“They Did WHAT?!?!”
Those of you who’ve been reading my stuff know that I absolutely, positively LOVE Supernatural and respect everyone involved in its creation. This is my favorite show for excellent reason; it’s quality television, and everyone in the cast, crew, and writers’ room contributes to that. I applaud and am grateful to them all!
Despite that, there have been times during the series when something in a script or its visual execution rocked me back on my heels and made me go, “Bzuh?!?! What was THAT? What were they SMOKING?!?” I’m not talking about things that fit, no matter how crazy or off-the-wall they seemed, for example, a suicidal giant teddy bear and cartoon reality made perfect sense to me in context! Instead, I’m looking at the concepts, lines, or images that immediately took me out of the story with the protesting, plaintive cry, “No, REALLY? Oh, come ON!”
So: here in chronological airing order are my top “Please tell me you didn’t just do that!” moments from the first eight seasons of Supernatural:
- Simon Said, Hunted: I thought Harvelle’s Roadhouse was actually a pretty cool idea, but the way it was most often depicted – particularly in these episodes – made it too ridiculous to take seriously. Had it always been shown as a real bar serving a local mundane clientele but with the occasional hunter stopping by to drop a message or exchange intel with Ellen or get research help from Ash on particularly knotty problems, as was suggested in Everybody Loves A Clown and Bloodlust, I think it would have worked much better. In these episodes and through the end of the season, however, it came off as an increasingly cheesy, ridiculously bizarre hunter clubhouse with no customers except a whole bunch of hunters all dressed in flannel and jeans glaring suspiciously at each other as they nursed their drinks, studied their notes, and cleaned their weapons at the tables. This was a potentially good idea fatally corrupted in its execution. Burning it down was a better end than it deserved. Footnote: the writers later made the exact same mistake with the Campbell family compound. I hope they don’t destroy the Men of Letters bunker the same way.
- Heaven And Hell: We learned Heaven was literally up in the sky when Anna said she was an angel who ripped out her grace (?!?), and she and it actually fell to Earth, visible as meteors as they burned their way down. Say what? She somehow landed in an otherwise-barren woman’s womb and became her “little miracle” of a human baby, while her grace landed in a field and sprouted a hundred-year-old oak tree in a matter of months. Okay: that “angels falling” thing made for an incredible visual in season eight’s Sacrifice, but I still think the whole idea is one of the dumbest, most idiotic things Kripke ever wrote. (Uriel conveniently wearing Anna’s grace in a vial around his neck where she could grab it and power up was pretty stupid, too, and planning dream-speech and demon torture to bring angels and demons together in a barn at exactly the same time didn’t actually qualify as planning, either …)
- Hammer Of The Gods: Okay, I’m bringing this up as the worst example of my irritation with the show’s treatment of small “g” gods, which started back in Scarecrow and A Very Supernatural Christmas. In those episodes, it mostly worked, but this whole episode was just BAD. The only good thing about it was Gabriel standing up (and lying down!) to take on Lucifer. (Okay, the brothers’ relationship worked too.) Yes, Supernatural always puts its own spin on mythology, so the creatures presented in the show are never going to match their source material, but the gods in this were just, just, okay, I have no words for the degree of abomination they achieved. I get that the show’s roots are in horror, but all non-Christian gods just being petty, stupid, and eating people, making bad jokes about the new Jesus kid on the block? I was reminded (not charitably) of the Goa’uld of Stargate: SG1 (hmm, was that how Dabb and Loflin did their “research” for this one?), but these gods didn’t even have the excuse of being human meatsuits of alien snakes pretending to be gods to dominate people. And they bore no resemblance at all to anything out of myth and legend. Dabb and Loflin, who wrote this one, did it again with the beings at that absurd auction in What’s Up, Tiger Mommy?, where they added insult to injury by having Sam rattle off the words of the exorcism spell backwards to cram a demon back into a host. Ridiculous.
- As Time Goes By: Mere apprentice Man of Letters Henry Winchester had access to a spell to travel through time, and the components of that spell (all handily available on a shelf in their clubhouse!) included an angel feather, tears of a dragon, and a pinch of the sands of time – and those weren’t simply funky herbs or New-Agey crystals just imaginatively renamed, because to cast the spell in the present day, he stole one of Castiel’s feathers from the numbered stash Dean kept in the Impala’s trunk. Castiel shed actual feathers from material birdy wings and Dean saved them in the trunk?!?! Even after spending 30 years playing Dungeons & Dragons, I could never have written that with a straight face! Sorry, no; I just can’t buy that ever having happened.
- Man’s Best Friend With Benefits: Worst. Episode. EVER. There was so much wrong with this on so very many levels. An organized, populous witch community with all participants of whatever moral or ethical stripe hanging out together at a super-posh, upscale witch jazz bar in St. Louis, MO while of course being utterly invisible to the mundane world outside and being totally ignorant of information even non-witches (like Bobby) could uncover about a spell that could plant unreal memories in a witch’s mind was just one of this episode’s many sins. Okay, sorry, that was many sins rolled up into one, but it speaks eloquently to why I couldn’t watch this episode without wanting to throw things at my beautiful, expensive HD television set. All witches, whether black, white, or something ethically in-between, somehow sharing the same moral code condemning sex between a witch and a familiar? And really: making Portia a black woman wearing a dog collar and calling a white male “master”? If that was in the script, it was despicable. If that was a casting or director’s choice, still despicable. This episode was only one instance of the show using witches to be conveniently whatever plot device a weak story required, but it was the best example – with this same writing team’s Shut Up, Dr. Phil being the first runner-up. Yuck. Also, ick. For episodes like these, Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner get my lowest marks for any writers on the show.
- Taxi Driver: For blatant disregard of previous show canon in making a Reaper perfectly visible to any mortal whatsoever and in giving Sam irresponsibly easy access to and escape from both Purgatory and Hell, this episode winds up on my black list. Mind you, the execution was exquisite, featuring great direction, heartrending performances, and superlative visual effects, but the script? It’s another downcheck from me for Eugenie Ross-Leming and Brad Buckner. I’ll watch it again for Dean and Sam, Dean and Benny, and Sam, Bobby, and Benny, but the underlying story illogic makes me cringe.
