Episode 3.02 The Kids Are Alright

I wrestled with the jokey tagline on the image this week. I nearly went with something about Ruby, since she’s the other Big Deal Thing happening in this episode, but I’m still stuck on the thematic similarity between Lisa and Carmen from Dean’s djinn dream in 2.20. I mean, they even look similar. Like, maybe his long-ago memories of Lisa influenced his mental process in choosing that particular El Sol ad model as his ideal partner in his dream world, you know? And then the reality of Lisa when he walks back into her life in this episode is just... not at all what he was expecting. The dream kind of shatters a little bit, but in a way that helps him come back down to earth and confront himself, rather than just trying to run from his problems (like his ticking clock and his one way ticket to Hell) and bury them under hedonistic distractions.

(also, we discuss this episode with the understanding that Lisa is not a liar, she’s not deceiving Dean about Ben’s parentage, and that Dean is 100% not Ben’s father, just in case anyone takes issue with that.)

But also, there’s Ruby, and the beginning of her arc that is so damn satisfying to watch when you already know her whole story. She is one of the things I always point to when people suggest that Supernatural is a bad show, or that it was poorly written. Her entire arc wasn’t an accident. Well... we all know how late s3 pulled the rug out from under the plot and then replaced it with angels, but for her part in the Big Scheme of Things, she was always supposed to be the little demon on Sam’s shoulder whispering the secrets to his own downfall in his ear. It just ended up having far more long-reaching consequences in the narrative than originally planned thanks to the whole Apocalypse thing happening. :D

So this is a big one all around!

Things referenced in this episode:

The Superwiki page for this episode

My tag for this episode

Casting Sides for Ben

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