sweetondean: Supernatural Think Tank - Anna's Thoughts on 12x18 "The Memory Remains"

Human vs. Monster

There has been a recurrent theme this season and we see it once again in this episode. The question of the human monster vs. the actual monster. The MOTW is Black Bill, who in this case, is actually a god. This particular god offers one what they want and in return it desires human blood. We've seen a god similar to this before, back in s1. In Scarecrow, the Vanir also required sacrifice and in return the town's crops thrived. I do really like the old school feel of our little show this season. I enjoy the blending of the past with the present and I enjoy the call backs to past episodes. We got that twice in this ep. Anyhoo, as I was saying before I digressed.....the theme of the human monster. I think this theme will play a role in how the boys ultimately handle Luci's baby. The question is somewhat raised again though, as Pete gave his monologue about his family's legacy of hunting people and killing things, the family business. The god killed yes, but this was based on it's own survival. Pete on the other hand was a human, who chose to kill just so he can be rich, for him the basis was greed. So one can ask, who is the real monster here? This could also relate to the BMOL as well, or to some of them, like Hess and possibly Ketch as well. The BMOL preach about ridding the world of monsters to make the world a better place. For some though, this doesn't seem to be the case at all. For some of them, they kill to retain power. So who is more the monster in this case? The BMOL or the monsters they claim they want to rid the world of? When Sam and Dean discover the truth in regards to the BMOL and their true intent, will they not fight to destroy the human monster just as they would any actual monster? Unless of course it turns out that an actual monster is in charge of the BMOL.

The Winchester Legacy vs. Sheriff Legacy

There was a lot of talk between the boys regarding what they believe their legacy to be. I love that they care enough to want to leave one. I am so thrilled and in squee mode

right now that the boys finally acknowledge all the good that they have done and actually are proud of it. Long gone are the days of the boys looking at themselves in a negative light, and I'm so very happy about that.

It's about damn time.

I really liked the parallel of the sheriff's legacy vs. Sam and Dean's. The sheriff, like Sam and Dean, wants to do right. He wants to clean up the mistakes and the horror that his family caused. He was getting rid of everything, except for the house, which he kept because well, he does have a monster god locked away in his basement. He even tried to do right by his half brother by leaving him the plant. The sheriff just wants to help people now. He wants to follow the law, not break it. He desires to save people, not kill them. The sheriff's legacy, is to try to eradicate his family's legacy. Sam and Dean on the other hand have always lived by the same credo. Their legacy has always been hunting things and saving people. This is their family business. A business not based on greed, like the sheriff's family, but a business based on love. I know, they started hunting because Dad needed revenge on the thing that killed their mother. Still with that, this revenge was based on love. As much as John sought revenge, he saved every innocent he could along the way. That legacy now belongs to Sam and Dean. These boys no longer hunt out of revenge. They hunt to make the world a safer place. Their fight is for humanity. There is no monetary award coming their way. They will never be wealthy. They will never have parades thrown in their honour. Still, they will always be rich, rich in love, rich in friends and rich in the knowledge that they meant a lot to so many, even if eventually all those they saved fade away one day.

Ketch

So many people saw the BMOL bugging the bunker and cataloguing all the inventory as ominous. Is this show's way of telling us that the bunker might not be long for the world? Did the BMOL take photos and catalogue that knowledge because they wanted backup for when they torch the joint?

If this happened, would the table be the one thing that remains? Would the destruction of the bunker ensure the boys keep hunting? I kind of like that bunker. I like that the boys have a place where they can just be. I also like that they have access to all that knowledge. Of course when the boys find the bug, and we know they will, cuz someone will notice the picture missing, will the boys be comfortable in a place where anyone with a MOL key can just walk in? If show decides to go the way of getting rid of the bunker, I do hope that Sam gets his hands on all that back up data. The BMOL wouldn't be stupid enough to destroy all that information would they? I would hope that they would take all the books before they destroyed the place....that is of course if that's where this story might be heading....so not saying that's the case. I did find it a bit humorous, you know, Ketch snooping around Dean's room. I do wonder though, regarding him stealing the pic of Mary and Dean. What's that truly about? It just looked like Ketch kind of tuned out when he was looking at the pic, like he was thinking of something else. Ketch is a creepy dude for sure. I don't trust him one iota. But the bastard is cool as all get out and he makes me laugh sometimes. Damn another bad guy in the awesome list.

