Supernatural 05x09: The Real Ghostbusters
Oh Jesus Christ. Oh my holy Jesus. I just absolutely loved it. Adored it. Best episode of the season, hands down. And let me tell you why.
Last season, the show not just broke, but fucking obliterated the fourth wall by making Supernatural as a fictional series exist in Supernatural, a fictional series. It commented on the fandom, acknowledged the fans and fan effort, and even some fandom conventions and cliches. It was all very blunt and comedic, and while I loved A Monster At The End Of This Book, this episode just shows you that the writers can take what was primarily used as comedy and to poke fun of the fans, and fashion a heartfelt, meaningful episode out of it. Just incredible.
This episode felt the most like season one than it has in a really long time. It was a Monster Of The Week that was about neither Sam nor Dean, but both of them as a team. It jumped right into the story with Sam and Dean rushing to the hotel to meet Chuck, wasting no time for clunky setups and exposition. And in a way, it's better than season one. I loved how easily they divided the time up between each brother so that it was a HUGE, LIFE-CHANGING CHARACTER MOMENT for either of them. It was, for the lack of a better word, about the brothers.
But what I really loved were two things:
1) Thing the first. This episode was so about the writers' absolute love for the fans of the show. Kripke has said it before that Monster At The End Of This Book was lovingly poking fun at the fans. But this episode perfectly showcases the regard that The Powers That Be have for us. If anything, the convention in the episode was more typical of a sci-fi or fantasy convention than any Supernatural con that I have been to or heard about. LARP? Scavenger hunt? Fan-made merch? Cosplay? Fan-run panels? About the homoerotic subtext? Please! I wish there was a con like that! I'd be there in a heartbeat! But I loved seeing how they portrayed the fans' love of Supernatural, that they're so devoted that they want to be like Sam and Dean, want to dress up like them and talk like them. Hilarious, also, especially when fake!Dean speaks followed by real Dean and it's just so fucking trufax. Also the cosplay with the handmade props and the German fan and sdfjhsldfjd IT'S SO HOW IT'S LIKE LMAO. And for people who are bitching about how it's not true to life because it was a room full of guys: I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU WANT? Do you want them to outright make fun of fandom or parody it? Making every attendee male was a conscious choice to distance viewers from seeing themselves as they are, and I think it worked because most of the time, I was seeing the characters of Demien and Barnes more than I was seeing "impersonators," as it were.
But the best bit, is, I think, really in the characters of Demien and Barnes. Sure, they had perfect cosplays and adopted raspy voices to participate in a LARP session, but, in the end, they were just two regular, down-to-earth guys. Dean's angry dismay at the fans was perfect too. How else should a guy with so little self-esteem react to people who admire him so much? The final scenes are really what sold me. Dean doesn't get what it's all about, Barnes says. Regular people have the crappy lives. They fall into routine with their shitty jobs and make no difference in the world while Sam and Dean go out and save it every day. There's no harm in pretending you're a superhero sometimes. And I loved that. Their fellow fans were in trouble, and faced with real danger, they helped out because "it's what Sam and Dean would do." ♥
2) Demien and Barnes. Oh man. And you know what I'm talking about. I could hardly contain my screams as they intertwined hands. (In fact, they weren't contained at all.) Now, I've said in the past that I have zero interest in the dialogue of the portrayals of race and gender in film and television. That's because what I'm really interested is in the portrayal of sexual identity. And what they've done with Barnes and Demien is create respectable and, more importantly, respectful gay characters. I mean, NOT ONLY do I absolutely ADORE what they're implying by Sam and Dean LARPers being gay, but they weren't vapid, they weren't flaming, and most of all, they weren't used as the punchline for some joke. They are just two nerds who met online over their love of Supernatural and they're the ones who truly understand what the show/books are about when even one of the title characters is entirely clueless. Barnes had that kind of respectful wisdom and I can't even begin to describe how happy it's made me. They didn't pull that reveal as a joke in the beginning and proceed with them hitting on and eying Sam and Dean.
