Welcome to another heart crusher. We’ve spent so much time analyzing “You Can’t Handle The Truth” on the site and after going through this I still found some new things. So let’s dig in.
Calumet City, IL, which puts us on the south end of Chicago. A lot in Illinois this year. At least it’s not Ohio. An average blonde waitress is talking on her cell phone at The Biggersons, and we know something bad is about to happen because nothing good ever happens at Biggersons. It’s cursed or something. Or it’s a curse magnet. She sounds pretty flighty on the phone, for she’s waiting for a guy to call and doesn’t know whether to call him. By the way she’s talking this chick has no self-esteem. You don’t need him honey!
There’s an extreme closeup as she asks for the truth, which is a good hard and fast clue that she’s evoking some curse. Waitress goes to pick up an order in the kitchen and the cook blurts out that he pities her. Also, stay away from the Clam Chowder, he flavored it with his own seasoning. Ew, show, quit that! I love Clam Chowder. Don’t ruin that for me. She grabs the sandwich and runs into the manager, who tells her the new girl is way hotter than her. The other girl is an 8, she’s a 3. You see, that’s when I would have kicked him in the nads. Ah well, Jane has self-esteem issues, remember? She has a cute little pout though.
Jane delivers the sandwich to an elderly British woman who goes on about how she once ran over a homeless man and didn’t stop to see if he was alive or not. A girl then says that she hates her mommy and wants to burn her in her sleep. Oh, that’s comforting. Back to ruining little girls again, are we? Then a bus boy tells her she gives him the creeps. “Like I get physically nauseous.” Yeah, this is TMI hell. So she has to key to the drawer that keeps the store gun? Really? Any employee can get this? Wouldn’t that mean daily shootings? No, more like hourly. Those folks at Biggersons are pretty dysfunctional.
There are more insults in the background, like desperate pathetic loser, and aren’t they all? You all are in a Biggersons for Chuck’s sake. Jane has one last recourse though, a call to her sister, good ole reliable sis that will make it all better. She thinks she’s going crazy, freaking out. “Of course you are. Because you are a freak. You’re certifiable. Everytime the phone rings my stomach drops. Jane with another crisis. You’re a walking disaster. The whole family is just waiting for the next breakdown Jane. We’re like hostages. Why don’t you like go ahead and kill yourself already.” Now think about it, how many of us have relatives we’ve been dying to tell that exact same thing to? Not a bad curse after all. Lucky for dear sis, Jane has already pulled out the gun and positioned it under her chin. The camera goes up to the Biggersons sign (The Happy Place!) and naturally the blood spatter of suicide commences. Bye, bye Jane. Nice not knowing you!
You know, shattered glass and there’s still no hope of the pieces being put back together. The beginning gets more morbid with every episode.
Speaking of morbid, Dean is on the phone while Sam is at the hot dog cart getting lunch and reading a paper. I’ll tell ya, if having no feelings has done one thing to Sam, it’s made him a better eater. Hot dog carts don’t have salads! It’s nice to see him eating something totally bad for him. Anyway, back to Dean, who is pouring his heart out to Bobby, who is luckily in a listening mood today. Dean insists he knows what he saw. Bobby remembers how they tested him and everything. Dean is certain it’s not his brother and Bobby says it’s nothing they’ve never seen before. Yeah, both statements are true, I guess.
Dean thinks he’s Lucifer. I don’t know Dean, if he was, he’d be fucking with you a lot worse. Bobby wonders if Dean checked with Cas. Wouldn’t have Cas said something earlier if it was Lucifer? I don’t know, something like “Run you bastard, Lucifer’s free!” Cas won’t answer and Dean can’t wait anymore. “Look, I get it, you’re rattled. You’re right to be. But let’s be professional.” Huh Bobby? I don’t think Dean is going to be very objective here. Dean insists Sam watched him get turned. Bobby wants him to be sure that’s what he saw and an agitated Dean insists he knows. Bobby, he of cooler head, reminds Dean that ain’t proof. Dammit, the technicalities in these situations!
