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Guys.
Which one of you is a writer on the show? Because, did you know that the grandmother in Flowers in the Attic was named Olivia? There is NO WAY that wasn’t a FIT A reference.
!!!!!
I haven’t even seen it yet – but I can’t believe it! I forgot her name was Olivia. She doesn’t DESERVE a name !
Natalie: HAHAHA, you are right, our first irrefutable FITA reference.
“She was in the attic?”
“Like in the book…?”
My favourites were the Clue weapons. Anything that makes me think of Clue is good.
So even Bobby made a call or two in his day that make you go hmmmm. Bobby, did you learn nothing from FITA and Frozen, locking children away is not the answer.
WATCH OUT! THERE BE SPOILERS ABOVE!
Shit, sorry Sheila and anyone who hasn’t watched yet.
hahahaha
It’s okay. I will remove myself from the fray and return once I have watched.
Carry on my wayward friends!
Okay, so, I actually hadn’t watched the episode yet when I commented before – I had just read the Entertainment Weekly recap (because my experience has been that, if something is good enough, spoilers don’t actually spoil anything for me, and the episode wasn’t up on Amazon yet, and I was dying to know what happened). But as soon as I saw the part about Olivia being locked in the attic by an heiress, I knew. Now that I’ve watched it – yeah. No doubt in my mind. That was definitely a FITA reference. Right down to the “Clown College Colette” thing. (Which consistently cracked me up – but the FITA kids’ original plan when they escaped from the attic was to run away to Sarasota to join the circus, so, you know, more evidence. (I loved the “like in the movie” line. Because of COURSE that character wouldn’t have read the book – but I’ll bet she’d watch a LOT of Lifetime.)
And now I’ve kind of got the slightly uncomfortable feeling that that aspect of the episode was directed AT me. Like the writers have been reading here and saw my FITA comparison comments and thought, “oh, we could totally incorporate that.” (In which case, writers, I’m totally up for developing that Labyrinth-themed episode with you. You can reach me through my blog by clicking on my name. :-)
I’m probably reading too much into this. Right?
Sheila – if I recall correctly, the grandmother didn’t have a name until the second book.
There was a Grey Gardens reference also.
I looked up New Canaan, Connecticut and learned, of interest to this group, that the “New Canaan High School Library was the recipient of the 2010 National School Library Program of the Year Award, given by the American Library Association. In addition to the Award, the High School also received a $10,000 prize donated by Follet Library Resources.” Too bad they were stuck in that home and didn’t get a chance to use the library. And the high school drama program won 7 awards at the 2010 Connecticut High School Musical Theater Awards. I bet they got nothing on Marie and St. Alphonso’s in Flint, MI.
Is anyone else reminded of Joe Pantoliano in Bound whenever there’s a warthog’s head on the wall? That was a performance for the ages.
Natalie – Never stop obsessing. Especially if it could lead to an episode with David Bowie. Or Jennifer Connelly!
Grey Gardens reference. Life = Made.
mutecypher –
//Never stop obsessing.//
There’s really no danger of that.
I also thought the bookshelf/hidden door thing was pretty Scooby-Doo.
The bookshelf reminded me of that moment in Young Frankenstein: “Put … the candle … BACK.”
Also in regards to Flowers in the Attic:
Olivia. Check. The other maid? Colette. (a “C” name). And then her nickname became “Clown College Colette.” Three Cs!!
And lastly: “Clown College Colette.” I laughed so hard I missed the next lines of dialogue.
And I remember that fabulous matriarch (“did anyone hear wet themselves?”) from Mad TV!! She’s got comic BONES.
Natalie –
I liked that there was a box of the game Clue in the attic. And the doorbell that played “fur Elise,” the tacky WASP’s version of a lowrider playing “La Cucaracha” with the horn.
And I liked Dean emptying his weapon, though I knew Sam wouldn’t like it. I flash back to Orchid Guy in Twin Peaks speaking of Laura Palmer, “She had sssseeeecrets.”
Dean giving the serious once-over to the suit of armor. That was also very Scooby-Doo.
The C name thing occurred to me, too. I just didn’t want to seem too psycho bringing all of it up, ya know? If I’m going to be knwn as an expert on something, I’d prefer that it not be on Flowers in the Attic ;-)
I also found quite a few “was that a FITA reference tweets, so at least I know I’m not alone in seeing that. Lol.
