Deb’s Top 10 – The Good, the Bad & the Random Supernatural 15.16

This is how this works: I will give my TOP 5 choices for the Good and The Bad of each season 15 episode that has aired thus far, PLUS a random fact that may or may not have anything to do with the episode. It depends what I am thinking at that moment! After you read my opinions, I would like to hear your TOP 5 Good/Bad list from the same episode. The point is that every episode must have both good and bad stuff for you, or you are not being honest with yourself. ? “The Bad” stuff might be easier to write when the episode is not to your liking, then other times “The Good” will be easier. The Good/Bad stuff can be silly things – that is alright too!

 

 

 

1. Child actors are good and bad          
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street vibes
3. The jump scares worked
4. Sam and Dean researching like normal
5. New monster of the week

 

 

 

 

 

1. The child actors did a good job but them being in that motel was somewhat surreal. I felt a little bit detached from the story (it happened with some of the previous episodes as well). I cannot actually say why that is; maybe because the episode had so many small parts? So, I cannot really fault the actors (more about that in the “bad” section). I did like the dynamics all the kids had with one another. Young Dean especially captured Dean’s mannerisms very well. My favorite interactions were later in the episode.

 

2. I did like the feel of the episode and the horror aspect of it. The sets and lighting gave an old school vibe and, at first, I could not put my finger on it. Then it finally dawned on me. Like Dean said: “I have seen this movie”. The whole hour felt like A Nightmare on Elm Street, particularly the scary parts with the hallucinations and how the horror was portrayed. I think one of the movies did end in a factory? I cannot remember it well because it has been a while since I saw those movies.        

 

3. It has also been a while since an episode made me have jump scares! I saw a lot of fans had similar reactions in the same spots as me. In Supernatural, the scary parts are usually suspenseful but they don’t cause jump scares. Not like this anyway (or I have blocked them from my mind?). Jump scares do not bother me but some fans might not like them as a horror factor. I like them, but I also like suspense and psychological horror. We got plenty of the latter in this episode! 

 

4. Well, sort of… At least Sam. There is just something with them working on a case and staying in motel rooms. In the end, Dean also hopped on the case even though he was reluctant, distracted and unwilling at first – aka he had bigger things on his mind, like not telling the truth to Sam, Jack being a bomb and killing Chuck. Of course, Billie did not help the matter when she popped up in the restaurant. Finally, they also kept each other safe and took down the monster of the week by working together.

 

5. I am so glad that after all these years they can still muster a new monster of the week for us. It is a welcome surprise among the werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters etc. that we have seen a lot and gotten used to already. Also, I think Baba Yaga’s lore was uniquely  interesting. The name of the monster had already caught my attention because John Wick’s nickname (what they call him in the movies) is Baba Yaga. We have had a few witches/monsters, though, whose power was connected to their rings. It is a pretty simple way to kill the monster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Together, not apart! Winchester 1on1?
2. Childhood traumas aka the motel set
3. Safety first!
4. Not the Winchesters
5. “If I Didn’t Care” – Hello. 1940’s song?

 

 

 

 

 

1. This frustrates me to no end. First, Dean not telling Sam about Jack IS an important thing. Castiel just going off on his own to do god knows what and expecting Dean to tell Sam? How did he know that Dean did not tell Sam? Yeah, I did not know that either. Have they not learned anything about keeping secrets? Sam is rightfully mad. I feel that their family splits apart exactly when the fans want them to do things together. Did I already say I am frustrated? Because I AM! I do not want to watch them being apart for the rest of the episodes. The chances that we will see all of them together is running thin.

 

2. Look, the motel rooms as a set were great so props to the set department… but I grew up in a house that had similar old-fashioned, weird décor and colors. They are just hideous for me. I cannot help it. It is my parents’ fault so do not blame me. I do not like dark colors in rooms. Some “old” styles should have been chained to rocks and sunk to the bottom of the sea. I do not like orange specifically. It looks really aggressive when it is the color of the wall paint. And those strong patterns on wallpaper – brr… 

 

3. A lot of things can be summarized in this point. I do not know what John Winchester taught the boys but my eye twitched when Sam had a gun and a knife un-holstered in his bag. That is against all safety protocols I know it’s very dangerous to civilians to carry a bag like that. They are lucky they are still alive to this day. Be careful with weapons if you have them, hmph. Then Caitlin just running alone to get the ring after she KNEW about the monster. Has she never watched a horror movie before?

 

4. This is also my personal preference, but I have gotten used to all the incarnations of the young Winchesters before so I could not see these new actors as Sam and Dean this time. It is not the fault of the actors but if most of my viewing time is spent trying to force myself to see them as Winchesters? It does not sound fun, now does it? That just added to the out of place feeling I had from the start, and well, Dean being a slight bully to Sam at the beginning – I guess the episode just did not work for me as a whole because of a lot of small things.

 

5. I got thrown out of the episode immediately because of the weird song at the beginning. What year was it again? I felt like we would get a story from the 1940’s. It did not help that it actually played in the motel. I guess it fit the décor of the motel in a way, but no way that girl would listen to that while working. There must be some other radio channel that jumps up at least two decades. I mean, quiet and calm music can be found in any decade. For me, it did not work, but of course it is all subjective and a matter of taste. I am sure it worked for some. Do you think it worked for Supernatural? That was my main objection to it. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga (Russian: Баба-Яга, romanized: Baba Yaga) is a supernatural being (or a trio of sisters of the same name) who appears as a deformed or ferocious-looking old woman. In Slavic culture, Baba Yaga lived in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs. Baba Yaga may help or hinder those that encounter her or seek her out. She may play a maternal role and has associations with forest wildlife. According to Vladimir Propp’s folktale morphology, Baba Yaga commonly appears as either a donor, villain, or may be altogether ambiguous. Her depictions vary greatly across tales, ranging from a child-eating monster, to helping a protagonist find his missing bride.

Andreas Johns identifies Baba Yaga as “one of the most memorable and distinctive figures in eastern European folklore”, and observes that she is “enigmatic” and often exhibits “striking ambiguity”. Johns summarizes Baba Yaga as “a many-faceted figure, capable of inspiring researchers to see her as a Cloud, Moon, Death, Winter, Snake, Bird, Pelican or Earth Goddess, totemic matriarchal ancestress, female initiator, phallic mother, or archetypal image”.

 

I am dying to read your choices for Top 10. Remember, anything goes!

Thanks to Wiki , Wiki 2 & Daria animation MTV

Go back with Deb to 15.01 “Back and to the Future” , 15.02 “Raising Hell” , 15.03 “The Rupture”  , 15.04 “Atomic Monsters” , 15.09 “The Trap” , 15.10 “The Heroes’ Journey” , 15.11 “The Gamblers” , 15.12 “Galaxy Brain” , 15.13 “Destiny’s Child” , 15.14 “Last Holiday” and 15.15 “Gimme Shelter” if you missed them!