So: those are my top six (bottom six?) negative “What the &!?!” moments. I’m certain most people would include the whole “Sam not looking for Dean” season eight thing at the top of their lists; it’s in the “dishonorable mention” category for me, too, but not at the absolute top if only because I can justify it to myself by thinking Sam effectively suffered a breakdown at the end of season seven, even if he never quite understood or stated it that way. (I definitely don’t buy the “we agreed not to look” crap. *wry grin* )
Also high in the “dishonorable mention” category for me was the character of superfan Becky Rosen, particularly in Season Seven, Time For A Wedding!, which I simply refuse to watch again. As a non-extreme fan – well, to my mind, anyway! – and definitely not a Wincest fan, I found Becky acutely embarrassing in her earlier outings, albeit a bit amusing, but in this episode, I found her actively offensive. I couldn’t help but think that if Becky was the vision the writers had of the show’s fans, I didn’t want to be one, and that made the episode entirely un-enjoyable for me. Since that was all purely the perception inside my head and not definitely something the writers intended, though, I left it off my primary list.
I’ve got my share of smaller “dishonorable mentions” too, like the silly concept of the power of the Horsemen residing in their rings, resulting in the quest to defeat the Horsemen by getting their rings and then putting them together to unlock the door to Lucifer’s cage. That contrived approach to plot is straight out of a fantasy roleplaying or video game, and I couldn’t help but think gaming inspired the whole idea. It also struck me as being inconsistent, because Death didn’t seem to lose anything when he gave up his ring. Oh, well. Death himself was a great creation, so I give the show a pass on playing the “Horsemen’s Rings” video game.
Next up from me: my top “Holy crap; that’s BRILLIANT!” moments.
While you’re waiting, why not share your top “What the &?!?” dumb moments? Inquiring minds want to know!
Great list, Bardic! I would definitely add “Mannequin 3: The Reckoning” to it… I think it even tops “Man’s Best Friend”, for me, as worst. SPN. episode. EVAH!!! (Having said that, I’d leave even the “worst episode ever” of SPN on the telly (even if it’s just background noise), which is more than I can say for a lot of other shows out there… 😀
Thank you for a thoroughly enjoyable article. I appreciated your thoughts and your way with words though I certainly overlook much of what bothered you.
Often my issue is wishing for better fight scenes (I prefer martial arts) and better special effects when the angels take off rather than what is being done with the camera swinging to and fro (angel here, angel not here).
Hi Bardicvoice, love your list and I agree that some of these are really wha? moments.
Oddly I can deal with almost all the fantasy elements in the show…even when they occasionally contradict each other. The episode I can’t at all deal with is Phantom Traveler. I mean I know their universe is not quite our universe but still…
Something destroys a plane – doesn’t the US go on high alert?
The guys manage to get on another plane with about a liter of holy water and a thing that looks like a detonator.
They both look really nervous / anxious.
One of them corners the air hostess and says weird things
He talks her into getting the pilot into the body of the plane
He attacks the pilot and apparently throws acid on him (from the hostesses point of view anyway)
…
and really nobody bats an eyelid …
Dragons, dragons I can believe in 🙂 And Leviathan, but man have you ever dealt with airport security…
I have never been able to work up the slightest bit of dislike for the angel grace thing though, I don’t care how hokey it is I kinda like the fact that a falling angel causes a tree, call me a Vermont hippie :-*
Can’t wait to see your holy crap that’s brilliant moments – there are so many of those it is going to be hard to choose!
As Time Goes By totally gets a huge thumbs up from me! Your annoyance on the spell and the angel feather didn’t even raise a blip on my radar, I was totally captivated by Henry and the Winchester family story being told. Likewise the Horsemen’s rings was supported by the most awesome lines of dialogue and a spellbinding emotional story, including the always brilliant Jullian Richings as one of my fav characters, Death!
As for your another annoyances, yeah, gotta agree! I’ll also agree with nickmaniac, that even with bad scenes or questionable approaches, I’ll still take the lessor Supernatural episodes over most anything else! I always find something of value in an episode, some brother moment, or insight that allows me to forgive their transgressions.
Man’s Best Friends With Benefits is the ONE episode that makes me question by ability to rewatch a SPN episode. I’ve tried, looked for something good to hold on to and I can’t come up with much. Brad and Eugenie frustrate me, because all of our writers need to be the best and they need to pay attention to the characters and present them as we know Sam and Dean to be, or if they are going to shock us, make it fit! I struggle to use the word hate concerning Supernatural, but this episode fits the bill on that one. I’m still angry they portrayed Dean as not liking dogs. It sounds like a small annoyance, but knowing Dean and knowing his compassion and how he grouses about “Why is it always the rabbit…the poor little guy?” and how he approached the dog in Mystery Spot cooing, “Somebody need a friend?” I just do not see Dean EVER not liking dogs. It’s just not the Dean we’ve come to know thru the course of the show.
I can’t wait to read your brilliant moments, we’ve had so many and I love embracing those wondrous moments when I know my loyalty to Supernatural is totally deserving!
B.J.
LOL. Like you, I love this show, but yes, there are a few of these. I was actually okay with most of the things you mentioned (in fact, really liked the rings and thought the reverse exorcism was a very cool idea), but Becky and that horrible Time for a Wedding plot and the ick worthy Man’s Best Friend are both on my list too. Totally agree with you there. A couple more:
– cheesy killer ghost truck – surrounded by dialogue with the subtlety of a brick through a window providing a pathetic attempt at racial commentary. And –
– Savvy Dean not realizing Bella replaced the hand in his pocket with a bottle in Red Sky at Morning. Really, those felt the same and he did not notice? And the creepy old lady thinking Sam wanted her – again, really? And –
– Dean opening the safe with the colt in it in front of the thief Bella in Dream a Little Dream of Me. Really? He is so much smarter than that!
