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Supernatural: Sam, Interrupted

Dean: "You're my shrink? Lucky me."
Dr. Cartwright: "And you're my paranoid schizophrenic with narcissistic personality disorder and religious psychosis. Lucky me."

So if they don't die young, or bring about the end of the world, they'll wind up institutionalized. There's not only no happy ending for the Winchesters; there's really no happy ending for the Winchesters.

This was a fairly standard stand-alone episode. The boys got themselves into a deadly situation while trying to take down a monster that wasn't what it first appeared to be. In the course of defeating it, we learned more about how completely screwed the Winchesters are. Which makes it sound like I didn't like this episode. Actually, I did. Although the beginning was better than the end.

I loved the way Dean and Sam got themselves committed by telling the absolute truth about their lives. (My second favorite thing was Sam stoned out of his mind.) They needed to show that the boys have suffered because of the loss of Ellen and Jo, so check that off, they did. A brain-sucking monster was a fitting choice for an asylum. And yes, Sam is a very angry young man; duh, we knew that. We certainly can't have him all normal and coping with his weird life when Lucifer is lurking in the wings literally lusting for Sam's body, now can we?

I'll admit this episode was a bit gloomy for my taste. And it seemed to end too abruptly, with the boys jumping into the Impala while still in their bathrobes. Did they leave their clothes behind along with perfectly good fake IDs? Good thing Dean wasn't wearing his amulet, huh? And what happened to poor Martin? I almost (but not quite) expected that last scene to turn out to be an hallucination, that they killed an innocent nurse thinking she was a monster. But that would have been just too depressing.


The boys really do need therapy. But the thing is, there really are monsters out to get them. They'd have to get a psychotherapist who was a hunter, too. Hunter slash psychotherapist. Now that'd be an interesting human being.

Bits and pieces:

— Fifty drinks a week just to sleep? Is Dean really drinking that much?

— Probe through the brain. Eww. Sawing up brains in the morgue, eww as well. Doesn't anyone do real autopsies in that morgue? Wouldn't they notice the back of that poor guy's head falling off? Of course, the boys would be gone by then.

— Bits of this made me think they were going to do something like the Buffy episode "Normal Again." As in maybe Dean and Sam really are locked up in an institution somewhere hallucinating the entire series. But no. And I'm sort of relieved.

— Martin was played by Jon Gries, who (with a lot more hair) played Ben's father on Lost.

— This week: the Greenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital in Ketchum, Oklahoma. The paperwork said that "Edward Van Halen" was being committed and his next of kin was his brother Alex... but wasn't Sam the one they were originally committing? Later, everyone was calling Dean "Eddie."

Quotes: (this may not have been the best episode, but it had some great lines)

Doctor: "You were referred to me by a Dr. Babar in Chicago."
Dean: "That's right."
Doctor: "Isn't there a children's book about an elephant named Babar?"
Dean: "I don't know. I don't have any elephant books."

Dean: "How was your Silkwood shower?"

Doctor: "To be frank, the relationship you have with your brother seems dangerously co-dependent. I think a little time apart would do you both good."

Dean: "Quid pro quo, Clarice." Jensen did a great Hannibal Lector fava beans sucky noise.

Sam: "You okay?"
Dean: "I just got thraped. So no, I'm not okay."

Dean: "Crazy works." What was the pudding thing? Did I miss a movie reference?

Dean: "Are those original Gacys?"

Dr. Cartwright: "To feel like six billion lives depend on you? How do you get up in the morning?"
Dean: "Good question."

Wendy: "I want him now. He's larger."
I was just thinking that a real fan of the show would have paid a lot to play Wendy.

Dean: "You okay?"
Sam: "No, no. I'm not okay. I. I am awesome."
Dean: "They give you something?
Sam: "Oh yeah. They gave me everything. It's spectacu... lacular."
Dean: "You always were a happy drunk."
And yet he's so very angry.

Sam: "It's okay. Because you're my brother, and I still love you. Boop."

Wraith: "You build your own Hell, but I give you the Legos."

Two out of four stars,

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

17 comments:

  1. I wasn't real thrilled with this one either. Not a particularly solid return. I spent most of the episode thinking it was bizarre that they were spending so much time on Dean's issues when it was called "Sam, Interrupted." I guess they got into some of Sam's stuff at the end, but I kind of wanted more focus on Sam. And I'm generally more of a Dean fan.

