Sofia’s Review – “Slash Fiction”
After last week’s fun but fluffy episode I was happy to see the Winchester’s back in action. I was also glad to see some exciting mytharc development. I’ve mentioned before that I’m interested in the idea of the Winchesters as the hunted rather than the hunters. But it was nice to see Sam and Dean kicking ass and taking names. It’s been a while.
I was so glad that when Sam and Dean found out about LeviaSam and LeviaDean they chose to hunt them down rather than wait it out. They could have easily stayed hulled up in their new cabin waiting for things to blow over. I mean, who would have blamed them? They had nothing to go on and no way to kill the Leviathan. Not to mention their faces gracing the most wanted list. But it was personal and innocent people were dying so they did what they had to.
Thank goodness so many people owe Bobby their life! Frank Devereaux was a really funny character, one I hope we’ll see again. A bit erratic, but entertaining nonetheless. I have to say I was sad to see the rock aliases go. Hopefully now that the Winchesters are “dead” again they can bring the aliases back to life. I don’t know about you but Tom and John Smith just don’t do it for me.
The whole scene after Dean ditches the Impala is pure gold. I rewound it so I could bask in the glow of sheer awkwardness. Dean’s staring contest with the My Little Pony was funny enough on its own but add a dash of Swayze and it doesn’t get much better.
Dean: “Us driving around in this caboodle while baby’s on lockdown.”
Sam: “It’s temporary, Dean”
Dean: “Nobody puts baby in a corner.”
Sam: “You know that’s a line from…”
Dean: “Swayze movie, Swayze always gets a pass!”
But wait, it did get better. Dean mouthing along to All Out of Love; serenading his long lost baby coupled with a clearly uncomfortable Sam was the icing on the cake; Pure awkward goodness. I’ve missed those kinds of moments since Cas “died” (hopeful quotations). His naivety was the fuel for a lot of those great scenes.
Special agents Morris and Valente were a little less than impressive. First of all, they don’t look a day over 25. The Winchesters are the only ones who can get away with that. I do want to toot my own horn and say that I knew something was up with that blonde one, Valente. But something was off about him from the beginning and sure enough my suspicions were confirmed.
Did anyone else find it interesting that Bobby spent all that time trying different techniques to kill the leviathan in his basement before just cutting his head off? That would have been the very first thing I tried after silver. I was going to be a little upset if it actually killed him so I was glad when it didn’t. Those are some seriously resilient creatures. Thank goodness Jody showed up to save the day. I was glad she was there to take care of Bobby for a little bit. No one really ever does that for him. And it was good to hear someone mention Bobby’s house, I still think we need a good conversation about it but I don’t know that we’ll ever get that.
When the leviathan shifted into Bobby, I was shocked to hear the things he said about him. High school dropout; I guess that shouldn’t really surprise me but Bobby is such a smart hunter and a genius at research. Drunk like dad; we know that Bobby is a drunk but we haven’t heard anything about his father. It seems like daddy issues run in the hunter family. But the most shocking thing of all was learning that Bobby still holds out hope. He still believes deep down that he has a chance to be truly happy, maybe even with Jody. This positive attitude and Sam’s new outlook on life are very encouraging. I’ve heard complaints about the show from various viewers worried that things are just too hopeless. The Winchester’s have lost everything except Bobby and it would be easy for them to be consumed by their loss. And Bobby has lost his fair share of loved ones as well. So it’s nice to know that there is still hope. I’d like to see a bit of that hope rub off on Dean.
We knew that Sam would eventually find out about what happened to Amy and I have been bracing myself for that moment. Dean’s been given so many opportunities to tell Sam and every time he didn’t, it made the lie that much worse. I was beginning to wonder what it would take for Dean to tell Sam the truth. It turns out it took LeviDean to spill his secret. I’m happy to have it out in the open, but I do wish it had been Dean that told him. At this point, I think Dean feels the same. It was obvious how hard the news hit Sam. Especially after LeviaDean revealed how Dean feels about Sam these days. He thinks he’s slipping and he doesn’t trust his instincts. That’s a lot for Sam to take in so it’s no surprise he needed a breather. It’s not the first time we’ve seen Sam walk away from Dean and I would worry that it was slightly more permanent this time if the promo for next week hadn’t shown them working a job together. Nice one, CW. So I guess Sam really just needed some time to cool off. I’m hoping that the inevitable conversation between Sam and Dean will bring to light whatever deeper issues Dean is dealing with right now.
