Recap: “Mannequin 3: The Reckoning”
BTW, another whole two minutes was wasted on this pointless backstory, as was another one on Sam saving this ass. My mind drifted off countless times again to Sam and Dean watching two squirrels mating in a cage. My attention is grabbed though by this doofus answering Sam’s question about where the body is buried. He tells him a general area, in the woods off a road. Seriously Sam, you’re going to find a body that’s been in the ground for a year that easily? It often takes entire search parties days to find a body with a directions like that. He won’t even let the guy come with! I guess he’s going to use those Super Sammy Perceptive Powers of Death. If anyone knows death, it’s this guy.
Ben is in his room playing on a PSP. Time for Dean to come in and have the not father and son chat. Dean breaks the ice after watching Ben’s game by commenting how whatever he’s doing will never kill a zombie. Ben doesn’t waste time, he won’t apologize. Ben calls what he did an emergency. “A date’s not an emergency Ben.” “It is if it’s the third one,” Ben answers. I actually get his frame of mind here. As a mother of a teenager, they do have warped views of reality. “I watch TV, I know what that means.” Crap, now you’ve lost me Ben. To think I was in your corner for a second there.
Dean now sits next to Ben and the sincere chat can begin. I do absolutely adore how Dean gives it to Ben straight, but handles it with calmness and maturity. Damn he should be a dad for real. Dean says Lisa is a grown up and gets to go out. Ben doesn’t understand why Dean doesn’t say he’s sorry and come back. Sorry Ben, if it were that easy, Dean would have done it by now. “I’m sorry, I can’t.” “Can’t or won’t,” Ben asks. “Both,” Dean answers. Ben guesses Dean hates Lisa now. Nope. Then he hates him. Dean tells him to stop it. Ben tries to apologize now. Poor kid. It’s really hard to understand that Dean’s a dangerous hunter that kills things and can’t be psuedo Dad too. It’s one of the truly tragic stories of the Winchester brothers. They sacrifice so much.
“Listen to me. You didn’t do anything, you understand that? One day you’ll get this when you’re older.” Ben insists he not talk to him like he’s six. Dean wisely goes for the straight talk. “Okay, fine. It’s like this then. Just because you love someone, doesn’t mean you should stick around and screw up their life. So I can’t be here.” Ben asks if he’s afraid something will follow him home. “No, no I don’t, but I think my job turns me into somebody that can’t sit at your dinner table. And if I stayed, you’d end up just like me.” Ben has trouble understanding why Dean thinks he’s so bad. “Trust me, I’m not someone you want to aim to be. Ben asks if he gets a vote and Dean says no. “I’m sorry Ben, but you see this way you’ve got a shot to life you want. You know, pick one, pick five. For me, it’s just the one road.”
“You’re a liar Dean,” Ben says. “You say family’s so important, but what do you call people who love you, who care for you even when you’re a dick? You know you’re walking out of your family, right?” This gets to Dean, for he’s speechless. He doesn’t have a good answer for that. You know, the events of “Let It Bleed” make perfect sense to me now. If Dean stayed, he’d be a poor example and constantly put them in danger. If he leaves, he’s abandoning his family. No wonder he went for, “They should forget I ever existed.” That avoids the no win, painful situation, at least on Ben and Lisa’s end. Plus, I seriously think Ben would have ended up a hunter. He still might, but the memory wipe certainly gives Dean insurance in his mind that won’t happen.
Sure enough, Sam is salting and burning remains that are six feet deep in a hole in a dark, remote part of nowhere. I tell ya, he can smell death! It’s the only explanation. Rose goes poof! and jackass gets to live, right? Notice how there’s roughly 11 minutes left in the episode? He’s dipping his toes in the death pool right now, ready to take his swim. Sam calls the dude and even tells him to stop being a jackass. I love how Sam and I have common tastes in pet names.
Now for what I call the only non “WTF?” moment of the entire episode. Dean is driving back in the Impala and has a long time to reflect. Time for a tender montage! Dean remembers his times with Ben and Lisa. When Lisa greets him with that pearly white smile in “The Kids Are Alright,” when he shows up at her doorstep in “Swan Song,” and “99 Problems,” and when he just showed up at her doorstep that evening. The smiles gradually drop. He remembers her kissing him, then in bed together, their time together at a barbecue. Then he goes through his time with Ben in “The Kids Are Alright” and “Exile on Main Street.” It ends with Lisa at the door not happy to seem him, shaking her head. Fade to the Impala at dusk. We know this is Dean’s poignant way of saying goodbye and blaming himself for screwing up their lives. That tinge of regret, that feeling of failure, that’s always going to stick. He know he can’t have that life, but he can’t let go either. So sad.
