Noooooo!!! To be continued?? Damn you… oh, forget it. I’ve cursed Kripke’s name so many times it’s lost all meaning now.

Dean was pulled out of Hell to stop Sam! Mary was a hunter! Mary sold Sam’s soul in exchange for John’s life! Dean and Sam’s grandpa rocks! There I go with those damn exclamation points again!

Deep breath everybody … in … out …better? Hold on. Ahhhhhh!!! Okay, better.

I know when I’ve seen a great episode that affects me forever. It’s not the jaw-dropping intensity of the drama, the out-of-this-stratosphere acting that makes you wonder why genre shows like this are never recognized by the Emmy panel, the superior writing that makes me rush to my laptop to tweak yet again my own manuscript, or the fact that when the episode is over I’m so stunned I’m holding the remote and staring at the screen in disbelief for over an hour.

No, an episode for me is deemed great after the sleepless night. When the events of what I just witnessed play in my head over and over again and I can’t shut it off. When I wake up the next morning an emotional and exhausted wreck, so profoundly affected by what I saw that I struggle with basic function... then yes, I’ve watched the episode of a lifetime. It happened to me numerous times during the second season of The West Wing. It happened after “Mystery Spot.” It happened after “No Rest For The Wicked” and “Lazarus Rising.” Now here we are again, only two weeks later with “In The Beginning.” Mr. Kripke, you’re killing me!

Not just Eric Kripke, but everyone. To think, one of the two leads wasn’t even in this one (except for a brief glimpse) and they still pulled off a classic with the best guest casting of the series, or of all television. Mitch Pileggi MUST get some sort of award for this one. Misha Collins continues to blow our minds, again giving us a chilling closing line that we can’t shake. The young Mary (Amy Gumenick) and John (Matthew Cohen) are two unknowns that we may be seeing a lot of in the future in other places after this one. They made a huge impression.

I did miss Sam, even though this story was for his benefit. His absence served its point, so I’ll let it pass. The only thing I won’t let pass is why was Dean driving a 1979 Ford Pinto in 1973. My family drove Pintos while I was growing up so I know. There, nitpicks over. Time for the pages of gushing now.

Who Needs Classic Rock?

This is a packed full episode, so no time for musical montages. There’s a great recap of season one for those of us who don’t remember all those unanswered questions that we’re still over-speculating about. They even showed Mary apologizing to Sam in “Home.” It’s about time that one was cleared up!