Supernatural

The episode didn’t seem to have smooth connections from piece to piece. (We can pretend I’m jumping from point to point in this entry as an homage, right?) The episode parts mostly worked for me though. We got progression on the boys’ relationship which has apparently fallen into old bad habits over the period of weeks we’ve missed.  Sam walking in on and overhearing the tail end of the “We know whose fault that is” phone call reminded me of Dean eavesdropping on Sam talking to Ruby last season. Dean pretending then to be asleep was very suspicious spouse-like. Here, Sam (though defensive and seeming to assume the worst interpretation) tries to get Dean to fill him in. The couple attempting to awkwardly reconcile vibes were strong in this episode.

Dean, who certainly can be a dick (double secret probation, indeed!), steps up at the end of the episode justifying exactly why so many of us love him so very much. He’s listened to Sam’s concerns, recognized some truth in them, and is doing his part to make things better. Dean’s excuse as he hands over the keys is that he could use a nap. (To further keep tabs on the sleep motif, we see both boys wake after being knocked out by Paris Hilton.) Much as I love his willingness to allow Sam to take the wheel, I have to admit to being the tiniest bit nervous about Dean giving up control of his amulet and now the Impala.

Normally, I’m all about the sets in an episode. The Nite Owl Motel would seem to be full of potential, but I didn’t pick up on anything particularly special beyond the sign. The Wax Museum models were fantastically excellent and creepy. There were two noticeable sets of stairs. First, the boys cross police tape and descend porch stairs as they exit the house of the murdered Lincoln aficionado to interview the housekeeper. The museum manager (owner?) almost skips down stairs to join the boys posing as reporters. (I’ll admit to a quick Mystery Spot flashback at the similar setups. Just me?)

However, this one really gets my love for the wardrobe.

• Dean trying on Lincoln’s hat and speechfying was fun. It reminded me of his old lemonade making which I’ve been missing. As serious as our Dean has become since his return from hell, seeing him next to Dean’14 last week is a glimpse of how much further he can go toward closed and cold. Playing in the museum could be seen as an attempt to have a little fun with Sam the way he laughed with Castiel in Free to Be You and Me?
  
• Dean wearing John’s jacket at the end makes me happy. If we couldn’t get John, I’ll settle for Dean wrapped in that coat.
  
• Sam’s plaid shirt for seed researching and the showdown with Paris is the same one Dean must have borrowed from him after their reunion in 4.01 Lazarus Rising and then went on to wear to the seance when Pamela was blinded. I’m smiling at that. If you squint hard enough, it’s a bit like Dean wearing his idol’s jacket (since Sam wouldn’t fit into anything that was actually Dean’s).
  
• Both boys in the suits withOUT the jackets in the impound garage? White button down shirts have never looked better.
  
• Sam in scrubs is always welcome! I couldn’t watch what he was doing though, so I missed the full effect. (Did the autopsy scene make anyone else think about Sam’s instant identification of the alligator belly scale in Tall Tales? There’s also the NEED to come up with something they’d missed to move the story along – like when Dean returned to the mausoleum in 4.19 Jump the Shark… or Sam came up with the grace meteor in 4.10 Heaven and Hell.) (Oh. And the autopsy report seems to record the insurance as “BlackCross.” ? )
  
• Paris’s designer shoe stomping on Dean was “awesome.” (Hmmm… last week Dean’14 got his neck broken by Lucifer-in-Sam’s white loafers which reminds one of the painting of Micheal crushing Lucifer under heel.)

At first I didn’t see any parallels between the Winchesters and the cases. (I still wouldn’t go so far as to classify this as strong.) However, I listened to them interview the guy in jail. He’s telling his story about his friend and the cursed car: “Cal had been looking for it for years. Hell, we both had. But he found it first.” It’s got me thinking about the boys in their race to be the one to kill Lilith last season. Or the times Sam and Dean have been accused of not being able to wait to give themselves up for the other.

The Lincoln fan’s reaction to Lincoln’s visit is, “God. It’s you. You’re dead. You’re supposed to be dead. No!” There’s recognition and rejection in that reaction. If one or both of the boys is some part spirit, might he not be anchored his biggest fan and be sustained by that connection? Might the haunted brother not know how to accept or work with a less than 100% pure human sibling?

Flowers are associated with the housekeeper witness at the Lincoln crime scene.  We get lavender-blue hyacinth-like flowers when the boys meet Consuela. Sam joins her on the bench and the flowers are in the shot with him as well. When the blanket falls from her shoulders as she’s pantomiming Lincoln’s stovepipe sombrero, we see the purple (pink?) roses on her sweater.

Flowers always make me pay extra attention now. In this case, I’d line Consuela up with the bartender widow of 4.19 Jump the Shark. Both were temporary players who gave the boys the clues they needed to move the story along.

The Leshy ended up having a lot of the same problems as S3′s Christmas episode’s pagan god couple. Both were in hard times and having to adapt to a world no longer paying tribute and sustaining them.

From Sam’s research:

In myth and art, the Leshy is often associated with the psychotropic mushroom Amanita Muscaria. This may connect him in some way to Shamanic mind-altering techniques.

He has many tricks….

Seeing Dean with the ax had me remembering him as the Huntsman in Bedtime Stories.

5.05 Fallen Idols

5.04 The End

Again, I’m not sure what to make of this repetition except that two eps in row appears to make it a deliberate message. “Renovation” as remaking, remodeling, and even rebirth?

The SOON!! I saw it and don’t regret having all that to chew on. LEAVE NOW if you don’t want to be spoiled by reading sketchy discussion of that fabulous promo for the next three eps.

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Storytelling in a variety of genre? (Sit com, medical drama (Grey’s), crime procedural (I’ve never watched CSI, but Sam with the sunglasses is delicious), game show!)  This idea rocks!!!! – especially if it’s the boys’ story being filtered through a variety of perspectives and conventions. At least that’s what I hope the point will be.

Castiel wanting to sacrifice a child destined for evil? Is this going to be analogous to Ruby encouraging the sacrifice of virgin Nancy or the possessed baby nurse?

STAIRS!! I saw two scenes of stair-climbing. The (monster?) kid and old man version of Dean both climb up toward the waiting camera. And…. Old Dean? Oh my. (I couldn’t help thinking of the magicians.) Who was that he was playing cards with and what was the bet Dean was hoping to win when he risked 25 years? I might be anticipating this ep most of the three we’ve been teased by.

Tags: 5.05 Fallen Idols, speculation, stairs