Let's think back to the two other times there have been gay characters. Dead Man's Blood showed a vampire vixen getting into the lap of and kissing a helpless female victim. Here's a sad stereotype of the "freaky" homosexual characters. Well, it's a vampire, whatever, right? Ghostfacers did better with Corbin and his epic gay love saving the day, but his role was reduced to that short albeit amusing bit of dialogue and the title of "the gay intern." So now to see fully fleshed-out characters who happen to be gay and ROLEPLAYING SAM AND DEAN, well. I'm thrilled. I'm warmed to my little old fangirl core.
I love Dean's reaction. "Howdy, partners." Entirely suitable, given that they want so badly to be, well, Sam and Dean. But was he as put off and he probably SHOULD have been? (Think about if this happened to you?) Probably not. In fact, cut later to Dean reflecting with that huge smile on his face, I'd say it inspired him more than anything.
Sadly, I've been paying less attention to the filmmaking aspects, but the action was so poorly shot in this episode. Everything was far too close up, and the cut ins and hookups were too quick and off-center for it to make any sense. It was a miracle you could still visually understand what was happening in those fights. But did I care? Absolutely not. This episode gave me the warm fucking fuzzies about being a fan again.
Other points include: Chuck being awesome and pathetic and a pushover. Becky's undying love for Sam. Sam's AMAZING REACTION, OMG BEST. "Really?" "No, we have guns and we'll find you." sjlfhljsdhfljs SAM WHY SO AMAZING?!?!? GERMAN FANBOY LMAO LMAO AWESOME. How EVERYONE was cosplaying at that con. How that con was so totally a sci-fi con parody and not an SPN con parody. Becky's nerdtastic observation giving the boys a lead on the Colt. (Fantastic tie-in to the overall mythology and plot. A+.) The fanboys' LARPing and choice of pseudonyms. How well the writers poke fun at their own cliches. EVERYTHING EVERYTHING.
And that, my friends, is why I love this show. Fuck. ♥
What did y'all think?
Last season, the show not just broke, but fucking obliterated the fourth wall by making Supernatural as a fictional series exist in Supernatural, a fictional series. It commented on the fandom, acknowledged the fans and fan effort, and even some fandom conventions and cliches. It was all very blunt and comedic, and while I loved A Monster At The End Of This Book, this episode just shows you that the writers can take what was primarily used as comedy and to poke fun of the fans, and fashion a heartfelt, meaningful episode out of it. Just incredible.
This episode felt the most like season one than it has in a really long time. It was a Monster Of The Week that was about neither Sam nor Dean, but both of them as a team. It jumped right into the story with Sam and Dean rushing to the hotel to meet Chuck, wasting no time for clunky setups and exposition. And in a way, it's better than season one. I loved how easily they divided the time up between each brother so that it was a HUGE, LIFE-CHANGING CHARACTER MOMENT for either of them. It was, for the lack of a better word, about the brothers.
But what I really loved were two things:
1) Thing the first. This episode was so about the writers' absolute love for the fans of the show. Kripke has said it before that Monster At The End Of This Book was lovingly poking fun at the fans. But this episode perfectly showcases the regard that The Powers That Be have for us. If anything, the convention in the episode was more typical of a sci-fi or fantasy convention than any Supernatural con that I have been to or heard about. LARP? Scavenger hunt? Fan-made merch? Cosplay? Fan-run panels? About the homoerotic subtext? Please! I wish there was a con like that! I'd be there in a heartbeat! But I loved seeing how they portrayed the fans' love of Supernatural, that they're so devoted that they want to be like Sam and Dean, want to dress up like them and talk like them. Hilarious, also, especially when fake!Dean speaks followed by real Dean and it's just so fucking trufax. Also the cosplay with the handmade props and the German fan and sdfjhsldfjd IT'S SO HOW IT'S LIKE LMAO. And for people who are bitching about how it's not true to life because it was a room full of guys: I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU WANT? Do you want them to outright make fun of fandom or parody it? Making every attendee male was a conscious choice to distance viewers from seeing themselves as they are, and I think it worked because most of the time, I was seeing the characters of Demien and Barnes more than I was seeing "impersonators," as it were.
