Supernatural comes out swinging.
“Like a Virgin” delivers something the fans have been missing for a while: the architecture of brotherhood between Sam and Dean. The episode allows fans to see the brotherly bond that has been lacking for many episodes.
Of course, soulless Sam AKA Robo Sam was around for eleven episodes; that’s half a season and we can’t blame Dean for having trouble connecting to a brother that flat out said in “All Dog’s Go to Heaven” that he doesn’t care for him. This new episode most likely suffered some loss in viewer numbers due to the cluster bomb the CW set off when they bumped it</a> in lieu of TVD and Nikita reruns. I think the collective fan scream was probably heard in space when the programming bump occurred.
The new big bad for the season was introduced as was a glimpse of purgatory, if you want to count red fire seeping through rock as the door was opened. The new big bad is “The Mother of All,” and theories abound concerning the new character. The Mother of All, what does that mean? Well, I don’t think she’s the mother of the human race, but perhaps the mother of the monster world.
After all, earlier in the season season, the Alpha Vampire said, “We all have our mothers, even me,” and now “Like a Virgin” has left viewers with the knowledge that purgatory’s door has been opened a place “filled with the bodies and souls of all things sharp and nasty,” according to Bobby. The new big bad’s first words were, “You kept me waiting” and, “We have so much to do, let’s get started.” Hmm… get what started? And why the need for so many virgins? Does she burn through her meatsuits that quickly or are they intended vessels for monster spawn? Who will she turn out to be in theology or mythology? No idea, but over the course of the next ten episodes of the season I think we’ll find out.
What happened:
This episode saw the introduction of dragons that hadn’t been seen in over 700 years, and as per usual the Supernatural writers worked their own slant on the portrayal of the monster of the week. You never saw the dragons in their flying form, just quick murky images when on screen.
Mostly you heard their wings as they took flight. Dragons usually breathe fire, right? Well, the SPN-verse dragon appears to harness their fire in their hands. The use of the dragons may end up being significant or just a simple plot device to unleash the new big bad — time will tell if they are significant or not. Sam has his soul back, he’s Sammy again, and to Supernatural fans they’ll understand the distinction between Sam and Sammy. Bobby appears to be having some issues with the youngest Winchester’s presence due to a little fact that Sam tried to kill him while without a soul.
I hope that Bobby assimilates soon and cuts Sam some slack. Sam found out from Castiel that he was walking around topside from Hell without his soul for over a year. It’s amazing that you can actually see the change from Robo Sam to Sammy, as he becomes misty eyed at the revelation at the news of his previous soulless state. There’s a lot to see in the episode, and if you missed it then perhaps you might think of watching it online.
I enjoyed the new episode and it had some great one-liners:
- Dean’s reference to “Comic Con” was priceless.
- Bobby: “How’s Memento doing over there?” — Bobby asked Dean in reference to Sam
- Sam: “So, what kind of thing likes virgins and gold?” and Dean’s response: “P. Diddy”
- Dean: “Why the poop face?” – Dean asks Bobby when he gives him a look
- Bobby: “But, the kid went straight up Menendez on me…” – he says to Dean in reference to Sam
- There are plenty more great lines in this episode – it’s packed with them.
Priceless moments:
- The brother hug.
- Castiel going in for a hug and Sam sitting down to avoid it as Castiel agrees that it would have been “awkward.”
- The smile on Dean’s face when Sam goes all Sammy on the girl they are questioning with his understanding eyes – Dean can actually see that he’s got his brother back and he’s beaming.
Now, with the good must come the… well, not bad, more like mild let-downs:
- The dragons on screen presence could have been better but the budget of the show doesn’t allow for huge effects. So, they were a little anti-climactic for me as a fan and viewer.<
- The Sam waking up moment wasn’t what I was hoping for. He wakes up off screen and finds his own way upstairs to locate his brother and Bobby… felt a little cheated with the potential of what could have been for that scene.
- I missed Kansas’ “Carry On Wayward Son” music for our “The Road So Far” montage, although Aerosmith was good, but I guess in the shadow of the averted apocalypse, Dean having a family for year and Robo Sam catching a one way trip on the soul train means the show is like Dorothy — we’re not in Kansas anymore, but I still missed it.
I think Supernatural came out swinging with “Like a Virgin” and although it wasn’t a TKO, the match was still won and now the next half of the season is ripe and waiting for us to discover right along with the Winchester brothers. I see wonderful potential for the remainder of the season. Oh, and by the way… you do get that if the Winchesters didn’t have bad luck they wouldn’t have any luck at all, right? I wouldn’t count on that “Great Wall of Sam” lasting too long without some fractures occurring and my guess is much sooner than later. So buckle up folks, we’re in for a bumpy ride!
Some stats and info about Supernatural, “Like A Virgin”
TV SHOW – Supernatural
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 6, Episode 12
AIRED ON – February 4th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – CW/Netflix
GENRE – Drama, Teen Dramas, Horror, Fantasy
CREATED BY – Eric Kripke
CAST – Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard, Jim Beaver, Alexander Calvert, Mark Pellegrino, Samantha Smith, Ruth Connell
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.