Classic Episode Review: "The Kids Are Alright"

When fans heard the premise of this episode, there was--of course--an uproar. Sure, everyone agreed, Dean's a dog and it's highly likely he left something behind somewhere--but don't bring it permanently into our show. No car seats in the Impala!

This was probably the first instance of me hearing a spoiler, watching the fandom freak out, and just trusting Kripke and Co. to do it right. And they did!

Understandably, Dean wants to get his fill of all the good things in life. Bacon cheeseburgers and sex, primarily. And there's this chick in this town where there also happens to be a job.


First we have to focus on the Dean-as-father part. There are a few elements to this. First is Dean fearing he is one, as Ben displays many common traits. Music, girls, cars, and food, to be specific. Lisa insists he's not Dean's, but Dean doesn't seem convinced. Later, Ben displays courage and leadership that also emulates Dean. Lisa's explanation of "having a type" works, but the whole possibility has Dean thinking. He begins to long for a normal life, a life where he could do all the fatherly things his own didn't do with him. But there's a wagonload of poignancy when he says he could never have it.

The "skeery" plot, the job they're there to do, is one of the most creepy ones, and I found it excellently handled. Anything to do with kids is tricky (unless you're a horror flick where that's the whole point, I guess). The girl who played Katie totally creeped me out. Kathleen Munroe, who played the freaked-out mother, was amazing and sympathetic even as she tried to drown her kid. The effects of the changelings was horrific yet subtle, for the most impact.

Oh, yeah. That was the monster-of-the-week. Changelings. Someone was taking the kids and replacing them with these things that sucked on the mother's synovial fluid. The really cool thing is that when Sam and Dean tracked them down, they didn't have to flame the kids. There was a kick-ass mother--no, a literal mother--who beat them up pretty good before they torched her, which made the changelings go fwoosh without anyone having to flame them on the front lawn. Very cool.

The final element of the episode was Ruby, who showed up all cocky and stuff, flashing her black eyes at Sam and giving hints about a deeper mystery, some of which, despite Ruby's revelation and termination in the season 4 finale, remains unresolved. She also claimed she could help save Dean. Thus began the Great Ruby Debate.

Some favorite lines:

"Gumby Girl...does that make me Pokey?"

Ben: "Only bitches send a grownup."
Dean: "You're not wrong."
Ben: "And I am not a bitch."

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What are your favorite parts/lines of this episode? Did you like it? If not, why not? What did I miss? Weigh in, in the comments!

Summer Vacation ala Winchester

The kids here go back to school in a week and a half and as I look back over the summer, it feels like one long road trip. And since my favorite show is also one long road trip (and because the Winchester boys are never far from my mind) I couldn't help but draw parallels. My husband pointed out that in the span of two weeks, we had traveled the entire highway of Interestate 85, from where it ends up north in Virginia to where it dead-ends into 65 south of us. We've been through Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Tennesee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland and DC--but how did our travels stack up against Sam and Dean's? I've broken down a few of our road trip moments and rated them accordingly (points on a 1-6 scale).

Clearly, we could have earned more Winchester points if we'd been driving in my husband's very cool Mustang convertible, but alas, trippin' with the kids required the big blue, scuffed up (but paid off) minivan. Then again, who else understands making sacrifice for the family better than Sam and Dean?!

On our first big road trip day, we pulled into a diner for "brunch" (we like to start driving around 3 am so the kids sleep...by 10 am we've generally been on the road for what it feels like a full day.) AC/DC was on the radio! ("Back in Black" and Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" are two of my six year old's favorite requests.) And the diner could have totally been a setting for an SPN show! Even the waitress looked familiar. I gave the place 4 Winchester points. We would've got 5 if the waitress had dropped the hot sauce (6, if my husband had then caught it).

