511: 'Sam, Interrupted'
Wr: Daniel Loflin & Andrew Dabb
Dr: James L. Conway
Synopsis: The brothers must go undercover as patients at a mental hospital to get at a monster, but soon discover they have some mental issues of their own to deal with.
Review: Coming hot on the heels of a game-changing juggernaut like 'Abandon All Hope...', in which all manner of colossal events took place, including the summary execution of a few well-loved characters, 'Sam, Interrupted' feels a little too lightweight. Inevitably, a stand alone was always going to pale in comparison to a mythology-heavy piece so Dabb and Loflin really needed to up their game with this one and sadly, it seems that they decided to rest on their laurels instead.
The central concept - that Sam and Dean infiltrate a psych ward by telling everyone the truth about their lives - is a nice enough idea but it feels rather reminiscent of season two's 'Fulsom Prison Blues', especially given that, again, we have a guy on the inside providing the brothers with the tip-off. The villain, meanwhile, is moderately intriguing, yes, but there's nothing that sets it apart from the myriad other duplicitous beasties in the show's history. The wraith feels like just another throwaway bad guy, wrapped up in a fairly bog-standard narrative. The teleology certainly doesn't challenge: Sam and Dean arrive, ingratiate themselves, experience the dastardly goings-on, work everything out, target the wrong individual, realise who the right one is, do a bit of killing and then have an emotional realisation before bedtime. Ordinarily, this formula is sugar-coated with intriguing minutiae, sparkling dialogue or a challenging representational format but sadly, there's little of any of these here. Instead, we have a fairly perfunctory reveal (it's quite clear that the psychiatrist is not the perpetrator so the list of candidates is rather short) and similar denouement as the wraith's downfall effectively proves to be that she talks too much... just like every other rubbish villain in history.
Of course, 'Sam, Interrupted' isn't bad per se, it's just a little underwhelming. For an episode whose moniker contains the name of one of the central cast, it seems rather lacking in exploration of his psychological ennui. If this is supposed to be a treatise on Sam's inherent rage, his penchant to lash out, then it doesn't exactly do a very good job. The issue is addressed, along with Dean's avoidance tendencies, but no resolution is forthcoming. This would be fine, in itself, if the episode did a little more with the concept other than bring it up simply because of the perceived importance of character conflict. It feels like psychoanalysis for psychoanalysis's sake and, as a result, it struggles to resonate with the viewer. This impacts somewhat on the quality of the episode. Sure, there are a smattering of nice scenes - most notably the comedic elements as Sam is forced into a drugged state and the pair have to endure the suppositories - and the plot maintains a fairly steady level of momentum, but the abrupt and seemingly unnecessary nature of the introspective elements detracts somewhat from these positives.
'Sam, Interrupted' is one of the weakest Supernatural episodes in some time. It's largely a victim of its own chronological positioning, but the episode also feels more like a surface-scratching season one hour than a component of the complex, involved year five. It isn't bad, as such, and it certainly contains enough good to elevate the show above most other programmes on TV, but Dabb and Loflin are capable of so much more. 7.0
512: 'Swap Meat'
Teleplay: Julie Siege
Story: Rebecca Dessertine, Harvey Fedor & Julie Siege
Dr: Robert Singer
Synopsis: While the brothers are on a case, Sam is targeted by a high school student who has learned a body-switching spell. Dean discovers his brother is now more interested in getting drunk and hitting on women, while Sam has to deal with the teenager's home and school life.
Review: Once again, that pesky little thing called the Apocalypse can wait another week while Sam and Dean muck about in a small town, helping passing acquaintances of their father's from years prior. Forget about the fact that Lucifer's roaming the Earth and that, you know, everything could turn to dust in a few seconds flat: we need to deal with the poltergeist that's terrorising poor little whatsername!
And that, perhaps, is a little harsh. For all this is effectively another stand alone, and just about everyone and their uncle desperately wants the show to just get on with it, it is, nonetheless, a pretty fine and considerably entertaining episode. The story itself is rather neat, transforming from one thing to another within the first act and then doing the same in the later stages; essentially, the witchcraft narrative is just an aside to the real meat (if you'll pardon the pun) of the plot. The inclusion of the mythology arc is certainly commendable, especially since it's executed in a perfectly logical and refreshingly unintrusive way. These warlock-wannabes are aware of Sam and Dean and they darn well should be: the Winchesters' reputations would most certainly preceed them now that they're essentially the vessels for the (final?) battle between good and evil. It's nice to see ancillary characters afforded a role within the arc; there are no big names here, no Lilliths, Lucifers, Allisters or Azezils, and yet the threat remains decidedly potent. This is thanks, in no small part, to the skills of Everwood's Sarah Drew, who is able to convincingly turn from lovesick high school girl to brutal demon biatch in the blink of an eye. Her potrayal of the character's possession is wonderfully eerie, delivering each line with a sinister gravitas that sorta makes you wish she'd stick around for future instalments.
The guest cast are all pretty strong, in fact, and special note should be given to Colton James as Gary Finkel, who effectively carries a large proportion of the narrative on his own. It's refreshing to see someone so young not come off as forced or mawkish, hitting the appropriate notes for the relevant responses at all times. Indeed, he and Jensen Ackles play very well off each other, creating some pleasingly comedic two-handers, particularly the scenes in the bar and at the site of the witch's burial. Credit too to Jared Padalecki, whose 'Sam trapped' is killingly funny; it's all in the nuances with this guy, most notably as he's checking out his new meat suit in the kid's room or attempting to explain everything at dinner with the folks. It is a little unusual, however, that Sam refers to Gary as a virgin upon discovering his Star Wars obsession, given his own geeky proclivities. Such a callous remark feels rather out of character, the kind of thing that Dean would have no trouble uttering, for example. His comforting of the boy at hour's end, the reassurance that actually, life isn't so bad after all, feels much more in line with his personality, although the conclusion itself is rather perfunctory, tying things up a little too quickly (would Gary and Nora really be this well-adjusted in the aftermath of their friend's death?) Still, we are treated to a nice moral lesson about being grateful for what you have. Let's just sweep the fact that the show's done this more than a few times before under the rug, shall we?
'Swap Meat' is an entertaining diversion from season five's arc plot, providing a fairly taut script that takes a number of interesting twists and turns and contains a strong mixture of comedy and drama to boot. It's a shame that it doesn't do more with the mythology, especially now that we're all gagging for a little more Lucifer (nudge nudge, wink wink), but at the very least, it's engaging enough to leave you satisfied. Now here's hoping the stand alones are about to take a back seat... 8.3
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