Supernatural (TV Series) Let It Bleed (2011) User Reviews

Tying up loose ends

[zombiehigh18 · 8/10 · 25 December 2011]

Some episodes are very hard to comment on, and this is sure one of them. So full on events and emotions that can leave our head spinning by the end. Ever since Dean had Lisa and Ben in his life, he was torn between his desire to be with them as a family and his worry over protecting them. Dean knew his presence in their lives would turn out nasty one day. He had to let them go in order not to screw up their lives, in order not to to see Ben turn into another version of him and Sam. And now he is left facing one of his worst nightmares, when Crowley decides to hold them captive to force Dean to stand down. Dean finds himself doing questionable actions that he would hate to do in normal circumstances, He is back to torture and he is over the edge one again. He refuses to back down and let even Sam help him. But then he had to make yet another ultimate sacrifice choosing to ask Cas wipe their memories clean so they would not remember him, so they would never remember the amount of pain his presence in their lives had inflected on them, so Ben would not remember the horrible things that came out of his possessed mother's mouth, so Lisa would not hate herself for what she said to her boy.

Jensen Ackles delivered an award worthy performance in the scene in the hospital. We could see the pain, guilt and loss all over poor Dean.

Castiel is still trying to justify his actions to the only human he had ever cared about, he is trying to remind Dean of the many times he stood by his side, trying to ask him to trust him and stand down letting him do what he thinks is right. I find myself recalling the same act back on season four when Sam was asking Dean to trust him and accept the fact the he is working with a daemon for the greater good. Back then I hopped that Dean would trust his little brother a little more, just like I hopped he would trust Castiel now, But deep down I know Dean is right just like he was right with Sam before. But then I wonder will Dean ever save Cas from his crazy plan or will they face the disastrous results of failing to knock some sense into the nerdy angel's mind and they will be left to clean up the mess he will leave behind like Sam did two seasons ago?

Cindy Sampson was good in her twisted evil role and I hope this is not the last we see of her. I still can't fully accept the idea of erasing Lisa and Ben's memories even though I understand the reasons for it because on the other hand they would always be in danger just because Dean will always care for them and the bad guys know it too.

Finally I like the idea of bringing on a friendly purgatory monster in the form of Dr. Eleanor Visyak, there is more to this lady than we were told before.

All in all, this is an important Pre finale may be not as climatic as the previous seasons but it is sure rich in events.

The only downside that is troubling me was that Dean should have known Lisa or Ben would be possessed he saw that happen before with his dad on season one and later with Bobby on season five, He should at least test them with some holly water or something first but I guess his mind was not in the right place then with so many things troubling him.

A powerful episode, marred by a senseless ending

[LaFeeChartreuse · 8/10 · 6 July 2011]

For the most part this episode was intense, suspenseful and quite well done - up until the very last few minutes.

Dean's final act with regard to Lisa and Ben makes no sense at all. Removing their memory of him is not going to protect them in any way - quite the reverse! The reason Crowley targeted them is because Dean cared about them - which he still does. Their feelings for him had nothing to do with it. So they're still just as likely to attacked by Crowley or other supernaturals as before - more so, if anything, since Dean's probably angered Crowley considerably, and there's no reason he'd hesitate to make good on his threat to them. The only difference is that now they have no idea what's out there or who to call on for help if something does come after them - so they're actually much more likely to get hurt or killed than they would have been otherwise. They just won't have any idea why it's happening. How, exactly, is this an improvement?

Of course, all that only applies if you assume that the world of Supernatural operates on actual logic. But many past events have shown that logic takes a back seat to drama, emotional impact, and sometimes even mere convenience, so this may have simply been a way of writing them out of the show in a suitably angst-producing way, while leaving open the option of bringing them back at some point if the plot requires it. But in actual story terms, it makes no sense at all, and weakens what would otherwise have been an excellent episode.

Great Episode

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 26 December 2012]

Bobby tells Dean and Sam that Castiel has stolen the Moishe Campbell Diary, but he has a copy. They read the journal and discover that in 1937, H.P. Lovecraft had opened a gate to Purgatory with five worshipers of the devil.

Meanwhile Crowley abducts Lisa and Ben to force Dean and Sam to step back. Sam summons Balthazar and the angel is surprised with the revelations about the partnership of Castiel with Balthazar. While Dean and Sam seek out Lisa and Ben, Bobby investigates what happened in 10 March 1937 and discovers the truth about his friend Ellie. Balthazar brings Dean and Sam to an angel-proofed warehouse where Lisa and Ben are captive. When Dean is ready to rescue them, he discovers that Lisa is possessed by a demon.

"Let it Bleed" is a great episode of this uneven Sixth Season. The story is full of action and twists and Dean takes his ultimate decision to protect Lisa and Ben. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Deixe Sangrar" ("Let it Bleed")

disagreeing with another as

[jtsjtssmokey · 9/10 · 8 October 2021]

This is Dean and the sacrifice to keep the family he loves alive. Personally, think Dean was/is Bens dad, and would have loved to see that in the last couple of epis of the show. The story had run its course as Dean life is on the road hunting despite trying to stay away from. It was to hard to stay together when hardly "home" and the danger is always there, this epi proved it. Telling Sam to never say their name again, or break his nose, shows the deep hurt that he can not express.

