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Supernatural: Bitten

"No idea on this one. And no clue who is painted on the walls."

This one just might be for the fans who have been saying Supernatural isn't bothering to push the envelope any more.

Not that this was a brand new idea. It was ripped directly from the movie Chronicle, with the geek behind the camera (Brian) who wants to be like his friend the jock (Michael), they have an encounter gives them what they think are superpowers, and of course, there's The Cool Girl They Both Want (Kate). Unfortunately, I didn't care much for Chronicle, although it was probably a pretty good movie. Maybe it's my dislike of found footage movies crossed with an overdose of teenage testosterone. Queasy-cam makes me feel like someone took my eyeballs and put them in a martini shaker. And forty minutes really wasn't enough for us to get past it and get to know those kids and care about them.

At any rate, I've always enjoyed seeing the Winchesters from a distance and another perspective, much like they did with the Ghostfacers, but more serious. And for me, the best part of the episode was that Dean thought about the situation and let Katie go in the end. We already know that his year in Purgatory changed him – he's off the booze, past the grief and the depression, and refocused on his calling – but apparently, his relationship with Benny the vampire has also changed Dean's perspective on monsters. Not that long ago, Dean hunted down and took out Amy and then he lied to Sam about it, because he was certain that it needed to be done. I bet Dean wouldn't do that, now. (Which, of course, doesn't help Amy a whole lot at this point.)

Although I thought the three young actors were all good (especially Kate), most of the episode was about them instead of the Winchesters, and I just didn't want it to be. I also thought that the multitude of cameras that Brian set up just wasn't believable. Although they get points for the many references to monsters, morality and Lord of the Flies, which always makes me think of Lost.

Bits and pieces:

— The opener was just super eww. Maybe it was because we usually get normal people in a normal situation before things go wonky and there is eww. The show credits were at the end.

— From a production standpoint, this episode was a good move. They probably filmed most of it while their overworked stars were working on another episode, or possibly sleeping.

— I liked the sideways acknowledgement that they did two episodes in a row where eating human hearts was a plot point. And it isn't even Valentine's Day.

— The set decoration was exceptional. I kept noticing interesting things on the walls. There was a poster that I'm certain was in "Ghostfacers." Michael was wearing a tee shirt that said, "A Bad Trip."

— Kate wanted to be a lawyer, like Sam. Nice touch.

— Werewolves with a pedigree? The prof was a "pureblood"? I didn't catch the stuff about the alpha, but it was mentioned. I thought about Madison several times. Too bad she wasn't a pureblood.

— Sam and Dean were agents Rose and Hudson. I have no idea who they are.

— Peanut butter on a bagel? Come on. That's just wrong.

Quotes:

Brian: (spotting Dean and Sam in fed suits) "Look, look, look. Starsky and Hutch."
Michael: "Rizzoli and Isles."

Michael: "Is it me, or are you getting a workplace romance vibe from those two?"
I love how they keep doing this stuff. It's always funny, even if it's also creepy and incestuous.

Brian: "Are you an X-File?"

Sam: "Dude. Two burgers?"
Dean: "Hey, I didn't eat at Big P's for like a year, okay? Clear eyes and clogged arteries, can't lose."
Definitely the best line in the episode. I wonder if it was filmed before Romney started using that Friday Night Lights line?

Kate: "I'm pretty sure that FBI agents don't say 'awesome' that much. And they definitely don't hunt and kill college kids."

Brian: "I'm sick of being Piggy. I want to be Ralph."

Dean: "Do I really say 'awesome' a lot?"
Sam: "No. No, no. No."

Ummm, rating. Not easy. This was a creative, unusual and well-done episode that probably deserves three out of four clogged arteries. But I don't think I'll watch it again. Does that make it two and a half clogged arteries out of four?

Billie
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Billie Doux has been reviewing Supernatural for so long that Dean and Sam Winchester feel like old friends. Courageous, adventurous, gorgeous old friends.

14 comments:

  1. Hated it!! every single second of that sea sickness inducing camera jumping cr*p. And what is it with every single kid having a camera ? really?!?!?! I'm a hardcore fan and for me this is THE worst Supernatural episode in living memory. This one left a bad taste...

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  2. 'Rose and Hudson' are Axl Rose and Saul Hudson (Slash), vocalist and ex-guitarist of Guns N' Roses fame.

