "Devil's Trap", was the episode that raised the bar for Supernatural in terms of the larger storyline involving the Winchester family, this episode left no room for doubt that this show has far more in mind that simply monster of the week stories.

Not that there is anything wrong with monster of the week episodes! On the contrary, they are the bread and butter of the show, and if they are not done well the show will lose a lot of what makes it fun to watch. But there is definitely more to Supernatural than just scares; it is grounded in real emotional drama between two brothers, and the legacy left to them by their father and mother.

This episode picks up immediately where the cliffhanger from season one left off and quickly shifts to the hospital where Dean is barely clinging to life. Since this is a show about the supernatural, this is an obvious opportunity for Dean to experience the other side of things, as he wanders the halls of the hospital, having an out of body experience.

Dean's situation gives the director -- the late, great Kim Manners -- a chance to do all sorts of clever camera work. Dean appears and disappears from scenes depending on whether we are seeing things from his perspective or someone else's. I particularly liked the shot of Dean listening to his father and brother arguing in John's hospital room, as the camera follows Sam out and moves to reveal that Dean has been there listening to the entire conversation. Another standout sequence is when Sam communicates with Dean via a "Mystical Talking Board." The camera spins slowly around Sam and the board, sometimes showing Dean there talking to Sam, while sometimes Sam is alone. It is not just interesting camera work; it also gives us a real sense of how the brothers are separated due to Dean's condition without having a lot of spoken exposition about it. Sam's relief at finally being able to "talk" to Dean is obvious.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan giving his usual strong performance as a doomed character

There is nice misdirection when we meet Tessa, who Dean does not realize at first is the Reaper. Once she is revealed, it is heartbreaking to see Dean's struggle to not leave this life, especially when his main concern is that his family is in danger. It's a touching scene and Lindsey McKeon is compelling as the Reaper who seems to want what is best for Dean, which in her view is his acceptance of his own death. Her argument that if he doesn't go with her he will eventually become one of the things that he hunts stops Dean in his tracks. Jensen Ackles does an excellent job in this entire episode, and here he really lets Dean's weariness show; we can see Dean is nearly convinced by what the reaper is saying.

The introduction of Fredric Lehne (billed here as Fredric Lane) as the yellow-eyed demon, the Winchester family's nemesis, is well done. He is charismatic and quietly sadistic without being overdone. The deal John strikes with this demon is made even more interesting having seen seasons three and four and knowing how far into the past and the future this sacrificial tendency goes in the Winchester family. At this point in the story though, it is just sad for what it is, all by itself.

The true star of this episode is any screen time that is shared by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. The final scene in which John talks to both of his boys is a perfect example of how great these three actors are together. The scene itself is especially moving since the audience knows what is coming, but Dean and Sam do not. When John asks Sam to get him some coffee, it is such a mundane moment for Sam, and that makes it all the more poignant. The real reason John asked Sam to leave, of course, is that he has a special, whispered message that is only for Dean. We will learn more about that message later in the season; the main point here is that John is saying goodbye to his two children and it is so heartfelt and moving that I almost forgot how frustrated I was with him at certain times during season one. He may have been flawed, but no one can say John Winchester didn't love his kids.

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