"Alex Annie Alexis Ann" Supernatural Season 9 Episode 19

My Synopsis

The nineteenth episode of the ninth season of Supernatural is called “Alex Annie Alexis Ann”.  In this episode the Winchesters arrive to help Jody who discovers a vampire trying to kill a young girl named Alex.  As it turns out the Alex’s name is revealed to be Annie and they discover that she was kidnapped by a vampire family as a child and raised to help them feed on unsuspecting men.  Alex is trying to escape her family because she can no longer bear the pain of luring men to their death.  Alex is recaptured by her vampire family but Jody, Sam, and Dean rescue her.

My Review

This episode of Supernatural, “Alex Annie Alexis Ann”, is presented very differently than other Supernatural episodes.  This is done through the dialogue and camera angles set but is also embedded in the plot of the episode.

When Sam and Dean first arrived at the station and were interrogating Alex she calls their bluff on being FBI agents.  I believe this is very important to include because thought Alex states that they are hunters.  Sam and Dean have begun to deviate from hunting and move into an investigative territory.  Perhaps this goes back to the dilemma Dean faces of hunting not being black and white anymore.  When he is able to kill one of the vampires Sam comments that Dean seemed like he was enjoying it.  Dean even shamelessly admits that he enjoys killing things in the black and white sense.  Dean doesn’t like how they have to ask questions then shoot.  I believe this is almost a self- commentary on the changing dynamic of the show. 

I see Sam and Dean as not as hunters of supernatural beings but more of detectives who solve supernatural mysteries.  For instance when Sam and Dean Find a case it sounds like a supernatural occurrence, so they must investigate by going undercover.  Hunters tend to go out and just kill things.  Being a hunter sounds more black and white than it actually turns out to be.    

The plotline of the episode also struck a chord in me.  This chord being that the “bad guy” is the matriarch (Celia).  Usually in Supernatural motherhood is seen as a pure entity.  Sam and Dean’s mother, Mary, is seen as purity personified.  She gave her life to save her son, she died in a white gown, and she is spoken of very highly.  The way Dean looks after Sam is motherly.  Jody, seen as the tragic mother figure who jokes with Sam and Dean and Ellen who was very loving and protective of her daughter.  It is very rare to see a mother figure being the antagonist (perhaps my memory is fuzzy but I believe there’s only been Celia, Eve, and Rowena in the past 11 years).

I did enjoy the parallels between Jody and Celia.  They are both mothers who have experienced loss.  I find both of their coping methods particularly interesting.  Celia who lost the original Alex before she kidnapped Alex years ago still couldn’t deal with her human emotion of grief.  Celia clung to Alex and kept her human for this reason.  Jody on the other hand has managed her grief in a more healthy way than Celia.  I’d like to think that is partly due to her being human.  Supernatural has set up much of the monsters Sam and Dean face as having little to no compassionate emotions.  Maybe with Celia being a vampire she cannot handle or control her emotions as well which is why she clung to Alex.  Alex ends up getting three of Celia’s “sons” killed and yet she doesn’t see the need to let Alex go.  Celia is so blinded by her grief that she doesn’t care about the repercussions, she just wants Alex back.

Overall I really enjoyed this episode.  I believe it does interesting things.  Sam and Dean follow more of a detective dynamic because as the series progresses things are no longer was black and white as our favorite mantra: “Saving people, hunting things, the family business”.  I also found it interesting on how the monster was a mother when motherhood and mother figures seem to be almost sacred in Supernatural.