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Supernatural: Born Under a Bad Sign

Dean: "You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora. I think the scariest part about this whole thing is the fact that you're a Bon Jovi fan."

It was one thing to talk about the possibility of Sam turning to the dark side. It was another to actually see it happening.

Sam's innocence and confusion in the beginning of the episode completely threw me off. When Sam turned on Dean, it was chilling. Beating Dean, taunting Jo with the details of her father's death... it even felt for a moment that Sam would rape Jo. I was certain he was going to kill Bobby. Sam's lightness of tone, the obvious pleasure he took in evil, reminded me of another very effective transformation: David Boreanaz as Angelus. Jared Padalecki really impressed me. And I'm not easily impressed.

The demon that possessed Meg was going after hunters while doing its best to push Dean into killing Sam. As expected, Dean wouldn't fire on Sam even when he was attacking Jo. Dean confessed that he would rather die than kill Sam. That makes sense. Dean has lost both of his parents, and Sam is literally all he has.


This whole thing has the potential of turning the hunter community (is there a hunter community?) against the Winchesters. But at least Bobby is still on their side, which is no small thing. Bobby is a father figure that doesn't overpower like John does, and he's also sharp. Bobby was the one who saved Sam this time. And I particularly loved the holy water in the beer.

Bits and pieces:

— Sam checked into the motel as Richard Sambora (lead guitarist, Bon Jovi). Dean's A-Line mobile phone service gave his name as Dean J. Mahogoff, which was also a name he used in "Playthings."

— The binding link on Sam's arm looked a lot like Lex's Zod brand on Smallville.


— We learned a good bit more about the death of Bill Harvelle at Devil's Gate Reservoir in California. Bill was the bait and got torn up, and John killed him to put him out of his misery.

— The Meg Demon told Bobby that Dean was holed up somewhere with a twelve-pack and a girl. Yes, a lie, but an intriguing tidbit about Dean's sexual habits.

— This week, we went to Duluth, Minnesota (where Jo was) and somewhere in South Dakota (where Bobby was).

— I usually mention the tacky motel rooms, because they're such a fun touch. This one was decorated with float balls and pictures of fish. It made the seriousness of the episode work a lot better than if they'd been in a dark mansion with lightning and thunder, if you know what I mean.

Quotes:

Dean: "You never told me this."
Sam: "I didn't want to scare you."
Dean: "Well, bang-up job on that."

Jo: "You're about the last person I'd expect to see."
Sam: "Well, I guess I'm full of surprises."

Bobby: "That demon's still out there. This'll stop it from getting back up in you."
Dean: "That sounds vaguely dirty, but thanks."

Dean: "Dude, you, like, full-on had a girl inside you for, like, a whole week. That's pretty naughty." Do demons have gender? Was the Meg Demon really female? Or was Dean just being Dean?

Surprisingly powerful and very well done. Four out of four stars.

Billie
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Billie Doux adores Supernatural which is a good thing since apparently, it's eternal.

7 comments:

  1. Love this one and Jared is amazing in here. Well-written, directed and acted. This one is a winner for me!

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  2. I have to second the above comment. I'm watching this episode right now and there is no hint of Sam in Jared during this episode. Jared did an amazing job! SL

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  3. This is the episode that made me realize J & J could act.

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  4. As we know our heroes are never going to stay there too long, it's fun to see them go to the dark side. I, too, was reminded of Angelus as well as Bad Stefan.

    Glad that Bad Sam didn't do anything too irredeemable. I do thnk it's a sign of things to come.

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  5. My boyfriend and I call Evil Sam "Samgelus"... hehehe.

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  6. Fun fact: the scene where they finally excorsize the Meg demon from Sam, Jared and Jensen improvised the part where Dean punches Sam. After reading the script, the boys put their heads together and then approached the director, saying that they felt this needed to happen. That Dean would be pissed off at his brother and want to find an outlet. For me that spells the moment when Jared and Jensen finally nailed down their characters perfectly and became Sam and Dean.

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  7. Honestly, this is some of Jared's best work in the entire series. Which is pretty impressive considering it's only season 2 of 15.

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