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Supernatural: Everybody Loves a Clown

"Apparently, clowns kill."

I'd say it's a good rule of thumb not to let creepy teleporting clowns into your house.

Who likes clowns? I've never met anyone who does. I suppose some people must, or there wouldn't be any. They've become an easy horror plot staple, like dark carnivals. I think they were going for a Carnivale sort of feel, along with Stephen King's It.

The fun part was Dean and Sam stuck with a ratty Dodge Caravan that clearly failed the audition. I also liked Ellen, her daughter Jo, and Ash, the genius with the extraordinary super mullet and souped up laptop. Ellen and Jo got the drop on the boys, which was funny. Maybe they were disarmed, pun intended, by two pretty women. Was Ellen a former flame of John's? You don't suppose Jo is their half sister? No, if she were, I'm sure Ellen would have reacted to Dean flirting with Jo.


The big subtext was the way the brothers reacted to their father's death. Sam was showing uncharacteristic deference and obedience for John's wishes for the first time in years. Sam's need to finally show respect for his father was his way of making amends. Dean's reaction was more moving. He was all strong and silent – at first – lashing out at every suggestion that he might be upset. His obsession with fixing the car was his subconscious attempt to fix their lives. The thing is, they can't be fixed.

Which was why when Dean finally lost it, he attacked his beloved car with a crowbar. Powerful scene. Moving, too. Gold acting stars for Jensen Ackles. He did some wonderful work here.

Bits and pieces:

— A battered and bruised Dean and Sam gave their father a what you might call private funeral. (How did they get the body out of the hospital? I guess they can do pretty much anything.) Was the private cremation intended to prevent an angry ghost situation? Maybe it's just what they do.

— Jo was played by Alona Tal, who had a continuing role as the very sweet Meg on Veronica Mars.

— The clown was super creepy. Artfully made up, really elaborate outfit, expressive actor behind the makeup. Good job.


— The carnival was in Medford, Wisconsin. Dean and Sam were staying at Bobby's and working on the car when the action started. Where does Bobby live? For that matter, where was the Roadhouse?

— Loved the Roadhouse. The bug zapper made me laugh out loud.

Quotes:

Ellen: "The demon, of course. I heard he was closing in on it."
Dean: "Was there an article in the Demon Hunter's Quarterly that I missed?"

Dean: "By the way, I dig the haircut."
Ash: "All business up front, a party in the back."

Dean: "You still bust out crying when you see Ronald McDonald on the television."
Sam: "At least I'm not afraid of flying."
Dean: "Planes crash."
Sam: "And apparently, clowns kill."

Dean: "What's the matter? You sound like you just saw a clown."
Sam: "Very funny."

Sam: "Why didn't he tell us about her?"
Dean: "I don't know. Maybe they had some sort of falling out."
Sam: "Ever notice Dad had a falling out with just about everybody?"

Sam: "Where did you learn to do all this?"
Ash: "MIT. Before I got bounced for fighting."
Sam: "MIT?"
Ash: "It's a school in Boston."

Good one. Three 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. Very good. I also don´t like clowns so this is a very creepy episode but I loved seeing the boys reacting to John´s death. That last scene is priceless!

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  2. Although I enjoy a lot of season one, when you're watching them all at once season two is noticeably better. The boys have mastered their characters, too. Jensen Ackles is especially wonderful in this one.

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  3. I still think Jo may turn out to be the boys' half sister. When they come back to the Roadhouse and Dean is telling Jo that normally he would be hitting on her, Ellen is listening in on the conversation. She appears to draw a breath (a sigh of relief?) when Dean doesn't pursue anything.

    Agree that the last scene was incredibly powerful. My heart went out to both of the boys.

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  4. I've finally convinced my husband to start watching, so I'm getting to re watch all of the episodes. I just wanted to comment about the clowns. I used to collect clowns. I had literally hundreds of them in my room as a kid, in all forms of media. Everything from cartoonish stuffed animals, to posters to statues of famous clowns. I even dated a guy who's mom was a clown! Clowns used to be huge and no one was bothered but them. I think IT ruined them for the entire world.

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  5. The last scene where Dean let go his sadness, rage and frustration on the Impala is one of the more powerful Dean's moment in all the series, for me . It was heartbreaking.

    (Yes I'm rereading all the reviews and commenting and i'm super late on the matter and hope the notifications won't bother you xD

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  6. Louise, comments are always, always welcome here. I'm enjoying reading yours. :)

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