sweetondean’s Wrap Up of “Supernatural” 8.04, “Bitten”
Well, I think we all knew from the outset that this was an episode that would polarise “Supernatural” fans. It was a different kind of “Supernatural” episode not just in the way it was shot, all on hand held or CTV style cameras, which many don’t like and find difficult to watch, but also in the way it focused on characters outside of the norm, as in, the focus wasn’t on Sam and Dean or any of the secondary leads like Bobby or Castiel in past episodes “Weekend at Bobby’s” and “The Man Who Would Be King” and this wasn’t going to be like “Ghostfacers” because Sam and Dean were well and truly in that episode. This was something different altogether, a different story told a different way. For some of us it worked and for some of us it didn’t.Â
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I went into “Bitten” as I do with any episode, wide open with expectations set to neutral and I have to say, this was one hell of an enjoyable hour of television for me. So I guess, put me in the “it worked” camp. When it finished, I felt proud as punch of this show and the people who make this show. That they have the cojones to give something like this a whirl and pull it off so spectacularly and that they have the cojones to make the show they want to make.
This last bit makes me particularly happy, because I always worry that the creators of this show may be influenced by the likes of me, or you or whomever comment and offer dialogue on “Supernatural.” That they may read some of the commentary on whether Sam is being written this way or that or whether we feel Dean is being all out of character and allow our insights and opinions as viewers to colour and skew the way they choose to tell their story. It’s arrogance on my behalf to think they would of course, but it does give me pause for concern sometimes. Obviously they feel the need to listen to some degree, because if we rampantly hate something, that’s going to reflect badly on the future of the show, but even at this level, it makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I remember Edlund being asked, do they have to listen to the fans and he thought for a moment and said, “No”. His implication as I took it in the context of the question, that they may listen, but they don’t feel they have to. I felt relieved to hear that.
I’ve said this many times, I want the creators of “Supernatural” to be allowed to tell the story they want to tell. They know the end game, I don’t. They know where the mid-season finale is going, where the season is going, how far this arc is going, where these characters need to be and who they need to be for the pay off, I don’t. They’re working to a big picture plan of which I have absolutely no concept. I’m not there with them, working through the structure of a 23-episode season and beyond, so I don’t know. I have to have faith that they know more than I do about their story and about their characters and where all their ducks need to be for everything to unfold and for that reason I give them the time and the respect to allow them to unfold their story as they see fit, even when I find it challenging or disappointing. I think the last couple of seasons have dragged us from pillar to post and it’s made some of us gun-shy. I read it over and over in the comments and I get it, I’m often in the same boat. Some disappointments are hard to let go of, even if you enjoyed the bulk of seasons 6 and 7, which I did. I love this show with a passion, in case you haven’t noticed, so some knocks hit hard. But this is a new season, a fresh start and personally, I’m loving how it’s playing out so far and so I’m happily offering up my trust to allow this, highly creative and talented bunch of people, the time they need to tell their story. After only 4 episodes of a 23-episode season, I think that’s only fair and reasonable. So that’s what I’m choosing to do and crossing my fingers my faith pays off. So far, so good.
I thought “Bitten” was a lovely piece of story telling. I found myself sitting up leaning all the way forward at one point and I had one of those moments where you go, “Man, I’m seriously digging this.” By the end, I was dreading seeing what played out in the opening scene. I felt for these kids. I liked them. Michael was adorable and sweet (and a looker), Kate was smart and had a life plan, Brian was insecure and trying to find his place. I liked how normal they all seemed.
I enjoyed seeing the birth of these monsters from their point of view. Their struggle to come to terms with what was happening to their friend and then, inevitably, to all of them. We’ve seen this from the Winchester’s perspective before, when they’ve come across monsters who don’t want to embrace or don’t realise they’re embracing their monster form, like the Rugaru in “Metamorphosis” and Madison in “Heart”. We know that the Winchesters have come across monsters with families; that have been living in society and attempting to curb their monstery ways, but it was good to see this from the inside out, get the monster-eye-view if you will. They were just your average college kids who got caught up in this horrific situation. I’m kind of shocked we haven’t seen this before.
I really dug seeing how the Winchesters appear to the outside world. We’re usually alongside them in the trenches and we’re so used to them and what they do, so this was a fun way to see the brothers. I often think to myself, when they’re having some bizarre conversation in a diner about their latest case, shush, someone’s going to hear you and call the cops on your asses! I mean, it’s not like they whisper and they’re always just stepping off to the side and going into some horrific detail about some case with people RIGHT THERE! I remember in the commentary for “In The Beginning” Kripke noting that Dean and Young Mary only walk two steps away from the kid who accidentally sold his soul to the YED and that the kid would be able to hear them talking about demons and the like and he’d be freaking out! Kripke was laughing his ass off! And it’s true! So I was giggling like an idiot when they got caught on camera talking about the Mayan God.
