‘Supernatural’ Review: “Remember the Titans”

‘Supernatural’ season 8 scares up its sixteenth episode of the season in “Remember the Titans,” as Sam and Dean investigate the mystery of a man who repeatedly dies and comes back to life (John Rearden), finding him to be none other than the Greek Titan Prometheus, still locked in battle with the god Zeus (John Novak).

Last week’s ‘Supernatural’ episode “Man's Best Friend with Benefits” saw Sam and Dean reluctantly helping an old friend who turned to witchcraft (Christian Campbell), and who seemed to be linked to a series of murders seen in his dreams, so what does the latest season 8 episode bring?  Will the Winchesters finally be able to rid the world of Crowley’s demonic forces?

Read on for your in-depth recap of everything you need to know about ‘Supernatural’ season 8 episode 16, “Remember the Titans!”

Late one night on a forest road, a man falls asleep at the wheel and plows into a bearded stranger walking by the roadside, killing him. The driver speeds off, and the next morning a state trooper finds the stranger’s body frozen, and with an eagle gnawing at his insides. The officer turns away to report the scene, but we soon see the stranger has healed and gotten up, disappearing into the woods before the officer can see.

Back at the Men of Letters base, Sam finds himself spitting up more blood, and having to keep it from a suspicious Dean. With no word from Kevin or Castiel, they decide to investigate a tabloid case of what the state trooper reported to be a zombie, heading to the officer’s station. The trooper insists the man must have been a zombie, but when the same John Doe pops up in a Montana town morgue dead of a bear attack, Sam and Dean suspect they have something more sinister on their hands.

Sam and Dean examine the shredded body, finding nothing particularly unusual about it, but before they know it the man has once again come back, to life and attempted to flee the scene. Dean holds him down as the man identifies himself as Shane, and explains he has no idea what causes him to die and resurrect once a day. Sam and Dean take him back to the hotel, learning he first woke up seven years ago near a mountain in Europe, and had been traveling ever since.

That night, a mysterious woman clad in black leather (Anna Van Hooft) sits by his bedside, though when Shane wakes he professes not to know who she is. Sam and Dean burst in, though the woman easily overpowers them, while Shane displays some major prowess in taking her down. Defeated, the woman vanishes from sight, before the excitement causes Shane to have a heart attack, and promptly die once more.

The next morning, another woman (Brook Langton) shows up outside the hotel with her young son in tow, having followed the “zombie” reports looking for Shane. Identifying herself as Hayley, and the young boy as their son Oliver, Hayley explains how she met Shane years prior in an avalanche on the mountain, when Shane rescued her. The pair ended up sleeping together, giving Shane another heart attack, the resurrection from which caused her to flee in terror.

Shane resuscitates again, greeting Hayley and meeting his young son, as Sam reasons to Dean that they might have happened upon the Greek Titan Prometheus. The attacker from the previous night was likely Artemis, daughter of Zeus, as the brothers bring the incredulous man up to speed. Minutes later, Hayley bursts into the motel room with a bloodied Oliver, who endured a nasty fall and has apparently become subject to the same curse as his father, dying every day.

Returning to the Men of Letters stronghold, Sam and Dean explain the supernatural to an incredulous Hayley, reasoning their best bet is to confront Zeus himself. After extensive research, Dean finds a diary from a historical figure that detailed a method of trapping and potentially killing Zeus, one which involves the bone of his followers, and a stake made from trees struck by lightning. Sam and Shane retrieve the bone, as Dean and Hayley prepare for the coming confrontation, and a resuscitated Oliver comes with them.

Setting up the trap in an abandoned warehouse, the group summons Zeus into a sigil on the floor, appearing as a bearded man in a suit. Zeus wryly agrees to break the curse on the boy if he’s set free from the trap, but Shane, Sam and Dean call his bluff. Hayley breaks, severing the trap and allowing Zeus to escape, and he incapacitates the men with his lightning. Zeus expresses his delight that young Oliver’s curse has caused Prometheus to suffer even more, as Artemis appears to restrain the Winchesters.

While Zeus continues torturing Prometheus, Artemis leads Sam and Dean away to be killed, until Sam distracts her by revealing Prometheus declared his love for her. Sam reasons that the two were involved, as it wouldn’t have taken seven years to find Prometheus, and that she was the one to release him from the mountain of his eternal torment in the first place.

As Zeus prepares to kill Oliver, Artemis intervenes and threatens her father at arrow-point. Zeus grows angry and blames Prometheus for their fall from dominance over mankind, but when Artemis lets loose an arrow, Zeus pulls Prometheus into its path. Still conscious, Prometheus pushes the arrow through himself into Zeus as well, killing them both. Mournfully, Artemis removes the arrow and teleports away with her father’s body, leaving Prometheus/Shane behind.

After Dean and Hayley burn the body, and Sam bonds with Oliver, Sam wonders aloud to Dean if he was naive in thinking he could face the tablet’s trials. Dean cheerfully holds his brother to the agreement that he would die of old age rather than anything supernatural, but when they return to base, Dean prays to Castiel for Sam’s safety.

Given its age, 'Supernatural' has a tendency to fall into a familiar pattern of episodes deep with mythology and plot advancement, surrounded by one-off adventures. Like last week, "Remember the Titans" falls into the latter category, also falling prey to the show's tendency to overreach with its mythology. Angels and demons have their stated reasons for appearing in plainclothes, but we couldn't help feeling a bit underwhelmed by the realization of the Greek Gods, albeit from a show that once featured dragons as men with flaming fists. The story ultimately provides a heartfelt resolution as Dean begs Castiel for help in keeping his brother safe, but we might have liked an episode with a bit more oomph to tide us over until the next episode in mid-March.

Did you get your fill of spooky ‘Supernatural’ action?  What did you think about “Remember the Titans?” Join us again next month for an all-new episode recap of ‘Supernatural’ episode “Goodbye Stranger” on The CW!