Later that same day we sat in traffic on I-10, listening to Collective Soul's "Tremble My Beloved." Followed by the Jonas Brothers. And eventually a Pokemon movie on the DVD player. Have you ever noticed that the boys, for all the time they spend in the Impala, never seem stuck in construction or traffic? Winchester Points: 0 (Although, speaking of traffic? This summer was my first ever experience with driving in DC. The traffic there is worse than anything Allistair can dish up! Seriously, you want to see a good man go Dark Side, put him on Dupont Circle. The change in my husband was not unlike Sam's growing rages throughout the show's arc.)

Around Lafayette, we couldn't take being in the car anymore. Ended up spending night in semi-crappy hotel (Winchester-like, but no magic fingers bed). Filled up for gas and later learned of the "blue phantom" with multiple sightings and internet mentions (google Lafayette gas station phantom). Winchester points: 5 out of 6

Next day, crossed over to TX border, where we--former Texas residents--made way to nearest Whataburger with all possible haste! (Jared and Jensen would be so proud. And while I realize Jared and Jensen are real and Sam and Dean are...slightly less real, I still give us 5 Winchester points. Jared mentioned Whataburger by name in an interview.)


We made many stops in Texas, including to Victoria where the actual city newspaper, I kid you not, has devoted multiple articles to possible El Chupacabra sightings in the past year. Of course, local scientists and zookeepers keep insisting it's coyotes with mange, so...Winchester points: 2.

After our Texas trip, we were home less than a week before setting out again. At 4 am. During a storm, on dark deserted streets, while I (the only person awake) listened to Kansas. Definite 6 out of 6!

As we crossed into South Carolina, the sun not quite rising behind the drizzle, I spotted more and more fireworks signs. One had a vaguely creepy clown on it, but the next one was for Phantom Fireworks and had a genuinely disquieting logo. As I passed it (listening to Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine"), my son sat bolt upright in the very back of the van. Now, apparently it was just to say he had to pee, which in and of itself isn't that chilling, but I had glanced out the windshield at the creepy phantom board and then back to my mirror--where suddenly a face loomed! Come on, you know how many times evil entities have popped up in the reflection behind the hero, or in the backseat of a previously uninhabited car? Winchester Points, 6+.

In North Carolina, we passed near the county that boasts the Brown Mtn. Lights phenomenon. Very well documented with numerous theories discussed and discredited...but at the end of the day, it's basically some flickering lights that aren't hurting anyone. Not what you would call bloody Mary scary. Winchester Points: 2.

Passed through a town called: Spotsylvania. Hee. It's like they merged Mystery Spot with Transylvania. I'm envisioning a town where vampires listen to a lot of Asia...


In Virgina, we were 20 miles outside of Clifton where there are ghost stories about a local murderer and other phenomena that all seem connected to a haunted, long-ago asylum. Shudder. Winchester points: 5

And I have to say, I have new respect for Sam and Dean, driving cross-country with each other for 4 seasons! I was sad this season that they were at each other's throats so often, but now I'm amazed that they've made it this far. Nothing like roadtripping with my entire family all summer to make me feel like I'm destined for an asylum!

Hopefully, not a haunted one.

What's in your trunk?

You know those Capital One commercials that ask, "What's in your wallet?" Well, today's question is, "What's in your trunk?" For most of us, the answer is probably pretty boring. You can't say the same for those Winchesters.

Here's a list compiled from sites, video, pics and memory of what you can find in Sam and Dean's weapons cache aka the Metallicar's trunk. It in know way covers everything. Feel free to add others in the comments. One thing's for sure, I imagine there are things in there that would scare us.

* spear heads

* machetes

* knives

* arrows

* throwing stars

* camcorder

* infrared thermo scanner

* EMF detector

* brass knuckles

* grenades & launcher

* wooden cross

* blacklight

* lockpick

* shovel

* duffle bags

* bandoliers

* gas

* salt tin

* wooden stakes

* holy water flasks

* salt rounds

* flare guns

* tasers

* mallet

And then of course there's the fire power. If you want the goods on the guns check out this page on the Internet Movie Firearms Database. From Colts to Glocks and Winchesters to Remingtons, these boys are packing.