I don’t have a problem with shaky-cam, I quite enjoy it as a film making technique. The only problem I have with it is that it’s very rarely perfect. There’s always going to be a moment when you go, umm, where’s that shot coming from? Having said that, I thought “Bitten” as a whole, did a pretty good job on the hand held POV camera concept. It was smart to have Brian install stationary cameras around the rooms to give the director and editors more to play with. There were a couple of times I thought, put the damn camera down, this is getting serious, but then I remembered the people who film themselves caught up in all sorts of terrible disasters and well, some people do that sort of stuff for real! With this style of filmmaking, I think there has to be a degree of suspension of disbelief and I was willing to do that.
What I do think is that this form of story telling allows a fair bit of intimacy. You’re with the characters all the time instead of moving off to different points of action. In that way, I felt like I had a better grasp on these characters than most of the one off characters we meet in “Supernatural” and I appreciated that. The performances were pretty good. I thought Michael and Kate in particular had nice chemistry and I believed in their relationship and I could see that Michael was a good guy and was Brian’s only friend and I could get a vibe on Brian’s dissatisfaction with always being the third wheel. The episode hinged on them being able to carry off the piece and for me, they did. I must admit I really didn’t like when Brian forcibly bit Kate, I know where it was coming from, desperation, misplaced love, fear, anger, but it was way harsh how it went down and I was incredibly pleased she took him out for it. He embraced the monster, he welcomed it inside him and he let it take hold, he had to go.
Which brings me to the Winchesters letting Kate walk. Having to sit through that video, see what they do and the creatures they do it to from the other side, must have been edifying. Monsters have told them, they’ve said that they’re not bad, don’t want to be monsters, that it’s not their fault, not their choice, but seeing it laid out in front of them, seeing these kids getting dragged into their world through no fault of their own, the confusion, the fear and the outcome, had to shift something inside the brothers. They’ve had their doubts before about whether every monster deserves to die, they’ve argued over it many times, but this gave them another perspective.
Is that the reason they let Kate walk? Hmm, I have a feeling Dean was thinking about his association with a certain vampire he brought back from Purgatory when faced with this question. How could he go after Kate, when she says she’s going to keep her nose clean and not do the same with Benny? Dean seemed to mull the whole thing over. Once upon a time, he’d probably shelve the Benny thing, compartmentalise it and still go after Kate, finding some way to rationalise the double standard later. But I think Dean’s changed, Purgatory, his new association, whatever, I saw this as nice growth. Glad to see it Winchester. I’d expect Sam to give her a chance, so his reaction didn’t surprise me. I did notice how quickly he packed up. It was like he wanted to get out of there before his brother changed his mind. Of course, it could’ve been that Dean was simply moved by the story of these kids, but seeing as where we’re about to go in next week’s episode, I’m pretty sure he was thinking of his toothy friend and this scene was all about setting up a certain meeting and the quandary Dean’s about to find himself in.
One could sit here and go into the parallels of the stories of these kids having this life of a monster forced upon them and the parallels of Sam and Dean and the life that they were raised in, their Apocalyptic destinies, Sam’s demon blood running through his veins and the brother’s ongoing struggle to reconcile themselves with their lives, just as Michael and Kate, not so much Brian, were faced with a similar dilemma, destiny versus free will, choice – but you know what – I’m just going to take the episode for what it was and enjoy it as a one off. We all need a break from my overly thinky thoughts anyway!          Â
I must admit, I was a little hesitant to write this up this week, because I’ve seen how vehemently some have disliked this episode, but as I said last week, the wonderful thing about this show is that we all come at it from different angles and take different things away with us. I liked “Bitten”. Actually I liked it a lot. I understand it didn’t blow everyone’s hair back, but that’s because we’re all individuals and like different things. I’m really happy to be a fan of a show that takes risks, that creates such great dialogue, that we feel compelled to discuss for good and bad. I’m so happy that this show exists for me to feel so passionate about it, you know?
Would I want to see this kind of episode regularly, hell no, you know me, I’m a Winchester lovin’ girl and I adore the story of those two men and I am literally champing at the bit for next week’s episode to see more of their story unfold’and because Mr Edlund wrote it’.and because I saw some of it being shot! OH MY GOSH! I am so excited for next week’s episode. So no, I don’t want a plethora of episodes like “Bitten” but this was good, I enjoyed it and I praise the team behind this show for pushing the boundaries and our buttons!
Now bring on that Winchestery angst!
Thanks for reading’ let me know what you think’ (eeep!)
Until next time you AWESOME people! Come on, you think I wasn’t going to get an awesome gag in there. Oh Dean’.