Oh and I must also add my disappointment in the Born-Again Identity. I did not like the writer’s choice to portray Lucifer’s ‘antics’ in Sam’s mind…would have preferred evil Lucifer as opposed to annoying Lucifer and I could have done without the extra drama of the female (?Marin?) patient and exchanged the time for more meat in Sam’s ordeal or Dean/Castiel story
I think you’ve picked most of the truly bad moments/episodes (even though I still manage to find things to love about every episode, if you know what I mean) 😉
Supernatural really seems to struggle with witches and Gods; they are my least favourite episodes. Remember the Titans was okay in season 8, but I found it difficult to suspend reality enough to believe that they could dispose of Zeus so easily… or that they would be so blase to summon him without discussing the consequences. Zeus, really!! It just took me out of the moment.
Bugs and the ghost truck from season 1 are also contenders. I laughed out loud at Chuck’s reference to Bugs as bad writing in The Monster at the End of This Book 😆
Looking forward to reading your BRILLIANT moments. Thanks 🙂
Hi Bardicvoice:
Loved these; I had the same reaction to so many of these moments.
Another one from Time for a Wedding – ‘Vegas Week,’ an apparently annual Winchester brothers tradition that it took seven seasons to mention. I was all, “Wait, what?†– and that was even before Becky showed up. 😉 I won’t even get into the whole Sam’s mental wall is breaking down and Leviathans are out to get them but Sam decides he wants to go camping alone in the desert and Dean’s all “OK, I’ll hit the casino.†😮 My brain hurts trying to think how that got through.
Looking forward to the ‘Best of…’
Interesting read. For my personally, most of what you mentioned didn’t bother me much at all. The exception being the whole Man’s Best Friend with Benefits deal. Thankfully there are a couple redeeming Sam-Dean scenes in the ep that I can re-watch.
For Season 8 (which I absolutely LOVED by the way, one of my favorites SPN seasons ever), I was ‘whaaaat?’ for Freaks and Geeks. Kid hunters, really? Was there an undying need for us to bring Krissy back again? And why? And now there’s a tiny pack of them hunting together? Eh. And for this one, not a single decent Sam and/or Dean scene to even attempt to save it. One of the series few true toss-outs for me.
I agree with absolutely everything on your list, Bardicvoice, and for pretty much the same reasons.
Anna’s storyline – falling as a meteor to then become a human fetus – never made sense to me…. And I’m
not sure how they’re going to get around that one with season 9… Are we suddenly going to have a rash of strange babies who don’t recognize their daddies in 9 months time? Time for another break in canon! 😀
The backwards exorcism initially impressed me…. and then came the “wait, what?” thoughts. That one was just strange!
The whole Dean-kept-Cas’s-trenchcoat-lovingly-folded-in-the-trunk-of-every-POS-car-he-drove-through-season-7 nonsense was simply nauseating (and very not-Dean, imo).
I’m not even going to touch the Sam-didn’t-look-for-Dean thing. It still makes me furious.
I’m sure there are a lot of moments over the series that were ill-conceived – Hello EVE! – but most of my issues came in season 8. Bad writing is one thing, ignoring/trashing canon is not acceptable, and was really a bit excessive this year – especially in Taxi Driver.
[quote]
The whole Dean-kept-Cas’s-trenchcoat-lovingly-folded-in-the-trunk-of-every-POS-car-he-drove-through-season-7 nonsense was simply nauseating (and very not-Dean, imo).
I’m not even going to touch the Sam-didn’t-look-for-Dean thing. It still makes me furious.
[/quote]
Okay, I will agree with the trench coat thing. That was more than a little creepy. 😀
The Sam not looking deal worked for me in the end because it was one of the last straws that pushed Sam into his ultimate confession to Dean about his biggest sin, which I’m assuming was Carver’s purpose in going there. And the fact that Dean kept reminding Sam of that fact for a while, kept pressing at Sam until he couldn’t take it anymore. (because we know how Sam loves to self-torture himself inside that mind of his. 🙂 ) Pretty sure Sam won’t ever ‘not look’ again though! Ha!
[quote] And the creepy old lady thinking Sam wanted her – again, really? [/quote]
Oh yes that whole idea no no no …. not even if it were funny guys (and the actress did her best to make it so!)
I know this one will be controversial but the more often I see Castiel bumbling around the convenience store and demanding pie with menaces the worse it gets … and I hated it the first time around.
Since when is Castiel Frank Spencer? (Frank Spencer? Anyone? ) ok … since when is he one of The Three Stooges? It was like bad fanfic IMO…
[quote]Frank Spencer? Anyone?[/quote]
Are you a Brit too then?
[quote][quote]Frank Spencer? Anyone?[/quote]
Are you a Brit too then?[/quote]
Thought I would try and flush out any British/Irish that were posting 😀
I am Irish, but Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em was a staple on the TV even there ….
[quote][quote][quote]Frank Spencer? Anyone?[/quote]
Are you a Brit too then?[/quote]
Thought I would try and flush out any British/Irish that were posting 😀
I am Irish, but Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em was a staple on the TV even there ….[/quote]
Yay! My friend and I are discussing who we would cast if they did a British/Irish version of Supernatural. But that’s seriously off topic, sorry
[quote][quote][quote][quote]Frank Spencer? Anyone?[/quote]
Are you a Brit too then?[/quote]
Thought I would try and flush out any British/Irish that were posting 😀
I am Irish, but Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em was a staple on the TV even there ….[/quote]
Yay! My friend and I are discussing who we would cast if they did a British/Irish version of Supernatural. But that’s seriously off topic, sorry[/quote]
That’s what the CBOX is for 😀 Drop in and chat with whoever is there.
Quoting hinkid
[quote]Pretty sure Sam won’t ever ‘not look’ again though! Ha![/quote]
And that if tragic in some ways. If Dean really does die, as in before Sam’s eyes, body torn up, 5 doctors declare him brain dead, burn the body afterward dead, Sam will feel like he as to try to find Dean until the day Sam dies. Sam can never go after that normal/safe he wants so badly because it is now in his head forever and ever that he must never give up on Dean and that means never, ever going for what Sam wants and needs.
