Largest Review/Discussion Fansite for Supernatural and SPNFamily Shows! Plot/Character Analysis, Spoilers, Games, News, Gallery, Interviews, Fun!

It's a Valentine's Day with Love cloaked in Shame, Kisses of Death, and Dick Moves.
So much fakery and deception! (Fake love, fake Amara, fake hairdresser and even
a fake teddy bear.) But it was triumphant with honesty, love, and support between brothers.

WEDNESDAY'S WATCHING
Supernatural 11.13 "Love Hurts"

Writers: Eric Charmelo & Nicole Snyder
Director: Phil Sgriccia
Director of Photography C.S.C: Serge Ladouceur
Airdate: 10.02.2016

BY WEDNESDAY

What did I watch?

A1SAMimageedit 2 3029779419

THE SCRIPT

SOMETHING OLD

This script timely revisited Dean's favorite holiday, Valentine's Day, or "Unattached Drifter Christmas," with
a completely unromantic perspective. Dan Harper is torn between
the LOVE of his wife and the DESIRE he has for his babysitter. Dean opts for lust and desire to appease the
desperate lonely hearts of women seeking love and romance on Valentine's Day,
and he wants to "scrape a few hearts off the bar room floor."

The retro motel "Too Tired" was a welcome addition to a long line of motels of
previous seasons. (See SET Below).

A2TTimageedit 6 6501888703

Ye old Rock Paper Scissors

A3gifrpsfirstsdtumblr o2e0asiSUD1sqeq3do8 250


The original controversy was that Dean did NOT want to stay in the basement. His subsequent glee
over winning makes him forget this goal, and Sam, although the loser, gets to
search upstairs while Dean jubliantly searches the basement.

A4VEILimageedit 10 9172966849


Too Tired Plot Line

Overlooking the old Husband dallying with the babysitter cliché, there was still the tired,
"It's an old monster" (shapeshifter). "Wait, no, it's a new monster" (Qareen).
Yup, it does get old.

SOMETHING NEW

Qareen, a genie type monster who will do your bidding, is added to the lore.

A5QAREENBORD

Dean hoped that one of the Daisy Dukes would show up as his "heart's deep, darkest desire."
Fans speculated on who it could be: Cas? Lisa? Jo? Food?
(Does anyone ship food and Dean? FooDean?)

A6HEARTBORD

The emphasis should have been on the "heart's deep, DARKEST desire."
What could be darker than the darkness herself, Amara?

A7AMARABORD

Dean reveals Amara is not a "desire or love," and he should know the
difference. Sam reveals that he suspected Dean's secret for some time and was patiently
and non-judgementally waiting for his brother's confession. Dean comes clean
and the brothers have no secrets!!! That's NEW and jiffy clean!

A8CLEANBORD

SOMETHING BORROWED

The script borrowed from the plot line of the low budget movie "It Follows"

A9FOLLOWBORD

Watch "It Follows" trailer here:

http://itfollowsfilm.com/trailer

Read an interesting article about the time/anachronisms in "It Follows" here:

http://thoughtcatalog.com/m-j-pack/2015/08/heres-why-you-missed-the-scariest-part-of-it-follows/issed-the-scariest-part-of-it-follows

SOMETHING BLUE?

Dean stole the BLUE Viagra pills in 11.11. (An Improvisation)

B1VIAGRAimageedit 12 3440588910

Was it because Dean was experiencing Erectile Dysfunction? His E.D. could be due to depression, or
preoccupation with Amara... or, did Dean steal the pills to enhance his Valentine's Day performance?
Viagra is rumored to give healthy males a lasting erection, and the ability to perform not once,
but twice, and sometimes three times in one evening. Viagra does have some side
effects for healthy males such as excessive perspiration and hangover effects.

B2FEETimageedit 15 7985493849

I'll let you decide what Dean was up to.

