by Kimmie
Supernatural Recap: “Time After Time”
Original Air Date: Friday January 13, 2012
Season 7, Episode 12
Directed by Phil Sgriccia and Written by Robbie Thompson
Fresh off the heels of their People’s Choice Awards win for Best Network TV Drama and Best Network Sci-Fi Drama, Supernatural treats us to a film noir stylized episode called, “Time After Time.”
Still grieving over the loss of Bobby, the Winchester boys get a call from Sheriff Jody Mills, alerting them to a case in Canton, Ohio. She informs them that the local police department is dealing with two bizarre deaths where the victims have been mummified… minus the wrappings. The boys move into an abandoned old house in the area of activity. Upon further investigation Sam and Dean discover that there have been the same type of deaths in the area over the span of several decades. An eyewitness to one of the recent murders tells Sam and Dean that his neighbor was killed by a guy “wearing one of those Justin Timberlake hats” by sucking the life force out of him, and that the force looked like big ball of red light. Dean and Sam scan through recent surveillance videos around the crime scene area and see a fedora wearing man. Sam and Dean come across a decades old newspaper article of a mummified murder victim and see the same man with the fedora pictured… un-aged. The Winchesters stake out this man, and follow him into an alley where he is sucking the life force out of his third victim. Dean jumps onto the murderer and the red ball of light engulfs the two entirely. Sam is left in the dark alley stunned by Dean’s disappearance.
Dean and his attacker are instantly transported to November 1944. Dean scrambles after the man, but does not catch him. Dean is then arrested for wielding a gun by the legendary Prohibition law enforcement agent Eliot Ness, played by actor Nicholas Lea. Tickled that “The Untouchables” Ness is a hunter himself, Dean agrees to join forces to bring down the killer. Here is where we cue in the Big Band style music and watch as Dean dresses in a dapper suit, tie and fedora hat. (Seriously, Dean could smoulder in a sombraro.)
Sheriff Mills rushes to the side of Sam and quickly helps solve who the mysterious man is that zapped out with Dean. Both they, and the team of Dean and Eliot figure out that this type of time travel is done by the ‘God of Time’ himself, Chronos, played by actor Jason Dohring. Eliot only wishes to rid the earth of a killer and enlists his assistant Ezra Moore to find something that will kill a god. Sam and Sheriff Mills figure out that the only way to get Dean back to 2012 is to summon Chronos, but it has to be at the exact moment he is touching Dean, so that Dean is pulled back with him. The problem is that Sam and Mills do not know “when” Dean is at…luckily for them, Dean decides to leave a dated note in the abandoned house for Sam to find in the future. Dean tells Sam that he is after Chronos and not to worry about him. He also writes that he is gonna check out Lila Taylor, who Chronos is “banging”. Dean has settled on the fact that he can’t return to 2012.
Ezra Moore locates a “thousand year old olive stake carved by vestal virgins, dipped in the blood of….you don’t want to know.” She tells Dean that he must stab Chronos in the heart with this stake to kill him, but that Dean will remain in 1944. Eliot and Dean find Lila Taylor and wait for Chronos to come after her. Chronos confronts them and explains that he had to kill people for more time to spend with his love, Lila.
Armed with the date, but not the exact time, Sam and Sheriff Mills locate an elderly Lila Taylor and press her for information about the events that unfolded in November 1944. She recollects “the time when all the clocks stopped at 11:34pm”. She had witnessed her lover, Ethan (Chronos), had choked a police officer to death, and she never saw him again. Sam and Mills now knew the exact time to summon Chronos. Frantically, Sam and Mills summon Chronos just as he is choking Dean. Dean is pulled back to the present time and Sam immediately plunges the olive stake into Chronos’s heart. His last dying words clue us into the future saying, “I know your future. It’s covered in thick black ooze.”
This episode was a fun reprieve from the tragedy of Bobby’s death for so many of us Supernatural fans. The rich sepia colors and film noir tone set to the distant howling of a lonely saxophone , perfectly suited the mood of the 1940’s. Comical brotherly love was apparent, as seen by the Winchester boys playing a game of ‘Rock, Scissors, Paper’ and their incessant trivial bickering. I’ve missed those spats.
Quotable Quotes:
Dean to Sam: “Don’t give me that dirty diaper look. I ain’t calling you.”
Sam to Dean: “Are you looking for anime, or are you strictly into Dick now?”
Ezra to Dean and Eliot: “What bucket of syrup you two idjits step into?” (The word ‘idjits’ was the last word spoken by Bobby in the previous episode.)
Dean: “He is using the Biff-Strategy.”
______________________________________________
Love Supernatural? Come join the discussion in our Supernatural Group on DarkMediaCity, a free social network for those who like it Dark. Whether it be literature or film, music or art, horror or sci-fi, paranormal romance or paranormal investigation, we’ve got something for you. www.DarkMediaCity.com
Comments are closed.