“Sam Interrupted”…Did It Work Or Not?
Sam, Interrupted…Did It Work or Not? Elle2
At last, nine long weeks are over – and for those of us who may be counting down to spring (at least in the northeast) only eight weeks and three days until spring.
I’ll go on record and state that Sam, Interrupted worked…and didn’t work.
First off, it ended winter Hellatus—that’s a work.
Second off, it continued the brothers’ trek back together as they reaffirm that they are brothers and they are in ‘it’ together while at the same time it separated the brothers at various points and had them confront their individual issues—that’s a major work.
It was funny, somewhat scary (or at least bloody), threw in a little misdirection that frankly worked (for me, don’t know about you) harkened back to early episodes and did I mention it ended winter Hellatus?
There were some holes; I’ll get them out of the way right now so as not to dwell on them. First off, how did Martin call them, didn’t see anyone else having an opportunity to call, so how the heck did he do it. That’s minor though. The clothes the boys wore, chances are real good we’ll see those jackets on the boys again—uh, how did they get them out of the facility? Not to mention, do we really believe they can just open a door and get out? Really?
Again, I could probably look for bigger, badder and more glaring holes but I won’t ‘cause first off, I didn’t see too many (on the two viewings I’ve had) and also, I don’t want to—so there.
Technical aspects:
I’ll start with what I call ‘technical aspects’ of the show, like sets, shots, music, plot devices and the like.
I really like that James Conway repeated the opening shot of the facility and then the doctor opening the patient chart from the teaser to Dean and Sam. Nice way to move the story along and dive headfirst into the show.
No background music at all until the group scene, keeps the atmosphere of the episode quiet, subdued – kinda what one would expect in a mental health facility so it sets the tone well.
The shot on the thingy Sam used to pick his door lock and get out was nice for we then knew they’d designed something which allowed them to enter doors at will; nice touch.
Then there’s the misdirection of Wendy, the over-sexed patient, as the possible wraith for Nurse “Ratchet†that worked well. At first I was suspicious of Nurse “Ratchet†until Dean postulated that it was Wendy—course that was misdirection but very plausible.
Also to go in this the ‘technical aspects’ of the episode, there are plenty of fun gems here, Sam doped up on happy pills and then pulling a “boop†on Dean’s nose – very funny. Dean going all Hannibal Lector, excellent.
Eddie and Alex – hah, two brothers as rockers, two brothers as hunters – nice aliases boys.
Dean fitting in in the mental health institute (Pudding!) harkens back to Folsom Prison Blues as does the plot device of Martin a hunter who saved Dad’s life many times mirrors Deacon calling the boys ‘cause he was an ex-Marine buddy of John’s. Another Folsom Prison Blues ‘shout out’ is that once again the Impala is faithfully waiting where she’s been parked handily for the getaway.
Phew, I was starting to sweat this would be yet another episode without the Impala. SPN has gone eleven episodes this season and she’s been in every one, after last year’s three without her, Kripke and Co. owe us (and her) a full season of appearances – and yes, the three in a row during The Real Ghostbusters helps offset last year’s missed opportunities but do not count for this year.
What did we (they) learn?
Geez, I hope they learned something but I’m not so sure. Dean goes with what Dean knows best, bury, ignore, deflect; it is slowly killing him. I think he does recognize that at least, so I give him hope. Dean may be willing to ignore it:
Sam: “The last few weeks you’ve been worrying me.â€
“You do this every time. You can’t just keep this crap in.â€
Dean: “Watch me.â€
We do watch you, Dean. It’s not healthy and the fact that you conjured up a smart, attractive, take-no-crap-from-you-equal-in-every-wisecracking-way, doctor, tells us that you know it’s not healthy either and that you want someone to be strong, and equal.
It’s quite telling of the toll this life and this burden is taking on Dean that when given the opportunity, and a little departure from reality (as we’ve seen in WIAWHNB, DALDOM) he lets down his walls to somebody. Here it’s a decidedly attractive female doctor but also very interesting is the fact that she’s as tough as he is. She cracks wise, sees through his vulnerabilities and doesn’t let him deflect her; the fact that she’s a hallucination doesn’t change the fact that we ‘see’ what Dean really wants, and once again it is so much more than mere sex for the sake of sex. He wants an equal.
Dean wants someone to lean on, wants someone to fight the battle with him and I truly believe he wishes he didn’t have the burdens he does but he’s also not going to run from them. Dean is going to do what he’s always done and what he said he believes in doing (It’s a Terrible Life) dealing with what’s in front of him. He doesn’t make excuses, he simply does.
Sam comes to a revelation (finally) and what’s even better, he admits it to himself and to Dean. He’s angry. He admits the pattern, John, Dean, Lilith, Lucifer – you didn’t need the feather to fly, Dumbo, it was inside you all the time. Is this what they meant? That Sam had anger inside of him and that’s what Lucifer needed? Don’t know. Could be that simple, might be more. What’s great is that Sam confronted it, out loud, to himself and to Dean.
