Supernatural5x7 "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" Spoilerish

[Dorian Thompson]

That's true. Dawn O and the suits would probably replace old man Jensen if they could. And this popular supporting character in a wheelchair who's pushing 60 whom the audience likes better than the young chicks? The suits must be at a loss. It doesn't compute with the CW formula.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Wow. Alice Jester has a non spoilery review of next week's episode, Changing Channels, on her site. Warner Brothers sent out the complete episode to a few media people. She was raving about it--said it compares in quality and style to "Mystery Spot" which happens to be her favorite episode of the series. Don't be fooled by all the silliness in the previews; the episode turns deadly serious. Yes, there's some great comedy in it but it all turns. If you wish to read her non-spoilery review, (except for stuff already seen in previews) I pasted it in. Believe it or not, this episode is connected to the larger mytharc.

Spoiler: Alice Jester's review

- This is a Mytharc episode. A very important one. Castiel is in it. As is The Trickster, but considering the episode description says that, I don't consider that part a spoiler. As we would expect, Richard Speight Jr. does not disappoint.
- This plays a lot like "Mystery Spot." Funny to start off with and then it turns dark. It's also as well done as "Mystery Spot" but not as fast paced.
- It starts off with the sitcom and it's huge goofy fun.
- There's a new mock episode intro ala "The Monster At The End Of This Book," and it's the craziest damned thing I've ever seen on this show.
- They do spend a fair amount of time in the medical show, Dr. Sexy MD. Yes, that's the exact name used by the publisher in "The Monster At the End of This Book." It is SO a Grey's Anatomy spoof. Dean is funny in this bit for reasons you'll see early on and Sam is forced to play surgeon.
- I especially died laughing over a little Public Service Announcement that made Sam's issues with the clap this past episode seem tame.
- The CSI Miami thing is brilliant, and both brothers jump into the role a bit too much. There's a line that Dean says about wearing sunglasses at night that had me falling off the couch in laughter.
- One of the shows is a spoof on Knight Rider. So the Impala is the Kitt car, that leaves one brother to be the driver and the other...well, figure it out.
- One burning fandom question about "Mystery Spot" is answered.
- Don't be fooled by the goofy TV Land stuff. There's some heavy stuff in this episode.

/

 

[Skywalker]

I'm just happy we're getting another Trickster episode. That guy's awesome.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Richard Speight is pretty awesome. He was quite the find by the casting department. Apparently the actor is charming as hell, too. All the crazy fangirls at the conventions just love him to death. I still find myself wondering if the trickster is really God. Maybe the people he gets out of the way really do deserve it. As powerful as he is, he could have smited Sam and Dan any time he wanted. Even when they first met him, he was pulling the strings when Leatherface and his chainsaw appeared in that school auditorium to chase Bobby and Sam. I don't think he ever wanted to kill them. In his twisted way, he really was trying to help Sam last time around even though he ended up traumatizing him.

 

[mswood]

Well finally got to watch this episode and I it was ok, but it had some serious flaws.

First and foremost, why the hell did they let the guy go? He's a witch. They now what that means. He is getting his ability from a demon. At the end of days, would they really not try and stop this person. Just because he can live for a long time doesn't mean that he couldn't be stopped. They have stopped a being who is immortal before.

Certainly both Dean and Sam would have absolutely no love for witches now, more then ever.

Yet not a single line of Oh, your demon chow. You are going to hell. Or I know what its like to be seduced by demonic abilities.

And when playing Poker, a good part is the bluff and taunting your opponent. So what does Sam do.. he doesn't play his biggest card. Oh you know your demon boss, well guess what your boss knows that to harm me is to really, really piss off one of the most powerful beings out there.

Sorry but some of those issues, logically would have been addressed. And it would help tie the show to the main arc.

For the humor of the episode, a lot of it was handled well. And the guest acting was well done.

And of course the meat and potatoes of the episode was the Witch taunting Sam and even more so Dean confronting Bobby.

Also Sam just won a game, and is going off on his own. Yeah sorry but there is no way in hell that Dean or Bobby is going to by that Sam is going to get a shot. Never.....

So while parts of the episode do work, they sabotage logic and real character work for humor and for brief character moments.

Its a C.

