Supernatural Episode 8-12 Review – “As Times Go By”

Reviews, Shows

 

Since the show returned from it’s couple of month hiatus we have seen the many different facets Supernatural often throws at us – bridge episodes (Torn and Frayed), fun ones (LARP and the real girl) and now with “As Times Go By” we run head long into the serious ones. Now that is not to say there is no fun to be had in these shows but these are the ones were the plot takes center stage and where Supernatural is it at it’s strongest – focused and with a story and an arc to tell.

As is typical in these “serious” episodes it deals heavily with the Winchester family and the predestination that makes them all Hunters even against their will. In rather mysterious fashion a man appears from a closet looking for Sam and Dean’s father John Winchester. The only thing we know about this person is he comes from 1958 and is running through time to get away from a woman taken over by a demon named Abbadon. Seemingly a new one at that. Abbadon is immune to the demon killer blade and can possess multiple people at once.

Predictably this mystery man turns out to be family, specifically John’s father which makes him the boy’s Grandfather. For those that watch the show often you probably remember that things didn’t work out so well with the other one (Mom’s side). I mean he tricked a confused Sam, betrayed them to demons and vampires all before being killed by Dean. Quite the run. This one seems to be the polar opposite changing the perception that John was the one who married down. It seems that John and all of his line are what is called Men of Letters, chroniclers of the supernatural beings, that operate in sort of a secret society where they share their information with Hunters who are effectively the hammer that crushes the evil out of the world.

We later learn that the boy’s grandfather ends up dying which leads John to thinking he was abandoned. However he kept his father’s journal and later used it when he became a Hunter himself. So in a way without knowing it he honored the legacy albeit in a perverse way. It seems that the writers are trying to draw a difference mark between the Men of Letters and Hunters which is similar in ways to the force in Star Wars. The MOL being the light side and the Hunters the dark side. Each with the same knowledge, skills and advantages but forged by different means. John’s bad childhood, war experiences and death of his wife created an angry man who become a “scum sucking brute” that hunts instead of the scholarly man he was supposed to be. However like all Winchesters, John was destined to become involved in the supernatural but it seems each gets there in their own way.

In typical fashion their grandfather wants to go back in time and prevent leaving his son which would of course effect the timeline in possibly terrifying ways. The boys and their grandfather actually do have a lot in common. Each of them has lost John and both to forces beyond their control. The debate rages whether it is more important to let fate play out or selfishly shape the world to their own ends. As often with these stories the solution is not to rock the boat but play the cards you are dealt. The Winchesters fight the demon and win but not before watching their grandfather die in their arms. Trapped in 2013 with no way to warn his son what happened. As if he simply left home one night and never returned. The way it was meant to be.

“As Times Go By” brings a lot of Supernatural’s core values back to the forefront -family, fate and faith. Much like the characters themselves these words mean different things from moment to moment, episode to episode and year to year. These subjects are also our barometer for their growth. The fate part is the fact that Sam and Dean were meant for this line of work and seemingly nothing would have changed it. God put their parents together because Campbell’s were the best hunters and the Winchester’s were Men of Letters. Brain and brawn put together. Sam and Dean both realize this and recognize that all roads were meant to lead here which is why the object to changing history when in the past they would be so keen to try and finally relent and make the right choice. These characters have learned and the writing staff has recognized this and have successfully made their every action and word based on the struggles they have gone through together and apart.

For those that were worried that the show would lag with head writer Sera Gamble gone should give “As Times Go By” a watch. These past few episodes have shown that this new staff can handle all the different Supernatural stories and keep the quality high. Sure this episode does not match the drama of the Dean and Sam Vs. Lucifer finale but for now it doesn’t need to. At least for the time being our boys are in good hands.