We get a shot of Rose’s sister going into a bar (this is important for later) and then jackass gets home. He goes upstairs, his apartment being at the top of said bar (this is important for later). I do love the signs at the tavern of “Schlutz” and “El Sol.” Those show up a lot and it makes me happy those are the only two beers in this universe. Plus it’s continuity all the way back to season two!
Jackass goes to the bed and tells someone he calls “hun” they’re leaving tonight. They’re packing up just the essentials. We see it’s a woman and he grabs her hand. Then we get the full shot. It’s a sex doll! Oh my. This guy really is a total loser. At this point death can’t come fast enough for him. He tells his “girlfriend” he wants them to get on with their lives and he loves her. Looossserrr! Then the doll starts moving. The guy is stunned. He’s so dead! Nazareth’s “Love Hurts” plays in the background. That moment was so funny…I forgot to laugh.
Sure enough, jackass is seen dead on the floor, strangled by the pink sash on the robe of his plastic girlfriend. By this time, all these dolls are squirrels to me. Sam comes in, sees the doll, and instant figures out whatever he did didn’t work. He pulls out his phone and tells Dean’s voice mail the news. He goes back to sister Isabel trying to find the missing remains. He sees textbooks and asks her where she goes to school. Why Great Falls of course! What’s the school mascot, the Fighting Mannequins? Sam realizes that somehow the spirit is clinging to the sister, especially when she confesses to going to the bar last night, the one under jackass’ apartment.
I can’t disagree with how bad this episode is, but for me NOTHING will top the Lucky murdered three people and is programmed to turn anyone who takes him in into more skinwalkers, but we’re letting him go because he’s a really cute dog and he looks so sad about the fact that his former owner didn’t like him watching her get naked and then snuggling in bed while he was in dog shape.
This was boring, All Dogs Go to Heaven squicks me in so many ways and worst of all Soulless!Sam is the one who wants to do the right thing and put down the murderous Lucky and Dean is willing to let the supernatural monster go.
I’m not saying you’re wrong to hate this so much. It’s just a different strokes for different folks situation.
You are brave (or cruel) to recap this one…it truly was the worst of the season…and that says a lot!
This is one of many reasons this episode sucks:
“This conversation bugs me on so many levels. Are we to assume that after all they’ve been through, Sam and Dean can’t handle a mature, healthy exchange of words designed to help one another? Come to an understanding that doesn’t involve Dean dictating rules and Sam agreeing even though he doesn’t think it’s right? That usually results in Sam doing what he wants behind Dean’s back.”
That and the awful MOTW, add to that the first of two suggestions that Dean is a recreational drug user of the season (yeah, it’s a sudden revelation and not a good one, hope they never go there again.) It’s bad enough to have him the alcoholic that he is without dealing with his issues in a healthy way but it’s character assasination in the making to have him be a drug user too. Hope we sweep it under the rug and never see this brought up again.
Would love to see the brothers dealing with their hell experiences and thus supporting each other…it’s rich territory to mine, the kind that SPN used to do so well…here’s hoping for better in Season 7.
Knowing how this pained you to write up the article but you did it because you ‘vowed’ you would…I say thank you.
As the norm, your added comments make it all the worthwhile to read, although rewatching it is another thing entirely.
Oh Alice, thank you for sacrificing yourself to watch this episode again, and having to really pay attention to it for the recap. But I agree with Percysowner that “All Dogs Go to Heaven” was the worst episode of season six, except for it giving us “sniper Dean”, now that was worth the price of admission. Oh, I’ll just say, let’s agree to disagree.
Now that’s out of the way, there were so many missing pieces in this episode, it was criminal. These two writers haven’t wowed me this season. If they are back in season 7 I hope they step up to the plate. And you’re right, they did not get Sam & Dean at all. Sam gets his soul back, what, three episodes ago and you’re splitting them up? WTF!!!!
Let’s hope you have more fun with the next episode to recap. But I do enjoy how you can rip a boring episode apart, it’s a thing of beauty. On to season 7 I say.
