Fan Video of the Week: Supernatural Reflections “Don’t Call Me Shurley”
Even if time has gone by, I have still mixed feelings about writing this article. “Don’t Call Me Shurley” was a magnificent episode. If you ask me, it was the finale on which this season should have ended. After that we found out that Thompson was leaving Supernatural, which hit me pretty hard. He was on a roll in season 11, writing the best episodes he has ever written.
When I joined the show and watched the first six seasons I was shocked at how emotional the story was and how I related it to emotionally. I’m a big nerd. I came for the monsters, but I stayed for the drama. So it’s certainly a challenge to come up with a new take on a monster, but with these two characters as portrayed by these two actors it’s an endless well to draw from. – Robbie Thompson
At the beginning when I started to watch the show, I actually didn’t care who wrote what. Sometimes I wish I would be able to go back to that place but then I wouldn’t know who Thompson and Berens were. Robbie’s episodes have heart and he could write new awesome characters. Charlie came to be loved by many. Cain made such an impact in only one episode that it almost felt like he had been in 10 episodes. And who could forget the Leviathan!Winchesters? They were hilarious and scary at the same time. I wish we could have gotten more of them. Plus Eileen and Mildred from “Into The Mystic”!
It is hard to think Thompson will not be writing for season 12. When he wrote he was leaving in Twitter, fans also noticed the detail that Charlie was killed May 6th, 2015. @rthompson1138 send his goodbye tweet on May 6th, 2016. I still can’t see it as a coincidence. Thompson loved Charlie and the loss might have affected his decision but I can only speculate why and not really know the real deal. I hope the new writers will be as dedicated and have heart for the Winchesters as he had.
So thank you Robbie and thank you also for showing Berens the ropes. May you have luck on what ever path you choose next.
Robbie Thompson – Writer of the episodes:
7.06 Slash Fiction
7.12 Time After Time
7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo
8.04 Bitten
8.11 LARP and the Real Girl
8.17 Goodbye Stranger
8.20 Pac-Man Fever
9.04 Slumber Party
9.11 First Born
9.18 Meta Fiction
10.05 Fan Fiction
10.11 There’s No Place Like Home
10.18 Book of the Damned
10.20 Angel Heart
11.04 Baby
11.11 Into the Mystic
11.16 Safe House
11.20 Don’t Call Me Shurley
‘Supernatural’: Top 5 Robbie Thompson-penned episodes
My top five episodes from him are:
1. 11.04 Baby
My all time favorite from the 11 seasons (and that is saying a lot) because of the details of how it was made, the cinematography, the story, plus Jared and Jensen hit it out of the park. The heart was evident in every part that was filmed and Thompson gave credit to each and every one that made the episode. There was not really a director in the car when the actors just drove off and continued to act to the little cameras. I think Jensen said that it was a real road trip that he and Jared went off to. And best of all, it was all about the Baby.
Dean: Okay, Mom. Let’s go home.
[Sam taps on the dash]
Sam: You know what? We are home.
First aired October 28, 2015
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Monster: Nachzehrer
2. 11.20 Don’t Call Me Shurley
A writer who can make me like Metatron is one hell of a writer. This episode was Robbie’s “Swan Song” and it was great. The back and forth with Chuck and Metatron was like a cat and mouse game. Thompson really can write dialogue. Chuck was revealed to be God plus Robbie also revealed where the Samulet has been all this time (and where it will be). For some reason, the song “Fare Thee Well” in the end sounded like a goodbye. First for God but later… maybe it was Thompson’s all along too.
Chuck: I was stupid. Naive. I thought if I could show my sister that there was something more than just us, something better than us, then maybe she’d change. Maybe she’d stop… being… her. But… every time I’d build a new world… she’d destroy it.
One of these days
It won’t be long
Call my name
I’ll be gone
Fare thee well, my honey
Fare thee well
First aired May 4, 2016
Directed by Robert Singer
Monster: The Darkness, Rabids
3. 9.11 First Born
For me, the Mark of Cain was not a dull or boring story. The whole background from Cain and Abel and angels and demons has the background from real life religion giving it true lore, plus it had history in the show.
Michael: It’s a bloodline.
Dean: A bloodline?
Michael: Stretching back to Cain and Abel. It’s in your blood, your father’s blood, your family’s blood.
Dean: Awesome. Six degrees of Heaven Bacon. What do you want with me?
– 5.13 “The Song Remains the Same”
This episode introduced to us Cain (Timothy Omundson). What a great character he was. Also Omundson was one of the contributing parts that made this episode great and Cain’s character larger than life. I never felt that Cain was only in two episodes. It felt so much more.
First aired January 21, 2014
Directed by John Badham
Monster: Demons
4. 11.16 Safe House
I missed Bobby so much. I know, I know. I could add the same sentence to every episode he appears in now. We also got the treat to see Rufus back in this episode. The story was complex and so was the setting. The monster was also something we hadn’t seen before. Sam talked with Bobby already in “Inside Man” and now Dean had the opportunity to see Bobby after a long while. That made me tear up when I saw it. It was great to see the story unfold in two different timelines. The dialogue was also witty and the comedic touches great.
