Quick Reaction: 10x11 There's No Place Like Home
WOO!
So, I had a very full night with filming my friends comedy show and then coming back home and frantically downloading SPN and then watching it, and yet, I'm probably still going to be posting this quick reaction at the same time as I usually do. Crazy! You guys wouldn't even have been able to tell that I had a crazy busy night if I hadn't just told you!
Anyway, let's talk about this f*cker
(woo - reference to Felicia Day's youtube channel...)
We begin at the beginning - this time, it's a guy who is frantically running away from his house. Thanks to the previews, I already suspected it was Charlie, but still, I liked the reveal.
God, can I just break with my narration of the episode right now to tell you how happy I am that Charlie is back!! I love Charlie SO MUCH!!! And I was absolutely terrified that she was going to die this episode, but then I kept thinking "Robbie wouldn't do that to me..." and I was right! So, Robbie keeps his place at the top of my "Favourite current writers of SPN." (He and Adam Glass keep elbowing each other for the top spot... in my head, anyway...Adam gets his rebuttle next week.)
Meanwhile, back at the Bunker, Sam and Dean are trying to get rid of the mark, and Dean is trying to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible in the hopes that being a clean-living modern hippie will somehow solve his problems. So, he's quite drinking, and he's making egg-white omelettes... which Sam loves! I thought that was so adorable. Also, as someone who is allergic to egg yolk, I found myself falling just a little bit more in love with Dean JUST because he made an egg-white omelette...which is ridiculous, I know. But hey, Sam loves it, so it's gotta be good too!
I loved the montage of them working, and we also see Dean making those really gross green smoothies - listen guys, I love salads, but green things should never be in liquid form unless it is melted mint icecream.
Then Sam looks at the news and discovers that a crazy person is making their way through Topeka beating people up... and someone caught them on video, and it's Charlie!!
Both Dean and Sam are like - NOT OUR CHARLIE! THIS CAN'T BE! SHE IS SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS AND ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD! ... seriously, that's pretty much what they say. And it's ADORABLE and I love it. Because they love her SO MUCH. I just really love love, you guys... like, I don't actually love people as much as I love other people loving people. This is why I can both be happily forever alone AND a hopeless romantic.
So, they go to find out what's what. The whole time, Dean is trying to not be evil... and Sam is really nervous about Dean losing it again and being evil.
Also, their alias are Gabriel and Collins, and I was like "are their alias' a shout-out to the ships that I don't like?!" but nope, apparently it's a Genesis (the band) reference. Learn something new everyday.
Anyway, it soon becomes apparent that Charlie is trying to track down the bastard who killed her parents (accidentally, but still manslaughter). Dean threatens the final name out of the dude, and I like how this scene is played, with the tension really high (both done with the camera and also Sam's body-language) about just where on the mood-scale Dean is.
It's off to the third name - who is a judge, who doesn't seem to understand that she might be in mortal peril.
Oh, Also, we totally find out that Charlie's name is Celeste! Celeste Middleton. I like Charlie better... (fun fact, my cousin just gave birth to a little girl two days ago and named her Charlie... well, Charlotte, but they're going to call her Charlie.)
Throughout all of this, we also find out that Dean never told Sam about Charlie's tragic backstory - or at least, it doesn't appear that he did. I think that's nice, that Dean kept that between himself and Charlie, since he wasn't necessarily supposed to find out either.
Charlie attacks! Gets what she wants, says mean things to Dean and Sam, and then runs away...and just as they're about to chase after her, Charlie pulls up in her yellow car! WHAT?!?!
Up until this point, I was thinking maybe she was possessed or something... but nope! She's evil-twinned!!! Or rather, she's been divided into good and bad versions of herself, but they're both still her. Fascinating! Also, of course, a direct parallel to poor Dean's storyline, where he is basically having his bad qualities amplified to the point where they drown out his goodness.
Charlie fills them in - apparently to win the war in Oz, Charlie let the Wizard unlook her "inner darkness", so that Charlie could be a big enough bad-ass to do what needed to be done. And it worked! Only then her goodside didn't want her darkside back, and her darkside took off on a path of revenge...
Because whatever Charlie says, I don't think her darkside actually wanted to get back together, I think she just wanted to kill the bastard that murdered her parents, but being a darkside, she knows how to emotionally manipulate people to get what she wants.