And if Sam dies and goes to heaven he will be with Dean and then he must never ever for one second try to relive a happy memory that doesn’t have Dean in it, because that makes Dean unhappy. Dark Side of the Moon was well written an packed a punch, but I HATED the way heaven was portrayed and the fact that Sam was not allowed to enjoy the times that he was actually happy. DSOTM doesn’t come anywhere NEAR being a bad episode, but it had parts that make me very uneasy.
[quote]Quoting hinkid
[quote]Pretty sure Sam won’t ever ‘not look’ again though! Ha![/quote]
And that if tragic in some ways. If Dean really does die, as in before Sam’s eyes, body torn up, 5 doctors declare him brain dead, burn the body afterward dead, Sam will feel like he as to try to find Dean until the day Sam dies. Sam can never go after that normal/safe he wants so badly because it is now in his head forever and ever that he must never give up on Dean and that means never, ever going for what Sam wants and needs.
And if Sam dies and goes to heaven he will be with Dean and then he must never ever for one second try to relive a happy memory that doesn’t have Dean in it, because that makes Dean unhappy. Dark Side of the Moon was well written an packed a punch, but I HATED the way heaven was portrayed and the fact that Sam was not allowed to enjoy the times that he was actually happy. DSOTM doesn’t come anywhere NEAR being a bad episode, but it had parts that make me very uneasy.[/quote]
I wonder if that might be explored at some point (Probably not, but never know). Might be interesting to see how Sam would indeed react the next time Dean dies or just vanishes into thin air (even if just for a single episode). I mean we’ve seen him completely go off the reservation in Mystery Spot and then we saw him try for a normal life in S8…
Dark Side of the Moon was a great episode for me, but man it was painful to watch. And it doesn’t get less painful, no matter how many times I see it. To understand just how differently they each see things as they relate to family, etc…I mean it all made sense, given that Sam didn’t really know mom and Dean misses his mom more than life itself…but it really is a hard episode to watch.
[quote]Quoting hinkid
[quote]Pretty sure Sam won’t ever ‘not look’ again though! Ha![/quote]
And that if tragic in some ways. If Dean really does die, as in before Sam’s eyes, body torn up, 5 doctors declare him brain dead, burn the body afterward dead, Sam will feel like he as to try to find Dean until the day Sam dies. Sam can never go after that normal/safe he wants so badly because it is now in his head forever and ever that he must never give up on Dean and that means never, ever going for what Sam wants and needs.
And if Sam dies and goes to heaven he will be with Dean and then he must never ever for one second try to relive a happy memory that doesn’t have Dean in it, because that makes Dean unhappy. Dark Side of the Moon was well written an packed a punch, but I HATED the way heaven was portrayed and the fact that Sam was not allowed to enjoy the times that he was actually happy. DSOTM doesn’t come anywhere NEAR being a bad episode, but it had parts that make me very uneasy.[/quote]
Just rewatched DSOTM. Some parts are supposed to make you uncomfortable IMO.Dean and Sam’s best memories are when they are apart except for the Dean memory of Sam as a child with the fireworks because when they are together it’s because they are killing things, saving people and at this point Dean is running on empty and Dean is Sam’s only vehicle for saving him from Lucifer. Neither is happy. Even Cas is depressed. Sam is never allowed to stay in “normal” for long when he is alive so it continues. The bright spot in TDSOTM is that Ash tells us that you can be together and share Heaven with another if that is your soul mate as he looks at Sam and Dean. Now I am not taking that comment any other way but as a positive that even in the end, Sam and Dean will be together as brothers. Yes, this was a solid episode which gave us back story without losing Sam and Dean as adults and it fit into the arc. Of course, Pamela’s famous” jolly rancher” kiss with Dean brought to closure somewhat that she preferred him over Sam even though she invited (Grumpy) him to join in previous ep) and said he had a good ass.
(Apparently Jensen sucked a sweet candy before the kiss scene which was later interpreted wrongly in France.)
[quote][quote][quote][quote][quote]Frank Spencer? Anyone?[/quote]
Are you a Brit too then?[/quote]
Thought I would try and flush out any British/Irish that were posting 😀
I am Irish, but Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em was a staple on the TV even there ….[/quote]
Yay! My friend and I are discussing who we would cast if they did a British/Irish version of Supernatural. But that’s seriously off topic, sorry[/quote]
That’s what the CBOX is for 😀 Drop in and chat with whoever is there.[/quote]
PS ladies but your age is showing 😆
[quote][quote][quote][quote][quote][quote]Frank Spencer? Anyone?[/quote]
Are you a Brit too then?[/quote]
Thought I would try and flush out any British/Irish that were posting 😀
I am Irish, but Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em was a staple on the TV even there ….[/quote]
Yay! My friend and I are discussing who we would cast if they did a British/Irish version of Supernatural. But that’s seriously off topic, sorry[/quote]
That’s what the CBOX is for 😀 Drop in and chat with whoever is there.[/quote]
PS ladies but your age is showing :lol:[/quote]
It is, isn’t it 😀 I am going to say it was first on the tv when I was a mere baby…
My very first “what the crap” moment was in the pilot. I accepted everything without question (!) right up until Dean turned the Impala around for no apparent reason to pull Sam from the apartment fire. I haven’t looked to see if the archives go back to the first episode, so don’t know the speculation. But just watching face value, no extras, what made him turn around?
Edit: I should have written this question to say I had this moment as I was watching in real time during the actual pilot. Of course, after the DVD’s were available, my question was explained. But when I was watching THE PILOT, live, Dean’s actions in turning the car around were inexplicable. I was stumped until I became aware of DVDs and deleted scenes.
I accepted demons killing mom, ghosts killing men, and got stuck on why Dean turned the Impala around. Brains are funny things.
One thing that totally baffled me was that they didn’t take Sam’s gun from him when he started hallucinating in Hello Cruel World. I am British though.
Love most of these except the Rogue Reaper stuff breaking canon –
One definition of rogue is “operating outside normal or desirable controls”. I don’t remember if it was ever established whether reapers couldn’t appear to living people, or those were the rules that reapers were supposed to play by. I kind of looked at it in the same light as angels not being able to take a vessel without consent. That might have been true but they were not adverse to using coercion, blackmail, or outright lies if necessary.