My first thought was Downton Abbey. Then Jean Genet. Things took a swing sideways with the FITA references. Renfield. The Jerry Hall lookalike.
I dunno, tho. Reminded me too much of my least favourite SPN ever, Season 8, the one with the first of the three trials. I. Can’t. Even. You guys are going to have to nuance me into getting my head round this one.
I think I kinda love this episode. I lost it at, “Well then, ah, come on in darlin’. The water’s warm.” I haven’t laughed this much watching SPN in years. Two episodes in a row! It feels like old times…
Natalie — //And now I’ve kind of got the slightly uncomfortable feeling that that aspect of the episode was directed AT me.//
We’ll know for sure if they start mentioning sister-wives.
//We’ll know for sure if they start mentioning sister-wives.//
May! Son Maker!
Please point out the wonders of this episode. Despite some of the funny things, it was a bit underwhelming to me. Beyond the reminder that Dean is not happy and not interested in talking about it.
I want to believe.
//We’ll know for sure if they start mentioning sister-wives.//
OMG. I’m so glad I was out of class before I read that!
The outline of the headless body on the floor….
“I’m lactose intolerant”
All the Clue weapons and locations. I laughed so much during this one and the end sobered me right up.
I’m embarrassed to admit that I didn’t realize the butler was Rev. Legrange until way after the ep. was over.
Yes, Kate — Rev LeGrange’s career sure took a left turn!
May — the good old days! So gross, so funny.
mutecypher & Helena, it’s not sitting right in my head either; perhaps it was too purely a comic episode — almost felt like an episode of Psych. The script was funny and the mystery tight enough but I can’t yet get over the ridiculous “detaining for questioning” by one guy or the “the lawyer says you can have the inheritance” or the case of the dumbs the guys had to get to make some plot points work.
Some of the blocking and staging was distractingly clumsy (you’re locked in an office boys…quick pick up that file holder! What’s underneath it? we need to know!) and I actually found myself hiding behind my hands in the kitchen scene and through the CGI at the end. Poor actress, having to deliver that monologue! Poor Jared, having to, like. Lie there or something, still not sure. Where’s my COMPETENCE???
Helena, yes, I was reminded of that episode too (which I didn’t hate) — but I found the cartoonishness of this one made it both better and worse.
Oh my god I am such a buzzkill! I actually liked a lot about it and found myself smiling quite often. The barrage of nouns in the previouslies. The three women and Dash just nailed their comic performances — they were hysterical and pretty much made the episode. And Sam was very funny too — that pantomime of awkwardness when Baby Jane caught him alone! The music was also a lot of fun.
Dean’s comedy felt very subdued in a purposeful way, but I did love a few of his gleeful reaction shots. Also loved Sam being confronted by so many keys….and if there is a key….then there must also be a lock…
Meanwhile if we’re playing spot the reference (Leopold and Loeb!) may I remind you all that Dean McDermott of Tori and Dean played Renfield (also referenced this episode) Turnbull in Due South? Such a funny performance. Where did it all go wrong?
Jessie –
I was puzzled by Philip’s “you gentlemen are too good for this family” speech as he gave them the cross/key, and then his “I’ll search the hall closet for burlap” remark when they returned. Or one(!) detective (a former demon, wasn’t he?) being able to keep them from the weapons and equipment in Baby. Yes, a competence-lite episode.
But there were many funny things, like the Amber/Dash exchange:
“My alibi is in this room.”
“We’re in love.”
“We’re…. sleeping together.”
Philip having Olivia clean the lavatories at the start of the episode – funnier in retrospect (I think that’s the real reason she killed him). And Olivia remarking that the cute, dumb one let her out of the attic.
I haven’t watched the series in real time since early season 6, so I’m trying to keep in mind the comments that others have made about how easy it is to make a snap judgement on episodes. I’ll probably watch again in a day or two, but I’m not looking forward to it as much as I was with “Fan Fiction.”
mutecypher, I think Phillip was making nice initially to get the hunters out of there asap — remember, he knew about what happened between Bunny, Bobby and Olivia (the name of my next folk trio), although that assumes he didn’t know the key opened the attic. I did love Dean’s “canvas”comeback.
