What Is and What Should Never Be (Supernatural)
Encyclopedia
"What Is and What Should Never Be" is the twentieth episode of the paranormal
drama
television series Supernatural
s second season
. It was first broadcast on May 3, 2007, on The CW
. The narrative follows series protagonist Dean Winchester
(Jensen Ackles
) who finds himself in an alternate reality after a confrontation with a djinn
. The creature appears to have fulfilled Dean's greatest wish: that his mother had not been killed when he was a child. Dean is happy in the new world until it becomes apparent that his previous work as a hunter of supernatural creatures has been undone. At this point he rejects the alternate reality, and attempts to find a method to bring himself back.
The episode was written by Raelle Tucker, and marked the directorial debut of series creator Eric Kripke
. It featured the return of deceased characters Mary Winchester (Samantha Smith) and Jessica Moore (Adrianne Palicki
). Kripke enjoyed expanding upon the character of Mary, who was only briefly depicted in earlier episodes. The production schedule had to be altered to accommodate Palicki, who was simultaneously working on the TV series Friday Night Lights
.
Despite obtaining low ratings, the episode acquired positive critical reviews that both praised Ackles' performance and welcomed the return of Smith and Palicki to the series. Tucker also received a Constellation Award for her work on the episode.
that he is hunting. He suddenly finds himself in a world in which his mother (Smith) was not killed by the demon Azazel
. He and his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki
) were not raised to be hunters of supernatural creatures, and are no longer close; when a confused Dean calls him for help, Sam thinks that he is drunk. In the new reality, Dean is dating the beautiful Carmen (Michelle Borth
), and Sam is engaged to Jessica (Palicki)—another victim of Azazel. Although Dean enjoys his new life, a ghostly young woman seems to be haunting him. He realizes that all the people that he and Sam had saved as hunters are now dead and that he and Sam have a distant and somewhat adversarial relationship, and is confronted by the image of corpses in his closet. After visiting the grave of his father John
, who died the previous year of a stroke, Dean decides that he must give up his new-found happiness to save them.
In need of a something silver—a weakness of the djinn—Dean breaks into his mother's house to steal a sterling silver knife. However, he is caught by Sam. While Dean at first pretends that he needs the knife to repay a gambling debt, he eventually reveals the truth. Although Sam does not believe him, he accompanies his brother to the djinn's warehouse lair. There Dean discovers that the young woman he has been seeing is a victim of the djinn. Noticing that she is alive but hallucinating—a way for the djinn to keep its victims captive while it feeds—Dean realizes that he, too, is within a illusory world. Knowing that a person wakes up if he or she dies in a dream, he decides to kill himself. Carmen, Jessica, and his mother appear and try to talk him out of it. Dean resists the urge to stay, and awakens in the real world after stabbing himself. Sam, who is already in the warehouse trying to rescue him, is attacked by the djinn, but Dean kills the creature.
relationship". Once the story was fully developed, Tucker was given free rein over the script; this surprised her because she expected Kripke to "be more of a backseat driver than he was".
The opportunity to bring back the character of Mary Winchester excited Kripke. Though she is a driving force behind the brothers' quest to kill the demon Azazel and is referenced numerous times throughout the first two seasons, her two appearances in the series were very brief. The episode allowed the character to be expanded upon, depicting her as a "really perfect and idyllic mother". However, Kripke felt that Dean would realize something was amiss if he was granted a "perfect dream world", so John Winchester, who died in the second season premiere, remained dead.
The final version of the episode differed from the original concept. It was initially intended for Dean to be a "huge loser" in his new life; being a hunter is what gives him structure and purpose. Without hunting, he would be a jobless barfly. Kripke compared the new reality to a Charles Bukowski
novel, but noted that the selfless Dean still preferred the new universe, with Sam happy and living a good life. However, executive producer Robert Singer
and others convinced him to change this, because they did not think Dean would be happy suddenly waking up in such a reality. Another variation stemmed from Dean's lack of someone to confide in—normally Sam is his confidant. Because the writers found it difficult to communicate Dean's feelings, early drafts of the script included a number of internal monologues. These were ultimately replaced by a scene in which he discusses the djinn with a professor. The studio wanted the scene of Dean and his girlfriend Carmen kissing on the sofa to include sex. However, Kripke could not work it into the script, because he found it unrealistic that she would purposefully be late for her job as a hospital nurse.
