Quick Reaction: 11x04 Baby
Fantastic episode!
Okay, first, the bad news - medical mystery #1 has struck again, and I'm currently ill. So, there was no drinking tonight. That being said, I'm sure I've forgotten just as much as usual and will be just as ridiculous - only this time it will be low-grade fever induced rather than alcohol induced!
Man, though, what a good episode - it was so good, that I think it actually made me feel physically better for having watched it.
So, let's talk about it!
The opening shot, i was totally like "what the hell?!?!" because WHAT'S HAPPENED TO BABY?!
Oh, I should mention that although I do try to avoid spoilers, it was nearly impossible to avoid the spoiler of what the concept of this episode was - and that's fine - I was MUCH ANTICIPATING IT!
Anyway, then we cut to 48 hours earlier, and Dean is washing the car. Guys, it has been 11 years, and I finally get a car wash scene! I know people laugh about my desire for a car wash scene and make it about seeing the boys in wet t-shirts or something, but, for me, it's honestly more about te domesticity of it. It's the same reason I absolutely love scenes where they are brushing their teeth. I'm sure I'd also love scenes where they're washing the dishes or vacuuming.
Anyway, although Jensen was cruel and teased that he actually WAS wearing short-shorts in this scene and we didn't even get to see them - I still enjoyed the heck out of this scene, especially since Sam comes in and just immediately starts washing the car too, while he talks to Dean.
Cas, apparently, still needs time to heal, while Dean is getting restless - so Sam mentions that there's a thin chance of a case in Oregon, and then it's OFF TO OREGON!
And it's raining on Dean's freshly washed car. I loved his "figures."
I also loved how Dean still gives the line that would mean a cut to commerical or the next scene, but instead we just stay in the car while Sam puts the laptop away and reaches back for a smoothie.
And man, this is what I love about this episode, it's the Winchesters in the inbetween moments, and it's the Winchesters as we don't get to see them - the quiet moments, the imperfect moments. Seriously, this episode makes them feel so much like real people - just, it's amazing.
Dean is upset that Sam filled half the cooler with Smoothies and not more beer... oh Dean.
Cas calls to give an update that he's been trying to find out if there's any associated or other cases they could check out in the area if this one turns into a bust... and basically Cas is bored, so they tell him to go watch some Netflix, and Cas doesn't know what Netflix is, so Sam is like "go to my room, turn on the tv..."
And guys, I just... I love this episode so much.. I love the thought of Cas vegging out in Sam's room binging on netflix.
Dean stops at a Roadhouse because he wants them to have a good time. Apparently it's the same place where he once hooked up with a hunter named Heather, who they met on a Wendigo hunt "a couple years back" (once again confirming that we never see all the cases.) Sam's not in the mood to party though, so he tells Dean he's going to go find an all night diner and research the lore.
Then, in the morning, Dean comes out to the car to find that he is NOT ALONE. There's a cute girl in the backseat, who is apparently on top of Sam. Awesome.
Again, so much love for this episode - because Sam and Dean basically GREW UP LIKE THIS. I mean, how much privacy do you think they had from each other at any given time? Maybe more when John was around? But, since Sam left Stanford, probably nada.
And so, once Sam says by to the girl and puts on some clothes, they hit the road, and Dean can't help but tease Sam by playing Night Moves by Bob Seger and miming singing along - changing "my 60' chevy" to "my brother's 67' chevy" when they line comes up. And Sam laughs and sings long too, and everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.
Seriously, this sequence is probably my favourite of all time. I also love how Dean calls Sam "Samuel" and Sam tells him "it's Sam." I can't really articulate why I love that moment so much, I just do - it's like Sam's taking the epicness out of his name. It's also reminiscent of Sam correcting Dean's use of "Sammy" in the pilot, only these days Sam likes it when Dean calls him Sammy.
But yes, best sequence ever. They are so SMILEY. And the thing is that you can imagine that this is an aspect of nearly every road-trip they take - that probably even in some of the more angstier episodes and darkest times in their life, there were still moments like these on the road where they sang along to a song and laughed and loved each other. Ugh, my heart.
Eventually, Sam talks about Piper, and how he tried to give her his number, but she only wanted the one night stand. Sam asks Dean if he's ever wanted something more - like, not marriage - but, just a girlfriend who is a hunter and understands the life or something. Dean doesn't think that's in the cards, and then tells Sam to get some sleep.
And then we get Sam waking up to find SURPRISE JOHN WINCHESTER!
I was not spoiled for that at all!!! It's young John! (ie: Matt Cohen!) That's so awesome. I also loved the way they framed the shots of John in this scene, because it's all sort of close-ups on different parts of his face - and to me, it was sort of like we were looking at him through Sam's eyes, and even though Sam didn't believe it was actually John, I think he must have been drinking in the sight of him - seeing him after all these years, but young, had to have been weird for Sam.
