Anyone who’s read my stuff knows what a HUGE Monty Python fan I am. One of my favorite films is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They spend half the film going through the trouble of lining the Knights of The Round Table so they can go to Camelot. Once they get there and we get a hilarious song and dance, they realize Camelot is a silly place and move on.
Why am I bringing this up? All we’ve gotten since the end of episode 3 (this is episode 7) is “Amy, Amy, Amy.†Dean hides the fact that he killed her. He tortures himself with nightmares, drink, and extreme guilt for three episodes until fake Leviathan!Dean tells Sam. Sam gets mad and the brothers part.
Think that you’re tired of that drama by now? Too bad, we’ve got to hang on for more. The preview is 100 percent Amy. The issue is going to dominate this ep too. So, they gather together, fight the ghost and evil psychic, save the girl AND...all is well after a few tame words.
I’m picturing it now. Writer’s room, pitch meeting for “The Mentalists.†“You know, this Amy story is really silly...â€
At the end the brothers come clean and everything is fine. That was so...easy. I’m not saying I’m not relieved, or not glad, or not pleased that for once it’s a happy ending and there’s no more fighting, it’s just, all that drawn out and artificial drama just so they can talk to each other and have it resolved in two minutes? I feel cheated. Am I the only one?
Granted, all of this Amy talk is taking away from the ghost story. It was decent and by the numbers, but the strengths were in the characters. Melanie was great, and I love how her and Dean hit it off. It’s about time Dean bonded with someone on a case. It’s been too long. I like how the real psychics blended in tamely with the fake psychics. They weren’t really looking for attention.
Oh, and how COMPLETELY FREAKING AWESOME is the one person to send a message from the great beyond Ellen? I just love the message. “You know an Eleanor, or an Ellen. She seems quite concerned about you. She wants to tell you, pardon me, if you don’t tell someone how bad it really is, she’ll kick your ass from beyond. You’ll have to trust someone again eventually.â€
What do you think about the whole siblings working together thing? They don’t paint a very rosy picture of things ending well for sibling acts in the museum. “The strain of working together, maybe just being around each other all their lives.†Do you think they’re trying to tell us something about Sam and Dean? Foreshadowing perhaps? Or is Dean right, they’re essentially being graded on a curve and don’t apply?
Do you think the sisters were a parallel for Sam and Dean? “Sometimes one’s true gift is taking care of others.†Was he talking about Dean? Strange how the museum owner understood those two a little too well.
I read on Twitter how people were confused and thought Sam bent the spoon. Sorry to say, they showed how the spoon bender was manipulating the silverware. All he had to do was switch it out, touch it, warm it up, and it would bend when touched. It’s a parlor trick. I’d love to think Sam did that, but he didn’t. Wouldn’t it have been cool though if there was a shoutout to Sam’s past psychic abilities?
Next week looks like something weird is gonna happen. I know, I’m sugarcoating “weird.†If you have a guess as to who the bride is, go ahead, share it here. If you have a guess as to how in the world Sam ends up in that mess, share here too.
Comments
As for Melanie, I liked her a lot and thought she might make a good addition to the show. I hope they bring her back again. It was also nice to see someone actually thank the boys for saving them for once.
Overall the episode was a solid one in my opinion. I liked it a lot and thought the writers did a good job of weaving some old characters into the present plot. It's nice to see this being done. That message delivered by the museum curator to Dean from Ellen sounded so much like her. I actually believe that she would come back and kick his ass if she could for everything that he's done recently. Plus she's right...Dean needs to start trusting again. He needs love in his life. If not Lisa, then someone else...
As for Sam and next week...Boy, you're right! He's sure in a mess! I have no idea who the bride is but I've seen that many people think that it's Becky. Personally, I would love for it to be Sarah from Season 1. I thought she was perfect for him and right now they're up in New York. So why not rekindle that romance? Anyway, I loved Dean's expression when Sam said he was getting married. Priceless!!!
BTW - One more tidbit! Did you see that the Dodge's license plate was from North Carolina? I loved that shout out to the southeast. Supernatural hasn't had too many episodes located down south. Only 1 or 2 if I remember correctly. Guess it's hard to adapt Vancouver's landscape for that part of the country. Although Virginia, West Virginia or Maryland could be done with the right location and angles.
As always, the cast and crew were terrific!
On the other had, I too would love if she was Sarah Blake. Sarah was so perfect for Sam, they made a great couple.