—the origins of genie folklore—became the episode's monster, but featured the "bastardized western conception" of wish-granting to fit the episode. To avoid the typical portrayal of genies in popular culture—such as those from Aladdin and I Dream of Jeannie
—they chose to create a "logical twist on the lore" by making the creature vampiric. Tucker originally intended for the creature's feeding method to be mystical—it would inhale its victim's life essence from his or her mouth. However, Kripke preferred to style it more like a horror movie, and had the djinn feed from a shunt
in its victim's neck.
The creature's appearance was inspired by an image of a woman with a henna-tattooed
back that Kripke found on the internet. He thought it would be intriguing to have the villain's entire body tattooed. The actor who portrayed the djinn—Mackenzie Gray
—had a shaved head, so special effects makeup artist Toby Lindala only used a minor prosthetic to cover Gray's eyebrows. Lindala found the tattoos to be a "particular challenge" because they were "intricate designs". The production schedule could not accommodate the six hours needed to apply the makeup each day, so the actor was booked with the condition that the make-up not be removed for four days. Gray's personal life was affected by this, as people on the street were scared by his appearance. Lindala was surprised that Gray was able to keep the tattoos undamaged outside of filming.
for the episode took place in Vancouver
, British Columbia
. Kripke wanted Adrianne Palicki
to reprise her role of Jessica Moore—Sam's deceased girlfriend—but she was busy filming for the Texas-based television series Friday Night Lights
. Because Jessica was an integral aspect of the storyline, the production schedule was adjusted to accommodate the actress. The first five days of filming commenced for "What Is and What Should Never Be", and production then shifted to "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One
" until Palicki became available for the final three days of filming. However, she was not present for filming of the episode's climax. Instead, the actress filmed her part in front of a blue screen
, and was later digitally added into the scene.
Because the series usually has a dark atmosphere, often consisting of "sets with grime and a sense of danger", Kripke wanted there to be a contrast between the two worlds. Therefore, he requested that production designer Jerry Wanek build the "most beautiful, warm, affectionate sets you’ve ever seen". Cinematographer Serge Ladouceur also made the usual shadows and "moody lighting" more colorful and warm. Though it rained almost constantly through filming, perfect weather arose for filming of one of the main contrasting scenes—Dean mowing the lawn. Kripke wanted it to appear "too perfect to be real", and was able to film the "sunny, beautiful scene". The "creepy" warehouse used as a lair by the djinn was a redesigned warehouse set from the television series Kyle XY
.
One of the first directors Kripke had become acquainted with and learned from was David Nutter. Kripke thus wanted to include homages to Nutter's work on the pilot; some scenes of the new reality were meant to be recreations from the first episode. The crew attempted to match the camera angles, lighting, and music as much as possible. While Sam and Jessica sleeping together in bed was supposed to be an exact replica of a similar scene, the fight between the brothers differed. Because the new Sam is "pretty much a wussy", Dean is able to take him down instantly. Tucker noted that it was also a "sneaky way" of hinting that the new reality was merely an illusion, as he is "re-experiencing that moment from the pilot because his fantasy world is being generated by what he already knows and has lived".
Many of the photos present throughout the Winchester home were photoshopped by graphic artist Mary-Ann Liu. Each one was discussed and refined, as Kripke felt they were important to show the new Winchester family history. Some pictures, such as Dean at the prom and Sam at graduation, were edited versions of photos from Ackles' and Padalecki's childhood.
