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The Magnificent Seven
In the third-season opener, Sam and Dean team up with Bobby, but they have their |
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NotesWriterEric KripkeDirectorKim MannersGuest Stars:Jim BeaverCaroline Chikezie (Tamara) Peter Macon (Isaac) Josh Daugherty (Walter/Envy) Other Guests:C. Ernst Harth (Sloth)Michael Rogers (Gluttony) Katya Virshilas (Lust) Ben Cotton (Pride) Gardiner Millar (Wrath) Tiara Sorensen (Greed) Allyson Warnyca (Envious Shopper) Monique Ganderton (Shopper) Filming Locations:Kirkland HouseOld Terminal Pub South Coast Casuals Completely Useless Trivia:The pub where Walter liked to drink is the same pub the boys questioned the police officer in the Asylum episode. |
ReviewThe CW Lounge was kind enough to release The Road So Far teaser early, but watching it come to life on the screen knowing what's to follow really ramped up the excitement of the coming episode. The silver lettering is beautiful, I hope they keep it for the entire season. AC/DC's Hell's Bells opens the episode with the death knell giving us a reminder of Dean's precarious state for the coming year.Oak Park, Illinois seems like a normal 'burb with it's neat houses and long line of sedans in driveways, right down to the American flags flying from every eave. It's the very picture of normalcy, and Walter Rosen seems like your average neighbor, despite his slightly disturbing hairdo. But life won't be normal for long, the black storm cloud descending on the city carries more than just rain. A lot more. As the cloud resolves into more distinct lines of demon smoke, we know Walt is a goner. The moon is a beautiful addition to this scene. It's clear and cheery countenance is a vivid contrast to the dark cloud approaching, and it makes the cloud seem that much more sinister coming out of a clear sky. The flashes of purple lightening are a nice touch too, internalized within the cloud they add that touch of danger that makes the viewer want to shout "run!" to the character on screen. BEAUTIFUL title card! Wow. And I thought the fire was good, but the silver letters against the purplish demon cloud are really dramatic! Not quite as sinister as before, but I still approve. Poor Sammy, stuck sitting in the Impala with his books while Dean gets it on. You'd think he'd at least go to a coffee shop or something, but no, he sits in the car reading about Faustian deals so he's nice and handy when Bobby calls to tell him to get Dean. And get Dean he does, or at least tries to. Though most women would love to see the sight that greeted him behind the hotel room door, no sibling ever should. At least he ran away [screaming] and let Dean finish before dragging him off to Nebraska. Dean's exhilaration and sheer joy of living is a welcome change from the world-weary Dean we saw for most of the second season, I think I'm going to enjoy this side of his character. On a farm outside Lincoln, a Cicada swarm indicates a possible demonic omen and the three move in to investigate. Giving absolutely fabulous reactions to what is obviously a very, VERY bad smell inside the house, they go in to find a family of three corpses sitting in front of the television. Surely this is a message to couch potatoes everywhere to get up and go for a nice long hike or something, but alas here I sit, still letting my fingers do all the walking. Hunters Isaac and Tamara seem to have gotten the same info Bobby found. Taking full advantage of the 'better late than never' adage, they stumble in just in time to add a sinister creak on the porch outside while the boys are busy being grossed out by the half-rotted corpses on the sofa. Dean investigates and gets knocked on his arse for his trouble. I've always thought Kim Manners has a unique way of looking at things, but this shot proves it. With a kitschy little snippet from Dean's POV, Bobby walks into frame upside-down as he rounds the porch and approaches the group. He knows these hunters though and scores an invitation back to their house. Filled with every manner of demon-fighting paraphernalia, the home speaks of a couple whose lives are dedicated 100% to the fight. Yet another brilliantly dressed set, this house has something interesting in every nook and cranny and I applaud the people responsible for putting it all together. However, I have to point out how seriously disturbed I am by the doll hanging beside Sam's head. Suspended from the ceiling by her naval with little limbs hanging helplessly, I cannot fathom what possible use she could be for fighting demons. Since I'm wigged out by dolls anyway, this one makes me think she must be needed for some sinister ritual involving children's toys and sugary treats that would invariably end in the demise of some cherub-faced innocent toddler. Yet another reason why I love this show; the little bits of creepy interspersed with the disturbing pop up in the oddest places. Can't say much about envy, I don't think it was very clear. It may have served them better to go with greed or something. Then again, perhaps being unclear was the point. It gives an excuse to show more blood without making it obvious to the hunters what demons they're dealing with, and as an added bonus we get to see a chick fight over a pair of shoes that no woman in her right mind would be envious of. Another great art shot here, we come back from the commercial break straight to the view of the bloodied windshield through the viewfinder of the forensic investigator's camera. Dean, caught chasing tail, knows he's got his little brother in his pocket when he plays the "my time is running out" card accompanied by an ill-sounding cough. Sam lets him off the hook without a fight, a sure sign that all is not right with the world. Bobby gets to trade in his ball cap and denim for a business suit for the first time, and we find he cleans up fairly well. He can't quite shake the hint of trailer park that surrounds him though, which doesn't bother me in the least since it's one of his defining characteristics. They find footage of Walter talking to the envious girl on the security cameras, and manage to find out that he drinks regularly at a bar nearby. This begs the question of whether they're still in Nebraska or if they're back in Illinois. The awning over the doorway shows us that the bar they're staking out happens to be the same one Sam and Dean went to in Rockford, Illinois to question the policeman regarding the Rockford Asylum incident. This would make sense if they're back in Walter's home state, however Bobby said something about the deaths on the farm and the death at the shoe store being close together, and Rockford is a good 7 hours drive away