-sweetondean
Hey, lovely review! (and yes I also absolutely think Dean was thinking of Benny when letting Kate walk away (the writers definitely were))
Just wanted to say that I quoted(&linked here) the paragraph about how hilariously it was lampshaded that Sam&Dean always talk about secret stuff wide in the open.
Hope you don’t mind 🙂
I always look forward to your reviews Sweetondean for two reasons. The first is that you are such a ‘glass half full’ kind of gal, your enthusiasm for our show always shines through and I LOVE that.
The second reason is very shallow, you usually have the best pictures of Dean. All the better to objectify him through!
I didn’t mind this episode and actually enjoyed that not only us, but the brothers, got to see the other side of the coin and were able to develop empathy for the ‘big bads’.
Like you I applaud the Supernatural family for taking risks, this is after all one of the things that makes our show unique and sets it apart from the rest.
Back to some Dean and Sam now though, I am loving this season so far. I am one of those viewers are waiting passionately for each episode, wondering and waiting to see where the writers take us. Buckle up!
PS – I think that I have picked up a Dean trait in RL. Awesome comes out of my mouth quite a bit, as well as Pudding, thank you Captian Obvious, sweet merciful awesome………..etc. Oh well.
[quote]PS – I think that I have picked up a Dean trait in RL. Awesome comes out of my mouth quite a bit, as well as Pudding, thank you Captian Obvious, sweet merciful awesome………..etc. Oh well.[/quote]
Some one at work said to me the other day… “You say son of a bitch a lot” I wonder whose fault that is? You are not alone 🙂
This is truly funny. I don’t think ever in my life have I used the word ‘dick’. Sadly, I will admit to saying it a few times since watching this show. Also, I find myself describing others behavior as snarky occasionally. Never used that word before either. But hey, increasing ones vocabulary is a good thing right? 😀
Loved your review and feel the same way about the creators and team of this show. And your comments about them listening to the fan base are spot on. I am neutral on the episode. But loved Kate’s speech at the end. Choices, choices, choices. What life is all about.
Snarky has totally become part of my vocabulary too 😆
Yep, I’m guilty of stealing Dean’s bons mots also. Son of a bitch comes up alot, and my favourite, Gun. Mouth. Now. when I’m dealing with idiots at work, which happens quite often.
I was so looking forward to this ep, because I’ve wanted an outside POV ep that would really show us the boys from an outsiders perspective. I was disappointed because I don’t really think this ep did that in a serious way.
That being said, I did like the ep a lot for exactly the reasons you outlined. I haven’t gotten a chance to watch it a second time, but I think it’s probably a gold mine on themes we’ll be visiting this season. Yes! I certainly think that it spoke to Dean about his relationship with Benny. I got the feeling though that Sam was a little mystified by Dean’s decision to let the girl go, which brings me to the thing that grabbed me a the end — the song refrain we kept hearing: What’s the matter, what’s the matter with you lately? See, whereas you tried not to make parallels with Sam and Dean, that’s where my head went immediately. We hear this song throughout and those are the last words in the ep. I think it’s exactly what the boys must be thinking about each other. Like I said, I need to watch again, but I think that the boys need to realize that like the kids, they haven’t chosen what they’ve become, how they currently are, it’s something that’s just happened to them over the past year and something that they need to deal with, hopefully together. It sounds simple, but it isn’t. Dean is judging Sam, and I’m thinking that when Sam meets Benny, there’s going to be some judging on his side too. IDK, just thinking here.
Anyway, as far as the kids’ story, I thought it was well done. I have to say that I lost sympathy for Brian pretty early on however when I realized that he didn’t really care about Michael and Kate all that much. He was blinded by envy — Michael was a rival and Kate was a prize. One of the things that the ep did well was show that being a monster, which Brian was before he was bitten, I’d argue — is about one’s thoughts and actions, not their ‘nature.’
[quote]which brings me to the thing that grabbed me a the end — the song refrain we kept hearing: What’s the matter, what’s the matter with you lately? See, whereas you tried not to make parallels with Sam and Dean, that’s where my head went immediately. We hear this song throughout and those are the last words in the ep. I think it’s exactly what the boys must be thinking about each other. [/quote]
I totally thought that too when I heard that song. That line of lyric playing out at the end of the episode seemed purposeful to me and I agree, the song was a statement on the confusion of the boys having to deal with each other after a year apart. There was a lot of subtext in this episode.
I think you’re right about the song lyric. I feel it too.
I think Sam and Dean has not yet dealing with themselves. What they need to do is understand each other and only by doing that they can be at peace.
But they don’t do that.
The other verse of this song is also interesting. “Oh your love is not good enough. Oh, your love is lost on me.”
It’s like saying that Is Sam and Dean don’t love each other anymore? Is Sam’s love not enough for Dean that he seemingly unhappy if Sam not around to hunt with him? Is Dean’s love lost on Sam that he wants out so much?