Besides that I had a good laugh when Sam walked into the class for pregnant couples. Was that ment to show Jared what he has to do soon?
Anyways, about all the "Amy angst", I could have done without it, I was starting to relive "Dawson's Creek" episodes- will Joey kiss Dawson, but thank God it's finally over. I don't feel that the resolution scene needed to be as big as some folks wanted it to be. "I lied, I'm sorry, stop being a bitch" or words to that effect. Loved it. They're guys, it doesn't need to be more complicated or wordy than that.
LOL when Sam kicked the door down and a Lamaze class was in full swing. No vodoo going on there. Heh.
Dean um... "relating" to Melanie, thought that was done well, another time, another place. Sam making himself scarce. A throw back to the Dean of old looking for a hook-up. Kinda like the last episode with Bobby and the Sheriff, gives us hope.
The guy handing out affirmations to Dean was great fodder for one-liners.
Glad Dean went the Mopar route too, I thought it was a Charger "b-body" but looking at the grill and hood it is a Challenger. I still can't remember if those cars came with a trunk release though, I was wondering how Sam got trunk access, back in the day those things were high end options. The car needs paint and a good set of rims and the brothers will be stylin' again.
Good times
I thought the room of siblings verged on the Captain Obvious, but very minor quibble. Also, didn't they learn anything from S5 when they killed the ghost keeping the awful boys in line?
Great how they met up, loved the "spiritual" town, and the gruesome deaths. (is that terrible of me?)
I hope Dean and Melanie hook up again. He is too lonely for words - and sex was one of his lifesavers so to speak.
It was kind of creepy how the affirmations and readings for the Winchester boys were spot on.
It being the store owner guy was a big surprise for me and I think Sam having to kill him clicked in his mind and helped him deal with Dean killing Amy.
I thought the end was fine. They are brothers and mature men. They got things out in the open, realize they have the same mission, and that they are two very different personalities.
(Actually, I am amazed they don't blow up at each other more often. Living and working together 24/7. I can't imagine; most people, myself included, have work or hobbies to get away from a significant other. Even loving them, you need some time away.)
Sorry for rambling on.
Alice, thanks for the recap.
One more thing.
I loved the message from Ellen. It sounded exactly like something she would say. Miss her.
I didn't like the way it ended with Dean right/Sam wrong. I was hoping it would be more balanced and that Sam's point of view would have been taken more seriously, but I'm starting to lose faith that the show will ever be about two brothers again, as opposed to being about Dean and his life hunting with his brother.
I mean, I enjoyed an adult resolution to this debacle over Amy, but it would have made more sense without the level of obsession from the last few episodes. They feel even more overplayed now. In this episode, Sam was allowed to be angry and Dean was allowed to be worried while agreeing to work together. I liked that more measured concept, and wish that restraint was used in showing Dean's guilt.
I like the episode set-up, and thought it was a good weekly one. I enjoyed the message from Ellen from beyond the grave, and the matter of fact manner of the only real pyschic they actually encountered.
The message from Ellen, coupled with reading the interview with Samantha Ferris, really made me miss Ellen. The boys need some more allies. They don't have to be supernatural ones, just regular humans will do.
I was glad that Dean was able to explain to Sam why he was hiding what he did – with Sam being the ticking time bomb of Dean’s life (again, unfortunately, poor lad), he obviously didn’t know whether being open about the whole Amy issue would ignite that unpredictable bomb…
Of course Dean is sort of going back to the black/white world of the past. For me it’s not surprising at all. He’s a man whose world was turned upside down, and he doesn’t know what to make of it anymore, as I read it. So to my mind, it seems only natural that he holds on to the only stability that used to be there for most of his life: human vs. unhuman.
With everything unstable in his life, well, more or less, he needs to hold on to what feels familiar to him – which is not only the sort of black and white mode of thinking, but also “doing the dirty workâ€, because to him, that‘s “what family is forâ€. Dean was protecting Sam, he saw it as nothing else. First, protecting him from having to kill someone he liked and second, trying to keep him from going off and perhaps slide down a much steeper hill into a pit of despair, of broken soul, of infinite pain… or sheer madness.
Apart from that, this episode was full of nice classic moments, and I was so relieved that Dean was able to bond a bit with Melanie, a really nice gal.
