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Supernatural: About a Boy

"Everybody wants a second chance, right?"

I enjoyed this one tremendously. The dialogue had me laughing like a loon and some of the action creeped me out. And like all good Supernatural episodes, they managed to get the pathos in there.

Who wouldn't leap at the chance to re-set the clock and re-live their adult lives? Not that I could handle Supernatural without Jensen Ackles, but I wanted that easy solution for Dean – youth and a return to optimism, a life for himself free of the Mark. (Although his crack to Sam about breaking in his new virgin liver made me think that he might self-destruct way too quickly, instead.) In the opener, Dean was hiding from the world because of what he did to Charlie. Making Dean a teenager gave us the old Dean back: saving people, hunting things. It was like going back to season one, but more so.

And of course, Dean gave up his second chance at life to save Sam. I knew that was coming. It was nice that while Dean didn't get his second chance, his new friend Tina did. She was cool and smart, screaming as a distraction so Dean could escape, trusting him to come back for her. And Dean may have killed the witch in a particularly horrible way (okay, she deserved it) but as Sam noted, Dean didn't hulk out. And now he has a new love for Taylor Swift.

Dylan Everett, who played Dean at sixteen in last season's "Bad Boys," did an excellent job this time as fourteen-year-old Dean. He had Jensen Ackles' mannerisms and delivery down pat; he felt like Dean. According to IMdb, Everett is twenty, but he has a baby face and I'm pretty sure they shot it so that he would look a lot younger and smaller. Let's see. Colin Ford, who played young Sam so well, is about seventeen now, isn't he? Couldn't they do an episode with the two of them? And bring back Jeffrey Dean Morgan?


Since I'm talking about casting, I have to give them a whole lot of credit for giving us Lesley Nicol as the evil witch. Just seeing her face made me howl. (If you don't watch Downton Abbey, Lesley Nicol plays the cook, Mrs. Patmore. Coincidentally, I had just watched an episode of Downton Abbey right before I watched this one.) So the witch and her brother Hansel (she was Gretel, wasn't she?) were emissaries from the Grand Coven searching for Crowley's mom Rowena. Apparently the Grand Coven is becoming a thing.

Of all the fun moments in this episode, I especially liked that bit with the woman who assumed Teen Dean was Sam's son. Sam got to be Dean's dad this time, a nice little role reversal there. And Sam supported Dean's decision to stay a teen, too. Of course he did.

Bits:

— Did the boys already have a motel room, or did Teen Dean just go to the first motel in the book and ask for Jim Rockford? (What episode was that in?)

— For some reason, the reveal of the slice of ornate pink cake under the cloche made me laugh out loud. It was just so bizarre. Maybe I was expecting a dead rat.

— This week: Pendleton, Oregon.

Quotes, mostly Dean's:

Sam: "Apparently something is taking people and leaving their clothes."
Dean: "Hmm. About time this gig got an R rating."

Sam: "You can beat this, Dean."
Dean: "Do you really believe that?"
Sam: "You're damned right I believe that."
Dean: "You know, you also believed in the Easter Bunny until you were twelve."
Sam: "No, I didn't. (pause) Look, I was eleven."
Dean: "And a half."

Bum: "We all know what's going on here, okay?"
Dean: "Don't say it…"
Bum: "Aliens."
Dean: "He said it."
That, and all the probing talk, took me back to "Tall Tales."

Dean: "So that leaves us with what? Couple of little green dudes and a bucket of lube?"
Sam: "Or fairies. Or angels."
Dean: "I'd rather have the little green dudes."

Dean: "I came up with about a hundred and one different ways to make macaroni and cheese. Add ketchup for spice, tuna, hot dogs, fluff marshmallow mix, my brother thought it was exotic."

Tween Tina: "You know, before, I thought you were just another drunk."
Teen Dean: "I prefer 'functioning alcoholic'."

Teen Dean: "Some Scarface looking dude, bright light, next thing I know I wake up looking like Bieber."