Rufus: It’s officially none of your damn business, ma’am.
Bobby: Were you ever nice?
Rufus: 1985. Worst year of my life.
First aired March 23, 2016
Directed by Stefan Pleszczynski
Monster: Soul Eater
5. 10.05 Fan Fiction
A tribute to all fans, the 200th episode was a tough episode to write. It also marked the episode by which Demon!Dean needed to be done. That is a shame, but the first musical episode for Supernatural didn’t disappoint. The heart that I talked about was present in this episode. Even though we didn’t see some of the characters with the real actors/actresses, the ones playing them made me remember “The Road So Far”, i.e. the family/friends the brothers have lost and all the stories that have unfolded. The songs were specially made for this episode, like the cover to “Carry On Wayward Son”.
Siobhan/”Dean: You’re right Sammy, out on the road, just the two of us.
Marie/”Sam: The two of us against the world!
Sam: What she said.
First aired November 11, 2014
Directed by Phil Sgriccia
Monster: Calliope, Scarecrow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcgzTLKNR3g&feature=youtube
for robbie thompson on the occasion of his abandonment/liberation made by: lua james
Dink’s Song by Pete Seeger
(Fred Neil, Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, Jeff Buckley, Rob Benedict)
If I had wings like Noah’s dove,
I’d fly up da river to the man I love.
Fare thee well, O Honey, fare thee well.
Ise got a man, an’ he’s long and tall,
Moves his body like a cannonball.
Fare thee well, O Honey, fare thee well.
One o’ dese days, an’ it won’t be long,
Call my name an’ I’ll be gone.
Fare thee well, O Honey, fare thee well.
‘Member one night, a-drizzlin’ rain,
Roun’ my heart I felt a pain.
Fare thee well, O Honey, fare thee well.
When I wo’ my ap’ons low,
Couldn’t keep you from my do’.
Fare thee well, O Honey, fare thee well.
Now I wears my ap’ons high,
Sca’cely ever see you passin’ by.
Fare thee well, O Honey, fare thee well.
Now my ap’ons up to my chin,
You pass my do’ an’ you won’ come in,
Fare thee well, O Honey, fare thee well.
Ef I had listened to whut my mama said,
I’d be at home in my mama’s bed.
Fare thee well, O Honey, fare thee well.
Peter “Pete” Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead Belly’s “Goodnight, Irene”, which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950. Members of the Weavers were blacklisted during the McCarthy Era. In the 1960s, he re-emerged on the public scene as a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, counterculture and environmental causes.
A prolific songwriter, his best-known songs include “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” (with Joe Hickerson), “If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)” (with Lee Hays of the Weavers), and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (lyrics adapted from Ecclesiastes), which have been recorded by many artists both in and outside the folk revival movement and are sung throughout the world. “Flowers” was a hit recording for the Kingston Trio (1962); Marlene Dietrich, who recorded it in English, German and French (1962); and Johnny Rivers (1965). “If I Had a Hammer” was a hit for Peter, Paul & Mary (1962) and Trini Lopez (1963), while the Byrds had a number one hit with “Turn! Turn! Turn!” in 1965.
Quotes:
Metatron: You want to write the best-selling autobiography of all time, you explain to me — tell me why you abandoned me. Us.
Chuck: Because you disappointed me. You all disappointed me.
Metatron: No, look. I know I’m a disappointment, but you’re wrong about humanity. They are your greatest creation because they’re better than you are. Yeah, sure, they’re weak and they cheat and steal and… destroy and disappoint. But they also give and create and they sing and dance and love. And above all, they never give up. But you do.
Sam: We’re not gonna make it.
Dean: No, no, no. There’s no quittin’ here.
Sam: We’re never gonna make it.
Dean: Sam, listen to me. That’s not you talking, it’s the fog.
Sam: You were gonna choose Amara over me. Over everything.
Dean: Sam, No!
Sam: Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that, Dean. I can’t fight this, you gotta go. You got to get out before you get infected. Go before I hurt you!
Dean: No. I’m not leaving you — ever! Stop this! You hear me, you dick?
from: Amy|sweetondean ;-/
Music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYNLM47cnt0
Supernatural 11×20-Don’t Call Me Shurley-Chuck (Rob Benedict) sing “Fare Thee Well”
Song Title: “Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)”
“Good Vibrations” by Brian Wilson
(playing in God’s construct of a bar when Metatron is transported there)
Messiah, HWV 56, Part II: Chorus “Hallelujah!” by Tallin Festival Chamber Orchestra
(plays when Chuck shows his true visage to Metatron)
“Don’t Answer the Door” by B.B. King
(playing in God’s construct of a bar as Chuck and Metatron talk)
“Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones
(playing as God and Metatron rewrite his autobiography)
“Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)” by Rob Benedict
(sung by Chuck over the closing montage)
References:
en.wikipedia.org
goodreads.com
supernaturalwiki.com
Cover art by: FIGHT THE FAIRIES! @Alice_Mars_Mann Her Instagram
Which is your favorite Thompson episode? Share your thoughts below.
Leave a Reply