Anyway, the show did a really good job with keeping us in the dark about Matt Cohen being on this episode! Was his name in the opening credits? I never read them, so I don't actually know.
John tells Sam that it looks like Dean's been looking after the car well, and looking after Sam well. He reiterates that he never wanted this life for Sam and Dean. Sam doesn't believe it's really John though, and tells him as much, and John says, "Never could fool you, could I?" and OH MY GOD WHO IS IT?! IS IT GOD? LUCIFER? Can Lucifer even communicate from the cage? That line makes me think that it's someone who Sam has met before, but the last time Sam met God, God DID fool him. (If we're to accept Chuck=God as canon). I don't know!
John tells Sam that he came with a message - "The darkness is coming and only you boys can stop it." - which isn't a surprise at all. He also tells Sam that "God helps those that help themselves."
Sam wakes with a start to find that he's in the backseat of the Impala, where Dean has pulled off the road for the night. Dean tells Sam that he was singing in his sleep - a song that their Dad used to play for their mother. Awww....
Sam tells Dean about the vision, and when Dean asks him how he knew it wasn't Dad, Sam says that he "told me everything I wanted to hear" and Dean laughs and agrees that it doesn't sound like their father. Oh man, feelings.
Then Sam comes clean about everything - about how he might be having visions, and that they started after he prayed to God. And once he admits that he prayed to God, he's gotta tell Dean that he got infected by the darkness-disease in the hospital... Dean is not pleased that he's only finding out about this now.
Dean scoffs at the "God helps those..." quote because that wasn't actually said by God, it's a saying that goes back to the Asop. At Sam's flat look, Dean says "what? I read." Again, I just love how both Winchesters are actually geniuses at what they do and extremely smart on top of that.
Dean tells Sam that he dreams of their dad all the time. Only it's always the same dream - John's teaching Dean to drive when he's 16, instead of when Dean was "little" like he actually did. And MAN, I want to know how "little" is "little" He had to be able to reach the pedals, I guess, but I do wonder. I have a friend who learned to drive when he was 8, but that was because he learned to drive on farm equipment.
Sam then tells Dean that he often dreams of their mother. MAN, this is all so awesome character-wise. That Sam has such a connection to Mary, even though he has no memories of her before her death, and has only met her twice since then - if you don't count the hallucination of her while he was detoxing in 4x21.
And then, just in case that conversation wasn't awesome enough, we get Sam saying "Goodnight, Jerk" and Dean replying with a "'night, Bitch" and everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.
So, the actual case seem to be an actual case - because the heart was eaten and the body was drained of blood. Dean wants to call it a "werepire", Sam is not impressed. Dean's feelings are hurt.
The deputy recommends a restaurant and when they get there there's valet parking. Seems KINDA WEIRD, given that it doesn't seem to be that big of a town, and it also looks like there's a parking lot right in front of the place. That's my one complaint about this episode is that they should have either chosen a different location or had a FULL parking lot outside of the place so it would make sense for the valet to have to take the car off site.
Also, it's kinda funny for the valet to take the car on a joy-ride, when she knows she only has the length of a meal to have fun with it. It makes more sense for that sort of thing to happen in hotels where the guest is staying overnight and the valet is closed between 11pm and 7am. But WHATEVER.
The valet just takes the car and picks up her friend and then does donuts in an abandoned lot. And it's hardly the worst that's going to happen to the car in this episode... but the car does acquire her friends purse. Which joins Piper's hairpin from eariler - and I love the way the car actually acquires things that they'll need to solve the case and/or survive.
Dean drives the car out to the crime scene, because something isn't sitting right with him, while Sam talks with the victim's family. Cas calls Dean to tell him what he thinks the monster might be - only, while Cas is talking, the deputy attacks Dean. It's a pretty hilarious sequence, and again, I just love it because we see the clumsy bits of it, and the little inbetween bits. It's great.
Dean tries silver, doesn't work, and then beheads the deputy, but he's still alive! So he puts the head in the cooler and takes a picture and sends it to Cas so he can look it up.
Sam calls and he's also gotten jumped. Dean goes to pick him up. He also picks up Mrs. Markham, the victims wife, who Sam rescued from the monsters.
Cas comes through and tells them that it's basically a ghoul-pire. You kill them by shoving a copy coin in their mouth and beheading them, and if you do that with the alpha then it cues all those he's turned.
I can't remember where they were - maybe a motel? But Sam goes inside to talk to the person behind the desk, and it's just Dean and Mrs. Markham in the car... and Dean thinks she's freaked out by the head in the box, so he puts it in the trunk, but then she starts going on about how "you would do anything for your family" and it's like a neon sign saying I AM A MONSTER, but Dean doesn't catch on until she attacks and kicks him until he's unconscious in the back - then she steals the car, and finally that's when Sam notices that something is wrong and comes out and shoots out the back window, but she escapes.