That detective did seem familiar!
So some of you may remember my comments from last week about the Dean/Baby/Sundown hot, sexy scene. Well they clearly know that they are messing with us. This week they pan seductively across Baby’s grill to reveal Dean down on one knee, nose to nose with her and literally screwing her…it…that “porny car”. I will not allow you to sully the memory of that beautiful Sundown scene with your crass car porn!!!
Jessie,
An episode of Psych, it did have that feel. (I have loved Psych.) It also felt Scooby Doo and Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, of course).
Natalie,
Ashamed to say I have no idea what FITA is. I obviously need to do some research.
When Renfield was referenced all I could think of was the fabulously funny Arte Johnson in Love at first Bite, 1979 Dracula spoof for you babies. I also had so many wonderful Clue-playing flashbacks. The murder weapons were just like the game! Awesome that the game box was in the attic.
Kate,
“I laughed so much during this one and the end sobered me right up.”
I think very deliberately they made us laugh so much we forgot that we were waiting for that other shoe to drop…and then Dean dropped it with 6 shots. Not just Dean though. All their reassurances to each other that they were both ready and ok to get back into it and Sam froze and Dean moc’d that shifter. Anyone else reminded of when he killed Abadon and wouldn’t stop stabbing her – yikes. Obviously not as bloody, but still. We can be pretty sure Dean was feeding the mark, but why did Sam freeze? He made a comment to her, “So Bobby spared you?” Was he overthinking whether to kill her or not? Why did he move out of his hiding spot? It was almost like he was asking to get shot. It reminded me of the scene in 7.13 The Slice Girls when Dean is confronting his daughter and Sam comes in and shoots her only reversed obviously. Dean is obviously in denial and pushing his problems down – so do we expect any different from him? Sam is the one I need to hear some psychoanalysis on…anyone? Sam is obviously worried in that final look out the window, but maybe Dean should be worried that Sam might not be able to come through in the clinch.
I really loved the humor and fun in this episode, but I cheered, “Yes! That’s what I’ve been waiting for.” When Dean kept shooting. So clever of them to almost make us forget.
//and through the CGI at the end.//
AAAGH!
Otherwise … so, was this an homage to Clue(do) the game/movie – is that why Dean could find a monkey wrench in the butler’s pantry?
Mutecypher, You have ruined me. I am now a wee bit obsessed with the verbing of nouns; if by wee bit…
Okay, so schedule cleared up – will go through and read everyone’s comments in a bit.
Off the top of my head:
It felt like a 1980s mystery show. Murder She Wrote-ish. An Agatha Christie mystery. The entire style was different – the only thing that seemed Supernatural-ish to me was the shot of Dean peering inside the coat of armor – which also had the joke in it that he himself was a “Knight”. The moment actually struck me as rather funny. It was like Sam and Dean strolled into a 1980s television show. With stock characters and stock props. For me, it worked, overall. It was super silly.
But I’m reminded of many other moments in the series – where the “big” issue is then relegated to the 5 minutes at the end. “Dean, I’m worried about the Mark.” “No, no, I’m fine …” And that’s how they have kept those long Arcs going over a season that is twice as long as most other TV shows. It can get really repetitive – and this one felt that way to me. I don’t mind at all if y’all don’t mention a certain Arc and suddenly stroll into an episode of Murder She Wrote – go for it. I’m sure people will have good reasons for defending/liking that last scene – but I didn’t. It was too heavy for the rest of it – It might have been a better choice to leave it all un-spoken. Have Sam notice Dean shooting one too many times, be concerned, and NOT say anything. Arcs can continue with no dialogue at all.
Maybe this is on my mind because I’m working on “Croatoan” right now – and the opening episodes of Season 2 are a perfect example of setting up some HUGE thing (Dad’s whisper) and then NOT mentioning it for 9 episodes. and it works.
Anyway – the whole episode was so silly that I would have been okay if they had left the Mark behind for this one. It felt tacked on.
I have to say it’s super good to have a break from the angels. Seriously, you guys. They are bumming me OUT. Hannah? It feels like a million years ago since I had to deal with her and it’s been a wonderful break. I feel like the show is so DONE with the angels. There is no reason for them to be there anymore. I know they’re coming back and I’ll try to keep an open mind but Hannah/Cas – snooze-fest peppered with Castiel cutesy shit. I have enjoyed my time off from them.
