Mallena’s Musings: Supernatural 13.09 “The Bad Place”

Speak of the devil; Jack reunites with the Winchesters in this quite serviceable Supernatural episode.  Lacking in some ways, but great in others…let’s review, shall we?

I’m not sure what to think of the guest stars, this week.  Derek the Dreamwalker’s interesting, but his girlfriend’s way overdressed for visiting him.  She looks like she’s going to somewhere fancy and looks incongruous with Derek and his distinctive artwork.  I suppose she might have said why she was all dressed up and I missed it.  Later though, she appears in plain clothes and she seems much younger and cooler.  I don’t know, it just seems like odd wardrobe choices.  Also, Patience is still rather bland, but newcomer Kaia seems promising; she just needs a chance to develop.  James, Patience’s stern father, is totally unlikeable as he insists on perfection from his teen daughter and also gives her the old “don’t come back if you leave” speech.  Some astute viewers think that he’s just giving her worried advice, but I didn’t hear it that way and I don’t think that Patience did either.  I’d never say that to a kid of mine.  Hopefully.

Jack and Derek use the Mystical Footbath of Goop to investigate other worlds where Jack might be able to find Mary.  Derek’s not having a good time, though.  I hope the way that a human’s head lights up when that happens doesn’t cause brain damage.  Derek doesn’t have to worry about that because he’s soon dead anyway.  The burnt-out eyes are an angel thing, so we know that trouble’s following our new boy.  So is Sam and Dean; they find Derek and worry about Jack’s actions.  I never thought for a moment that Jack did that to him.  Jack’s too wonderful a character to have done such a bad thing.  We’ll see what the future brings, though.  Sam and Dean talk about the possibility of having to kill Jack and I, for one, don’t like it.  It’s been a long time since a new friend has meant something to the Winchesters and I would like to keep Jack good, please.  It’s sweet to hear that Jack’s only been focusing on getting Mary back to her family for Sam and Dean.  Awww.

When we meet Kaia, she’s in an addiction group.  She says that she’s just taking drugs to stay awake.  Now Kaia, you should watch season seven of Supernatural.  It would show you that taking drugs and not sleeping’s not that helpful – or very healthy.

Anyway, Kaia’s pretty interesting.  She has a tragic backstory (not unusual for our show) and she has a skittish and distrustful manner about her.  She doesn’t want to cooperate with our guys and it’s kind of weird because we know how great and helpful the boys are, right?  Well, when they’re not getting everyone around them killed, perhaps.  Kaia just wants to deck Jack and run away.  Since she’s taken by self-serving and self-righteous angels, it’s probably not the right choice.  I guess I should address the threats of Dean that scared the young teenager.  I can see why Dean does it and am not totally shocked when he does it.  Dean’s found the one thing that might help him get his mother back when he had given up all hope, so naturally he’s not going to just let that special girl walk away.  When Dean makes up his mind to do something, he doesn’t let much get in his way.  He does apologize later to her, though.  That counts for something.  Dean’s on edge and acts in a way that he wouldn’t in other circumstances.  It’s his mother!  I didn’t like him pulling a gun on Patience, but I can understand why he might.

I’d like to emote about Jack for a while.  He reminds me of early-days Castiel, all over again.  I’m mesmerized by Jack and loving his every expression and utterance.  In my notes while watching this episode, I wrote this: 

Jack’s a combination of innocence, cosmic forces, and the charm of a sweet boy that melts this mother’s heart –  he’s a Young Cas Without a Cause. 

Castiel had his whole “Angel of the Lord” thing and he had a mission that he thought he understood.  Jack doesn’t have that luxury, he’s adrift with opposing forces on every side.  The beings that he chooses to side with – they’re going to have a very powerful, not to mention, fun-to-hang-out-with partner.  I truly hope that Jack’s going to stay with the Winchesters.  Dean has proclaimed him family and that’s all well and good.  However, remembering how far Sam and Dean have been divided, from time to time, makes me fear for the future.  Who’d have predicted that the Sam and Dean of season three would become the angry and distant brothers that they soon became?  Anything could happen to Jack, in our supernatural show, and that worries me, greatly.

