You Can't Handle the Truth

"Hey, this is Jensen Ackles..."

Hi, Jensen Ackles!

Then: Sam's different, Dean can't lose Lisa and Ben,shooting stuff, Sam watching him get turned, Lisa getting shoved up...against...the...wall... Um. Yeah. Dean getting turned back, remembering the past few hours/days, count on Sam (yeah, right).

Okay, Now.

Bar. Calumet City, Illinois, waitress being stereotypical woman...until she invokes some truth spell and everyone starts telling her stuff. OMG, what did that guy put in the soup?

Why the hell is truth only negative?

This poor woman!

Oooh, I just noticed this was Biggerson's.

Have we figured out what the shattered glass represents yet?

Bobby insists Sam has been tested thoroughly. Dean believes Sam is Lucifer, but Bobby's fighting pretty hard. Trying to keep Dean restrained, or something else? Dean doesn't even want to ride in the car with Sam, he's so freaked about not knowing what the hell he is.

Lisa still hasn't called him back. It does suck, Sam, but so do you. *scowl*

Sam notices the sister's tell (it's pretty obvious, tucking the hair behind her ear), but he gets really cold and smug again, and man, that gives me shivers. And NOT the good kind.

Now we have a guy in the dental chair revealing some really sick stuff. WHOA. His confessions about the dentist's daughter drive the dentist to drill him. Literally. Can a dentist's drill really generate that much blood? (Tanya is hiding her eyes now.)

Commercial, so I have to worry this detail to death. There's a spell or something making people tell the truth, but the only truths we hear are horrible. The waitress is told she's ugly and creepy and pitied. An old lady says she killed a homeless man in a hit and run. The dental patient is disgusted by his wife's saggy skin and either had sex with a teenager or did something worse to her. Is this bad writing, oversimplifying that no one ever has anything nice to say? Or is that just part of the spell?

Back to Dean and Bobby. Bobby's research hasn't found anything that fits. Dean thinks the worst case is Lucifer, but Bobby's worst case is that it's just Sam. Dean tries to call Lisa, but stops himself. Sam comes in, pretty awfully gleeful about the drilling. Dean sends him off to interview the guy, says he'll stay and do research, try to figure out what they're up against.

Sam says the guy hung himself in the cell, but the patient was confessing stuff, and Sam said he'd have murdered him for it, too. Dean speculates that it's a curse. Sam will go to the morgue, Dean to the dentist's office, to see what they can see.

Blood. Lots of it. Creepy big-assed teeth and a...saxaphone? Ahhhh, Dean finds the common denominator. Jane had a label for House of Horns, and so does the dentist. The guy mentions a stolen horn, a museum piece, about a thousand years old, stolen about two weeks ago. Dean finds info on Gabriel's Horn of Truth. Huh, maybe Castiel will listen to him now.

Ha! He does.

Oooh, ouch, Dean, calling him names. Cas has nothing to offer about Sam. Except he knows he's not Lucifer. He'd feel it if Lucifer escaped the cage. He doesn't know what's wrong with Sam. Dean asks what's wrong with Cas, why he's not human-like anymore. Cas, very solemnly, very heavily, says he's at war. Certain regrettable things are now required of him. Dean mentions the horn and Cas disappears. When he comes back (he looked "everywhere" in 2 seconds) and it's not the Horn of Truth. Cas offers to make inquiries about Sam, he wants to help, and then he disappears again. Dean's pretty much at his wit's end.

Sam asks to see all the suicides, but the attendant says they're gone. "Gone" gone, whatever that means.

Dean's in a bar, where the news person on the TV mentioned the truth. Sam calls to tell about the missing bodies. He has a lead, a woman who died in a car accident a week before the other bodies. Dean tells the bartender, "I'd just like the freaking truth" and invokes the curse. At least the bartender is aware that she's saying odd things, whereas the others all seemed oblivious to the strangeness of blurting horrible truths. Her first one's not too bad, that she's in a sham marriage, but then she says she's snorting Oxy. A bar chick tells Dean she just bought her breasts and needs lots of attention, which Dean obliges.

Dean tests his theory by calling Bobby, who reveals some hilarious stuff. He watches Tori and Dean, gets a pedicure that's apparently, um, really good, and Dean's his favorite, though Sam's a better hunter. He, too, recognizes something's wrong, but Dean's glad. Bobby, apparently, doesn't have evil secrets, just disturbing ones.

Great line by Bobby: "Why is it half the time you clean a mess, you get dirty?"

Dean calls Sam, who doesn't answer, and says he has some things to ask him.

Sam's interviewing someone about the car accident death, saying it was a suicide. She says she was obsessed with finding out the truth about her boyfriend. Ding ding ding!

Lisa calls Dean, and she's very angry. She won't let Dean put her off. But he won't explain. Still, she goes off on him, telling him he can't push everything down the way he does without freaking, and she knew as soon as Sam came back it was over, that they have "the most unhealthy, tangled up, crazy thing I've ever seen, and as long as he's in your life, you're never going to be happy." She's close to her sister, but she wouldn't bring her back from the dead. Dean won't argue with her about that, but she won't let him say what she and Ben mean to her. She ends it, and Dean's crushed. *whimper*

Sam's exploring a neon-green bedroom and finds a box with a weird little skull (apparently the missing cat).

Dean demands answers from Sam, and he immediately knows Dean's cursed. First question, why Sam just stood there. Sam say's he didn't. Claims he froze, blames shock, and he's obviously lying. So he's immune to this curse, dammit. Sam puts on a decent replication of himself, and Dean backs down, which is a little annoying. Sam was immune to the demon light bombs, and the Croatoan virus, and all the demon kids. So why wouldn't he be immune to this? But Dean apparently doesn't even think of it.