Another verse, “Dreamer, you waste your time, do you ever wonder why we go on and on and on, love is gone and gone and gone.”
I hope this is not the end game for Sam and Dean that they become so misunderstood by each other by product of miscommunication that their love, the bond that once so strong will be gone.
What they need is to ask each other “What’s the matter with you lately?”
And we need to see it play out on screen.
PS: And yes I am writing this after I download the song and listening it now. 😀
Also regarding the song, If this episode is played out later in the show then it will be too late. Because it means they’ll spend most time in the season being at odds with each other and not really dealing, not really talking.
There’s a message in the song. The song shouts them to talk with each other, to confront their issues, to come clean.
I honestly don’t really watch for the story in the episode. The one that stick to me is not the kids story but the song. When the song played out again in the end I felt like, ‘Ahhh… so that’s why the song is there.’ And it seems they do talking just not on screen. Because Brian refuses to tell us what the FBI agents are talking about their year apart.
So, writers, it’s time to bring those conversation in front of our screen. Pleaseeeeeee…. 😀
Thank you, once again, for a thoroughly AWESOME review. 😉
I loved it. In actual fact, I was on such a high after the episode that I naively expected to come here and not see many negative comments, haha. Granted, after reading through the threads, I can see where people are coming from in terms of their criticisms, but I was still highly entertained, and I thought it even held up fairly well in the rewatch.
I loved seeing Dean and Sam from an outsider’s POV. I loved that these kids were so wrapped up in their own lives that we only caught the snippets of D&S that were directly related to their own situation. One of my favourite moments was after the restaurant when Michael asked, “Was there anything else?” and Brian responds, “Nah, they just talked about the year they spent apart.” The conversation that we’ve been waiting for since minute one of S8, and ofc the kids flippantly dismiss it as unimportant! Haha, it cracked me up. I don’t mind being trolled by the writers on occasion.
Would I have rather watched a S&D-heavy episode? Probably, but I was honestly shocked that I enjoyed an ep that had so little of the two of them as much as I did. I think they played a fine line in terms of the amount of the brothers to show. Anything more would’ve felt heavy-handed and contrived.
Like some people have mentioned, I did feel like the placement of this kind of episode was a little odd, so early in the season when we’re so desperate for answers and character development, but I don’t know how the rest of the season’s going to go… maybe it’s an indication that the rest of the season really is building to something and this kind of episode would have felt even more jarring later on. (don’t know, I haven’t read many season-long spoilers.)
I thought the camera work was really creatively done, and I normally can’t stand hand-cam movies. There was a good mix of handcams and conveniently placed stationary cams (and even good explanations for their placements), and I loved the use of the hacked-into, swiveling restaurant cam.
The actual story was, yeah, maybe a bit cliche, but because of the creative POV, I think it became less so. Like, if this had been an actual movie without the normally main characters being thrust into small side roles, or if it’d been a normal SPN episode using the same basic plot, I think the cliche would’ve been too much to handle, but in this case, I think the juxtaposition really worked. I felt for those kids by the end, and I loved the fact that S&D were watching the exact same thing we were, and essentially were making the same judgment calls.
I loved Dean’s pondering moment at the very end, and Sam’s… hah, it seemed like gratitude(?) at Dean letting Kate go. And then he rushes to assure him that if she does step out of line, of course they’ll go after her. Haha, ahhh, poor Sam. Because naturally he was thinking of Amy (as was I!) and meanwhile, you’re absolutely right, Dean was probably just thinking about the parallels with Benny.
Gah! Next week! I am so, so, so very excited for next week! And also a bit terrified, because my expectations are super high at this point. But yeah, can not wait.
[quote]Like some people have mentioned, I did feel like the placement of this kind of episode was a little odd, so early in the season when we’re so desperate for answers and character development, but I don’t know how the rest of the season’s going to go…[/quote]
I could be totally off-base here and I really have no clue, it’s just me surmising, but I wondered if they placed this episode here to try and capture some of the Arrow audience. The reason being, as a stand alone episode that didn’t relate directly to the mythology or the key relationship of the series, for which backstory is required and as an episode with a familiar theme and young cast, filmed in the style of “Chronicle”, which was a popular movie, maybe the PTB whether, producers or network felt that this style of episode would be more likely to be easily digested and possibly appreciated by those not as familiar with the core of Supernatural as we are and consequently, may have a flow on effect to later in the season. Like I said, no clue, but it was a thought I had, that it may have been a programming decision.
Wasn’t it also up against the World Series or something? That could have also been a programming consideration.
But who knows!
Personally, I didn’t mind the placement, actually I’d probably prefer this earlier rather than later when the stakes are getting higher. I always find filler eps highly frustrating the further into the season we get.
If you take on the song that played during the episode, sweetondean, I think this placement is good.
