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feliciakwThis one was fun. Hitting the highlights:
Not a whole lot of meta on this one. It's pretty straight-forward fun, imo.
"If it bleeds, you can kill it." Keep that in mind.
And the multi-colored paint-splatter title splat pretty much sets the tone for the ep. Bwah!
Which, btw, I was saying through much of the ep (because I don't read the opening credits, usually), "This has got to be an Edlund ep" and "Did Phil direct this one?" Turns out it was a Dabb/Loflin ep. Which I found a little surprising, because they're kind of hit or miss for me. A pleasant surprise, to be sure.
Hee! Frank has Dean taking calls at pay phones (have you even seen a pay phone recently?) and giving passwords. Dean is totally skeeved by this pay phone, which, yeah. Pay phones at roadside rest stops are kinda skeevy.
Is it just me, or is Jensen looking particularly good in this ep?
No news on Dick Roman, no lead on the Amazons, but Sam found a case. I love Dean's rules for this hunt: No babies, no baby mamas, no bars, no booze, no hot chicks of any kind. Yeah, that will last for about five minutes.
"Hey, you spawn a monster baby, see how quick you want to dive back in the pool." And with all Sam's monster chick hook-ups, Dean still beats him on the monster spawn. Oh, Dean.
EeeeeewwwwwwwEwewewewewewew. Octovamp vic. *cringeshudderflail* Ew!!!!
Dean wants to check out the nanny.
Sam: I thought you said no hot chicks.
Dean: We don't know that she's hot.
Me: Oh, Dean. Hee.
Dean visits the nanny and discovers that little girl thinks there's a monster in her closets. Dingdingdingdingding! That set's Dean's alarms off.
Also? Jensen is a beautiful, beautiful man.
George thought it very amusing that the vic's address was 667.
So, possible birthday wish gone wrong. Well, the guys have dealt with wishes gone wrong before, so there is precedent.
Gored by a unicorn. A unicorn trailing rainbows and sparkles out its behind. This has GOT to be an Edlund ep. Are we sure this isn't an Edlund ep?
Also also? Unicorn shooting rainbow out its behind = "Houses of the Holy"! Shout-out!
"If it bleeds, you can kill it!" Unfortunately, bullets turn to sparkles when hitting these clowns. Yikes.
Tiki Room! Everybody sing!
In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room,
In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room,
All the birds sing words and the flowers croon
In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room!
Not since the '70s room in "Provenance" has a room been this awesome! It is totally indulging Dean's inner Elvis with the Jungle Room vibe. Where's the indoor waterfall? \o/
Sam's reaction to Plucky's? Highly awkward and amusing in a 10-years-old flashback kind of way. Oh, Sam. Hee! Trying to be so cool and subtle and I'lljustwaitforyouI'llquestionthekidPleasedon'tmakemeinvestigagtethescaryclowns. Hee!
Hm. So Dean would drop Sam off at Plucky's and go trolling for chicks. I'm wondering if Sam has some latent abandonment issues of his own, which he connects with clowns. Because there's got to be more to it than that.
Because clowns are freaky, man.
99.99% of all clowns can't hurt you. That other 0.01% are rakshasas. Or a supernaturally conjured manifestation of your coulrophobia.
The skeletal clown with the red glowing eyes in the entrance to Plucky's? Just evil and wrong! And totally how Sam sees clowns. Ha!
I gotta admit, I'm not overly fond of clowns myself, though I've become maybe a wee bit more comfortable with them over the years of doing theater. Clowning and miming are just a form of theatrical performance. Plus, "clowns" don't have to be "clowns," you know? Still, not overly fond.
I like the shift manager, Jean Holiday. Nice, pleasant, sane.
Jerry Wanek and his crew really went to town with this ep, didn't they.
Tiki Motel! I love it.
"I can't argue with this. Leprechauns are deadly." Heh. I love Jensen's delivery on that.
