Supernatural: Sex And Violence
By fred | February 6, 2009
(S04E14) Criticizing isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be a very good thing when it’s not done with the only objective of being mean or devaluing what it is about. I love this show, I truly do and I honestly think it’s one of the best shows on TV right now, highly underrated and under-appreciated. Yet, today, I want to say bad things about it.
Not to be mean or anything like that, and don’t get me wrong this isn’t because this episode was bad. It wasn’t, and as a matter of fact, taken independently, on its own, I think this was a really good episode filled with all you love from the show : interesting plot, ugly demons, humor, fights, great twists, good tunes, and of course “strippers, Sammy, strippers!” What’s not to love ?
But here’s the thing, if there’s something bad to say about this episode, it is that it came when it did. This season opened as one of the best the show ever had, and it came with a pretty heavy mythology and serialized plot which sounded fantastic, and only continued to prove so as more episodes went by. Then, for a while, we took a step down and relaxed a bit, with standalone episodes.
No more Lilith, no more Castiel, Angels and Demons were still fighting, that was still the shadow of Lucifer right there, but we had to deal with giant, alco-holo-porno addict Teddy Bear first. I’m not gonna argue with that, there are priorities in life.
But it’s been a while now that we’ve been off the whole big picture thing, and it’s getting to be too much. If there’s a very nasty war going on, and if Sam has those powers that could help, if God himself had Dean being pulled out of Hell because he could help, and if Lilith is constantly breaking new seals, if Evil is winning the fight, well then maybe it’s about time we get our best fighters back in the game, the big game, the one that matters.
It’s been too long is what I’m saying, and at this rate they’ll be fighting Sirens and other little demons when it would have all become irrelevant, because Lucifer will be walking the Earth and no one will give a damned about “immortal” magicians and things like that. Now I could have grabbed this frustration of mine and kept it inside, hoping – again – that next week the big stuff would be back in the lives of our brothers.
I could have, but this episode has something else that I didn’t like. We know. We’re watching the show every week, we’re loving it, we clearly know that the big ongoing thing this season has been to separate the brothers. It’s obvious that they’ll clash, that they’ll end up on different sides and fighting one another, there’s been more than enough hints, clues and statements on that.
We know that while Dean eventually came clean and told Sam about Hell, about how he remembered it all, what he went through, what he’s done and how he feels about it, at the same time Sam has been lying to his brother, and hiding things from him. Things like what he does at night with Ruby. Did we really need yet another episode to bring that back ?
Surely this episode had one purpose, to get them both to tell to each other what they knew and how they felt about the current situation, which might be a good thing, but it only led to that awkward scene at the end. They’re still in denial, they’re still not talking about it, so nothing’s really changed. Dean still cannot trust Sam like he used to, Sam still isn’t telling what he does with Ruby, they’re still not in this together.
So yes, this episode was really good, and actually I suspected the doctor from the first time they met her, and despite that other FBI agent liking the same cars and music as Dean, despite being convinced that there was something off with him, I didn’t saw it coming, that he was the Siren. At first I thought he might be a hunter as well, then maybe watching over/working with the Siren (although they’re usually lonely demons), but I just didn’t put it that he was it.
It was a great twist, and there was lots to enjoy on this episode, but if this season opened like it was going to blow our minds every single episode, now we’re at episode 14 and I feel like I’ve been waiting for things to move forward for the past months, always to end up with yet another episode setting up the same elements, repeating the same stuff, but not going anywhere.
Which is why, in the end, I did like this episode a lot, and yet I find myself disappointed by it. Hopefully though, next time we will finally hear from Castiel, Lilith and/or Anna again.
What do you say ? Am I completely wrong, or are you waiting for a return of the big story as well ? Who else wished Bobby locked the boys in a room and forced them to talk ?
Posted in Reviews
Shows: Supernatural
Of course you didn’t think the guy was the siren. BECAUSE SIRENS ARE NOT MEN, THEY ARE ALWAYS WOMEN. That’s like writing an episode in which the sun set in the East. Yeah, it would be quite a twist, BECAUSE IT’S WRONG!!!!
SIRENS ALSO ARE NOT SHAPESHIFTERS. Amazing that a show such as this one can’t get its mythology correct. Weak.