Like what I said on comment above, “What’s the matter with you lately?” is a shout out to Sam and Dean’s relationship right now.
What’s the matter with you lately Sam and Dean? You need to talk about it and you need to do it on screen where we, not only a bunch of teenagers, can see it.
IMO and this is me taking this thing out of left field, thinking out of the box. The storyline of the teenage werewolf is just a distraction to what the writer is actually sending to us. Do you notice that they put the credit in the end?
Usually, when the episode open, they first show us a scene or two about monster of the week as a prelude, an intro for Sam and Dean to enter then they roll credit when Sam and Dean really start their story of the week, but here the intro went longer, like 40 minutes longer. But that’s just it, just intro. It’s not the real story. If you disregard the whole teenage drama then what’s left is the song that keep haunting you.
I consider it like this. We get Supernatural once a week, right? and fanfiction writers have written many codas to guess what happen behind the scene, what happen during the days when the show is not aired, what happens during the days that is not wednesday. So, I consider this episode happened during the end of Friday last week until Monday. We just get to see what Sam and Dean do in those other days. Because the real episode will start next week. This episode is just a coda.
What do you think? 😀 Too far out of left field?
I like that you’re thinking outside of the box and I love that this show makes our brains operate this way! 😆
With the credits being at the end. They did the same in “Ghostfacers”. As it’s POV hand-held style, putting the credits up top would take us out of the moment. Sam and Dean bursting in was essentially the teaser – which as you say is usually the episode set up – then we’d get credit roll, but by then we were inside the video world of the college kids and to have credits then would have jarred us out of what was supposed to feel like reality. That’s why I think they put them at the end, just like in “Ghostfacers”.
But I like your theory and I agree, that song was not chosen by happenstance, that lyric and it’s placement at the end felt like it had significance to the central relationship. 🙂
I think the song isn’t played during the video. Or maybe it is and didn’t notice?
Anyway, the song bracketing the episode. It’s there in the beginning and in the end Dean put the song back on. I think it’s symbolism. As if Dean (or the writer) is trying to say that “this is our story right now, in this song. Listen to the song lyric and you’ll understand. It’s not so much about the werewolf story but it’s about us.”
I really think that’s in the script and the writer knows about the song too and it’s lyric. The song speaks louder about the brother’s relationship than the previous two episodes. The lyric is simple. About love that seems not enough, about love that’s lost on someone.
What worries me is that there is the lyric about the love that is gone and gone in the end. Is it gonna happen to Sam and Dean? I hope not. But it will be if they don’t talk about it soon. So, I have a higher respect on RT right now. Many says he doesn’t know about the Winchester because he never wrote an episode solely about them. That maybe true, But here in this episode, at least he knows us, the fans. He knows that we will be questioning right now. What’s the matter with Sam? And Dean too?
kaj, what IS the matter with Sam and Dean. That is the million dollar question. I, for one, think these questions wiil be answered. One thing I don’t think you will ever have to worry about is the love between the two brothers. They have been sorely tested in the past and their bond remained strong. In spite of the undercurrents this year they have been working well together and seem relatively comfortable with each other. The crap is probably going to hit the fan at some point with them but I don’t anticipate a permanent rift between them. The show would not survive that. Hopefully some answers will come soon.
I agree Leah, the love is and will always be there. I’m not seeing lack of love, just lack of understanding as they’re both yet to come totally clean about their years, which is unfolding and will happen and there will be crap and they will wade through it as usual.
Put me firmly in the camp that liked this episode. Yes, it was Winchester-lite and no, I don’t want too many of these eps either, but it was adventurous and gutsy to do it. They pulled it off and I give the crew the kudos they deserve. It certainly couldn’t have been easy to do the setups and edit the thing either. Good job all around, and a bonus that it gave our guys a few extra days off. :0)
Great review. Thank you for providing us with wonderful reading material about a favorite show!
Anyway, I don’t have much to add without sounding too rambling or incoherent.
My big thing is that I didn’t like the episode the first time I saw it but then loved it the second time. When watching Supernatural (s6 and s7 especially) that happens a lot with me, I don’t know why…
The second time I saw it, I was most affected by the music especially as it played toward the end. I was able to pay attention better to the kids’ dialogue:
-I loved the observations they made about how they could tell Dean and Sam were more than just collegues but obviously didn’t know they were brothers.
-I loved hearing how Dean and Sam were talking about their year apart. Often I think about what they talk about those times we aren’t privy to (they leave Bobby’s house/arrive at the next destination – what happened in between!!??) This little bit of dialogue from Michael just underscored the fact that now Dean knows some of Sam’s experiences and vice versa.