Something's in the ball pit. Ooh! Trash compactor scene from Star Wars. The vacuum hose becomes the dianoga and drags the guy under? (I know that scene kinda freaked me out when I was a kid.)
No! It's Jaws! Shot-for-shot re-creation! Bwah!
Can't really argue with this, either. Jaws came out when I was six, and even though I never saw it back then, I still has bad dreams about sharks in swimming pools. (The movie poster and picture on the book cover freaked me out a lot.) But as an adult? It's a fantastic movie! I won't bore you with stories.
Dean razzing his little brother about the ball washer. Oh, Dean. You're such a child when given a chance.
Dean recognizes the shark bite, and can estimate the size of the thing. Sam is puzzled. Dean's reply: Shark Week, man. How do you not watch that? Whole week of sharks.
Oh, Dean. You amuse me greatly. Also x3? It brought to mind Jensen and Danneel's love of Shark Week.
It's not about wishes, not about parents. "Whatever we're looking for can literally fire off childhood fears at will." That's sounds like some serious conjuring and black magic. Yikes!
"Watch out for evil lunch ladies." Indeed. Wait. Was that one of Dean's childhood fears? Do I hear fic?
Tyler and his mom, who works at Plucky's. Harried single parent. Frustrated, saddened child. Who draws robots.
Tulpa? "Hell House" \o/
Angel? Meh.
How come not trickster? Just because Gabe was hiding as Loki doesn't mean there aren't other tricksters out there. Goodness, a lot of different cultures have them. (Besides, I'd like to see Richard Speight on the show again.)
Dean is drinking coffee! \o/ He seems to be sticking to the no booze rule, at least.
Sam trying to play bad cop. Oh, Sam. Not one of your strengths. At least not when your brother isn't at risk.
Dean and the giant rainbow slinky. Oh, Dean. You're such a child. Hee!
"You're mainlining Kool-Aid." Ha!
Overly cheery guy has a weird laugh. That sounds like it has a reverb on it. That's your guy, right there, Dean.
Skeeball!!! \o/
Dean is not happy to be thwarted, but he refuses to be thwarted.
Dean, so proud of himself for hitting the 30 point score on skeeball. Hee! Dude, you should have stuck around for your 100 point shot.
Sam's got some sort of Clint Eastwood thing going playing bad cop?
I love the whole exchange between Dean and Tyler. Tyler being a kid, Dean explaining that harried parents need to be cut some slack. I really think that Dean has gotten to a place of balance and acceptance of his dad--not perfect, but did the best he could.
I can't decide if Tyler's amusement when Dean spits out the pizza is him laughing at Dean, or him laughing at Jensen. Probably both.
Dean relates to kids wonderfully (in spite of spawning a monster child).
"They have laser eyes!" . . . "Nightshifter" ! \o/
Clif the lion dude looks so familiar to me. Just_ruth suggested that he might remind me of Blair Sandburg (from TS) . . . which might well be a possibility. I'm wondering if he might also remind me a bit of Ed Chigliak (from NoEx), maybe? Oh! Or maybe Gordon Joseph Levitt? Hm . . . Anyway . . . Why ever he looks familiar, he's got very pretty brown eyes.
70s cop show chase scene. Ha!
Tyler's mom is tired and stressed, and Tyler starts putting up a fuss. But a look from Dean, and Tyler cuts his mom a break, for which she is genuinely grateful. And you think you aren't good father material, Dean? If that's true, than I'm the Queen of Sheba.
Dean finds the workbench cum black magic workshop in the boiler room. Yes, it is Overly Cheery guy, Howard.
Odd thing, though. Or maybe not. Howard is a very disturbed individual. Surely he and Tyler's mom have chatted in the break room or something. They work the same shifts. She's someone he knows. That's really cold. Of course, he was probably acquainted with Saul, too, and he sicced a shark on him.
And he set some evil killer clowns on Sam. Well, that's not going to win you any points with Dean, dude.
"RIGHT FRIGGIN' NOW" Heh!