"adored" the episode, and considered it to be Jensen Ackles' best performance of the series. She experienced an "emotional roller coaster the entire hour", finding Dean's monologue at his father's grave to be "crushing" but the lawnmower scene to be "hilarious". Likewise, Diana Steenbergen of IGN
gave the episode a rating of 9.2 out of 10, praising the quick pace, "heavy" character development, and "ton and a half of angst". She, too, felt that Ackles "hits the ball out of the park", and noted that the episode's humor stemmed from Ackles' willingness to be a "big goofball". Actresses Samantha Smith and Adrianne Palicki were "a treat", although Steenbergen would have liked Jeffrey Dean Morgan to return.
Tom Burns of UGO deemed the episode as "one of the strongest hours of Supernatural all season", feeling that "the actors really stepped up their game...and sold every moment". He also noted the "unapologetically emotional" Ackles, who "[wore] his joy, sadness, and anxiety all over this face, but always [kept] things real and in character". Though Burns believed that "wish-world" stories have been overused in fiction, he felt that Ackles' "hardcore acting chops" allowed the episode to "escape from mediocrity". The "outstanding" and "well crafted" episode was given a 7 out of 7 by TV Squad's Brett Love. He considered the djinn as "one of the better representations" of genies in popular culture, and noted that the creature had the "perfect creepy look to it". He was pleased to see Smith and Palicki return, and found the character of Carmen to be "a nice addition to the family". Don Williams of BuddyTV
agreed, and ranked the episode third in his list of the best episodes of the first three seasons. Deeming it the best standalone episode, he noted that it "can be embraced by anyone who enjoys clever writing, great acting, or a shirtless Jensen Ackles".
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
television series Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
s second season
Supernatural (season 2)
Season two of Supernatural, an American paranormal drama television series created by Eric Kripke, premiered September 28, 2006, and concluded May 17, 2007, airing 22 episodes. The season focuses on protagonists Sam and Dean Winchester as they track down Azazel, the demon responsible for the...
. It was first broadcast on May 3, 2007, on The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
. The narrative follows series protagonist Dean Winchester
Dean Winchester
Dean Winchester is a fictional character from The CW Television Network's Supernatural, portrayed by Jensen Ackles. He hunts demons, spirits and other supernatural creatures with his younger brother Sam.-Background:...
(Jensen Ackles
Jensen Ackles
Jensen Ross Ackles is an American actor. He is known for his roles in television as Eric Brady in Days of our Lives, which earned him several Daytime Emmy Award nominations, as well as Alec/X5-494 in Dark Angel and Jason Teague in Smallville...
) who finds himself in an alternate reality after a confrontation with a djinn
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
. The creature appears to have fulfilled Dean's greatest wish: that his mother had not been killed when he was a child. Dean is happy in the new world until it becomes apparent that his previous work as a hunter of supernatural creatures has been undone. At this point he rejects the alternate reality, and attempts to find a method to bring himself back.
The episode was written by Raelle Tucker, and marked the directorial debut of series creator Eric Kripke
Eric Kripke
Eric Kripke is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for creating the television series Supernatural.-Biography:...
. It featured the return of deceased characters Mary Winchester (Samantha Smith) and Jessica Moore (Adrianne Palicki
Adrianne Palicki
Adrianne Palicki is an American actress best known for her role as Tyra Collette on the NBC television series Friday Night Lights.-Early life:...
). Kripke enjoyed expanding upon the character of Mary, who was only briefly depicted in earlier episodes. The production schedule had to be altered to accommodate Palicki, who was simultaneously working on the TV series Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
.
Despite obtaining low ratings, the episode acquired positive critical reviews that both praised Ackles' performance and welcomed the return of Smith and Palicki to the series. Tucker also received a Constellation Award for her work on the episode.
Plot
The episode begins in an abandoned warehouse, where Dean (Ackles) is attacked by the djinnGenie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
that he is hunting. He suddenly finds himself in a world in which his mother (Smith) was not killed by the demon Azazel
Azazel (Supernatural)
Azazel is a fictional character on The CW Television Network's drama and horror television series Supernatural. He serves as the primary antagonist during the first two seasons. A demon, he feeds his blood to infants so that they will grow up to develop demonic abilities. His endgame of using one...