If the previews hadn't shown us Sam apparently admitting stuff to Dean, I'd be furious right now! Those writers had better not be bait-and-switching us.

The box contained the ingredients of a summoning spell for Veritas, the goddess of truth, who slams you with the truth until you kill yourself, which feeds her (tribute). So they have to stop her before she takes Dean. Exposition reveals dogs are her Achilles heel, and she wanted to be worshipped. So Dean immediately thinks "attention whore" and connects the modern-day speaking truth to the masses to TV news. But I'm thinking the chick in the bar.

They go to the news station and get a huge box of tapes of Ashley Frank, and watch unedited segments of "Frank Talk." Time passes. Dean eats. Sam doesnt' move, just watches her recordings in fast forward. Dean eats some more. A dog on screen goes haywire during a location spot, and they catch camera flare in her eyes. Okay, maybe it wasn't the chick in the bar. :)

Off they go to chase down Veritas. Who drives a smokin' convertible. *want* The guys dip knives in dog's blood.

Dean: "Do I even want to know where you got that?"
Sam: "Probably not."

Ashley goes up her stairs in that provocative-casual manner that hints that she knows the guys are there. Modern, stylish home with water and fire and cats everywhere. They find a mosaic of her, and more cats. Eventually, they wind up in a room full of snacked-on dead bodies, and of course, she sneaks up on them, and tosses them into a tub or something, where they wake up tied to the safety handles.

Sam gets a knife to cut his rope as Veritas pulls out and nibbles on a tongue. Sorry, Tanya, but it IS the tastiest part. Dean gets mouthy, and she puts her truth mojo on him. What does he really feel about his brother? Dean says better now, as of yesterday he wanted to kill him in his sleep, as a monster, but now he thinks he's just acting like Dean. He blames the job, says he told himself he wanted out, wanted a family, but he's good at slicing throats. He's not a father, he's a killer, and now he knows there's no changing that.

*sob*

I don't get the "Mallory to your Mickey" reference.

She turns her mojo on Sam, asks how he feels about the band getting back together. He says what they do is hard, but they watch out for each other. We see slow realization dawning on Veritas's face, because she knows Sam's lying. She wants to know what he is, says he's not human. Sam cuts through the rope, tosses the knife to Dean, and starts fighting Veritas (who might be, IMO, the most beautiful woman to have guest starred on this show; something appealing about her, where so many are plastic).

Fight ensues, Dean frantically saws at his bonds, gets free, knifes Veritas as she chokes Sam (evocative of season one!). We see her true visage for a moment before Sam kills her with the second knife.

And then Dean turns the knife on Sam.

Sam's pretty convinced Dean will carve him up, and frantically tries to get him to listen. He admits Veritas was right, there's something wrong with him, he's known it for a while, he lied to Dean. He let him get turned by the vamp, because he knew there was a cure, they needed him to get in the nest, and he knew Dean could handle it. When Dean says he could have killed Ben, Sam says that should have stopped him cold, but he just doesn't feel it. He's a better hunter, nothing scares him anymore, because he can't feel it. He doesn't know what's wrong with him, and thinks he needs help. Dean sets down the knife. Sam seems relieved, unburdened, but that must be an act, too, if he can't feel anything.

Then, WHOA, Dean whollops (how the heck do you spell that word?) Sam. I mean, whales on him. Pounds his face in. WTH?

The preview for next week is very spoilery, so let me post a warning before I talk about it.

SPOILERS BELOW THIS LINE!!!!!!!!

Terri gets credit for first posting the possibility that Sam is without his soul. I high-fived her because, while watching "The Third Man," I voiced the same possibility. We deserve cookies! :) We postulated lots of viable theories over the last few weeks, but for me, this one grew as I watched past seasons and as this season went on. I think it's been a masterful build to this reveal, giving us plenty to keep us guessing, yet feeding that truth so completely. It really changes the whole face of the show from here on out.

And I'm very impressed with Jared's acting. He's internalizing the character now, and it's wonderful.

So I'll stop there and let you all start weighing in with your thoughts!

A Look at Lisa

I'm one of those who likes to stay spoiler-free, so this post only involves eps already aired and my own speculation (in other words, I haven't gone looking online to see if and when Cindy Sampson will be in more episodes).

It felt to me like last week's "Live Free or TwiHard" may have been Dean and Lisa's swan song (or, at the very least, the beginning of the end). The episode began with Dean very happy on the phone with her, saying that he and Sam were nearby and that he could come visit. Plans went awry when he got (temporarily) changed into a vampire. There was a funny/tense/sad scene when he showed up in her bedroom (watching her sleep, after he'd been mocking that exact scenario on the cover of a vampire novel) and told her thank you for all she'd done but that he couldn't keep bringing his dangerous life (and the monsters therein) home to her. This was not exactly a new conversation for them--but the fact that he then shoved her son in the hallway (in an attempt not to attack him) may spell doom for Lisa and Dean even if he does reconsider and want to reconnect. (Do you think his fruitless phone messages for her at the end were for another chance or just an apology and to make sure she/Ben are okay? Think we'll be seeing her again?)

Anyway, since I feel like the Lisa/Dean subplot is winding down, I wanted to take a look at their relationship and at Cindy Sampson's work on the show (not to mention get y'all's opinions ). We first met "bendy" Lisa in Season 3's "The Kids Are All Right" and maybe I'm biased toward her because I thought that episode was really well done (even if it does make me afraid of my own kids!). I loved the scenes with Dean and Lisa's son Ben--we saw very clearly how Dean wished Ben was actually his--and I thought Jensen and Cindy had pretty good chemistry (way better, IMO, than his and Cassie's in Season 1's Route 666). But while Dean seemed wistful about leaving Lisa and her son (due in part to the fact that he was headed for hell and realized he'd never have a wife and son), I didn't expect to ever see Lisa and Ben again.