Also x4? Jensen looks really good.
I rather love Dean's indignation and anger at the very notion that making a kid watch a parent die--let alone at the hands . . . or tentacles . . . of her worst nightmare--could even be thought of as putting the child first. You see, Howard, Dean's own mom died under horrific supernatural circumstances. So don't be telling him that forcing a kid watch her parent die is "putting her first."
See, Dean? You understand parenting.
Dean, being the smart cookie that we all know he is, figures out Howard's worst fear--the drowning of his brother, and the blame thereof. Dean works the spell on Howard, and we have the manifestation of the drowned brother, who in turn drowns Howard.
And as Howard gasps and gurgles, the clowns attack Sam--
and disappear in a cloud of sparkles.
Final scene. Dean waiting to meet Sam, leaning against the car of the week, a 1973 Mercury Cougar. (Geo's fave is a 1967.) How is it that Dean can be both cool and hot at the same time? He defies nature!
Dean wants to laugh at Sam's glittered self. Sam gives him permission.
Dean's genuine smile and hearty laugh, Sam realizes it's been too long since he's seen this. When was the last time Sam has seen this? "Monster Movie"? Beginning of S4??? Maybe the Chuck Norris movie marathon at Bobby's, depending on when that was. In other words, it's been waaaayyyy waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too long since Sam has seen Dean laugh like this.
Dean apologizes for psychologically scarring Sam by ditching him at Plucky's. You know? I've made similar apologies to my little brother. "I'm sorry for all the horrible things I did to you when we were kids."
To celebrate facing his fears, Sam procured a giant colored slinky for Dean. Oh, Dean. You are five years old. "Did you win this?" / "We earned it." Translation: I swiped it from the shelf when no one was looking. Heh!!
In return, Dean gives Sam a Plucky doll. Okay, Sam has faced his fear, but he still doesn't like clowns.
As is evidenced by the doll having its head torn off, left to lie on the pavement as the Winchesters drive away into the night.
Tonight's ep? Eeek!
Not a whole lot of meta on this one. It's pretty straight-forward fun, imo.
"If it bleeds, you can kill it." Keep that in mind.
And the multi-colored paint-splatter title splat pretty much sets the tone for the ep. Bwah!
Which, btw, I was saying through much of the ep (because I don't read the opening credits, usually), "This has got to be an Edlund ep" and "Did Phil direct this one?" Turns out it was a Dabb/Loflin ep. Which I found a little surprising, because they're kind of hit or miss for me. A pleasant surprise, to be sure.
Hee! Frank has Dean taking calls at pay phones (have you even seen a pay phone recently?) and giving passwords. Dean is totally skeeved by this pay phone, which, yeah. Pay phones at roadside rest stops are kinda skeevy.
Is it just me, or is Jensen looking particularly good in this ep?
No news on Dick Roman, no lead on the Amazons, but Sam found a case. I love Dean's rules for this hunt: No babies, no baby mamas, no bars, no booze, no hot chicks of any kind. Yeah, that will last for about five minutes.
"Hey, you spawn a monster baby, see how quick you want to dive back in the pool." And with all Sam's monster chick hook-ups, Dean still beats him on the monster spawn. Oh, Dean.
EeeeeewwwwwwwEwewewewewewew. Octovamp vic. *cringeshudderflail* Ew!!!!
Dean wants to check out the nanny.
Sam: I thought you said no hot chicks.
Dean: We don't know that she's hot.
Me: Oh, Dean. Hee.
Dean visits the nanny and discovers that little girl thinks there's a monster in her closets. Dingdingdingdingding! That set's Dean's alarms off.
Also? Jensen is a beautiful, beautiful man.
George thought it very amusing that the vic's address was 667.
So, possible birthday wish gone wrong. Well, the guys have dealt with wishes gone wrong before, so there is precedent.
Gored by a unicorn. A unicorn trailing rainbows and sparkles out its behind. This has GOT to be an Edlund ep. Are we sure this isn't an Edlund ep?
