Sam: "Me, too."
They went from rubber chickens and whoopee cushions to killing children and the advent of the Antichrist in the space of one episode. That's what Supernatural does best, though, which is one of the reasons why I love it.
It was Sam's turn to shine. His previous relevant experience as a tool of demons made him see the situation in a different way than Dean did. And Sam was right for a change – at least for now. Wouldn't it be a nice twist if the destined angel-killing Antichrist Jesse Turner retained his goodness instead, and became a Winchester ally? And speaking of twists, since Dean has been ascending and Sam descending, wouldn't it be another nice twist if Sam saved the world in the end?
Of course, the subtext of the episode was Dean and Sam's deprived, monster-filled childhood with no tooth fairies or joy buzzers. At least Jesse got ten years as a normal kid with loving parents. It might be enough. Doesn't what happens to you in your formative years shape your personality forever?
There's still some tension between Dean and Sam – Sam was sarcastic and dismissive toward Dean more than once, and I couldn't believe Dean actually hit Sam with that killer joy buzzer – but some of the old vibe was back, and the beginning of the episode was quite funny. I particularly loved the melted rubber chicken, and the way they electrocuted the ham. Dean eating the ham was predictable, since Jensen always gets the eating scenes, but it still made me laugh out loud.
The hair on Dean's palm was also funny (he was lucky he didn't go blind), but wasn't Jesse a little young for his parents to tell him something like that? (Or maybe he heard it in the schoolyard. Never mind.) Why was Sam sanctimonious about it? Sam and Dean are young, healthy (gorgeous) men who aren't getting much; if they're not finding some sort of release, to put it delicately, then there's something wrong with them.
Castiel on a whoopee cushion was priceless. ("That wasn't me.") I love Castiel. Misha Collins does so much with the character's deadpan expression and intonation. And now we know that he's also fun as an angel action figure.
Bits and pieces:
— Loved the title. But it made me hear that Whitney Houston song in my head continuously all day today. Talk about evil.
— Great casting of little Jesse Turner. I liked him. He was smart and self-reliant and I believed all the twists in the plot. Not an easy part for a child to play.
— I was a bit confused about the biology. Jesse was the child of the virginal Julia Wright and the demon who possessed her body, right? Why don't all demons do that, then, and why aren't there antichrists in every county? And why did possessed Julia say that Jesse had his father's eyes? How would she know what the demon's original human form looked like? (Oh, duh! Because she was the father. Never mind!)
— When Jesse went upstairs to check on his parents, I thought at first they'd be action figures, or something far worse. But no. I'd forgotten that Castiel had put them asleep until morning so he'd be free to plunge a magical knife into Jesse.
— I liked the comparison of Bobby (in his hidden base in South Dakota) to the Patrick Stewart character in X-Men. (What was that character's name again? I'm not an X-Men fan.)
— Was Amber the babysitter watching Cujo? Babysitters should know better than to watch horror movies on the job by this time, really.
— This week, Alliance and Elk Creek, Nebraska. The boys (who are almost exclusively FBI lately, harkening back to their X-Files roots) were agents Page and Plant again. The motel room had an extreme Americana/log cabin theme with many, many flags.
— Next episode is in two weeks, October 29. I'm hoping for a great Halloween episode. Especially if it's our last Supernatural Halloween episode. What a depressing thought.
Quotes:
Magic store owner: "These days, all they care about are iPhones and those kissing vampire movies."
Sam: "Whatever's doing this is reshaping reality, has the powers of a god. Or a trickster."
Dean: "And the sense of humor of a nine-year-old."
Sam: "Or you."
Sam: "What's that?"
Jesse: "It's called soup. You heat it up and you eat it."
Sam: "If we lay it all out for him, the Apocalypse, everything, he might make the right choice."
Castiel: "You didn't."
Sam: "I'm Sam Winchester. That's my brother, Dean. We fight monsters."
Julia/Demon: "Except when you are the monster."
Jesse: "Why are you telling me this?"
Sam: "Because I have to believe someone can make the right choice, even if I couldn't."
Another good one, and probably some cool set-up for the season or series finale (because you know Jesse will be back). Three stars,
Billie
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Billie Doux adores Supernatural which is a good thing since apparently, it's eternal.
A decent enough mythology episode with some great moments. Castiel sitting on the whoopee cushion had me howling. It is amazing how many Supernatural episodes can effortlessly shift from broad comedy to gut-wrenching tragedy and still work.
ReplyDeleteThe main plot reminded me of Good Omens, the book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett that parodies The Omen. In the book, due to a mix-up at the hospital by a slightly ditzy Satan worshiping nurse, the Anti-Christ ends up with the wrong couple and grows up to be a perfectly happy little boy, named Adam, who’d rather play with his mates than destroy the world.
Seemed odd though that Sam and Dean were back to business as usual after all the angst, guilt, mistrust, hurt and betrayal they’d both gone through. Are they really fine with each other or are they just not talking about it?