But the writers reference the character again in "Dream a Little Dream of Me," when she appears in a dream sequence where she and Dean are a couple. Then we don't see her again until the impending apocalypse, toward the end of Season 5 (when Dean is contemplating making a deal to be Michael's vessel, he plans to secure some kind of protection for her and Ben.) Of course, it ends up being not Dean but Sam who sacrifices himself in "Swan Song," and Sam makes Dean promise that, rather than spend the next year trying to bust his brother out of hell, he'll settle down, have a life (with Lisa). And the last few seconds of season 5 show Dean doing just that.

The very construction of the show would seem to prevent either brother being in a healthy, happy relationship (they're on the road all the time and something tries to kill them at least once an episode), plus fans in the past have reacted negatively to some recurring female roles/perceived love interests. So putting Dean in a relationship is a somewhat risky move on the part of the writers. On the one hand, I think that it's organic to Dean's character--he's always wanted family, so in that regard, it makes sense. On the other, it was somewhat jarring after not seeing Lisa for all of Season 4 and most of Season 5 to ask us to believe she's the great love of his life. (Although, given Dean's career, how many people has he really had the chance to get close to? Here's a woman who already knows what he does, so he can actually talk to her, gave him some of the best sex of his life, and has a child that he can see being his, fulfilling his life long wish for family.)

So I came in to the sixth season with mixed feelings about this supposed relationship. I've always liked Cindy Sampson's portrayal of Lisa, but I wasn't sure how I felt about having she and Dean thrust on us almost out of the blue. Yet I have to say, she's won me over. I love her obvious care for Dean and acceptance of who he is and what he's done. I like her realistic attitude about his issues (because, let's face it, he would be SO screwed up). Of course, while all those are positives, watching Dean beat himself up about all the possible ways he could get Ben and Lisa killed is slightly less enjoyable (as the last episode demonstrated vividly, he's not just paranoid. It's a valid concern). While I never expected them to last together into their old age, I'm a little sad to think they're hitting goodbye. Especially since Dean's trust in Sam is fractured, taking away the person he was closest to.

What do you guys think? Did you buy her as Dean's true love? Will you miss her when she's gone, or be glad when the writers put this particular storyline to bed? So to speak.

SPNews

News was light this week, but here's what scoopage I could find.

Freddy Kruger is coming to SPN! Okay, not quite Freddy, but his portrayer Robert Englund. He’ll appear in the December 10th episode as an off-the-books doc who patches up hunters.

Buddy TV has pictures from this week’s “You Can’t Handle The Truth.”

For the first time in 57 years TV Guide is allowing fans to pick the cover image. It’s down to 6 fan favorites and Supernatural is one of them so vote as often as you can between November 1 and hopefully we’ll see Jensen, Jared and Misha on the front page.

Jensen is lending his voice to the video game Tron: Evolution. Check out WinchesterBros for more info.

Live Free or Twihard

This was another one of those episodes that starts out with one tone and ends on a very different one. Though I'm a Twilight fan, I was chuckling at the early scenes that were so obviously spoofs of Twilight. You got a Bella-looking girl named Kristen (as in Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella in the movies, for those who might not know) and an Edward-based vampire named Robert (as in Pattinson) talking in a bar later revealed to be called the Black Rose. He says he can't stop thinking about her, that they can't be together. She says she's not scared. And then there the whole paper cut thing.

One problem -- Robert isn't all that Edward-like because he doesn't love Kristen. He's hunting her, to bring her back to his boss at the nest. And she's not the first. When we see Sam and Dean, they're discussing the fact that seven girls have gone missing, and when they go to the home of the latest missing girl, they find her room filled with movie vampire posters, pillows, all manner of decor.

Dean: "These aren't vampires. They're douche bags."

While Sam tries to figure out the girl's computer password, Dean tosses out that he should try Lautner, which surprises Sam. Dean replies that the kid is everywhere. :) When Sam tries "Pattinson", jackpot.

Next we see a quick scene of some vamps steeling a bunch of blood from a blood bank van.

When Sam and Dean go to the Black Rose to see if they can catch the vamp(s) luring the young girls, they split up and follow two suspects. Sam quickly dispatches his quarry, a real vampire, again without much emotion. Dean pulls his "vamp" off a girl in the alleyway, but it's just a guy dressing the part.

Dean: "Are you wearing glitter?"
Fake Vamp: "I only do it to get laid, man."
Dean: "Does it work?"
Fake Vamp: Shrugs in a positive answer.
Dean: "I'll be damned."

When Dean is attacked by a real vampire, he's forced to drink the vamp's blood as...OMG!...Sam sort of smiles and watches! What the frak?! This scene made me wonder if there are two beings inside Sam's body -- Sam (as evidenced by the times he actually acts like the old Sam) and some Big Bad (for the times like this when he is absolutely not acting like the old Sam).

Dean knows something is way wrong with Sam because he's not freaking out when they get free of the vampire. He can tell because he can hear how calm Sam's heart beat is. When Dean heads to the bathroom, he says one of my favorite lines from the episode:

"Newsflash, Mr. Wizard. Vampires pee."

Even while turning into a vampire, Dean is a funny dude.

