It’s amazing how this show can pull you into a relatively simple and straightforward story. I was very busy coming into this episode (the “24” premiere week is always nuts for me), so I started the episode while cleaning up. Roughly an hour later, I realized that I had made little progress. Believe it or not, it wasn’t my semi-obsession with Julie Benz, either!

No, this time, it was my fascination with Dean’s enormous feelings of guilt, and how much was running beneath the surface. Sam made a value judgment for his brother that speaks volumes, and I’m still not sure that I’ve considered all the possible interpretations of that decision. It’s rather clear what Dean’s interpretation is, however, and it just might make their relationship more complicated.

There’s some indication that the episodes are being aired out of the intended order, but I don’t think that it’s been as obvious or damaging as it could have been (in the sense of a series like “Firefly”, for instance). I see a fairly consistent progression of the character exploration. Sure, the rift between them in the previous episode might have evolved out of this series of events more naturally than out of “Asylum”, but it all hangs together very well.

It’s been a long time since a new episode aired, and absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder. Dean was even more enjoyable of a scoundrel this time around, and Sam managed to intrigue me with his choices. Both brothers continue to demonstrate a complex psychology of pain and regret, which gives this series an emotional depth. Considering that this is another episode with a relatively standard approach to a horror film staple, it really was all about the characters.

That includes John Winchester and Meg. As these two characters step into the picture, the series’ premise complicates in some interesting and unexpected ways. The executive procedures have the pedigree to make it work, and by establishing a credible and stylized basis for things that would otherwise seem cliché, the writers make the idea of warring generations of good and evil a fun prospect.

There’s a “sins of the father” mystique inherent to the show’s premise, so I’m not surprised that Dean and Sam will find themselves at war with the children of their demonic tormentor. Is this an indication that Meg’s father was a human at one point, and that he struck back at the Winchesters as a spirit after death?