    Joe Gries also played Broots on "The Pretender" (lo those many years ago). This role was very much in the Broots vein, and I was glad he didn't turn out to be the monster.

    I had the same thought about the boys jumping into the car in their bathrobes and taking off at the end. I immediately wanted to watch the beginning again to make sure they weren't wearing their regular jackets when they checked in. (I didn't, but I wanted to.)

    Dean's line about getting "theraped" gave me "Arrested Development" flashbacks. I couldn't stop chuckling thinking about Tobias's business cards declaring him an "analrapist" (analyst/therapist). I'm still chuckling about it.

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  2. The conversation about Dr Babar is taken from the film Fletch which I think Dean has referenced once before.

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  3. I was that thrilled about this one either. Worried the show might enter the same kind of a mid season slump that Fringe is currently stuck in, nothing but run of the mill standalone tales for the next few weeks.

    Still, great to have the show back.

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  4. Was an okay episode, but Supernatural has too much this season made the stakes unbelievably high then not paid them off. Lucifer has risen to destroy the world... just not yet. Lucifer has risen death!! But everyone is still okay weeks later. I have a feeling, like in previous seasons, its going to be stand alone for several weeks now.

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  5. Nothing spetacular, but a good episode. (I also found the end a little rushed)

    The pudding thing sounds familiar, but I can't place it... It seems too crazy-generic. 12 monkeys, maybe? If you find out, let me know.

    And now I'm chuckling about Arrested Development :) I really miss that show

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  6. I'll agree this wasn't the strongest episode, but I don't think we are in a slump. To have a slump there needs to be more then one mediocre episode, and there hasn't been any this season except this one (IMO).

    I do have one issue, why on earth were there clown pictures in the hospital. I mean seriously clowns are majorly creepy!

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  7. I'm all caught up! I enjoyed this episode, perhaps because I'm still so excited to have discovered the show. Even a bad Supernatural episode is way, way better than most of the other stuff on TV.

    I did find it interesting that the imaginary doctor (that was ultimately a creation of Dean's mind) described him as a narcissist. Is that really how he sees himself? Because he's actually quite selfless.

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  8. Josie caught up! That's really amazing.

    Dean *is* selfless. I think the "narcissistic" thing was related to his diagnosis -- because he believed he was important enough to break the first seal, because he has angels fighting over him, and so on.

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  9. I am amazing, aren't I? Very few people could watch that much TV in such a short amount of time.

    Of course, I haven't done laundry since 2009, and I think I've taken about 25 off my total lifespan:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/health/26beha.html?ref=health

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  10. I think it's obvious, but the title was a reference to the Susannah Kaysen book "Girl, Interrupted".

    Didn't love but had some fun moments. I couldn't remember if this was supposed to be the same hospital as the fallen angel Annie was in last year. Anyone else remember?

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  11. Although we find out tidbits about Sam and Dean, I feel this is just an okay episode.

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  12. Good episode, but an opportunity missed. Our boys have issues and it might have been really interesting to have them both go through a proper therapy session.

    Sam's insight at the end seemed a little forced and rushed. But, hey, wonder what he'll do with the information now that he has it.

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  13. The patient history shown after credits is for a patient called Edward Van Halen and has a brother called Alex.

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  14. Not sure that the "Pudding!" line is from anything, I enjoy it just fine without knowing any context that may be behind it.

    Fun fact: "Pudding!" was originally a Sam line, but J2 put their heads together and convinced the crew that it would work better if Dean said it. I'm personally relieved, that would've been OOC if it had been Sam, imo.

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  15. Huh, so I might be on the minority here. I actually did really like this episode. Yeah, the ending was a bit rushed (they had not really solved what was going on with 10 minutes to go for the ending), but I liked the brothers slowly going insane plot, and Jensen's acting was absolutely solid. But then again I might be biased because I like these sort of stories, albeit how gloomy and scary they are.

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  16. I thought it was a good episode and deans pudding thing made me chuckle.

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  17. I loved Sam's "boop!" on Dean's nose. You can only see a sideshot of his face but he wears this genial smile that's as cute as his "I lost my shoe..." from seasons ago

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