 

[mswood]

On to the Trickster, I laughed out loud during Tall Tales, but the plot of the episode was really weak. And Mystery Spots, second half was golden (loved it), but the first half that was played for laughs just didn't cut it for me, because one none of Dean's death were played as seriously as John's Death, Sam's Death or Dean's death in No Rest for the Wicked. And unfortunately it has to for the rest of the episode to make any sense. It has to be absolutely real fo rSam, to see that transformation that we see later (Again loved, loved that part). But again the show sacrificed true character believability for humor.

And I hate that.

 

[Skywalker]

I've got zero problems with going for the funny. We obviously knew Dean was going to make it out of that episode alive, so why not have some fun with it? It was funny from our perspective, not from Sam's.

 

[mswood]

I've got zero problems with going for the funny. We obviously knew Dean was going to make it out of that episode alive, so why not have some fun with it? It was funny from our perspective, not from Sam's.

Oh like I said most of the humor worked.

But you can go for funny and still be true to character and the situations they are in. And this episode didn't.

But the fact that they just laugh it off while not stopping the witch just rips me out of the episode.

Compare that to Tall Tales, where they fight a being far, far, far more powerful then a witch and they only leave when they believe they have killed the trickster.

I mean when was the last time they left a being with out even trying to stop them that was out killing people?

The last one I remember was the Crossroad's demon in Crossroad Blues and that was after she threatened to came back and go after that family (they had just saved), which sorry Dean should have still sent her to hell as he knows she would continue to make deals that kill, both to people who know what they are doing to people who don't.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Mswood, you gotta get into the sick humor. I loved Mystery Spot with a passion. The deaths were yanking Sam back and forth and whiplashing him. Mystery Spot is one of my top five fave eppies of the series. Sam didn't know what the hell was going on, and it was affecting him negatively.

 

[Othello]

The more I watch this season the more disappointed i am. Not saying these are bad episodes but they aren't all the great either. I'm getting the same feeling I got from the final 10 episodes of BSG, which i completely despised, but not as strong.

 

[mswood]

Oh I love Sick Humor, and its not the repeated deaths of Dean (once Sam knows it sill be coming back), its the other two. The very first one and the last one where he is killed near the car. Those two deaths lacked the emotional hit of the deaths I quoted above. But in fairness I do think the first few on the repeat cycle should have had a stronger emotional impact (but the first and last have to hit just as hard) otherwise why would Sam treat it as seriously as he did.

I do like Mystery Spot, but its one that I honestly think would have been improved if the strike didn't happen.

And it isn't like I don't like Humor or even some of the humor episodes. But I need to feel that it fits the story and that they don't go over the top or act of character.

I still can't get over how the didn't even show them trying to stop the witch or that Dean just casually lets Sam go of on his own.

Seriously Dean (and this is some one who often defends the reasons Sam did what he did), your brother spent the last year lying to you sneaking around working with a demon. You know he is Lucifer's chosen vessel and have seen it come to pass, to the utter ruin of man kind. So what happens he is in a card game with a witch, he wins (when he shouldn't) and then talks about going off on his own. You really are going to trust him. Seriously......

I mean I know Dean can be dumb, some times, but colossally stupid....

 

[mswood]

The more I watch this season the more disappointed i am. Not saying these are bad episodes but they aren't all the great either. I'm getting the same feeling I got from the final 10 episodes of BSG, which i completely despised, but not as strong.

This is the first episode of the season that I have been really disappointed in. I have felt several have suffered from being only one episode (and not two), but this is the one that really just felt lie filler. And I really didn't like how the guys in how they talked and acted seem to forget the events of the last year and a half (except for mentioning that Dean's been to hell and the fact that Bobby feels useless due to being injured). And of course the witch taunting out how Sam fits with Dean now.

I do understand that they can't do all mytharc episodes (but they certainly tied individual episodes) to the mytharc and underlying character arcs far better last year (they excelled in that last year). And this episode easily could have, but its like the writers just brush it off.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

That's the problem with having a 22 episode season. It's why network shows end up with filler episodes. Your stronger cable shows always have 12-14 episodes and the shows end up the stronger for it. This coming up ep is a mytharc episode, and a strong one according to that review by Alice Jester that I linked upthread. Othello, I'm sorry you've been disappointed, but I doubt Supernatural will end up like the monstrosity that was the BSG series finale. I hated that, too. Very little in the finale satisfied me, and the coda at the end just ticked me off no end.

