"She's got more blood on her hands than most monsters we kill."
As a female continuing character on Supernatural, Sheriff Jody Mills has long since exceeded her expiration date. At the beginning of the episode I was thinking, yes, I know, but please don't let her die.
And she didn't. Not only that, the boys were wrong about Annie, and Jody was right. Emotionally, Jody needed to be right; she needed to save someone, needed a reason to live. And now she has one.
Kim Rhodes as Jody Mills did a great job, as always. There's a reason why fans of this show like Jody so much. And Katherine Ramdeen as Annie was just excellent. All through the episode, I could tell that Annie was confused and emotionally strung out, but I had no idea if she was essentially good or evil, or which way she would ultimately turn – especially since this is Supernatural, where bad things happen all the time. I kept expecting her to turn on Jody (even in the final scene!), or to have some sort of super evil secret of her own. Even the example they showed of Annie as a lure was hard to see as outright evil, since the man they victimized wasn't what you'd call a model citizen. It reminded me of Anne Rice's Lestat only killing evildoers. It sure would have been a lot less ambiguous if they'd shown Annie luring an actual innocent.
Even "Mama," played by another excellent actress, Ashley Crow, was somewhat sympathetic. She had lost her own daughter Alexis and had replaced her with Annie, much like what Jody did in the end. Jody and "Mama" represented both sides of the life choice Annie had to make.
The conflict between Dean and Sam took a back seat to the vampire drama, but even after all these years, and even though it's happened before, seeing Sam tied down and drained of blood upset me. But leaving Dean on the floor untied – big mistake, guys.
And Sam was right to be creeped out by how much Dean enjoyed killing that vampire, face to face. Mark of Cain, of course. I'm ready for them to sew up this subplot now.
Bits and pieces:
— The title made me think of the rhyme about Elizabeth, Eliza, Betsy and Bess / all went together to see a bird's nest. So it was a vampire nest. It fit.
— Never leave your phone on vibrate when there are monsters, Jody. Come on.
— And while I'm on the subject, even though it worked out, a deserted cabin in the woods is never a good idea, Jody.
— Jody should definitely clue in her deputies. They could have a whole monster-hunting office out there.
— Did you notice that Annie physically resembled Jody instead of "Mama"? I wonder if that was deliberate?
— This week: Sioux Falls, and O'Neill, Nebraska. The boys were agents Wilson and Fisher. (Heart?)
Quotes:
Jody: "How you boys been?"
Dean: "Peachy."
Sam: (simultaneously) "Touch and go."
Jody: "I know the feeling."
Jody: "Frank's still in the dark about what hit him last night. The guy still has nightmares about the barn episode of Walking Dead."
LOL.
Dean: "Hey! Hey, you need a hand with that? (sees the hand sticking out of the wood chipper) Oh. I guess not."
A moving little episode. I liked it a lot. Three and a half out of four redneck vampires from Nebraska,
Billie
---
Billie Doux has been reviewing Supernatural for so long that Dean and Sam Winchester feel like old friends. Courageous, adventurous, gorgeous old friends.
"There's a reason why fans of this show like Jody so much." I think it also has to do with her being one of 2? recurring female characters that haven't yet been brutally slain.
ReplyDeleteThe Supernatural vampire episodes don't really do much for me and this was no exception. There was nothing wrong with it, but…I don't know. Something about them just fails to grab my interest. While I wasn't a fan of Dean's 'the girl is a killer' stance, it makes sense for his character. I'm glad he and Sam realized they were wrong.
I loved this ep, gave it a rare 10/10 in my review on Winchester Family Business. We had two grieving mothers--Jody and Mama--who cared about Alex in their own ways. Of course, Mama had more twisted designs on Alex, but loved her nonetheless. I was thrilled when Alex chose to save Jody and touched when the damaged Jody and the equally damaged teenager appeared to be on the road to a mother-daughter relationship. They need each other. Plus, I was thrilled that Jody survived the episode, LOL! It's clear that the Mark of Cain is making Dean enjoy killing and Sam is concerned about his brother. We are, I suspect, in for a nail-biter of a season ending cliffhanger. Love, Robin
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't an overly engaging episode for me, but I'm very glad Jody lived. Like you, when it started all I could think was, "Oh great. This must be the one where they finally kill her. Dammit, show!" But she actually got to live, and even better, she's got someone to care for (and to hopefully care for her in return) in her life now. Yea!
ReplyDeleteLike the rest of you, I was sure that Jody was going to die in this episode. I guess the fact that she not only lived, but that it appears as though she has found someone to love, is the twist in the tale.
ReplyDeleteLike Sam, I am worried about Dean. When he told the brother to look at him, it sent shivers through me. I'm ready for this story to end, but I'm sure it's going to upset me a great deal.
I love Jody Mills as a character in her own right and the relationship the Winchester boys have with her. It's a delightful combination of aunt and kid sister that works really well. I really, REALLY hope she survives until the end of the series. But if in the future the writers decide they need to have a character death that's really going to hurt, I'm scared that she might make the top of the list. :(
ReplyDelete