Friday, October 22, 2010

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.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Great write up! Mr. Wizard was one of my fave line, too, along with the d-bags line. Loved all the Twilight spoofs, too, especially the actors for Robert and Kristen. They nailed the melodrama just right.

Holy hell, I can't wait for answers! I sat there with my jaw unhinged while Sam watched as Dean was turned by Boris. I felt horrible for Dean at the end when he couldn't get a hold of Lisa and he knew Sam/Not Sam no longer had his back.

I'm wondering what is with Samuel, he didn't seem as creepy this week to me. All my weirded out creepy feelings were for Sam. I want to know who's in the driver's seat.

Anonymous said...

Great write up, Trish. I had the same OMG moment when Sam gave that creepy smile. Who else is in there with him? Did someone catch a piggyback ride outta Hell? Loved the disses on the current vamp phenom and how girls are easy prey ' cause of it. And yet I still found Dean hot in that scene w/ Lisa. Lol. Can't wait for next week.

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

I think the guy in the vision was the alpha vampire. Balthazar was played by Sebastian Roché, the guy from Fringe, while Raphael was played by Demore Barnes--the guy in the vision wasn't him.

Sam DID seem more himself with some of his mannerisms and reactions back, and I agree that Samuel wasn't as cold/creepy, either. Which just made the OMG moments about Sam even worse.

I can't WAIT until next week!

Terri, I found that hot, too. LOL

Trish Milburn said...

Melissa, I felt so sorry for Dean too. Just when he got his brother back after a year of thinking he was in hell, it's only to discover something is most certainly not right.

Trish Milburn said...

Natalie, I wrote the wrong name in the write-up. I remembered the guy from that Balthazar episode, but it was actually the guy who played Raphael (Demore Barnes). You're right, not the guy who was in the vision, but I've seen that guy somewhere and I can't place it.

Trish Milburn said...

Terri, I'm so curious who the piggybacker is. Lucifer? A demon?

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Yeah, Trish, I recognize that guy, can even picture him in a particular role, but can't tell you what it is! And he wasn't listed in the IMDb credits, so I can't look it up.

I meant to comment on Terri's piggyback theory, too. To my way of thinking, that would only be three options, because the cage is enclosed:

1. Lucifer. But he's not acting like I would think Lucifer would. Lucifer never operated in secret.

2. Michael. This is what seems likeliest. Not sure what the heck his motive would be, but he was definitely an end-justifies-the-means kind of guy. Still, wouldn't he want to go back to rule again in heaven?

3. Adam. This one is most intriguing to me, but least logical. Adam was so used, between Michael and the ghouls and the brothers. Sam and Dean left him to Michael (even though they tried to save him) and Sam pulled him into the pit as collateral damage. Perhaps being taken over by Michael gave his soul the wherewithal to ride out with Sam. But that's logistics different from anything we've ever seen on the show, and the things Sam's doing don't seem to feed a revenge motive.

It seems most likely to me that it's an angel who wants to clean up the monsters who were enriched by the apocalypse, who doesn't care what happens along the way, and who is subverting Sam's conscience and compassion somehow.

MJFredrick said...

I loved this episode. My fave of the season so far. I don't think Sam is 2 people. I think he's just something else. I got the feeling he knew about the cure, and chanced Dean because of it. Maybe he was going to tell Dean not to feed before Dean bolted.

Liz said...

How did I not know about this site? Writing? Supernatural? Can there be any more awesome?

I only caught the last 20 minutes of last night's episode (it's on the DVR), but I don't want an evil Sammy. I don't want a not-completely-sammy Sammy, either. Why can't Dean be evil for once??

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Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Welcome to the blog, Elizabeth! :) So glad you found us!

I was watching season 4 yesterday, and happened to see the episode where Dean admitted to torturing in hell, and said that what he felt...he wished he couldn't feel anything. And it was like a neon sign. LOL

So we've speculated that maybe Sam doesn't have his soul. If he did like Dean wished, and found a way that he didn't have to feel anything, that could account for what we see, too. I hear you about Sam being the "evil" one too often. We did get a hint of Dean heading that way this week...you'll see, or did see, if you got to watch it yet. :)

Anonymous said...

The Twilight references (including "Robert"'s obvious Edward imitation) did make me laugh :-) When I first saw Sam's smile, I thought he and his grandfather had some scheme that was playing up. (In the first ep of the season - SPOILER - didn't grandpa kidnap the djinn and tell it they weren't going to kill it? I've been wondering if they're experimenting on or creating monsters in order to hunt them.) But it quickly became clear that not even creepy Grandpa condoned Sam's actions in this one.

I'm guessing this ep was the final nail in the coffin for Dean & Lisa?