Dean wants to do something about this and fast. “Look, it’s not just the vamp, okay? He has been different from the jump.” Bobby accepts that part is right and will go with Dean’s concerns. Dean makes sure Bobby is on board. “Yeah, I’ll hit the books hard. Just don’t shoot him yet, alright? Watch him, we need facts. Cause if it ain’t Sam, we don’t know what it is. If we’re gonna put him down, we need to know how.” Sorry, but the whole idea of them discussing how they might have to kill Sam puts a huge lump in my throat. No, Sammy! Okay, maybe not!Sammy, but still. You can’t kill him.
Dean isn’t totally on board with the plan. “I don’t even want to ride in the same car with him, let alone work the same damned case.” Bobby isn’t sympathetic, because he’s playing a hunter with nads. “Get in the car, he’s your case,” Bobby says before rightfully hanging up on Dean. I do love how these screwed up brothers at least have one stable figure in their lives. I get that Dean is taking this really personally, but Bobby does have a point. If it isn’t Sam, what is it? It behooves the hunter in Dean to find out.
A bothered Dean puts his phone away just as Sam arrives with the hot dogs. Dean acts all strange, making up a lie that he was trying to call Lisa. Good lie, for that’s exactly a circumstance that would warrant Dean to act strange. Sam pretends to care, and wow is this a messed up situation between the two. “I was just leaving a message for Lisa.” “Still hasn’t called you back, huh?” “No.” “Sucks,” Sam says rather quickly. They’re both lying to each other through the skin of their teeth.
Dean takes the hot dog and Sam asks if he’s okay. Dean is obviously trying to hide a total look of disbelief. No he’s not okay Sammy, you’re freaking him out! Dean instead gives a blank “Yeah, I’m fine, how are you?” Sam gives a blank “Me, great.” Just stop it you two! This casual behavior is killing us. Sam luckily breaks this awkward pattern by showing a newspaper report about four suicides in the last couple of weeks in the same area. Sam is eager to go. Dean pretends to be on board even though we can physically see his skin crawling. This is so sad and only going to get worse!
Alice Jester is the founder, editor-in-chief, head writer, programmer, web designer, site administrator, marketer, and moderator for The Winchester Family Business. She is a 30 year IT applications and database expert with a penchant for creative and freelance writing in her spare (ha!!) time. That’s on top of being a wife, mother of two active kids, and four loving (aka needy) pets.
Alice,
Great recap as usual.
So much about this episode has already been said, so I won’t reiterate.
The thing about Cas finding the boys. He doesn’t show up unless they call (pray) to him. Maybe they are invisible to angel eyes unless they go shouting angel names.
Dean has shown like for animals (rabbits!) but not Yorkies. And Sam did have that dog during his run away time. Equal like maybe? Well, not now Sam, but Sammy Sam.
Thank you ever so much for referring to Sam’s shirt as skimpy! Though I believe it unfair that in this show, that is what we get to call skimpy. *shallow sigh*. And I agree that the tub should have been full of hot, steamy water….*more shallow sighing* The pic you put up to mention Sam’s hair? Great, but I couldn’t stop looking at Dean! The expression on his face…heh.
Thanks again for the recap!
Hey Alice,
I am pretty sure our lovely Goddess is driving a 1960’s Jaguar XKE otherwise known as an E-Type (possibly a 1962 in specific). 😀
Also, I was thinking. If Sam’s logic chip was working, he would have realized playing the sympathy card (especially with no soul/emotion) would not work on Dean. Not this time.
A more honest answer from Sam would have been more along the lines of “I probably need help, but since I’m such a good hunter I don’t know if I want help.” I think Dean would have believed that over the unconvincing “I need help.”
Friday is almost here! I have my fingers crossed for more answers cause Sam really does need help.