We finally met the new top villain Richard Roman. I have to say, he had quite a presence and I’m really interested to see how this storyline develops. I didn’t think there was anyone in the world that could put Crowley in his place quite like Roman did. Since Crowley couldn’t work out an arrangement with Roman I find myself wondering if he’ll try to make some kind of deal with Sam and Dean. They are obviously not his biggest fans at the moment but if there’s some way they can use him I bet they would. What do you guys think is in store for Crowley?
Overall I was very happy with this episode. It was a great mix of mytharc, monster of the week, drama and humor and it advanced the plot with a believable pace. What more can you really ask for in a single episode?
What did you guys think of the episode? Were you happy with the way Sam found out about Amy’s death?
Here are some random observations and funny lines I wanted to mention:
*First of all, is it wrong to think leviaDean winking at the camera a little attractive, because I did.
*When I saw Mark Sheppard’s name in the opening credits, I may or may not have squealed a little.
*”Psycho Butch and Sundance”
*I thought it was a good touch to have LeviaSam and LeviaDean hit the places Sam and Dean worked jobs, in order, since Sam left Stanford. Although it’s kind of amazing that Sam could recall the order off the top of his head.
*I really enjoyed the scene at the diner when LeviaSam and LeviaDean were talking about the boys. It was nice to get that perspective on their current mental states. And it brought up an interesting point. How are they a threat? It’s something I hadn’t thought of and I hope we get an answer.
*LeviaDean: “No, I like this one’s hair better. You can stay in the big one.”
Dean: “Are you even working, Richard Gere?”
Dean: “I tell you what, when this is over I’m stealing those rims.”
Dean: “You want me to Desperate Housewives these mothers?”
Hii….
My Fav scene is the Air Supply lip sync. That was hilarious, especially when Dean nods his head with the tune in the end right before Sam turn off the radio. I wonder if there’ll be another ‘Eye of The Tiger’? The sappy version. ha ha ha …. Jensen is Marvelous.
I want to comment on the J’s performance. Awesome. I think Jared shines when he played NotSammmy. LuciferSam, SoulessSam, LeviaSam, all of them are downright eerie.
Jensen is absolutley brilliant. He is my fav ever since ‘Skin’ Too bad Jensen does not get many opportunity to play Dean’s alter ego. His acting is refreshing. Dream a Little Dream of Me is scarily brilliant. Both of them are bloody wicked actors….
Please more of the alter egos 🙂
Oh and I love Bobby’s evil laugh Mhuaahahaaa
I really couldn’t agree more about Jensen and Jared’s acting skills. I’m constantly surprised at what they are able to make completely believable. This show deals with some of the craziest material and it couldn’t work unless the characters work.
I was hoping the show would take Dean dark this season, so yeah, give me more Dean adjacent. Dark Dean is scarier than the MotW as a general rule. Any time Dean winks or says SOB is a win in my book.
Loved the witty script and gritty feel to the episode, so nice job Robbie Thompson and John Showalter. I did like the revisit to S1 cases. That was clever. I also liked the Borax killing/slowing down solution.
The Sam/Dean breakup was anti-climatic and showing them together next week in the preview? I guess Show thinks it’s no big deal over a not so big issue either.
Agree with everyone; fav scenes are the Air Supply and diner scene. Baby better be brought back soon, as well as the rock alias’s…and how about some rock music, too.
I would love to see a dark Dean too. He’s already fairly dark on his own but Jensen is so talented and I really think he could take a Dean adjacent character to a whole new level.
I agree that the Sam/Dean breakup was anti-climatic. Especially after Sam was giving Dean hell about not wanting to talk. Well Sam, here is your chance. Instead of walking away I would have liked to see a conversation. Realistically we didn’t have time for a conversation in this episode, at least not a satisfying one so I hope we have one in this next episode.
Love LeviaDean’s wink (twice)! Lip-synching to Air Supply…priceless. And the best Patrick Swayze line ever.
I think the Leviathan are right to be leery of the Winchesters, they have managed to defeat every foe imaginable after all.
Kudos to Robbie Thompson.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who enjoyed the wink!
There’s no question that the Winchesters are a force to be reckoned with but it seems like the Leviathan are pretty powerful too. I guess I just want to know why Sam and Dean are seen as such a dire threat.
I think Sam will be ready to talk about it eventually. He did say, “I can’t talk to you [b]right now[/b]” not “I never want to see you again.” He was devastated (look at his face in the jail scene) and needs time to cool off. That in my opinion is better than doing or saying something in the heat of the moment that you can’t take back later. He could have hauled off and hit him, I guess, but that’s more Dean’s thing.