The problem—Dean, who has spent from Season 1 trying to get Sam to open up and tell him what’s going on (remember Bloody Mary?) actually tells Sam to bury it down. Sam has been very good all these years harassing Dean to let him in (ELAC and CSPWDT and Croatoan are good ones for specific comments. Then there’s Fresh Blood, that’s a goodie. Let’s not forget last year’s Wishful Thinking.) Yet through all those times of Sam trying to get Dean to open up and ‘unburden himself’ Sam has been one to hide his feelings, thoughts and fears.
Here he goes full bore, I’m angry and I’ve made excuses, Ruby, demon blood…blame everyone but me. Well, the confrontation Sam had in the break room shows that despite the delusional state he might have been in he does know that he was arrogant, stubborn, and that he carries just as heavy a burden as does Dean for the apocalypse.
Good. Both brothers know they’re broken, both brothers know they’re carrying heavy burdens of guilt and the future what ifs. My hope that I take from this is that Dean asked Sam twice if Sam was with him and in the end Sam said yes, I’m with you. Alleluia!
The doctor made a profound observation that may just explain why with all the drinking and sleep deprivation Dean abuses himself with why he’s perhaps dealing with all this better than Sam:
“People can learn to live with delusions but the angerâ€â€¦Sam has anger and it does threaten to destroy him. Dean has coping mechanisms and while healthy they may not be, helpful they do seem to be. I still think it’s family that’s going to save them. Thankfully the brothers seem to be stronger together than ever; despite the horrors they’ve endured.
Dean: “My brother’s not evil. He was just high.â€
I liked it, it’s no On The Head of a Pin or Lazarus Rising, nor is it a In My Time of Dying; but it’s no Family Remains or Bugs or Red Sky in the Morning either.
Also, Dean and Martin scenes—comedic timing brilliance yet again!
My score, a strong B. The writing clipped along, the emotional impact of the brothers’ journey was not stunted. Both brothers continued to work together while separately dealing with their issues. The doctor was a good foil for Dean. Martin was a sad picture of what the future can be while similarly providing an anchor to the past. The wraith may be somewhat plodding in that it was a monster we’ve sort of seen before, distorted face only to be seen in mirrors, feeds on its captive victims, like the Siren, like the Crocotta, like the Ghouls (same thing with Sam tied up and the ‘thing’ licking its fingers of Sam’s sweat in anticipation much like the ghoul tasting his blood) still – there’s only so many devices one can come up with so things are likely to repeat.
Plenty of fun without being over the top and no doubt Jensen and Jared enjoyed the ‘lighter’ wardrobe of robes and scrubs to their normal attire – at least Jensen and Jared alluded to that in the commentary on IMTOD that Jensen likely had it quite comfortable in that eppie. One would think they did again here.
Thank you, winter Hellatus, for ending. Now, bring on Swap Meat…
Thanks for reading. Elle2
I’ll go on record and state that not all of us Northeasterners (hey, lake effect snow puts us among them) aren’t looking forward to spring. 😉
The escaping thing doesn’t bother me (since they’re good at improvising, right?) but yeah, the Martin deal is mildly disconcerting. I have no clue about phone privileges in such a place. Jas, help?
’bout time Van Halen got some more love.
Between Rufus and Martin, get out while the gettin’s good would seem to be the order of the day. I love the fact that they’re scraping deeper into their warped psyches to where they’re starting to recognize “yeah, we ARE fucked up.”
As for the samey-ness of monsterdom, I can live with it since a lot of stock imagery cuts across so many cultures and is mutated into slightly different forms (the ones you listed). That said, maybe they could pull out the Aarne-Thompson to conjure up something really off the wall.
Elle2, splendid, thank you! Interesting analysis of this multilayered episode… It worked for me. I had been in particular wary of the depiction of the mental hospital, as I’ve been often disappointed by clichés conjured up for the umpteenth time. This was okay. There are some incorrect elements – that the female patient in the beginning was left unattended despite several suicides, for instance, and, yes, if this is a closed-down facility, it would have been quite difficult for Sam and Dean to get out, but not impossible – but all in all I loved it.
About that phone call Martin made – Randal, I have not a clear idea how it is in the States, but over here patients are allowed to use the phone. What are they going to do? Unless they are specifically forbidden to take or make calls (say within a therapy that requires distance from family et al), they may us the phone.
Hey, Elle2, not all female therapists need to be necessarily unattractive. And she did the right thing to get through to him: pick him up at the status he has been in for a while, giving him the wise cracks and the impression that she can take whatever he has. This is pretty much how I would do it with a patient like Dean. So, there’s a work.
It just began to dawn on me – hopefully Jensen will not be asked at conventions to come to re-enact that pudding-thing over and over again, as he has with that scream in YellowFever or Jared with his I-lost-my-shoe…
But that’s just me.