. He and his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki
Jared Padalecki
Jared Tristan Padalecki is an American actor. He grew up in Texas and came to fame in the early 2000s after appearing on the television series Gilmore Girls as well as in several Hollywood films, including New York Minute and House of Wax...
) were not raised to be hunters of supernatural creatures, and are no longer close; when a confused Dean calls him for help, Sam thinks that he is drunk. In the new reality, Dean is dating the beautiful Carmen (Michelle Borth
Michelle Borth
Michelle Borth is a American actress who portrayed characters on The Forgotten and critically acclaimed HBO cable television series Tell Me You Love Me, a role for which film.com proclaimed her "the nakedest person in TV history."...
), and Sam is engaged to Jessica (Palicki)—another victim of Azazel. Although Dean enjoys his new life, a ghostly young woman seems to be haunting him. He realizes that all the people that he and Sam had saved as hunters are now dead and that he and Sam have a distant and somewhat adversarial relationship, and is confronted by the image of corpses in his closet. After visiting the grave of his father John
John Winchester (Supernatural)
John Eric Winchester is a fictional character on The CW Television Network's drama/horror television series Supernatural, and the protagonist of the comic book spin-off series Supernatural: Origins. Developed by series creator Eric Kripke, the character is mainly portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan...
, who died the previous year of a stroke, Dean decides that he must give up his new-found happiness to save them.
In need of a something silver—a weakness of the djinn—Dean breaks into his mother's house to steal a sterling silver knife. However, he is caught by Sam. While Dean at first pretends that he needs the knife to repay a gambling debt, he eventually reveals the truth. Although Sam does not believe him, he accompanies his brother to the djinn's warehouse lair. There Dean discovers that the young woman he has been seeing is a victim of the djinn. Noticing that she is alive but hallucinating—a way for the djinn to keep its victims captive while it feeds—Dean realizes that he, too, is within a illusory world. Knowing that a person wakes up if he or she dies in a dream, he decides to kill himself. Carmen, Jessica, and his mother appear and try to talk him out of it. Dean resists the urge to stay, and awakens in the real world after stabbing himself. Sam, who is already in the warehouse trying to rescue him, is attacked by the djinn, but Dean kills the creature.
Writing
Series creator Eric Kripke's first experience as director was slated for the twentieth episode of the season, and Raelle Tucker was scheduled to pen it. Kripke wanted a script that was as "director-proof as possible", but that would "play with structure and really do something different". He shot down every idea the writers pitched to him until Tucker suggested an alternate reality episode. Drawing inspiration from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Normal Again", Kripke was excited by the concept. He felt Dean's definitive moment was the death of his mother Mary, so the "diversion path" of the new reality would be based on the question, "What if mom never died?" This change allows Sam and Dean to live normal lives, though at the cost of their relationship. The point of the false reality, in Kripke's opinion, was to show that the brothers would not be close if they had not become hunters. The staff tried to persuade him to remove this aspect, but he thought it would be "lame" for Sam and Dean to have a "7th Heaven7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
relationship". Once the story was fully developed, Tucker was given free rein over the script; this surprised her because she expected Kripke to "be more of a backseat driver than he was".
The opportunity to bring back the character of Mary Winchester excited Kripke. Though she is a driving force behind the brothers' quest to kill the demon Azazel and is referenced numerous times throughout the first two seasons, her two appearances in the series were very brief. The episode allowed the character to be expanded upon, depicting her as a "really perfect and idyllic mother". However, Kripke felt that Dean would realize something was amiss if he was granted a "perfect dream world", so John Winchester, who died in the second season premiere, remained dead.
