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Supernatural: Hunteri Heroici

Castiel: "I'll interrogate the cat."

Do you think this was one of their comedy episodes?

Cartoon physics! Exploding hearts are not exactly funny, but the valentine-shaped hole in the dead guy's chest made me laugh out loud. So did the suicidal guy stepping off the building and doing a Wile E. Coyote in the air ("It's a miracle! God wants me to live!") until he made the mistake of looking down. The completely gross-out anvil scene (note the gruesome episode photo to your right) had me in stitches. So did the birthday cake.

This is exactly the sort of episode that was so much richer because Castiel was in it, along with his complete lack of tact and literal interpretation of everything. I particularly liked the more serious scene of Castiel taking Sam directly into Fred Jones's world so that they could communicate: the cartoon turning into TV snow, the old black and white test pattern, the bright color test pattern as Fred began to realize what was going on. No one but Cas could have saved Fred, either. If Cas hadn't been along for the ride, it probably would have been lacy, gently wafting curtains for Fred, instead of Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

I also loved Castiel's religious interpretation of a Road Runner cartoon. It was very Castiel, and a reminder of the B plot, which was Castiel's avoiding heaven and searching for a non-angelic way to keep helping people. I would really like Cas to resolve his guilt about the Leviathan possession and the slaughtering of angels, but I also don't want him to go to heaven, guilt out, and kill himself. I want Naomi to keep sending Castiel right back to the Winchesters, like an angelic boomerang. Although I suppose that can't go on forever.

The flashbacks were the weaker part of the episode, even though I'm liking Amelia more with each iteration. This time, Sam and Amelia moved in together and Sam met Amelia's father, with the usual stereotypical you're-not-good-enough-for-my-daughter results. Dad was smart enough to see that Sam was a damaged veteran of sorts, which is probably why Sam won him over. Just in time for Amelia to get an unexpected phone call about her suddenly not-dead husband. I wonder if it was Don's return, not Dean's, that split Sam and Amelia up?

Finally, I have to say that I love the way Dean just goes with situations like this one. It's part of his considerable charm. I particularly loved that he remembered to bring a magic marker to the bank robbery, because X marks the spot.


I just wish we'd gotten more of the talking cat.

Bits and pieces:

— Terrific title. It made no sense to me until the pop-up faux Latin bubbles came up while Dean was chasing Dr. Mahoney.

— Fred was played by the wonderful Mike Farrell from M*A*S*H. (M*A*S*H was one of my mother's favorite shows; I've seen every episode, and that's a lot of episodes.) "Fred Jones" is a character on Scooby-Doo. Was that intentional? It had to be.

— Did the effects/props guys actually create a huge frying pan with Dean's face in it?

— Sam didn't open Amelia's wedding album. Don may not have been cast yet.

— Shades of eternal Christmas movies. Castiel can't enter heaven until Naomi rings her bell.

— This week: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Moonlight Motel was a "by-the-hour fleabag," and it looked like one.

— I absolutely loved that this week, the Winchesters and Castiel were agents Crosby, Stills and Nash. The names came up in different scenes and out of order so it wouldn't be too obvious.

— Next week is the fall finale. Already?

Quotes:

Dean: "Garth has a safe house boat?"
A little check-in with Garth and the Trans, because we're in stand-alone episodes again.

Dean: "What's the word, Cas?"
Castiel: "It's the shortened version of my name."

Castiel: "I could be your third wheel."
Dean: "You know that's not a good, thing, right?"

Dean: "Stop smelling the dead guy, Cas."

Amelia: "Don't talk politics, don't say anything bad about the Cowboys, and whatever you do, don't, do not use the words 'moist' or 'irregardless'."
Sam: "There goes my opener."

Castiel: "What? I was being bad cop."
Dean: "You were being bad everything."

Dean: "The heart jumping out of the guy's chest, the delayed fall, that's straight up Bugs Bunny."
Castiel: "So we're looking for some sort of insect-rabbit hybrid?"

Castiel: "I understand. The bird represents God, the coyote is Man, endlessly chasing the divine, yet never able to catch him. It's hilarious."

Dean: "Let's gear up. It's wabbit season."
Castiel: "I don't think you pronounced that correctly."

Dean: "What the hell happened?"
Castiel: "There was a pastry mishap."
Dean: "Okay, and?"
Castiel: "And the frosting reached near supersonic speeds."

Terrific. Four out of four anvils, and that's all, folks,

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.

8 comments:

  1. I thought it was an ok episode up until the climax. Dean's cartoony fight was hilarious. When the title appeared on screen, I woke my brother up laughing.

    And I'm very glad Cas is back for more than a few appearances.

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  2. I loved this one as well, but mostly for Dean's and Sam's reactions to Castiel's comments. They often made me laugh harder than the comments themselves.

    I've seen every episode of M*A*S*H as well, one of my favorites of all time.

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  3. I didn't think the episode was that funny the first go around, but reading your review made it hilarious! Need to rewatch it.

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  4. Supernatural NEED Cas, the show isnt the same without him. It was the best episode so far this season. Awesome.

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  5. The episode wasn´t hilarious, hilarious but very funny and Cas´s comments were amazing. The guy takes everything so literally, it´s fun to watch.

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  6. Just a few weeks ago, I was complaining that I'd never love SPN a much as I used to. Now that Cas it back (and I haven't seen next week's preview, so I'm just going to assume he stays), I'm much happier.

    I loved his interpretation of cartoons, too. :-)

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  7. Thanks for the review - I always enjoy them. I thought this episode was a blast! Maybe not one of their traditional comedy episodes but fun nonetheless. I was wondering if Cass's comment that "it's all waves" was a shout out to Alphas.

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  8. The conversation at the beginning when Cas said he wanted to be a hunter made me happier than any conversation between fictional characters ever should.

    Of course, it couldn't last, not as long as Cas has angel powers that seriously reduce the level of danger involved in most situations. I can't believe how long it's taking the writers to realise that to keep him around, he needs to fall, like Anna did. Power-free Cas can be regular Cas.

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