We’re almost at the end of Season 1 in our Supernatural rewatch from the start, which we began almost seven months ago when the series ended – and it has been a much more emotional experience than I expected it to be! So no surprise that we began watching ‘Salvation’ and I burst into tears when ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ started playing. Even after all these years, I’m never ready to hear that familiar song herald the end of a season of my favorite show, and now that the show is over, my tears were if anything even more free flowing. God, I love this show. I always will.
The episode opens in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Meg in a church lighting candles, telling the kindly priest she needs to talk, that she’s done some things. He tells her there’s forgiveness for everyone and she asks, ‘are you sure?’
Father: Salvation was created for sinners.
Meg: I’ve lied, stolen, lusted…. I slit a man’s throat and ripped his heart out through his chest.
She lets him see her black eyes, and he backs away in alarm.
Father: I know what you are. You can’t be here – this is hallowed ground!
Meg (laughing) Maybe that works in the minor leagues, but not with me.
He runs, into a secret room with an arsenal of guns, and we see that he’s a hunter. Meg breaks in, and easily catches the knife he throws at her, taunting him that he throws like a girl.
Father: What do you want?
Meg: The Winchesters.
Father: I’ll never tell you.
Meg (smirking): I know.
She slits his throat, and he gasps and gurgles and dies. I remember being so caught off guard by the graphic violence of that scene when I first saw it. Truly horrifying.
The show and the actors did such a good job making me care about Pastor Jim even in those few minutes we had with him, which helped us understand how John was going to feel when he found out.
In Manning, Colorado, John has weather reports taped to the wall, marked up, books strewn around, post it notes everywhere. He tells his sons, this is everything he knows, that he spent their whole lives searching for this demon, but there wasn’t a trace until a year ago, when he picked up its trail.
John: It came out of hibernation. It’s going after families just like us, on the night of the kid’s six month birthday.
Sam: I was six months old that night? It’s going after these kids like it came for me.
At that realization, Sam starts to feel even more responsible for all the tragedy that’s dogging him.
Sam: Mom’s death, Jessica, it was because of me…
Sam is distraught, and Dean rushes to reassure him.