from Lincoln. Either way, they stake out the bar and Walter turns up with Isaac and Tamara hot on his tail. While Bobby and the boys sit outside trying to decide what to do, Isaac and Tamara try to be discreet and fit in amongst the other patrons, but little do they know that the bar is full of demons. Caught red-handed with a flask of holy water, Isaac is encouraged to drink from a bottle of drain cleaner while his wife looks on in horror. He drinks the noxious liquid with gusto and is dead in a matter of seconds. As his body falls, bobby's car comes crashing through the locked door of the bar. They boys jump out, spraying the demons with holy water to keep them back. With Tamara safe in the car and the others ready to go, they shout to Dean to get in. He's back by the trunk, and fresh out of holy water. Walter charges, thinking it's safe to attack but Dean deftly maneuvers him into the trunk where he realizes with horror that he's locked in with a devil's trap symbol. Back at Tamara's house with Walter safely stowed beneath another devil's trap, the hunters argue about the wisdom of going back to the bar. Bobby advises against it; he has worked out that the demons they're dealing with are the seven deadly sins who haven't roamed the earth for hundreds of years. I find Bobby's expression anger really interesting. We've seen him really angry twice now; here when he's yelling at Tamara, and last season when he expressed his anger with Dean's choice to trade his soul for Sam. Both times he appears to be furious, yet he won't let go and really yell, he seems to be holding back. This is so contrary to every other hunter we've met. Rage seems to be a requirement of the job, and most hunters seem to relish a good fight. Perhaps Bobby and Sam are cut from the same cloth, both forced to hunt but not really embracing the life? It will be interesting to learn more of Bobby's past and how he came to be the knowledgeable hunter he is today. I have to say, I appreciated the off-screen exorcism of Walter/Envy. Having seen the almost identical setup twice before with the demon Meg and Evil!Sam, which was technically still the demon Meg, it's a nice change to be in the other room talking with the boys with only the sound of screaming and a gust of wind to prove the demon has been disposed of. It's a good way to mix things up a little while still sending the demon back to where he belongs. The other six sin demons have tracked the boys back to the house and are poised to attack, they just need someone to break the lines of salt. Knowing Tamara is an easy mark, they use the corpse of her husband to enrage her and make her do something stupid. Which she does, of course. Throwing the door open and sending the salt line spraying across the room she leaps onto his animated corpse and plunges the Palo Santo stake into his heart which we learned earlier will keep a demon down while you exorcise it. With the door open and salt line broken, the other demons are free to enter the house. Bobby does well with Sloth, luring him under the devil's trap, and Dean is fortunate enough to go one on one with the blonde and beautiful Lust. Luckily his revulsion of demons runs deeper than his hormonal drives and although he manages to kiss her first he is able to resist her charms and dunk her in a tub of holy water. Sam is not so lucky. Stuck with Pride, Wrath and Greed, his only break is that Pride is full of himself and likes to talk, which gives Ruby enough time to sneak in and stab them with her handy-dandy Acme demon killing knife. Yeah, you heard me. Knife. It seems to work very much like the Colt did; one slice and the demon drops dead with a nice little golden glow effect, only with a knife there's no worry about using up a limited supply of bullets like with the Colt. I have to point out how cool it is that when she stabs Pride under the chin, the knife blade can be seen inside his mouth. What great attention to detail this show has! Sam seems worried that Ruby knows his name, but before he can ask her about it she turns and disappears out the door. The boys take a minute to salt and burn the bodies of the fallen demons, while Tamara conducts a more dignified funeral pyre for her husband. Tamara and Bobby say their goodbyes and go, leaving the boys to discuss their next move. Sam wants to go to Louisiana to check into a hoodoo priestess that may have a way to break Dean's deal. Dean shrugs it off and says he's not going. Sam goes into full Sa-mommy mode, lecturing Dean on his cavalier attitude toward his impending death. Dean uses the opportunity to explain that if he tries to get out of the deal Sam will die. He's happy with his deal as long as it means Sam lives, and he doesn't want to try to get out of it. Sam makes the point that when Dean is gone, he'll feel just as bad as Dean did when he found out their father made a similar deal, but Dean doesn't care. He's just happy that there's light at the end of the tunnel, it doesn't matter that it's hellfire. He leaves us with the thought that will set the tone for the remainder of the season; "let's kill some evil sons of bitches and raise a little hell". It occurs to me to wonder if Dean has fully thought things out at this point. It's been at least a week since he made his deal, and it doesn't seem to have occurred to him that once he's gone Sam will be all alone with nobody to protect him. Has Dean not realized how much protecting Sammy needs? How will he feel when Sam joins him in hell only a few short days after he takes his southbound elevator ride? I would think that instead of partying all the time, he'd be spending his time teaching Sam how to win a fight for once! Maybe show him how to drive the Impala without crashing it into a semi. Perhaps even give him a few tips on chasing women. I'd like to see Dean at least try to impart some of his knowledge and inherent coolness on to his brother. Then again, maybe he isn't trying because he knows it's a lost cause. As season premieres go, this one didn't really live up to my expectations. Granted, nothing will ever top the season 2 premiere, but I still expected some sort of hook in this episode to catch me and make me yearn for the next episode. The closest we came was the slightly mysterious appearance of Ruby, but there has been so much spoilery on the new girls that I didn't find that to be much of a hook. I am interested in learning more about her knife though. Still, it was a good episode with lots of the rich characters we've come to expect from this show. Plus we got to imagine Dean with "the Doublemint twins". I think the producers might be right when they say that what you don't see fires the imagination more than anything they could ever show. |