In the twelfth episode of the third season of Supernatural, it hurts forever. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.
There is no justice in war.
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Before I touch on the heavier themes of this episode and gush about Henriksen and Ruby, I do want to open discussion about Nancy Fitzgerald. While there’s no on-screen confirmation, Aimee Garcia, who does a wonderful job playing Nancy, is Mexican and Puerto Rican, so I don’t have a problem saying that Nancy was a Latina character. There is a rather pervasive trope involving super religious Latina women in film, and this episode is a little too on-the-nose in this regard. Now, it’s possible that the role was written as a religious woman who has also chosen to abstain from sex, and it was just chance that a Latina woman got the role. I’m sure that’s what happened, and I don’t think anyone really thought of the implications of this. Still, it was uncomfortable to watch because the episode did nothing to counter this stereotype.
But let’s just assume the part was written and Aimee Garcia simply got the part. There’s still a problem in the way that this script values sexual experience. I know sex is very common, but to have a character so openly act so shocked that someone hasn’t had sex yet is kind of grating. Like, do the writers know that people on the asexual spectrum exist? Not saying that Dean should know this, because his character certainly wouldn’t be knowledgable of the complex inner workings of the asexual community. But when you pair this with the trope of hyper-religious Latina women, you’ve got one hell of a stereotype. And it’s not that the idea of virginity is the problem here. I think the show’s exploration of what Nancy was willing to do to save others was incredible, one of the most emotionally raw moments we’ve seen all season. I just think that you could still do this story without making sex seem like such a necessary thing, you know?
*
“Jus in Bello,” which translates loosely to “justice in war,” feels like a distinct change for Supernatural, at least in terms of the ongoing narrative they’ve been giving us this season. We’ve heard threats of this other leader, now finally named as Lilith, and threats of an oncoming war. (DO THEY MEAN THE LILITH??? LIKE, ADAM’S FIRST WIFE??? HELP ME I NEED TO KNOW.) But how much have we seen of this? There were a lot more episodes this season dealing with demons and possessions, and the introduction of Ruby was an important addition to this mythology.
But here, we see Lilith is capable of. After that first demon is exorcised from Deputy Director Groves’s body, it notifies the others and THIS EPISODE GOES FROM BEING MILDLY FRIGHTENING TO DOWNRIGHT TERRIFYING. And look, I’m a sucker for closed-room thrillers. It is one of my favorite tropes ever. EVER. And this show has used them before, but it feels so refreshing and scary in this episode. I think that’s also due in part because we get such an incredible bit of character development in Agent Henriksen. There are so many things in this episode to build dread in us, and one of them is whether or not Henriksen is ever going to believe the Winchesters.
In short, there’s a lot here. And yet, the writers don’t overwhelm us with the story, since we’re given time to appreciate Henriksen’s sudden acceptance of the world that the Winchesters live in before the demon horde arrives. It’s smart writing because nothing feels rushed, the pacing is always consistent and driving towards that absolutely unreal ending. The characters matter, too! Would this episode be as rewarding if we didn’t know that Henriksen’s desire to nab the Winchesters was rooted in a need to feel like his job meant he was making the world better? Would we appreciate Nancy’s offer to sacrifice herself without that line about her literally believing demons were real for most of her life? Would Ruby’s appearance have been as charged as it was if it weren’t for Dean’s distaste for working with a demon? (On that note, I noticed that Sam and Dean never even bothered to explain why they were letting this specific demon in. I imagine that would have been far too complicated, you know?) That’s the sort of dynamism I’m looking for in fiction, and good god, this episode is just so stellar in that regard.
But it’s the discussion of humanity that matters most, and it’s important in the wake of conversations about whether or not Sam is human anymore. We’ve got Sam escaping Jeremy’s dream clutches recently, which is more a question of Sam’s ability than anything else. The question posed here, though, deals more with whether or not the Winchesters are still human in the face of a terrible decision. Do they let Nancy willingly give herself up to save the thirty-or-so people? Is that right, even if it’s her own choice? Of course, it’s disconcerting that Dean is the one to vocalize how NOT OKAY this option is, especially when you think how much he and Sam have switched places in this regard. Sam used to be the one to fight to make sure that every life possible was saved, but you can see him struggle with this choice in this episode. (And coming after the events of “Mystery Spot,” it’s kind of easy to see why. The man lived six months’ time as a ruthless hunter, and now he’s suddenly supposed to revert back to who he was? OH GOD SAM. YOU ARE TOO MUCH.)
The actual demon fight itself in this episode is one of the best-filmed sequences in the whole show. I made a comment in the video commission for this episode that it reminded me of a zombie herd. The camera captures the chaotic nature of possessed humans scurrying into that police station to destroy everyone inside. And at the same time, the Winchesters find a solution to their problem that doesn’t involve sacrificing their own in order to save the day. And goddamn, their solution is so brilliant: let the demons in, circle the building with salt so they can’t leave, and then blast the exorcism on the station’s PA system. SERIOUSLY, WHAT AN INCREDIBLE IDEA. Well, maybe second behind Sam and Dean getting anti-possession tattoos. WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?
I know that’s why the ending of this episode hurts. There is no justice in war. Just because Sam and Dean found a solution that saved the lives of everyone possible at that police station doesn’t mean that war is fair. Lilith certainly proves this. (It took me a while to realize that the demon who left and didn’t hurt Nancy was the way that Lilith found out what had happened.) She arrives (IN THE BODY OF A LITTLE GIRL OH MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS) and blasts the place apart. I just… it’s so awful. Just when Henriksen got some of the most amazing character development, he’s dead. So is Nancy, too. Oh my god, Lilith killed them out of spite, for no other reason than to ostensibly upset Sam and Dean.
Ruby appears at the end here to show Dean and Sam exactly what Lilith is capable of and what they’re up against. I admit that I still haven’t figured out her master plan, but y’all, she was willing to die to get the Winchesters out of that police station. That seems like a huge deal, right? So… what the hell???
I don’t know. I’m just going to sit over here feeling numb because THIS EPISODE WAS SO DISTURBING. Good gods.
The video for “Jus in Bello” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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