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Supernatural: You Can't Handle the Truth

Lisa: "You want to know the truth?"
Dean: "Probably not."

Just a bit intense, huh? This is why I love sci-fi/fantasy. The truth was a huge issue, so what did we get? An evil goddess of Truth, where you find out what your loved ones really think about you and you kill yourself because it's unbearable.

Dean is in such a dark place. Lisa told him the unvarnished truth that she doesn't want him near her son, and who could blame her? And now he must face what we've always known, that Dean is never going to have a family or a normal life, that he'll keep hunting until something kills him. And Sam, his only remaining reason for living, has become one of the things Dean kills. It was unbearable. During the gore fest at the house, I think Dean wanted to die. He certainly didn't seem to care if he survived or not.

It was Sam who had a knife up his sleeve, who got free and killed the Truth. (Talk about upfront symbolism.) The thing is, unemotional "the hunt is everything" Sam has become an outstanding hunter this season. Even after Sam found out that Dean was thinking about killing him in his sleep, he still tossed the knife to Dean. Although maybe that was hunter-related, too, as in we have a better chance to take down this monster if there's two of us?


What is wrong with Sam? Does Sam know, or was that another lie? Unfortunately, I can't speculate any further because the preview for the next episode spoiled it. (Freaking previews. Talk about evil.) This current situation between Dean and Sam must be resolved, of course, and I'm more than ready. But it's sort of an extreme symptom of their bigger relationship problem. After all they've been through, they have so much emotional baggage that there may be no fixing their relationship. And that's sad.

(I always hate it when the boys hurt each other. I'm not emotionally invested in these characters or anything, am I?)

"Puking the truth" was the focus of the episode, but there were a number of great touches. Harry's House of Horns, for instance, and the horn of Gabriel being missing seemed like an odd coincidence. The opener was very well done, too. (More obvious symbolism, with the big sister telling the little sister to kill herself.) And Bobby on the phone telling Dean the truth about milk, Tori Spelling and pedicures was a gem of a scene. So Dean is his favorite, huh? Why didn't Dean get "you're a burden to all of us and you should kill yourself"?

Bits and pieces:

— Is this the end of Lisa? I like Lisa, oddly enough. I think she was the one love interest for Dean that worked.

— Only a minute of Castiel, and some very grim hints that things aren't going well with the war in Heaven.

— Dean was researching doppelgangers. Shades of The Vampire Diaries.

— Veritas was cool-looking, like a monster cat. She reminded me a bit of "Ozzie and Harriet" in "A Very Supernatural Christmas."

— Death by dentist. Gag. At least it was brief.

— Calumet City, Illinois. The motel wasn't a miracle of kitsch this time. Not as memorable as some of them.

— Gold acting stars for Jensen Ackles. He was terrific.

Quotes:

Woman: "I'm sitting like this so you'll look at my breasts. I just bought them. I need a lot of attention."
Dean: "Good luck with that."
Loved how Dean took a moment to give her a double take. Considering his raw emotional state, that was rather nice of him.

Bobby: "Tori Spelling. I'm a huge fan. Girl's a real talent."
Dean: "I guess it does work over the phone."
Bobby: "You know what else? I get a pedicure once in awhile. This nice Vietnamese joint..."
Dean: "Okay, please stop."
Bobby: "This one gal, Nhung Phuong, name means 'Velvet Phoenix,' tiny thing but the grip on her! She starts on my toes, and I feel like I'm..."

Dean: "It's the gig. You're covered in blood until you're covered in your own blood."

Four out of four (ick) cat skulls (changed from my initial rating of three),

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

18 comments:

  1. Come on Billie, why not a four?
    This season is becoming better and better for me. Have to admit wasn’t thrilled from the beginning, but now that I feel more into the story, I like it better. The relationship between the brothers is definitely intense, and that’s for sure what keeps me so addicted to the show, an addiction that can only compare to my addiction to your reviews. So yeah, I agree with you, Dean is in a dark place right now, Jensen Ackles made a terrific work out of it. And I do like Lisa, will miss the possibility of a happy ever after for Dean with her, but I guess that was called since the beginning.

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  2. Cecile, you made my day. :) Tell you what -- if four stars wins the "rate it!" vote, I'll change my rating.

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  3. What am I missing this season that everyone else seems to be getting. This is by far the worst episode of Supernatural I've ever seen. I never rolled my eyes so many times. This entire season seems so forced, the writing so dodgy. The skanky Veritas was so uninspired, unmemorable and far to convenient for the plot.

    I'm really surprised considering I've loved every other season of the show. To be honest I would've never even started watching if it hadn't been for Billie's reviews.

    What am I missing??? :(

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  4. I liked this episode, but I think I know what we're all missing: some more humour.

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  5. I didn't think this one was *outstanding* but there was certainly a lot to like in it. I particularly loved Bobby confessing that Dean was his favorite. I knew it! :)

    I think you should give gold acting stars to both Jensen and Jared for this week, Billie. Jared has been doing a wonderful job playing "just convincing enough, but not quite" Sam. For instance, I can understand Dean believing his first lies about freezing at the vampire attack scene, but Jared also managed to convey that Sam was very possibly lying. Even before he walked away with the small smile. Great stuff.

    I'm not going to miss Lisa if she's gone for good. I never bought into that relationship. The only thing about it that I found believable was his desire to be a father to her son. Note that when he was doing his "woe is me, I'm nothing but a killer" routine, he emphasized that he'd never have a family and he's not a father type. It's not the loving wife he seems to long for, it's the adoring children. (Or maybe I'm misremembering.)