Of course, elsewhere in the car we also know they've got Dean's cassettes, toothbrushes, Sam's laptop, Dad's journal, paper and pens, alias identifications, cell phones, maps, clothes and the occasional rotten tuna fish sandwich. If you think about it, the Impala is like Mary Poppin's carpet bag, it always has what they need when they need it. However, I don't think I've ever seen a spare tire!

As for me, I have two jackets, a beach towel and two canvas grocery sacks, which I forget to use. So, what's in your trunk?

Winchesters on other TV shows

I know, you're thinking, "There are other TV shows besides Supernatural?" Unfortunately, yes, there are. And I wouldn't have come to SPN without first falling for Jeffrey Dean Morgan on Grey's Anatomy, so I have to credit that show.

Here are some other shows you might have seen the Winchesters in.

Daddy

Grey’s Anatomy 2006-2009

Jeffrey Dean Morgan played Denny, a heart patient that intern Izzy Stevens falls for, risks her career for, and then he DIES. How rude. He returned last season as a symptom of her brain tumor, but this was the speech that had women around the country falling in love with him.





Sam

Gilmore Girls 2000-2005

Jared pretty much jumped from high school to Gilmore Girls, where he played the very nice boyfriend Dean Forester to very nice girl Rory Gilmore.




Dean

Days of our Lives (1997-2000)

Jensen played Eric Brady, twin son of Marlena and Roman Brady. I know I had to be watching this when he was on, but I mostly remember when his character was a baby.



Dark Angel (2001-2002)
Wow, I didn’t realize this was so long ago. I bought this season on DVD because he was just adorable. He was a genetically engineered super-soldier, raised by the group Manticore, and assigned as Jessica Alba’s character Max’s breeding partner in Season 2 of Dark Angel. He’s a charmer, though, once he leaves the Manticore facility and enters Max’s world. He also plays the evil twin of Alec (named because of his smart-alec attitude.) I liked this show, but it had no resolution before it was cancelled.



Dawson’s Creek (2002-2003)

I didn’t see him on this, but he played Jen’s boyfriend.




Smallville (sorry, Natalie, this clip has Lana) 2004-2005

He played a man who fell for Lana when she was on a trip to France. He followed her back to Smallville and got a job as an assistant coach who had an inappropriate relationship with a student. As a teen-aged girl, I would have bought into the fantasy. As a teacher, I’m creeped out.



What’s your favorite show from our Supernatural boys? Did you know about the actors before you followed them to Supernatural?

Season 5 Episodes

I was supposed to do a recap of "Bloody Mary" today, but I've not had time what with the RWA conference last week and being under two deadlines at the moment. But I did notice that we're getting some episode titles for Season 5. Here's what IMDB is listing so far:

Season 5, Episode 1: "Sympathy for the Devil" set to air Sept. 10 (Only 50 days away!), written by Eric Kripke

Hmm, interesting title. Who is sympathetic toward the Devil? I can't imagine it would be the Winchester boys, but I could be wrong. Perhaps just Sam? The cause of more friction between Sam and Dean?

Season 5, Episode 2: "Good God, Y'All" set to air Sept. 17, written by Sera Gamble

Have to say I love this episode title since I'm from the South. Interesting that we have the Devil mentioned in the first episode and then God in the second. Part of me thinks they wouldn't cast anyone in the God role, but who knows?

Season 5, Episode 3: "Good to Be You and Me" set to air Sept. 24, written by Jeremy Carver

On first glance, this seems like it might be a brothers-focused episode. Maybe this is when they start healing the rift between them? Maybe they go up against something that causes them to realize they really are on the same thing and that it's good to be them instead of whatever they're facing or people in worse situations.

In casting news, I saw where the role of the archangel Raphael -- a mechanic who is possessed by one of the most powerful beings in the universe -- is being added as a recurring role.

