RearView Review: Supernatural 10.12 “About A Boy”

 

“About a Boy”
10.12
Writer: Adam Glass
Director: Serge Ladouceur
Air Date: February 3, 2015

BY WEDNESDAY

BELIEVE

If you BELIEVE in yourself, anything is possible, especially a second chance.
If you BELIEVE in yourself, you can live your life fully and not hide from temptation.

TEMPTATION
If you had a chance to start over, knowing what you know now,
BUT you had to go back to your 14 year old body, would you?
A fresh start? Addiction free? Teenage angst?

“Now, who’s Hungry?”

EXPELLED & HEX SPELLED

A Cart man (Christian Westerveld) watches through the Roundup Bar window as
 Bartender (Nels Lennarson) accuses JP (Jason Wingham) of stealing his money
and shoves JP out onto the pavement,
“Swear on my mother, JP, I see your face in here again, I’ll kill you.”
JP rises complaining, “Like Hell. This is freakin’ America, man. You can’t just …”
JP turns on the Cart man,
“What you looking at?”

JP walks to his car. A Hulking man appears behind him and squeezes a HEX bag.
There’s a flash of light. JP screams.
The Cart man rushes over to find a pile of smoking clothing.
Awed, his gaze lifts to the sky. Aliens?

BELIEVE

James Gang’s, “Ashes, The Rain and I” plays while a visual montage displays
memories and Deans’ research efforts to rid himself of the Mark. Dean sits on the floor
of his cluttered bedroom (Tex Mex Wrappers & coffee cups) with a huge book of lore.
Sam taps and enters, “Caught a case.”
Sam hands Dean a tablet depicting JP as a missing person.
“Apparently, something is taking people. And leaving their clothes.”
Dean tells Sam to check it out. That’s not what Sam had in mind.
“Dean, you haven’t left the bunker in a week.”
Charlie forgave him; he needs to forgive himself.
Dean feels he’s “not exactly batting 1,000 here.”

Being supportive, Sam knows hiding’s “not helping you.
You need to get back in the game for your own good. You can beat this, Dean.”
Dean asks, “Do you really believe that?”
“You’re damn right I believe!” Sam assures him.
Dean’s skeptical, “You know, you also believed in the Easter Bunny till you were 12.”
Sam denies this, “No I didn’t. Look, I was 11.”
Dean corrects him, “And a half.”
(Did the Easter Bunny even visit Sam?)
Dean gives in, “Okay.”

PROBING

Back at the Roundup Bar, Sam and Dean question the Cart man.
He recalls smelling “flowery flowers.”
He sighs, “Look. We all know what’s going on here, okay?”
Dean cautions him, “Don’t say it.”
He says it, “Aliens. Dude was abducted. Believe me, I know. May 2003. Those suckers, they grabbed me, and
they probed me everywhere.” Sam and Dean start walking away. “I’m talking everywhere.”
“Well,”Dean remarks, “the wheels just came flying off the bus.”
Not demons. So, “Couple of little green dudes and a bucket of lube?”
They speculate, fairies? Angels?
Dean would “rather have the little green dudes.” (?)
Sam will scope JP’s residence while Dean checks out the bar.
Dean looks uncomfortable; Sam offers to switch places.
Dean assures him, “Look, it’s a dive bar. It’s my comfort zone, hmm?”
He gives the keys to Sam.

C.F.

Dean seats himself at the bar mumbling, “Screw it. I’m gonna believe in myself. …something dark and strong.
Hey, did you know that guy that went missing, J.P.?” 
A beautiful world weary woman listens in.
The bartender answers, “Look, I’m sorry to hear about what happened. … [JP’s] a lowlife.
That night, I had to kick his ass out of here for stealing my tips. Whatever J.P. got… probably had it coming.”
Dean tosses back his shot.
His heart pounds. He touches the Mark on his arm.
The woman offers some information.
She knew JP, “I would not buy a used car from the guy. But he was harmless.”
His problem? “You’re in here getting stunned while the sun’s still up, your life’s a regular Charlie Foxtrot. Trust me.”
(Herself and Dean included)
A Hulking man sits by the window.
Dean introduces himself. The woman is “Tina.” (Kehli O’Byrne)
Dean orders more drinks.

K.D.

 

Shots consumed, Dean and Tina sit at a table.
Tina asks how Dean knows about the “Royale Motel in Scranton.”
He was “snowed in” for a week. 
Tina was there for three months, “after my father drank all our money away.
Lived on white rice and Tic Tacs until they kicked us out. Good times.”
Dean confides, “My Dad was always working, so I came up with about 101 different ways to make mac and cheese.
Add ketchup for spice, mmm? Tuna, hot dogs, fluff marshmallow mix.”
Sam thought it was “exotic.”

