"Supernatural" Defending Your Life (TV Episode 2011) Poster

(TV Series)

(2011)

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7/10
Feeling the guilt.
zombiehigh1830 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
If you think "The girl next door" was disappointing, just wait to see this one. I thought season seven would make up for all the flaws of season six and I was willing to have a reasonable explanations for last one, but now I'm not so sure. This is definitely flawed from the get go.

1- The Amy story line is apparently going to stick around a little while longer. Sam stops in the middle of an investigation, after dealing with another hallucination, to thank Dean for letting Amy go (Yeah, not forced at all)and unknowingly making his brother more guilty.

2- For Sam to leave that elder guy in the motel room for hours and expect him to really stay put inside the salt circle, leaving him in such a hurry when he is supposed to help him in the first place, was annoying.

3- I was really excited to have Jo back on the show, but it only added to my disappointment and I have to ask Supernatural creators, Why the Hell do you hate the girl that much? First, She was not the most convincing witness to bring on Dean, why not bring someone Like Pamela, or John who died to save his son, or Ash or even Cas (that's of course if angels had ghosts). Second, Her appearance didn't add much to her character and she certainly did not help Dean with his guilt.

4- Finally, Being Egyptian myself who spent some of my school time studying history I can say Supernatural writers didnot do their homework right and did so little to a rather intriguing Pharonic legend. Plus what's with the cheesy customs and the cheep décor? But I was willing to get over all that only If the story was done better. Dealing with pagan Gods is nice and having a different view for them than just being flesh eating freaks was interesting. Yet Osiris here was so annoying for a judge who claims to be impartial to his victims, He is deciding everything ahead and the trial is no more than an entertaining act for him. He is bringing witnesses to the stand and though he allows Sam to play attorney, he refuses his objections, he is also putting words to the witness's mouth and decides when to stop the witness from proceeding.

OK, so cut to the good stuff:

1- It is good to see Dean back to having fun with girls, it is been so long since we have seen him working his charm.

2- I'm so proud and impressed with Sam, he is displaying a very high level of maturity, His worry about Dean and his passion to defend him and save his life was endearing and heartbreaking at the same time, as I wished Dean would come clean to his little brother about Amy, so that he wouldn't have to know it from some one else as we know would eventually happen and the results would be nasty. I'm also impressed with how he is dealing with his own guilt issues, Sam knows he had his share of bad deeds but he also knows he can't undo them and he thinks he has paid for them to some extent in Hell and still does with his hallucinations, so he might not have his slate wiped clean, but he can at least accept who he is, get over it and go on with his life. Will things really get better for the younger Winchester? I hope it does, But we know better.

3- Dean is taking his guilt issues as he usually does, he is burying his feelings deep under alcohol. He no longer can see the reason why he is still doing his job. The Dean we know a few years earlier, who was willing to save anybody even criminals, can no longer see the point to saving some people with bad history even if they already paid for the bad things they had done. Dean is OK with dying and especially when he can protect Sam from the pain of knowing what he had done to Amy. He is dealing with a load of guilt, he is guilty over everything, guilty over pulling Sam out of Stanford in the first place, guilty over Ellen and Jo, guilty over Pamela, guilty over his time in Hell, guilty over Amy but even more guilty over lying to his brother. The scene with Jo was heartbreaking, he is not even using his fighting skills as a hunter to save his own life any more. He finally shares his guilt with some one and handles his last moments with utter calmness and acceptance.

4- I loved the flashbacks, Bringing out so many heart wrenching memories even as going as far as hurting us with the saddest moment ever on Supernatural when Sam died on "All Hell breaks loose".
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7/10
The Last Witness
claudio_carvalho13 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Dean and Sam are investigating two weird murders and they stumble with a scared man that tells a strange story about a judge in a red barn. They discover that all the victims had guilty for some crime in the past and they are judged by the Egyptian god Osiris and sentenced to death. Osiris decides to judge Dean's guilty and Sam becomes his defense lawyer. However when Osiris is ready to summon his last witness, Dean realizes that he will summon Amy and he takes the blame.