    During the dentist scene, my husband was listening in the other room and calls out, "That doesn't sound good." I told him it was his worst dental nightmare ever, and he goes, "'Nough said!" Gag.

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  6. P.S. That preview was the worst! Why, oh, why would they put that in the preview? They better do that reveal before the opening title card and not towards the end of the episode. Crazy promotional department.

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  7. Felipe,

    I don't think you're missing anything. A lot of fans have expressed unhappiness about this season so far, and I have, too. But I'm not faking my reaction to this episode. I thought it was terrific. (Anonymous was right that it needed more humor, though.) I do tend to hang in there with my favorites longer than some fans do.

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  8. I felt Jared deserved equal kudos to Jensen for acting in this episode, Billie. I loved the ep itself, and found most of the humor coming from Bobby's truth revelations. Even when they were tearing up the poor waitress, I found it blackly funny. I loved the way the villain toyed with the guys, and was shocked at Dean's beat-down of Sam. Isn't that going too far when told "I need help"? Poor Sam didn't lift a hand to defend himself, and Dean punched him 15 times! I love Sam, no matter what, and it's obvious to me he's in trouble. Why is Dean looking to kill instead of fix? Even Bobby was cautioning him this might just be SAM!

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  9. Jess and lovetheguys,

    I agree, Jared was also fantastic, and has been this season. He's probably learned from the Michael C Hall school of acting, because it's very similar to what he does in 'Dexter': look very sincere to the other characters, while putting in just a hint of a smug so that the audience knows it's a lie. Dexter is not so creepy, though, because we're in on the joke, too, whereas Sam is still a mystery to us.

    I didn't like so much this episode for the pacing, but the scenes where individually good.

    Great review, even if I disagree in some points.

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  10. Personally, I like Dean and Lisa and maybe because of the great interaction with Ben. To me it seems like Dean going back to Lisa and Ben when he became a vampire was just an excuse to get rid of them. I'm happy that Dean was willing to fight for his relationship with Lisa, like when he refused to leave them after Sam came back and now with his constant phone calls to repair the damage their relationship has suffered. There really hasn't been anyone else that Dean has fought for, and I didn't buy the Dean/Cassie relationship. They just didn't seem that into each other. But I can see how Lisa and Ben are a distraction to the show and more simple if Dean only has Sam and hunting to worry about.

    As far as Dean punching Sam, I didn't think it was too much. Basically, Dean punched him until he passed out. We all now that the boys can take a beating. Plus Dean has a lot of anger and resentment bottled up inside and no outlet. Right now Dean is practically alone. Lisa has dumped him, Castiel is gone, Sam is basically a stranger that creeps him out, and Bobby is pushing him away telling him to get back in the car with Sam. The fact that Sam ruined Dean's relationship with Lisa would have me more than a little ticked. Add to that that Sam let Dean get turned into a vampire where he could have killed innocent people, and I don't think Dean is going to forgive Sam with or without a soul.

    That said, I was expecting a little more in the way of answers from this episode based on last week's preview so it disappointed me a little, especially with Castiel having only one scene. Hopefully, next week will not disappoint.

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  11. The episode was pretty good and I have to praise both Jensen and Jared, awesome job!
    I agree that Dean is in a dark place but Sam is even worse. We look at him and there´s nothing there.
    Also, I think Lisa did the right thing in breaking up with Dean and she is right, their relationship (Sam and Dean) is truly unhealthy.

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  12. Dear God I hope it's the end of Dean and Lisa. No one who thinks Dean could ever be happy without Sam in his life knows a thing about him. I don't call the year he spent with Lisa grieving and drinking just to get through each day without Sam total happiness either. Sam and Dean's relationship is definitely complicated and painful, but it's even worse when they're apart.

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  13. There IS something missing this season, and I think I know what it is: classic rock!

    I cannot hear the Kansas song (Carry On, Wayward Son) without thinking of this show, and while that song has probably passed its prime in the show, the use of classic, gritty "guy music" has not. I'm not a guy, but the gratuitous muscle car shots combined with the use of rock songs from the 60s/70s/80s really added to the feel of this show (you know, "Buffy, but with dudes"). There isn't enough of that this season, and I think it has left the show with a bit of a hole.

    Just a thought...

    -DrA

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  14. I´m glad Lisa broke up with Dean. a) it´s dangerous and she is right, his relationship with Sam is really unhealthy and b)Dean really doesn´t belong there. Choose something.
    I love Lisa and I love seeing her with Dean, but good for her for standing up and not waiting for him. She also needs to think about her and Ben.
    Very good episode.

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  15. What I don't get is that Lisa knows about Dean being a hunter and yet he can't just admit that he was being tuned into a vampire or that he is cursed with the truth. He just uses the tired old tv excuse of "I can't explain it, trust me".

    Apart from that really good episode. About time Sam got outed as a hollow shell of a man. That explanation fits. Maybe his humanity evaporated in the cage or just as Lucifer possesed him? Anyways whoever pulled him out is evil.

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  16. It scared me to see Dean beat Sam down like that. As I have not seen the previews (one of the advantages of BluRay), I don't know what's coming next -- but I can't wait to find out.

    Agree with all the comments above that it's time for a humourous episode. This season has been dark!

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  17. You know, it was really brave of this show to take one of its two main characters and change them, make them highly unlikeable and never explain why or even acknowledge that they've changed at all until the sixth episode of the season. It could've easily turned a less ravenous fan base off the show.

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  18. I just wanted to point out another Smallville actor; Veritas was played by Serinda Swan, who was Zatana on Smallville.

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