By the time the gang gets to that beautifully misty shipyard, I’m really starting to enjoy this.  The angels have been defeated once by Jack’s sonic pulses of angel death, but there’s a big showdown ahead.  Now, I’m not a canon purest, so I don’t mind the sigil-busting moves of the angels at all.  In fact, I found it to be dramatic and fascinating.  I do wish that the angels were stomping with their feet, instead of smacking their hands on the floor, so that I could have made an Angel Riverdance joke, but it’s still very cool.  I also came up with Angel Drum Song, but there weren’t any drums, sadly.  In regard to cannon, maybe the remaining angels have gotten together to research ways to defeat the Winchesters and their annoying sigils.  Our boys find new ways to defend themselves all the time, so why can’t the God Squad?  It’s only fair.

Kaia has a traumatic habit of visiting a very bad place when she sleeps.  I do feel badly that she has to deal with that horror and pain, but just go play with the nice hunters and the son of Satan, Kaia.  Cute and earnest Jack is there to let you know that everything’s going to be fine and there’s no need to worry.  Right.  Kaia might be comforted by the visions of better worlds out there somewhere, but she winds up alone, in the end.  She has a hard time staying focused on Mary’s location and a scary hooded figure causes her such distress – that the angels go “poof,” there’s a big flash, and a rift opens.  Silence lays over the wood and stone of Shipyard and what ever walks there…sorry, wrong story.

Patience winds up with Jody, Mary’s just hanging around with Jack at her feet, and Sam and Dean are Smurfs in the Land before Time.  The boys are together, with no distractions (well, except for some massive, unknown creatures).  It’s just the two of them.  Wayward Sisters to the rescue?  I’m intrigued and trying to think positively about the upcoming episodes.  It could be awesome, really.  Yes, really…probably.  Dinosaurs can’t be in the Supernatural budget and the boys left their stub of a Dragonslayer Sword behind, so things could get really interesting.  Stay tuned. I’m going to.

Random Musings

The Bad Place is a 1990 novel by Dean Koontz.  I’ve never read it because Koontz’s writings are usually over-the-top for me.  I like some of his early books, but most of his later on are too bizarre.

There’s also a Bad Place on The Good Place with Kristen Bell and Ted Danson.  This fantasy/comedy was one of my favorite new shows of last year, but season two got off to a rocky start for me.  I just found the beginning episodes repetitive, but am now liking the show much better.  Kristen and her fellow actors, especially the lady playing “Janet” are engaging and funny.

Dragonslayer is a 1981 film. It stars Peter MacNicol as a young man who attempts to defeat a dragon. I haven’t seen it in years, but it made an impression on me when I watched it in a theatre, and I’ve never completely forgotten it.

On Fringe, Olivia was often immersed in an isolation tank so that she could travel to other realities, in her mind.  Elle, on Stranger Things, also used water to float in.  The scenes of a young Elle being submerged against her will by mean scientist-types were quite disturbing.

The presence of Native American characters and lore were nice to see on Supernatural.  They remind me of one of my favorite episodes, ever – “The Great Escapist.”  I love the boy’s adventures in Colorado with Mr. Scowly Scowl, that Scooby Doo Villain.  I mean the hotel manager, not Metatron, but he’s good here, too.

Lastly, I was musing on The Lord of the Rings.  The scenes set in Moria are some of the most frightening in the novel.  I was reminded of this when the angels were attacking:

We cannot get out. The end comes. Drums, drums in the deep.

Except for some scenes with Patience, her dad, and a few others, I really enjoyed this one.  Jack was awesome, once again, and the action and cinematography were very well done.  There are multiple locations, danger, and mostly compelling guest stars and mythology. The special effects were lovely and I’m sure that the show spent serious coin on this one.  I’m interested to see the Wind Caves, where the walls between the worlds are thin, and I even got some much-needed emotional dialog.  Dean’s not in the mood for diplomacy and doesn’t want to listen to Sam’s “other way,” but there’s still lots of cool dialog between everyone involved and it’s sounding nice to my ears. 

Try to get through Hellatus with good cheer and send lots of comments our way.  We’ll still be here, for you.

—Mallena

Additional images courtesy of:

HomeoftheNutty.com

Sweatpantsandcoffee.com