And, for the record, I probably would have put Becky as first on the list. She was annoying but tolerable in her earlier appearances but the “Season 7 Time for Wedding” episode crossed way over a line, and I would have cheered if Sam or Dean had ganked her.
Answering #23 love2boys – If you watch the bits on the dvd that were not shown in the episode, the clock in the Impala stopped, and that made Dean suspicious that something was up with Sam and he turned the car around and headed back.
I understand why you can’t go along with most of your “What the….?” moments Mary. Somehow most of them just flit by me. Except for “Man’s Best Friend..”. Awful! Seen it 3 times now and with the exception of the brothers, it gets even worse every time! 😡
Way way back in season 1. Just a little thing, but every time I’ve seen it (and I watch in order an episode a night), in “Skin” (which I absolutely love) Sam insists the shifter should have left a trail from the victim’s back door. Why the heck should he have left a trail? Everyone coming and going from a house doesn’t leave any trail on the pavement. Come on! Guess the writer needed an excuse to get them into the sewer. 😐
I have a different take on “Red Sky….” than most, who believe Gert was sexually harassing Sam. Gert believed that Sam was interested in her and accepted her advances and actually invited her to go to the ball with him. Why wouldn’t she believe he was open to her patting his ass and cooing at him as she had no idea the real reason he took her there. The guys should have been charged with sexual harassment for deceiving the old dear, not her! (I may be leaning this way as I’m kind of an old coot as well! 😀 )
The one I’m uncomfortable with is grandpa Henry. Remembering young John in the diner with his friend telling him to say hello to his dad. Still haven’t figured out how to get around that one. 😮
All in all, as someone else said earlier, even the ones I dislike the most are better than anything else on the TV screen these days! Long live our show! 🙂
[quote]
Way way back in season 1. Just a little thing, but every time I’ve seen it (and I watch in order an episode a night), in “Skin” (which I absolutely love) Sam insists the shifter should have left a trail from the victim’s back door. Why the heck should he have left a trail? Everyone coming and going from a house doesn’t leave any trail on the pavement. Come on! Guess the writer needed an excuse to get them into the sewer. 😐 [/quote]
Bevie I love Skin too, and I always find I have to watch it with a noncritical eye because, honestly it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense (and has a pretty major continuity error at the beginning of the fight scene when Sam kicks ‘Dean’ and then cuts his hands free with the knife :D) for example why does the shifter revert to being Dean? Did he have some of Dean’s clothes with him? Why? Why was Becky walking home – from the hospital? from the police station? Why did she not seem even slightly concerned that Dean might not be Dean but be the shifter come back to mess with her? Why are shapeshifters psychopathic serial killers? It isn’t the best survival trait … most other monsters seem to have a reason for what they do ( ‘Monsters I get, people are crazy’) shifters just seem to want to mess with people.
But for the early insight we got into the complicated and emotional relationship between the boys it pretty much totally gets a pass from me :D]
[quote]One thing that totally baffled me was that they didn’t take Sam’s gun from him when he started hallucinating in Hello Cruel World. I am British though.[/quote]
😀 Second amendment remedies…
Although there have definitely been mistakes (like “skin”) I don’t usually mind, just wtf and move on. It’s only when it’s something big that I’ve noticed myself doing that. I don’t mind one-off episodes that were not great, it happens. I loved some of the ones you’ve mentioned.
The big wtf moment for me is the end of season 4 when Sam gets thrown into the panic room to detox and out of the blue and almost immediately starts to hallucinate. Despite the wonderful performances it still just irritates me. The drinking blood was silly, but I got over it. The sudden addiction was sillier but I can deal (and, yes, I know some of those scenes were cut, but to me only the final cut matters). Plus, it would have been so much better if Sam’s anger at being treated like that was what really drove him back to Ruby.
Other than that (and I’ve accepted it as part of the story) Becky never bothered me, “man’s best fr…” Was just a bad story as was Freaks n geeks”. I actually enjoy what they do with the gods, it’s their own take on it and it is mythology. I’ve also studied mythology so have read many many many variations on most myths so one more is ok.
And i kinda assumed angel feathers were a reference to particular feathers not necessarily angels, but I could be wrong.
More times than saying wtf about what happened I say wtf about what didn’t happen. A change in a word, or line or conversation could have given it a whole new meaning or easily address an outstanding one. But it’s Tv and I’m good with it.
Love2boys and Eilf – I can help with your pilot one: in the DVD for season 1, they show a deleted scene. After Dean started to drive off, all the street lights, etc. started flickering, indicating a demon. Dean immediately turned around to check on Sam.
The angel feathers in the truck is pretty much plays into the running gag that the writers have had from the beginning. Which is that the trunk of the impala is like [quote]I agree with absolutely everything on your list, Bardicvoice, and for pretty much the same reasons.
Anna’s storyline – falling as a meteor to then become a human fetus – never made sense to me…. And I’m
not sure how they’re going to get around that one with season 9… Are we suddenly going to have a rash of strange babies who don’t recognize their daddies in 9 months time? Time for another break in canon! 😀 .[/quote]
They’ve already come out and said that while the angels had their wings clipped, they still have their host bodies and some powers, except for teleporting. So I’m just looking at it like is, the angels were booted out, and didn’t necessarily fall like Anna did.
Then again there are the show had taken to using two definitions for fallen angels, the Anna version, and the Lucifer & Castiel type.
I love thinking about this stuff even though I am so enamored with this show too! For myself, I will agree with Bevie about Henry Winchester. I thought it would have been logical for him to be Dean and Sam’s great-grandfather rather than their grandfather. To me, that would have explained the gap between generations knowing their legacy if John’s father was the one embittered because his father disappeared and it would have kept the comment from the family friend “In the Beginning” sensical.
And as much as there was to dislike about MBFWB, I was also confused by Dean’s sudden allergic reaction to cats. There was a cat in the room at the nursing home in HH, but he did not react then.
As for TD, I agree about the illogic of being able to see the reaper in the tangible world, but if I am not mistaken, it was remarked that Ajay was the same reaper that took Bobby. The reaper in DD seemed a different actor with a different motivation. Does anyone else recall?
