What Is and What Should Never Be
| Supernatural episode | |
|---|---|
| “What Is and What Should Never Be” | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 20 (#42) |
| Writer(s) | Raelle Tucker |
| Director | Eric Kripke |
| Production no. | |
| Original airdate | May 3, 2007 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Folsom Prison Blues" | "All Hell Breaks Loose (Part 1)" |
2x20 (ep 42) "What Is and What Should Never Be", directed by Eric Kripke, written by Raelle Tucker (May 3, 2007)
- In the theme of "what could have been and maybe my alternate life means I'm crazy", along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Normal Again", The X-Files episode "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati", and The Last Temptation of Christ.
- Compare and contrast with the djinn episode of The X-Files ("Je Souhaite"), in which Mulder, rather than being given an alternate life, gets to make wishes.
- This djinn lives by bleeding dry people, prominently among them, young women. Compare and contrast with The Matrix and Edith Forbes' Exit to Reality -- reality is fictional.