Tina toasts, “here’s to crappy childhoods.” They’re hitting it off.
Dean’s cell rings.
He apologizes but Tina rises to go, before he “falls hopelessly in love” with her.

BUTT…

Dean watches her as Sam reports that JP was close to being evicted; he“blasted Neil Diamond 24/7.
His bathroom was, “Like staring into the Devil’s butt.” Sam “saw it.”
Dean asks, “You saw the John or …?”
Sam snaps, “Don’t!”
Dean grins.
Tina leaves the bar followed by a Hulking man.
Dean’s concerned and follows saying, “Sammy, I think I’ve got something.”
He leaves Sam dangling.

Outside, Dean hears Tina scream followed by a flash of light.
Dean inspects the dumpster area and discovers Tina’s clothes.
The Hulking man appears and squeezes his HEX Bag.
There’s a brilliant flash of light.

LEAP BACK 2 14

14 year old Dean (Dylan Everett) awakes and checks out his small cell.
He tests the bars on the windows and notices his hand. “Seriously?”
After wiping away 20 years of grime,(SOME SYMBOLISM THERE)
 he checks his face in a mirror and new clothes. “Seriously?”
(Aw. His hoody’s the same colour as a ginger bread man.)
Tina (Madeleine Arthur) in the next cell, also 14, calls out to him.
“Dean? It’s me, Tina. Please tell me you know what the hell is going on.”
They share what they remember. Dean tells Tina to “stay calm.”
Tina’s overwhelmed, “Stay calm? I’m a freakin’ tween, and you look like some One Direction reject.
And we’re in some freaky serial-killer basement. I can’t…”
Dean reassures her, “Tina, I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, okay?”
Tina wonders how he can stay so calm and he replies, “Practice.”
They notice another boy and guess he’s JP. The basement door opens.
The Hulking man opens Tina’s and JP’s cell.
JP starts to scream. Tina attempts to help but she’s thrown to the floor.
Dean tries to break into their cell to help.
JP loudly protests as he’s dragged away, “This is freakin’ America,man! You can’t do this!”

MAGICAL NIGHT

 

Sam enters the bar and calls Dean’s cell.
It rings in a jacket on the bar. The Bartender silences the phone.
Sam asks him, “Hey, buddy? Where did that jacket come from?”
He claims it was from his “Bar Mitzvah. It was a magical night.”

Sam unleashes his anger smashing the Bartender’s head against the bar,
“Why don’t you try that again?”
The bartender coughs up a new answer.

A covered tray slides under Dean’s door. Dean lifts the cover to reveal a large slice of frosted cake with pink rosettes.
Dean starts chowing down until Tina wisely speculates that it might be poison.
Dean stops eating.
He breaks an iron post from the bed and gets to work on the bars.

Sam inspects the crime scene finding Dean’s shoe and gun.
The gun is coated with a powdery yellow residue that smells like flowers.

Dean pulls one of the bars free. “Yahtzee!” The Hulking man returns to the basement.
Tina tells Dean to get out and get help. Dean realizes he can’t help her by staying.
He wiggles through the window while Tina screams to distract the Hulking man.
“What are you screaming about, girl?”

FUNNY

Sam researches yarrow and its magical properties.

(More on Yarrow: http://witchesbreuw.blogspot.ca/2011/01/herb-of-month-januaryyarrow.html  )

There’s a knock at the door. Sam grabs a gun before opening it.
He doesn’t immediately recognize young Dean. “Yeah?”
“Hiya, Sammy.” Dean brushes past Sam who stares, recognition dawning.
Dean proceeds to the washroom to retrieve his duffel bag.
Sam stammers, trying to wrap his mind around this. “Wait a second. You’re a … How?”
Dean tells him, “some Scarface looking dude, bright light. Next thing I know, I wake up looking like Bieber.”
Dean gets his gun and asks if they have any grenades.
Sam slows him down, “Don’t! Wait, wait. Wait a second. Talk to me.”

Dean’s impatient, “Really, Sam? Now? I got no grass on the infield, and a girl’s gonna die.
Sorry if I’m not in a chatty mood. Look, you wanted me back in the game. I’m back in the damn game. Come on.”
Outside the motel room, an older lady drops her motel key.
Dean picks it up for her,”Ma’am, allow me.” She’s impressed by his polite behavior and tells Sam,
“Your son is so polite.”
Sam’s dumbfounded but thanks her for the compliment. Sam’s now the “father” figure for Dean.
Dean impatiently drums on Baby’s roof.