[quote]As for TD, I agree about the illogic of being able to see the reaper in the tangible world, but if I am not mistaken, it was remarked that Ajay was the same reaper that took Bobby. The reaper in DD seemed a different actor with a different motivation. Does anyone else recall?[/quote]
I guess Bobby turned down his reaper at DD, turned into a ghost, and then ‘died’ again in Survival of the Fittest. As I see it, the reaper from TD is Bobby’s second reaper, with a different motivation than the previous one. Aparently only Dean has a personal reaper!
The only SPN episode that I can’t stand is MBFWB. I agree with Mary, I HATED that witch club, the story, the man/dog couple. I hope I never see them again.
Any other thing, I try to find an explanation in my head. I’m also not bothered by the not flattering way they treat other Gods. They don’t exactly put God, God in a very good light either.
Becky didn’t bother me, although I’m far not a Krissy fan. Wouldn’t miss her at all.
I’m able to understand angels without wings/teleport powers but with their grace/other powers. Maybe they will all have to find vessels and live with their souls inside. I’m confused with Cas/Jimmy situation, though, if Cas is human now. The only way I can see it work is Jimmy dead and his soul in Heaven. Again, I agree with Mary: the cured demon situation is even worse, because I don’t think it is fair that, in order to cure a demon and turn him human, you have to kill the person possessed, sending him to Heaven. This is an inocent person that has the right to live.
Two reapers – interesting idea!
I just had to mention one more thing. I love the MOL bunker but when I hear that the signal is blocked for 20 miles radius I have to wonder how difficult it is to figure out where the center of that circle is. I keep waiting for the boys to open the door to find themselves surrounded by demons or angels or any monster with an IQ.
[quote]
I’m able to understand angels without wings/teleport powers but with their grace/other powers. Maybe they will all have to find vessels and live with their souls inside. I’m confused with Cas/Jimmy situation, though, if Cas is human now. The only way I can see it work is Jimmy dead and his soul in Heaven. Again, I agree with Mary: the cured demon situation is even worse, because I don’t think it is fair that, in order to cure a demon and turn him human, you have to kill the person possessed, sending him to Heaven. This is an inocent person that has the right to live.[/quote]
Well, they never did reveal what happens to the host body after a demon is cured. For all we know the demon does leave the host body.
As for Jimmy and Castiel, either Jimmy died the first time Raphael blew him up in season 4, or his soul has come back each time his body has been resurrected. Jimmy’s the poorest bastard this show if that’s the case.
[quote][quote]
I’m able to understand angels without wings/teleport powers but with their grace/other powers. Maybe they will all have to find vessels and live with their souls inside. I’m confused with Cas/Jimmy situation, though, if Cas is human now. The only way I can see it work is Jimmy dead and his soul in Heaven. Again, I agree with Mary: the cured demon situation is even worse, because I don’t think it is fair that, in order to cure a demon and turn him human, you have to kill the person possessed, sending him to Heaven. This is an inocent person that has the right to live.[/quote]
Well, they never did reveal what happens to the host body after a demon is cured. For all we know the demon does leave the host body.
As for Jimmy and Castiel, either Jimmy died the first time Raphael blew him up in season 4, or his soul has come back each time his body has been resurrected. Jimmy’s the poorest bastard this show if that’s the case.[/quote]
In season five when Cas was affected by Famine, he specifically said that his vessel JIMMY NOVAK was being affected by Famine to make him crave meat. To me that says that Jimmy survived and was still in there, otherwise Cas would have said his human form, and not named Jimmy, but it is ambiguous. Frankly I think that Jimmy is one of the poorest bastards on the show, with only Adam as a runner up. I do believe that Jimmy is still in there and either way, I wish the show would say one way or the other.
[quote][quote][quote]
I’m able to understand angels without wings/teleport powers but with their grace/other powers. Maybe they will all have to find vessels and live with their souls inside. I’m confused with Cas/Jimmy situation, though, if Cas is human now. The only way I can see it work is Jimmy dead and his soul in Heaven. Again, I agree with Mary: the cured demon situation is even worse, because I don’t think it is fair that, in order to cure a demon and turn him human, you have to kill the person possessed, sending him to Heaven. This is an inocent person that has the right to live.[/quote]
Well, they never did reveal what happens to the host body after a demon is cured. For all we know the demon does leave the host body.
As for Jimmy and Castiel, either Jimmy died the first time Raphael blew him up in season 4, or his soul has come back each time his body has been resurrected. Jimmy’s the poorest bastard this show if that’s the case.[/quote]
In season five when Cas was affected by Famine, he specifically said that his vessel JIMMY NOVAK was being affected by Famine to make him crave meat. To me that says that Jimmy survived and was still in there, otherwise Cas would have said his human form, and not named Jimmy, but it is ambiguous. Frankly I think that Jimmy is one of the poorest bastards on the show, with only Adam as a runner up. I do believe that Jimmy is still in there and either way, I wish the show would say one way or the other.[/quote]
Yeah, although Jimmy did make a choice in “The Rapture” to take on Castiel as a vessel to save his daughter from that fate. It really is his sacrifice.
Castiel: “I wanna make sure you understand. You won’t die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it.”
[quote] Yeah, although Jimmy did make a choice in “The Rapture” to take on Castiel as a vessel to save his daughter from that fate. It really is his sacrifice.
Castiel: “I wanna make sure you understand. You won’t die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it.” [/quote]
Eeeh, not really a “choice” for Jimmy since Cas was wearing (and was going to keep wearing) his daughter. What kind of a parent would bestow that upon once child, especially when you know what it feels like (“like being chained to a comet” or something similar Jimmy remarked earlier)? I think would Cas be wearing anyone else (bar his wife and kid), he would’ve been okay with dying and going to heaven.
Personally I think he was forced to let Cas take him. Either him or his daughter. Cas didn’t ‘really’ give him a choice at all…
But yeah, my own view of the situation is showing 😀 I’ve been unnerved by the whole situation since My Bloody Valentine when Jimmy was mentioned. I was kinda hoping that Jimmy had been sent to heaven (allthough how would the “possession” without consent work if the vessel is dead?) and was not in there anymore.
