Recap – Two and A Half Men

 

Dean picks up the baby out of the cart and starts checking him out at all sorts of angles while Sam pays for the supplies.  The kid is still crying.  Dean then looks at the kid and starts mimicking his cries.  Sure, I’m laughing my ass off, but as a parent, I’ve actually tried that.  Good thinking Dean!  More shots of surrounding people staring and shaking their heads.  But wait, what is this, a heroine?  A sweet granny gets behind them in line trying to help.  She asks what’s his name.  “Bobby,” Dean answers.  “John,” Sam answers.  Whoa!  How interesting.  They each pick their most important father figures.

 

Dean covers and suddenly now “it” has a name!  “Bobby John,” Dean says.  Great name!  Of course it sounds totally redneckish, like Billy Bob or something like that, but it’s great.  Grandma starts sweet talking to the kid and asks Dean if she can hold him.  Of course she calms Bobby John down real good and figures out the problem, he’s wet.  She notices they look exhausted and offers to help with the diaper change, being the experienced diaper changer and all.  Dean doesn’t know what to say, but quickly figures it out when he looks away and changes the flare in grandma’s eyes in the security monitor.  Shapeshifter!

 

He tells her they’ve got it, but grandma won’t back down.  So Dean just gets mad.  “Give me the baby before I stab you in your neck.” Sam is stunned so Dean points to the monitors.  Ah, now Sam gets it.  Too bad everyone else around there is too shocked to get it. Grandma runs with the baby so Sam and Dean follow.  Dean tries to grab her but her arm skin falls off.  Yuck, that shapeshifter stuff never ceases to disgust me.

 

Okay everyone, Sam Winchester hair alert!!  While he runs across the store in pursuit of grandma, that hair is just flying everywhere!  It’s so good to see the action hair is back!  My favorite though is when he collides with Grandma.  I swear the entire mop is standing on end.  Ah, the few precious joys in life…

Anyway, back to the plot.  Sam manages to easily take the baby from Grandma and run, which is good and all since they probably couldn’t script a tug of war with a live baby.  Dean comes from behind and tackles Grandma while Sam makes the get away with the baby.  Dean pulls out a knife and wrestles with Grandma and yes, this looks very very bad in a public supermarket.  Grandma screams for help and the manager jumps in to assist the poor helpless old lady.  Dean gets it, backs off, then runs for holy hell.  He knows when it’s time to vamoose!

 

Dean runs outside right when Sam is pulling up with the Charger.  Here’s an observation, they still have no supplies.  So did they go to another supermarket and end up buying the exact same diapers and butt paste?  With the same black baby on the box?  Anyway, Dean jumps in, Grandma shapeshifter runs out and stares with menacing look and she sees Sam’s Illinois license number.  How is she going to find him?  Not like he has an address or anything.  I guess there’s always notifying local motels to be on the look out.  Grandma’s look is clear, this isn’t over.

 

Sam drives on the road really fast and does anyone think these first two episodes have been a big commercial for the Dodge Charger SRT8?  There have been plenty of glory shots.  I’m assuming the show got a product placement deal on this one.  Dean is in the back trying to figure out the car strap.  He wants to know what a shifter wants with a baby.  Oh, you’re so going to find out.  Sam has no theories, but Dean is just frustrated with the strap.  “Who designed this thing, NASA?”  Ha!  You don’t know how many times over the years I griped about those child seats being rocket science.  I feel your pain Dean!

 

Anyway, how did the shapeshifter find them?  Sam guesses it’s been following him this whole time.  Dean cleverly realizes they have to get off the road.  Or maybe not so clever, since the shifter has the license number.  The shifter who has now killed and taken the form of a cop and who is sending out warnings on the license number.  This is one persistent shifter!

 

Man, now we get another cool scene!  The hits keep coming.  Dean is changing the baby’s diaper, acting all father like.  Whoa, how many childless women are weeping right now?  Oh heck, even us experienced parents.  Of course I usually like to leave personal lives out of it, but how many think Jensen’s newlywed wife is seeing some huge potential here?