ADJUST

Sam gets into the Impala. Dean adjusts the seat for his younger legs.
Sam’s knees drive up close to his chin. “Wait, uh, maybe I should drive?”

Dean reluctantly agrees. Sam instructs him, “Okay. Seat. Seat. Seat.”

Sam, having been filled in, asks, “Cake. Why would they give you cake?”
Dean doesn’t know and adds only that the cake was dry.
After several sidelong peeks, Sam’s still bewildered,
“This is insane. You, you’re like, what, you’re like 14? How does it even feel?”
Dean reveals how weird it is. “There was a Taylor Swift song on the bus that I hopped to the motel,
and, I liked it, Sam. I liked it a lot. …My voice is weird, and I’ve got like nine zits,
and I have zero control over this. I mean, it’s up. It’s down. It’s up for no reason.”
Sam’s heard enough, “Yeah, thanks. Let’s just call it puberty.”

Sam fills Dean in on Yarrow, which indicates they are “dealing with a witch. Yarrow’s a flower. They use it in a ton of spells.”
Dean’s pumped. They have witch killing stuff and they can “light Sabrina’s ass up. Right?”        
He reveals that the plus side to being 14 is that the Mark of Cain disappeared.
Maybe they should not reverse the spell.
Sam’s disbelieving, “Wait a second. Are you saying you want to stay like this?”
Dean doesn’t want to stay 14, but given a choice between
“being a psycho rage monster/borderline demon or a teenager, well…”
He also likes the idea that he has a “virgin liver. So, what do you say when we’re done doing
our hero thing, we take her for a test drive?”
Sam laughs because Dean can’t drink for another 7 years.
Dean doesn’t find that funny.
Sam insists, that it’s “kind of funny.”

SMARTIE PANTS

Yarrow grows beside the house.
Hearing the Hulking man coming down the stairs, Tina 
fearfully gazes at the window. Her cell door opens.

Sam and Dean arrive with flashlights.
Dean goes to the window and calls, “Tina?”
There’s no answer.
“All right, let’s go.”
Sam says that he’s “way too big to fit in.” 
Dean hacks on him, “First time you ever had to say that, huh?”
Annoyed, Sam dryly informs him, that’s “Big talk coming from the dude wearing underoos.”
Dean concedes and tells him to find another way in.
They separate.
Dean squeezes back through the window.

GRIMM

Dean searches with his flashlight and finds an old skull.
He senses someone watching and quickly turns, but there’s no one there.
He takes a few steps and the Hulking man grabs him in a chokehold.
Sam appears and hits the man on the head.
They point their guns at the man.

The Hulking man (Mark Acheson) assures them that Tina is alive upstairs with the Witch, the “worst person in the world.”
The Hulking man has, “been with her for centuries. Things I’ve seen her do.
My sister and I, she made us hurt people, kill people, and when we tried to escape,
she caught us and tortured me, and then she made me eat poor Gretel’s heart.”  
They guess his identity. He’s Hansel of the Brothers Grimm without the happy ending.
Hansel offers to help them, “If you’re going to fry that candy-coated bitch, I want in.”
Sam asks how to reverse the spell. It’s the hex bag, “Squeeze it, and you’ll return to your proper age.” 
Hansel makes an offer,
“Look, we waste the witch; I give you the cure. Deal?”

GAGGED

Tina, gagged and tied to a chair, watches Katja, the witch, chop veggies.
Katja (Lesley Nicol) complains that JP “didn’t have much meat on his bones.”
She tests the stew base. (Is that JP’s finger?)
 “Mmm. Wunderbar. Don’t worry, liebchen. You’re too good for soup.
I’m thinking a nice, sweet chili glaze, a few hours roasting in the oven. And an apple in your mouth.”
She throws wood into a huge walk in oven.
Hansel enters followed by Sam and Dean.
Katja scolds Dean for running away and tells Hansel to take care of them.

SURPRISE

Dean and Sam tell her that Hansel is not a fan of hers and she shouldn’t have made him eat his sister.
Katja denies this.
They realize they’ve been betrayed. Hansel grabs Sam’s gun and knocks him down.
Dean can’t light the Witch Molotov. Hansel turns Sam’s gun on him.
Katja sends the Witch Molotov smashing against the wall.
Dean gets down beside Sam.
“Now,” Katja asks, “Who’s hungry?”
Katja grumbles that Dean’s too scrawny.
Sam asks her to explain the whole “Fountain of Youth” hex.
She prepares some garlic explaining. “In the olden days, if a child went
missing, ah, the young died all the time. Now, though, with all your Amber Alerts
and your milk cartons, a person fillets one rug rat, and people get so angry.”
Dean quips that he “Blames Obama.”