Crowley on the other hand … I miss that scruffy demon.
I liked the Clue set-up – when Dean picked up the candlestick, I laughed out loud.
I am not sure why Olivia had a slightly Russian accent when she had been locked in a closet by her American mother for so many years.
LONG explanatory third-act monologue! Cut that shit down! Also, I knew Olivia was “the one” from the get-go. Not much tension there!
I liked Sam and Dean strolling into a sexual hot-house environment. They were getting it from all sides. I liked how Dean was clearly tempted – you could see it from the second whats-her-name hit on him – and Sam clearly was not. But he was ready to “take one for the team” if he had to.
“Clown college in Sarasota.” The people who write for this show are funny people.
Oh – and the chalk outline of the head.
Hysterical.
mutecypher — //May! Son Maker!//
I think I found my new twitter handle.
//Please point out the wonders of this episode. Despite some of the funny things, it was a bit underwhelming to me. Beyond the reminder that Dean is not happy and not interested in talking about it.//
I have to admit, I don’t actually think it was a good episode. It was obvious. The ending was dumb and annoying. But I still liked it. It was very silly. I think it was watching this one that reminded me how much I miss the humour in SPN. There have been other funny episodes before this, but they just haven’t clicked with me in the way the show used to. But “Fan Fiction” and this one did.
This probably reflects more on me and my attitude towards the show shifting, though, and nothing about the quality of the episodes themselves.
I didn’t get most of the references, and yet it was still a very funny episode. So silly! Maybe I’m easy to please: just like Dean barking at the mailman in Dog Dean Afternoon, Sam’s «I’m right behind you» scene will make me laugh a hundred times before I get tired of it. So stupid!
That last scene: too much. Especially when you have two actors who can do so much without words, like their exchange over silver knives. Nothing is said, but you can see it’s more than just about shapeshifters. I loved that. In the words of Linda Blair: «these two guys…».
//We can be pretty sure Dean was feeding the mark, but why did Sam freeze? He made a comment to her, “So Bobby spared you?” Was he overthinking whether to kill her or not?//
Melanie, I think the reason Sam “froze” is that he was stalling for time. Shooting her with non-silver bullets (which was all he had) wouldn’t have killed her. He was keeping her talking while Dean ran out to the Impala to get silver bullets.
I was confused when I first watched it too–I was wondering why Sam was hesitating and where Dean was–but then Olivia figured it out and said something like, “You don’t have any silver bullets, do you?” Then, just before she could attack, Dean finally reappeared with the silver bullets from Baby.
Now that I’m past my FITA freakout…
(Although, a couple more quick things – I think the pearls may have also been a reference – mom’s pearls come up all the time in the books as her “tell” – she plays with them when she’s lying. Also, Olivia’s exposition monologue at the end had a bit of a purple-prosey VC Andrews style to it. I may be reading more into that than what is there, but it’s possible that was also Andrews-inspired. And my first watch, I didn’t catch the cougar’s eye-rolly “Oh, Amber” when Amber said “Like in the movie?” I interpreted the “Oh Amber” as being a judgy “crack a book once in a while, you idiot” kind of remark, which is hilarious considering the source material for the movie. There are plenty of book-to-movie adaptations that it’s reasonable to judge someone for not reading the book. This ain’t one of them ;-)
//I liked how Dean was clearly tempted – you could see it from the second whats-her-name hit on him – and Sam clearly was not. But he was ready to “take one for the team” if he had to.//
That was an interesting dynamic, for sure. Not that Dean isn’t usually up for it, but he’s also the one who usually has to take one for the team.
Sam is really bringing out my protective instincts lately, which is unusual for me. It’s usually Dean that makes me feel this way. I’m not entirely sure what’s driving that. I’m going to have to give it some thought. Maybe it’s something about Sam being in the role of having to look out for Dean the way Dean always looked out for him. This is not a burden we’re used to seeing him carry.
The entire episode actually had a whole Scooby-Doo vibe to me, in addition to the other references. It would not have surprised me in the least if Olivia had said something at the end about getting away with it if it hadn’t been for those meddling kids.
