Reaper“Rebellion”
Original Air Date: April 22, 2008
Ashi – TwoCents Reviewer
Satan can’t get into circles, but it’s harder for our Reaper to get out of Satan’s grasp. Sam gets roped into a demon rebellion against his evil employer, but who’s really running the show?
Devil: The guy was a lawyer, of course. We have a lot of those in hell.
A hospital janitor posing as a doctor convinces Andi she hallucinated the fight between Sam and last episode’s escaped soul. As the boys indulge in free beer addressed to their apartment’s previous tenant, the Devil transports Sam to a bus stop to…invite him for ice cream? Sam just wants to get his assignment and go. Greedy injury case lawyer Cubby Bryce is out bleeding his victims dead.
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Reaper
ReplyDelete“Rebellion”
Original Air Date: April 22, 2008
Ashi – TwoCents Reviewer
Satan can’t get into circles, but it’s harder for our Reaper to get out of Satan’s grasp. Sam gets roped into a demon rebellion against his evil employer, but who’s really running the show?
Devil: The guy was a lawyer, of course. We have a lot of those in hell.
A hospital janitor posing as a doctor convinces Andi she hallucinated the fight between Sam and last episode’s escaped soul. As the boys indulge in free beer addressed to their apartment’s previous tenant, the Devil transports Sam to a bus stop to…invite him for ice cream? Sam just wants to get his assignment and go. Greedy injury case lawyer Cubby Bryce is out bleeding his victims dead.
Love is in the Work Bench air. Andi asks Sam out, while Sock gloats about Josie wearing the scarf he gave her for Christmas and wanting him back, but Josie wraps it around Ted. Ouch. Ew? Your pick.
Tony: Welcome to the revolution, Sam.
Sam leaves Cubby a voice mail about a fake work injury. Sock and Ben congratulate him for hooking up with Andi. Steve and Tony stop by to take Sam to their circular Devil-proof room -- Satan can only enter, see, or hear through cornered spaces. The demon pair reveals their plot to overthrow the Devil and use Sam’s Devil connections to help. He hesitates until he realizes he’d be freed from Satan’s ownership. While Sam’s on the phone with Sock and Ben about the plan, the Devil appears in the apartment with the whip vessel. Sam’s afraid he overheard him. Instead, the Devil rags on him for rudely refusing ice cream.
At the Bench Sock gives Ted Josie’s phone number. Like Josie would ever go out with such a loser, he figures.
Sam: For a bunch of demons I was expecting something more aggressive.
Steve: We do fun runs.
Steve, Tony, and Sam are at a rebel meeting, where demons discuss their good deeds. Their “kindness kills” plan disillusions Sam enough to make him leave. Tony follows him, draws them a chalk circle, and explodes into a tirade about killing the Devil. Thoroughly freaked, Sam walks out. Cubby calls him from an office about his supposed work injury case where he just sucked a man dry, and they agree to meet at the Bench. Sam shows the whip, Cubby springs into attack and tries to drain Sam, and Sam breaks free and snags the soul.
Sam and Andi talk date ideas at work, then jump into a wild make-out session and knock merchandise over. Meanwhile, Ted’s high off his date with Josie and theorizes to Sock Josie “dates down” to guys like them.
Sam: Uh, to be clear, I’m not friends with him. He’s just kind of…clingy.
At another meeting, the demons prepare a human sacrifice to release Sam from his contract through a legal loophole. Sam’s horrified at their evil action, and they shamefully release the sacrifice. While Steve takes him away, Tony preaches they should play up their demon strengths and kill the Devil. Sam will get his number to summon him. Sam’s not sure they stand a chance. Tony goes into true demon form, unfurls his wings, and roars. Okay, Reaper boy convinced.
Sock stomps to Josie’s place accusing her of dating down with him. She explains she dated him for him, not to feel superior, and went out with Ted out of obligation. Ted stops by, and Sock answers the door in Josie’s robe bragging about “hooking up Josie’s DVR.” Twice.
Sam: Is he going to hurt?
Tony: Oh, his pain will be excruciating.
Sam treats the Devil to ice cream for brushing him off. Turns out the Devil can’t even eat it because he melts it – God’s punishment. He becomes surprisingly wistful and tells Sam about his fall from heaven and the Maker’s love. Sam uses this in to finagle his number – score! But guilt’s eating the Reaper up, and he almost doesn’t give it to Tony. He’s not even excited about his date. Sock and Ben literally smack sense into him – he can only reclaim his soul if the Devil’s dead.
After they smooch on the couch during their date at the apartment, Andi decides she trusts him about his (Reaper) secrets, when Steve busts in and drags Sam to the secret room. Steve and Tony argue about how Tony lied to Steve about the plan. Tony storms out with Sam and a bold proclamation. “The Devil dies tonight.”
Ben: Look who signed the lease, Sock.
Sock: What? Saah-tahn.
Ben: SATAN, Sock!
The demons are ready for the kill, but Steve tries with no success making them see murdering Satan makes them even more evil. Out of love, he finally sides with Tony despite his beliefs. Sock and Ben stop by their place for some beer – Cubby Bryce’s beer, Ben realizes. In Cubby’s former apartment. That Satan leased to Sock to trick Sam into meeting Steve and Tony and conspiring against him. Ben and Sock call Sam to warn him, but Tony snatches his phone and summons the Devil. He incinerates the demon with archangel Michael’s sword, breaks it – a fake – and crumbles the building and the demons after transporting himself and Sam out. Sam figures out Steve’s global kindness retaliation actually threatened the Devil, but the Devil’s optimistic he’ll be around a while. As they part ways, someone crawls out of the rubble and spies Sam leaving. Tony’s not well but alive. No doubt he wants revenge.
“Rebellion” shot its way to my Number 1 favorite episode. We finally got some much-wanted insight into heaven and hell’s history and politics. I really liked the chillingly evocative symbolism in slaying the Devil: tongue for his lies, hands for twisting innocents into sin, and heart for its hate. The rebellion’s development felt rushed but built up enough suspense and drama to make up for the episode’s holes. If Cubby died months ago, why are there ads for him? My guess he started killing people the moment after he inconspicuously died. The circles theme was occasionally inconsistent. You’d think Sam would take extra care keeping the rebellion secret, but he didn’t draw a circle when he called Sock and Ben about it, and he didn’t fill in the mustard circle’s breaks. It didn’t matter in the end since the Devil orchestrated everything, but still irksome.
The Devil displayed a creepy amount of vulnerability. Obviously he told Sam about the fall to get on his good side, but there was a startling sincerity in his eyes and face. It makes sense how God and the Devil are on mutual terms about their arrangement. Despite being evil embodied, he still respects God to a degree. Sam’s inner conflict over helping the rebellion showed a lot of moral character, that the act of sinning rather than whom it affects takes priority.
I’m going to have to get used to Samdi. (Is there a fanon smush for this pairing yet?) Andi didn’t lie about not wanting to waste time, because all that kissing – wow.
Reaper has great lines. I think I’ll throw some in to guide the episode summaries. Tell me if it works for you guys. More importantly, tell TheTwoCents what you thought about this episode! What you liked, hated…hell, fanboy/girl over who looked hottest if you want to. Leave us your TwoCents in the comments.