It’s true…if Sam didn’t take time to cool off he would have said something he regrets. I am just ready for this conversation!
I agree with Jace. Sam is pretty pissed off at Dean right now, he just needs to go for a walk to be alone with his thoughts. As I said over at Elle’s review, Sam is mad at Dean for not telling him about killing Amy.
But Sam should have told Dean where he was going and not sneak out like he did. Which of course brings to mind all the times that he used to leave Dean to be with Ruby. So Sam is just as guilty of keeping secrets as is Dean. We knew that the drama between the two of them would return, but Sam needs to forgive Dean and now that Sam knows, Dean can stop drinking whiskey as if it were going out of style. 😆
Dean vs My Little Pony. 😀 Bitch never stood a chance.
Dean calls the Impala ‘Baby’, and the fandom says ‘we knew it’. 😆
Sofia, I am loving season seven. This time in season six, we were all WTF is up with Sam, but now we have a clear enemy, we have Sam and Dean on the same page (last week’s spat not an issue), and every episode is a treat. 😀
Nancy,
I’m so happy to hear how much you’re enjoying this season so far. I really have yet to be disappointed by a season as a whole. I think this season has lots of great potential and I hope the writers use it to the fullest.
Also, I’m hoping there’s a little more to Dean’s alcoholism than just this secret from Sam. I think there’s more going on with him and I’m ready to find out what.
I am really surprised with the way Leviathans are thinking about everything. It seems to me that they put both methods of killing Sam & Dean in action almost simultanously – sending Chat and creating the clones. I still don’t know how they cloned Sam and Dean, but I don’t care – LeviWinchesters were a delight, especially in the diner!
Jodie and Bobby! I say “Hell yeah to that pairing” – Bobby really deserves something good in life and I am really happy that he still has hope.
Richard Roman wasn’t something new and refreshing to me though – don’t kill me, please! He was a mixture of corporate demon Brady and Lucifer – with this disdain for humans and demons.
There’s nothing wrong with you, Sofia, I absolutely love Mark Sheppard as Crowley! He’s so smug and witty! Well, I’m loving Mark in general, but this character is written brilliantly! And I am sure that going to the Winchesters would be Crowley’s next move. Pity, that he didn’t help Bobby with torturing the Leviathan – he surely has an experience when it comes to vulnerability discoveries.
Cathia,
It seems to me that Leviathans are part shifter. The one Bobby was holding in his basement said that LeviaSam and LeviaDean were able to shift because they had stolen some hair from their hotel shower drain. And he later shifted into Bobby after touching his arm.
I do hope Crowley continues to be a part of the story. Mark Sheppard is so fun to watch.
And don’t worry, you’re not the only one who doesn’t like Richard Roman as much as I did. It may be that I just really like Lucifer’s cool and collected attitude.
Thanks for your comments!
Great review Sofia! And I enjoyed this episode as much as you.
I had such a “Jus in Bello” deja vu.
Why did Sam believe LeviaDean without questioning? My theory: I think that’s a remnant from the Demon times. Demons do tell the truth from time to time when it’s more hurtful than a lie. And since the Levia (we need to come up with another name – this sounds like a plant) was sure to eat Sam in a couple of seconds he had no need to lie – just a guess on my part.
Does anybody else think that after beeing turned down by LeviaBoss, Crowley is gonna pair up with the Winchesters?
Finally we know how to kill a Levia! But Borax? Really? So desperate houswifes! And Sheriff Mills totally deserved that kiss because I would’ve never thought of a simple cleaning ingredient to solve the problem. To bad Bobby had to let her go. Such a cute couple! It still bothers me how Sheriff Mills – sorry, Jodi (they’re on first name basis now) – found that cabin in the woods? Or more so: how come the Levia didn’t untill now?
Frank, the next best living consipiracy theory besides Mozzie! And it makes me fear for Bobby. This man knows no sane people. He needs to tell the Winchesters how to dissapear? Boys, where have you been when daddy taught you this lesson? John Winchester was the master of dissapearing. I loved Frank. Bang, smashed Sam’s laptop, gave him a new one and made five grand out of it (question is: How are the boys gonna pay him if they’re not allowed to use plastic anymore?)
Winchesters at the diner! HA! “I had a brother with this many issues once. I ate him” – “Course you did”. Bwah!!!! And the “self” assessment doesn’t leave a good hair on chuckles & schizo but it sure had me on the floor laughing hysterically.
