Sofia’s Review – Supernatural 7.16, “Out With the Old”
“Supernatural” made a solid return this week with Out with the Old. It was a wonderful mix of monster of the week, advancement of the Leviathan arc (about time!) and some real attention to Sam’s Lucifer infestation.
On top of all the obvious awesomeness that was this episode, there was also one of the most beautiful kill scenes. I’m a sucker for a good cross-cut kill scene, and while this was no Slice Girls, it was definitely beautifully choreographed. And in true “Supernatural” fashion, it ended with a nice spray of blood.
I definitely enjoyed the whole cursed objects concept. We’ve known about curse boxes since season three’s Bad Day at Black Rock but haven’t really come across them much since then. While I was a bit underwhelmed by the teapot, I thought the dancing shoes and the whispering gramophone were very interesting. I can’t comment on the gentleman’s magazine, though, since the details surrounding that cursed object were thankfully a little fuzzy. Perhaps the best part about these cursed objects was the way the ballet slippers called to Dean.
Sam: “Do they look like they’re your size?”
I would have loved to see Dean put them on, but no such luck.
So, I’m confused. Dean knows that Sam let Lucifer back in. So Sam just told him? What is this honesty? It’s such a foreign concept for these boys. I think I was subconsciously expecting a week or two of Sam keeping this information from Dean. Not because I think he’s a liar but because that’s how the Winchesters deal. They hold things in and push them down until they crack completely. What a breath of fresh air to share your problems with your brother right away. It certainly makes life easier. Now, about Sam’s brilliant plan to just never sleep again. Yeah, that’ll work. It already almost got him run down by a truck. Have we ever seen such a non-supernatural threat on this show before? It struck me as odd because I found myself thinking, “A truck can’t kill a Winchester”. Sometimes I forget they’re human and susceptible to normal human danger. Anyway, I digress. We all know Sam will eventually need to sleep and just deal with his Lucifer situation. But what would that even look like? How do you begin to deal with the devil? (No, not make a deal with the devil. We’ve already done that.) What happens when Sam goes to sleep? Is it just hallucination after hallucination? I hope we get to see a little more about what’s going on in Sam’s head. I’m so curious, and I know you all are, too. And the other big question is how long will this last? Is this something Sam could have to deal with the rest of his life? Can he handle that?
We also finally got to see Frank. I actually wrote in my notes about how much I love Dean and Frank’s chemistry and that I can’t wait to see them in a room together again. Well…about that. Maybe I’m just the glass-half-full type, but I’m thinking we’ll see Frank again. Sure his trailer was a disaster and there was a good amount of blood, but there were also a few sprays of black goo here and there. Maybe he was able to escape? Or maybe he got eaten and the leviathan have assumed his identity. What do you guys think? Think we’ll see Frank again? Think he’ll still be human?
So as I mentioned earlier, we had some long overdue movement of the leviathan arc. We met Joyce and George, who I actually really enjoyed. Joyce was a strong female villain and George was an entertaining pushover. Notice the use of the past tense. I was a little bummed that they were both “killed” in the end. What do you call a leviathan without a head? (That sounded like the start of a bad joke) They’re not really dead since they can’t be killed. So before they were beheaded, we learned a few interesting tidbits about Dick’s plan. He seems to have an odd fascination with real estate since he’s buying it up left and right. Oh, and he’s planning to build a cancer research center. Why would Dick Roman care about cancer? According to George, our leviathan friends are only here to help. What’s not creepy about that? So what do you think the endgame is here? Any ideas? Because I can honestly say I have no clue.
Do you think we’ll see Crowley again this season? At the beginning of the season, he tried and failed to start an alliance with Dick Roman, and he seemed to be laying the groundwork for an alliance with Sam and Dean, but we haven’t heard a peep from him in weeks. Any chance he’ll reappear for the climax of the season?
What did you guys think of the episode? Did you like the monster of the week? Were you happy to see the Leviathan storyline advanced? And how excited are you on a scale of 1-10 about Castiel’s return next week? I have to say, I’m more than ready for a familiar face; this has been one lonely season.
As usual, there were a few quotes and things worth mentioning.
Dean: “I saw “Black Swan” twice; hot tutu on tutu action. Come on, Sam, what’s wrong with you?”
I wanted to give a shout out to the effects crew. I know I’m always talking about how much I hate the leviathan effects, but I thought they did a great job with the dancing effects in this episode.
Sam: “Kid, this would be a really great time for a lesson in gratitude. Lucky for you, I’m too tired.”
Dean: “I don’t mean to double dip in your crazy sauce, no offense.”
Frank: “None taken, fudge pop.”
Joyce: “We have a chain of command here, George. You see a Winchester, you don’t eat him. You tell me, and I eat him.”
George: “You’re welcome for saving you before she ripped into your ass like a Christmas present.”
I also loved the reappearance of Bad Moon Rising. This song has been used a few times over the years, but I always love hearing it. It’s become a theme song of sorts. I’d put it up there with “Back in Black” and “Carry on Wayward Son,” among others.