While in the bathroom, he lips his upper lip while looking in the mirror and sees a fang growing. Then he makes a hasty departure out the window to go see Lisa and Ben for what he thinks will be the last time. He tells Lisa thanks for everything but leaves when he feels himself losing control and goes back to Sam and Samuel, prepared for them to kill him. But -- surprise! -- Samuel has a cure for vampirism since Dean hasn't fed yet. But Dean has to go to the nest and get the blood of the vampire who turned him (aka Boris).

More weirdness with Sam when Samuel asks him why he didn't tell Dean about the cure. Sam says that he didn't know about it. Samuel says that he told him months ago. Either Sam is lying or, if my theory pans out, Samuel told the other being in Sam's body.

While Dean is in the vampire nest, he figures out that the vamps are getting their orders from some higher power. Is it a rogue angel? When Dean and all the rest of the vampires pass out, Dean sees a series of creepy images including a guy wiping blood next to the mouths of twin girls. That was Balthazar, wasn't it? When Dean wakes, he proceeds to cut off the heads of all the vampires and get the blood of Boris for the cure.

Said cure is appropriately disgusting when he drinks it, and one of the effects is all the images from the previous day flash through his mind -- including that half-smile from Sam as he stand by and watches Dean get turned into a vampire.

When Sam asks Dean what he saw in the next, he reveals that the vampires' alpha is building an army..."And we don't scare them anymore."

In the episode-ending brothers-by-the-Impala scene, Dean asks Sam if he has his back. When Sam says "of course", Dean knows he's lying.

The preview for next week seems to indicate we're finally going to get some answers about what the hell is going on with Sam. Maybe we'll find out if any of our theories are right, or if it's something none of us have thought of. Can't wait! I wants me some answers.

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Monday News for 10/18/10

How awesome was "Weekend at Bobby's"? Jensen got a lot of attention for his (IMO, stellar) direction of that episode. In case you missed it, scroll down for an awesome behind-the-scenes.

As for news, in no particular order (save what came into my inbox via Google Alert)...

There's a spoiler somewhere in here that I didn't read.

Bela/Lauren Cohen fans might be interested to learn that the actress is coming to Vampire Diaries soon.

Zap2it posted an interview Friday with Mark Sheppard, aka Crowley. They lead with a quote that shows just how awesome Sheppard is:

"You don't want know when I'm going to be in it or not be in it," he says. "You just kind of want to know that I exist. The fans are very, very serious about not getting spoilered on this. So let's hope that you guys keep quiet. You shouldn't even mention that I'm here."

Of course, Firefly fans knew of his awesomeness years ago, m'iright? :) He goes on to discuss his future on the show (without spoilers) and Jensen's directing.

Articles about Jensen's directing:
TV.com
BCS Review
Zap2it (Jensen quotes, with behind-the-scenes pictures)
TV Squad
Extra TV at Warner Bros.
TV Guide

"Live Free or Twi-Hard"
Photos I will not look at.
Zap2it article I did not read.

Bobby's World

Due to my son's birthday party (and the ensuing cleanup) I didn't get to watch "Weekend at Bobby's" until this morning. In order to get you the recap (so, obviously, SPOILERS) sooner, I tried to watch the episode last night and fell asleep shortly after someone was fed through a wood chipper...which, as you might guess, does not lead to sweet dreams.

But enough about me! Let's focus on Bobby...which is exactly what Supernatural did. Now, since Jensen and Jared are a major part of why I tune in every week, it would have been possible for me to be less than invested in this episode, but that wasn't the case (which is a tribute to both the writers and the actors of the show). And I know Trish was probably excited to see this episode because when we saw Mark A. Sheppard at DragonCon, she cut right to the chase asking him if Crowley (the king of the crossroads demons) still had Bobby's soul and if we'd be seeing Mark again in season 6? (He assured us that the answer was yes on both counts.)

In fact, we see Mark right at the beginning of the show, flashing back a year (right after Sam sacrificed himself to save the world) when Bobby tries to get Crowley to uphold his end of the bargain and give back the soul that Bobby didn't so much sell as "pawn" (gaining in the deal use of his paralyzed legs). But it turns out that Crowley isn't giving it back (shocking, isn't it? A demon who can't be trusted!) Crowley, with the help of a hell hound, ends the encounter with the upper hand but we know that Bobby isn't going to stop trying.

Then we get into Bobby's present day life. Although it does include Sam and Dean (who, in keeping with seasons past, call him for help), we see that Bobby actually helps lots of Hunters. You remember that phone bank we saw in a previous episode, all marked so that Bobby knows what to answer as the FBI, CDC, CIA, etc? When we saw it before, it was comical. Now, it was sort of deliberately sad--this man who once was forced to kill his wife, helping all these people and yet still largely alone. Not only was the continuity in this show great (bringing back the female sheriff and referencing Dean's fear of flying), so was the emotional resonance. Jim Beaver did an incredible job--throughout the whole episode, I just wanted to give the poor man a hug. (And of course, giving the boys less screen time probably made it much easier for Jensen Ackles to direct an episode that, ultimately, I thought did a great job of tying up loose ends from last season while still contuining to set up problems for this one.)

We normally see the boys' interactions with Bobby through their end--with Bobby often being the voice on the other end of the phone, dispensing wisdom and occasionally humorous insults. This time, we stay with Bobby and see what his life is like after he hangs up the phone. In this case, that life includes torturing a crossroads demon to get information on Crowley. When he has what he wants (Crowley's original human name), Bobby kills her, by pouring the mysterious contents of a bag into a fire. But prior to that, she offers up the information that Crowley isn't just the king of the crossroads, he's the king of hell. So is he the new big bad now that Lucifer's in the box? While I don't want a rehash of last year's angels v. demons, I would be totally okay with more guest appearances by Sheppard!

