From MadCap's Couch - "Supernatural: Devil's Trap"

"Fooled you!"

We've finally, actually made it to the end. Well, Season 1, anyway. Either way, it's quite an achievement. Considering I started this five, almost six years ago, I really only have a real life complete with work and college to blame for it!

. . .that I've technically only done intermittently.

. . .I've said too much!

Well, now the crew of the Enterprise-D is in quite the pickle. The beam weapon that was designed to attack the Borg Cube is having no effect. As Riker orders it deactivated, Locutus tells him that all the knowledge and experience of Captain Jean-Luc Picard is now accessible to the Borg. All of their secrets and all of their capabilities are. . .

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sorry, folks. He got his hands on the wrong notes again and we know how well that goes.

"I'm not even on this damn show!"

Well, now the Winchester Brothers are in quite the pickle. They didn't succeed in killing Louis Freemont with the Colt and John has been captured by Meg and Tom. What's a pair of hunters to do? well, the answer is simple: kick it in the ass!

Our episode kicks off not with "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas as we discussed last episode, but instead with "Fight the Good Fight" by Triumph. . .which, at the risk of being blasphemous, would have been a good song for season finales going forward as Sam and Dean are doing nothing if not fighting the good fight against the monsters, demons, and the forces of darkness. 

...rather like a certain slayer of the vampires, come to think of it.

However, I do believe "Carry On Wayward Son" is ultimately the better choice, so please don't stone me to death.

After the recap of the last episode set to Triumph's ballad of awesome, we pick up right where Salvation left off. Dean hangs up and starts packing. Sam insists they have three more bullets and the Demon can come, but Dean takes the more rational approach: they don't know how many demons are out there and they need to play it smart. On the way out of town, Sam brings up the possibility that John might be dead, but Dean refuses to hear anything of it. Until they get John back, everything else is on hold.

However, they need help. Enter Jim Beaver playing the absolutely and infinitely awesome Bobby Singer. I have absolutely nothing but praise to lavish upon Jim Beaver and his portrayal. Bobby's like a Redneck Giles, he's impossible to hate!

Bobby teaches the boys about Devil's Traps and a good thing, too! Normally, he says, there's maybe three or four demonic possessions in a year. This year, there's been almost thirty. Signs point to something big going down, and the Winchesters are right in the middle of it. To illustrate the point, Meg arrives and starts throwing her weight around, demanding the Colt and claiming that she's underwhelmed by Sam and Dean. . .which makes it more hilarious when Dean reveals that she's been tricked right into a Devil's Trap.

Roll credits!

. . .no, really, the title card appears after the "Gotcha!". It's a very effective moment.

The boys manage to get Meg tied to a chair. Dean questions Meg about the whereabouts of their father, but she mocks him and lies about killing John. Bobby does bring up that Meg is actually a human possessed by a demon. . .they have to take pains to not actually hurt her. This, however, gives Dean an idea. . .an exorcism, with Sam breaking out the Latin. Meg tries to psych them out a few times, but it's to no avail. Dean tells her she'd better hope John isn't dead, or he's going to find a way to kill every last demon.

. . .which is kind of funny in the context of the later Seasons, but more on that later.

Jim Beaver: 1000% concentrated awesome

Eventually, Meg reveals that John is actually alive - mentioning a building in Jefferson City, Missouri. She doesn't have an address or has any idea where the Demon is, which doesn't do enough for Dean and he tells Sam to finish the exorcism in spite of Bobby warning that Meg's body is in such a state that exorcising the demon will kill her.

Meg, the real Meg, thanks them for saving her with some of her final breaths. Despite Bobby calling 911 and going to get blankets, it's clear that Meg isn't long for this world. She was awake for most of it, traumatized by the things that she was forced to do by the demon inside of her. She's able to give them a clue "Sunrise", before she dies. Bobby gives the boys the book on Exorcisms and tells them to go get their dad...and to bring him around this time. He won't even try to shoot him!

Soul of generosity, that Bobby Singer!

After getting to Jefferson City, the boys have a short scene together where they prepare for battle. Sam draws Devil's Traps on the Impala's trunk so they can hide the Colt. When Dean gets onto him for being so reckless in killing the Demon, Sam retorts that this was something Dean's wanted as well and John wouldn't want them to get their hands on the Colt.

Dean says Sam's more like John than he realized...and that he's selfish. Again, kind of funny in the context of later Seasons.

Dean relents and they go without the Colt. They find a place called Sunrise Apartments and figure that that must be the meaning behind Meg's clue. With all the civilians around, any of them potentially being possessed by demons, the boys decide to pull a high school prank: namely, pulling the fire alarm. However, they'll only have seven minutes before the emergency services respond, meaning they'll have to find John quickly. If he's even there at all.

Sam gets in and pulls the alarm without a hitch. A couple that had been eating dinner goes into their bedroom and we see John strapped to the bed. Outside, the fire fighters make record time getting onscene, so Dean distracts them with a sob story about his Yorkie who pees when he's nervous so Sam can get them suits. They get in, spray the demon couple with holy water hoses, and then lock them in a closet that they then line with salt. Getting into the bedroom, they find John and Dean moves to get him out. Sam suggests that he might be possessed. . .and holy water does nothing to him. He's clean...seemingly.

