A Visual Review – “Unforgiven”
I am not going to lie. “Unforgiven” was so chock full of amazing things that I had to really restrain myself because I wanted to post about 50 shots. I managed to keep it to 21, and I am kind of proud of myself for that. One amazing thing about the episode that doesn’t and won’t come across in caps is the way the flashbacks were edited. It was amazing. I absolutely adored the style of the flashbacks. Putting aside the black and white aspect for a second, the super extreme close-ups and the editing style were brilliant. All those short shots with the jump-cuts and the odd shooting angles were just amazing. It made everything feel very disjointed and uncomfortable, which was exactly the point. And there was still a lot of cool things going on in the present-day story, so this episode was a doozy to look at. The episode was directed by David Barrett, his first for “Supernatural.” I, for one, hope he comes back in the future!
1.
This is a pretty ominous way to start the episode, Sam all serious and spattered in blood. And just from the dead look in his eyes you can tell it’s Robo!Sam and not the real thing. Kudos to Jared for playing that difference so well. There’s a lot of sumptuous darkness and shadow in this episode, too.
2.
I love this location. It’s an amazing wooden warehouse on a river with this great wooden walkway outside. It’s really neat. And those criss-crossing wires are a good foreshadowing for the monster this week, too, as they create sort of a web-strand effect.
3.
Damn, that beating was cold. And the way David Barrett shot this is really cold, too, over the police car with the cop on the ground as the van just drives away. It’s even colder with the blue light flaring instead of the red. I also like how the light source for the scene creates that line in the road that extends to the roof of the car, illuminating the body on the ground.
4.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before, but I really like it when Sam and Dean squat in derelict houses. The motel rooms are always fun and cool, but the houses are just so interesting. The slats on the window in this one create some lovely shadows on the wall and on Sam here. And hallways and doorways create lots of opportunities for restricted-view shots and interesting framing.
5.
This is such a great angle. I love how the only part of Roy that’s in focus is his face because that’s all we need to focus on right now. It doesn’t matter at all what’s going on with the rest of him. I loved how the director only kept part of people’s faces in frame, too. It seems like a counterintuitive thing, cutting off parts of people’s heads in the frame, but I think it looks really neat. Not sure I’d want it to happen all the time, but it really works in small doses.
6.
Again with focusing on the important part of the scene; in this case, it’s Roy and Brenna’s hands. The only thing that matters is that they’re in it together.
7.
This shot is an allegory for Sam this season. On the left is him the first part of this season, dark, unreadable, red-tinged to represent blood. It’s Soulless Sam. On the right is the real Sam, re-souled and lit up, innate goodness showing through. It’s a study in contrasts.
8.
This kind of shot never gets old. It’s the good old “you just know something bad is going to happen to that woman” perspective shot. Nothing good ever comes from a shot that ominous.
9.
Here’s another well-framed shot of the two of them in the house. The beams on either side of Sam and Dean makes the shot even tighter, more claustrophobic, pushing the argument closer together.
10.
Okay, you might be wondering why I included this shot, Well, I’ll explain. I was looking through caps, and I saw this one and immediately noticed that Sam is making an El Greco hand. Once I saw it, I could not unsee it. If you don’t know what an El Greco hand is, fear not! I will explain. And before you all think I’m some sort of pretentious art person, the only reason I know any of the following is because my high school Spanish program was really rigorous and intensive, and we did a whole unit on Spanish art and how to tell the artists by their style. Right, anyway, El Greco was a Greek artist who lived and worked in Spain. El Greco is a nickname, meaning “The Greek.” Very creative, those Spanish. He lived from 1541 – April 7, 1614. He is known for very elongated figures and a particular hand style, i.e. he paints people’s hands with their middle and ring finger together like this:
See what Sam’s doing? He’s totally rocking an El Greco hand. And it’s not really a very common way to put your fingers together, so it just struck me. Okay, that’s the end of the art history lesson for today.
Thank you for this very nice visual review.