Thank you for doing this Alice! I must admit I do enjoy reading you when you rip into one you don`t like! It`s a guilty pleasure :-*
Every year is the same, there are always a couple of rotten eggs , the ones we don`t endlessly re visit and this, and ADGTH, were this year`s candidates for `runts of the litter`. All this from someone who still loved Season 6 and never once wavered, but really, in parts these were bad. That`s not to say that both episodes did not have their moments, I loved that dog and well – Sniper Dean! I just think it did the Lisa and Ben story such a disservice to be lumped in with this awful plot.
It was as if the writers had no idea about the characters of Sam and Dean at all, everything just seemed `off` and artificial.
How about we just draw a veil over it and move onto the next one, I for one cannot wait to read your recap of that 😆
Ju
GOOD DEAL, ladies!
This was again a fun read… it’s not one of my fave episodes, either, but it gives us some nice scenes (and shallow moments… yes, I’m with you there… can’t be a sensible woman all the darn time. What was I given eyes for? 😆 )
Thanks, Alice, heroic editor-in-chief! More of this, please…
Love, Jas
What a martyr, Alice. I just can’t watch this a second time. Actually, though, I’m undecided about whether this was the worst of the mediocre season, or if it was Lucky, or Unforgiven. I’m leaning forwards a tie between this and Unforgiven, because I thought the Lucky episode had some wonderful camera shots and the boys looked hot in that episode.
Let’s see, you covered everything I disliked about this episode: the Lisa most beloved character montage, the dialogue that ensured Lisa/Ben were the loves of Dean’s life, the boys splitting up, the kidney seeking shard of glass, Dean being completely dumbed down, the bad characterization of both brothers, the further character assassination of Dean into an boozer, a drug addict, and incompetent hunter….yeah, this episode sucked. But then, I thought all of S6 was bad.
I don’t necessarily think that J2 phoned in their performances; I just think they couldn’t do any better with the concept and terrible script.
I agree with you there Ginger, I don’t think our two leading men phoned in their performance. As the consummate professionals that they are and will always remain, they did what they were told to do with a very mediocre script. Hats off to both of them. I guess we all have crappy days at work, that must count for actors also.
Come on guys and girls, it wasn’t that bad.
There were worse episodes this season, *cough* ‘Clap Your Hands If You Believe’ *cough*
We still got Sam and Dean enjoying a beer together. We believe Sam this time, when he says that he has Dean’s back.
We heard Dean call the Impala ‘baby’. That has to be worth some love. 😀
I liked Hammer of the Gods, too.
Just for the record, I too liked Hammer of the Gods. (but then I also liked Bugs, for all the brotherly stuff in it) Hey, my favourite Trickster is in it!
In Mannequin I liked the Dean/Lisa/Ben stuff but my heart was hurting for Dean through all of that. Yes, I love Lisa and Ben. So there!
Also, I really liked the dog Lucky, the sniper Dean and the mean and cold Sam. There seems to be in every episode whether loved or hated something to recommend it and personally, none of the episodes are so bad that I would stop watching then as reruns, EXCEPT for Chris Angel is a Douchebag! I DO NOT like that episode, except for Dean at the S&M factory. Someone else may love it just as much as I don’t. That’s OK. Variety is the spice of life.
All in all, Season 6 comes fourth on my list of most loved seasons. In order, 1,2,3, 6,5,4.
Just glad that every season there is plenty to please each and every one of us, whether we agree on the details or not. 😉
You managed to make a good review from a bad episode Alice, hats off. The amount of snark in here was well deserved. I never thought I would say I would prefer “Bugs” to anything, but this is it.
You mentioned something that I also found interesting about this season: the idea that Dean is relying on something a little stronger than alcohol. Sam’s later reference to “whatever else you’re taking” is ominous. I can understand the logic. Every hunter we’ve seen to date is a drinker; our main characters are increasingly reliant on alcohol. Dean has been through so much, both torture while he was in hell and torturing himself over Sam being in hell. Now that they’ve introduced the idea, I’d like to see it addressed.
I felt bad for Ben in this awkward mess. I know Dean’s personal experience tells him that you can’t be a hunter and a father at the same time. All the same, I wondered on some level if at the end of Season 6, Lisa would die and Dean would have had to take care of Ben. I could see him transplanted to South Dakota, making Bobby’s life more interesting. Dean and Sam would both hate the idea, but up until Castiel’s memory wipe, Ben already knew too much to be a civilian, but not enough to hunt without getting himself killed. Dean would have had to train him or see him dead through recklessness. It would have been more of Chuck’s tragic narrative symmetry.