Also also? Unicorn shooting rainbow out its behind = "Houses of the Holy"! Shout-out!
"If it bleeds, you can kill it!" Unfortunately, bullets turn to sparkles when hitting these clowns. Yikes.
Tiki Room! Everybody sing!
In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room,
In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room,
All the birds sing words and the flowers croon
In the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room!
Not since the '70s room in "Provenance" has a room been this awesome! It is totally indulging Dean's inner Elvis with the Jungle Room vibe. Where's the indoor waterfall? \o/
Sam's reaction to Plucky's? Highly awkward and amusing in a 10-years-old flashback kind of way. Oh, Sam. Hee! Trying to be so cool and subtle and I'lljustwaitforyouI'llquestionthekidPleasedon'tmakemeinvestigagtethescaryclowns. Hee!
Hm. So Dean would drop Sam off at Plucky's and go trolling for chicks. I'm wondering if Sam has some latent abandonment issues of his own, which he connects with clowns. Because there's got to be more to it than that.
Because clowns are freaky, man.
99.99% of all clowns can't hurt you. That other 0.01% are rakshasas. Or a supernaturally conjured manifestation of your coulrophobia.
The skeletal clown with the red glowing eyes in the entrance to Plucky's? Just evil and wrong! And totally how Sam sees clowns. Ha!
I gotta admit, I'm not overly fond of clowns myself, though I've become maybe a wee bit more comfortable with them over the years of doing theater. Clowning and miming are just a form of theatrical performance. Plus, "clowns" don't have to be "clowns," you know? Still, not overly fond.
I like the shift manager, Jean Holiday. Nice, pleasant, sane.
Jerry Wanek and his crew really went to town with this ep, didn't they.
Tiki Motel! I love it.
"I can't argue with this. Leprechauns are deadly." Heh. I love Jensen's delivery on that.
Something's in the ball pit. Ooh! Trash compactor scene from Star Wars. The vacuum hose becomes the dianoga and drags the guy under? (I know that scene kinda freaked me out when I was a kid.)
No! It's Jaws! Shot-for-shot re-creation! Bwah!
Can't really argue with this, either. Jaws came out when I was six, and even though I never saw it back then, I still has bad dreams about sharks in swimming pools. (The movie poster and picture on the book cover freaked me out a lot.) But as an adult? It's a fantastic movie! I won't bore you with stories.
Dean razzing his little brother about the ball washer. Oh, Dean. You're such a child when given a chance.
Dean recognizes the shark bite, and can estimate the size of the thing. Sam is puzzled. Dean's reply: Shark Week, man. How do you not watch that? Whole week of sharks.
Oh, Dean. You amuse me greatly. Also x3? It brought to mind Jensen and Danneel's love of Shark Week.
It's not about wishes, not about parents. "Whatever we're looking for can literally fire off childhood fears at will." That's sounds like some serious conjuring and black magic. Yikes!
"Watch out for evil lunch ladies." Indeed. Wait. Was that one of Dean's childhood fears? Do I hear fic?
Tyler and his mom, who works at Plucky's. Harried single parent. Frustrated, saddened child. Who draws robots.
Tulpa? "Hell House" \o/
Angel? Meh.
How come not trickster? Just because Gabe was hiding as Loki doesn't mean there aren't other tricksters out there. Goodness, a lot of different cultures have them. (Besides, I'd like to see Richard Speight on the show again.)
Dean is drinking coffee! \o/ He seems to be sticking to the no booze rule, at least.
Sam trying to play bad cop. Oh, Sam. Not one of your strengths. At least not when your brother isn't at risk.
Dean and the giant rainbow slinky. Oh, Dean. You're such a child. Hee!
"You're mainlining Kool-Aid." Ha!
Overly cheery guy has a weird laugh. That sounds like it has a reverb on it. That's your guy, right there, Dean.
