Supernatural Review 7.12 - "Time After Time After Time"

Posted by Joseph Lee on 01.14.2012

Dean goes back to 1944 and Nicholas Lea guest stars. How could this not be a good episode?



The Road So Far: After spending weeks grieving for Bobby, the Winchesters go their separate ways for a bit to try and get to work. Sam tracks down a hunter when his daughter calls Bobby's phone. Dean goes to Frank, hoping he can get more information about the Leviathans. There's some monster-of-the-week shenanigans and Dean learns to fake being okay, which can't be healthy.

Season Seven, Episode 12: Time After Time After Time
Directed By: Phil Sgriccia
Written By: Robbie Thompson

The news today (well, actually Wednesday) is that they're writing a cliffhanger for the end of the season. I know the ratings have been steady and are fine for the CW, but I really hope they know what they're doing. I don't want this show to end on a cliffhanger and never get resolved. Just makes me think that maybe it should have ended at its peak in season five. At least that pretty much finished off the story.

Anyway, let's appreciate it while we've got it. This episode had me excited ever since I learned that we'd be getting another X-Files alumni in the cast, bringing the count to four, I believe. Nicholas Lea plays Elliot Ness this time around, which actually seems like pretty good casting. I'm such a fan of this guy that even when Kyle XY began to get too convoluted for its own good, I kept watching.

We open this week's episode with the two hunting down something (we don't know yet) and Dean suddenly disappears. Cut to a few days earlier and we see that this thing has been mummifying its victims. When Dean disappears, he's taken back to 1944 while Sam has to work with Jody Mills to try and get him back. The thing they're hunting turns out to be Chronos, the god of time. Once again it's another time traveling story, and while Frontierland had mixed reactions, I suspect this one may be liked a little better.

For one thing, the comedy works great. I love fish out of water jokes when done appropriately, and when you have the serious Elliot Ness working as the straight man for Dean's slang you get some funny moments. Of course that's not the only time as Sam gets a really good one-liner in on Dean near the beginning of the episode. I'm a little surprised that made it onto television, even with context. This wasn't a comedy episode, but you have to expect some jokes when placing someone from 2012 in the 1940s.

Lea was a great guest star, as I expected. He really needs more work in general, but it's always a treat to see him. Meanwhile Jason Dohring didn't really get to do much as Chronos, at least in my opinion. He's hidden through half the episode, and then he is mostly a standard villain when he's there. I like the twist about the nature of his abilities though. He's not your typical god as we've come to understand them on this show.

There were also some nice character development moments that I enjoyed. Dean having a conversation with Ness about the hunter's lifestyle was another nod to the fact that no one ever gets out of the life. Then there was Sam and Jody's memories of Bobby. It was good to see that Bobby's death affected someone other than the Winchesters, and Kim Rhodes was really good in her role. Going back to the jokes, even she got a nice one in when she threatens to use her "mom voice".

While this episode wasn't the best, the real way to sum it up would be "classic Supernatural". You have just the right amount of humor and drama to make it a fun entertaining blend. Do I have complaints? Sure. We only get a few throwaway lines about the Leviathans, and I don't think they can really get away with not focusing more on them now that we're in the second half of the season. However, the line we get at the end is rather ominous. Maybe that's the cliffhanger Robert Singer was telling us about.

Hope you enjoyed these last two weeks, because Supernatural's on break for another three weeks. See you on February 3rd!

The 411: This episode was a solid time travel tale, making up for the lackluster Frontierland. Nicholas Lea was a great guest star, and Jason Dohring did the best with what his character was given. We also had some funny jokes and some emotional character moments that fit right in. Season seven continues to be entertaining, but here's hoping we focus more on the Leviathans as we get closer to the finale.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]