I fell in love with this show because of the general creepy factor of the first couple of seasons. There were always scares galore as well as a mild vibe of 80’s horror – which was the lifeblood of my early nerdery. And as the seasons wore on, the scale of seasonal plots grew to include pretty lofty Big Bads and themes, but at least once a season the show would give us a classic camp fire tale by way of a ghost episode. They’ve always been a good time, and more than once the ghosts have left a lingering impression.
Tonight, the brothers Winchester visited a boys’ home that Dean had been sent to as a teen. The man who runs the home was sympathetic and savvy to the Winchester lifestyle, and when things started running amock on the farm, he turned to Dean for help. The crew quickly realizes a ghost is loose and works to save an orphaned boy and Dean’s old flame from certain doom at the hands of the restless spirit.
But about half way through this episode, I realized how formulaic these episodes could be. The brothers burn some bones in the first act which are of course the wrong bones. Mystery and assaults ensue, sleuthing happens, salt circle, iron, personal revelation of guest character. Hm. And then it occurred to me that the past few episodes of this ilk have been less scary than the one before, and less murky than seasons of yore. It’s a bit of a sad realization, but if the show wants to grow out of the tone that was set eight years ago, it should just abandon the ghost story set up. Instead, tonight tried too hard to achieve that vibe, and seemed a bit trite. Not to mention the fact that we’re now two episodes to the mid-season finale, so I’ma need a lot more angst from you guys so I can be fully frustrated at having to wait a month for a resolution. That part is mostly in jest – I know this show will rip my heart out. In a good way.
So that’s the “meh” for episode seven. For the first three quarters of the show I felt a bit let down, and even found myself struggling to pay attention a couple of times. But there were in fact some really great aspects of the episode. So let’s get to that, because I don’t like to bitch unless I’m writing about “American Horror Story.”
The Good:
- Timmy. Well that came out of nowhere. Usually if you tell me there will be a child actor involved I am immediately 75% less enthused than I was before I had that knowledge. But Timmy was a great character and the young man that played him was a far more competent actor than most in his age group that are given more substantial roles. Timmy was a rippled reflection of Sam; a lonely kid with a great imagination, a nerdy streak, and a mom that died by fire. The nurturing provided by Dean (OK, Dean’s version of nurturing) only furthered the parallel, and when the time came for Timmy’s personal revelation I found myself choking up. I had become more invested in the little boy than my attention span would have led me to believe.
- I did indeed complain about the general lack of horror sensibilities in this episode, but there were actually some cool effects. Ruth in the bathtub was a pretty uncomfortable scene, and Timmy’s mother’s transformation from crazy ghost to ready-to-move-on spirit was quite beautiful. Although, I do actually need to lodge one more tiny complaint – why did burnt ghost mom have hair? This perturbs me.
- Thank you, THANK YOU, for not having a Zeke moment tonight. That business of Scullying out is making it harder and harder to suspend disbelief. I’m betting the situation will come to a head before the midseason finale, and I certainly hope I’m right. I don’t want to deal with 14 more episodes of that.
The “Oh my gah ALL MY CREYS”
- Jesus wept, that was a hard hitting plot twist. Not an episodic twist, but a wrench, violently tossed and permanently wedged into everything we thought we knew about Dean Winchester. For nine years he has flaunted his loyalty to the Family Business, and frequently lorded it over Sam’s head. Dean has accused Sam of everything from cowardice to abandonment for those few years he was away and until recently claimed he had zero comprehension as to why Sam would have ever wanted to leave at all. And even now, he portrays his compromise more as sympathy than empathy. But now we know: For one brief moment when he was far too young to have to think about these things, Dean had a moment. A moment when he knew that any fatherly love John Winchester had ever had was eclipsed by obsession and mania. A moment when he saw a normal life with a loving father figure, and high school dances and pancakes with his girl. And even though he debated the choice far longer than any of us would have figured Dean Winchester would have, he gave it all up not for fatherly loyalty, but for brotherly love. So maybe his accusations to Sam have been coming from bitterness at the perceived lack of appreciation for his sacrifices, or maybe they’re even coming from a deep guilt at wanting the same thing for himself. As it turns out we didn’t know Dean Winchester at all. And if thinking about Dean’s life made you sad before, well, I’ll just wait here until you’re done crying in the corner.
For reasons best left unsaid I currently have an excess of pie in my refrigerator. I was going to serve myself up a slice while I watched the show, but I am so glad I held off. Dean Winchester, this coconut creme is for you.