They get John out, though two demons attempt to stop them, and are attacked by Tom. Tom lays a few powerful punches on Sam before Dean puts a bullet through his head from the Colt, killing him. There's even a moment as they pause over the body, as if acknowledging that Tom was once a person, too, before they leave in a hurry. 

That night, they come to a safehouse and salt the doors and windows. John will be okay with a little rest. Sam thanks Dean for saving him, and even has to admit that Dean was right about bringing the Colt along. Dean gives a nod to Tom having been a person, but Sam tries to assuage him by saying that it was either them or him. Dean, though, is a bit horrified at how quickly he was willing to kill the man (demon or not) to save Sam and John. 

Oh, and now, they're down to two bullets.

"For dry, Yellow Eyes. . ."

John comes in, asking for the Colt. Dean is surprised that he isn't getting onto him for using one of the bullets, even if it was to save Sam. John gives a short speech about how Dean's loyalty to the family has made him proud. . .which doesn't sit quite right with Dean. The lights start to flicker, John tells Sam to check all the salt lines again and tells Dean to hand him the Colt...and Dean refuses, because he's come to the realization that it wasn't their father they saved, punctuating the moment by pointing the Colt at him.

Sam comes in to see the stand off, and despite Not!John's attempt to sway him, Sam sides with Dean. Not!John smirks at Dean's hesitation, showing a pair of Yellow Eyes before throwing both the boys into the walls with telekinesis. Given that there's only one episode left before we actually see Fredric Lehne on the show. . .I'm still gonna keep using the names of his roles in various TV and movies, because I am nothing if not the beater of all dead horses everywhere.

With Sam and Dean at his mercy, Colonel Blackwell taunts them both. Holy water doesn't work on him, and he mocks Sam and Dean's desire to kill him, telling Sam to make the Colt "float to you, psychic boy!". The way he sees it, what he's doing is justice. Meg and Tom? They were his children, his family. So, now, the Demon is going to take it out on them. Sam demands to know why the Demon killed Mary and Jess. The Demon tells him (and Dean) that he knew that Sam was shopping for engagement rings for Jess, and - like Mary - she was in the way: the way of his plan with Sam and all the other psychic children like him.

Not just Sam and Max and Rosie, there are apparently others all around.

The Demon taunts Dean about how Sam is clearly John's favorite, but Dean coolly retorts about having offed both Meg and Tom. The Demon retorts by inflicting pain on Dean, while Dean begs his father to not let the Demon kill him. When it seems like Dean is about to die, John manages to win through and Sam and Dean are released. Sam gets the Colt and shoots John in the leg rather than going for a kill shot...and Sam goes to Dean, who is laying out dying from the wounds inflicted on him.

John, who should be dead along with the Demon, demands that Sam shoot him in the heart with the last bullet. He can't hold on and the Demon is trying to take over again, begging Sam to end it. Dean protests, weakly. In the end, Sam can't do it and the Demon leaves John's body and escapes. 

The three head off in the Impala to get medical treatment, Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" playing. John berates Sam for not killing him, but Sam insists that he couldn't have done it - there are some things that killing the Demon doesn't come before, including his family. While he tries to insist they can still pull out a win, the Impala is t-boned by an 18-wheeler, driven by a possessed man.

When Sam and Dean woke up, they vowed to never go on vacation again.

Our final shot of Season 1 is the three Winchesters, all rendered unconscious by the crash, and very possibly on the brink of death.

...no, no, not Death. There's a few seasons yet before he shows up.

And so, we come to the end of Season 1 with Devil's Trap. I gotta say, it's a pretty good one! No, it doesn't have the punch that we'll see later finales have (though it admittedly has more punch than some others had). There isn't the defeat of a Big Bad or some big revelation about the characters we've come to know and love or even a big status quo change. However, we do get some good moments of pay off from earlier events. This includes the revelation that Sam was going to ask Jessica to marry him, the fact that Sam and Max are among many psychic kids that the Demon has a plan of some kind for, and the lengths to which the Winchesters are willing to go to save one another. Even unto total stupidity.

We also get the introduction of Bobby, and there's no way you can hate Bobby. Jim Beaver is an absolute talent and I'm glad they decided to keep him on instead of having him be only in this one episode as was originally intended. Bobby becomes such an important character later on in the show that it would have been a waste to do anything else.

Perhaps, even they could have given him top billing!

But nah, clearly Misha Collins was prettier.

More on that much later. . .

But yes, Devil's Trap is good. I could question a few things about it that don't make sense all things considered, but those are all very minor complaints in the end. It was a hell of a finish to Season 1 and a great spot for Season 2 to start as we'll soon see. We'll also see reapers, more ghosts, vampires, evil clowns that eat people, and more!

I'll be taking a couple of weeks off. When we return, we'll step back into the world of our favorite Time Lord and see the end of the Russell T. Davies era of Doctor Who. From Partners in Crime to The End of Time, Part 2, it's gonna be a long run...see you there!

Supernatural belongs to Warner Brothers and the CW.

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