B3SMELLimageedit 31 3268148727

There was also a bruising BLUE throat punch delivered in the dialogue.
(More bellows below the Bechdel test)

The script had some great lines funny and sentimental ones:
B4ALLQUOTESBORD


However, the motivation of the witch (kill all idiots) and the myth rules were shaky.
In places, the pacing was glacial.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

MOTIFS

HANDS

B4HABORD

THERE WERE ALSO MANY CLOSEUPS AFOOT.

Dean shuffling his feet...

B5BOOTSimageedit 42 6621672488

Used to portray Dean's fear and plotting BUT overdone.
There is a fine line between building suspense and frustrating the audience. 
The box openings and garburator scenes took FOREVER.

B6OVERBORD



There were puzzling LONG/UNNECESSARY close ups of random items toys, elevator buttons, wood boards, and this:

B7BOTTLESimageedit 47 3649368163

SYMBOLS

COLOUR

In honor of Valentine's Day, RED permeated the
scenes warning of danger, broken hearts, and blood.

B8REDBORD


B9REDNECKBORD

Even Dean's underwear glowed RED in the basement.

C1REDGINCHBORD

YELLOW/GOLD
The Harper room glowed yellow and gold when the fake FBI interviewed the deceptive couple.

C2YELLOWBORD

CROSSES
Peered over shoulders in the form of tire irons and hubcaps

C3CROSSBORD

UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES

C4PERSPECTBORD

C5PERSimageedit 49 9307968571


Transitions
C6TRABORD


SET/PROPS

The "Too Tired" motel included lots of red FLAGS, retro TV, fridge, furniture and a
special guest appearance of the GREEN COOLER:

C7SETimageedit 52 7921199336

It also contained incongruous plastic flowers and a flower encased in a concrete
block/money holder.

C8SETFLOWBORD

SFX/PROPS

Those heart punches and the bloody aftermath. Well done!

C9HEARTimageedit 54 7906344786

D1CUTimageedit 57 7128962006


ALLUSIONS

D3ALLUSMOVIEBORD

D4ALLBOOKBORD

SOUND

"Heartbreak" by the James Hunter Six

Train whistles!!

BECHDEL TEST

So far in Season 11, only 5 out of 12 episodes passed this easy gender fairness
Bechdel test, or 42% of the episodes.

D5BECHDELBORD

BLUE

Normally, I would do a little dance to celebrate, but this easy gender fairness test was
completely overshadowed by the throat punch comment to Feminists:

D6COMMBORD

D7FEMBORD


D8TUMBLRBORD

Such a jarring, unfunny, feminist slur in a script that had so many funny, witty
lines and poignant moments made me sad. Who wants Supernatural to move out of
the pre-historic era of bashing Feminists?

I Do!

D9WEDBORD

BEST PERFORMANCE

Impossible to decide between J2

Jensen's slapstick comedy,

E1RICEimageedit 63 2266035053

 death defying kiss,

E2KISSimageedit 67 6907890312

and  voice cracking, fearful confession,
were juxtaposed with Sam's quiet concern and support

E3SAMimageedit 69 8565172713

and the thousand expressions flashing across his face: relief

E4SAMimageedit 71 2227356165

worry

E5SAMimageedit 73 5959857009

and non-judgemental support.

E6SAMimageedit 75 4821916420

The scene is definitely worth a re-watch:




E7PERFORMBORD

FROM THE REARVIEW

E8REARVIEWBORD

E9REARBORD

THANKS TO:

SUPERNATURAL WIKI
FOREVER DREAMING: TRANSCRIPT
IMDB CAST LIST
SUPERNATURAL FANS ONLINE SCREENCAPS

F1NEWTUBORD



RATING

F2RATEBORDGIFimageedit 2 2308843452



 

 

Comments  

GRace232
# GRace232 2016-02-14 13:19
This is such fun - and so smart. You always catch so many themes that I miss on first viewing. Colors and hands and a movie I never heard of before! Time to re-watch now that I have been educated!