The final version of the episode differed from the original concept. It was initially intended for Dean to be a "huge loser" in his new life; being a hunter is what gives him structure and purpose. Without hunting, he would be a jobless barfly. Kripke compared the new reality to a Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
novel, but noted that the selfless Dean still preferred the new universe, with Sam happy and living a good life. However, executive producer Robert Singer
Robert Singer
Robert W. Singer is an American Republican Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 1993, where he represents the 30th Legislative District. He was the Mayor of Lakewood Township, New Jersey in 2009...
and others convinced him to change this, because they did not think Dean would be happy suddenly waking up in such a reality. Another variation stemmed from Dean's lack of someone to confide in—normally Sam is his confidant. Because the writers found it difficult to communicate Dean's feelings, early drafts of the script included a number of internal monologues. These were ultimately replaced by a scene in which he discusses the djinn with a professor. The studio wanted the scene of Dean and his girlfriend Carmen kissing on the sofa to include sex. However, Kripke could not work it into the script, because he found it unrealistic that she would purposefully be late for her job as a hospital nurse.
Djinn
The writers wanted to use a wish to create the new reality, and chose a genie to facilitate it. The Islamic djinnGenie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
—the origins of genie folklore—became the episode's monster, but featured the "bastardized western conception" of wish-granting to fit the episode. To avoid the typical portrayal of genies in popular culture—such as those from Aladdin and I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
—they chose to create a "logical twist on the lore" by making the creature vampiric. Tucker originally intended for the creature's feeding method to be mystical—it would inhale its victim's life essence from his or her mouth. However, Kripke preferred to style it more like a horror movie, and had the djinn feed from a shunt
Shunt (medical)
In medicine, a shunt is a hole or a small passage which moves, or allows movement of fluid from one part of the body to another. The term may describe either congenital or acquired shunts; and acquired shunts may be either biological or mechanical.* Cardiac shunts may be described as...
in its victim's neck.
The creature's appearance was inspired by an image of a woman with a henna-tattooed
Mehndi
Mehndi or menhdi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in India, as well as by expatriate communities from the country. The word mehndi is derived from the Sanskrit word mendhikā. The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Vedic ritual books...
back that Kripke found on the internet. He thought it would be intriguing to have the villain's entire body tattooed. The actor who portrayed the djinn—Mackenzie Gray
Mackenzie Gray
Mackenzie Gray is a Canadian film, television, and stage actor. He is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Canada. He divides his time between Toronto and Vancouver....
—had a shaved head, so special effects makeup artist Toby Lindala only used a minor prosthetic to cover Gray's eyebrows. Lindala found the tattoos to be a "particular challenge" because they were "intricate designs". The production schedule could not accommodate the six hours needed to apply the makeup each day, so the actor was booked with the condition that the make-up not be removed for four days. Gray's personal life was affected by this, as people on the street were scared by his appearance. Lindala was surprised that Gray was able to keep the tattoos undamaged outside of filming.
Filming
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
for the episode took place in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Kripke wanted Adrianne Palicki
Adrianne Palicki
Adrianne Palicki is an American actress best known for her role as Tyra Collette on the NBC television series Friday Night Lights.-Early life:...
to reprise her role of Jessica Moore—Sam's deceased girlfriend—but she was busy filming for the Texas-based television series Friday Night Lights
Friday Night Lights (TV series)
Friday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
. Because Jessica was an integral aspect of the storyline, the production schedule was adjusted to accommodate the actress. The first five days of filming commenced for "What Is and What Should Never Be", and production then shifted to "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One
All Hell Breaks Loose (Supernatural)
"All Hell Breaks Loose" is the joint title for the two-part second season finale of the CW television series Supernatural. It consists of the twenty-first and twenty-second episodes of the second season. "Part One" was first broadcast on May 10, 2007, and the second part aired the following week...
" until Palicki became available for the final three days of filming. However, she was not present for filming of the episode's climax. Instead, the actress filmed her part in front of a blue screen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
, and was later digitally added into the scene.
