S02.E21: All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One

[DittyDotDot]

The Yellow-Eyed Demon gathers all the children with special powers together.

 

 

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So, the psychic kids storyline comes to a head and I don't really care. Sorry, that's how I remember this episode. I never had much interest in those psychic kids, even though I liked both Eva and Andy. I'm usually less interested in these long drawn out plots of "OMG what is wrong with these people and how will it all turn out". I'll tell you how it will turn out, the lead will overcome his ability and either purge himself of it or learn to control it. Okay, I'm getting off on a tangent...sorry, my brain sometimes has a mind of it's own (hee!).

 

Anyhooo, overall I think this episode feels rather lazy to me. How are we going to have Dean learn where Sam is...oh yeah, we'll just give Andy a new ability and have him send a message to Dean and of course Bobby would know where Sam was based on some random bell. And, the demon won't let us leave until of course they get down to the final two and then leaving is suddenly an option because they can't have a big ole fight inside that little room...seriously? Oh, and while we're on the fight stuff...I thought the special kids powers didn't work on the other special kids, so why did Jake's super strength work on Sam? There's other examples, but I'm not going to harp on it, I think you guys get my meaning.

 

Let's move on to better things...THEY TORCHED THAT STUPID FUCKING ROADHOUSE!!!  And they killed Ash--although, I have grown more fond of Ash as the seasons have worn on, so no yelling of excitement for that. Andy was very amusing; Ava's turn was really unexpected and well played by the actress; and I really like Jake even though they made him a bit nonsensical in his deciding to do Yellow Eyes' bidding (but more on that with the next episode). I also love the opening scene and Dean's wanting pie; that little tiny diner they built was a bit of a treat for my eyes; and the ending scene where Dean hangs onto a stabbed Sammy is really the only reason I ever watch this episode. It's really one of the most iconic images for me when I think of this show. Also, something I noticed when watching this time, this episode begins and ends with Dean yelling for Sam. How is it I never noticed that bookend before?

[SueB]

I'm FINALLY getting to the Blu-Ray extras for S2 (literally just yesterday).  Here's what I found out -- 2.22 (which is actually EP 21 & 22) started off as about 6 hrs of impossible-to-do-on-a-TV budget finale. It's pretty clear that Kim Manners, Bob Singer, and the rest of the production crew had to really rein in Kripke to get it done.  And they did so VERY close to filming.  From the episode commentary, they pulled off the Special Children Hunger Games in the direction Kripke wanted but the finale loped off whole chunks. 

 

At first I really didn't know WHY the Roadhouse had to go.  I loved it. But maybe they were violating (in their minds) the whole point of killing off John in the first place.  They wanted "Obi Wan" dead so the boys would be more alone and in greater danger.  The Roadhouse AND Bobby just gave them too much backup.  With Ash being so freaking smart, taking him out (as well as a bunch of hunters) is like taking out the high value military targets in a country you are trying to take over.  It's your first step in war.  And Azazel was setting up for war.  I'd probably put the Roadhouse ABOVE Bobby's as "targets" go but Azazel could have also had something "special" planned for Bobby. 

The failure here -- IMO -- is not having Bobby make that point to Dean when they went to the Roadhouse.  It was an opening move and Bobby should have seen it.    Since most of the viewers are not military strategists, I'm thinking the script should have had this point made clear by one of the characters.

 

ETA: I rewatched the key scene, they focused on them taking out Ash.  That's a fair rationale but I think the military target value is why the whole place was torched, not just Ash. 

 

I also forgot how much I appreciated Jake.  Aldis Hodge did an EXCELLENT job.  And making him a military soldier was a really good call.  It makes him such a viable alternative to Sam (along with the strength) in terms of basic personality to lead a war.  Sam has the supernatural fighter upbringing, Jake knew war. 

Edited August 10, 2014 by SueB

[DittyDotDot]

Oh, I don't think it needed more explanation...Ash said he found something big, the demons wouldn't have wanted that found out, so they torched it. Seems pretty obvious to me, but then I was so excited to see it gone that maybe I made it seem more obvious than it really was.

 

I hated the roadhouse for the same reason that I dislike the Lair of Letters...it just doesn't feel like it fits into the premise of the show. Throughout S1, it was fairly obvious that the hunter community was not an organized one, but suddenly there's this roadhouse where they're all sitting around cleaning their guns and I'm sitting here wondering how and experienced hunter like Dean had never heard tell of this place before. I understood why John never went back, but that Dean had never ran into another hunter that mentioned the place seemed weird to me. Plus, it gave them a home base, which I signed up for a road show, and thought it was a bit convoluted that they could just pop into the roadhouse no matter where they were at. Mostly though, it made it like most other shows out there--heroes with a lair, which was less interesting to me than them always on the move.