I've often wished that SPN were a cable series so that it could push the envelope much farther and be only 13 eps a season. SPN is by far my favorite network show, but the writing would be much tighter were it airing on HBO, Showtime, or even FX like Damages or The Shield. My favorite overall show is a tie between Dexter and Mad Men, both only 13 eps a season. SPN's greatest strength, IMO, is its character work. I like the Lucifer story, but it's being delayed because networks have to stretch it out to accomodate the 22 episode schedule. This last week, while sweet, was filler. The upcoming eppy isn't.

 

[startrekwatcher]

The more I watch this season the more disappointed i am. Not saying these are bad episodes but they aren't all the great either. I'm getting the same feeling I got from the final 10 episodes of BSG, which i completely despised, but not as strong.

I agree. SN has fallen off my appointment tv viewing. I'm no longer eagerly awaiting the next episode. The show is far too gimmicky with its story ideas. I hate when it does humor--I find it too overly proud and forced--and unfortunately Dean comes off like an idiot. I don't find myself laughing but rolling my eyes. The supernatural plots are tired and lack imagination. The episodes are uneven. A lot of the episodes feel like they exist for 40 minutes just to introduce a 2 minute future plot element instead of feeling worthwhile in their own right.

I think the show is running out of steam and before it really goes off the rails this should be its final season.

That's the problem with having a 22 episode season. It's why network shows end up with filler episodes.

I don't know if I entirely buy that argument. Heroes in season one had 23 episodes and all of those were at least decent and didn't feel like filler. Same for Lost in season one. I think the key to why those worked is the writers had plenty of material to sustain a season, every thread was interesting because it in some way connected to the bigger picture and it had cliffhangers that maintained the momentum from week to week.

I've always felt that if a show is going to have an arc they should committ entirely to it--not touch on it every few episodes because what inevitably happens is the standalone story is deemed filler because it takes us away from the more interesting ongoing arc. For instance, people wanted more of the Dominion War and less baseball, less Vic Fontaine, less Ferengi etc episodes on DS9. The two weakest episodes from that show's two arcs were "Sons and Daughters" and "Extreme Measures"--very little arc material. Another would be BSG. It was humming along nicely until mid season two and then it started doing all those standalones. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against episodic stuff but it realy needs to be solid in order to justify a detour away from the more compelling arc material.

I doubt Supernatural will end up like the monstrosity that was the BSG series finale. I hated that, too. Very little in the finale satisfied me, and the coda at the end just ticked me off no end.

I had numerous issues with BSG's final season but I thought the series finale was a powerhouse. Easily one of tv's best sendoffs. It certainly didn't provide a lot of satisfying payoff to the mythology threads but the show was never as well-plotted as Lost or season one Heroes. But it certainly made up for it in the way of character resolutions and emotional payoffs.

I like the Lucifer story, but it's being delayed because networks have to stretch it out to accomodate the 22 episode schedule. This last week, while sweet, was filler. The upcoming eppy isn't.

Well I would argue Kripke should have mapped out an arc, like Lost or season one Heroes or any of your 80s/90s primetime dramas, that could have been told over 22 episodes. It really isn't that difficult a task unless the studio heads specifically insisted to the writers not to be heavily serialized for whatever stupid reason.

 

[mswood]

I love the idea od cable run. but I hate the idea of a 13 episode season. As so much of the show is better then that. For example I can't imagine what shows we would have to lose to get season 4 down to 13 episodes. 9 episodes, seriously. I couldn't do it.

Now 18. That I could do. Or expand it the arc more then 5 years, I could easily se it on a 13 episode season and having 6 years for this arc.

Hell out of the season that worked a normal season, I barely, barely could get season 1 down to 13 episodes.

And hell for this season my biggest complaint is that I think the episodes have suffered due to them not giving the material enough time. So far I think 3 full episodes should have been multi part episodes and not single episodes.

 

[mswood]

Dorian

My problem with last week's episode isn't that it was filler, because lets face it life is filler.

Most shows legitimately can not tell just arc material, because that wouldn't accurately reflect the journeys of the characters.

As such the show must do shows that are about the characters journey to get to where they are trying to go.

The key point is making those so called filler episodes fit within the broader frame work of the experiences and environment that they live in.