We’re getting nearer to the big showdown. If Sam really says Yes, when will that happen – will we get to see SamLucifer in only one episode or a few? I would like to have more of him (and, I bet, Jared would have a lot of fun playing that again)… I wish I was a fly on the wall in the writers’ room….
Thank you, Jas
Hi ell2. Good review. I would give it a B+. A strong B for all your reasons, and the +, because I think this episode was very positive for the boys.
As far as the boys just running out, I thnk at a place where you voluntarily check in, the doors aren’t locked. Of course, they would have been after they discovered the the murder.
What I thought was out of place, was Sam not being handed over to the police after attacking the doctor. In the real world he would have been, but that wouldn’t have work well for the story. 😀
I just LOVED all of then fun stuff. BOY it was nice after a long 9 weeks! There are just to many to count. Thanks for the review
Hi, Randal, Sablegreen and Jas,
Weee, so nice to be back with a new eppie (and PUDDING TOO!)
Randal, I totally thought about Rufus and Martin as peeks into the future for Sam and Dean. Heck, Rufus even said it in TIOMS…”I’m what you’ve got to look forward to, if you survive which you won’t.” That’s depressing. Since he didn’t (hellhounds et al) and yet did, perhaps Martin is more and more what Dean has to look forward to (that and the whole, he’ll be a vegetable of an empty vessel after Michael gets done with him) Sheesh. Rotten life. No wonder there’s booze, women and more booze.
Jas,
I really liked the doctor that Dean conjured. She was great for him and again, a fascinating look into what his mind will imagine when freed. Their exchanges, hallucinations they may be, sparked. Also, as I think you said in your comment on Elle’s review I too thought of Meg at one point wondering if she was there torturing him. It was quite Megesque.
Sablegreen, definitely thought it was a hole that Sam wasn’t handed right over but perhaps they needed a little time to get everything arranged and that’s why he was tied up. Having worked in the hospital industry in my prior career I do know that transfering patients/residents does take time, you need to find a bed, get a doctor to review the patient’s file, accept the patient, arrange transport…I’ll let that one go.
I do wonder what happened to martin afterwards though. He’s a nice enough guy, did he get stuck with the murder/suicides? Is he going to be locked up in a place for dangerous people? Hope not. Perhaps Dr. Babar can get him out. 🙂
Hi Elle2.
Nice review, you basically listed all my “Ilike” -moments 🙂 And boy, did I like this one! I agree it wasn’t a classic but it had great moments and a great story with some heavy angst and few laughs sprinkled on top, a sure win in my book 🙂
After all your ponderings, one thing did bug me… How did Sam get that lock-picking thing in with him when it was showed how ‘thoroughly’ they were checked?
And why did they get their robes (in the rubber room shot they didn’t have any and in the next shot they did)? Alarm bells were ringing, did they really have time to get the robes…?
Well, nitpicking if you ask me, I usually don’t like to even look for the holes, just enjoy the eppie. Yes, hellatus is over!!! *happydance*
Given that Dean once used a paper clip to pick handcuffs, it’s plausible Sam came across something office-y and usable, though I can’t recall exactly what the lockpick looked like; too small to be a letter opener. They’re worse than Al-Qaeda! 😀
Hi elle2, loved your little review!
Escaping from all kinds of locked buildings, with the aid of all kinds of tools, in all kinds of situations – well, by now I have absolutely no doubts the brothers can do that. Including preparation (here I’m thinking they sneaked out one night and stashed their stuff into the Impala, ready for a quick take off). As they said a couple of times: We are professionals 🙂
Loved the absence of music, noticed it right away. You’re right, it set the tone well.
Martin was a great character, loved the actor’s work, and the three worked so well together. Just like Dean’s doctor, now here’s a potential partner for him 😉
Randal, well it could be explaind like that allthough to me it looked like it was some kind of “burglar” -tool… But my screen was a little dark so I’m not really sure what it was… If it was something that could be found in the hospital then that makes sense. But it bugged me a little, ain’t gonna lose sleep over it though 🙂 Boy, these guys are the regular escape artists, that’s so cool!
I wanted to send congrats to the make-up crew too. Everyone in the episode kept saying “You look like hell, boy” and he really did. Jensen Ackles is such a fine-looking and healthy lad, making him look that wrecked cannot be easy. Pale, clammy, dark circles under the eyes….I just wanted to hug him, wrap him up in a warm blanket and put him to bed with some chicken soup. These are NOT the feelings Dean Winchester normally inspires.
My name is Wendy.
I started dancing when Dean said it. His voice makes it sound so gorgeous. ing them in a marathony way, like before the beginning of a new season), so I don’t really catch plot holes or appreciate makeup of lack of music, I just loved it as a normal viewer.
Wow, way for that to screw up. It was supposed to be: “…gorgeous. I’m one of those people that only watches the episodes once (unless I’m watching them…)”