One nit pick- strange how Dean and Sam arrive at a crime scene so fast, especially since it was the first victim–I assume they must have been in the immediate area, that’s the only speculation I have that works I guess…
I won’t go into specifics as to why I liked this episode, I’ve already posted everywhere else and people are probably fed up with me already! 🙂 Just wanted to say that I loved your review. It was spot on as always. I’m a glass half-full king of gal, so it makes me happy when I see good reactions to an episode. That doesn’t mean I dismiss the ones who don’t like this episode or that one, I read them all. Always very interesting to find out what people think.
I’m in the other camp–really really didn’t like the episode at all. It didn’t help that I didn’t particularly care for the characters–these actors did not draw me in. But I also didn’t care for the end “dilemma.”
Dean’s decision to let Kate go was consistent with his decision in Girl Next Door to let Amy’s son go. This has been Dean’s moral code since season two with Lenore. He killed Amy because she was in the middle of a killing spree herself, showing when push came to shove, she would serve her own needs and view humans as prey. He didn’t kill the son because he’d never killed. The real decision of the episode is whether the boys should trail Kate until the full moon since the likelihood she’ll resist her werewolf nature is infintisemally small–she showed all episode she’s ruled by her emotions, not a moral code (“I’m sure he had a reason!”). But they chose instead to have the boys unsurprisingly on the same page about whether to preemptively kill her and leave it at that. I thought that was dramatically weak and unlikely to add dramatic weight to whatever is going to go on with Benny. Unless we have to retcon the Amy situation and act like Dean always preemptively kills monsters who are not killers.
I don’t mind foot footage, but I didn’t find this episode to be a better exploration of the monster’s point of view than Girl Next Door, Metamorphosis or Heart. All of those monsters were more sympathetic to me and I cared more about them. Come to that I cared more about the shapeshifter in “Monster Movie.”
I have no problem with the writers taking risks and experimenting with form–Edlund is my favourite writer! But in the end the form always has to be in service of telling us more about Sam and Dean and their story. I didn’t learn anything new about where the boys are in the current arc, whether directly or by analogy-that holds up to any scrutiny. So for me, this was a wasted episode. I felt this was more a poor episode of “Being Human” than an episode of Supernatural. I doubt it will pull any new viewers on the fence into Supernatural’s world.
Fortunately, there’s many more to come and so far I’ve enjoyed this season, barring this week. I have no problem with them taking risks. But I also have no problem noting when for me, the risk fails. I didn’t care for Time for a Wedding last year, either and still don’t.
Also need to say I love your thoughtful reviews of Spn, even when we see something differently! Which is not very often (-:
Ooops–that should be “found footage,” not “foot footage.” Time for a coffee!
Hi Sweetondean.
Don’t ever be reluctant to post your opinions. You are one of my favourite reviewers, and whether I agree or not (and that is very seldom, and almost never) I love to read your reviews.
I have to say I really did not enjoy this episode though. I just couldn’t find enough to care about those 3 characters I’d never seen before. The shaky camera does give me a bit of nausea, but then I did love “Ghostfacers” and all the characters in that, so it isn’t the camera’s fault. And also, it wasn’t because there was so little of S/D in it. I’ve loved other episodes that they weren’t in much, so it wasn’t that reason. It just didn’t ring any of my bells.
I’m wondering, is this an episode you would care to re-watch again and again, like others? I’m thinking when I rewatch on dvd’s I will be skipping over this one. And that will be the ONLY one I skip. Even “Chris Angel is a Douchebag” which was my most unenjoyable episode will be watched more.
If this had been an episode of a horror show anthology and had nothing to do with “Supernatural”, I might have enjoyed it for a 1 time viewing, but it’s certainly not one I have any wish to repeatedly view.
I find it fascinating that I am unable to see what others are seeing here and I’m not saying I’m right and they’re wrong. I may very well be, and probably am, the odd man out! 😮 🙂
“I find it fascinating that I am unable to see what others are seeing here and I’m not saying I’m right and they’re wrong. I may very well be, and probably am, the odd man out!” (Sorry, I can’t figure out how to do the little box thingy :sigh: ) You don’t have to apologize for not liking the episode! And you are not in the minority, a whole bunch of people either disliked it or vehemently hated it. I am one of those that liked it, but it’s not an episode that will make my repeat viewing list. Simply because the Winchesters are not the focal point. I will watch it again this weekend, because I was falling asleep on Wednesday night and I want to see it again when I am fully awake.
