Episode Details

Supernatural Season 7, Episode 17, The Born-Again Identity recap 😇 Sam hasn’t slept in days, Lucifer won’t shut up, and Dean goes looking for a miracle on Denim-wrapped Nightmares, a Supernatural rewatch podcast.

Sam’s insomnia lands him in a locked psychiatric ward, where Lucifer is perched on every surface. Dean works his way through Bobby’s old phone book, looking for a healer who’s the real deal.

Episode Highlights:

• Sam sprints down the train tracks in his boots (Berly has questions about the boots), and a drug dealer turns out to be a surprisingly gracious host
• A psychotic break, a locked ward, and Lucifer perched everywhere like a gargoyle
• A business card that falls out of Bobby’s phone book just in time, and Mackey, who “wouldn’t call you on a maybe”
• Marin (Kacey Rohl), a fellow patient who sneaks Sam stolen candy bars and has a ghost problem of her own
• A healer named Emmanuel, a wife (Johanna Marlowe) tied up in the living room, and a very deliberate slow pan (thank you, Mr. Singer)
• Emmanuel found his name on a baby name website
• A convenience store ambush, and a rescue nobody saw coming
• The most awkward car ride in Supernatural history
• A demon orderly (Eli Goree) with a very bad treatment plan
• A bloodstained souvenir Dean has moved from car to car to car, and a Celine Dion moment

Written by Sera Gamble and directed by Robert Singer, who gets a thank-you for one particular shot. There’s barely any gore, but plenty of action. Both hosts loved Marin’s side story. Berly is fed up with Lucifer’s new childish routine, and she’s decided Daphne is the most relatable character in the whole series. Go watch Overboard.

In the lore segment, LA covers two articles. Psych Central explains how a few days without sleep can trigger psychosis, possibly because your brain builds and maintains its pathways while you sleep. Cleveland Clinic covers dissociative amnesia, when the mind blocks out memories to protect you from trauma. The memories are still there, just out of reach. Considering the year someone has had, it tracks.

Emmanuel: “Is that a flirtation?”

Meg: "No, it’s a species.” 

Your turn, hunters: Would you have pulled a Daphne? And does Meg have your trust this time? Tell us in the Spotify comments, leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts (it’s how new hunters find us), or send us fan mail. Bonus points for fandom fun facts we missed.

Sources:

• https://supernatural.fandom.com/wiki/The_Born-Again_Identity
• https://psychcentral.com/health/sleep-deprivation-psychosis
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9789-dissociative-amnesia

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Denim-wrapped Nightmares is a Supernatural rewatch podcast hosted by Berly and LA, breaking down every episode of the Winchester saga with lore deep-dives plus cast and crew interviews. Special thanks to David Fesliyan and Fesliyan Studios.

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