Teen Dean: "I got no grass on the infield and a girl's gonna die. Sorry if I'm not in a chatty mood."

Teen Dean: "There was a Taylor Swift song on the bus that I hopped to the motel and I liked it, Sam. I liked it a lot."
Sam: "Okay."
Teen Dean: "My voice is weird and I've got like nine zits and I have zero control over this. I mean, it's up, it's down, it's up for no reason."
Sam: "That's enough, thanks. That's just called puberty."
Teen Dean: "Yeah. Which sucks. Again."

Sam: "So you're saying you want to stay like this?"
Teen Dean: "No! But if it's between being a psycho rage monster slash borderline demon or a teenager, well…"

Sam: "Dude, I’m way too big to fit in that."
Teen Dean: "First time you ever had to say that, huh?"
Sam: "Big talk coming from the dude wearing Underoos."

Witch: "In the olden days, if a child went missing, the young died all the time. Now though, with all your Amber Alerts and your milk cartons, a person fillets one rug rat and people get so angry."
Teen Dean: "Yeah. I blame Obama."

Teen Dean: "Is it worth it? I mean, word on the street is people kind of taste like chicken."
Witch: "A bit. European children are more free range, gamier. Americans, though, ooh, they are heaven! Fattier, the meat so finely marbled, it's almost buttery. I just can't get enough."
Teen Dean: "Mmm. Awesome."
Witch: "No, I am in awe. This is my first visit to your country, and I have to say God bless the USA."

Loved this one. Four out of four Biebers,

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.

12 comments:

  1. I also loved this episode. Does anybody Think that Dean is going too hate Sam, because he has giving up so much for his sake? You always say that their is a fine line between love and hate. For me This is my favorite episode of season 10!

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  2. Hey, first time commenting here, but I love your reviews, and loved this episode too. Most fun I've had watching this show in quite a while. Anyway, the episode with Jim Rockford was 2.07 The Usual Suspects. (Is it weird I remembered the number and had to look up the name?) :)

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  3. Nicole, I doubt that Dean could hate Sam for long for doing anything. :)

    Thanks for finding that episode, Steph, and congratulations on posting your first comment!

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  4. always love the reviews here. Just wanted to answer one of your questions. The witch was not Gretel. She and Hansel had killed and eaten Gretel.

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  5. Loved this episode, feel like old good days: great brotherly moments, great lines, great monsters.

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  6. Silly but fun and totally worth it for Mrs Patmore as the witch from Hansel and Gretal!

    For my birthday, Supernatural gave me an episode that forcibly reminded me how old I am. Er, thanks, I guess...?!

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  7. Happy birthday, Juliette! And a great, great year to come!

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  8. Thanks for the review, Billie!

    I just re-watched "After School Special" a few days ago, and the actor playing Dean (Brock Kelly) wasn't really convincing.
    His lines and the way he delivered them felt awkward, and it was a little distracting. Little Sam was great, though.

    Dylan Everett on the other hand did a fantastic job. The way he delivered his lines was spot on, he really felt like Dean. The dialogue was really good too, every line felt like something that grown-up Dean would say.
    I need to re-watch "Bad Boys"...

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  9. Best episode this year, aside from the first two Demon Dean episodes. Adult Dean was angsty and thoughtful, Teen Dean was snarky and they were both BAMF. Sam was protective and supportive. And no cassbutt, thank goodness. Just the brothers together working a case that suddenly turned very personal.

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  10. Yay! I enjoyed this one. 'Nuff said, after my previous whines.

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  11. Steph, I didn't remember the number of the "Rockford" episode off the top of my head, but I remembered it was the one with Linda Blair, and I was pretty sure I remembered the title(which it turns out I did). It's still one of my favorite episodes of the whole series. "Sure thing, Matlock." :)

    This one was a hoot, both Tina's were good. Sam's crack about young Dean being able to drink in another 7 years cracked me up :)

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