Supernatural Reviews In 500 Words or Less: 9.13 – “The Purge”
No doubt about it, we tend to be a bit verbose here at The Winchester Family Business. We all love to pick apart every little detail and try to find hidden messages/metaphors/parallels/references, and it usually results in some very lengthy pieces that makes heads spin. While there are fans that thrive on that kind of analysis, others are reading something like that and going, “Geez, get a life.”
This week “Supernatural” aired a repeat, “The Purge.” Since I didn’t do a review for “The Purge”, I’m going to try out a new format. A quick review, in 500 words or less. That means I’ve got to make every word count, because life keeps moving and ain’t gonna stop for more words. So, without further time wasting verbage, here’s “The Purge” in 500 words or less (word count starts on the next line).
THEN
Sam and Dean aren’t brothers anymore. Except they are.
NOW
Fat guy wins a hot dog eating contest by cheating, gets comeuppance with a monster infused liposuction until he’s no more. Same thing happens to a woman at a health club later. Sam and Dean suit up, they’re on the case! Setting: An idyllic, soothing health resort in the boonies, a place where people are mysteriously losing impressive amounts of weight (in other words, New Heaven). Sam and Dean both apply as fitness instructors, only one gets the job. Guess who?
Hmm, fitness instructor…
Fitness…
Oh, but they found a job for Dean.
Dean gets drugged by pudding…
Sam chases the bad guy in a track suit (hmm, track suit…) and the MOTW is the BEST monster ever, a Peruvian fat sucker. Marzita is the good monster, making people’s dreams come true while eating well. Her brother is the very bad kind, he can’t get enough fat. There’s a tense hunt…
Monster gets the jump on Sam…
Dean saves Sam by cutting off the monster’s sucker thing (Eww).
Parallel of the week
Sam relates to Marzita. What if Sam ran into a hunter while possessed by Gadreel? She doesn’t deserve to die because she’s a monster.
Dean decides to send her back to her crappy life in Peru. Sam is sad.
THE BIG TALK
(Family discussions are always more effective in the kitchen, no?)
Dean: No regrets. He may not think things through, but he’d save Sam’s life by tricking him to be possessed by an angel again.
Sam: In theme of “honesty,” since Dean brought it up…the brutal truth. Dean thinks he’s doing good, but what good came of Sam living? Look at poor, dead, eyes-burned-out Kevin. Dean did it because he can’t stand being alone.
Dean: “If the situation was reversed and I was dying, you’d do the same thing.”
Sam: “SAME CIRCUMSTANCES, I wouldn’t.”
Sam leaves while his big brother dies inside a little.
What did we learn?
What Sam said is the truth, but it’s not the whole truth. There’s a lot of “ifs, ands, and buts” that didn’t come up in this conversation. Like what if the circumstances weren’t the same? Sam hasn’t figured it all out, but he’s still hurt. The self-loathing continues to push Dean downward, and any shred of purpose he may have had left was crushed by this conversation. Several want to read between the lines, but at this point, this just the simple case of two brothers that currently aren’t on the same page. They’re still in the same space together, they’re still working together, so despite the words being tossed they still care for one another. They need more time to heal. Or the rest of the season, since the writers need material.
What we wish we saw
A great, kick ass, MOTW case that didn’t involve contrived family drama. But hey, it’s all about the feels, and we got ’em.
Next week
Cas!
Thank you.
The guys do love each other but have a lot to work through. Sam determined not to ignore stuff this time. Also, In the spirit of making the comments brief I would just like to add:
[img]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bh0-nynIcAAMqu0.jpg[/img]
Thank you! I do love short reviews. Especially for this kind of episodes. I agree with you.
The thing that bugs the Hell out of me and NO ONE has addressed this at all. Dean says “I may not think things through but what he does is the right thing.” Question. IF Dean doesn’t think thrings through….HOW does he know its the right thing?
Good review. The boys doo love each other. Thats never been a question.
amyh For someone who is supposed to be a master at strategy while hunting that doesn’t make a lot of sense does it. You would think he would have to think things through. I’m all for dark Dean but the way he is getting there has a few plot holes.
He calls it a “gut” feeling? 😀
Great review. I vote for more pretty pictures in every comment.
Thanks Alice! I personally read everything here, long or short. Verbose or not. I enjoy them all. I don’t always comment, I start repeating myself after the first few articles.
I agree completely that the brothers need time. Sam is not going to just forget his anger and Dean is not going to jump right in with an apology for Sam being alive. I do think they will get there eventually but obstacles will be put in their way and the show needs to fill out the season with tension/angst. I hope the really hurtful brother conflict doesn’t carry over to next year but I have a bad feeling it will.
Hi Alice
I enjoyed your quick review and loved the pictures and the smiley.
I felt so sorry for Marzita. Here she had found a way to feed by helping people instead of hurting and killing them. She had a husband that knew who and what she was and accepted her. And because of her brother she lost everything. Her husband, her lively-hood and her home.
As for the brothers they certainly can tear your heart apart. From the very first episode I saw these two character snuck in and stole my heart. I guess this is why I find it hard to pass judgment on either of them, why I can understand and sympathize with both sides.
I understand why Dean did what he did. Caring and protecting Sam has been a part of his whole life. He has basically been both brother and parent to Sam. It’s hard enough to let go of that protective instinct (no matter what age they are) in the real world never mind in the hunting/supernatural world.
With all the deaths, violence and losses he has experienced I can understand why he doesn’t want to be alone and why he will go to any lengths to save Sam.
With the several times he lost Sam only to be blessed with him being restored to him, I can see why he’s hanging on to him by tooth and nail and is unable to let him go. How many times can you go through that grief.
As for Sam I understand when he said that if the situation was the same he would not have tricked Dean into saying yes to being possessed by an Angel to save him. Especially knowing that he was ready to die, that he had made his decision and this was what he wanted.
I can understand why Sam only wants to work as partners and not as brothers. Why the ‘I did it because we’re family’ is no longer an excuse that Sam can accept to justify the damage and deaths that these actions have caused.
Their love and co-dependencies by being brothers has led them to make some very poor decisions and the outcome has been too costly. As much as we may like or befriend our co-workers, I doubt any of us would sell our souls for them. That we would drink demon blood to avenge them. Or would be willing to say yes to being possessed by Lucifer so you could jump into Hells pit for eternity. Or even getting yourself beaten to a pulp just to show you are there for them. And I doubt we would tricked them into possession of an angel even if it meant saving them.
With that being said I believe Sam is finding it hard to continue being just partners. He has shown this every time Dean has been in trouble. He has run to him in shear panic and concern. The brotherly bond is just too strong to keep ignoring and it will win out in the end.
The world they have been exposed to, the family, friends and loved ones they have lost. How can anyone go through what they have had to experience and not be affected or damaged to some degree by it.