Classic Episode Review: "Roadkill"

Sergei Bachlakov/The CW

I'm not a dumb person. I've seen The Sixth Sense. But I'll readily admit, I didn't see this coming.

Maybe I was too dazzled by the extra beauty in the episode. Supernatural is loaded with hot chick guest stars, mostly those with that slick, plastic-type beauty that makes them so hard to differentiate from each other, even if the acting is decent. Tricia Helfer is one of the few females on the show who's a big cut above. (Side note: I watched her on Warehouse 13 recently and had to turn up the air conditioning.)

I planned to watch this episode again before writing my post, but a jam-packed schedule last week rendered it impossible. So I'm just going to talk about the things that left an impact on me, one big enough to recall a year after I last watched the episode. Then you guys can fill in the blanks with what I missed. :)

By this episode, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have been working effortlessly together for a long time. Their chemistry, present from the beginning, is almost a living presence. Tricia Helfer had the rare experience to not only be in almost every scene with them, but to in fact have more screen time than they did. And she made it completely worthwhile.

Throughout the episode, I noted the things they did differently, and appreciated them as a departure from the norm that nonetheless stayed grounded in the show's normality. Sam and Dean had done research, knew about the deaths along the road, and the ghost, but we didn't have to see them doing the research. Later I realized we were really seeing everything through Molly's eyes, a unique way to show a typical vengeful spirit story. After all, certain types of stories can be told over and over, it's just the characters and how they do things that make them worth experiencing.

It was very cold while they were filming, poor Tricia didn't have as many layers as the boys did, and their breath had as much screen time as anyone else.

Jared had a cold, I think. He certainly sounded plugged up, especially during that very compassionate moment when they tried to hit me on the head with what was happening, and I ducked. (That was when they sat on the bed and he said "Some spirits hold on too tight...can't let go.")

My favorite line was when Dean told Sam he's a walking encyclopedia of weirdness, and Sam just agrees. I loved that. There's so often tension between them regarding the ways they're different. Early in season one, they did research equally, and Dean knew as much as Sam. But Sam--the scholarly, academic one--eventually took over more of that, and Dean seemed to let him. Sam became the "smart" one, even more than had already been established, and Dean constantly picked on him for it. So this easy, acknowledging moment when Sam just takes Dean's teasing at face value just feels good.

The moment I figured out what was going on was, of course, when they took Molly to David and he was in the house. It didn't make any sense. Even on my big TV, it was hard at first to tell that he looked so much older, but his behavior certainly didn't match a guy whose wife had disappeared. But we saw David, then Molly, then the boys, then Molly, and it hit me that she was dead. I'm sure plenty of people saw it coming, and some might have felt manipulated or deceived. But I felt like the writers were watching the dawning recognition on my face, the joy that I had been fooled so deliciously, and that they were giggling behind their hands at their success.

When they started the montage of flashbacks, I had a second of disappointment. I didn't need everything rehashed for me. But then, seeing everything turned around, from their perspective, and of course, new pieces we hadn't seen because Molly hadn't seen them, just enhanced the whole experience.

In the end, this episode hit the top of my "feel good" list. Instead of anger or self-recrimination, we got compassion and hope. And a taste of just how damned good the writers can be, even without straying too far from show parameters.

Supernatural reuses a lot of its guest stars (Anita Brown was Lindsay in "Skin" and Hope in "Wishful Thinking"; Keegan Connor Tracy was Karen Giles in "The Usual Suspects" and Sera Siege in "The Monster at the end of this Book"). I don't know if that's because there's a limited pool who will go to Vancouver for a guest role, or what. But they can reuse Tricia Helfer any time, and I won't even scoff at how she's too distinctive to do that with.

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Your turn! What did you love--or dislike--about "Roadkill"? Favorite lines? Agree or disagree with my love of TH? Fill up the comments! :)


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Happy Birthday, Jared!!!

27 years old today. I still feel dirty ;)