 

ETA: I was aware of their filming problems with this episode, but chose to save those comments for the next one because that's where most of Kripke's overreaching issues were. This one was more of a weather problem. There were torrential downfalls happening in and around Vancouver at the time they were filming this episode. They had a different location in mind, but something didn't work out and someone suggested this western town set that was built for some show, but it got canned. They loved the location, but it was kind of remote and getting to it was difficult because of flooding. On the commentary on the DVDs Sera Gamble (writer of the episode), Bob Singer (director of the episode) and Kripke talk about how Kripke kept getting reports on how they were going to get everyone in...one idea was that they fly them in by helicopter. Apparently they got them in finally, but then didn't know how they were going to get them out in time for Jared to be shooting the next episode. These kinds of things always fascinate me. I love to hear how a crew solves problems and makes things work, makes me feel better about my own job. ;)

 

There was also some funny commentary on the weather in Vancouver...Kripke or Singer said something about the script saying it was supposed to be clear and silent at that diner and then in parenthesis Gamble put "or pouring down rain...or whatever." Apparently, she had been in Vancouver while they were filming Route 666 a year earlier when it started snowing and everyone was punting. Again, these things fascinate me more than they probably have a right to.

Edited August 10, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[AwesomO4000]

I'm probably one of the few people that really likes this episode, and probably more than the second one (but maybe not for the usual reasons).

 

One of my main reasons for liking it so much: I like the look inside Sam's head here. I liked the interplay between Sam and Jake. I liked Jake's observation of what Sam was doing - trying to keep it together and make sure that everyone else thought there was hope. At the same time that Sam was doing his best to help lead everyone else, and was succeeding, it was also obvious that he wished Dean was there and that he missed Dean and what Dean's input would be terribly. It showed that sometimes like a little brother, no matter how much huffing and puffing and "let me do it myself, Dean," Sam puts up, sometimes when push comes to shove, Sam likes Dean being there for him. And the episode did all of that subtly in my opinion, without beating us over the head with it. So I loved that. We don't as often get episodes where we get this insight into Sam or that kind of focus on his character, and so I often enjoy it when we do.

 

Of course the ending scene was heart-breaking. Sam was so happy to see Dean only to come up short... and it was interesting that what might normally be a strength in a character - this time Sam's compassion and sense of fairness - again bit him in the ass, just like it did in the season 1 finale. This show is cruel that way.

 

I may have more later, but ran out of time for now.

[DittyDotDot]

Oh, thank you @AwesomO4000, I forgot to mention that scene between Jake and Sam being on that I really liked. I really liked how Sam said that Dean was always telling him that things were going to be okay and he wasn't sure he believed it this time. It was a nice counterbalance to Dean always being the one putting up the brave front and now Sam was doing it and I think he got to see how it felt for Dean to be carrying all that weight and responsibility all the time. As a little sister, I really appreciated this moment and it made me appreciate my oldest sister a bit more.

 

It's not that I hate the episode at all, just that I find it lacking for what it wants to be. But without this episode the series wouldn't feel complete, so...

Edited August 10, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[GirlyGeek]

I'll admit that when I usually re watch this episode, I skip around a lot and just hit the Dean parts and the end. So this time I watched it all, and am glad I did. Especially in retrospect from where the series is now, I noticed more than usual.

Sam being in trouble and wishing his big brother was there... A great thing to see vs what comes in later seasons. I also never really appreciated the scene with Jake quite as much as I do as of this viewing.

I always liked the psychic kid storyline, not ashamed to admit it. :) so I was very surprised the first time when Ava was revealed to have flipped. I think had we had a little more time with Jake as a character, his flip would have felt more organic, but it was a little 'huh? He's really falling for that...?' for me.

The end is a heartbreaker for me. When I first watched this show,I had binge watched Season 1 and 2 to this point and I reached the end of this episode and was completely shocked by Sam's death. Emotionally drained by Deans reaction and Jensens fantastic end scene. The long-crane shot was beautiful.

Ugh the whole thing, to this day and everytime I watch it, just rips me up.

I'll save more comments for the finale thread

[sarthaz]

I know they had a lot of production problems for this episode, but what's the excuse for Aldis Hodge's terrible performance as Jake?

[Hanahope]

Aldis!! And the here it is, there it goes, now it's back western town from Westworld (I recognized the church). 

More to add later when I finish.