Well, personally I think Adam and Jimmy are both the most screwed over characters in Show. One line of them being in heaven and I’d be satisfied… But yeah. Our brothers aren’t really all that considering when they haven’t mentioned either one since we last saw them (Jimmy and Adam) either…
Sorry, long ramblyness is long, carry on 😀
[quote][quote] Well, personally I think Adam and Jimmy are both the most screwed over characters in Show. One line of them being in heaven and I’d be satisfied… But yeah. Our brothers aren’t really all that considering when they haven’t mentioned either one since we last saw them (Jimmy and Adam) either… [/quote]
LOL! They definitely are! I so need to be told they are in Heaven!
I was thinking more about these S09 angels without teleport powers. Looks awesome. This power is very handy, but it also can be very annoying. Dean felt frustrated with that since S04, especially with Cas, since he has the bad habit of disappearing in the middle of a conversation. “Don’t go disappearing on me you SOB!†Ha, not anymore! And no more appearing behind you from nowhere, making you jump off your skin. Also, the angels will not be able to drag you to Timbuktu and leave you there, whether you want it or not.
Freaking angels!
Ha, they will have to adapt big time! At least, they won’t get flabby! 😀
The angels are grounded! (sorry, coldn’t resist. Moving on)
This is a great list – as much as I love SPN there are definitely episodes or moments that make me pause, be they at the time or later when I’m rethinking the scene, and go “wait – did that happen?”
One I found so, so disappointing was Defending Your Life. The concept had potential but the execution (pardon the pun) fell completely flat. Anna and the grace storyline I agree with you on – it’s one of those things that has a big question mark over it in my book.
For Becky, I didn’t mind her as much as others – yes, annoying in large doses no doubt and a risk of overuse – but at this point I’m okay with her. I don’t think she is what the writers think of fans, I think she is the writers making fun of what some outsiders think of fans (although I’m sure Becky might be an accurate portrayal of a nut or two somewhere be it for SPN or another fan fav show….). We’ll see where season nine goes with the character.
Luckily, season eight, for the most part, was like season four for me in that it’s hard to find too many of the WTF moments.
[quote]The angels are grounded! (sorry, coldn’t resist. Moving on)[/quote]
They will no longer have such high-flying ideas.
…
best I can do ….
Great list.An angel feather in the trunk. Well. Dean is a sentimentalist considering he kept Cas’s coat and angel oil just in case. To clarify Red Sky… Sam says he will do almost anything as he needs to gain access to the party while Bela and Dean have a look around. While it does look like Gertie is harassing Sam, it seems that is comment is the explanation for her actions and she thinks he is into her at the party. Dean’s comment about Sam smelling like sex makes you wonder what would Sam do for the job? BFWB, except for few brother comments about the stooges, was pretty WTF especially since Dean was made to look so unknowing about witches and since when has he had an allergy to cats? He does mention no dogs in the Impala at the beginning of season 8. He used to be okay with dogs, before the Hell Hounds got him. That would explain his fear in Yellow Fever and his comments in season 8. Time for a Wedding was poking fun at fans, but it went a bit to far with Sam being tied to the bed, really, even drugged, Sam has busted out of ropes. And although Defending your life is not the smoothest episode, it does tell Sam about Amy, WTF moment in season 8 for me was the auction of the tablet-surely our hunters knew they needed some form of payment beyond what they had in their pockets. I know we needed the humor. There are others, but you covered most of my choices in your list.
[quote]The angels are grounded! (sorry, coldn’t resist. Moving on)[/quote]
They are “Exiled on Main Street”,
[quote][quote]The angels are grounded! (sorry, coldn’t resist. Moving on)[/quote]
They are “Exiled on Main Street”,[/quote]
Nice 😀
The Sam thing for this season is by FAR the worse but I agree with a lot of others too.
Several of yours I didn’t mind though. Harvelle’s for instance wasn’t great but wasn’t used enough to bother me.
And the Heaven and Hell logic still doesn’t bother me really. Uriel had been part of her garrison, he was looking for her both when she fell and now, so I don’t have to suspend disbelief that he would found it and have it on him to use as a bargaining chip. And the angels falling isn’t an issue for me at all.
I didn’t love S7TFAW but it didn’t really bug me either. I supposed with Sam’s state of mind . I ALWAYS saw Becky as being on the fringes of the fandom. I took her as a representative of the fandom. I think the people at the convention were supposed to be more typical. A little obsessed but not delusional.
The Horsemen rings worked for me.
Hammer of the Gods just didn’t work at all, except for the scene between Gabriel and Lucifer and their relationship.
I thought the opening scene of aMBFWB was funny and thought the acting was good but the rest of the the writing-EEK. And the sudden cat allergy was very convenient, since we’d never before encountered this in 8 years.
I’m in a love/hate relationship with Taxi Driver. There are a lot of great moments that I really love in that episode but their was SO much trashing of lore and canon that it’s hard to watch.
My worst list would have to include Long-distance Call it was based on a great Twilight Zone episode but this one made no sense to me. Couldn’t he have just killed them and then sucked their souls just like he ended up doing to that poor guy at the end. Why was he convincing them to kill themselves, especially since he wasn’t anywhere near them to collect their souls. I did love the brothers scenes though.
And I still don’t understand why they pretty much just let those witches go in Shut up Dr Phil.
I trying to think but I think most of my other worst ones were more execution rather than the logic behind them. Such as Defending Your Life could have been a great episode but is close to the bottom of my list because of missed potential.
@43, 45, 46- How about: Those freaking angels are always so ‘down’ on us.
Get it? Down/feathers/ fall. And I apologize 😀
[quote]@43, 45, 46- How about: Those freaking angels are always so ‘down’ on us.
[/quote]
They shouldn’t be pinion their hopes on being able to fly….
My biggest wtf moment came from S7’s Born Again Identity. That trenchcoat scene. Just SO ridiculous and OCC. Nothing remotely compares, IMO.
Omg – I could go on and on but I won’t.
[quote][quote]@43, 45, 46- How about: Those freaking angels are always so ‘down’ on us.
