Supernatural Recap: “As Time Goes By”

by Kimmie Chameleon:

Supernatural Recap: “As Time Goes By”
Original Air Date (CW): Wednesday January 30, 2013
Season 8, Episode 13

Sometimes the skeletons in our closets hang inside there without our knowledge. We live each day believing that we know the truth about our past, but there is no way that we can ever know each and every person’s story. When it comes to our lineage the truth becomes even more skewed. Insert past hurts, regrets, jumbled up emotions, and you have one messy pile-up in that closet storing a generation worth of junk. But there is always one prevailing truth: Everything happens for a reason. This episode of Supernatural completely takes us by surprise when the Winchesters come face to face with the past and meet their paternal grandfather. Get ready for some daddy issues!

Out of the Closet

It is 1958, and Henry Winchester kisses his son John goodbye as he promises to return soon. That promise would never be kept because what happened next prevented little Johnny Winchester from seeing his father ever again. Henry was to be initiated into a secret society called the “Men of Letters”, but on that fateful night a very powerful demon, Abaddon, altered course by crashing the event. She is after a small box, which suddenly gets placed in Henry’s hands. He works a bit of magic and instantly teleports into present day…but inside of a motel room closet occupied by Sam and Dean. Henry demands to see John, but Sam and Dean demand some answers first, like “who he is?” and “how did he get into their closet?” Before any of this can be addressed, Abaddon appears through the closet in all of her glorious evil. They somehow manage to escape her wrath.

Legacies

After much confusion, this awkward family reunion, of sorts, gets ironed out. Sam breaks the news to Henry that John is dead. Turns out that Henry never did intentionally abandon John, as always believed. He just zapped into the future to escape harm and protect stow that box that holds a key to every secret supernatural scroll, spell, and yes, possibly TABLET(S)!!! But Henry is not aware of what is inside of that box…not yet. He explains that the “Men of Letters” are the “…preceptors, beholders, chroniclers of all which man does not understand” and that they “share our knowledge with a few, trusted hunters — the very elite. They do the rest.” Henry is surprised that Sam and Dean do not already know this, since this type of knowledge should’ve been taught to them by their father, John. After all, they are legacies. The boys reveal that THEY are hunters, but this only disappoints Henry because he feels that hunters are “apes”. Of course this really pisses off Dean. Henry explains that he was able to do a blood sigil to transport into the future. He believes that whatever is in the box is very important so they must contact one of the “Men of Letters”. Henry leads them to the old secret headquarters, which is now a comic book store. While at the store, they research via the internet any surviving members of that specific society but only get a lead to where they have been buried. The boys dig up one of the members, but Henry knows that this member must’ve survived and is hiding out.

The next morning the Winchester boys wake up to find Henry gone. He left a note telling them that he was going to fix everything. The boys know that with their luck, he is just gonna screw it up. Sam manages to research and find that surviving member, while Dean goes out to find grandpa.

Meant to Be

Sam arrives at the surviving member’s house and tells him that he wants to know what happened that fateful night in 1958. Larry explains that everyone died that night, but he was blinded. Sam mentions the box, and Larry divulges what it contains. It is the “supernatural mother lode”. It is the key to every scroll and spell…and it needs to be put somewhere safe from all evil and never to be looked at again. He gives Sam the coordinates of this safe place, but just as Sam tells Larry that he does not have the box with him, Abaddon appears and kills Larry. She calls Dean from Sam’s cell phone and offers a trade, Sam for Henry and the box. Dean agrees to meet up for the trade, even though he is currently trying to convince Henry that he cannot go back in time to “fix things”. Dean must force Henry to cooperate in the trade, but eventually they get on the same page. They hatch up and execute a plan to effectively rescue Sam while keeping the key away from Abaddon. The end result leaves her in pieces, but also fatal for Henry. As Henry lies dying in his grandsons arms, he tearfully makes amends with them and expresses how proud he is of the boys. And then with his last breath…hands over the box. It all seems to be making sense. The Winchesters have always been meant to be. Their lineage has prepared them to fight the good fight. It has always been their destiny.

Quotable Quotes:

Henry to Sam and Dean: “In the absence of any and all other explanations, I’m afraid this has been a marvelous, tragic misunderstanding.”

Henry to himself: “2013? My god. I guess the Mayans were wrong.”

Henry to Dean: “I’m quite certain this is all beyond your understanding, my alpha male monkey friend. And violence will not help you comprehend this any easier.”

Dean to Sam: “Dudes time-traveling through motel room closets? That’s what we’ve come to?”

Dean to Henry: “So you’re like Yodas to our Jedis.”

DarkMedia contributing writer Kimmie Chameleon was born and raised with a healthy appreciation for horror and science fiction. She currently covers Supernatural, Ghost Adventures, BBC’s Being Human, Syfy’s Being Human, and Sherlock. When she’s not out ghost hunting with her kids, you can find her stealing a moment to add to her own pieces of fiction. Follow her on Twitter @dvsduo and “friend” her on Facebook.