She puts the deputies head back on, and then the deputy is driving the car and monologues to Dean about everything. He's turned 16 people in the past month in anticipation for the coming of The Darkness. Also, he's sent Sam into a trap.
Dean meanwhile, finds Piper's hairpin and picks his cuffs, and then makes the deputy crash ther car, sending the deputy out the windshield and Mrs. Markham into the front wheel well.
Then it's an epic fight in which the drivers side windows get busted out. Dean finds the valet's friends' purse and there are coins inside. He shoves them down the deputy's throat and then uses the car door to behead him. GROSS!
Mrs. Markham is cured and wants to go find her kids (I love how she doesn't seem to care that she killed her husband) and Dean does a really cool reverse 180 on the road.
They go drop off Mrs. Markham and pick up Sam, who certainly looks like he walked into a trap.
I love how Dean rushes out of the car, even though he's also been beaten, and helps Sam to the passenger side. So Dean.
Dean tells Sam about what the deputy said about recruiting to fight the darkness, Sam says he knows - and Dean says not to worry, because they'll "end this thing now" and Sam is like "uh, do you mind if we start tomorrow?" And Dean is like, "right, sure, we'll go get Cas to heal you first." and Sam is like "you too" and Dean is like "OK MOM!" And I love it, because that's the second time this season that Dean's referred to Sam as "mom" and Sam DREAMS about their mom, and it makes me wonder if they're doing this on purpose for some reason.
Dean then says "let's go home" and Sam pats the dash and says "we are home!" and everything is beautiful...
...except for poor Baby, who needs a LOT of TLC now.
Really really great episode. So much to love, that I don't think I did it justice at all.
Tune in next week for an episode related to a promo that I didn't see and will have to go look up on the internet!
Okay, first, the bad news - medical mystery #1 has struck again, and I'm currently ill. So, there was no drinking tonight. That being said, I'm sure I've forgotten just as much as usual and will be just as ridiculous - only this time it will be low-grade fever induced rather than alcohol induced!
Man, though, what a good episode - it was so good, that I think it actually made me feel physically better for having watched it.
So, let's talk about it!
The opening shot, i was totally like "what the hell?!?!" because WHAT'S HAPPENED TO BABY?!
Oh, I should mention that although I do try to avoid spoilers, it was nearly impossible to avoid the spoiler of what the concept of this episode was - and that's fine - I was MUCH ANTICIPATING IT!
Anyway, then we cut to 48 hours earlier, and Dean is washing the car. Guys, it has been 11 years, and I finally get a car wash scene! I know people laugh about my desire for a car wash scene and make it about seeing the boys in wet t-shirts or something, but, for me, it's honestly more about te domesticity of it. It's the same reason I absolutely love scenes where they are brushing their teeth. I'm sure I'd also love scenes where they're washing the dishes or vacuuming.
Anyway, although Jensen was cruel and teased that he actually WAS wearing short-shorts in this scene and we didn't even get to see them - I still enjoyed the heck out of this scene, especially since Sam comes in and just immediately starts washing the car too, while he talks to Dean.
Cas, apparently, still needs time to heal, while Dean is getting restless - so Sam mentions that there's a thin chance of a case in Oregon, and then it's OFF TO OREGON!
And it's raining on Dean's freshly washed car. I loved his "figures."
I also loved how Dean still gives the line that would mean a cut to commerical or the next scene, but instead we just stay in the car while Sam puts the laptop away and reaches back for a smoothie.
And man, this is what I love about this episode, it's the Winchesters in the inbetween moments, and it's the Winchesters as we don't get to see them - the quiet moments, the imperfect moments. Seriously, this episode makes them feel so much like real people - just, it's amazing.
Dean is upset that Sam filled half the cooler with Smoothies and not more beer... oh Dean.
Cas calls to give an update that he's been trying to find out if there's any associated or other cases they could check out in the area if this one turns into a bust... and basically Cas is bored, so they tell him to go watch some Netflix, and Cas doesn't know what Netflix is, so Sam is like "go to my room, turn on the tv..."
And guys, I just... I love this episode so much.. I love the thought of Cas vegging out in Sam's room binging on netflix.
Dean stops at a Roadhouse because he wants them to have a good time. Apparently it's the same place where he once hooked up with a hunter named Heather, who they met on a Wendigo hunt "a couple years back" (once again confirming that we never see all the cases.) Sam's not in the mood to party though, so he tells Dean he's going to go find an all night diner and research the lore.
Then, in the morning, Dean comes out to the car to find that he is NOT ALONE. There's a cute girl in the backseat, who is apparently on top of Sam. Awesome.