But the best bit, is, I think, really in the characters of Demien and Barnes. Sure, they had perfect cosplays and adopted raspy voices to participate in a LARP session, but, in the end, they were just two regular, down-to-earth guys. Dean's angry dismay at the fans was perfect too. How else should a guy with so little self-esteem react to people who admire him so much? The final scenes are really what sold me. Dean doesn't get what it's all about, Barnes says. Regular people have the crappy lives. They fall into routine with their shitty jobs and make no difference in the world while Sam and Dean go out and save it every day. There's no harm in pretending you're a superhero sometimes. And I loved that. Their fellow fans were in trouble, and faced with real danger, they helped out because "it's what Sam and Dean would do." ♥
2) Demien and Barnes. Oh man. And you know what I'm talking about. I could hardly contain my screams as they intertwined hands. (In fact, they weren't contained at all.) Now, I've said in the past that I have zero interest in the dialogue of the portrayals of race and gender in film and television. That's because what I'm really interested is in the portrayal of sexual identity. And what they've done with Barnes and Demien is create respectable and, more importantly, respectful gay characters. I mean, NOT ONLY do I absolutely ADORE what they're implying by Sam and Dean LARPers being gay, but they weren't vapid, they weren't flaming, and most of all, they weren't used as the punchline for some joke. They are just two nerds who met online over their love of Supernatural and they're the ones who truly understand what the show/books are about when even one of the title characters is entirely clueless. Barnes had that kind of respectful wisdom and I can't even begin to describe how happy it's made me. They didn't pull that reveal as a joke in the beginning and proceed with them hitting on and eying Sam and Dean.
Let's think back to the two other times there have been gay characters. Dead Man's Blood showed a vampire vixen getting into the lap of and kissing a helpless female victim. Here's a sad stereotype of the "freaky" homosexual characters. Well, it's a vampire, whatever, right? Ghostfacers did better with Corbin and his epic gay love saving the day, but his role was reduced to that short albeit amusing bit of dialogue and the title of "the gay intern." So now to see fully fleshed-out characters who happen to be gay and ROLEPLAYING SAM AND DEAN, well. I'm thrilled. I'm warmed to my little old fangirl core.
I love Dean's reaction. "Howdy, partners." Entirely suitable, given that they want so badly to be, well, Sam and Dean. But was he as put off and he probably SHOULD have been? (Think about if this happened to you?) Probably not. In fact, cut later to Dean reflecting with that huge smile on his face, I'd say it inspired him more than anything.
Sadly, I've been paying less attention to the filmmaking aspects, but the action was so poorly shot in this episode. Everything was far too close up, and the cut ins and hookups were too quick and off-center for it to make any sense. It was a miracle you could still visually understand what was happening in those fights. But did I care? Absolutely not. This episode gave me the warm fucking fuzzies about being a fan again.
Other points include: Chuck being awesome and pathetic and a pushover. Becky's undying love for Sam. Sam's AMAZING REACTION, OMG BEST. "Really?" "No, we have guns and we'll find you." sjlfhljsdhfljs SAM WHY SO AMAZING?!?!? GERMAN FANBOY LMAO LMAO AWESOME. How EVERYONE was cosplaying at that con. How that con was so totally a sci-fi con parody and not an SPN con parody. Becky's nerdtastic observation giving the boys a lead on the Colt. (Fantastic tie-in to the overall mythology and plot. A+.) The fanboys' LARPing and choice of pseudonyms. How well the writers poke fun at their own cliches. EVERYTHING EVERYTHING.
And that, my friends, is why I love this show. Fuck. ♥
What did y'all think?