Meanwhile, we see another aspect of Bobby's life--the chipper blonde neighbor of six months who's still trying to get to know the single man who lives next door. She brings him a ginger peach cobbler. And now that I've finished typing that sentence, I realize that use of the word chipper may have been a Freudian segue. When Bobby attributes the screaming from his basement to a horror movie, blonde baker invites him over to watch "Drag Me to Hell" (Loved his response that, actually, he was trying to avoid that.) With her horror movie gambit having failed, she asks him to come over some time and look at her wood chipper, which has stopped working. It's obvious she was a crush on Bobby, not that he has time for such things because his phone his ringing again.

In addition to Sam and Dean periodically calling for help with a monster whose plot line is so peripheral that I've forgotten its name already (much less how to spell it), Bobby gets an in person request for assistance from fellow Hunter Rufus Turner, who has been in one or two episodes previous to this. Just like Sam and Dean hunting something previously not seen outside Greece, turns out Rufus has just "killed" something that's never before been seen outside Japan, prompting the funny observation, "Is it just me, or are monsters getting weird?" Bobby helps Rufus bury the body, only to have law enforcement come looking for it later (including the female sheriff played by Kim Rhodes we saw in "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." Now that she's hip to paranormal goings-on around her, she's a lot less eager to arrest Bobby. She even tries to help, although she makes it clear that because of her job, there are limits to what she can do.)

The law goes poking around in his yard to look for the body, which--luckily--is gone. Or, not so luckily, if you're Bobby's neighbor who lives alone. When he bursts into her house with a gun late at night to save her, he asks if she's seen anything strange. "Besides you?" But she quickly sees that she's in danger and Bobby gets into combat with the Japanese demon, who ends up going through the wood-chipper. Which, ew, ew, ew, but the scene was actually pretty well done and inappropriately funny...and also a bit sad. "I thought you said it wasn't working," Bobby says of the wood chipper, clearly at a loss for how to explain everything. Pan to neighbor in her white nightgown, absolutely covered in blood. "I only said that to get you over here." Bobby, belatedly realizing that she likes him, offers to come back over some time, which she rejects, looking now appalled by him. "Story of my life," he says. Awwwwww.

When Dean calls later to confess his worries about Sam (giving this episode a clear through line to the rest of the season even though the boys are mostly off screen), Bobby tells him he can't talk right now. Dean makes the mistake of calling Bobby "selfish," as he is the only person Dean can talk to. Bobby then demands that Dean go get Sam and then gives them an earful over the phone about how selfish they are and how no one seems to be batting an eyelash that Bobby's headed for hell at the end of his contract. While the boys did have that coming, I thought Sam made a good point when he said, "If you need help, all you have to do is ask." (Earlier in the show, Bobby the cantankerous loner actually rejected Rufus' help, so there's a fair point that it's a two way street. If you want people to be there for you, you have to be willing to occasionally reach out.) Rufus comes through with a way for Bobby to summon the ghost of Crowley's son (who, as it turns out, loathed his father and gives Bobby information about where Crowley's bones were buried.)

The episode comes full circle. We once again find Bobby and Crowley in a stand-off over Bobby's soul, only this time Bobby has an ace up his sleeve (which reminds me--LOL at the playing of the Gambler earlier. It was such a change from Sam and Dean's usual AC/DC or other classic rock that it helped set a definite tone for a different type of episode.) Anyway, the boys are now in Scotland ("We've gone international."), poising in the graveyard over Crowley's bones. Turns out, that mysterious bag earlier in the ep? Held the demoness's bones, and you kill a crossroad demon by burning their mortal remains. I loved Bobby's scathing comment to Crowley that demons think they're all that, but really they're just "ghosts with ego." Crowley is clearly pissed, but also clearly has no choice. Bobby gets his soul back and gets to keep use of his legs (yay!!!) Afterward, there's a phone call between Bobby and the boys that I loved not just because of the gruff affection between the three of them but because the teasing between the boys (Sam's smirking that Dean "white-knuckled his way through four puke bags" on the plane) seemed like the most natural, brotherly interaction they've had so far this season.

Of course, this is Supernatural, so instead of just ending it when Bobby got off the phone with a sheepish, "Let's roll credits on this chick flick," they had to go just a minute further. We see Bobby try to sit down with his ginger peach cobbler (again) only to be interrupted by the phones (again!) and realize that when you're trying to save the world on a daily basis, your work is never done. And that no matter how many hunters are in his life--and who genuinely care about him--at the end of the day, Bobby Singer is still alone. Awwww!

And then previews, which I don't even want to think about. What are they doing to my Dean???? Apparently, he becomes some kind of monster with a hunger for human flesh, so I am torn. Normally, if Jensen is on the screen, I am unable to look away. However, this is seeming like something best watched in tiny spaces between my fingers. Guess we'll know more in a week!

Jensen's Directorial Debut

I missed my deadline yesterday so I'm posting this awesome behind-the-scenes video of Weekend at Bobby's, Jensen's directorial debut. Not surprisingly, he's a natural who was well received by his cast and crew. Can't wait for this Friday!

Supernatural News

Supernatural had a 20% gain in viewership this week! I wonder if it was those delicious previews of Sam, which is the only part I've watched a second time because the rest? GROSS!

Even Entertainment Weekly mentioned that Supernatural is one of the winners in the ratings game, giving The CW its best Friday night ratings.

In other news, Misha Collins is a new daddy! He and his wife have been together since high school. Isn't that sweet? The link has a perfectly adorable picture of Misha.

The trailer for the Supernatural anime is out. It looks completely cool!