Because the series usually has a dark atmosphere, often consisting of "sets with grime and a sense of danger", Kripke wanted there to be a contrast between the two worlds. Therefore, he requested that production designer Jerry Wanek build the "most beautiful, warm, affectionate sets you’ve ever seen". Cinematographer Serge Ladouceur also made the usual shadows and "moody lighting" more colorful and warm. Though it rained almost constantly through filming, perfect weather arose for filming of one of the main contrasting scenes—Dean mowing the lawn. Kripke wanted it to appear "too perfect to be real", and was able to film the "sunny, beautiful scene". The "creepy" warehouse used as a lair by the djinn was a redesigned warehouse set from the television series Kyle XY
Kyle XY
Kyle XY is an American television series with a science fiction premise and mystery-drama style. The central character is a teenage boy who awakens naked in a forest outside Seattle, Washington, with no more knowledge or abilities than a newborn. He is taken in by a family and given the name Kyle...
.
One of the first directors Kripke had become acquainted with and learned from was David Nutter. Kripke thus wanted to include homages to Nutter's work on the pilot; some scenes of the new reality were meant to be recreations from the first episode. The crew attempted to match the camera angles, lighting, and music as much as possible. While Sam and Jessica sleeping together in bed was supposed to be an exact replica of a similar scene, the fight between the brothers differed. Because the new Sam is "pretty much a wussy", Dean is able to take him down instantly. Tucker noted that it was also a "sneaky way" of hinting that the new reality was merely an illusion, as he is "re-experiencing that moment from the pilot because his fantasy world is being generated by what he already knows and has lived".
Many of the photos present throughout the Winchester home were photoshopped by graphic artist Mary-Ann Liu. Each one was discussed and refined, as Kripke felt they were important to show the new Winchester family history. Some pictures, such as Dean at the prom and Sam at graduation, were edited versions of photos from Ackles' and Padalecki's childhood.
Music
The episode's synthesized orchestral score was written by Christopher Lennertz. As of production of the fourth season, the episode has been his favorite one to score. Lennertz used a solo bassoon for the emotional scenes in the alternate reality rather than the cello he normally uses for Sam and Dean's relationship. He noted that it "set a very interesting lead tone for the episode". Following the series' tradition, the episode also featured rock songs.Reception
In its original broadcast, "What Is and What Should Never Be" was viewed by an estimated 3.11 million viewers, one of the lowest ratings for the season. Conversely, writer Raelle Tucker won the Constellation Award for "Best Overall 2007 Science Fiction Film or Television Script" for her work on the episode, and the episode garnered positive reviews from critics. Tina Charles of TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
"adored" the episode, and considered it to be Jensen Ackles' best performance of the series. She experienced an "emotional roller coaster the entire hour", finding Dean's monologue at his father's grave to be "crushing" but the lawnmower scene to be "hilarious". Likewise, Diana Steenbergen of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the episode a rating of 9.2 out of 10, praising the quick pace, "heavy" character development, and "ton and a half of angst". She, too, felt that Ackles "hits the ball out of the park", and noted that the episode's humor stemmed from Ackles' willingness to be a "big goofball". Actresses Samantha Smith and Adrianne Palicki were "a treat", although Steenbergen would have liked Jeffrey Dean Morgan to return.
Tom Burns of UGO deemed the episode as "one of the strongest hours of Supernatural all season", feeling that "the actors really stepped up their game...and sold every moment". He also noted the "unapologetically emotional" Ackles, who "[wore] his joy, sadness, and anxiety all over this face, but always [kept] things real and in character". Though Burns believed that "wish-world" stories have been overused in fiction, he felt that Ackles' "hardcore acting chops" allowed the episode to "escape from mediocrity". The "outstanding" and "well crafted" episode was given a 7 out of 7 by TV Squad's Brett Love. He considered the djinn as "one of the better representations" of genies in popular culture, and noted that the creature had the "perfect creepy look to it". He was pleased to see Smith and Palicki return, and found the character of Carmen to be "a nice addition to the family". Don Williams of BuddyTV
BuddyTV
BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website based in Seattle, Washington, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profiles, actor biographies and...
agreed, and ranked the episode third in his list of the best episodes of the first three seasons. Deeming it the best standalone episode, he noted that it "can be embraced by anyone who enjoys clever writing, great acting, or a shirtless Jensen Ackles".