Supernatural S08 E02 “What’s Up, Tiger Mommy”

Recap

Our brave duo and the tag-along are looking for the Word of God. The Prophet Kevin (TPK) insists on checking in on his Mom (Mrs. Tran, also Tiger Mom, because she’s a badass—and yes, I do understand the pop-culture reference); Dean balks but does so anyway. Demons are casing the house, and the Duo summarily dispatch of them. It turns out that a friend visiting Tiger Mommy is a demon as well, and as it tries to leave the body Sam performs the exorcising spell—in Latin—backwards—at a mind-boggling speed (out of hunting, my ass—what is going on here?!).

Heart-to-heart and two demon-warding tattoos later, TM and The Prophet Kevin join Sam and Dean in tracking down The Tablet. Lots of proper nouns this season. During an interrogation of a thief, Dean begins to have some seriously disturbing flashbacks of an interrogation scene in Purgatory. Those close-up shots were…sinister. Dean looked like a psychopath.

Anyway, we finally meet the right hand of Plutus, Beau. The show entitled Plutus as the God of Greed (really, it’s more mundane than that: try the god of wealth.) (I can also guarantee you that this page is seeing a huge uptick in hits tonight).  He informs them that there is an auction being held of legendary/magic/etc objects and Kevin, and by extension the other three, are invited. He promises no hijinks of the magical, duplicitous, or magically duplicitous.

Suffice to say, Beau lied. After a humorous bidding scene (the look on Crowley’s face after the 5/8ths of a virgin quip had me in hysterics), in which the Boys go through Plans A through D, Tiger Mommy ends up selling her soul to protect Kevin.

Oh, I mentioned that Beau lied? Right. Well, he chained Kevin’s fate to the Tablet’s, and since D/S didn’t have Vatican City, three billion dollars, or two tons of dwarf gold to exchange, they had to improvise. So, TM gave up her soul.

Interspersed in the bidding scene is a flashback where we find out that Dean finds Hot Wings (Castiel) and Hot Wings explains that he ran to save Dean from being hunted by Leviathan.

(Supernatural recaps are, alas, never short.)

Well… Crowley ends up getting away with the tablet. Beau burned off the demon-ward tattoo from TM’s arm, Crowley possessed her, stole the tablet, and Kevin prevented Dean from knifing his mom. Crowley ex-possesses himself, takes the tablet and leaves. TM is left catatonic. Dean regrets not knifing TM/C, saying that he could live with hating himself but he shouldn’t have let Crowley live, no matter who the meat-suit.

At the end of the episode, TPK and TM bolt, leaving Dean and Sam with nothing.

Reaction

I chuckled a lot through this episode. Dean tearing into that double cheeseburger, that dumbass at the pawn shop, the auction bidding, and, as always, Crowley and Dean have great one liners.

Again, Sam saying that incantation, in Latin, super-fast, and backwards was pretty thrilling! Go Sam! Also, not hunting, hmmm? Seems ‘spicious.

Crowley and Angel Alfie’s  bidding exchange…priceless.

The scene where Dean and Sam school TM on losing her soul was tragic, all around. Lot of pain in that room.

Sam + Mjölnir = bad-assery! (“Where’d you get that five-eighths of a virgin?”)

Report Card:

“I know we’re not mates, Kevin, but one word of advice: run. Run far, and run fast. ‘Cause the Winchesters, well, they have a habit of using people up and watching them die bloody.”—Crowley

A: The humor, both situational and dialogue. “Palin and a bridge to nowhere? No thanks.” “You think a man named Buzz goes to the moon without making a deal?”

The characterization and filling in of Dean’s Purgatory story. The Purgatory scenes in this episode are so. well. shot. The desaturated colors, the heightened sound and light. Dean, Benny and Castiel make for an uneasy, excellently acted trio.

Sam’s badassery is always refreshing, both that incredible backwards incantation and throwing Mjölnir.

The scene between TM, Sam and Dean talking about losing souls is so fucking tragic. There’s so much pain, sadness and confusion in that room.

Crowley. Always.

I really like Alfie the Angel, too. I hope we see him again

B: The pacing in the first half is disjointed. The latter half takes place in one geographic area, so that makes it naturally easier, but there is a lot of action crammed in the first half: Quest! (find the tablet), Obstacle! (visit Mom, dispatch demons), heart to heart with TM, getting demon-ward tattoos, deal with Euro-Trash Ferrari Dude…and we’re not even to the meat of the episode. I’m not sure how you could  make the exposition smoother, but I noticed it, so, well…

C: The background and transitional music. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. It’s so damn distracting, especially whatever is over the ‘comic’ moments.

Overall…

This episode has great re-watch potential. I’ve already watched it twice over and enjoyed it each time. I think it’ll stand the test of time well.

I love the humor in Supernatural because without it, the show would crush me under the weight of all the tragic shit that piles up around Dean and Sam. I mean, when you really stop and think about some individual parts of the episode, like Cas’s heartbreak and guilt and TM’s willingness to give up her soul for her son and Dean’s maladjustment to topside life (“What’s one more nightmare, right?”)….well, it’s the stuff this show is made up of, and it’s just really…sad.

I would also be remiss without noting the Purgatory flashbacks. I love them. Really. Benny is shifty and opaque.The monsters are gruesome. Dean is gruesome, terrifying, especially in those first-person shots. Christ, then shoving his blade to the hilt under that guy’s jaw? Amazing, in the most appalling way possible.

Total: B+

Supernatural, S08 E01, “We Need to Talk about Kevin”

For background on Season 7, click here.

Recap

The episode begins in the 100 Mile Wilderness in Maine. A couple is camping when a bright light flashes in the sky. A few moments later there’s a rustle, the guy goes to check and lo and behold—Dean! Back in…well, lots of dirt, grime and blood.