One item - Sam was not insulting feminists! He was being sarcastic! He was mocking her for trying to justify her actions by pretending she was a feminist. Sarcasm is funny - and the very fact that he was using sarcasm shows he did not consider her to be a feminist. I Think those who got worked up about that line should re-watch after thinking about sarcasm - just as I need to re-watch after reading your references and observations. Just a suggestion.

Thanks again.
Wednesday
# Wednesday 2016-02-14 17:31
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, do enjoy a re-watch!:)
It's always interesting to explore other perspectives... like on this site.
Regarding your "Sarcasm" excuse though, I'm not buying it. It is what it is....Nasty.:p
spnlit
# spnlit 2016-02-14 19:44
Quote:
He was mocking her for trying to justify her actions by pretending she was a feminist.
I agree.
spnlit
# spnlit 2016-02-14 19:43
First, I was surprised that we did not get a review of "Don't Forget about Me" from you. I was expecting a glowing review from you about passing the Bechdel test. And yeah, a female hunter! And yeah, SPN needs more focus on female actors/ characters. Why the skip?
I agree with GRace232: "[Sam] He was mocking her for trying to justify her actions by pretending she was a feminist." I do not think it was a remark about feminist hating men. The witch did not hate men she hated cheaters and the idiots that believed them! I did notice something in the dialogue: Sam to hairdresser: You're practically a feminist. And the very next line is: Amara :Who I am doesn't matter.
Maybe the show is making a statement about who Amara is in regard to being or not being a feminist.
Maybe the show did technically pass the Bechdel test with this one crappy line between the babysitter and wife. But gosh, I think it should not be counted because it really was about a man. It was a fake horrible remark about the lipstick.... the mom lipstick she tasted off the lips of the cheating husband.
I think the odd camera shot at the baby bottles was to emphasize the fact the baby existed. It was coupled with Dean's question about where is the baby. I think it ties into the Amara theme of hurt and abused children/ mothers/ and Amara being female. The baby lost a parent to a father's deceit and then witchcraft. Why TWO bottles? The bottles reminded me of breast milk. Also the Amara theme was in the motel room with the flowers. I did not notice them until you pointed them out.
Interesting tie in with the Viagra. maybe Dean did use it; there was an emphasis of hung over and sticking with perspiration.
Thanks for the background for the book on the table, interesting tie in.
I agree about the best performance being a tie. The confession scene was excellent and J2 were on top as usual. Thanks for posting the video; it was worth many repeat views.
I also enjoyed Dean's expressions when he interviewed Dan(cheating husband) in his office.
Thanks Wednesday.
Sylvie
# Sylvie 2016-02-15 12:42
Wow, I love this breakdown of the episode. I must admit, I haven't been trawling on this website as much as I have in the past, but I will definitely be loooking for your reviews. Excellent!:) And I will lend my two cents worth and say that the feminism comment was way out of line. Sam (or even Jared, I think) would say that. I know it was probably ment to be sarcastic, but still, I'm surprised at these writers for that.
Wednesday
# Wednesday 2016-02-15 14:59
Thanks for your kind words and support. It’s astonishing how many perspectives there are about any one episode.
Admittedly, some leave you scratching your head; but, the articles certainly enhance and deepen one’s understanding of the show.
I was happy to see that Alice’s review was mostly positive because mine was quite conflicted.
FarAwayEyes also wrote an excellent article tying it in to the major arc and heartaches.
And, there are still more to come. I am happy to hear you will be dropping by again.
Welcome back.:)
cheryl42
# cheryl42 2016-02-15 18:01
I'm pretty sure you meant Sam or Jared wouldn't say that but I agree it was a really odd thing for Sam to say at that moment. I know sometimes the Winchesters will say things they know will get the monster talking or monologue-ing in order to buy themselves some time but it did take me out of the moment.
vince
