Season 5, Episode 1
“Sympathy for the Devil”
Supernatural’s fifth season hit the ground running with not only the rising of the Prince of Darkness but perhaps the Hand of God making a play for some storytime as well… And in a nutshell I believe this is the central theme this season will be exploring: the father and son dynamic, or on a more broader scale, the idea of family and forgiveness.
I know, shocking isn’t it?
It’s been a common theme throughout Supernatural right from the start. Now we see the ultimate father and child conflict taking shape, that of the creator and his creation.
We also see the idea of sacrifice played over and over again, from Father John’s deal with the demons, to Dean’s own barter with the same… and with last night’s sacrifice made by the Winchester Brother’s surrogate daddy, the irrepresible Bobby Singer, one can’t help but wonder when the cycle of sacrifice and redemption will end.
The boys’ relationship is left lying in pieces, with Dean having lost all faith and trust in Sam, and not without good reason… and we see this mirrored in the poignant performance by Bellamy Young as the voice of Lucifer who pleads his case in the guise of an angst ridden widower’s late wife. The widower, played pitch perfectly by LOST’s Mark Pellegrino, is the chosen vessel of the Morning Star and easily manipulated into welcoming Lucifer in so as to extract revenge for God’s absentee daddyhood.
Add in some comedic relief in the form of the Prophet Chuck and an earnest Sam-loving, fan fic-writing messenger… a blade wielding, ass whupping Castiel… and what you have is a fantastic start to a season with a lot of promise…
Next week’s second episode, Good God Y’all, will not come soon enough.
