Wednesday’s Watching Supernatural 11.13 “Love Hurts”
So much fakery and deception! (Fake love, fake Amara, fake hairdresser and even
a fake teddy bear.) But it was triumphant with honesty, love, and support between brothers.
WEDNESDAY’S WATCHING
Supernatural 11.13 “Love Hurts”
Writers: Eric Charmelo & Nicole Snyder
Director: Phil Sgriccia
Director of Photography C.S.C: Serge Ladouceur
Airdate: 10.02.2016
BY WEDNESDAY
What did I watch?
THE SCRIPT
SOMETHING OLD
This script timely revisited Dean’s favorite holiday, Valentine’s Day, or “Unattached Drifter Christmas,” witha completely unromantic perspective. Dan Harper is torn between
the LOVE of his wife and the DESIRE he has for his babysitter. Dean opts for lust and desire to appease the
desperate lonely hearts of women seeking love and romance on Valentine’s Day,
and he wants to “scrape a few hearts off the bar room floor.”
The retro motel “Too Tired” was a welcome addition to a long line of motels of
previous seasons. (See SET Below).
Ye old Rock Paper Scissors
The original controversy was that Dean did NOT want to stay in the basement. His subsequent glee
over winning makes him forget this goal, and Sam, although the loser, gets to
search upstairs while Dean jubliantly searches the basement.
Too Tired Plot Line
Overlooking the old Husband dallying with the babysitter cliché, there was still the tired,
“It’s an old monster” (shapeshifter). “Wait, no, it’s a new monster” (Qareen).
Yup, it does get old.
SOMETHING NEW
Qareen, a genie type monster who will do your bidding, is added to the lore.
Dean hoped that one of the Daisy Dukes would show up as his “heart’s deep, darkest desire.”
Fans speculated on who it could be: Cas? Lisa? Jo? Food?
(Does anyone ship food and Dean? FooDean?)
The emphasis should have been on the “heart’s deep, DARKEST desire.”
What could be darker than the darkness herself, Amara?
Dean reveals Amara is not a “desire or love,” and he should know the
difference. Sam reveals that he suspected Dean’s secret for some time and was patiently
and non-judgementally waiting for his brother’s confession. Dean comes clean
and the brothers have no secrets!!! That’s NEW and jiffy clean!
SOMETHING BORROWED
The script borrowed from the plot line of the low budget movie “It Follows”
Watch “It Follows” trailer here:
http://itfollowsfilm.com/trailer
Read an interesting article about the time/anachronisms in “It Follows” here:
http://thoughtcatalog.com/m-j-pack/2015/08/heres-why-you-missed-the-scariest-part-of-it-follows/issed-the-scariest-part-of-it-follows
SOMETHING BLUE?
Dean stole the BLUE Viagra pills in 11.11. (An Improvisation)
Was it because Dean was experiencing Erectile Dysfunction? His E.D. could be due to depression, or
preoccupation with Amara… or, did Dean steal the pills to enhance his Valentine’s Day performance?
Viagra is rumored to give healthy males a lasting erection, and the ability to perform not once,
but twice, and sometimes three times in one evening. Viagra does have some side
effects for healthy males such as excessive perspiration and hangover effects.
I’ll let you decide what Dean was up to.
There was also a bruising BLUE throat punch delivered in the dialogue.
(More bellows below the Bechdel test)
The script had some great lines funny and sentimental ones:
However, the motivation of the witch (kill all idiots) and the myth rules were shaky.
In places, the pacing was glacial.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
MOTIFS
HANDS
THERE WERE ALSO MANY CLOSEUPS AFOOT.
Dean shuffling his feet…
Used to portray Dean’s fear and plotting BUT overdone.
There is a fine line between building suspense and frustrating the audience.
The box openings and garburator scenes took FOREVER.
There were puzzling LONG/UNNECESSARY close ups of random items toys, elevator buttons, wood boards, and this:
SYMBOLS
COLOUR
In honor of Valentine’s Day, RED permeated the
scenes warning of danger, broken hearts, and blood.
Even Dean’s underwear glowed RED in the basement.
YELLOW/GOLD
The Harper room glowed yellow and gold when the fake FBI interviewed the deceptive couple.