I’m also going to offer a defense of the final scene. Since Dean was cured of his demonity(?), the boys’ communication has been very different from what we’re used to. The whole “it’s embarrassing” thing. There’s an openness that wasn’t there before. There’s also a guardedness in Dean that is different from what we’ve seen before, and we can only guess at what effects the MoC is having. The end scene was different from what we’re used to seeing from them because THEY’RE different. There was still a lot going on there nonverbally. What we saw from Dean was irritated, and what we got from Sam was concerned, but underneath that, what I was getting from both of them was a big steaming pile of fear. This is brand new territory.
A little moment, but Dean complaining about drinking out of little cups immediately made me think of Sam’s “Do you have bigger cups?” from the Fairy episode. ^_-
Jessie: //Oh my god I am such a buzzkill!//
hahahahaha, I don’t consider your comments buzzkill-y and am kinda glad, I was holding back afraid to rain on the love parade should there have been one.
This wasn’t my favourite episode either. The lack of competence particularly was annoying. Sam can escape from a police precinct but can’t get into the driveway!? And the whole, just wander down the hall until you stumble upon all the answers didn’t really draw out the suspense for me. I did enjoy some of the silly vibe, the “sexual hot-house environment” (can’t tell, but do you think we get more of that next episode?) Sam’s incredibly large face floating in the cartoon car at the end was interesting…
I think Sam’s entire showdown (more hide and seek) with the shifter at the end was so that he could deliver the “monsters are made not born” line. I feel like this is what we are meant to contemplate. Or perhaps it was just a stall…
If this hadn’t come after the delight of “Fan Fiction” perhaps I could have just enjoyed the Murder She Wrote, FITA, Movie of the Week, Clue, references with less expectation. But come on, how can it be Clue without the alternate endings and running around?
Jessie –
I hope Bunny, Bobby, and Olivia sing this folk song. Each can take a verse.
I am late to the discussion this week! I’m out of town right now and I finally was able to catch the episode on my laptop last night.
I didn’t love this episode overall, but it definitely had some great funny moments. The whole scene on the couch with Sam and the ladies was great. The awkwardness, the whole “Come on in darlin….”, and the shudder once he got away…priceless. I also loved the opening scene with them holding those little tiny cups of coffee and discussing cinnamon roll and glazed donut.
The whole conveniently finding one of Bobby’s old cell phones felt a little contrived to me plus some other things did as well. I totally agree with Heather in the fact that they have escaped from police stations….heck they escaped from a bank with an entire SWAT team after them….but they couldn’t evade one detective to be able to get to their car and get their weapons?
I thought it was very interesting what they did when Dean was firing round after round into Olivia’s body and they did the close up on his face afterwards. It was very dark and shadowed and with his gaze cast downward, his eyes basically disappeared and looked almost black. It was totally a camera and lighting effect but I thought it was a very interesting one they chose to do at that moment. I don’t know that it was any kind of coincidence ….especially following Sam’s “being a monster is a choice” comment.
Whatever that effect was they did at the very end with the Impala….I hope they never do it again!
….// Whatever that effect was they did at the very end with the Impala….I hope they never do it again!//
Oh, the one where Sam suddenly turns into a mummified corpse propped up on the front seat? Still stabbing my eyes out after that.
I am very late to the discussion. I liked this episode, not loved but we can’t love them all. I enjoyed the comedy and thought the guest cast were fantastic. So vaguely repulsive.
Dean has been known to keep old cell phones around for just such a reason. He kept his Dad’s old cell phones and I wasn’t surprised they used this to tie this episode to their past.
I actually liked the ending. Dean finally breaking down and yes I think feeding the Mark is a good term for it. He held off for a long time, I think he was afraid of what would happen and he is different in the car with Sam than he has been. More closed off and someone mentioned afraid and I think fear has much to do with both of them right now. He is an addict, isn’t that what we have been likening the Mark to, an addiction. Like Sam with his Demon blood addiction. I don’t know how they are going to work around this, their job is killing every evil thing they can.
That seems to me how they are going to play this. Different because both Sam and Dean know he has the Mark. I am wondering about what Sam knows about the Mark, does he understand that when Dean kills it feeds the Mark? Would he be so quick to agree to hunt if he did.