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  3. First, "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" is not really a Friday Night Lights "line," it's more like a motto or a mission statement. It's closely tied to the core essence of the show, and I kind of hate that it's being used for political posturing now (on both sides). That said, given that the "awesome" Michael B. Jordan was one of the stars of Chronicle and one of the primary players in the latter seasons of FNL, I don't mind Dean making the reference here. :)

    I liked this one a lot more than I expected to. When I saw the preview, I thought this was going to be a torturous hour, but I was actually engaged throughout. Like you, I thought the young actors did well and I really liked Dean's final decision to let Kate go. At first I thought it was a bizarre betrayal of past characterization, because I didn't think he really learned anything from what happened with Amy. He walked away from that mess thinking he'd done the right thing the whole time. (Much to my dismay.) But then the preview for next week made me realize that it was likely his experiences in Purgatory, with Benny, that changed his perspective. It in that light, it was an interesting, revelatory moment.

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  4. This was a bad episode, really or maybe I didn´t like it because I´m not a fan of the hand held camera footage. I just felt this episode was dull.

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  5. I quite liked this one, too. Would I have preferred a standard episode? Yes. Was the shaky camera work enough to make you feel sick? Yes. But it was a decent enough effort. I think they could have engaged us more by having the boys play more of a part throughout (instead of just at the beginning, end and naff bits in between) but this was a nice detour. Was it an episode brought about by filming constraints? (i.e. there wasn't enough time to film a full season of episodes). Or were they just aiming for something different, I wonder?

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  6. As a found footage movie, I didn't think this was too bad. Being that its part of the Supernatural universe helps.

    Felt sorry for all three friends, though Brian just seemed absolutely insane and childish at a certain point.

    They've had this sort of episode before where we get the POV of someone normal turning into a monster. They are well done and provide interesting perspectives.

    I too am glad Dean's "kill all supernaturals 'cept ones I like" attitude has apparently faded.

    Okay, but I agree, a good ol' Sam and Dean Supernatural is what we want.

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  7. I don't mind the shaky camera. I'm a fan of Chronicle and a big fan of Cloverfield. But I didn't like this episode.

    I think it's really good that they're constantly challenging us with new formats, so I won't complain about the episode. If you try to be innovative, you'll fail sometimes, and I admire the willingness to pay that price. I'll just say that other episodes were bad because they left us angry with inconsistencies or insane plotlines, but this one was the first boring episode I can remember. I was not engaged in the least. A pity.

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  8. I enjoyed this episode and the different take. It's important sometimes to get a different perspective especially when a show has been around this long. I just looked away for the shaky bits. I'm not really a fan of found footage but I liked this.
    PS. I love peanut butter on bagels but then I love peanut butter on almost everything.

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  9. I found this one to be dull. Like Gus, I admire the show's ability to take chances, but this one didn't work for me. I think because I didn't care about the three kids at all and I found all the cameras to be silly.

    And, I'm with Doc. Peanut butter on a bagel is standard fare in my house.

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  10. I'm in the minority, but I loved this episode. I am also a big fan of the shaky cam/found footage genre. I loved Cloverfield and am still submitting myself to the trainwreck that is Paranormal Activity. I really liked this episode, though. I like seeing Sam and Dean from that outside perspective. We all spend so much time thinking about how hot Dean is (I do anyway), so it's fun to see them both with that "ewww" factor from the teenage perspective. Anyway, I would watch again, and found this one to be much better than the Mayan god thing.

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  11. Bitten? The horror...
    The worst episode ever =/

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  12. I really liked this one. Found footage isn't my favorite medium either, Billie (too much handheld and I get queasy) but the change of pace really worked.

    Brian, Michael, and Katie seemed really real to me, although I can't exactly say why. Katie, especially, even though I hated her.

    I bet Jared and Jensen loved this one. They worked maybe one, two days that week?

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  13. Billie, I'm totally with you on the multitude of cameras. What bothered me even more, though, was how quickly Kate edited all that footage into the movie Sam and Dean watched.

    That said, this is one of my favorites. Dean's mercy was heartwarming, and I found myself admiring Kate as she set out bravely to find a life for her new self. I hope the Winchesters encounter her at least once more before the end.

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  14. "Queasy-cam makes me feel like someone took my eyeballs and put them in a martini shaker." I literally laughed out loud when I read that line. And I totally agree, I can't do the shaky camera thing. It made me so queasy that I ended up playing on my phone and just listening to the episode.

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