Jim Beaver has been tweeting about being on a non-supernatural show called Love Bites. With the latest vampire craze, you'd think they'd name it something else.

And because you've been so good...

"The Third Man" episode recap

Okay, I have one word for the first scene in this week's episode -- Gross! Cop #1 starts bleeding, starts shedding skin, and then explodes into puddle of blood. Dude, I'm glad I wasn't eating dinner while watching this episode. May I just say again, gross!

Next scene -- we've got some hot Dean/Lisa action. Only I knew from the fuzzy light that it wasn't real. Dean wakes up in the Impala.

Then we have what may be one of the most rewound, re-watched scenes ever in Supernatural history -- Sam working out shirtless. I think MJ's reaction was, "Please never make Sam wear a shirt again!" And we get more evidence that post-Hell Sam is not the same as Sam pre-Hell. Mysterious girl he obviously spent the night with (and from her comments, he pleasured well) emerges from bedroom, and he pays her. No, Sammy! Not a prostitute! She gives him her number, but he tosses it in the garbage as soon as she leaves. Part of me thinks something is really wonky with Sam, and part of me thinks this isn't Sam at all, that the real Sam is still in the Cage. And that makes me sad.

I was happy to see the return of snarky Dean. When he gets off the phone with Sam, he looks at the phone and says, "Who died and made you boss?" There's something about that line that makes me wonder about the identity of "Sam."

Next we have a shot of not exactly the world's best cop, some yokel who is sitting in the woods drinking alcohol from a pseudo-Big Gulp cup and not making the effort to catch a speeder because he's only blowing by at 70 mph. "You can do better than that." Within moments, he has bit it from another Egyptian plague, boils. More eew!

When Dean arrives in Easter, Pennsylvania, where Sam is waiting and the cops are being offed in icky ways, Dean is on the phone being all dad-like with Ben, telling him to "be a man" and tell his mom he broke something. I really am liking how we're seeing this "normal" side of Dean, but it really makes the changes in Sam stand out that much more. Sam: "Wow, you, molding the minds of tomorrow. Who knew?"

Anyone remember when Sam got nervous posing as federal agents with fake names? Yeah, those days are gone.

More of the old Dean comes out when he calls the killed cops "Skidmark" and "Bubblewrap." Eew, but funny.

Just when I think Sam isn't Sam, something funny and very brother-like happens, like the "car wars". I laughed when Dean raced Sam because he wants to prove the Impala is better, and laughed again when they got out of their cars and shut the doors at the same time.

They've arrived at the home of Officer Colfax (aka "Skidmark's" partner, who witnessed his really gross demise). He's acting odd, scratching out the faces on all the photos in his home and scratching his head a lot. He reveals that he and the two dead cops were the responding officers on a traffic stop where they shot and killed a young African-American man, Christopher Birch, for no reason other than maybe they were bigots. Ready for another plague? Yep, good ol' Officer Colfax keels over and Sam removes the guy's uniform cap to reveal...locusts crawling out of a hole in his head. I'm wondering if Tanya is watching with her fingers over her eyes at this point. I'm in danger of doing the same.

Despite the fact that Sam has been trying to get in touch with Castiel for a year, Dean gives it a shot in typical Dean fashion: "Now I lay be down to sleep. I pray to Castiel to get his feathery ass down here." Just when Sam starts to say, "I told you so," Cas shows up. Yay, Cas!!! He reveals neither he, nor any of his angel buddies, know who sprung Sam from Hell. (Did the Winchester brothers play a lot of supernatural Monopoly and been holding onto some Get Out of Hell Free cards?)

Okay, so they've all been through the Apocalypse (they and Buffy should compare notes), so what Big Bad come compare? A civil war in Heaven, you say? Ding, ding, ding. You're a winner! Evidently, chaos is all the rage in Heaven post-Apocalypse, and several powerful weapons were stolen, among them the Staff of Moses, which is evidently what's causing all the icky cop demises.

Dean: "What is Chuck Heston's disco stick doing down here anyway?" (Wouldn't you love to be in the writers' room when they come up with this stuff?)

Cas asks for the boys' help and then utters one of my favorite Cas lines ever, complete with air quotes: "Sam, Dean, my 'people skills' are a little 'rusty'. Pardon me, but I've spent the last 'year' as a multi-dimensional wavelength of celestial intent." Misha's delivery is awesome.

They go to the home of Christopher Birch's father, thinking he killed the cops, but then Chris's little brother, Aaron, points a sawed-off part of Moses' staff at them and tells them he did it, that he bought the staff from an angel for the price of his soul. Huh? Angels acting like crossroads demons? Things really are frakked up. Cas can find out who the angel is by searching for a mark inside the boy, though it will be excruciating for Aaron. Dean isn't happy with Cas, but he's more bothered by Sam's seeming lack of caring about what Aaron is experiencing, his "the ends justifies the means" attitude.

Castiel identifies the angel as Balthazar. Some other angel shows up, who I thought for a moment was Balthazar, then later realized was one of Raphael's minions. I admit I got a little confused. He and Cas fight and go out the window and crush a car. I didn't realize it was Sam's car until this interchange:

Sam: My car!
Dean: Okay, silver lining.

The look that Sam gives Dean is so pre-Hell Sam that I'm back to thinking it's really him. Man, I want to know what's going on here.

Cas reveals that the civil war in Heaven is pitting Raphael and his followers (who want to put the Apocalypse back on) against Castiel and his friends (who don't).

Cas, looking for ingredients to do some spell to find Balthazar: "I need myrrh." Simple line, awesome delivery by Misha. He finds Balthazar, and he and boys go to his house. Balthazar, who has a new vessel, is digging living a hedonistic life hiding out from Raphael. He's the one who stole the weapons from Heaven. When Raphael and two buddies show up, Balthazar says, "That's my cue. Tell Raphael to bite me."