The Broments

I'd say this episode was loaded full to the rim with broments and this brought smiles to my face for most of the hour. I love Sam and Dean episodes, they truly are the heart and soul of this show. While I don't mind when our other guest characters appear for one of our ensemble episodes, myself personally, well I always desire the Sam and Dean eps the most. These are the ones, even when they are your simple MOTW eps, that captivate and bring the most smiles,

or sometimes tears,

and often both.

These are the episodes where we see the boys at their best. You know, I'm trying to remember the last time we had an episode that felt like one continuous 42 min long broment. The boys shared scenes for most of the hour and every scene they shared felt like a momentous broment occasion. I wanted to lock each one up in my own little treasure box.

I don't know, it just really stood out this time. Since there were so many of them, how I love saying that, instead of paragraph form, I thought this time I would just list them. In all honesty the broments started as soon as show began (between Jarrod and Darren) and pretty much continued throughout. Did I mention that I loved this ep?

I will do my best to try to list every moment of why.

1. Sam and Dean chatting about Cas and looking for a case.

2. Sam and Dean questioning the sheriff, with the same look of dismay, as he went about his business of finishing his little side project. (What was that thing...was that an otter? French Mistake Gen would be all over that guy....just saying)

3. Every second of Sam and Dean at the diner.

4. Sam rescuing Dean. Sam bending down asking Dean how he was feeling. Holy Hell

5. The talk about leaving their legacy, carving their initials in the table, while flashbacking to the them as children doing the same thing inside Baby.

The boys were so in sync with each other. They know so much about the other it's sometimes scary. I loved the teasing and the faux exasperation each had with the other. The joy each of them share at having the colt back. Although I must say....."Dean, as awesome as that gun is, it's not as reliable as your brother. " This was most definitely a feel good episode, despite the actual horror of the story itself.

QUOTES

“I stayed up all night going through every book we have on demons, and it turns out we have a lot of books on demons.”
-Sam to Dean

"Would it kill you to order pancakes, once?"

-Dean to Sam

"What about you , you got anything reading rainbow?"

-Dean to Sam

"Don't do the coffee thing."

-Embarrassed Sam to himself about Dean

"This coffee is kinda hot....like"

-Dean to Waitress

“We’ve got a goat dude with a name like a pirate which is a little insane even for us, and that bar is super high.”

-Dean to Sam

“The Colt, it dusts anything. Work smarter, Sammy, not harder.”
-Dean to Sam

“Dr. Hess wants to know everything about our friends, the Winchesters. Their allies, their habits, how does Sam get his hair so shiny, how many ratty flannels does Dean own.”
-Mr. Ketch to his team

" A goat, like naaah, goat?

-Dean to Sam

“Why is it always the rich ones? I mean, what are they, like, ‘Croquet’s alright, but do you know what would be great? Murder.’”
-Dean to Sam

“I’m a Bishop. That’s what we do, right? Hunting people, killing them, the family business.”
-Pete to Dean and of course Dean's priceless reaction

“Sam: “How are you feeling?"
Dean: “Like I just went 12 rounds with a god, so, you know, normal."
-Sam asking how Dean is after he saved him

“The next time you hear me say that our family is messed up, remind me that we could be psycho goat people.”
-Dean to Sam

“Guys like us, we’re not the type of people they write about in history books. But the people we saved, they’re our legacy. And they’ll remember us, and then we’ll eventually fade away too. That’s fine, because we left the world better than we found it.”
-Sam to Dean

Jared and Jensen just knocked it out of the park with this one. They were a well oiled machine. They looked gorgeous as always and their banter...perfection. I loved the creepiness of the ep too. The goat monster get up on the coat rack, yikes, I was just as creeped out as Dean. I loved the whole red room where all the murders took place. I guess the red light signified blood? given that this monster fed on it. It was very reminiscent of the scene where Sam was trapped in the dark with Gordon, in Fresh Blood. The guests did a good job. The sheriff made me laugh and oddly enough he reminded me of the guy who collected all the guts in Dog Dean Afternoon. That and a bit of Ranger Rick. This was an amazing hour with lots of brother moments, a bit of the creepy and questions were raised. All in all a must see in my book...yep a must see like most definitely more than once.