Skeeball!!! \o/
Dean is not happy to be thwarted, but he refuses to be thwarted.
Dean, so proud of himself for hitting the 30 point score on skeeball. Hee! Dude, you should have stuck around for your 100 point shot.
Sam's got some sort of Clint Eastwood thing going playing bad cop?
I love the whole exchange between Dean and Tyler. Tyler being a kid, Dean explaining that harried parents need to be cut some slack. I really think that Dean has gotten to a place of balance and acceptance of his dad--not perfect, but did the best he could.
I can't decide if Tyler's amusement when Dean spits out the pizza is him laughing at Dean, or him laughing at Jensen. Probably both.
Dean relates to kids wonderfully (in spite of spawning a monster child).
"They have laser eyes!" . . . "Nightshifter" ! \o/
Clif the lion dude looks so familiar to me. Just_ruth suggested that he might remind me of Blair Sandburg (from TS) . . . which might well be a possibility. I'm wondering if he might also remind me a bit of Ed Chigliak (from NoEx), maybe? Oh! Or maybe Gordon Joseph Levitt? Hm . . . Anyway . . . Why ever he looks familiar, he's got very pretty brown eyes.
70s cop show chase scene. Ha!
Tyler's mom is tired and stressed, and Tyler starts putting up a fuss. But a look from Dean, and Tyler cuts his mom a break, for which she is genuinely grateful. And you think you aren't good father material, Dean? If that's true, than I'm the Queen of Sheba.
Dean finds the workbench cum black magic workshop in the boiler room. Yes, it is Overly Cheery guy, Howard.
Odd thing, though. Or maybe not. Howard is a very disturbed individual. Surely he and Tyler's mom have chatted in the break room or something. They work the same shifts. She's someone he knows. That's really cold. Of course, he was probably acquainted with Saul, too, and he sicced a shark on him.
And he set some evil killer clowns on Sam. Well, that's not going to win you any points with Dean, dude.
"RIGHT FRIGGIN' NOW" Heh!
Also x4? Jensen looks really good.
I rather love Dean's indignation and anger at the very notion that making a kid watch a parent die--let alone at the hands . . . or tentacles . . . of her worst nightmare--could even be thought of as putting the child first. You see, Howard, Dean's own mom died under horrific supernatural circumstances. So don't be telling him that forcing a kid watch her parent die is "putting her first."
See, Dean? You understand parenting.
Dean, being the smart cookie that we all know he is, figures out Howard's worst fear--the drowning of his brother, and the blame thereof. Dean works the spell on Howard, and we have the manifestation of the drowned brother, who in turn drowns Howard.
And as Howard gasps and gurgles, the clowns attack Sam--
and disappear in a cloud of sparkles.
Final scene. Dean waiting to meet Sam, leaning against the car of the week, a 1973 Mercury Cougar. (Geo's fave is a 1967.) How is it that Dean can be both cool and hot at the same time? He defies nature!
Dean wants to laugh at Sam's glittered self. Sam gives him permission.
Dean's genuine smile and hearty laugh, Sam realizes it's been too long since he's seen this. When was the last time Sam has seen this? "Monster Movie"? Beginning of S4??? Maybe the Chuck Norris movie marathon at Bobby's, depending on when that was. In other words, it's been waaaayyyy waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too long since Sam has seen Dean laugh like this.
Dean apologizes for psychologically scarring Sam by ditching him at Plucky's. You know? I've made similar apologies to my little brother. "I'm sorry for all the horrible things I did to you when we were kids."
To celebrate facing his fears, Sam procured a giant colored slinky for Dean. Oh, Dean. You are five years old. "Did you win this?" / "We earned it." Translation: I swiped it from the shelf when no one was looking. Heh!!
In return, Dean gives Sam a Plucky doll. Okay, Sam has faced his fear, but he still doesn't like clowns.
As is evidenced by the doll having its head torn off, left to lie on the pavement as the Winchesters drive away into the night.
Tonight's ep? Eeek!