I loved Charlie's line about how being good sucked - that instead of hitting on the bartender, she wanted to send her to college. Hilarious. One of my favourite Hawksley Workman songs is about strippers, but it's not your typical song, because the chorus is "And you wanna feel bad for them, wanna cook a meal for them, dial up their mother's who can hardly wait to see them/going out the door back to college or university, supposedly."
They find out who it is that DarkCharlie is going to try to kill - as in, they find out who killed Charlie's parents - and then Dean appoints himself in charge of makin sure that guy doesn't get killed, while Sam and Charlie head to the bunker to try to find out how to put Charlie back together, since DarkCharlie broke the key to Oz.
Sam's not so sure sending Dean on protection deal is a good idea... and I'm not so sure either!
And it's not really, but only because Dean falls for DarkCharlie's lies. :(
Meanwhile, Sam and Charlie time!!! I love it when Sam has friends - and I think I especially love the fact that Charlie is FAIRLY equal friends with both Sam and Dean, though she's had more bro-time with Dean in past episodes... so it was nice for her and Sam to go on an adventure together. At first, it's just a research adventure - but they find out that there's a Man of Letter's that retired and may still be alive, since he's had access to the magic of Oz.
So, Sam and Charlie head over to see him and Sam fills Charlie in on everything that's been happening with Dean. And MAN, I said this in LARP and the Real Girl and I'll say it again, I love the fact that they just TELL Charlie things... like there's no shoving things under the rug and pretending things are fine when they aren't (which the boys sometimes do with Jody and other friends), but with Charlie, they actually just tell her... and I don't know if that's a Robbie Thompson writing thing or a Charlie thing, since no one but Robbie has ever written Charlie before, but WHATEVER the reason, I love it.
While Sam and Charlie are off tracking down Oz-dude, Dean is falling for Dark!Charlie's lies... and she convinces him that she's not looking for revenge, but rather just wants the guy to face his crimes... but, yeah...LIE. Charlie kills him. And I'm kind of glad that SPN is a universe where the police forces are all inept with short-memories, because DUDES it was DEAN who was last seen with that guy, so Charlie could have easily just completely set him up to take the fall for that.
Anyway, Dean goes to a bar after calling Sam and Charlie and breaking the news, because he is depressed about his failures, I guess? And he's doing the whole alcoholic thing of ordering the drink but not drinking it...or warring with himself about drinking it... and that's when Dark!Charlie catches up with him and tries to be like "we're the same" and whatnot...in general, she's just creepy. Dean tells her that Sam and Charlie are going to fix things, but he smartly gives her the wrong town name... and then Dark!Charlie pretends she's going to go hit on the bartender, but then leaves out the back.
AND THEN SHE STEALS BABY!! She joins the very short list of guest stars who have gotten a chance to drive the Impala.
Dean hotwires a car to get to Sam and Charlie...
Meanwhile, Sam and Charlie discover that the Oz-dude had the exact same thing happen to him, and he was never put back together - more than that, his darkside became the Wizard of Oz! Charlie is therefore super worried about Dorothy, who is ruling Oz with the Wizard... who is apparently evil.
Clive (that's Oz-dude) comes up with the idea that if he's mortally wounded, his other half will come back from Oz in order to try to save him - since they share physical damage (but apparently not aging - weird!)
It works! He shoots himself just as Dean arrives outside - but that's also when Dark!Charlie arrives... and she and Dean get into a fist-fight, which is NOT GOOD, because she's Charlie too, so Dean also hurts Good!Charlie every time he punches Dark!Charlie. And I think at the beginning of the fight he's conscious of that - but as the fight goes on, I think Dean gets more and more lost in the adrenaline and the violence.
Meanwhile, inside, Old Clive has the idea that if Charlie kills him, then the Wizard dies too, and then Charlie can get the Wizard's key - and put herself back together. Charlie can't do it at first, because it's BAD to kill people... but then the Wizard starts killing Sam, and I think that's what does it - because while it's bad to kill people, it's also good to save people... and sometimes you have to do one to do the other, which is the balance that Sam and Dean have lived their whole lives.
Charlie saves Sam, even with a dislocated shoulder, but outside, Dean is lost in punching the crap out of Dark!Charlie, and only stops when Sam calls his name, while carrying the now bloody and unconscius GoodCharlie... and Dean is like "Oh crap, I LOVE CHARLIE WHAT AM I DOING?!" Only, he doesn't actually say anything, because he is in shock.