I do think we will see Frank again and I think we may see him as both human and Leviathan. The Leviathan’s don’t need the person whose shape they take dead, just some DNA. The blood easily would provide the DNA and if anyone is quick enough and paranoid enough to get a way it would be Frank.
I hope we see Crowley again, because Crowley is a favorite of mine.
I’m not as convinced as you and Alice that Sam was ever really hiding his state of mind from Dean once he admitted to the hallucinations. From a writing standpoint there can’t be a lot of ways to have Sam say I’m hallucinating, but handling it without it becoming boring. Plus with Dean melting down, Sam focusing on his problems could be seen as whining. Dean knew Sam was hallucinating. He knew Sam was able to control the hallucinations. Even at this point, Sam can tell hallucination from reality. If Sam had been truly hiding his condition, I’m sure Dean would have been more upset when he revealed his current one. So I think Dean has been aware of how Sam has been doing for a while. Now he has to deal with a worsening state and he is hoping that Sam will stabilize again.
I see your point about Sam. I guess I just wish we’d been kept in the loop a bit. For the first half of the season we knew Sam was having hallucinations but saw no real proof of them except the occasional hand squeeze. I do think Sam needed to be strong for Dean which meant not sharing the details of every hallucination with him but I would have liked to see them or at least know they were happening.
This season started with such promise and then we got a few crappy episodes but now it seems as if we are back on track with six :sigh: episodes left.
Sorry Sofia, but Frank being Leviathan food is a done deal for me. He was getting annoying and I am glad that he is gone.
Sam has finally realized that keeping secrets from Dean is not a good thing and knowing that Dean is concerned is what is going to save Sammy next week. I agree with PercysOwner, that Sam is keeping Dean up to date on his ‘condition’ because Dean is ‘stone number one’ and he wants to keep it that way, so Sam has to be honest with Dean.
‘A truck can’t kill a Winchester’, 😆 😆 😆
I think that when Sammy closes his eyes and tries to sleep, he sees memory after memory of Hell and Lucifer and the ‘fun’ they had.
Think about it, if Dick’s ‘people’ found a cure for cancer, then Dick would run for President and the people would vote him in a landslide. Then think of the damage he could do. The world would be fu@ked (or eaten). 😆
I do believe that Crowley will make an appearance and try to help the boys defeat Dick and the Leviathan. Don’t forget that we are supposed to see the return of Bobby. Maybe Crowley will have something to do with that.
Supernatural has a habit of introducing the ‘big bad’ of the season and then ‘forgetting’ about them. How many times did we see the YED or Lilith or Eve, but once the homestretch of the season gets here then the big bad comes to the foreground and we can only hope that the boys and what friends (Jodie, Garth) that are left alive will survive.
Return of Misha, TEN Woohoo. 😀
I agree that Dick could become President if he found the cure for cancer. I guess I’m just confused about why they’d go through all this trouble when they’re virtually unstoppable as it is. If Dick wants to be president he could just eat anyone who stands in his way. Maybe that strategy is why I would make a terrible villain. 🙂
I hope you’re right about the Crowley/Bobby connection. I would die of excitement if they both came back in the same episode.
I wish Sam’s admitting what’s going on is a show of his — maybe both of their — maturity, but alas, methinks it’s just the pending Padababy that kinda forced their hand. I wonder if they would have opted to have Sam be straight with his brother otherwise. So I say, thank you Padababy. Because of you, Sam has been forced to grow up a bit faster than he might otherwise have done. (Amazing how children do that to you in real life and now we see in TV life too!)
As for the rest, it was a fun episode full of great lines and the potential for what could have been (I remain grateful Dean wasn’t forced to dance). I too think Frank is coming back, though I didn’t think about the fact he might be Not!Frank, but I hope he’s human. I like the chemistry between him and Dean. I want it to last a little longer. I suspect it won’t, even if he does come back somehow.
Can’t wait to watch it again!
I disagree about the baby speeding up the storyline or Sam’s honesty. Jared said he only is getting three days off for the baby. Also, since the baby still isn’t here (unless I’ve missed an announcement today – Hang in there Gen, it will be over soon!) these episodes were shot WAY in advance of her having the baby, so I don’t think it could have affected the timing.
As I said upstream, with Dean’s non-reaction to Sam saying how things are getting worse, I think Sam has been keeping Dean informed to some extent on where his head is at. I think he has been honest since Hello Cruel World. Frankly, even in the preview, Sam is dealing with the hallucinations fairly well. He can still tell reality from hallucination, he just can’t turn off the destruction the hallucination is causing. So every time he told Dean I’m hallucinating but I’m managing he was telling the truth. What more was there to say? When things changed he told Dean.
Hmm. I don’t attend the conventions to find this stuff out in person so maybe someone who does can clarify it for me, but I get the impression the shows are not shot too, too far in advance. How far in advance? I don’t know. But that’s just my impression. I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong.
Not too far. When I was at the con in Nashville the first weekend of February, they were just shooting episode 17 (Jared showed up with a beard and that got our attention). Now here it is March 23rd and they’re airing that episode. By the time they finish shooting the season finale, it’ll be sometime in mid April. It’s airing May 18th. So they can run anywhere from 5 to 8 weeks ahead average. The longest gap is when they first start. They start filming in early July and don’t start airing until late September!