Personally (and quite shallowly) I hoped for a little kiss or at least a bit of a snuggle… he’s been lonely for too long. And – as I noticed, of course, the wonderful manners of gentleman Dean: standing up when Melanie walked up to his table. It’s great to see that…
And Ellen...still looking out from him even from the grave. A tad creepy, but very, very beautiful, too.
Can’t wait for the next episode… I would love it to be Becky, oh, that’d be so camp! I would love it more, if it were Sarah... but then again, it wouldn't be real, and Sam deserves some real love for a change.
Cheers, Jas
I loved everything about this episode and have no complaints whatsoever. Reminded me of my favourite season 1.
Loved the message from Ellen.
And wished too for Dean to get a "little snuggle" which he truly needs right now.
Love your posts Jasminka, as they are so very impartial and free from all the fan wanking we get, even here sometimes. Have missed them lately. Hope everything is OK with you.
If Sam marries Becky because of a love potion, thank God it will be a short and sweet marriage.
Personally, I have fallen in love with this show from the first episode on, and there have been episodes I didn't like as much as others or storylines I would have loved to go in a different direction - for very selfish reasons: sometimes I wanted a love story for Sam or Dean, sometimes I wanted to spare them pain, sometimes I wanted to see some gore that wasn't there...
With loving this show I decided to stay on that horse, even though sometimes the ride was a tad bumpy. I don't want to tint my joy of watching the show with complaining about certain things, like you, I'd say
I haven't been well for a while, Bevie, thanks for asking, and I'm still battling with the task of living with an illness (forgive me for not going into more details or reasons), and I need a lot of my energy to be able to do my work and deal with it all. I miss coming here, too, but for various reasons there are more important things I need to take care of. Sorry for the long ramble. It's Sunday morning and I'm only half-awake
Love, Jas
I wouldn't have liked a kiss or a snuggle, because that would have taken away from the affirmation Dean needed, IMO.
I really liked the Provenance feel to the episode, but I didn't once feel it was a rinse and repeat. Instead, it was the two brothers of S1 and S2 I was seeing, and I loved that.
One example of this that I particularly liked was Dean threatening the waiter and Sam's response to it. It's like he is a little embarrassed, but totally tolerant of Dean's social awkwardness. I loved that.
The episode gets a 9 from me. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is because Baby is still cornered, no classic rock, and no SOB from Dean.
I get it why a romance wouldn't have worked for you - and I have to agree that it probably wouldn't have in this story - but I would have simply loved to see that: Dean deserves some tenderness, and he needs it, tender soul that he is
Cheers, Jas
I understand what you mean Jas, about a little romance with Melanie. A chaste little kiss at the end would have been nice. Just like the kiss from Hailey in the Wendigo episode of from the mom in Dead in the Water. He turns into a shy little boy when he gets one of those, so yeah that would have been nice to see.
And I was satisfied with the way they resolved their differences at the end. Can't wait to see next week's episode.
Nice to hear from you, and I hope that you will feel better soon. Take care or yourself. If there is anything I've learned in life, it's that you have to watch out for number one, cause no one else will do it.
As for next week's episode, I like the idea of Sarah behind the veil, always liked her and Sam.
So I am super glad it's done. But I hope it was a teaser and that we see more of Dean's issues. He's an alcoholic (in remission) just as Sam is mentally ill and in remission.
And I'd love for that spoon bend to be a foreshadowing. I'm tired of Sam having "gifts" and now he's a regular old human.
Othwise, a really good episode!
Melanie was great. I liked how Dean came clean with her about his true job, how he ran to hug her after Camille died, & how he stood up as she approached the diner table. I felt there was a spark between them, yet Dean was not the old horn dog charmer but very much a gentleman. The fleeting glimpse of hope for a happy future on his face as she read his palm was heartbreaking.
It did feel like the boys made up rather easily after all the buildup over the Amy issue, but I'll take it. Let's move on. Early on it was good to see them agreeing to work together to help save people & get the job done even when they were still at odds. That's my boys! It makes sense that Dean's drinking got worse over his guilt about lying to Sam, & I liked the way he came clean about the lie & his reasons for it. I think in a way he was relieved when Sam found out. Maybe that week & and half apart was enough time for Sam to cool off & think about Dean's motives, and yes, perhaps Sam's having to kill the real psychic (still a human) helped push him to understand Dean's reasoning. I'm surprised we've seen no visual evidence that Sam is still having Hellucinations. He does seem to be handling it awfully well...for now.