Charlie gets put back together again... and then Sam runs forward and hugs Charlie like a madman while Dean continues down his shame spiral... and everything is sad.
Back at the bunker, Dean is still really upset (obviously, I mean, he accidentally beat up his good friend who is sunshine and rainbows)... Charlie is packed up and ready to go, and we find out it's been two days since she was beaten up. Her and Dean are both still looking pretty rough.
Oh! I forgot to mention that Sam's been on the phone to Cas in this episode too! SAM AND CAS TIME! Seriously, I just like it when Sam has friends.
Anyway, Charlie asks about the MoC and if Sam has any leads - and he shows her a print-out of a library listen he found for a book currently in Tuscany (and for some reason, I did not think of Italy, and I was wondering where in the states there was a place named after the place in Italy, and why Sam couldn't just use interlibrary loan or something... I'm a dorkus.) Charlie offers to go check it out.
I love the fact that Sam and Dean have friends helping them!
And then Charlie talks to Dean... and we get feelings all over the place... because UGH, Dean hates himself so much, but Charlie forgives him... and he doesn't forgive himself, and Charlie says that she knows, because that's "your move" and that he SHOULD forgive himself... and Charlie telling Dean that he's a Winchester and therefore he'll beat the MoC....and FEELINGS! And then HUGS!!!
(And kind of weird directorial choice on the filming of the final hug, in my opinion... and this is Phil Sgricca who directs a LOT of SPN... so, bizarre.... I mean, it was kind of cool because it emphasized how TINY Charlie is in comparison to the Winchesters...but, still, kind of weird to have such a tight shot for a hug.)
And more hugs!! And then Charlie leaves... and... Sam and Dean say something? I honestly forget what's said when Charlie leaves, but it is also touching and wonderful, I'm sure. No brother hug though - that'd be too much. Oh, I think they mention something about getting back to work.
All in all, a great episode, full of feelings... and Charlie is back in our dimension! YAY!
Okay, so this IS a little later than usual, because I got completely distracted by twitter... but WHATEVER, it's only like 45 minutes late, which is pretty good, considering.
As per usual, please let me know what you thought in comments and tell me about the important bits that I forgot to talk about!!
So, I had a very full night with filming my friends comedy show and then coming back home and frantically downloading SPN and then watching it, and yet, I'm probably still going to be posting this quick reaction at the same time as I usually do. Crazy! You guys wouldn't even have been able to tell that I had a crazy busy night if I hadn't just told you!
Anyway, let's talk about this f*cker
(woo - reference to Felicia Day's youtube channel...)
We begin at the beginning - this time, it's a guy who is frantically running away from his house. Thanks to the previews, I already suspected it was Charlie, but still, I liked the reveal.
God, can I just break with my narration of the episode right now to tell you how happy I am that Charlie is back!! I love Charlie SO MUCH!!! And I was absolutely terrified that she was going to die this episode, but then I kept thinking "Robbie wouldn't do that to me..." and I was right! So, Robbie keeps his place at the top of my "Favourite current writers of SPN." (He and Adam Glass keep elbowing each other for the top spot... in my head, anyway...Adam gets his rebuttle next week.)
Meanwhile, back at the Bunker, Sam and Dean are trying to get rid of the mark, and Dean is trying to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible in the hopes that being a clean-living modern hippie will somehow solve his problems. So, he's quite drinking, and he's making egg-white omelettes... which Sam loves! I thought that was so adorable. Also, as someone who is allergic to egg yolk, I found myself falling just a little bit more in love with Dean JUST because he made an egg-white omelette...which is ridiculous, I know. But hey, Sam loves it, so it's gotta be good too!
I loved the montage of them working, and we also see Dean making those really gross green smoothies - listen guys, I love salads, but green things should never be in liquid form unless it is melted mint icecream.
Then Sam looks at the news and discovers that a crazy person is making their way through Topeka beating people up... and someone caught them on video, and it's Charlie!!
Both Dean and Sam are like - NOT OUR CHARLIE! THIS CAN'T BE! SHE IS SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS AND ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD! ... seriously, that's pretty much what they say. And it's ADORABLE and I love it. Because they love her SO MUCH. I just really love love, you guys... like, I don't actually love people as much as I love other people loving people. This is why I can both be happily forever alone AND a hopeless romantic.