Take season 4 the main plot thrust of that season was the breaking of the seals and stopping Lilith. But very few shows focused on that. But the show had very real reasons internal to the characters for that to happen. We have Dean purposefully steering them away from cases like that, and we have Ruby playing Sam (until he is ready for that).

and those threads carried much of those filler episodes. They really made (well all except Monster Movie which I still loved) the seriousness of the events in their lives and the actions they were taking.

This last episode didn't. That isn't the fault of a longer schedule or of not having a show be entirely arc based. That was just a show trying to lighten it up before getting dark. But doing so in a way that takes the characters out of their environment. Even as a budget saving episode (which it should be) you can still have dialogue and characters that are treating their day to day life more seriously.

We should have seen Dean confront Bobby but leave to trail after Sam. We should have seen them confront the witch about using Demon powers, and what their fate is, and the state of the world. They still could have told the same story of Bobby's struggle and had Dean realize that what he would became (and with humor) and not lost the real connection to the times they are living in.

There was one the seen when Dean is breaking in,and the music cues were all for key stone cops. Sorry but that is utter crap. I liked the episode and the episode was dark, but they had to ruin 2 minutes of it, just because they didn't either trust their audience, didn't care about the drama of the story, or just like to laugh even when it hurts the story telling.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Can't win 'em all. There are always going to be episodes less successful than the others. Interesting thing about Heroes, though, is that while it had a successful plot mapped out its first season, it couldn't sustain itself because its PTB had zero clue how to develop the characters. Mo Ryan of the Chicago Tribune opined that everything Supernatural has done right about character development, Heroes did wrong. That's why Heroes fell off the map into oblivion. I gave up on Lost during its second season because it was too plot intensive. All questions, never any answers. Oddly enough, I think the very best show on the air that balances perfectly plot and character isn't Mad Men, Dexter, or Supernatural. It's HBO's Big Love.

Dorian's favorites:
1.Mad Men
2. Dexter
3. Big Love
4. Supernatural
5. (soon to be) Caprica.

That's about all I watch on a regular basis. Everything else is pretty much crap. I'll catch House when I can. I never watch Heroes anymore. House is another show where character almost outshines plot.

The key point is making those so called filler episodes fit within the broader frame work of the experiences and environment that they live in.

Fair enough. Monster Movie is my favorite "filler" episode. I loved that one.

 

[Orintho]

OH MY GOD!

THE CW actual allowed a character on one of its show to state that they are in their 30's. What will happen next, people OLDER than 25 on MTV?

LOL, no they'd just haul out their own version of "Carousel" a la 'Logan's Run'.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Well, to be fair, Jensen Ackles is getting pretty decrepit and dessicated.

 

[startrekwatcher]

Interesting thing about Heroes, though, is that while it had a successful plot mapped out its first season, it couldn't sustain itself because its PTB had zero clue how to develop the characters.

This is true about Heroes and one of the problems since season one has been the characters have become uninteresting without the overarching backdrop that drove that season. I think part of it had to do with Kring not really wanting to carry over any of the characters from season one but the studio insisting that he did. I think in his mind each of their stories had been told by the end of the season finale. Now he has been struggling for three seasons to write for characters he has zero interest in.

Mo Ryan of the Chicago Tribune opined that everything Supernatural has done right about character development, Heroes did wrong.

Well I haven't read the article in question but Heroes and Lost are shows that are very focused on the mysteries and therefore is very plot-driven. All they want there are characters that are likeable enough that we want to watch them swept up in this epic saga. For a show like that it is hard to slow the dizzying pace of plot advancement to give us real in-depth character moments even moreso with an enormous roster of characters. But if you are going to do a show in the style of Lost then that is the best way to do it.

SN doesn't concern itself with plot to any real degree. It is ultimately about the characters. The only problem with that is instead of a modest ensemble SN has essentially two characters that have been hit-or-miss for me over the years. Neither has been successful in breaking through into my pantheon of great compelling characters and as such when the show hinges on the character drama it can go either way.

Personally I prefer a nice balance of character and plot with a modest ensemble paired off into two or three independent season long storylines thus affording depth to be given to the plot threads as well as the handful of characters. Primetime dramas seemed to have drifted away from that with the debut of Lost and while I love Lost I don't want all my shows that demanding or complicated.

That's why Heroes fell off the map into oblivion.

I think this is relative. Heroes as bad as it is still pulls in better numbers than SN.