Supernatural 2.18: "Folsom Prison Blues"

Written by John Shiban
Directed by Mike Rohl

The previous episode was something of a departure for the series, and while a number of fans praised the self-mockery, others (like myself) felt that the emphasis wasn’t in the right place. This episode is a course correction back into the usual strong continuity and character exploration. While no one would mistake this for the best episode of the season, it does deliver a solid story and some interesting insight.

Getting to the solid story, of course, is a bit of a stretch. The Brothers Winchester are contacted by another friend of their father’s, a man named Deacon, and Dean concocts a plan to get them into the prison. All well and good, except the fact that the FBI has been chasing them like mad all season and it’s a rather stupid mistake to think that they wouldn’t monitor every backwater police station for a sign to their whereabouts.

While the opportunity to see Agent Henricksen is greatly appreciated, it all comes down to how those opportunities are exploited. In this case, Henricksen has the advantage and enough support to keep the pressure on the Winchesters and their relatively inexperienced court-appointed representation. Knowing what he knows about Dean and Sam, it’s hard to believe that he wouldn’t take measures to keep anything and everything under surveillance until the brothers were safely behind bars. Add his unnecessary attitude with the prosecutor, and it’s a bit of a blow to Henricksen’s credibility.

It’s also possible that being a fan of “Prison Break” makes this a difficult episode to accept. In terms of the complications to the case itself, the prison settling is interesting and even fun. It certainly works for the character exploration side of things. But the prisoners seem to have too much latitude, especially when Sam manages to roam the old cell block and burn things without getting caught. And the escape, even accounting for Deacon’s assistance, felt far too easy.

All that said, this situation allows for some unusual character development. Dean finds himself rather comfortable in the prison element, which is not entirely shocking. Dean may not be as empathetic as Sam, but he does make a clear distinction between the guilty and the innocent when it comes to demonic attacks. In his mind, the prisoners are victims of the haunting, and they deserve to be saved. More than that, Dean has been a hunter all his life, and many of the people in that prison must seem familiar. More familiar, at least, than people in the “normal” world.

Sam, on the other hand, looks at the situation. As mentioned previously, Sam’s personal situation makes it difficult to draw a clear distinction between good and evil. So for him, it’s not about one’s species; it’s about intentions. And from that perspective, the vast majority of the inmates chose to commit violent crime. Thus his priority is deliverance from prison and escape from Henricksen.

That tension between Sam and Dean, based on their divergent philosophies, is the strength of the episode. The writers also manage to keep the episode from getting too dark by inserting some humorous moments, many of which work better than the “comedy” in “Hollywood Babylon”. Dean has some great lines and his usual swagger, and Sam’s expressions are often priceless. Considering the darkness to come for the rest of the season, this was a very nice touch.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10