Some angel toasting ensues, Cas and Raphael fight until Balthazar returns and uses a piece of the pillar of salt that killed Lot's wife to turn Raphael to salt. Of course, he'll have a new vessel soon, but this gives the rest of them a head start. Cas lets Balthazar go, saying his debt to him is paid.

We get one of those "brothers by the car" moments at the end of the episode. Dean asks if Sam is okay, Sam assures him he is despite his trip to Hell. Dean says, "I feel like I'm not getting the whole scoop." You and me both, buddy.

We also get a glimpse at some future episodes -- Bobby talking to Rufus about the weird way the monsters are acting, more tense moments between the brothers, and a bit of a Twilight dig when the boys are in what appears to be a teenager's room with movie vampires styled like Edward Cullen on posters. Dean: "These aren't vampires. These are douchebags." Even though I'm a Twilight fan, I thought that was funny.

One last thought -- I was glad to have a Campbell-free episode. I really don't like that bunch.

Thoughts?

The Sam Question

Last week, MJ asked the question of season six, namely what's up with the Campbells?

A tie-in question, and one perhaps far more important, is what's up with Sam?

After two episodes, I have to admit, I'm not sure. In the first episode, he was—as we said over and over LOL—cold and smug and dismissive and not at all like our Sammy.

In the second episode, he was more on his own, and less weird. He and Dean interacted a little more normally. In fact, when faced with something he couldn't handle, he automatically looked up to his big brother for help. And Dean, of course, leaped right in (okay, after some resistance).

But then they went back to the Campbells, and Sam seemed all too willing to defer to them. In a slightly less creepy way, but...

Why would Sam join them instead of hunting on his own?
I can actually think of some reasons for this. On the one hand, he was on his own for six months when the Trickster made him think Dean was dead, and again when Dean was in Hell, and you'd think he'd prefer it that way. On the other hand, all his other hunting experience—a lifetime of it—has been with someone else. Dad, and Dean, and Ruby. He may hate being alone now, especially after he decided to leave Dean alone, and welcomed companionship, people who are "like him." And supposed family to boot. He was trying to fill the void.

Why would the Campbells want Sam along?
So maybe we can buy why Sam wants to be with the Campbells, but why would they want him? Those people who claim to be cousins are too young to have known Samuel/Grandpa before YED killed him. If they'd been raised in the life, why would they suddenly follow him? Hunters are loners for the most part, that's well established. Whoops, I'm delving too far back into the damned Campbells question. Back to Sam, who freed Lucifer and came back from the cage. Why wouldn't they assume he was still possessed or something and try to kill him? Why wouldn't they hate him for unleashing so much onto the world and making their jobs and lives harder?

Why did Sam reveal himself to Dean?
If Sam truly thought Dean was better off thinking him dead and staying out of the life, he could have stayed that way. He could have killed the djinn, rescued Dean, and hidden or left so Dean never knew he was there. Or he could have sent Bobby to protect Dean and Lisa and Ben, or even just the Campbells. Yeah, Dean would have found out sooner or later, but there were ways Sam could have achieved his stated ends without revealing himself to Dean.

Is it really Sam?
This is the biggest, most disturbing question. I want it to not be Sam. I mean, the smugness during the hug was too reminiscent of Lucifer. I don't want him to just be changed by his possession or his time in the cage or his new life. Change is inevitable, and I don't mind it—but I don't want him to change like this. If it's not Sam, who could it be?

If it's really Sam, what else could be going on?
My favorite theory is that he's either under the Campbells' thumb somehow, or suspicious of them and scared so that he needs his brother. His oddness would be because of that fear, and the agenda he's trying to hide. But I'm sure there are a bunch of other things that could be going on. What's your favorite theory?

Thoughts?

Two and a Half Men

Note: I wrote this live, with my reactions interjected, as I watched so I could get to bed early for a writer's conference tomorrow. Hope it's okay. :)

Cozy fire, fam pics, blood-smeared hand smashes framed photo. A bloody mom carrying her baby runs through the house. Phone’s dead. They hide under the bed. Damn, don't do that. They always find you under there. Footsteps. Bad guy goes away. False security. Mom see’s her dead husband. She squeals, but killer seems not to have heard. Then she’s yanked out from under the bed. Totes saw that coming!

Dean checking weapons in the Impala. Puts them away and covers the car back up with a tarp. Boo. Wow, he’s moved Lisa and Ben into a new house. The poor kid isn’t happy about it. Dean is reluctant to let either one of them out of his sight.

Sam talks to cops about missing baby and murdered parents.

Dean orders pizza instead of taking his family out. Lisa and Ben are upset he’s keeping them under house arrest.

Sam discovers there was no sulfur. No EMF. But four couples have been killed and four babies are missing. Grandpa Campbell’s on the phone saying this isn’t natural. Sam realizes there may be one common connection--Harper Caine Home Security.

Dean catches Ben playing with a rifle from the Impala and he’s very upset. He snaps at Ben and says he’ll never, ever shoot a gun. Ben is crushed by Dean’s outburst.

Clients of Harper Caine definitely seem to be the target. Sam goes to find a client that’s still alive.

Lisa is freaked by Dean’s overprotective attitude and tries to convince him they have to live life, despite nameless threats.

Sam breaks into a house and finds the parents dead. He follows some bloody footprints and is, of course, attacked. Sam cuts the Caine security guard with a knife and the silver burns him like acid. The dude disappears and Sam finds something—I’m guessing a baby— under a table.