The Levia boss though didn’t impress me much. I was more scared by LeviaDean than him. He needs to game up the next few episodes or it’s floor cleaner for him.
The End – well, I’ve seen Sam- & Dean-girls already butting head over this. My humble opinion: Sam had as much right to be angry as Dean when lied to. Him walking away was in character so it didn’t freak me out.
All in all one great episode! And we learned a lot: namely Leviathans have a sense of humor, not like some douchbag angels (except for Uriel of course who was the funniest of his garison). Also, if you need to steel a car, don’t let it be a soccer mom’s car or you’ll end up with unicorns hanging from the rearview mirror and bunnies on the dashbord (though the tunes in said car seem pretty good). And to clone Dean obviously occupies him enough to make him forget about his Whiskey flask!
I think Sam was able to believe LeviaDean because they already knew all the information the leviathans were able to “download” from Cas. But I think you’re right that there is no need for them to lie when the truth would hurt Sam more. I think Sam knows that too. And it’s hardly a stretch to think that Dean would kill a monster.
I can’t believe I forgot to include the line about eating his brother! That was hilarious, and so funny coming out of Sam and Dean’s mouth.
Auntzukie,
I don’t think they could have just left the Amy thing alone after Dean killed her. One of the things that frustrated me about that scene was that there was no build up and so it seemed a bit harsh on Dean’s part. (Not that I necessarily disagree with Dean’s choice to kill Amy) But over the past few weeks, we’ve learned more about why Dean had to kill Amy and why he kept it from Sam. Not only because Sam asked him not to, but because he was worried for Sam’s mental health coming off of his Lucifer-induced suicide attempt. If I didn’t know all of that I would have found Dean killing Amy and hiding it from Sam very odd. Even a little out of character because of how much he has evolved since “Bloodlust”.
I do agree that the wedge between the brothers thing is getting a little old, but that’s the problem you face when you have a show that focuses on two main characters. Realistically, there is going to be drama. They’re two brothers that spend all their time together, a lot of it in a cramped up car. To be honest, I’m surprised they haven’t killed each other yet! But I do wish they could find a new way to create drama that would give us a nice stretch of time where Sam and Dean can get along.
You know, I agree that two people being together 24/7 in the same car, same hotel room, same diner…there are bound to be issues. I work with the same person, pick her up in the morning & drop her off at night, and let me tell you, somedays, I’d like to kill her. In fact we did get into a pretty bad tiff a few years ago, and it took a while to get that confidence back.
I just watched another clip of Friday’s episode and there is an exchange between Sam & Dean about killing Amy. So, it doesn’t look like it will be swept under the carpet. But after Friday’s episode, I hope it will be the last we hear of it.
Sofia,
Thanks so much for the review; yours are always a pleasure to read. 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed the episode. I confess I have gone back again and again to watch the scene with the little pony and Dean lip-synching to Air Supply, Sam’s horrified expression – priceless.
I adored Chet – too bad he had to go.
Jody and Bobby – too precious for words. Writers: Please, please, please don’t kill her
off. 😮
It seemed Jensen and Jared had a blast being their evil doppelgangers. It was a little creepy how good they were at it. 😥
The break at the end was what they needed to do; fortunately, they have both matured past the punching in the face and temper tantrums.
Hey Sofia,
I really liked this episode and your review was great! I definitely loved the car scene its classic supernatural which I feel like we are JUST getting back to so it was nice to have that dynamic back in the show.
The break at the end killed me. They always separate when they are vulnerable! Sam I think needs to understand that there is barely a reason why Amy should have lived. Sure she saved his life when he was a kid but now she was killing people. End of story. Of course, Dean sucked for killing her behind his back and then lying to his face about it. They definitely need their space from each other for now.
When Dean lost the car I feared it was permanent until I remembered that the car is basically another cast member. It’s on all the season covers! haha!
I hope Crowley doesn’t try to make a deal with the boys I feel they would be stupid enough to take it especially if they get in a real jam with the leviathans or if they think they can use him to get something else which I hope they realize that never works.
Great review though Sof and great episode!
Thanks for your comments! I’m glad you enjoyed the episode as much as I did and I agree, I really enjoyed the first season vibe.
They could never lose baby for good. She’s been through countless crashes and possessions and she’s still with us.
at first I just wanted Sam and Dean to talk out their issues right away but others have convinced me that Sam walking away and taking a breather was the mature route. No need to say things you’ll regret.
Thanks for reading!