I have to say I am a little baffled by this Sam is being honest has if he has been dishonest. He told Dean and his brother has known what is going on he isnt daft he has known since the warehouse .What exactly did people want Sam to do? give Dean a running commentary? Dean has been wrapped up in his own problems this season so quite where Sam has done wrong here I dont know.
Yeah, I didn’t see anything behind Sam being honest about Lucifer in this episode either. I don’t think Jared’s impending fatherhood had any influence on this aspect of the storyline seeing as Sam has been honest about his head troubles since Hello Cruel World.
Him being honest in this episode was not a surprise to me at all. He’s been honest with his brother all season long, since from 7.02.
I loved the episode. Dean being tempted by the slippers was fun and I hope Frank is okay as I really like that character. Poor Sam is breaking down, the guy looked utterly, utterly exhausted and I can’t wait to see what happens next. I’m not a Castiel fan so his return doesn’t interest me greatly but Sam’s problems have me practically giddy with anticipation.
I was like you, happy to see Sam being pretty straight up with Dean, if a little flippant so as not to totally freak his brother completely out. I think Sam just wants to try and deal and not harp on it, but his avenues for dealing are no longer working for him….so o-oh…next week. But it’s nice to see some honest dialogue between the brothers, some support and nice to see them treating each other well and as equals.
I don’t think we’ve seen the end of Frank either. I’ve enjoyed his bitchy rapport with Dean but I must say, I’m not particularly emotionally connected…but I do think something is going on with Frank’s disappearance.
It’s been a great ride this season. There were a few wobbles up the top but certainly ever since “How To Win Friends And Influence People” it’s been going from strength to strength. I’m so excited (and a little terrified of course) for whatever is going to happen next! 🙂
**How To Win Friends And Influence MONSTERS!!! 😛
I do like that they’re more on even footing, but I’ve actually felt like Dean been a bit disconnected. Like he’s not fully getting it. Because otherwise why in the hell is he letting Sam drive anywhere, at this point. I’m not slamming Dean, but I do think he’s convinced himself everything okay, not great, but okay. Because what can he do if it is not. I guess we’ll find out next week.
Hey, I sm still trying to figure out why Sam had to drive to Timbuktu to get the darned u-haul in the first place! 😮
Hi Sofia,
Great review! It’s interesting, but you make a good point about “normal” things not usually being a threat to the Winchesters. Even in the finale of season one, the truck was driven by a demon – so does that count as a supernatural death? I think so.
Like you I loved this episode and yes, the effects were very well down. The ballet slippers for Dean…well, that has me in stitches even now. Just the thought of him donning a tutu and dancing around – yup, it kills me.
As you said, I expected Sam NOT to have mentioned the Lucifer thing to Dean and the open air between them was very refreshing for a change. Way to shake up and do the unexpected, writers.
Frank shouldn’t be dead, if for no other reason than his exchanges with Dean. I love the sniping, nicknames and paranoia.
How excited am I for Cas’ return? There isn’t a number on the scale high enough to convey my elation. So yes, maybe the season has moved a long okay without some of our favourite faces, but just because it can get on without them, doesn’t mean I want it to.
Is it Friday yet?!?
Thanks for the review, Sofia!
Couldn’t agree more about Cas’ return. And I agree that just because a show can survive without certain characters doesn’t mean it has to. And it certainly doesn’t mean we want it to! I do think this was a very daring leap on the side of the writing staff though. I have to respect how they have taken the show down to studs and have still produced some pretty great episodes.
Great review. I loved the opening sequence with the ballerina dancing and the janitor in sync with the mop! Then seeing her without her feet!!! Gross in a very good way.
I think Frank will be back, I’ve watched the episode three times and I’m sorry to say I didn’t notice black goo, I’ll keep my eyes open the fourth time around. Maybe the demons have him? An opportunity for Crowley to make a long overdue comeback.
And I agree with most people here that Sam is being honest with Dean about his Lucifer hallucination…for the most part. Notice he didn’t tell him he almost became road kill. Had he told Dean that he fell asleep at the wheel, I think Dean would realize how bad Sam really is.
Anyway, all in all a really solid episode for me, and I am stoked for Castiel’s return! Is it Friday yet?
Personally I feel Sam has been a lot more honest about where his head is at this season than Dean has been, or are we all forgetting the Amy incident, then the bullshitting about being OK about Cas and Bobby? I find it hilarious that when Dean lies its seen as him protecting his brother or him just being poor Dean bottling all his pain inside, but if Sam does the same he is called immature, selfish or a bad brother.
Anywho these past 3 episodes have been a joy. Jared is doing amazing work this season, he’s bringing his A game and then some even with bigger things going on in his life right now. A true testament to his talent and his work ethic.
I am really loving this Sam storyline cant wait for more, do miss Bobby though I’m not his biggest fan, hoping Cas’s 3 episode arc is a good one and looking forward to the closure we’ve been promised and thats from someone who is completely impartial to the character. I look forward to the return of Garth in episode 18 and I do think we’ll see Frank again someday.
Thanks for the review.