Probably the best episode ever!
10
"Perfect"
First of all, I will review this two-part episode like a whole, because it's almost impossible for me to coherently divide one part from the other. Moreover, reviewing it after seeing "Lucifer Rising" (4x22), I can't help but take in consideration the whole picture.
The first thing that pops into my mind about "All Hell Breaks Loose" is that I absolutely adore the Cold Oak set. The fictional haunted town in South Dakota is ghastly and ominous, and Serge Ladouceur's cinematography enhanced the grim, sepulchral look of the town in a way that always send multiple shivers down my spine. It is the best set I've ever seen and the atmosphere was so unearthly and gaunt that every time I watch the episode I feel the urge to grab a blanket. The second thing is that I love the idea of railway-made devil's trap: it's so American, so realistic, so dusty and vivid, do authentically western that I really have to applaud Eric Kripke's imagination. When the Hell's Gate burst open and the legion of demons storms out of it toward the black sky, highlighting with red and flames the railways and exploding the five churches... I was literally shacking with anticipation and emotion. It is such a powerful scene, so apocalyptic and sinister, so suggesting! Kim Manners was really a genius, one of the most talented directors I've ever encountered. And he will be most dearly miss.
Other two scenes surface: when Sam is stabbed by Jake and Dean runs toward him, to save him, and when Dean - looking over Sam's dead body - told him he can't let him down, he can't let him die. Jensen Ackles' performance, which is always solid and great, was so perfect, so damn touching that I can't help but cry every single time I watch Season Two finale. Not only I can relate to that feeling of necessity that Dean has for Sam, and we all feel toward who we love the most, but also the sense of urgency, of bitter delusion, of frustration, of anger. Kudos to Jensen for delivering such a deep performance. It really set this episode apart.
And now, I'm at the moment where I have to tell what sets "Supernatural" apart from any other show I've seen: "The X-Files" had an overarching mythology, which was rich for sure, but not very well developed, and so did many other shows, like "Buffy" or even "Lost". But it was from the golden age of "Twin Peaks" that I didn't found a mythology both rich and simple, enthralling and fascinating, labyrinthine and linear at the same time, like every mythology should be - simple enough to ease you through its meanders, but complex and rich enough to awe you. "Supernatural" has it and, having already watched "Lucifer Rising", the Fourth Season's Finale, I'm even more mesmerized by the care that Eric Kripke and his writers put in weaving such mythology: everything clicks just perfectly, and when the Yellow Eyed Demon's masterplan is finally revealed - the opening of the Hell's Gate, the deal with John and with Dean, the raising of the Special Children - all the pieces fall together and the bigger picture is amazing and spell-binding. There are still unanswered questions, but the mythology of "Supernatural" is so solid and strong, so powerful and sumptuous that I have no problem waiting for them. And in the meantime I have masterpieces of an episode, like "All Hell Breaks Loose" to watch. Thanks Eric Kripke, and thanks "Supernatural"!.moreless