CROSSES
Peered over shoulders in the form of tire irons and hubcaps
UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES
Transitions
SET/PROPS
The “Too Tired” motel included lots of red FLAGS, retro TV, fridge, furniture and a
special guest appearance of the GREEN COOLER:
It also contained incongruous plastic flowers and a flower encased in a concrete
block/money holder.
SFX/PROPS
Those heart punches and the bloody aftermath. Well done!
ALLUSIONS
SOUND
“Heartbreak” by the James Hunter Six
Train whistles!!
BECHDEL TEST
So far in Season 11, only 5 out of 12 episodes passed this easy gender fairness
Bechdel test, or 42% of the episodes.
BLUE
Normally, I would do a little dance to celebrate, but this easy gender fairness test was
completely overshadowed by the throat punch comment to Feminists:
Such a jarring, unfunny, feminist slur in a script that had so many funny, witty
lines and poignant moments made me sad. Who wants Supernatural to move out of
the pre-historic era of bashing Feminists?
I Do!
Impossible to decide between J2
Jensen’s slapstick comedy,
death defying kiss,
and voice cracking, fearful confession,
were juxtaposed with Sam’s quiet concern and support
and the thousand expressions flashing across his face: relief
worry
and non-judgemental support.
The scene is definitely worth a re-watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDQ6sHt0DI
FROM THE REARVIEW
THANKS TO:
SUPERNATURAL WIKI
FOREVER DREAMING: TRANSCRIPT
IMDB CAST LIST
SUPERNATURAL FANS ONLINE SCREENCAPS
RATING
This is such fun – and so smart. You always catch so many themes that I miss on first viewing. Colors and hands and a movie I never heard of before! Time to re-watch now that I have been educated!
One item – Sam was not insulting feminists! He was being sarcastic! He was mocking her for trying to justify her actions by pretending she was a feminist. Sarcasm is funny – and the very fact that he was using sarcasm shows he did not consider her to be a feminist. I Think those who got worked up about that line should re-watch after thinking about sarcasm – just as I need to re-watch after reading your references and observations. Just a suggestion.
Thanks again.
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, do enjoy a re-watch!:)
It’s always interesting to explore other perspectives…like on this site.
Regarding your “Sarcasm” excuse though, I’m not buying it. It is what it is….Nasty.:p
[quote]He was mocking her for trying to justify her actions by pretending she was a feminist.[/quote]
I agree.
First, I was surprised that we did not get a review of “Don’t Forget about Me” from you. I was expecting a glowing review from you about passing the Bechdel test. And yeah, a female hunter! And yeah, SPN needs more focus on female actors/ characters. Why the skip?
I agree with GRace232: “[Sam] He was mocking her for trying to justify her actions by pretending she was a feminist.” I do not think it was a remark about feminist hating men. The witch did not hate men she hated cheaters and the idiots that believed them! I did notice something in the dialogue: Sam to hairdresser: You’re practically a feminist. And the very next line is: Amara :Who I am doesn’t matter.
Maybe the show is making a statement about who Amara is in regard to being or not being a feminist.
Maybe the show did technically pass the Bechdel test with this one crappy line between the babysitter and wife. But gosh, I think it should not be counted because it really was about a man. It was a fake horrible remark about the lipstick…. the mom lipstick she tasted off the lips of the cheating husband.
I think the odd camera shot at the baby bottles was to emphasize the fact the baby existed. It was coupled with Dean’s question about where is the baby. I think it ties into the Amara theme of hurt and abused children/ mothers/ and Amara being female. The baby lost a parent to a father’s deceit and then witchcraft. Why TWO bottles? The bottles reminded me of breast milk. Also the Amara theme was in the motel room with the flowers. I did not notice them until you pointed them out.
Interesting tie in with the Viagra. maybe Dean did use it; there was an emphasis of hung over and sticking with perspiration.
Thanks for the background for the book on the table, interesting tie in.
I agree about the best performance being a tie. The confession scene was excellent and J2 were on top as usual. Thanks for posting the video; it was worth many repeat views.
I also enjoyed Dean’s expressions when he interviewed Dan(cheating husband) in his office.
Thanks Wednesday.
Wow, I love this breakdown of the episode. I must admit, I haven’t been trawling on this website as much as I have in the past, but I will definitely be loooking for your reviews. Excellent!:) And I will lend my two cents worth and say that the feminism comment was way out of line. Sam (or even Jared, I think) would say that. I know it was probably ment to be sarcastic, but still, I’m surprised at these writers for that.
