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Original Air Date: December 13, 2007
Written By: Jeremy Carver
Summary: In a special Christmas-themed episode, Sam and Dean investigate a rash of killings that may be the work of Santa's evil brother. Meanwhile, flashbacks to the boys' youth fill us in on how Dean got his necklace and why Sam doesn't like to celebrate Christmas.
Why It's On The List: There are few television shows aside from
Friday Night Lights that can make me misty-eyed, but "A Very Supernatural Christmas" leaves me incredibly moved every time I watch it. It's really the last five minutes of the episode that slaughter my emotions and get the tear ducts to open up. In the final flashback to 1991, Dean tells Sam that their dad stopped by and dropped some presents off, but Dean soon admits that he stole the presents from a neighbor in an attempt to give Sammy a normal Christmas. After Sam gives Dean the necklace that he still wears 16 years later, we cut to the boys in the present day swapping gifts again. Dean (
Jensen Ackles) gives Sam some skin mags and shaving cream, Sam gives Dean motor oil and a candy bar, and I weep like a baby as Sam fails to tell Dean that he loves him. It's one of my favorite brotherly bonding moments in the entire series, and for that alone this episode deserves to be in the top 10.
The touching bonding moments appeal to my emotional side, but the monster of the week Jeremy Carver cooked up for this episode appeals to my demented side. I love it when
Supernatural gets dark and grisly, and "A Very Supernatural Christmas" is so twisted that it probably would have given me nightmares for life had I watched it as a child. The idea of an Evil Santa is a clever one that actually has a place in real mythology, and though the episode ultimately doesn't go that route, the Pagan Gods it introduces are equally creepy. With their Ozzie and Harriet demeanor and their penchant for ripping out teeth and fingernails, the peppy duo of ancient gods responsible for the murders are quite cringe-inducing.
In addition to the emotional ending and the nasty villains, there are plenty of other moments that make "A Very Supernatural Christmas" special. I like that Dean doesn't have any knowledge of Dick Van Dyke's performance in
Mary Poppins, not only because it makes for a funny throwaway line, but because it underscores the fact that Dean didn't have a normal childhood. I love it when the boys break into the trailer of the Evil Santa, find him with a bong and some booze, then bust out into "Silent Night" before he can call the cops. It cracks me up to see Sam (
Jared Padalecki) and Dean posing as a wreath-loving couple to get more information about the creepy Pagan decorations, and I also laugh every time Dean curses using the word "fudge." For such a dark episode, it has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments that help ease the tension.
While the highlight of the flashbacks is the revelation of how Dean got his necklace, every scene featuring the younger Winchesters is golden. Ridge Canipe makes for a fantastic little Dean, and I especially like the scene where he tells Sammy that monsters are real and Santa Claus doesn't exist. It feels like that moment changed the course of Sam's life, and it's rather poignant that John Winchester wasn't there to see it.
Holiday-themed episodes aren't easy to pull off for most TV shows.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
The X-Files came up with some classics, and I'd easily rank "A Very Supernatural Christmas" among them. It's not just a great Christmas episode, but a great installment of
Supernatural all around. Jeremy Carver and the gang truly pulled off the impossible. They created a holiday-themed episode that's one of the show's best, and they also made me cry in the process. Talk about a Christmas miracle.
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What do you think of "A Very Supernatural Christmas"?
- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of the CW)