Ben Edlund Episodes – A Deeper Look
Monster Movie:
Brilliant, top to bottom brilliant. This episode pokes fun at itself, pokes fun at Supernatural, has fun with Jensen in lederhosen and Sam crashing through a wall – something he’s always said he wants to do. Here he gets to not only kick down a prop door but he actually gets thrown through a prop wall – good times.
Jaime is a delight, she reminds me of Sarah from Provenance. Smart, witty, good in a crisis and more than willing to share a passing something something with Dean, she even brings out his more vulnerable side – always a plus. I love the fun the brothers have with their ‘case’ and their ease at working around each other. When they split up to handle separate aspects of the case there is none of the suspicion that characterized some earlier parts of the season, notably Lazarus Rising and Metamorphosis, nor what came through most of the rest of the season. I’m thinking this one might be a lot of fun to pair with It’s A Terrible Life simply because there is so little baggage weighing down on the brothers; it’s light and fun with moments of sheer hilarity.
Wishful Thinking:
When rumors of this episode hit the fandom last summer/fall the boards went nuts, even today there are some full-time wankers out there who only remember the six-foot teddy bear and grumble along the lines of… “How does that show growth in the show?!” button up already, wankers, this was one episode and the teddy bear wasn’t even the main aspect of the show, pure comedy relief and they went as far as they could with it without going too far, he drank, he was into porn, he drove himself to depression with nothing but the negative of the world and then, when he tried to end it, he realized he was fake and couldn’t…I love that ending shot with Audrey clutching her bear with the big band aid sticking the back of his head together.
Once again there is a morality lesson afoot here, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. Audrey wanted tea parties, she got a suicidal bear. Wes wants the girl of his dreams, he gets a beautiful woman with no ability to think or grow as a person. Audrey’s parents wish for Bali, they come back burned. Dean wants a sandwich he gets poisoned.0 The kid in the shower wants to be invisible to peep, he gets hit by the Impala. Todd wants to be able to take care of bullies…we never see his go bad as Dean intervenes and ultimately Wes reverses the spell. The lesson here is to be careful thinking that, when you get this or if you could only have that or gee, my life would be awesome if I went to Bali, had a teddy to talk to, had the girl of my dreams…you get the picture…living in the future or thinking that one person or place or purchase or whatever is going to make you happy is futile thinking. Be happy where you are, who you are, what you are; when you master that, you’ll be perfect and along the way you’ll enjoy the journey.
I know, a bit of a stretch to some of you but the truth is as Wes found out, he had the perfect girl except she wasn’t. He knew it was a sham and thus not real and thus there was no true joy there for him; she loved him because of a spell, not for him. Sad.
This little idea carried on further in the season as well, Sam wanted Dean to tell him so much about hell, problem was, when Dean told Sam how awful it was, it was tough for Sam to handle and it was fodder for Ruby to use to manipulate Sam. In Heaven and Hell and even Family Remains Sam was firmly standing in support of Dean, by Sex and Violence it’s obvious that reteaming with Ruby in Criss Angel and the time that passed between Criss Angel and After School Special was well utilized by Ruby, so well that at the end of Sex and Violence Sam, under the spell of the siren, uttered words that I have no belief he would have ever even thought had Ruby not planted them when we weren’t looking, Dean is weak, Dean is a hindrance. Once uttered, however, the words began to live and breathe on their own and Sam’s wish for Dean to tell him about hell ultimately led to Sam consciously and unconsciously seeing Dean as less than capable and less than he was before. As for wishing to see Lilith’s head on a plate, bloody…well, that led to Lucifer Rising; be careful what you wish for, you may get more than you can handle.
On The Head of a Pin:
This might have been my first review here at the Winchester Family Business, I was so blown away by this episode I couldn’t contain myself and in a spurt of excitement typed away and sent to Alice just ’cause I needed to share. Several months later look where I am, cool. This was likely one of Ben Edlund’s finest pieces to date simply because of the depths he took all our beloved characters – okay all makes it seem like more than two, I love Castiel but he’s not in the same category of beloved as Dean and Sam.
Ben frequently gets the opportunity to deepen and darken the characters and their story. I love his episodes simply because I know I’m in for something good even if it’s a really good laugh. Here there was only one place to laugh and that pleasure went to Misha. There is so much in here that takes the characters to new places and I credit not only Ben Edlund for writing this but also Mike Rohl for directing in such a way that it also tells a story. That opening shot of Sam speeding the Impala down a dark highway, barely keeping it in one lane, is so telling of his state of mind, he’s speeding somewhere, he can’t see very far ahead and he’s not even bothering to keep it between the lines all the time. Awesome.