[/quote]
They shouldn’t be pinion their hopes on being able to fly….[/quote]
Good one! 🙂
[quote]Since that was all purely the perception inside my head and not definitely something the writers intended, though, I left it off my primary list.[/quote]
Thank you for recognizing this.
Personally, I liked “Time for a Wedding” and thought it was funny. The reason I was never offended is because Becky is so crazy that she ceased to be believable as a real person shortly after her introduction. And I think that was intentional. [i]Becky was a parody.[/i] She could never be compared to a real person, and was never meant to be seen that way. Thus I could easily laugh at Sam and Dean’s attempts to deal with her ridiculousness. Her character was established as existing primarily for comedic relief, and not to represent or offend actual female fans (poke fun maybe as parodies do, but not offend). However it failed in that respect for many. I’ve rewatched TFAW many times since it aired. Though I wouldn’t complain if we never saw Becky again. 😛
[quote]Answering #23 love2boys – If you watch the bits on the dvd that were not shown in the episode, the clock in the Impala stopped, and that made Dean suspicious that something was up with Sam and he turned the car around and headed back.[/quote]
Thanks, I did see that, 5 seasons later, when I finally became aware that DVD’s were available! But when I was watching THE PILOT, when it AIRED, how did they expect anyone to know why Dean turned the car around to go back to Sam’s apartment? I mean, they put a big WTF moment right in the pilot! And no clues until DVD’s – and when we were watching the pilot we didn’t know there would be DVDs! I can forgive the extra exposition that Kripke worried so much about. At least it didn’t leave us hanging like that moment did. I thought Dean had ESP for the longest time… Oh well…
Thanks to everyone for coming and chiming in! I really enjoyed reading through all the comments, although I must confess the new non-threaded comment system makes it really hard for me to respond to people in my regrettably limited time! And I LOVED all the absolutely horrible angel wing feather puns – they were inspired!
I agree with everyone who said that even the worst of [i]Supernatural [/i]is better than much else on TV. There’s a reason why I love this show so much, and why I (and others!) can be so passionate in criticism when things don’t work for me/us: it’s called “love,” and that comes from its intrinsic quality. Every episode has something worth watching, even if it’s just the exchange of expressions between the brothers when Dean sees a woman on the bed where Sam had last seen a Doberman. 😮
We’re also all different, so what we take from what we see is also different. Things that squick me out may make you laugh, and that’s perfectly fine. There’s room for all of us, so long as we don’t try to exclude those who see things differently. Come to think of it, that’s rather like the world at large, don’t you think?
Once the ComicCon hilarity dies down a little, look for my top five or so favorite show concepts (and I’m talking ideas, not full episodes!). And then look for my relationship advice on how to stay in love with Show, which may help people deal with all the inevitable spoiler discussion post-con!
Okay: group hug! You’ve been Bardicvoiced!
Chiming in a bit late for this. I just read the Holy Crap That’s Brilliant article and then came back to read this one. I can see your point with each of the WTH moments you chose, including the dishonorable mentions, but like several of the respondents they just didn’t bother me enough to be pulled out of the show. Er except the whole Dean allergic to cats all the sudden, didn’t like that at all. But Dean has always objected to dogs, so MBFWB was an ok episode. As for the racist overtones, I just saw her as a beautiful woman who was Dean’s type to a T. I was thinking of Barbara Eden in I Dream of Genie calling Larry Hagman ‘Master’. Dean mentions that show somewhere or other.
I also wanted to offer my take on the whole reaper/purgatory/hell issue in Taxi Driver. This seems to bother a lot of people, but it never bothered me. With the end of Season 5, the boys broke the world, and weird things started happening all over. Werewolves turning on the quarter moon were specifically mentioned, as well as monster appearing out of their usual haunts. The rules were broken, and it always seemed perfectly logical to me that ALL the rules would be set askew and therefore reapers would be able to become visible if they wanted to humans. Also, given the nasty nature of Supernatural’s angels and demons, it was a logical progression that a black market would develop for all kinds of things (heavenly weapons and trips to hell and back not being the most far-fetched IMHO). By the time of the second trial, a couple of years have passed and a fully developed black market brokering trips to hell made sense to me. Sry for the rambling, prolly shouldn’t have written this as 2 am on a Sunday!
Thank you, Bardicvoice, for your articles and discussions. I am very late come to the fandom, and appreciate your reviews which I am slowly working my way thru. You always show me a different way of looking at the episodes! 🙂
I know this article hasn’t been talked about in a while, but I only recently joined this website, so I’m going through all the previous articles that seem interesting. I agree with pretty much all the examples you give here. I often get pretty exasperated with whiny people throwing accusations of racism left and right, but with the episode about familiars I could completely understand it. I think they tried to show that it wasn’t racist by having a white male familiar as well, but he only appeared shortly and most of the attention was on Portia. It wasn’t just that she was a black woman wearing a collar and calling a white man her master. You can kind of get away with that by showing that she has to walk around with a collar as a dog. But in her relationship with James it was very clear that although she had some input, it was always James who made the final decision, he really acted like he was her master.
As for Becky, the episode about the wedding is the only one in the series that I haven’t watched. I don’t like any of the meta episodes and am not looking forward to the 200th episode. When you’re watching Supernatural you get sucked into this world and I’m so captivated by it, but then a meta episode comes by and reminds you that it’s just a show. Also, I don’t like their portrayal of the fans; not all fans are into incest or go completely crazy when they meet their idol. I feel it is based on the loudest and most annoying fans because they draw the most attention, but that portrayal is not representative for all or even most fans. I like this site for a reason; it goes deeper that just the teenage “OMG Sam and Dean are so hot!!!”.
Anyway, I agree with almost everything in your list, but the two above bothered me the most. And about what you said on the topic of gods, I wonder how they could improve that. I agree that the gods are made to seem laughable, nearly all of them complain that business has gotten worse since Jesus came around and they never seem to be all that powerful. I guess the problem is this: they are called gods, but they act like monsters. So it doesn’t feel like they’re gods, not like God with a capital ‘G’, who’s mysterious and behind the scenes.