by Sarah James WARNING: This review contains spoilers for previous episodes of Supernatural.
“I don’t know, we kind of sound like heroes to me.” –Dean WinchesterAnd we’re back with another episode of Supernatural. This week’s episode, “Regarding Dean,” really felt like something out of the earlier seasons, blending comedy, drama, and horror in a way that the team at Supernatural hasn't been doing for years. It’s reminiscent of the days when Eric Kripke was still showrunner, but still fits in with the further established story of the past few seasons. This episode focuses on Dean Winchester being cursed by a witch and rapidly losing his memory, offering moments of comedy interspersed with heavy emotional beats.
This episode also saw the return of Rowena, prominent witch and side character from the past few seasons. She has been an almost ally to the Winchester brothers since around Season 10. This episode wasn’t the first to give a little more backstory to Rowena, but it did showcase her in a way that she really hadn’t been before: openly working to save the Winchesters. In the past, Rowena and her demon son, Crowley, usually only aligned themselves with Sam and Dean either when the fate of the world was on the line or if they got something out of it. In this episode, Rowena works alongside Sam to save Dean from this curse, even allowing herself to be more vulnerable with Dean, knowing that he won’t remember any of it.
While this episode really doesn’t do anything to further the over-arching plot of the season, such as the whereabouts of Lucifer’s lovechild, or information on the British Men of Letters, it is a fun and entertaining filler episode. It’s almost reminiscent of “Yellow Fever” from Season Four, when Dean becomes frightened of everything around him. The way Jensen Ackles plays forgetful in “Regarding Dean” and frightened in “Yellow Fever” is very similar, and definitely makes for some comical moments in this episode. Of course, this is Supernatural, where even episodes dedicated to comedy have moments of poignancy. Seeing Dean forget who he is as a person is emotional to watch, and watching Sam struggle with trying to help his brother remember their entire life story is heartbreaking. However, the emotional moments don’t distract from the comedy, and the two components blend together in a way that works seamlessly. This episode won’t go down in the record books as one of the best episodes of this show, but it was a fun filler episode for this season.
All Images From: Pixels Talk and International Business Times