Well obviously mileage varies and every episode. My biggest problems with HOTG was the trashing of every religion except Judeo-Christianity. If they had stuck with Gods that are no longer worshiped (the Greek, Roman and Norse Gods), I would have had no problem. Taking active relgions (Kali, the elephant God, etc.) misrepresenting them as all being cannibals and then making Lucifer an angel, not even God himself more powerful really hit some buttons for me.
The story itself was okay, but I personally had issues with the show flat out saying that religions that have many followers are invalid bothered me. Heck, I would have taken a quick, “We’re not strong enough for the battle because this is America and we gather our strength from our believers and most of those are not in America.
Like I said, personal problem.
Misrepresentation is a valid point, but at the time I first watched it, I just thought of Christianity overcoming paganism and was focused on the new ruthless side of Luci that was being shown, while trying to figure out why there was so much emphasis being put on his ‘daddy issues.’
I’m not a big fan of political correctness, and I think the Judeo-Christian religion has been equally misrepresented as far as many people are concerned so; yes, valid point, but not one that affected my enjoyment of the episode. But…portraying a dog as a parallel of Dean? That irritated me.
Not my favorite episode either, but your recaps are always great!
I still worry about Dean’s potential drug abuse…I just really don’t like the idea. The alcohol is bad enough, but I don’t want my hero turned into a drug addict too. I can understand the temptation, but that doesn’t mean I have to approve. That is something that could be addressed & worked through with Sam & Bobby’s help this season. I definitely want to see the brothers deal with both of their experiences in Hell & the ensuing ramifications.
This episode left me somewhat depressed, with the whole Dean-uses-drugs suggestion, plus the acknowledgment that Team Winchester was most certainly not having a winning season in the save-the-innocents category, and Dean’s belief that it was futile to try to maintain a family with Lisa & Ben. His talk with Ben showed how good a father he could actually be, which just broke my heart that he couldn’t have that opportunity.
I did like Sam trying to cheer Dean up & thanking him for not giving up on him. I think I saw the hint of a smile in Dean’s reaction to Sam professing that he had his brother’s back; it was so different from that look he gave to Soulless Sam’s empty words after the vampire incident.
I actually hope that of all the Dean plots that have been dropped throughout the series, that the alcohol and drug use is one that the writers will just let go. I’m really kind of bored with wandering through the brothers’ heads and all of their personal issues, which have never changed. I would much prefer that the writers just get on with telling a story.
But, like you, the brothers never winning anything has put the series in depressing territory. I am hoping that S7 doesn’t have them just running away from the big bad and wrestling with their personal problems endlessly. I want them standing tall and ganking for a change…like they were in S3 when they both were depicted as playing for keeps; not just playing like in S6.
Welcome to commenting here! I do love hearing opinions, especially from newer posters.
You make some excellent points. That montage was a bit weird, but in an episode that had me scratching my head the entire time, it’s the only part that made sense to me. I didn’t get weepy or gush over how bittersweet it was, but I got it. It was one of the very few things I did!
That’s so true that Sam didn’t go behind Dean’s back this time, but I guess my point was that since they were doing a lot of rehash, one would think that Dean would remember that. I am glad Sam didn’t go there though. If he did, then I would have given the entire writing staff some heck for that. I just found the two writers of this, who also wrote the equally as bad “All Dogs Go To Heaven” didn’t get the brothers.
I’m saving my overall season six review for a week before season seven begins, but in going through these episodes again I’m finding I didn’t hate season six, but I didn’t love it. I didn’t realize why until watching “No Rest of The Wicked” the other day. There were many good moments, but it lacked emotional punch. I realize it was noir and that’s not what noir is all about, but it just reinforced for me that I’m not a fan of noir! I do disagree with several comments though that it was a bad season. It was decent, just not my favorite.
I should explain Hammer of The Gods. It’s known by those that have been around a while that I personally hated Hammer of The Gods. With the hate of a thousand suns. I don’t think most on this site agree with that or even did when the episode came out. It’s just bias of mine that I tend to often bring it up bitingly for humor, so thus the reference. I’m pleased you liked it, and a lot of people here did as well.
Thanks again! I hope you choose to comment of future articles.
Am I the only one who didn’t think this episode was the visual equivalent of eating brussels sprouts? (Looks around tentatively and whispers) ‘I kinda liked it.’
