Dean: "So you found some beetles. In a hole in the ground. That's shocking, Sam."The bug plot did absolutely nothing for me. I hate bug plots. Maybe I'm just still traumatized by a bad apartment I had a few years ago.
Well, okay, there was a lot more to it than bugs. I liked that it was some mystical Indian retribution, and not Bug Boy Matt, the obvious suspect. And that Matt turned out to be a good guy, because kids who are into bugs get a bad rap. Except that he had second thoughts about his fascination with bugs in the end. And the siege was somewhat cool, although it seemed like they ran for the attic, cowered, fought rampaging bugs, and then suddenly it was morning.
The rest of this episode was brother-to-brother wrangling about their childhood and their differences, and that's always good for me. Dean talked a lot about how a "normal life" wasn't for him, while Sam continued with his usual "Dad always liked you best." Sam was uncomfortable about squatting in an empty house, while Dean had no reservations whatsoever and had a ball in the steam shower. (Loved the towel).
There was an obvious parallel between Matt and his father Larry, and Sam and his father, John Winchester. Matt and Larry re-bonded at the end. Maybe there's hope for Sam and John.
Bits and pieces:
— So far, we learned that Dean finances his life as a hunter with credit card scams and poker. This week, it was pool hustling. Dean is a lucky gambler. I bet he's unlucky at love.
— The anthropology professor was played by Jim Byrnes, who was a cast member on one of my other favorite series, Highlander.
— During the barbecue scene, Jared Padalecki actually had that tarantula crawling on his hand. No stunt double.
— This week, the Impala took us to Oasis Plains, Oklahoma.
— The guys pretended to be the first victim's nephews. Then they were students from the university. Dean said he was Travis Wheeler, Oklahoma Gas & Power. Larry the developer and Linda the realtor both thought Sam and Dean were a couple. Very funny.
— Note from much, much later (2017): This is my least favorite episode of Supernatural. If you're new to the series, it starts getting a lot better soon, I promise.
Quotes:
Dean: "Mad cow? Wasn't that on Oprah?"
Sam: "You watch Oprah?"
Dean: "Dad never treated us like that."
Sam: "Dad never treated you like that. You were perfect. He was all over my case."
Dean: "You know, I've heard of killer bees, but killer beetles?"
Dean: "You were kind of like the blonde chick on The Munsters."
One out of four stars,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
I didn´t like how it all ended well of a sudden. They went to the attic and all of a sudden, it´s morning and they´re safe. Feels off.
ReplyDeleteThis was BAD! I hate bugs, but these were so obviously CG that I found myself laughing at them. And the torch from one can of bug spray that lasted all night? Granted, the shortest night ever.
ReplyDeleteI did like the sibling rivalry bit, but the overall production was so awful as to be comical. Hope it picks up its game soon.
Hey, ChrisB: If you can, hang in there until "Scarecrow" and "Faith." It does start getting better very soon.
ReplyDeleteBillie - LOL. I just posted on 'Faith' that I am now hooked. This site had gotten me into 'Fringe', 'TVD' and now 'Supernatural'. What can I say, you are three for three.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks.
ChrisB, I love hearing that someone got into a great show because of our little site. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I forgot to add 'Glee' to the list, so four for four!
ReplyDeleteI was out tonight with friends who are as avid about TV as I and I was raving about your site. Hope I managed to get you at least a few more readers.
UGH. This episode could not be over fast enough. So gross. So, so, so, so gross.
ReplyDeleteApparently night only lasts for ten minutes or so in Oklahoma less than a week after the spring equinox, who knew?
Loved how every character managed to survive the rampaging horde of stinging and biting insects without a single visible bite. In the summer, I take out the trash and I walk in with three mosquito bites. We're supposed to believe that the bugs intent on killing everyone didn't touch them?
The spiders in the shower reminded me of the projection they use on Indiana Jones at Disneyland. I typical close my eyes for that part. And when the giant snake lunges at the end.
I think I didn't mind this episode so much because I had low expectations... but also, the bad parts were the bad CGI and the shortest night ever. It may also have been that I was watching it while recovering from the flu, so I was a bit of a zombie LOL.
ReplyDeleteI did really enjoy parts - specifically the realistic portrayal of the bug kid and that their first plan for getting the family out not automatically working (I notice the show is very good at that in general).
I also enjoyed the Native American man's cynicism and delivery of the lines about what had happened. The curse was not portrayed as some "special mystical ability" of Native Americans, but rather a very wronged dying man's curse.
It was enough that, in my mind, the episode doesn't follow Billie's rule #5 (Supernatural stories about Native Americans usually suck, especially when the Native Americans are elderly men.), since the suckiness wasn't related to the Native American part. I think that it's the first movie or TV episode about that I have seen that didn't follow it...
This is one of my favorite episodes of season 1 I love the plague story and how indians getting there VENGENCE on the white man
ReplyDeleteAlso lol
Dean: see ya honey I'm gonna check out the house
While this is not my least favorite episode of the whole show - which it is to most viewers - it's definitely not on my top 200 either, lol. I agree with the first commenter, I found that the way it just abruptly ended, no real explanation given, pulled me out of it too much.
ReplyDelete