Don’t hot dogs come with onions and tomato sauce … That’s two of your five-a-day right there! Also mustard is sort of plant based, at least in theory …
I think it’s cunning the way Souless Sam has inverted all the little things that used to define the character. His hair is perfect, he eats proper Man Food, he has actual sex, he’s altogether free from the ravages of guilt … He has become James Bond. Yuk. Bring back the old shaggy, finnicky, embarressed one that we know and love! ( but lets have a bit more angst and bondage first, because we’re worth it … ) 😉
Good recap Alice. Loved the calendar as 2010 too. Don’t need to be reminded that they kept the boys apart for a year.
Dean did resist his first impulse, which was to kill Sam. That was evident when he put the knife down. But there was no way Sammy would get off scot free. Sam’s plea for Dean to feel sorry for him saved Sam. Maybe Dean still has some brotherly bond with Sam, although after what Sam did, it can’t be much. As to the severity, you don’t poke a hornet’s nest with a stick and expect not to get stung! How Sam could have thought his brother was not going to unload on him I don’t know. Sam lost his feelings not his intelligence. Sam really should have really spent more time in having that beer with Dean!
Maybe after a year of lying to people and getting away with it, he thought it would work here too. It was a while before I believed Sammy was really telling the truth this time. And I have to wonder why he waited until he actually was caught red-handed before he told Dean the truth. Sam is lucky Dean didn’t kill him.
Chuckle, Alice, I too am an American made…or, well, Canadian made, American made…..OH you know what I mean, gal. I grew up in a 66 Cutlass Supreme.
However, I had a number of friends who were European car nuts so I learned my exotics too. 🙂
And hey, guessing is good – think of it this way, you were right that it was a European car!!
One of the things that bothers me the most about that episode was Bobby’s reveal that Dean is his favourite. I’d always have thought that Sam and Bobby had more in common, and Bobby seems to understand Sam, so I was kinda hoping….
Seriously though, is Sam anyones favourite? Makes me sad.
Also, the eating tongue thing? Wrong, on so many fecking levels. The dentist thing…. wrong. Anything to do with teeth, wrong….
Out of interest, what questions would people have asked Sam and Dean had they been in that situation?
Well, I’m glad that I’m not the only one to notice that Sam is no one’s favorite. Bobby, Castiel, Ellen, Jo, everyone prefers Dean. And as if it wasn’t obvious enough, now they have the characters say it aloud. I didn’t think Bobby’s words were funny. I was sad to hear them. I wish Samuel was “good” so he could make a connection with Sam rather than Dean, for a change.
In this case, don’t forget that Bobby’s words were inspired by a Goddess out to have folks committ suicide so she could eat them. Do NOT take Bobby’s words as TRUTH. He may have spoken the truth in that moment, but moments change.
To me, even what Dean said under the curse of truth was not!truth. There was an element of truth to it but it was truth pulled by Veritas with one goal in mind – to hurt someone else.
And if it makes anyone feel any better, BOTH boys are my favourite. 😀
Great recap Alice,
I think this episode should have been called ‘Somebody give Dean a Hug, He needs One’. 🙂
Goddess spells should have a declaimer on them:’side effects include suicide and becoming lunch’. 😆
You are right, when you side with the MOTW and not one of the starring characters there is a problem. 😆
Remember in ‘Time is on my side’, Sam told Dean that they were already on a case ‘Dean’s deal’, This episode Bobby tells Dean, that the case he is on is ‘Sam’.
I think that Sam (in the form of Colin Ford) is standing in the cage with Lucifer and Micheal/Adam, and he is holding on to Dean’s amulet, waiting for his big brother to come and get him. But that is just me. 😀
I just thought of something, when did Lisa ever see Sam and Dean together? In ‘the kids are alright’, she never saw Sam, in ’99 problems’, Dean was there alone. How does she know what kind of relationship they have or had? IMO she is just a jealous ‘female dog’.
I promise that this will be my last Lisa bashing. 😛