 

Sam is watching while going over files and actually smiling over seeing his brother like this.  “This is like diffusing an IED with poop.” Dean picks up Bobby John and tells the little guy its time for some sleep.  He holds the kid on his shoulder and gently bounces him. He starts humming “Smoke on the Water.”  That’s brilliant!  I wish I had tried that when my kids were infants.  Sam watches and laughs.  “Dean, you’re just going to make it cranky again.”  This is where I wish Dean would correct Sam telling him Bobby John is a he, not and it, but Dean shushes Sam.  Whatever Dean is doing is working.  The baby is all sweet and ookie on that shoulder. “Alright, if I put you down are you going to be a man about it?”  He lays Bobby John down, who goes to sleep.  Dean is overjoyed.  Sam is dumbfounded.  All of us are swooning!

 

Dean wants to know what Sam’s “huh” is about this time.  “You’re actually not awful at that,” Sam says.  Dean claims he’s barely keeping that thing alive.  Oh, don’t sell yourself so short Dean!  Sam doesn’t believe it either.  “No, no, no, seriously, you’ve got a whole Dr. Huxtable vibe coming off of you.  You’re like, father material.”  Sam must have short term memory loss or something, for Dean reminds him he’s had to be.  “Sink or swim.”  Sam knows he’s talking about Ben.  As Dean pours a drink, Dean mentions he may not be his kid, but it feels like he is.

 

What is this?  Sympathetic Sam?  He’s listening and actually giving glimpses that he cares.  It isn’t the pure puppy dog of old, but this is so much better than the wooden Sam from last week.  He does care.  That’s so good too, for Dean really needs someone to talk to about this.  The burdens are getting pretty bad for him.  “I think about the way we grew up.  I don’t know, I kind of feel like I’ve got a chance to do something different with Ben you know.”

 

Sam puts down his the pages of his files.  It’s time for a heart to heart.  I’m so thrilled Sam is reaching out and taking this opportunity.  “You sure about that?”  Dean wonders what he means.  “Look, you clearly care about the kid.”  Dean knows a “but” is coming.  “But moving them around, keeping them on lockdown, I mean you do have them on lockdown, right?”  Dean moves over to the bed, affirming Sam’s suspicions with a look of shame.  “How is that different from how we were raised?”  Sam asks.  It isn’t!

 

Dean claims there is a difference.  “I’m not shoving anybody into this life.  This is temporary.”  Sam scoffs.  “Dad always said it was temporary Dean.  Said it for 22 years.”  Dean’s troubled expression means he accepts Sam is right.  “Look, I get it, you want to watch out for them, that’s great, I’m just asking how do you do that and not turn into Dad?”

 

You know, I honestly believe Sam is sincere here and cares about his brother, but part of me also wonders if he’s playing his part in a scheme to coax Dean back into the life.  Do what Samuel wasn’t able to do last week.  After all, he spent time in Hell with the master, he should know the art of subtle manipulation.  Just like with all the demons they’ve ever run into Sam’s making sense, but what are the intentions?

 

Sam goes back to his paperwork and finds he missed something.  There was a house where Mom was killed but not Dad.  He wasn’t living in the house at the time. Sam proposes they both have a chat and Dean is ready to go, but they are quickly reminded there’s a baby over there.  Dean tells Sam to go.  “You sure?”  Sam asks.  “Unless you have a badge for Bobby John, yeah I’m sure.”  Hee, that would have been cute if they brought Bobby John along.  Give him a suit and a badge too.  Dean goes over to the crying baby and dips his finger in his whiskey.  Then he gives it to the baby.  “It’s good, isn’t it,” he says with a smile on his face.  Okay, how many parents out there are laughing hysterically in anonymity because we’ve actually done that before.  It does work.

 

Sam is talking to a mechanic at the garage and there are two gorgeous Chevelles out front.  You see Bobby, that’s what you do with a Chevelle!  He’s pretty broken up over the murder and disappearance of the baby into thin air.  “No thanks to you guys.”  “Well that’s why I’m here,” Sam says in a somewhat arrogant tone.  Sam’s wearing that blue suit and oh Sammy, this is the most perfect hair moment.  It’s got some sort of wave going that is so, wow.  It’s not the usual restrained FBI look.  A piece of his bangs is doing its own thing and it’s smokin!  It’s if Hell changed his hair as well as his personality.