From TV Guide (Really sums up this great Episode):
In My Time of Dying:
I’m just so glad this show is back on the air. This second season premiere gave us so much goodness, some questions and lots of sadness, specifically when John seemingly sacrificed himself for his son. Let’s just take this one step at a time, however.
The recap: This time it was set to Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold” — this is a song I admittedly don’t know much about, but the title and some of the lyrics say it all. It feels like an appropriate song to kick things off even though I still think Kansas’ “Carry on My Wayward Son” set the standard for these classic-rock recaps.
The crash aftermath: I’m not sure why the demon inside the trucker just took off after Sam threatened to kill it with the Colt. Self-preservation, maybe? From the looks of the crash, it seemed like John would have been even more beat up, huh? But then we wouldn’t have gotten the face down with the demon if that had happened. Also, not sure how much time spanned from the accident to Dean realizing he was in a coma. Does anyone have any guesses?
The new title page: Loved the fiery Supernatural title page. Very appropriate to the meaning of the show and the tone of the show. Love it.
Spirit Dean: Whereas in “Faith” it seemed that Dean readily accepted his impending death, it definitely seemed like he wasn’t wanting anything to do with death in this episode. I liked the idea of the reaper taking a human form (Tessa) in order to help Dean come to terms with what was supposed to happen. I like a Dean who fights to live even better.
The Brothers: The connection between Sam and Dean is just so great, isn’t it? Even when Dean’s spirit is roaming the hospital, that doesn’t stop these two from communicating and finishing each other’s sentences. Must have something to do with Sammy’s extrasensory abilities. Jared and Jensen’s chemistry is still going strong — especially in that Ouija-board scene.
The Impala: Sam letting Bobby know that the Impala needs to get fixed no matter what just felt so right. We need that car back. Sooner rather than later.
Sam and John: These two continued to fight the entire hour to the point where spirit Dean even tried to act as mediator. But when Sam couldn’t figure out what to do, he knew his dad would know what to do. That’s family.
The demon vs John: The guy who played the face of the demon was scary. Nothing against the actor, but he did evil really well. Here’s where the questions enter the equation: Why did the demon say that Sam isn’t much of a threat to him? What is this truth about Sammy and the other children? I hope we find out by the end of this season.
Tessa and Dean: The reaper asked Dean to make a choice. Stick around and end up becoming an angry spirit, or accept his death. Part of me wishes the demon didn’t save Dean until we found out his choice. That was Lindsey McKeon playing Tessa. Saturday-morning TV fans know her from Saved by the Bell: The New Class, daytime-soap fans know her from her days as “Marah Lewis” on CBS’ Guiding Light, and WB/CW fans know her as Haley’s sis on One Tree Hill.
John and Dean: Last season, I felt like we never got any quality time between John and Dean. This episode basically took care of all that in two especially poignant scenes:
1) Dean’s still a spirit and he comes upon John sitting by his bed. Dean’s asking his dad to help him instead of just sitting around doing nothing.
“I’ve done everything you ever asked me. Everything. I’ve given everything I’ve ever had. And you’re just going to sit there and watch me die? What the hell kind of father are you?”
Of course John couldn’t hear Dean at the time, but Dean’s just saying that was big. We’ve never heard him question his dad like that before. Little did he know what his dad was planning.
2) John knew what was going to happen and he asked Sammy to leave him and Dean alone. The resulting conversation was so satisfying — it was better than the flashbacks we got in “Something Wicked.” It was better than Dean starting to talk back to John in “Dead Man’s Blood” and “Salvation.” We knew that Dean had to give up a lot of his childhood to the hunt and to taking care of Sam, but it had never been stated so definitively before.
“I put too much on your shoulders, I made you grow up too fast. You took care of Sammy, you took care of me. You did that and you didn’t complain – not once.”
What did John whisper to Dean? I’m so curious.
More Big Daddy Winchester: John explaining his behavior after he was resigned to his fate was also really powerful. He admitted he made mistakes, that half the time he doesn’t even know what he and Sam fight about. Then, of course, there was that monologue of love to Dean. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was simply excellent. But unlike Denny on Grey’s Anatomy, my guess is we’ll be seeing Big Daddy Winchester again in the future. That’s the beauty of a show about the supernatural. Anything can happen.
Favorite lines from “In My Time of Dying”:
1) “You’re the psychic. Give me some ghost-whisperin’ or something.”
2) “Dean’s going to be pissed.”
3) “If there’s only one working part, that’s enough.”
4) “You see me messing with crystals or listening to Yanni?”
5) “Dude, I full on Swayze’d that mother.”
6) “I just want you to know that I’m proud of you.” “Is this really you talking?” “Yeah, it’s really me.”