Great review, Billie! I loved it when Cas sat on the Whoopee cushion! Misha gave a dead on perfect delivery of "That wasn't me" there! I was LMAO!
ReplyDeleteDean seemed to be having such a great time in this ep. Between the Whoopee cushion, the giant ham, having Cas as an action figure and the opportunity to go into a shop where fake dog doodoo reigned, he was in his element. Yet he was also pitch perfect in his earnest talking to Jesse, who needed someone who understood and could help him.
Even more affecting was Sam, who, having failed in his own effort to avoid going dark-side, seemed determined to prevent Jesse from doing the same. Discussing choices, being completely honest with him, speaking from the heart, Sam did all the right things. The trouble is, he dumped all this on an 11 year old boy who, though wicked smart, was still a terrified child. When next they see him--and they will--I pray they will find a Jesse who has made the RIGHT choice, because they are going to need him desperately.
Wonderful episode. The way Sam and Dean wistfully wished their childhood had been different clutched my heart. Woulda, shoulda, coulda, as they say. When your mother burns on the ceiling and your father is taken out for the second and final time by a demon named Azazel, you have to learn about the supernatural, or it's going to get you.
Love, Robin, editor, SUPERNATURAL, moogi.com
Patrick Stewart plays Professor Xavier in X-Men. I also thought that was a funny comparison.
ReplyDeleteI liked this one a lot better than last week's. The boys dynamic felt more natural, and I enjoyed the mythology stuff. Particularly the idea that they had to kill the kid. It would have been an interesting twist for that to have been the only answer. Probably *too* dark for this show.
Mark, you asked if Dean and Sam are really fine with each other or just not talking about it. Part of me hopes that they got it all out of their system with all the deep discussions they had in last week's episode. I liked that the deep stuff this week was mostly about their lost childhoods and not about their issues with each other.
Billy, great review as always, although I didn’t see the tension between San and Dean. I agree with Jess Lynde, this episode did better for me than the previous one, where I found the interaction between the boys kind of odd. But I guess the transition between all the drama and angst to their old ways was something very difficult to show in one episode; I do hope they are fine with each other.
ReplyDeleteI almost forgot how great was Jensen to play both the angst-filled Dean and this lightly – funny one that we have this week. Other than that, can’t say anything that hasn’t been said yet, Supernatural is a great TV show.
Love, Cecile
I've been reading your terribly awesome reviews for a while -- mostly "True Blood" -- and I stumbled on you "Fallen Idols" one. And now I'm watching Supernatural again, after having given it up about midway though S1. Drat.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Jesse Turner was really well cast. He was just breaking my heart towards the end there, when he asked them why they told him. The "hair on the palms" thing sounded more like a grandparent to me... most parents these days don't tell their kids that and, having worked at an elementary school for a year, most ten-year-old playground talk is actually, uhm, slightly better informed.
What made me wonder was Demon!Momma's comment about Jesse's parents leaving him home alone all day, since we were otherwise given the impression that he's had a comfortable, loving home life. Does little Jesse not go to school? Why is there no babysitter?
I liked this one a lot.It was funny but also heavy. I also liked how Jesse didn´t give in to evil.
ReplyDeleteMuch better than last week! I agree that the boys still seem to be feeling their way with each other, but at least the finger pointing seems to have stopped -- and none too soon.
ReplyDeleteThe opening part of this episode had me laughing out loud -- especially Castiel on the whoopie cushion. What a great delivery on the part if Misha Collins.
Sam's reaction to Castiel's news was interesting to watch. "Things change." For a moment there, I thought he might take a swing. Dean, ever the peacemaker, was the one who stepped in between them. Something tells me that's a hint of things to come.
I also liked the conversation between Demon Mom and Jesse. I had never really thought about the lies that we as adults tell children until then. I'm not convinced that a six year old believing in the Tooth Fairy is a bad thing, but it did make me think. After seeing the final scene, however, I think I'm going to carry on with the kids in my life.
I just finished rewatching this episode and there are two things that bother me about it. The first is just a minor nitpick about the tooth fairy. The father tells his daughter about the tooth fairy and puts her tooth under her pillow. Next, we see the daughter putting her tooth under her father's pillow while he sleeps. Excuse me, what? I mean, I'm no expert, but don't the parents replace the tooth with the money before they go to sleep, while the child is sleeping, so the child wakes up and the money is already under their pillow? Dad just went to bed, so if Jesse hadn't been bringing about real (bearded) tooth fairies, she would have woken up and still would have found no money.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that bothers me is a spoiler, so I will put a spoiler line here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPOILER~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It kind of bugs me that they never even brought up Jesse again. I assumed they had to get rid of the character, because he was just too powerful for the show, but he just disappears, they never try to look for him, and they never even mention him again. Not even a tiny mention once or twice.