J. Miller Tobin. Also directed "A Very Supernatural Christmas" and "Born Under a Bad Sign."

Ah, thanks! Both those eps were pretty good on the close camera stuff too. Cool.

I just thought that Dean was referring to the fact that she can't have chocolate cake and sex anymore.

Right. And the fact that she wasn't happy as an angel the first time around. But Anna seemed to make it clear that if she went back, there would be consequences. She said to Dean about what she'd done, "It's your Murder One."

Definitely consequences, yep. You may be right about regaining her grace sending her straight back to heaven for punishment.

regaining her grace sending her straight back to heaven for punishment.

Which begs a huge question. What punishment is she going to be subjected to as an angel? I would have thought being mortal would have been a pretty big punishment, but obviously the heavenly realm doesn't think so. Without her grace, she must die. As a mortal, she would have died eventually, why not wait for that? Part of the reason she must die, though, is because she can tune into WANG FM. If she couldn't, would she really have to die right now, this minute? I'd kinda like that question answered, but I'm sure it's one that will just all by the wayside.

Now that she's an angel again, what kind of punishment will she be subject to? Will she have to die as an angel? Or will she be flung into hell along with Lucifer for disobedience? Will they remove her grace before they do? I mean, Lucifer is pretty powerful. Where does that power come from? If it's no longer grace, what is it?

I'm not familiar with any of this stuff from a biblical viewpoint, so I have no idea if the writers are using concepts that come from the bible or if they're just pulling all kinds of stuff out of the hat in a mishmash, which so totally muddies any of the questions that I just want them to write their own damn manual so I have a reference point!

I'm not familiar with any of this stuff from a biblical viewpoint, so I have no idea if the writers are using concepts that come from the bible or if they're just pulling all kinds of stuff out of the hat in a mishmash

They're pulling it out of a Cracker-Jack box, Sail. It's neither internally consistent nor consistent with how (mainstream) Christianity considers things to operate. I'm having a hard time accepting it on its own merits, because even aside from being inconsistent with what I was raised to believe, it doesn't make any sense to me.

Glad to know I'm not the only one. While I find the episode interesting and it hit some emotional buttons really well, I need a little internally consistent logic to wrap my brain around.

For me Christian theology is fascinating because in part because I have no stake in it. I'm not a Christian, and was raised not a Christian, so don't have the whole emotional not-a-Christian that people who came by their non-Christianity the hard way have. So it is this alien universe that fascinates me, but is more than that to most , so I have to be careful not to hit sore spots when wandering there.

And Supernatural theology fascinates me because I think in getting their theology out of a cracker-jack box, in the course of writing a horror series they have actually stumbled on classical polytheism, thinly disguised as Christianity, which is actually what hoodo, Voudoun, Voodo and so on often are.

For various reasons, I think polytheism is the default religious setting of horror movies. A horror fiction can end up Christian, or secular or whatever if the author works to make it so, but I think Polytheism is where horror ends up when the author is not paying attention.

A horror fiction can end up Christian, or secular or whatever if the author works to make it so, but I think Polytheism is where horror ends up when the author is not paying attention.

Yes, this.

I'm also firmly of the mind that the kind of theological system (be it poly or monotheistic or something else) that makes for a satisfying, compelling and otherwise interesting fictional universe is very rarely one I would like to live with in this universe. The reverse is also true.

They aren't exactly getting the cosmology from a cracker jack box. It is straight out of Vertigo comics and horror films. So alarmingly familiar to me.

They aren't exactly getting the cosmology from a cracker jack box. It is straight out of Vertigo comics and horror films.

It is as well thought out and internally consistent as if they had gotten from a cracker jack box. So not a huge distinction.