3x4 "Sin City" Review

Part one: Summary

When the boys catch wind of omens in Ohio, they head to small factory town that had fallen into corruption just around the same time as the devil’s gate was opened. When a fellow hunter friend of Dean’s goes missing for too long during the case, he follows the trail of clues to the bartender, Casey’s, house. After a flurry of events, both Dean and Casey—now sporting black peepers— are trapped in the basement and are forced to wait for their respective saviors while they have a heart to heart. Sam arrives unknowingly with Casey’s demon counterpart but the subsequent tussle is resolved by Bobby ex machina and the now fully loaded colt.

Part two: Review

In terms of writing, I’d say the story was an efficient use of time, character and setting. We begin at a church where there seems to be ominous works at play. The suspense leads to a false scare that introduces the Priest who then discovers a perish member up in the choir seats. The shaken man says, “Father, God’s not with is, not anymore.” before shooting himself and leading to the title card.

While in this episode in particular, this comment seems like a natural introduction of “Sin City,” I found its allusion towards the position of God in this universe clever in retrospection. On the first viewing of this show, you have no idea that Supernatural would become so heavily imbued with biblical mythos but later on when Casey reveals her faith in Lucifer, the higher power to the demons, the earlier comment about God’s absence begins to have a different meaning.

On the topic of Casey, she’s an excellent character who not only provides insight on the demons’ side of the war, but acts as a nice foil for Dean and isn't flat on top of everything. When her human cover is blown and Dean tricks her with a Devil’s Trap, he and the audience are surprised to discover that she's a lot more that what she seems. I particularly liked when she caused the cave in and laughs, prompting Dean to say, “What are you laughing about? You’re still trapped, Bitch.” only for her to reply, “So are you… Bitch.” causing Dean’s confidence to falter. This is further emphasized by Dean’s inability to recite the exorcism spell with out a cheat sheet all the while being mocked by Casey.

Their initial back and forth relays certain new information like the fact that the Winchesters are a household name in hell and that Casey barely lifted a finger to corrupt  Elizabethville. All she did was have lunch with an important man and point out the money to be made with trifle vices, bringing back the theme of corrupt humans in Supernatural.

The more they talk, though, the more Casey is revealed as a complex character. In a moment of vulnerability, Dean asks what hell is like and Casey doesn’t mock him but rather sincerely pities him and lets Dean know what’s in store downstairs. She also tells him that while many laugh at his deal at the crossroads, she doesn’t think his choice was a poor one. Casey then explains that Azazel—formerly known as yellow-eyes— had a plan to make Sam the leader of the demon army and when that fell apart, so too did the order amongst the demons.

When their respective saviors arrive to smite the enemy, Casey begs the priest not to kill Dean and Dean yells at Sam to wait before Casey takes a bullet, revealing that they both changed in their time in the basement. While I understand why her death worked in the plot, I mourn for the dynamic character Casey was shaped into and commend the writers for creating such a character for one episode (and expect more of their one-off characters to be crafted just as well).

As for the directing, I found the use of angles to add a finesse to the atmosphere of the setting. There were a few dutch angles that added to the crookedness of the town, especially in shot of the church, letting the viewer feel like something is amiss in a place that should be holy. The mirror ceiling in the motel was tastefully used in a couple of scenes, perhaps alluding to the foils we see for both Sam and Ruby, and Dean and Casey. Regardless, Dean found the mirror amusing either way.

Finally, for this episode’s attribution to the season and series as a whole, it strengthened the familial relationship between Bobby and the boys, adding jests and protectiveness to Bobby’s character. I found the scene where Dean pokes fun at Bobby’s slow process of figuring out how the Colt ticks endearing; especially when Bobby replies that the gun “won’t kill demons, but it can kill you.” when Dean asks if it will be done by the end of the day. Also, the boys and the audience are becoming more convinced of Ruby’s pure intentions but not without a tinge of discomfort. It doesn’t hurt, though, that she helps Bobby make the Colt useful again.

P.S. Sammy’s scene in Trotter’s office when he figures out that he isn't, in fact, a demon was adorable. He just awkwardly takes the bullets out of Trotter’s gun and sets it down before leaving with a “Have a nice day.” Oh, Sammy.