Ok, in fairness, it wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst. Let’s face it; the whole MOTW element of this episode was secondary. Even I could have solved it. Strangely though, a lot of things people had issue with in this episode, I liked.
For example, I like that Sam and Dean can hunt separately. It shows they aren’t completely co-dependent, that they are perfectly competent on their own. I like that this episode shows that the boys hunt together because they [i]choose[/i] to hunt together, not because they [i]have[/i] to hunt together.
Secondly, dolls are scary. They have dead eyes. Sharks also have dead eyes and they’re scary ergo dolls = scary. Add to that, the science mannequin thing at the start totally creeped me out. The hook through it’s back was a complete throwback to the image of Dean in hell plus the fact that the model was sans skin was a a nice (!) reminder of a soul skinned alive.
(Actually what I find disturbing about that scene is that there are security cameras in the classroom. You guys are allowed security cameras in classrooms?? We’re not. I’d kill for a security camera in the classroom. Though I obviously wouldn’t kill IN the classroom due to the presence of the security camera that I had killed for but I really want one.)
Next up, the appearance of the, possibly not prescription, pills is a logical and telling step. How on earth did Dean cope with Sam being in hell? The first time Sam died Dean sold his soul. We saw how Sam coped (by going el loopo and being very, very tidy) but we’re meant to believe that Dean coped with Sam in hell by making scrambled eggs?? Not a hope! Dean had to take everything he was and shove it deep, deep down in order to show a (pretty) game face. No wonder the guy is ‘letting it out in spurts of violence and alcoholism’.
Take a look at the first two episodes where Dean was with the Braedons. There are precious few scenes where Dean doesn’t have some sort of drink in his hand. Dean has reached breaking point, the pills are a definite indicator of that, but he couldn’t break. He has everything he should want; girlfriend, kid, job, friends, a house etc. I seriously doubt he told anyone about Sam and the Cage, even Lisa. He wasn’t speaking to Bobby at this stage so how was Dean meant to deal? I think this (escalating dependence) will be addressed in season 7 in some way, shape or form.
In relation to the not having ‘the talk’, Dean is on tricky ground here. Talking about hell would have led to…. talking about hell which is one thing that Dean doesn’t want to do. He hasn’t a clue how to proceed with this so he reverts back to big brother Dean ‘Trust me on this one’. You can’t change the habit of a lifetime. The time for talking about hell will come later, when Sam isn’t fresh from a face-full of it. It’s why I like that Dean is overly jovial around Sam in this episode. He’s bricking himself but he can’t let Sam know that so he’s overcompensating. Hence the reiteration of ‘Be My Valentine’, it might serve as a reminder to Sam of things before hell.
The Dean/Lisa scene in the kitchen made me a little sad (and not in the ‘How pathetic’ sad way but more the ‘awwwww…’ sad way). I know Dean & Lisa is never going to work, mainly because it’s a TV show and we don’t like our guys to have girls but the finality of that scene gets me. Dean knows it’s over, Lisa knows it’s over but they both desperately want it to not be over.
Lisa did seem to get it, she was much more pragmatic than Dean in many regards. She knew the story and wanted to work with it but Dean cut himself out of that. Again, this added to the drink/drugs added to Sam’s soul and you have yourself a little Mr Deanuvius (I tried to put Dean and Vesuvius together but it didn’t work. Then I was thinking of Mount Dean but ah…. no. What about Mount Detna??)
It’s interesting that Dean, in telling Lisa to ask him for something, still sees his worth in terms of what he can do for others as opposed to who he is. He doesn’t seem to get that Lisa wants Dean for Dean which is another tragic element of the story. It took Ben, a freaking twelve year old to knock a bit of sense into Dean. I like that it was his words, not Sam’s or Bobby’s that made Dean change his ethos on what constitutes family.
So, in short (for me) I like this episode, a lot! Thanks Alice.
Hey, I LOVE brussel sprouts!!!! LOL
Dripping with butter!!! 😛
Agree with you about the episode though.
You do make a good case for the silver lining of this episode. Much as I disliked the monster plot, there were moments that impressed me. Even in lesser Supernatural episodes, there tends to be something to appreciate.
Mount Dean-atoa?
great recap of this not-so-great ep! I doubt I’ll ever watch it again without thinking about some of your comments. Thanks goodness that, even in the worst of the seasons, there are a few bright lights (sometimes just an expression, just a hairstyle, just a comment) to make me smile.