Sam calls Dean for help. Dean is salting the windows in his new house and says he’s out. Sam threatens to stop by his house if he doesn’t meet him. Dean shows up. Cue the creepy music and then flash to Dean seeing…an adorable, big-eyed baby in the backseat.

“Welcome to the party, Guttenberg.” –Sam to Dean

Dean instructs Lisa on the proper way to load and use a gun, while she encourages him to go handle this mission with his brother. He does, but shows up in his truck! Why? Where’s the Impala? The brothers figure they’ve either got a ghoul, zombie, shifter or any other dozen of things on their hands. Only problem is, none of them typically babynap.

The Winchester boys go shopping for baby supplies! Dean’s not entirely clueless thanks to Lisa’s niece. The baby starts crying and neither of the guys can figure out how to make him stop. I keep yelling at Dean to “pick him up!” Their awkwardness is adorable and funny. Especially when Dean cries back at the baby. I’ll admit I’ve used that approach myself. Didn’t work any better. A nice woman in the grocery line holds the baby, who they’ve dubbed Bobby John (love that!) and finds he’s a bit wet. Dean’s relief at having help turns to fear when he sees her on a security feed. Her eyes are flashy. He demands the baby back and she takes off with the infant. Dean tries to grab her and rips off some of her skin. (Eeew!) In a nice move, Sam intercepts the baby. Dean then catches the woman and tries to stab her, but she cries out like a victimized old woman being attacked by a hoodlum and a store manager comes to help. The Winchesters run off with the baby. The evil woman takes notes of Sam’s license plate.

“This is like diffusing an IED with poop.” –Dean to Sam

After changing Bobby John’s diaper, Dean sings to the baby (Smoke on the Water!) and gets him to sleep. Sigh. There is nothing sexier than a man cuddling a baby. So hot! Sam compliments Dean on his parenting skills. Dean says he’s had some practice with Ben. He considers the kid his and he wants something more for him then what their dad gave them. Sam points out Dean's holding them prisoner, just as they were.

Sam leaves to find a different baby’s father. He realizes a shifter posed as the guy and slept with his wife, getting her pregnant.

Dean is enjoying his usual magic fingers when the baby starts screaming. Blood and goop explode everywhere. Naaasty! The baby’s a shifter and he just went from white to black. Hee hee.

Knock on the door. Guy says there have been complaints about the crying baby and can he please come in. Dean refuses. Guy breaks in. It’s a shifter and he says the baby should be with his father and then he intimates there’s a greater father the baby belongs to. Say what???

The boys ascertain the shifter posed as a security guard for Caine. He scoped out families and when the dad left on business he would pose as the husband, get a little nookie and then goes back 9 months later for the baby. Clever, but oh so gross.

Sam calls Bobby John a baby monster. Dean wants to protect him. Sam suggests bringing it to Samuel, but Dean hates the idea. Anyone else notice how Sam is dehumanizing things? He calls the baby and Ben by him or it.

Dean won't hand Bobby John over. Who could blame him. And have I said how HOT Dean looks with a baby? Sam takes Bobby John and hands him over to Samuel. Samuel says they're going to raise him.

“You can’t Angelina Jolie a shapeshifter.” – Dean to Samuel

Dean makes his distrust known. Especially after it's decided that Christian will be the baby’s daddy. Seriously, what is this? Does anyone else think maybe they’re collectors more than hunters? Dogs start barking. The Campbells tell the Winchesters to put the baby downstairs in the panic room where he’ll be safe. The shapeshifter shows up as Samuel.

They shoot him, stab him, and tranquilize him. Dude does not go down. He kills one of the Campbells and shakes off the sedation.

The shifter shows up in the panic room as Sam. Then he turns into Dean. Dean starts to strangle Dean and then takes the baby. Real Dean passes out. Faux Dean struts off with the baby.

Turns out that was the Alpha, the king shape shifter. The first shifter to spawn all the others. Samuel doesn’t know if it’s possible to kill the Alpha.

Dean accuses Sam of using the baby as bait to catch the Alpha shifter. Even he doesn’t trust his brother!

Samuel is talking to someone on the phone, promising he’ll catch the Alpha.

Dean returns home to Lisa. He’s so torn. Poor baby! Is it better to stay with them and keep them safe, or is it better for them if he goes? Lisa doesn’t know if they’ll be safer one way or the other, but she knows he’s a hunter, not a construction worker. She knows he wants to be out there, with Sam. And she understands. God love her. An SPN woman besides Pamela, I actually like. Lisa knows Dean will keep having this internal struggle and she thinks he should go. Dean is shocked she doesn’t want him. She says that’s not the case. He can go do what he needs to and come back to her when he can. Just as long as he comes back in one piece. Dean doesn’t know if they can pull something like that off, but she says it’s worth a shot. Awwww.

Final shot…Yay! The Metallicar is unveiled and brings a smile to Dean’s face. He’s back!

And that is SUCH an incomplete episode. Sheesh. I hate it when so many things are left unresolved in an episode. And next week’s preview— which included a, GODHELPME I watched it over and over again, in slo-mo, shot of Jared doing pull-ups with his shirt off—doesn’t look to address the shifter thing. Where’s the poor monster baby? Who’s grandpa talking to? Are they starting a zoo of Alpha creatures? Was anyone sad the one Campbell died? Didn't see a bit of mourning. Sam seemed a little more himself, but even he admitted something’s off. What is it? All in all I had mixed feelings about this episode. Loved the humor, glad to see both guys a little more themselves, adored seeing Dean with that baby (sigh), but I’m annoyed by the Campbells and whatever the heck is going on. Maybe Cass will shed some light next week. What did you all think?