All in all, I enjoyed this one.
My biggest issue was mentioned by a few other posters, Sam and his POV were shoved completely and totally in the background. The boys split up to canvas the town and Dean meets with all the important interviews. Sam and Dean both initially interview the shopkeeper, so even Sam doesn't get that scene to himself. Ellen is only concerned with whatever Dean is going through, Sam and his hell visions are chopped liver. Sam kills the shopkeeper and saves the day and Dean gets thanked. Sam's is only allowed to express his anger once then by the end of the case he is all understanding of Dean without ever getting more than a cursory look at Sam's side of things.
For many years I have seen Sam pushed into the background with character development. I had hoped that after saving the world and going to Hell TPTB would consider Sam a character worthy of exploration. Apparently not. Sam is happily coping with Lucifer bombarding him 24/7 while Dean's problems are front and center.
I am with you on the Thank you scene. I think Sam deserved to be thanked as well but since Melanie had spent most of her ordeal with Dean it was Dean who she thanked. I don't believe it was meant as a slight.
And there are plenty of episodes left, so we may yet get to see what Sam's experience in Hell was like as well. In fact I'm looking forward to it.
But hasn't Dean given Sam a pass on his lies and sneaking around many many times and even lately when Sam sneaked out on him in the night AGAIN, leaving him with a broken leg and an ambiguous note and not answering his phone for days? Is that OK for Sam but not for Dean?
Anyway, I hate the Sam/Dean wank some fans get into. I love the brothers together and expect them to have tiffs and spats as brothers everywhere all do occasionally.
And I sure don't think Sam is "happily coping with Lucifer" no matter what he claims.
The Amy story was about has much use as a bucket with a hole in it and again Dean can be upset with Sam from one end of a season to another and we get one episode with Sam being upset with Dean before its all alright. It was all pointless. pretty much like Sams wall falling.
Sam, having no emotional involvement in the non-possessed human he had to kill, realized why Dean killed Amy. Dean was protecting people, just as Sam was doing in killing the human. That perspective allowed Sam to give up his rage.
There was no wrong on either side in the ending. Without apologizing, Sam regained his trust in Dean and Dean got much needed affirmations.
I didn't like the girl at all, but she played an important role. She thanked Dean for saving her, and Dean needs to hear that from victims to feel better about himself and his job.
I thought the script was excellent in solving this Amy thing and moving the brothers forward. A good salt and burn, good dialogue, good story, and Amy is done and gone. Praise Chud! And I really liked feeling the Sam and Dean of S1 and S2. and I thought Jensen and Jared were terrific in this episode.
One thing I am sure enjoying is the turn back to male-oriented dialogue.
My bet on the bride is Becky, and I like her better than Sarah. The episode sounds weird, but I'm going to avoid spoilers and hope that I enjoy it. I sure did like this one, and I didn't have much hope that I would.
however I think it'll be part of a spell... I think Becky (as crazy as she is) will put Sam under a spell or something like it to make him love her (cuz... come on to have a crazy samgirl after you would be really annoying right?... then again... poor sammy)
And it wont be forever... (next epi shows us how the both bros and bobby are hunting in the woods...)
well... nice recap I'm looking foward for the next episode....
I also thought maybe Dean unknowingly bent the spoon. Because Sam brought up the spoon at the end of the ep made me think it's more than a parlor trick. I also loved Dean's reaction to the messy car. My husband can't ride in my car w/o complaining about the chaos.
I skimmed over Ms. Ryan's review last night. I might go back for a closer look. But she threated to stop reviewing the show again and I'm thinking maybe she should stop now. She seems to have lost all perspective. It's not masterpiece theater. She thought Amy would be a big issue again but it seems to me like a majority are just glad the Amy thing is over. Dean and Sam are awesome characters and the show is sometimes awesome. I'm happy with that.
One last time, Sam tracked down Amy intending to stop/kill her but she made a personal connection with him and he relented. His decision was understandable for him. She tried to make that connection with Dean and failed. She tried to live in the human world, but if she could not save her son without killing humans, then her only choice was to let her son die, that's all. Dean's killing of Amy was not cold, he was the most compassionate I've ever seen him with a monster. Dean was 100% right. The only gray area was whether to let the son live.
I'm thinking of replying to Ms. Ryan's review but I'm leary of registering with AOL. I don't like giving out my Email. Has anyone had any problems with junk email from AOL?
