Supernatural Review: Love Hurts (Season 11 Episode 13)

That was one hell of a BM.

For those of you not familiar with the common Supernatural verbiage, “BM” stands for “Brother Moment” (not bowel movement, that would be gross,) and it’s typically the heart-to-heart that Sam and Dean have in each episode.

The BM’s we see are always special. After over eleven years of working together, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have a true brotherly bond, one that leaps off the screen. That bond is the key to Supernatural‘s longtime success. It’s the reason that we love the Winchesters with as much tenacity as we do.

There are some BM’s that are just stellar. “Love Hurts”  is capped with one of those stellar brother moments.

The premise of the episode itself is nothing to write home about. It’s yet another Monster of the Week, with Sam and Dean chasing after a demon that rips out the hearts of people. They discover it’s a witch and race to kill her and her heart ripping demon and blah, blah, blah, repeat, repeat, repeat. You know the drill.

Sadly, there’s not much worth discussing about the Monster of the Week. It’s essentially a woman scorned type of deal, and now there’s a curse passed through kissing. The plot is clunky and the characters introduced are bland.

Here’s what stands out though: the witch, and her demon, Qareen, will make a person’s deepest desires appear before their heart is ripped out. A Qareen is completely new to the Supernatural universe, a demon that Sam and Dean have never faced before.

After winning Rock, Paper, Scissors, (another epic BM, in my opinion,) Dean is thrilled to get to see his deepest desires. While he’s betting on Jessica Simpson (he loves him some Daisy Duke,) someone he doesn’t expect appears.

While the audience is well aware of Dean’s freaky attraction to the Darkness, I think this is the first time Dean realizes he’s completely powerless where Amara is concerned. How can he defeat something he can’t deny his attraction to?

Which leads to that aforementioned moment, the one where Dean finally confesses to Sam that he’s attracted to Amara.

This entire episode exists for this moment.

Sam already knows. He’s not the least bit surprised or shaken by Dean’s announcement. He simply accepts it and assures Dean that he isn’t a monster. Sam’s confidence in Dean doesn’t waver. He knows that while Dean desires Amara, he also desires Amara’s defeat.

So when Dean finally admits to his brother, and to himself, that he can’t fight Amara and that he won’t be able to stop her, it’s a huge step forward for the elder Winchester.

Dean doesn’t often ask for help. He’s the big brother, the one who protects Sam, and the one who fights all of the battles. This is the first time, in a long time, that Dean puts the task of taking Amara down on his little brother.

Sam accepts it and holds together a calm exterior for Dean, but as soon as Dean is gone, Sam’s face ages about twenty years. He’s got more fear than he’s letting on, but he won’t let Dean see it.

I love moments like this. Supernatural‘s heart manages to stay intact year after year. Just when I think that maybe they’re finally ready to retire, a moment like this will come around and make me step back and appreciate everything that Supernatural continues to be, even in its old age, and I realize that it’s still got a lot of time left in it.

Here’s a sneak peek of next week’s episode, where it looks like the Devil is back in action and Sam and Dean are time traveling!

What did you think of this episode of “Love Hurts”? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Supernatural airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on The CW.

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