[quote]I’m wondering, is this an episode you would care to re-watch again and again, like others? I’m thinking when I rewatch on dvd’s I will be skipping over this one. And that will be the ONLY one I skip. Even “Chris Angel is a Douchebag” which was my most unenjoyable episode will be watched more.[/quote]
I’ve actually watched this episode 3 times, I genuinely liked it, not just as a “Supernatural” episode but as an episode of TV. But will it be a go to episode, no it won’t. The ones I watch over and over tend to be key episodes to the mythology or something like Pluckies when I’m feeling low 🙂 Criss Angel is a Douchebag was my least favourite episode for a long time and I always dreaded it when I got to that episode in a rewatch…watched it though. I came to appreciate it a little more, there are a couple of beautiful bro moments, but I still don’t like those magician guys…but then I don’t like magicians! My new least favourite is Mannequin 3: The Reckoning, I shudder when that one comes up on the rewatch list…ahhhh but I watch it anyway! 😡
Haha! I know “Mannequin” is pretty hard to rewatch, but I do like the interaction with Dean, Ben and Lisa. Heartbreaking, but sadly riveting.
I do like the brotherly moments in “Criss Angel”, but the magicians are boring after one viewing. But Dean with the Chief is awesome! 😛 😀
Another one I also shudder at when it comes up on the rewatch is “Fallen Idols”. 😡
Those 3 are way worse than “Bugs” or “Route 666” which I quite enjoy, despite the bad rep with the fans.
I’ve always wondered how Dean got away from the Chief. There’s a deleted scene I’d like to see. LOL
I don’t mind “Bugs” either, actually I quite like it and “Route 666”, well it has its charms…. 😉 I can look beyond the horrible acting of the lead female, at least for a brief scene! Not a fan of “Fallen Idols” either, not up there with “Mannequin” to me, but just a bit of a meh ep. With “Mannequin” I thought the concept of a haunted transplant organ was awesome! I mean, what the hell do you do? But it was so horribly laid out. That scene with the Impala gone wild was so jarring. So writers can balance the humour and drama. Ugh. The Ben/Dean scene is wonderful though, but I could live my live without ever seeing that bizarre door closing montage again! But of course, come rewatch time….I will suffer for my show and rewatch it….while doing my nails or something!
In my estimation, S7 is the WORST season of Supernatural ever and has the most “unwatchable” episodes. LOL! At least for me. This season isn’t getting off to a good start either, IMO. [i]Heartache [/i] was bloody awful, the premiere was lackluster, Tiger Mommy was okay, and this episode wasn’t bad but wasn’t very [i]Supernatural[/i].
I have never understood the hatred for [i]Bugs [/i] or [i]Route 666[/i]. I enjoyed [i]Bugs [/i] and loved the racist truck and Cassie/Dean! They had tons of chemistry to me!
As an oldy in years but a diehard SPN fan I am on the not like list, mostly because the hand held shaky camera effect is very difficult to watch wearing bi-focals and sometimes I would have to look away.
I found the first few minutes to be incredibly boring and wonder how many other people just gave up.
I am personally very happy that so many people did like it as I was worried it would damage SPN .
So many of your comments have given me food for thought
and because of these I will give it another run this time on my computer instead of larger tv screen and then the handheld won’t bother me so much and I can concentrate on the story line more.
New here and love all your reviews and takes on this wonderful show.
Man sweetondean, you did it again! I feel exactly the same way you do on this episode and the whole season so far. Everyone is so quick to jump off the life boat but we are only into the 4th episode so of course there is a lot of ground to cover. If they gave us all the answers in the first couple of episodes where would the story go then? The whole point of dragging this out and just giving us a piece at a time is to keep us hooked. I for one cannot wait to see how each piece fits into the big puzzle and we all know it will by the end. Like you said, we have to let the writers and powers to be of Supernatural do their thing and trust they will take us where we all want to go eventually. They know the end game and they steer the boat so I’m gonna ride the waves and hope for the best. That’s what a true fan of the show, cast, writers, and entire crew does when they feel as passionate about a show as I do of Supernatural.
Another great review. I look forward to them each week and am so thankful that they come so close to the airing.
I wasn’t particularly happy watching this weeks outing, and plan to sit down and watch it again this evening uninterrupted by commercials. Although commercial breaks didn’t seem to bother me this time.
When Supernatural goes and does its “artsy” thing I usually enjoy those shows – so why not this time. I’ve been thinking hard about this for the last couple of days. The only conclusion I’ve come to is that – after a extra long hellatus, and only 4 weeks into the season – we are just plain starved for Sam and Dean up close and personal time. I and probably quite and few others, would have been more receptive to this show if it had come later in the season.
That being said, if it ties into or sets up next weeks show, I should just tell myself to shut up and be patient. (Not one of my finer traits.)
Anyway, again I would like to say how much I enjoy your reviews.
I am starved too – was worried when I heard Michael say “oh, they talked about being apart for a year” and I thought ‘I want to know what they talked about!’ however, I can gather there were no revalations on behalf of Sam because in the preview for the next week, Dean still states that Sam just got some personal time for a year…
Which means the ‘talk’ probably consisted of Dean passively-agressively taking jabs at Sam….and Sam silently taking it.