So, they go to find out what's what. The whole time, Dean is trying to not be evil... and Sam is really nervous about Dean losing it again and being evil.
Also, their alias are Gabriel and Collins, and I was like "are their alias' a shout-out to the ships that I don't like?!" but nope, apparently it's a Genesis (the band) reference. Learn something new everyday.
Anyway, it soon becomes apparent that Charlie is trying to track down the bastard who killed her parents (accidentally, but still manslaughter). Dean threatens the final name out of the dude, and I like how this scene is played, with the tension really high (both done with the camera and also Sam's body-language) about just where on the mood-scale Dean is.
It's off to the third name - who is a judge, who doesn't seem to understand that she might be in mortal peril.
Oh, Also, we totally find out that Charlie's name is Celeste! Celeste Middleton. I like Charlie better... (fun fact, my cousin just gave birth to a little girl two days ago and named her Charlie... well, Charlotte, but they're going to call her Charlie.)
Throughout all of this, we also find out that Dean never told Sam about Charlie's tragic backstory - or at least, it doesn't appear that he did. I think that's nice, that Dean kept that between himself and Charlie, since he wasn't necessarily supposed to find out either.
Charlie attacks! Gets what she wants, says mean things to Dean and Sam, and then runs away...and just as they're about to chase after her, Charlie pulls up in her yellow car! WHAT?!?!
Up until this point, I was thinking maybe she was possessed or something... but nope! She's evil-twinned!!! Or rather, she's been divided into good and bad versions of herself, but they're both still her. Fascinating! Also, of course, a direct parallel to poor Dean's storyline, where he is basically having his bad qualities amplified to the point where they drown out his goodness.
Charlie fills them in - apparently to win the war in Oz, Charlie let the Wizard unlook her "inner darkness", so that Charlie could be a big enough bad-ass to do what needed to be done. And it worked! Only then her goodside didn't want her darkside back, and her darkside took off on a path of revenge...
Because whatever Charlie says, I don't think her darkside actually wanted to get back together, I think she just wanted to kill the bastard that murdered her parents, but being a darkside, she knows how to emotionally manipulate people to get what she wants.
I loved Charlie's line about how being good sucked - that instead of hitting on the bartender, she wanted to send her to college. Hilarious. One of my favourite Hawksley Workman songs is about strippers, but it's not your typical song, because the chorus is "And you wanna feel bad for them, wanna cook a meal for them, dial up their mother's who can hardly wait to see them/going out the door back to college or university, supposedly."
They find out who it is that DarkCharlie is going to try to kill - as in, they find out who killed Charlie's parents - and then Dean appoints himself in charge of makin sure that guy doesn't get killed, while Sam and Charlie head to the bunker to try to find out how to put Charlie back together, since DarkCharlie broke the key to Oz.
Sam's not so sure sending Dean on protection deal is a good idea... and I'm not so sure either!
And it's not really, but only because Dean falls for DarkCharlie's lies. :(
Meanwhile, Sam and Charlie time!!! I love it when Sam has friends - and I think I especially love the fact that Charlie is FAIRLY equal friends with both Sam and Dean, though she's had more bro-time with Dean in past episodes... so it was nice for her and Sam to go on an adventure together. At first, it's just a research adventure - but they find out that there's a Man of Letter's that retired and may still be alive, since he's had access to the magic of Oz.
So, Sam and Charlie head over to see him and Sam fills Charlie in on everything that's been happening with Dean. And MAN, I said this in LARP and the Real Girl and I'll say it again, I love the fact that they just TELL Charlie things... like there's no shoving things under the rug and pretending things are fine when they aren't (which the boys sometimes do with Jody and other friends), but with Charlie, they actually just tell her... and I don't know if that's a Robbie Thompson writing thing or a Charlie thing, since no one but Robbie has ever written Charlie before, but WHATEVER the reason, I love it.
While Sam and Charlie are off tracking down Oz-dude, Dean is falling for Dark!Charlie's lies... and she convinces him that she's not looking for revenge, but rather just wants the guy to face his crimes... but, yeah...LIE. Charlie kills him. And I'm kind of glad that SPN is a universe where the police forces are all inept with short-memories, because DUDES it was DEAN who was last seen with that guy, so Charlie could have easily just completely set him up to take the fall for that.