Dean travels to Louisiana and revives a companion, Benny, from Purgatory by slicing open his arm and bleeding glowing-blood onto the bones. They hug, promise to keep in touch, are glad to be back from the big-P.

Sam, meanwhile, lives in Kermit, Texas (there is such a place in West Texas). He quietly leaves a woman and dog during the night and drives the Impala to Whitefish, Montana. It should be noted that one, the woman watches him leave while pretending she’s asleep, and two, someone is watching the house as Sam leaves. He’s greeted by a suspicious Dean who doused him with salt, borax and bleeds him.

As they talk it’s revealed that Dean’s been in Purgatory, the fate of Cas is maybe-dead, Sam has given up saving-people/hunting-things and, actually, never looked for Dean after Dean disappeared by killing Dick Roman. The tension between the two of them is palpable. Later that night Dean finds messages on old phones from Kevin the Prophet, and confronts Sam on ditching Kevin in his time of need.

They start an investigation to find Kevin, subsequently find him in Iowa, where Kevin reveals that he has a tablet from God that reveals how to close the gates of hell, forever. Dean is excited about this, Sam seems a bit reserved—mostly, it seems, because he’s concerned about how this will affect Kevin. Dean pretty much says that there’s no use in crying over spilled milk—Kevin, like the two of them, is in this until it’s over.

Two demons show up and are subsequently vanquished. Interesting to note: Sam missed a swing at the demon, while Dean kicked major ass and Kevin also had some survival techniques (holy water in a squirt bottle). Obvious contrast between how Kevin and Dean’s life has been about survival, while Sam’s has not.

Crowley appears and makes moves to try to take Kevin, and Kevin outwits him (again). The price he pays is that his girlfriend, Channing (who has a demon riding her), gets her neck snapped.

The show ends with Dean making a phone call to Benny, the vampire/friend from big-P.

Thoughts…

…On Dean

Damn, I felt bad for the guy. Coming back from Purgatory and finding out that Sam didn’t look for him or try to find a way to release him. The hurt and surprise are easy to read on his face. Also doubly awful because of all that Dean has put on the line for Sam, multiple times.

Dean has obviously come back a warrior with some PTSD issues. His eyes have a tight look, his manner is wary and shaky. He doesn’t sleep. He’s a bit confused by the cush modern life as opposed to the primal survival of Purgatory. Add to this the layer of brooding brother tension—story and character goldmine!

Still, Dean the Hunter is sharper than ever. He whips major ass on those two demons, more competently in hand-to-hand than ever.

…On Sam

Oh, Sam. As much as the idealist in me prefers Dean’s character, I have to admit, as far as complex, complicated characters go—Sam takes the cake. The consistent cake, thank you writers.

Sam never wanted the hunting life. He quit it as soon as he could, leaving for Stanford, pre-law and a beautiful blond bombshell of a girlfriend. He began hunting as a quest to find his father and vengeance for Jess. Even though at times he could be relentless, obsessed, and arrogant, it was never the ideal of saving-people/hunting-things that motivated him. It was personal. Helping people was a happy byproduct of the end goal.

When he confronts Dean in the motel—the world did spin without us, thank you, it wasn’t all up to us to save everything anymore—I could have given a standing ovation. THANK YOU. The show needs at least one of the characters to have that epiphany, and because Dean pursues hunting out of idealism (it is his life, hunting is who Dean is) he doesn’t understand that it isn’t the same for Sam. Maybe he doesn’t want to understand that. Dean has always preferred the black and white (he loves the ‘purity’ of Purgatory, right?), and Sam has always existed in the gray. Not to say that Dean never grew to accept the gray, he did, but he always seemed to prefer the clear kill.

As for not searching for Dean—well, we don’t know that for sure, yet. But that does seem to me a bit weird, buut definitely explainable. Sam had no one. Everyone in his life (brother, mother, father, fiancée, Bobby, Cas, Jo, Ellen, etc.) was dead or gone. I’d need some peace, too.

Random Thoughts

The figure watching Sam and Amelia’s house had a popped collar. Crowley or Dean?

That femur bone/obsidian blade weapon is awesome.

How did Dean get in touch with Sam?  Or does Sam just take off to Montana?  This whole scene is shrouded either in mystery or faulty execution. Time will tell.

I can’t wait to see how Dean survived Purgatory. What did he eat? How did he sleep? Were there other humans?

So far, I do not like Amelia. Bit aggressive about the dog, no? “Maybe if you were such an upstanding guy you wouldn’t have hit him in the first place.” Um…okay.

Closing

Dean, as played by Jensen Ackles, is always a pleasure to watch. I like the turn to grizzled warrior, and it makes me believe that, in the end, Dean is either going to become a living legend or become a legend by dying. Sam has a need to connect, to have a family and a life, and I think he’ll get that. Dean seems to be getting further from being able to relate with people other than hunters and monsters, and further from a traditional happy ending. Re-watching the first season reminds me that, in the beginning (before Jo, Ellen, Lisa, etc.) Dean promoted the anti-social hunter life. He repeatedly told Sam they were on their own, no one could understand. Of course, they find people to bond with, become family with, but those people are all dead now. What does that do to a man?

The flashbacks are an interesting contrast. One, desaturated and grim, the other bright and dreamy. I’m not sure how well they played embedded in the storyline, especially the Amelia-flashbacks. They seemed a bit shoehorned in.

Honestly, I can’t wait for next week, and I’m excited about this season. Even though they’re beginning with a familiar trope for Supernatural (the disappearing for a year and coming back)—this time it’s different. Sam and Dean have each fundamentally changed. Sam actually moved on. Dean spent a year in Purgatory, and kind of liked it.

It’s going to be exciting to watch.