Simon Says

[feliciakw]

There's some good stuff in this ep, but I think what stands out most for me in this one is the humor.

And what strikes me most in this ep (and particularly after S5?) is that what makes the humor of the early seasons so great is that it's primarily character driven. Dean's expression when Jo puts REO on the juke box never fails to make me laugh. Their exchange about Dean being afraid of Ellen (and Ellen's look, like she knows they're talking about her) . . . "You're afraid of my mother?" "I think so."

And Ash. Oh, Ash, you crack me up.

Dean's childlike delight over Andy's van.

Just . . . The character notes all over this ep are fantastic. Dean and Jensen's portrayal of Dean--his humor, his just a scooch off-key singing, his perplexity, his concern for Sam--it's just all so satisfying.

Also? I love the brother dynamic going on in this one. This is a case, they discover, wherein Sam needs to take point because Dean, they discover, is vulnerable. And Dean is totally on board with that. I love that.

Also also? Sniper!Dean.

Andy was such a great guest character. Oh, Andy. We hardly knew ye.

"That was mind control! It was like being roofied. It doesn't count. I'm callin' do-over."

One thing that often tickles in my brain is at the end, the morning after the showdown, when Dean's phone rings. I half expect Sam to tell him not to answer it or to insist on answering it himself or something, considering that they just finished a case wherein mind control was managed over the phone. Heh.

Have I mentioned recently that I love Ellen? Ellen is awesome.

And the psykids. Could have been an interesting direction to take the show, though I don't know how it would have fit in with S5 and the angel/demon arc. Instead of? In addition to? We'll never know.

It also makes me wonder if Sam would have been psychic without the demon blood. Was he chosen because he would become psychic? Or did he become psychic (and the other kids get their abilities) because of the demon visit. Hm . . .

Have I mentioned recently how much I love Jensen?

I didn't think so.

Comments

[girlyghoul70.livejournal.com]

I LOVE ANDY!!! And I was very bummed when he was offed. He was likable and a potential ally. I remember there being a big 'ol dust up on TWOP (when isn't there) about Andy being a date rapist because he'd mind tricked a blond girl into sleeping with him. But I beg to argue that was not necessarily the case. There was no evidence he did that. We only see the girl waving and blowing him a kiss goodbye. We don't see him saying anything to her at all. It's not out of the question that she genuinely liked him. Maybe not as a permanant boyfriend but as... well... an "afternoon delight" Who knows, maybe he got her backstage tickets to Aerosmith and won her heart. But Andy struck me as too genuine a guy to be that devious. No evidence he used his powers to take advantage of anyone except bill collectors, guys with coffee and dudes with sweet Impalas. (Moral of that story, it's usually best to steer clear of TWOP)

Andy had such potential as a character. I wish he'd stuck around into later seasons. But was not to be.

Other stuff I liked about this epi. Flashback continuity. The sink in the hardware store becoming the sink Sam was leaning over as he flashed back.

STONEHENGE! Perfect theme song to Andy's van. Dean's insistence on Andy's innocence really reflecting his feelings about Sam.

And yet again, those lovely twists I adored so in the early seasons. It seems like Andy! It's gotta be Andy! He has the power of mind control! He was seen on a cell phone just before the Doctor bought it... but nope! Evil Twin! And it's that bus boy we met earlier! MA HA!

One more thing to toss out. Some folks have said that Dean calls Sam "Babe" in this episode. It's right when they find the van and he apparently says "Babe, you look like you're sucking on a lemon!" I've watched it many many times and yep... I'm pretty sure he says it. Make of that what you will.

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Re: TWoP . . . It's been ages (years) since I've visited that forum (and never for SPN. I learned my lesson earlier). My observations of that forum have not been positive overall, and I think a lot of members do tend to make mountains out of molehills on some issues. It never even occurred to me what they said about Andy, and apparently it never occurred to the actor, either, because I think I read that he was asked about it and was kind of surprised and taken aback and said no, that wasn't it at all. So even if that's what people got out of it, I don't think that was the intention.

Re: the lemon line . . . I never really understood what that word was; it always sounded slurred to me. It sounds most like "babe." I just never made much of it. But even if it is "babe," it's such a throw-away thing that I can't even hear it clearly. (I remember thinking last night, "Wait, what did he say?" Going back, missing it again, and thinking, *shrug*)

Yeah, this ep had a lot of good stuff in it!

[(Anonymous)]

So many things to love about this ep: The first, after the bus hits the doctor and the camera pans around the crowd to find Sam sitting on the grassy median? How Dean's hand falls away from patting or supporting his back as he comes into frame. 2. The stone pillars that show up again in the confrontation with Castiel in S4, In the Beginning. 3. Dean babbling under Andy's compulsion. "Shut up, Dean!" "I'm tryin'." Sam waving Dean back and Dean complying, until Sam flinches and starts to collapse with a vision; then Dean's there to ease him to the ground. Dean stopping the car in the middle of the road when Sam's vision makes him start to get out of the car, racing around the car to get to Sam. Andy, Andy, Andy. "These are not the droids you are looking for." "I have an evil twin!" The stricken look when he finds out the guys are leaving him alone to cope. "What are you, seven?"

All made more fun by finding out Jared was flying high on painkillers the whole ep, having had surgery on his wrist.

[fufaraw]

Sorry, this was me. I got logged out somehow. And now I can't do the edits to put in the numbers after each example. Or delete the comment and repost it as me. Ah well. Sorry!

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, to pretty much everything. (Though I admit that I didn't recognize the re-use of the pillars.)

"I have an evil twin." Oh, Andy, we miss you so!

I guess I didn't realize that Jared actually had to have surgery. Yikes! Ouch!

[girlyghoul70.livejournal.com]

I'd heard that the reason Sam was so often out getting coffee during "No Exit" was because Jared was having the surgery during the filming of that epi. Now the painkillers during this epi... well dang, he hid it pretty well. :-)!