All other aspects aside I could live for just scenes of Dean with Baby. Dear Lord. Two episodes in a row with Dean pampering her. He moves so beautifully. I love his alone time with Baby, brings back memories of all those earlier episode scenes with him rebuilding his baby, trying to rebuild himself. Or I am reading too much into this.
mutecypher —
Yes I think that’s our first single! We keep the Bobby and John verses…change the rest to Mary, Ellen, Jo, Rufus, Pamela, etc etc ad infinitum…
re: the last scene:
They keep finishing on Sam and I am loving it! ha ha. If they were gonna tie the episode to the arc, and they were gonna have Sam see Dean go troppo, then their new “let’s chat” MO means it’s gonna come up in the car, I don’t mind that. I’m interested in this new non-silent dynamic. But it was just clumsily done.
Heather — ha ha thanks!
how can it be Clue without the alternate endings and running around?
Or secret passages or secret pasts? Or flames on peoples’ faces?
Michelle & Grean —
I also loved the opening scene with them holding those little tiny cups of coffee and discussing cinnamon roll and glazed donut.….his alone time with Baby, brings back memories of all those earlier episode scenes with him rebuilding his baby, trying to rebuild himself
I think they could have carried the arc throughline with moments like this. I was expecting The Dean Show when he decided the coffee wasn’t bad, but he was so flat. And yes, as a demon he hadn’t cared about the Impala, so it’s important for him to work on it now. He’s not repressing/avoiding what’s going on with him. He’s thinking about it pretty hard I think. It’s not like last yeah when he had the relationship/Abbadon crisis to helpfully distract him.
I don’t want to overthink this one because, as I think we all agree, it was fun but light. I guess that makes some sense in terms of the overall flow of the season, though, right? First we had Acts 1, 2, and 3 in the “fix Dean” story, which “had” to be at least temporarily resolved so that they could stage their 200th episode celebration. It works, though, to have what are essentially “breather” episodes on either side of Fan Fiction. You wouldn’t want to plunge directly back into the sturm und drang, right?
I will say that I was not at all looking forward to this one; I feared that it would be another of those “this is a FUNNY episode” that the show occasionally bonks us over the head with. So I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy big parts of it, which were genuinely funny. I enjoyed Sam being the one to deliver much of the humor, for example, and I liked the Clue sight gags more than I expected to. It all almost made up for that awkward CGI pull out at the end–I agree, can we petition the show to never try that again? (Oddly enough, a similar effect worked beautifully last week, as they drove off into the sunset. Maybe because of the heightened reality of that shot? Or because the camera angle swept quickly past the window, so the transition wasn’t as noticeable?)
This episode reminded me of season 8’s “Trial and Error”, too. In both cases it felt like Sam and Dean had stepped into another tv show–Dallas in the first, any number of light murder mysteries in the second. And then that got me thinking about a theory that I–and some other fans–nursed throughout the second half of s. 8. (Another side effect of watching the show in real time vs. binging, you have lots of time to come up with crazy theories that may or may not pay off in show terms!) Probably influenced by the fact that I was rewatching earlier seasons at the time, I started noticing references to these earlier seasons, like the name Amelia which was the name the Trickster gave to his pretend wife in “Mystery Spot” and in “Trial and Error”, the family name Cassity, which appears on a sign at the lumber mill in “Yellow Fever.” Other things. The Clue weapons in this episode got me thinking about my theory again–what if not all of this is real? What if someone is trying to send the Winchesters a message or teach them something? Now, I realize, since none of this has come to anything, I’m probably just writing my own little fan fiction, but it can be fun to speculate. And it adds a little bit of weight to this light episode.
//Or flames on peoples’ faces?//
Yes flames! And heaving breaths. Oh Madeline Khan, she was so next level.
Sheila,
Completely agree with you on so many points. 1980s Murder She Wrote, a little Magnum PI even, no wonder I was so comfortable with this episode, that is the stuff of my young adulthood. Missed the Knight irony, but you’re right, priceless.
Also concur with the formula of saving the ‘big’ stuff for the end. Dad’s whisper will never be topped. But disagree about leaving it out completely – ‘it’ being Dean’s overkill moment not the awkward impala scene.
I am so with you on thd whole angel drama. Castiel may still have lessons to learn from the boys, but the rest of the feathered flock…puhleez spare me.