[Katy M]

This is my all-time favorite episode of any show ever.  I love pretty much every minute of it.  From Dean freaking out about Sam suddenly missing, and I think when he first walks in the diner he wonders if SAm did all that, but I've never been quite sure.  I love Andy. Who doesn't love Andy?  Did not see the Ava twist coming.  I liked her in Hunted also.  And it really made you see how Sam could possibly become evil since Ava was so likeable before.  Loved the scene with Jake and Sam talking. The dream with Yellow Eyes explaining his plans and Sam's pure horror at the whole idea.  And, the best scene ever is Sam's death.  Jensen was so  heartbreaking in that episode.  And that final SAM yell.

[bettername2come]

Fredric Lehne is wonderful. That scenery must be delicious. Ah, the original reveal. Mary knew Azazel. Sam has demon blood. The completely inappropriate conversation about "she walked in on us." I hate Ava going evil. And Andy's death! And Ash's! Man, you do not want an A name on this series.

The king of all death scenes."It's not even that bad." With Sam's head lolling as he either is too far gone to hear it or even he knows that Dean's lying. It's so pretty and tragic and the thunder roll at the end.

On 2/7/2017 at 7:00 PM, Hanahope said:

Aldis!! And the here it is, there it goes, now it's back western town from Westworld (I recognized the church). 

Hey did they use this set in "Frontierland" and in Legends of Tomorrow? And possibly Psych? 

[DittyDotDot]

41 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

Hey did they use this set in "Frontierland" and in Legends of Tomorrow? And possibly Psych? 

I'm not a 100 percent, but for some reason I have it in my head the set was built for a some western show that was cancelled and was set to be torn down shortly after they used it. It could be that I'm confusing this show with Psych, though. 

I'm pretty sure Westworld was shot in California, though.

[Iju]

On 29/05/2017 at 10:27 PM, bettername2come said:

Fredric Lehne is wonderful. That scenery must be delicious. Ah, the original reveal. Mary knew Azazel. Sam has demon blood. The completely inappropriate conversation about "she walked in on us." I hate Ava going evil. And Andy's death! And Ash's! Man, you do not want an A name on this series.

 

yeah, that was disgusting, that line. and he said it so casually.

------

yeah so sam is dead. wow. even if he was to die, it was horrible how it happened. dean yells for sam, sam eagerly looking over, sam and dean spotting each other: dean grins: "Sam!", sam lets out a small laugh, "Dean!" then he gets stabbed?!? that just sucks man....;_; me and my sister screamed when sam was stabbed. i almost cried at dean's denial, "Nonononono...", him grasping his face and telling him, begging him to stay. my back got the shivers when sam's eyes rolled back.

andy dying as well was just, well, RUDE. he's such a likable character, plus i thought he would help the brothers out at least once with their monster hunting. i'm glad ava got killed as quickly as she did, i was NOT going to have another goose chase with an annoying character. 

about bobby knowing where sam was...i thought it was too good to be true at first, but he knows a lot about demon and haunted locations, and how many abandoned haunted towns with tree engraved bells exist in the US? so that was alright for me.

anyway, this episode emotionally exhausted me, my sister and my mother (my sister was hugging me at the end), so we're skipping the next episode today lmao. we'll look at it tomorrow!

[ahrtee]

On 5/29/2017 at 9:17 PM, DittyDotDot said:

I'm not a 100 percent, but for some reason I have it in my head the set was built for a some western show that was cancelled and was set to be torn down shortly after they used it. It could be that I'm confusing this show with Psych, though. 

It was built for a tv series in the late 1980s (IMDb has it 1989-1991) called Bordertown, about a town in the 1880s that straddled the Canadian border, and so had both a US Marshall and a Canadian Mountie working together to police the town (think of a old western version of Due South, if anyone remembers that show!)  I used to watch it--it wasn't bad.  They built the whole town and, rather than destroy it when the show ended, it was used multiple times for various movies and shows.  

Sorry I'm so late with this answer, but I don't often read the past season threads :)

[The Companion]

Ok, so I figured out the demon was making the psychic kids, talked myself out of it and then settled back into it. I also figured Ava was evil but was assuming demon possession because of the memory loss. You would think after Sam that a hole in memory would trigger distrust. I was, however, excited by the twist that their mother knew the demon. 

I really enjoyed this episode. First of all, HARDISON FROM LEVERAGE. EEEEEE. I liked him as Jake. Honestly, I liked all the psychic kids. The ending was, of course, heartbreaking. 

I loved the western town and the mystery of it. I loved Sam wishing Dean was there. I thought it was interesting how different the powers were. Killing with touch and visions are pretty different