SupernaturalCW, Thursday, 9PM
“Metamorphosis”
Written by Cathryn Humphris
Directed by Kim Manners
Warning: this review contains some spoilers. If you’d rather not know what the story is going to include, bookmark this page and read it after viewing.
One of the best features of Supernatural is the clever storytelling that has come with each episode so far this season. The writers aren’t just tackling the business of demon hunting, they’re also addressing big picture theological questions such as “Does God exist?” and “At what point does a man turn into a monster?” The answers to these questions are closely intertwined with this season’s plot. The second question has growing relevance as Sam slips further and further into the power that separates him from Dean.
Following a lead from the angel Castiel, Dean finds Sam demon hunting with Ruby. Through a window, Dean watches his brother pull a demon out of a possessed man who is tied to a chair. Angry, Dean bursts into the room and confronts Sam about hiding Ruby and using his psychic powers. The confrontation isn’t as big as it could have been, but it doesn’t feel underplayed. Instead, it shows the strength of the bond between the brothers, which turns a potentially dangerous fight into a brooding, emotional conversation filled with grumbling and dark looks.
The fight gives Sam and Dean an opportunity to clear the air and deal with the secrets that have pulled them in different directions. Dean feels lied to and betrayed while Sam feels like he can’t be honest with his brother. Their conversation touches on powerful truths and emotions as Sam explains what it’s like to live with demon blood inside of him. However, by using the power the demon gave him, Sam begins to blur the lines between demon and human. Worse, it’s turning Sam into the kind of person that a hunter would hunt, a person that Dean would hunt. This truth serves as the engine for parallel plot lines within “Metamorphosis” and sets up the first major turning point in the season.
With an uneasy truce between them, Sam and Dean help a fellow hunter named Travis to find a man who will turn into a human eating monster. Travis and Dean want to kill the man before he has the chance to change and hurt anyone, but Sam (who has to believe it’s possible to win against the evil urge inside of him) wants to wait and give Jack a chance to choose his destiny—man or monster.
“You got this dark pit inside you,” Sam says. “I know. Believe me, I know, but that doesn’t mean you have to fall into it. You don’t have to be a monster.”
“Have you seen me lately?” Jack says as he leans down next to Dean’s unconscious body.
“It doesn’t matter what you are. It only matters what you do. It’s your choice,” Sam says.
Sam’s warning came too late. Jack had already turned into the monster while defending his wife from Travis. If Travis had not threatened to kill Jack’s wife and unborn child, perhaps he could have fought back the monster out of love for his family. After all, Jack had already proved that he could fight the urge to kill. Maybe Sam is right and there is a way to choose not to be a monster, but Jack wasn’t given that choice.
As a result of his experiences with Jack, Sam recognizes the slippery slope he is treading with Ruby by learning how to use his powers. Can Sam control his destiny? Given that the angel Castiel warned Dean to stop Sam, his destiny isn’t set. Sam can still choose to stop using his powers before the choice is made for him—just like the choice was made for Jack. Sam makes it clear that the choice is his and his alone. When choosing to stop using his power, Sam makes the choice for himself—not for the angels, for God, or even for Dean.
But how easy will it be to turn off his powers? If put into a life and death situation, what will Sam choose next time? Can his training be unlearned? Whatever the answer may be, Sam is sure to find that his decision is not as cut and dried as he may hope. It’s not a single decision that will save him, but a series of consecutive decisions that will present themselves with each new episode. At some point, Dean will be faced with his own decision about whether or not Sam has gone too far.
The final confrontation between brothers, between good and evil, between man and monster, is coming—but it won’t be an easy road ahead for either Sam or Dean.