Among my favorites are 15,16 and 21. 🙂
Hey Ardeospina. Thanks for this review and the art lesson! You learn something new every day 😉 I had not noticed any of the wires and string as webs. Am always amazed at how much work goes into this show.
I think 13 may also be because spiders have multiple eyes? I have to agree with you on 7 and 15. Just gorgeous shots of both Winchesters. But I think 19 is a very interesting shot too. Thought the actor was excellent. Oh and you just made me think of that quote ‘oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive’. As always, an education 🙂
Hey Arde
You know during “Unforgiven” it was the first time ever that I thought what pictures will SHE pik?
My favorites are 16 and 17 because you can tell it not the same man and 21.
Thank you
Lovely job–and you did have an embarrassment of riches to work with on this one! I loved the way the physical tones of this episode worked with the emotional tones. Just beautifully shot. Agree about that warehouse, too. It is particularly awesome. I don’t usually pay much attention to certain types of symbolism, but I noticed in number 20 that the gun looks pretty phallic, which is appropriate for RoboSam, whose “feelings” are pretty much restricted to the purely visceral. I’m glad I’ve started following these visual reviews of yours. They are interesting and very cool!
Hi Arde
As I was watching this I remember thinking , I know someone who is going to have a field day with this one. 🙂 I find myself playing `Spot the scene Arde will love`, I managed to get a lot right this week!
Thanks again for the lovely images
Love Ju
Hi Ardeospina,
I don’t always have a chance to comment on your Visual Reviews. But, I always take some time to look at them.. and look at them, and look at them! Quite often they serve as my equivalent of a coffee break at work! (I don’t have time to get out much.) So, just put me down for AWESOME each week!
Hi Arde
I don’t always comment but I always look and enjoy your Visual Reviews and your reasons for picking them.
My favourites this time are 4, 7, 11 and 21.
Woman, I love these! You rock! Hugs, Jas
For this visual review I was half expecting you to just post the entire episode and say ‘All of this!’ Fair play to you for reigning yourself in to 21. It really was a treasure trove of good and the more I see it, the more I like it. I appreciate the episode and it’s direction all the more after reading the commentary on your picks.
Jeez, everything looks fantastic in black & white. (If I could find a black & white side profile of the boys here I could possibly keel over with happiness!)
Favourites? Um, 1-21? Can’t do that? Okay.
I love 21. The boys are clearly together but there is still that slight divide between them (ironically a wall in both cases), a divide that Dean will breach in a moment.
7 – It really sums up a main talking point of Season 6 so far. Two completely different people, one body, and how they mesh (or don’t). I think it’s cool that in this shot Sammy’s hair even seems to be that bit freer that Soulless Sam hair. (That point makes perfect sense in my head. Sorry)
I kind of like 11 because of the contrast in Sam and Samuels faces. Samuel is obviously happy to be there. He’s smiling, enjoying his beer and a rare night of (somewhat) normality. Sam on the other hand looks as if it’s beneath him to be there, like it’s a waste of time as he has better things (people!) to be doing.
12 & 15 – So much pretty. SO much pretty.
9 – There are forearms and a plaid shirt….
Happy dreams tonight. Thanks Ardeospina!
Ard, I look forward to these every time. You give us such an added appreciation to our show. I think my faves this week are #11 and 16. #11 was so disturbing for me, the idea of robo-Sam sitting on someone’s couch like he belonged made me feel very uneasy. And I caught the foreshadowing too in #16.
Though the close-ups for Sam’s flashbacks are such an amazing way to convey Sam’s memories as they come back. There really is so much to love. Thank you for putting this together for us.
My favorites are the overhead shot of the building through the crisscrossed wires, & the shot of Sam through the string. Those really evoke the arachnid origin of the MOTW. I loved all the black & white shots too.
Speaking as a pretentious art history major, I love your El Greco reference. 🙂 I also love your Visual Reviews. The cinematic style on “Supernatural” has always impressed me. I really wish someone would interview Serge — he is amazing!
Actually, over at Fangasm, they did a cool interview with Serge last year. You should check it out! It’s definitely worth the read.
Excellent! I’ll go to Fangasm and take a look. Thanks!