Would have been nice to see them at the end, but because of the crap that the "good little..." and so much more... Though maybe sometime in the future could be a part of an update knowing that there was a son... Enjoyed this epi, as we know how much he loves his bro, but knowing that he really loved...

Unforgivable

[krismatl · 9/10 · 17 August 2023]

This episode makes me angry every single time I watch it from the first time it aired to August 16, 2023, I am watching it again and all I wanted to do is find the people responsible and tell them off. Fans are responsible for the removal of Lisa and Ben because they felt threatened by any fictional character. Lisa and Ben had a lot of potential and became hunters themselves or at least being able to be trained and how to deal with life. The whole point of Supernatural is about family and to Dean, Lisa and Ben was his family to take them away from him was absolutely the worst thing that has been done on this show. Everyone responsible for the decision making I see nothing but just disappointment and there's so much that could have been done with the story. Just nobody wants Dean to ever be happy or have any actual real love in his life. Saying how after 15 years both Sam and Dean end up completely alone still is one of the worst outcomes of the entire show that neither one of them could have found a good proper female hunter to marry or at least have a committed relationship with. Lisa was definitely someone that should have stayed! If for some reason the show ever does get picked up again I hope it's something that can be corrected.

Recurring theme!

[mm-39 · 10/10 · 29 May 2011]

Recurring theme! A good storyline and good character development of a recurring theme. When does the ends justify the means? Dean goes out of control and does some questionable things when his family is kidnapped! Dean is helped out by another character who has good intentions but does questionable events. Is Dean a hypocrite? Just as when Sam used the same logic! One sees the problems with Sam as a results of some of Dean's reckless actions. Sam is stunned at Dean's behaviour; little does Sam realize that he was exactly the same way maybe worse than Dean when he had no soul. In the end, one wonders about Dean? One wonders if this episode is a foreshadow for the season finale. I give "Let it bleed" a ten out of ten.

An emotional ride

[jackiehedstrom · 10/10 · 9 December 2022]

Very good episode - emotional, very well acted (especially by Ackles), well written. Many scenes that live on the strength of the pent up emotions - the fractured friendship between Cas and Dean, the hopless love between Dean and Lisa, Deans fatherly feelings towards Ben.

An then there is Crowley - witty and crude, and Castiel in his most loveable position - the feeling, torn, but strong and dedicated warrior.

The episode moves fast and gets more story into the 41 minutes then one could imagine possible.

The final scenes are beautifully done and acted, and really seal the Ben and Lisa saga the right way.

The Lisa-Ben Story deserved a better send off

[CubsandCulture · 7/10 · 9 April 2020]

I might be alone in this regard but the Lisa-Ben story in season 6 is my favorite aspect of the season. It is Dean at his most different and uncomfortable, i.e. interesting. Overall, I think this storyline is worth telling. There is just something to seeing Dean trying to be a father and partner. (The writers clearly picked up on this given that they expand upon the father idea with Jack) But I don't like the ending of this story. The finality of the resolution is exceptionally harsh and while Ackles sells it well enough it feels like a regression of Dean's character. Moreover, this episode has a vibe of just going through the motions to wrap up a storyline that writers OR fans lost interest in. It is the big disappointment in the season.

Writers really screwed this one

[shwetafabm · 7/10 · 22 June 2020]

Bobby has a permanent address and its one of those things we just gotta swallow. The boys are there a lot and Bobby is definitely hated by demons too but never attacked. Now we see Crowley knew where Dean was in last eps flashback, he knows about Lisa and Ben but doesn't attack them for his own reasons. Ok. So Dean makes the stupid mistake of staying at a permanent address, he was desperate i guess, he screwed up, that should mean Lisa and Ben should really live secret identities, it's inevitable. Ok now that Dean the control freak with no respect for people's boundaries has taken away their memories we are forced to swallow that they now completely unaware and unprotected will never be hurt again to get back at Dean. That's just stupid, unnecessarily stupid, i get the Bobby thing, they want some homely feel in the show whatever, this was senseless, unnecessary and character regression. Do they get points for Sam acknowledging this? Um no cuz at the end it's about Dean's man pain. My god writers i would not even mind this if it made sense because you can't just wrap it up like this, they have to disappear and live like they are in witness protection. The episode itself was fine. I didn't care at all for the fight sequence, like i don't most of the time with this show. Demon Lisa was good and Balthazar was good. Slowly slowly i am getting bored of Dean and Sam, i am liking the others more. Also no stakes huh, cuz Cass exists, even if she died he would have just got her back unless we are to believe fate and her sisters are not ok with that sort of thing... The lovecraft thing was ok That demon just walks out the sign, did i miss something? Was it tampered? Didn't look like it.

Great Show Hate What Comes After

[sooner_marinette · 7/10 · 29 April 2024]

I know Dean says Lisa and Ben are never to be talked about again, but the show almost LITERALLY never talks about them again.

There is so much that ties back to this time when Dean tried to have a normal life and built these relationships. The time that Sam does the same thing while Dean is in Purgatory. All the one million times we explore why this is the life the boys always choose. There is so much that is explored here and then left to be forgotten for the next 9 seasons.

I get for all that comes until around season 10 when even Cass is exploring Claire and "The Things We Left Behind" and we are still not talking about Lisa and Ben, it makes me a little crazy. Like the Mandela effect or something. Like I saw Sinbad playing a genie when we get farther along. It is frustrating.