Mike Rohl uses the Impala to tell us a lot about Dean as well, Sam is driving – showing an advancement from the last several episodes, Dean is shutting down while Sam is asserting control. Dean is also slumped in the passenger seat, awakening from sleep and not even bothering to straighten himself fully in his seat upon awakening, depressed and giving up.
Ruby’s hold on Sam also gets good coverage here, I love how Ben had her call Sam ‘Sammy’ right when it was time to ‘feed’ him some blood. Sam didn’t flinch or twitch or bother with the moniker, he simply was focused on getting the blood to feed his addiction, and it was clear that Ruby was in charge of Sam while Sam was in asserting himself as being in charge of Dean. Awesome.
We’ve seen Ben take on new characters, Henricksen and Bela, he’s also developed some recurring ones, Castiel, Anna and Uriel. He writes Dean brutally vulnerable and shows him doing all sorts of horrific things to Alastair’s host. Sure Alastair is suffering and who among us didn’t enjoy that knowing what Alastair had done to Dean, however, that must be tempered by the realization that all the torture Alastair experienced was hideously experienced by the host. I’m not going to water that down either, sure the host ‘might’ have already been dead but we know this host wasn’t taken by Alastair for long so there is every chance the human ‘meat suit’ was still very much alive and very much suffering all that Dean inflicted.
Take that all you Sam fans who are so concerned that Sam and Sam alone has been written as this awful murderer since he drank the nurse’s blood in Lucifer Rising; Dean tortured a human. Both brothers went to brutal, horrible depths of depravity this season.
What can I tell you about what that means? Nothing. I’m just noting that this was a fabulous episode that deepened the angels, showed there were angelic divisions – as in conflict, took both Sam and Dean to horrific lows, but also gave us much to chew on and wonder about and love – and then there was the fangirl part…worried Sam at Dean’s bedside. To think some still wondered after this episode if Sam cared. Sheesh.
That was great Elle2!
I just can’t agree with you more about these wonderful episodes and Mr. Edlund’s writing.
He has to be a great writer to have done both Hollywood Babylon and On the Head of a Pin. What a contrast in atmosphere!
Yes, I enjoy every one of Mr. Edlund’s episodes again and again and again.
I find I agree with you a lot Elle2. Great minds LOL?
Hi, Bevie,
I agree that it does take a lot of talent to be able to write the spectrum that is Nightshifter, Wishful Thinking and On The Head of a Pin. We are so fortunate to have so many — or actually so few which helps keep it from getting messy — wonderful writers on our show. I know other shows that have over a dozen writers and I often wonder why as I find so little continuity. Sometimes smaller is better. I digress…happens a lot.
I find quite a few people that agree with me or as I like to think of it — I agree with them. I would say there are many great minds that populate this site.
🙂
Many great minds indeed 🙂
I absolutely agree Elle2, I think Ben Edlund is effin brilliant. Although, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Dean is Batman, because I believe that he’s even more awesome than Batman
OTHOAP almost killed me dead, it’s so intense. And when Dean was in the hospital, it was really nice because we got back a tiny glimpse of the old Puppy!Sam. Especially when he demanded that Castiel heal Dean, “Miracle, now!”..omg.
Simon Said was also great. Funny and scary all in one. “You find out you got a brother you buy him a beer, you don’t start killing people!” Hah!
And how Ron absolutely hated Sam, too cute!
Ok basically, there’s too much awesome to summarize 🙂
Hi, Narcissus,
I agree about there being too much awesome to summarize. Since OTHOAP was on just the other night it really came home again just how awesome the episode is…and how awesome Season 4 was. Can you imagine we’re under four weeks now until the premier! Wow!
Glad you enjoyed that little look at Mr. Edlund’s eps. May there be many more
It’s quite a revelation seeing all his episodes listed like this … So many of my all time favorites are on there.
Let’s hope he’s got his pencils all nice and sharp for September!
Hi, Suze,
I agree with you, when I compiled them I was a bit shocked as I looked and realized, wow, he’s done some pretty powerful eps. I’m eagerly awaiting his genius (and sometime insanity) for Season 5.
🙂