KFC

Katja had to improvise. “I take adults no one will miss and give them back their youth.”
And “Kentucky fry them” adds Dean.
Sam reaches for his knife.
Dean distracts them by asking if “people kind of taste like chicken.”
Katja waxes poetic about the delicious “buttery” taste of American children less “gamier” than European children.
Dean plays along and asks if she’s a tourist.
She’s there for “business not pleasure. An old friend is causing trouble, and the Grand Coven asked me to take care of her.
Poor, stupid Rowena.”
Dean recognizes the name, “Wait, Rowena? She got red hair, a thing for ritzy hotels?”
Katja’s amazed, “How do you know that?”

TURN

Sam leaps up and punches Hansel. Katja uses her witch power to slam Sam against the shelves.
Hansel easily knocks Dean aside and gets on top of him. Katja opens the fiery oven.
Sam struggles to rise. Hansel throws Dean and he slides to the floor.

Katja orders Hansel to “turn” Sam and he moves to grab his hex bag but it’s gone.
Dean holds up the hex bag and squeezes it.
There’s a bright flash of light and Dean returns to his age.

BURN

Dean stabs Hansel and stuffs the Hex bag in Katja’s mouth keeping her from cursing.
Pushing her face, he shoves her into the oven. A brutal death awaits.
She screams in agony and bangs on the door.

Dean silences her by slamming the grate.
The Mark of Cain glimmers in his eyes.

SECOND CHANCE

Outside, Tina’s astonished, “That was crazy. Like psycho crazy. And you do this all the time?”
Dean replies, “All the freakin’ time.”
Sam disagrees, “Not all the time.”
Tina asks if they will turn her back but the Hex bag burned with Katja.
Sam offers to try and reverse the spell but Tina reconsiders, “I got three ex-husbands, 50 grand in debt, and
not much else. I was kind of a crappy adult. Maybe I’ll do better this time around.
Get out of town, get a fresh start. This is my second chance.
Everybody wants a second chance, right?”
They offer to give her a lift. Dean wants his keys back.

Sam hands Tina all the cash they have as she waits for her bus.
She thanks them and gives Dean a kiss, “Thanks for everything. And hey, we’ll
always have the Royale Motel, right?”
Dean smiles. Sam finds the comment questionable.
Tina leaves.
Sam and Dean regroup in the bright morning light.

SHAKE IT OFF, BABY

Dean wonders about the “Grand Coven” and thinks it sounds like “an 80’s hair-metal band.
You know, lot of hair spray, lot of eye shadow, lot of keytar.”
Sam asks if the Mark’s back. Dean shows him. Dean said he had to.
Sam realizes, “I know. You saved me, and you saved Tina, and pulled a Dean Winchester. Thank you.”
Dean replies, “Anytime.”
Sam wishes the Mark was gone but he wanted Dean back,
“And now here you are, and you didn’t Hulk out. So, I’ll take the win.
As for the rest of it, the Mark, everything else, we’ll figure it out.
We always do.”

They get back in Baby. Dean seems content, “Oh. I’m back, Baby.”

He fires her up and the radio cuts in with Taylor Swift’s song, “Shake It Off.”

Dean looks at Sam, shrugs and they drive away listening to the song.

“Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Shake it off, shake it off'”

THE SCRIPT

Cute, cute é cute.
Adam Glass wrote an old Season One feeling MOW episode.
The Season’s Arc, the Mark of Cain, was not ignored. Dean was clearly given an
option of ridding himself of the Mark.
The script also linked in the Grand Coven’s animosity towards Rowena. The Winchesters speculated on the Grand Coven’s significance.
The theme reflected previous scripts with its treatment of lost and missing teenagers
(See “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “The Things We Left Behind”).
And the message is upbeat. Rather than believe that missing teens have been “devoured by monsters,”
we are given the option of believing that they may have found a second chance and are out there living better lives.

Jody Mills might have another visitor in her “Wayward Daughters” home.
Sign the petition for a Spinoff: https://www.change.org/p/create-the-spinoff-fans-want-to-see-wayward-daughters

 The concept of “believing in yourself” and it “never being too late for second chances”
were heartening.
Old suspenseful horror revived full force: the creeping, the footsteps coming down the stairs, the skull,
the sense of being watched, and the repulsive, monstrous, child killing villains.
The ghastly horror of burning to death was diabolical especially for a witch.
R. I. P. Katja.