Anyway, Dean goes to a bar after calling Sam and Charlie and breaking the news, because he is depressed about his failures, I guess? And he's doing the whole alcoholic thing of ordering the drink but not drinking it...or warring with himself about drinking it... and that's when Dark!Charlie catches up with him and tries to be like "we're the same" and whatnot...in general, she's just creepy. Dean tells her that Sam and Charlie are going to fix things, but he smartly gives her the wrong town name... and then Dark!Charlie pretends she's going to go hit on the bartender, but then leaves out the back.
AND THEN SHE STEALS BABY!! She joins the very short list of guest stars who have gotten a chance to drive the Impala.
Dean hotwires a car to get to Sam and Charlie...
Meanwhile, Sam and Charlie discover that the Oz-dude had the exact same thing happen to him, and he was never put back together - more than that, his darkside became the Wizard of Oz! Charlie is therefore super worried about Dorothy, who is ruling Oz with the Wizard... who is apparently evil.
Clive (that's Oz-dude) comes up with the idea that if he's mortally wounded, his other half will come back from Oz in order to try to save him - since they share physical damage (but apparently not aging - weird!)
It works! He shoots himself just as Dean arrives outside - but that's also when Dark!Charlie arrives... and she and Dean get into a fist-fight, which is NOT GOOD, because she's Charlie too, so Dean also hurts Good!Charlie every time he punches Dark!Charlie. And I think at the beginning of the fight he's conscious of that - but as the fight goes on, I think Dean gets more and more lost in the adrenaline and the violence.
Meanwhile, inside, Old Clive has the idea that if Charlie kills him, then the Wizard dies too, and then Charlie can get the Wizard's key - and put herself back together. Charlie can't do it at first, because it's BAD to kill people... but then the Wizard starts killing Sam, and I think that's what does it - because while it's bad to kill people, it's also good to save people... and sometimes you have to do one to do the other, which is the balance that Sam and Dean have lived their whole lives.
Charlie saves Sam, even with a dislocated shoulder, but outside, Dean is lost in punching the crap out of Dark!Charlie, and only stops when Sam calls his name, while carrying the now bloody and unconscius GoodCharlie... and Dean is like "Oh crap, I LOVE CHARLIE WHAT AM I DOING?!" Only, he doesn't actually say anything, because he is in shock.
Charlie gets put back together again... and then Sam runs forward and hugs Charlie like a madman while Dean continues down his shame spiral... and everything is sad.
Back at the bunker, Dean is still really upset (obviously, I mean, he accidentally beat up his good friend who is sunshine and rainbows)... Charlie is packed up and ready to go, and we find out it's been two days since she was beaten up. Her and Dean are both still looking pretty rough.
Oh! I forgot to mention that Sam's been on the phone to Cas in this episode too! SAM AND CAS TIME! Seriously, I just like it when Sam has friends.
Anyway, Charlie asks about the MoC and if Sam has any leads - and he shows her a print-out of a library listen he found for a book currently in Tuscany (and for some reason, I did not think of Italy, and I was wondering where in the states there was a place named after the place in Italy, and why Sam couldn't just use interlibrary loan or something... I'm a dorkus.) Charlie offers to go check it out.
I love the fact that Sam and Dean have friends helping them!
And then Charlie talks to Dean... and we get feelings all over the place... because UGH, Dean hates himself so much, but Charlie forgives him... and he doesn't forgive himself, and Charlie says that she knows, because that's "your move" and that he SHOULD forgive himself... and Charlie telling Dean that he's a Winchester and therefore he'll beat the MoC....and FEELINGS! And then HUGS!!!
(And kind of weird directorial choice on the filming of the final hug, in my opinion... and this is Phil Sgricca who directs a LOT of SPN... so, bizarre.... I mean, it was kind of cool because it emphasized how TINY Charlie is in comparison to the Winchesters...but, still, kind of weird to have such a tight shot for a hug.)
And more hugs!! And then Charlie leaves... and... Sam and Dean say something? I honestly forget what's said when Charlie leaves, but it is also touching and wonderful, I'm sure. No brother hug though - that'd be too much. Oh, I think they mention something about getting back to work.
All in all, a great episode, full of feelings... and Charlie is back in our dimension! YAY!
Okay, so this IS a little later than usual, because I got completely distracted by twitter... but WHATEVER, it's only like 45 minutes late, which is pretty good, considering.
As per usual, please let me know what you thought in comments and tell me about the important bits that I forgot to talk about!!