# vince 2016-02-15 20:47
Sam's feminist line wasn't a joke, it was meant to mock the witch. If you wanna go deeper, you could see it as a subtle dig at the critics who say that the female writers on staff have/had internalized misogyny. Sonja is the fans who say their brand of feminism is the right one, and the female writers who don't follow their views deserve the scorn and to be accused of internalized misogyny, like the women who keep coming back for the love spell, Sonja's views put her on her own pedestal where if you go against her views, you ain't worth shit. It's something to think on.
Wednesday
# Wednesday 2016-02-16 13:21
Oh, and yup, there it is. Anytime the patriarchal machinery of the media is taken to task for being reprehensible,
someone trots out the old defense of trying to throw the blame back on women.
“Let’s pit the women against each other.”
Not buying it. Feminists know if you’re “dissing the sisters you are not fighting the power.”
Your CONVOLUTED THEORY to throw the blame for this slur onto women is ridiculous and intended to be incendiary.
Normally, I try to ignore steaming piles of dog crap like this but since it’s spewed at that bottom of my article, I will respond.
Only another misogynist, or a person completely ignorant of the Feminist Movement and ideology
of equal treatment for men and women, would think you have any credibility.
Until the PTB of the SPN media industry come out with an explanation for this put down, something they are unlikely to do,
it can only be regarded for what it is. An anti-feminist comment was made. It is was nasty and unjustifiable. Enough said.
cheryl42
# cheryl42 2016-02-16 18:15
So do you believe that the show was trying to portray Sonja as typical example of a feminist or am I misunderstandin g what you mean? I don't think she was supposed be anything but an evil bitch/witch. Sam was taunting her by sarcastically calling her a feminist in order to get her on the defense. After all Sam needed to buy time for a rescue. Nothing gets a monster talking about themselves more than a taunt. Something the Winchesters have been doing for going on 11 years now. What would you have rather he said to get her rattled? But whatever, good for Sam it worked.
AlyCat22
# AlyCat22 2016-02-17 04:10
Cheryl. I agree. Taunting/mockin g, trying to get under the witches skin. Buying time, fight/trash talking. Smart Sam.
spnlit
# spnlit 2016-02-16 18:46
Quote:
Feminists know if you’re “dissing the sisters you are not fighting the power.”
Well I guess in your mind SPN was dissing the sisters and the power is what in this case? The "patriarchal machinery of the media".
You don't want an explanation, because for you there is no explanation.... you see it only for what you see it as... you want an apology for an anti-feminist comment. You are not going to get that because not everyone saw the comment as you did. Another view or explanation is that Sam was mocking the witch. I do not think SPN is in the business of dissing the sisters. Look at all the strong women on this show. Nor are they in the business of putting forth a strong feminist view. For instance women are not going to get equal time on a show about men!!!! Did they add a man to the mix of the Golden Girl's ? Should they split up Rizzoli and Isles. I know you shut the door on this discussion with your " ENOUGH said". It is just not as black and white as you see it. I guess the gays feel put down every time Cas and Dean don't hook up. Fact is, Dean is straight and you know what I think Sam supports feminists that is why he mocked the witch.
vince
# vince 2016-02-16 19:45
Quote:
Feminists know if you’re “dissing the sisters you are not fighting the power.”
Tell that to Jenny Klein, who has had some of the nastiest things said about her from not being considered feminist enough and has straight up internalized misogyny. To when she has a good episode, claims that she didn't write the script, to she only got her job through nepotism.
LEAH
# LEAH 2016-02-16 20:42
Sorry but I think this is an overreaction to Sam making a snide comment to a murderous WITCH who is trying to justify her actions by claiming to be weeding out the idiots. Sam was obviously buying time not making a political statement about feminists. He was insulting evil delusional witches who think they are doing the world a favor, not feminists, in my opinion.
anonymousN
# anonymousN 2016-02-17 01:17
Where did my comment go?:o
Wednesday
# Wednesday 2016-02-17 12:16
Sorry. Please try again.
Although I have subscribed to the comments I am not receiving any updated comments except for cheryl42.
I do like to follow along.