FLAWS

 The problem of clothes.
Just how exactly did Tina and Dean end up with a new wardrobe? (Creepy much?)
Dean is wearing Younger Dean’s jacket at the end, but there’s no way he’d be wearing the same pants.
(No offence.)
The humour involved a lot of “penis” jokes but were representative of a “Teen” Dean mentality.
The adult world seemed preoccupied with “BUTT” humour.
There were a few “game” references, too.
Initially, the episode seemed to delve into the world of a sick pedophile.
When the witch was revealed, it was almost a relief; but, it did promote new reflection on this old tale.

The Hansel and Gretel Witch brought to life was a little CHEESY but it was
treated with the right touches of humour and horror and originality.

              (“BITCH” COUNT: 2x)   
                                          
Although this episode DID NOT PASS THE BECHDEL TEST, Tina, old and young, was a fleshed out, intriguing character.
(Removing the gag would have allotted for an interesting conversation and remedy.)
The story was “About A Girl” as much as “About A Boy.”
The stereotypical witch was given new twists, aided by long- time cohort Hansel. Clever enough to adapt to
modern times to feed her addiction, she also works for the Grand Coven. (Assassin?)   

Castiel and Crowley were ABSENT. (Sadly, too much this season.)
Sam, early on, assumed the role of a supportive nurturer, although he may not have realized it
until the woman mistakes him for Dean’s father.
Sensitive to Dean’s needs Sam encouraged, supported and protected Dean.
He went into total protective mode with the Bartender.
It was entertaining to see Sam in a more challenging, prominent role,
although he should have killed Hansel instead of being SIDELINED against the wall.
Yes, this was a “filler” episode and some of the lines (Easter Bunny/ German expressions) were jarringly bad.
Most of the script delivered classic humorous and memorable moments.
Sometimes the FILLING is the best part.

(See bolded text for awesome lines.)

DIRECTOR/ CINEMATOGRAPHY

Serge Ladouceur / Bradley S. Creasser

EYE CANDY BABY!

BARS

DANGEROUS RED HITS

PEEKING

UNIQUE P.O.V.

FORESHADOWING

SOUND

Carefully selected voice overs in the montage, the creepy background music, and the MOC HEARTBEAT added suspense.
Lots of creepy sounds: the HEX bag spell (electric fizzing, game vanishing noise;  creaking doors, jangling keys, footsteps,
grunts, and door slams in Hansel’s basement. The LONELY TRAIN WHISTLE, heard in the cell, linked Dean to Sam
while he searched by the dumpster.
The CUCKOO CLOCK sounding in the kitchen added atmosphere.

Appropriate song choices related to plot & characters:
“Ashes, The Rain And I” James Gang
“Only a Matter of Time” Headwater
“Fever for Rock and Roll” Bradley & Dymond
It ended with “Shake It Off” Taylor Swift, generating a lot of fun.($)

 

SET DESIGN

(Floor: Mark of Cain design. Wallpaper: Hansel & Gretel)

CASTING!
Simply the Best!

 

BEST PERFORMANCE

Everyone loved talented young Dylan Everett;
but, a large part of this episode’s success was due to Jared Padalecki.
Assuming the father role, he nailed comedic timing and expressions.
He was intimidating dealing with the Bartender.

Congratulations Jared Padalecki!

&

 2 QUESTIONS 4 READERS’ COMMENTS

1. What’s your relatable moment?

1. What’s your favorite Mac and Cheese Addition?

FROM THE REAR VIEW

Nels Lennarson (Bartender) was Walt in 5.16. “Dark Side of the Moon”

Mark Acheson (Hansel) the Tooth Fairy in 5.06. “I Believe the Children Are Our Future”

Dylan Everett also in 9.07 “Bad Boys”

Goodbye Adam Glass ~ Best of Luck

STAY IN HOUSE

Read Alice Jester’s article on Adam Glass here:

https://www.thewinchesterfamilybusiness.com/article-archives/news-and-announcements/19267-adam-glass-is-leaving-supernatural

Or visit percysowner for The Supernatural Parody using “Shake It Off” here:

http://www.thewinchesterfamilybusiness.com/article-archives/news-and-announcements/19273-hillywood-and-nerdist-parody-supernatural

For a collection of Tweets by Adam Glass visit storify:

https://storify.com/SPNEurope/supernatural-adam-glass-leaving-the-show-becoming-

THANKS TO

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