I’ve really been thinking about the sequence of these first 6 episodes. In 10.2 Crowley made a huge deal about how the MOC needed to be fed and he was doing Dean a favor by setting him up to kill these demons, so he wouldn’t flip out and kill an innocent bystander. Crowley clearly understands more about the Mark and about Dean than he lets on. Then in 10.3 after Dean kills “the client” Crowley tells him that he is sitting on the fence between his demon-ness and his humanity and that he needs to choose. That was a little bit of a mind blower as I thought Dean was 100% demon. Just after that Dean is sitting at the piano contemplatively tinkling the keys waiting for Sam. Now demons can pop in and out, right? Its not like Crowley left him without a ride, so he had to stay. Think about this, too. Dean was more than a little prideful about being a knight of hell. Do you remember what a badass Abbadon was? Do you really think a strung out, one armed hunter, even a good one like Sam, could take down a knight of hell with a little holy water and magic handcuffs? Even the hammer/knife scene in the bunker – not plausible that Dean would end up with Sam’s knife at his throat. So here’s my theory. Dean has a black and white moral code that allows him to live the violent hunter life. Simple: kill monsters, save people. Sam’s moral compass is so fuzzy with grey areas that he often can’t find his way (damn that Stanford Pre Law degree). Sam let Amy Pond live, but Dean could not. Crowley understands this about Dean, that even as a knight of hell Dean will ultimately be controlled as much by this code which is at the core of his being as he will be by the mark. Crowley put up with all Dean’s shennanigans only so long as he thought there was a chance to tip the scales in his favor. Even in the killing of the douchebag husband (I forget his name) Dean is saving the wife, because the guy makes it clear that Crowley will just send another demon to kill her. So even as a demon Dean never violated his code. Clearly he chose his humanity. I’d like to think he found the demon life empty and unfulfilling. He let Sam take him. He was also testing Sam to see if he would do what he had to do. With Sammy’s knife to his throat he said, “Do it, Sammy.” He knew Sam wouldn’t. When Castiel grabbed him from behind, would a knight of hell not have flung him halfway down the hall, with some wind and flames thrown in for the show? OK, so he was partially converted, but still. I believe he felt he had to come back to keep Sammy on the right track. That’s our Dean, sacrificing his awesome knight of hell status ’cause Dad told him to always look after Sam. The awkward wolfsisters episode 10.4 was clearly to emphasize the parallels between siblings, good/bad, dark/light, and willingness to kill the sibling if he/she turns into a monster. The original episode with Kate also served to further define ‘monster’ according to Dean’s code (kill monsters, save people), because she had not killed anyone she was not yet a monster so they let her go. 10.4 reiterated that in a glaring way by comparing the 2 sisters. In 10.6 we hear Sam voice this idea that being a monster is a choice – IRONY, SAMMY! In the awful, I mean awkward impala scene we clearly see Sam’s concern about Dean’s mark addiction, but Dean is also faced with a huge dilema about Sam. Has Sam crossed the line by convincing and aiding Lester(?) to sell his soul to Crowley? Once again Dean is haunted by that doom filled whisper from Dad, “If you can’t save Sam, you’re going to have to kill him.
Croatoan re-cap now up! http://www.sheilaomalley.com/?p=91958
I felt the Scooby-Doo-ness of the episode also. But the bit in the hallway with the suit of armour struck me another way. Dean is/was a knight of hell, he sounded pretty proud of that when he was telling Maeve what happened after ‘Swan Song’ in the ‘Fan Fiction’ episode. When Dean is checking out the second floor, we see him looking into the helmet of the armour, like a knight would wear, and then the POV switches and we are looking out of the helmet at him. Is it a case of looking into the abyss and the abyss looking back? Or, is it just Shaggy in the Black Knight episode and I’ve been reading too many of Sheila’s recaps and I’m starting to imagine too much meaning in the way shots are set up?
// Is it a case of looking into the abyss and the abyss looking back? Or, is it just Shaggy in the Black Knight episode //
Maybe both?? I think that shot worked on a lot of funny goofy and also SPN-plot levels. It’s one of those dumb shots that you feel like you’ve seen a million times before – because … you HAVE seen them a million times before!
There definitely was an abyss in that knight’s helmet!