Hi Amy, not a terribly serious comment on my part, but I think Sam is a little more passive aggressive than Dean. Not so much this year. Dean is more aggressive, aggressive 🙂
As a youngest sibling, I’ve always interpreted Sam’s ‘passive-aggressiveness’ as being the result of that. When you are the younger, weaker, less experienced sibling you have to be more manipulative etc. to get your way, and I think that Sam knows that confronting Dean rarely works. Just my take on it.
Yep, On the same page with you, Sweetondean. I was a little surprised at how many people intensely disliked it. Even some of the people who are very easy to please usually. I was prepared to be disappointed because the guys were not in it much. But by the time I sat down I had made up my mind to give it a fair shot. I found myself totally involved. Reading the comments of others I understand their viewpoint. It is not one I will be rewatching alot but I did enjoy it. The letting Kate go is most definitely going to tie in with the Benny story and Sam is not going to be thrilled, I think. Now back to our regular programming please!
Nicely tackled. A lot of people came down on this episode. But like I commented a number of times elsewhere, yes it was different, but for what it was… it was still a great episode. it told a story & I was on the edge of my seat for most of it and there were even a few laughs. I think the young cast had big shoes to fill & they tackled it beautifully. I commend the writers & the show for having the balls to keep pushing boundaries. That’s all 🙂
I’m in Chicago at my first Con, YEAH! so I haven’t had a chance to rewatch it yet. But from what I read from people who loved it compared to people who hated it comes down to 2 issues the filming style and connection with the characters. I didn’t mind the first and was lukewarm in the second. So my reaction was fairly lukewarm. A review I read mentioned Chronicles and I realized that it was REALLY similar to that and X-Files had a episode from the monster’s POV as well. But the problem is I actually cared about all those characters, I never felt that for these three especially the one who chose to be a werewolf. He never really had any sympathy with me and that effected my enjoyment of the episode.
Oh yeah, this is not episode related. But I figured you of all people would be interested in anything Jensen related. Misha told a story today about how he, Jensen and Jared were wrestling in a hotel room recently and apparently they got pretty into it. Misha said both he and Jared had broken ribs (there might have been some artistic license there-it is Misha) and that Jensen forehead was rubbed raw(sorry no video I was really far back-I know you’re not supposed to do that anyway).
Now I recently saw an interview with Jensen where he had a scrape on his chin that he seemed embarrassed about and said it wasn’t work related. Now I’m wondering if it was from 3 grown men acting like the boys we call them. Either way the story is both adorable and hilarious. I’m hoping someone asked them about it tomorrow. I would but I don’t see that going well.
Here is one time when I needed your review to put the episode in perspective. I usually read all about the next episode but this one I knew nothing about (which was a major mistake) After about 5 minutes I said WTF is this??? Crap!!! On first viewing I missed the whole point and just plain hated it. Worst episode ever! Even tweeted that to Jim Michaels, it had just finished & it hit me that way. I later said sorry to Jim & crew, it didn’t work for me but I appreciated trying something knew knowing this would split fandom right down the middle.
So I re-watched and got the POV of the monster part which I completely missed first time. Every time I re-watch it gets better and better.
I did really like the end when Dean and Sam are digesting what they just saw. I could see the wheels turning in Dean’s mind and smell the wood buring as he thought about letting Kate go. I did think right away – he must be looking at this from a completely different mind frame..after he’s just spent a year in Purgatory with all kinds of monsters and then there’s Benny. Bring on next week and to hell with not knowing what’s coming! LOL
Great look at a great episode! I too loved this one and applaud everyone involved for the quality piece they produced. Normally I’m one of those who hates the handheld camera thing and I went in with some lowered expectations for this one and was surprised as punch at how much I enjoyed it. I cannot wait to watch it again. Thanks for the excellent analysis, sweetondean! I always enjoy your reviews.
I find that I tend to agree with your viewpoint on almost everything SPN. I love that this show takes risks and some of those alternate episodes have been their strongest, French Mistake, Changing Channels, Mystery Spot, Death’s Door and The Man Who Would be King and even Ghostfacers. I liked this one as well even if I love the focus on the brothers it is nice seeing this verse from another viewpoint and especially seeing the boys from the outside. I’d love an episode from Crowley’s POV, a definite Ben Edlung assignment I think. The ethical dilemna the college friends found themselves in and the tragic outcome could easily have been a stash of illegal drug money and the struggle over monetary power. SPN just does a great job of translating these moral struggles in a supernatural manner. I agree this set up the coming episode with Benny and frames Dean’s new world view post purgatory. The show lets the characters change and grow. Nothing is more frustrating than being several seasons in and the characters are doing the same things and making the same mistakes. I have faith in the show it’s cast and crew and am happily along for the ride, bumps and all. A long winded way of saying I totally agree with you.