I read reviews to pick up on things I missed and for other points of view. But it's over the top to repeatedly threaten to stop reviewing and to disparrage Dean's character this season.
I've been critical of some writing and continuity, my least favorite is DYL. The last 2 eps with new writers are pretty darn good. I think the character devolopement has been good so far. Jensen and Jared seem to work to protect their characters's integrity too.
I also like sn_chills points below. I'm trying to think of a title for Sam. All I can come up with is "virile sideburns of the divine moose." Thanks for chatting.
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Aside from that I loved the episode. Lots of juicy tidbits. Dean's the "Virile manifestation of the Divine". Of course he is. Now we have to get Sam a title just as magnanimous.
I enjoyed the different psychics and mediums, how some were fakes and others were real. I liked the little readings here and there on each of the brothers.
I also liked the continuity of the lady in the restaurant recognizing the brothers as America’s Most Wanted.
I loved the Pamela, Missouri and Ellen shout outs. However I was surprised that it was Ellen and not John or Mary sending the message to Dean, after all they were his parents. I could see John threatening to kick Dean’s butt and actually succeeding in doing so.
I liked how all the main talks between the brothers were handled.
In the restaurant, how Dean just sat down like nothing was wrong between them, pointing out that solving the case was the importance thing at the moment and how Sam agreed.
I liked outside the Museum the honesty between the two. Sam letting Dean know that it was the lying and the killing of his friend that had him so angry. And Dean letting Sam know that he went behind his back only because of Sam’s resent hallucination and that Sam was too emotionally involved to have a clear judgment of the situation. Things may have gotten a little heated but it didn’t lead to a major yelling match or the swinging of punches. It had a more mature feel to it. It was the same on how Dean let Sam go last week. He didn’t fight him, he knew Sam was upset and needed his space so he backed off.
I know it seems odd that Sam would feel so strongly about someone he had only just met and spent just a few hours with some 15 years ago. I feel it stems much deeper than her killing to save her child or saving his life all those years ago. I believe part of it was Amy’s acceptance of him, she made it ok to be different, that it was ok to be seen as a freak, that it wasn’t all negative. I also feel it’s what Amy represented, that she was another scenario like Madison in Heart and Jack in Metamorphosis, that if Amy could keep her promise and change her natural desires then there was hope for him. That Sam felt he could change his current situation, that maybe he was strong enough to defeat his hallucinations of Lucifer. That he was strong enough to regain control of his life and could trust and believe in himself again.
I thought how they ended it was very mature too, with them opening up about some of their issues. I know it wasn’t everything and it wasn’t done with great detail but I feel it was a start. I believe its opened the door to further moments of the brothers being honest and letting each other know when something is bothering them, or when they are having a hard time dealing with something.
I know there has been some criticism lately about the characters not developing or maturing, with things still falling into the same routine of Dean being the overprotective big brother and Sam running away when things get tough.
But when you think about it, how can anyone expect someone to grow and mature and change when nothing around them has helped to develop those changes? Look at all the loses they’ve had to endure, whether it was due to a death (Mary, John, Jessica, Ellen, Jo and now Castiel…) or deliberate separation in order to keep those people safe (Lisa, Ben, Sarah…).
Where’s the happiness in their lives to help them grow?
They both should be living their own lives, having their own careers, their own place of residence, with their own love of their lives and maybe even some little versions of themselves running around. But here they are, constantly together 24/7, still driving town to town, still living in and out of dingy motel rooms, or staying with Bobby.
They both have suffered unspeakable torture in Hell.
They have each watched the other die and had to live without the other for a period of time.
They are constantly surrounded by evil and death.
How can Dean possibly stop worrying about Sam, stop feeling he has to protect him when he’s witnessed him going through first the visions, then the connection to Yellows Eyes with his blood and being part of some great plan. Then the development of powers, the manipulation of Ruby, the demon blood, opening Lucifer’s cage, sacrificing himself putting Lucifer back, being resurrected soulless, having his soul put back with a wall to help protect him only to have that pulled down and now experiencing flashbacks and hallucinations.
My God my head spinning.
And how can Sam possibly prove he is functional reliable adult after having to live and deal with the above things that have happened to him.
I admit at times I’ve wanted to either cuff one in the back of the head or smack one of their asses, but 99% of the time, I really feel for them and understand their actions and motives, although I may not always condone them.
Anyways that my thoughts, be them dumb or plausible.