"Defending your Life" shows that Dean feels guilty for killing Amy without the knowledge of Sam. The story is only reasonable and does not work well. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Defending Your Life"
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9/10
Great concept that was misused by the end
saphira-284547 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The threat this episode felt genuinely interesting and like a great way to explore a hunter's guilt, unlike the witnesses episode which indirectly did blamed the hunters for the victims they couldn't save, which wasn't fair at all. I also liked the way they left Sam's mistakes and his guilt behind in a way that didn't let him off the hook too easily and redeemed him properly, in my opinion. Sam as a witness and as a wannabe lawyer was a great way to accentuate the life he had before becoming a hunter with Dean. The (im)morality of killing criminals who already atoned for their sins was underutilized, but at least mentioned. Osiris was a fun, arguably neutral enemy.

However some things were ruined by the last 10 minutes of the episode. How come Jo became the executioner after Dean seemed to understand it was not his fault she died? Why not Amy or someone else? This episode was the perfect time to reveal Dean's secret and begin to resolve it, I don't understand why they chose a different episode for it when this one would have been so fitting.

I would give it an 8.5 if I could.
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6/10
The soap drama
shwetafabm23 June 2020
I barely remember S7 and i think i know why. It boring. This episode is boring. Dean's self torture thing getting old. I don't dislike the concept it's just dragged.
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5/10
Doesn't really fit in with the show's vibe
CubsandCulture16 April 2020
I swear this episode exists because the writers remembered that Sam was Pre-Law just before the show starting. It doesn't really fit in with tone of the show and the trial sections that makes up so much of the episode is really off putting. It all feels forced and built around trying to show Dean feel guilty over Amy. It was nice seeing Jo again there are a couple of nice story beats but this isn't a good episode.
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A different kind of episode!
mm-3921 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
A different kind of Supernatural episode! A Supernatural court episode where an Egyptian god judges Dean in a court hearing. A court room drama! Dean can not tell the truth of what he did in the last episode and choose death over hurting his brother. Dean must face Joe or Joe's ghost which make this episode interesting. Like the comedy episodes, this episodes is break from the recurring storyline. I like the episode. Is Defending Your Life a memorable episode? No. Is Defending Your Life entertaining? Yes, because changing the storyline keeps the series fresh, instead of redundant. I give Defending Your Life a seven out of ten.
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1/10
Can't Defend this Episode.
marydavis-424-61450511 October 2015
I'd have to nominate this for the most contrived episode ever. Somebody should feel guilty for writing it. Jensen played his angst well but the story left him without much action. Did enjoy seeing the clips of Jo. Alona did a competent job of testifying and showing up to execute the guilty. I liked Mia,who could have been a stereotype bimbo barmaid, but Emilie made her a real person. I thought Faran did an awesome sarcastic judge. Nice to see him play something other than cop or terrorist. Ending was too fast a wrap-up.

If you want to see the concept of guilt having no real value, I recommend the final episode of Forever Knight. I don't think I've ever heard a better monologue on guilt than the one LaCroix has in Last Knight.
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So, When Will They Learn?
Zetal24 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Seventh season. Seven years, these boys have traveled together. They've both been to hell and back, they've both kept secrets and lied and hid only to discover that they can forgive each other just about anything. Dean can forgive Sam for being corrupted by demon blood, Sam can forgive Dean for hypocrisy and selling his soul.

I can understand Dean choosing to kill Amy, though I find it hard to forgive him. I can't understand why he's lying to Sam about it. Hasn't he learned by now that he and Sam can't keep secrets from each other?

I was glad to see Jo again. I think they left her in a good place in season 5, grown up and ready to accept her fate, but I think Dean needed to hear her and Sam both explain that he doesn't need to feel guilty about the bad stuff that's happened because of him. Maybe, once he's done being stupid about Amy, Dean will finally be able to let go of his guilt.
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2/10
Badly written
pinadihex13 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Especially the end is idiotic. Window glass cracks falls off completely and the wind is so strong that it swipes the salt from the floor yet the room is filled with explosive gas from the stove within minutes? Despite there is a big open window two steps next to it? Come on!
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