Thanks for your kind words and support. It’s astonishing how many perspectives there are about any one episode.
Admittedly, some leave you scratching your head; but, the articles certainly enhance and deepen one’s understanding of the show.
I was happy to see that Alice’s review was mostly positive because mine was quite conflicted.
FarAwayEyes also wrote an excellent article tying it in to the major arc and heartaches.
And, there are still more to come. I am happy to hear you will be dropping by again.
[b]Welcome back.[/b]:)
I’m pretty sure you meant Sam or Jared [i]wouldn’t[/i] say that but I agree it was a really odd thing for Sam to say at that moment. I know sometimes the Winchesters will say things they know will get the monster talking or monologue-ing in order to buy themselves some time but it did take me out of the moment.
Sam’s feminist line wasn’t a joke, it was meant to mock the witch. If you wanna go deeper, you could see it as a subtle dig at the critics who say that the female writers on staff have/had internalized misogyny. Sonja is the fans who say their brand of feminism is the right one, and the female writers who don’t follow their views deserve the scorn and to be accused of internalized misogyny, like the women who keep coming back for the love spell, Sonja’s views put her on her own pedestal where if you go against her views, you ain’t worth shit. It’s something to think on.
Oh, and yup, there it is. Anytime the patriarchal machinery of the media is taken to task for being reprehensible,
someone trots out the old defense of trying to throw the blame back on women.
“Let’s pit the women against each other.”
Not buying it. Feminists know if you’re “dissing the sisters you are not fighting the power.”
Your [b]CONVOLUTED THEORY[/b] to throw the blame for this slur onto women is ridiculous and intended to be incendiary.
Normally, I try to ignore steaming piles of dog crap like this but since it’s spewed at that bottom of my article, I will respond.
Only another misogynist, or a person completely ignorant of the Feminist Movement and ideology
of equal treatment for men and women, would think you have any credibility.
Until the PTB of the SPN media industry come out with an explanation for this put down, something they are unlikely to do,
it can only be regarded for what it is. An anti-feminist comment was made. It is was nasty and unjustifiable. Enough said.
So do you believe that the show was trying to portray Sonja as typical example of a feminist or am I misunderstanding what you mean? I don’t think she was supposed be anything but an evil bitch/witch. Sam was taunting her by sarcastically calling her a feminist in order to get her on the defense. After all Sam needed to buy time for a rescue. Nothing gets a monster talking about themselves more than a taunt. Something the Winchesters have been doing for going on 11 years now. What would you have rather he said to get her rattled? But whatever, good for Sam it worked.
Cheryl. I agree. Taunting/mocking, trying to get under the witches skin. Buying time, fight/trash talking. Smart Sam.
[quote]Feminists know if you’re “dissing the sisters you are not fighting the power.” [/quote]
Well I guess in your mind SPN was dissing the sisters and the power is what in this case? The “patriarchal machinery of the media”.
You don’t want an explanation, because for you there is no explanation…. you see it only for what you see it as… you want an apology for an anti-feminist comment. You are not going to get that because not everyone saw the comment as you did. Another view or explanation is that Sam was mocking the witch. I do not think SPN is in the business of dissing the sisters. Look at all the strong women on this show. Nor are they in the business of putting forth a strong feminist view. For instance women are not going to get equal time on a show about men!!!! Did they add a man to the mix of the Golden Girl’s ? Should they split up Rizzoli and Isles. I know you shut the door on this discussion with your ” ENOUGH said”. It is just not as black and white as you see it. I guess the gays feel put down every time Cas and Dean don’t hook up. Fact is, Dean is straight and you know what I think Sam supports feminists that is why he mocked the witch.
[quote]Feminists know if you’re “dissing the sisters you are not fighting the power.” [/quote]
Tell that to Jenny Klein, who has had some of the nastiest things said about her from not being considered feminist enough and has straight up internalized misogyny. To when she has a good episode, claims that she didn’t write the script, to she only got her job through nepotism.
Sorry but I think this is an overreaction to Sam making a snide comment to a murderous WITCH who is trying to justify her actions by claiming to be weeding out the idiots. Sam was obviously buying time not making a political statement about feminists. He was insulting evil delusional witches who think they are doing the world a favor, not feminists, in my opinion.
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I do like to follow along.