Again, so much love for this episode - because Sam and Dean basically GREW UP LIKE THIS. I mean, how much privacy do you think they had from each other at any given time? Maybe more when John was around? But, since Sam left Stanford, probably nada.
And so, once Sam says by to the girl and puts on some clothes, they hit the road, and Dean can't help but tease Sam by playing Night Moves by Bob Seger and miming singing along - changing "my 60' chevy" to "my brother's 67' chevy" when they line comes up. And Sam laughs and sings long too, and everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.
Seriously, this sequence is probably my favourite of all time. I also love how Dean calls Sam "Samuel" and Sam tells him "it's Sam." I can't really articulate why I love that moment so much, I just do - it's like Sam's taking the epicness out of his name. It's also reminiscent of Sam correcting Dean's use of "Sammy" in the pilot, only these days Sam likes it when Dean calls him Sammy.
But yes, best sequence ever. They are so SMILEY. And the thing is that you can imagine that this is an aspect of nearly every road-trip they take - that probably even in some of the more angstier episodes and darkest times in their life, there were still moments like these on the road where they sang along to a song and laughed and loved each other. Ugh, my heart.
Eventually, Sam talks about Piper, and how he tried to give her his number, but she only wanted the one night stand. Sam asks Dean if he's ever wanted something more - like, not marriage - but, just a girlfriend who is a hunter and understands the life or something. Dean doesn't think that's in the cards, and then tells Sam to get some sleep.
And then we get Sam waking up to find SURPRISE JOHN WINCHESTER!
I was not spoiled for that at all!!! It's young John! (ie: Matt Cohen!) That's so awesome. I also loved the way they framed the shots of John in this scene, because it's all sort of close-ups on different parts of his face - and to me, it was sort of like we were looking at him through Sam's eyes, and even though Sam didn't believe it was actually John, I think he must have been drinking in the sight of him - seeing him after all these years, but young, had to have been weird for Sam.
Anyway, the show did a really good job with keeping us in the dark about Matt Cohen being on this episode! Was his name in the opening credits? I never read them, so I don't actually know.
John tells Sam that it looks like Dean's been looking after the car well, and looking after Sam well. He reiterates that he never wanted this life for Sam and Dean. Sam doesn't believe it's really John though, and tells him as much, and John says, "Never could fool you, could I?" and OH MY GOD WHO IS IT?! IS IT GOD? LUCIFER? Can Lucifer even communicate from the cage? That line makes me think that it's someone who Sam has met before, but the last time Sam met God, God DID fool him. (If we're to accept Chuck=God as canon). I don't know!
John tells Sam that he came with a message - "The darkness is coming and only you boys can stop it." - which isn't a surprise at all. He also tells Sam that "God helps those that help themselves."
Sam wakes with a start to find that he's in the backseat of the Impala, where Dean has pulled off the road for the night. Dean tells Sam that he was singing in his sleep - a song that their Dad used to play for their mother. Awww....
Sam tells Dean about the vision, and when Dean asks him how he knew it wasn't Dad, Sam says that he "told me everything I wanted to hear" and Dean laughs and agrees that it doesn't sound like their father. Oh man, feelings.
Then Sam comes clean about everything - about how he might be having visions, and that they started after he prayed to God. And once he admits that he prayed to God, he's gotta tell Dean that he got infected by the darkness-disease in the hospital... Dean is not pleased that he's only finding out about this now.
Dean scoffs at the "God helps those..." quote because that wasn't actually said by God, it's a saying that goes back to the Asop. At Sam's flat look, Dean says "what? I read." Again, I just love how both Winchesters are actually geniuses at what they do and extremely smart on top of that.
Dean tells Sam that he dreams of their dad all the time. Only it's always the same dream - John's teaching Dean to drive when he's 16, instead of when Dean was "little" like he actually did. And MAN, I want to know how "little" is "little" He had to be able to reach the pedals, I guess, but I do wonder. I have a friend who learned to drive when he was 8, but that was because he learned to drive on farm equipment.
Sam then tells Dean that he often dreams of their mother. MAN, this is all so awesome character-wise. That Sam has such a connection to Mary, even though he has no memories of her before her death, and has only met her twice since then - if you don't count the hallucination of her while he was detoxing in 4x21.
And then, just in case that conversation wasn't awesome enough, we get Sam saying "Goodnight, Jerk" and Dean replying with a "'night, Bitch" and everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.
So, the actual case seem to be an actual case - because the heart was eaten and the body was drained of blood. Dean wants to call it a "werepire", Sam is not impressed. Dean's feelings are hurt.
The deputy recommends a restaurant and when they get there there's valet parking. Seems KINDA WEIRD, given that it doesn't seem to be that big of a town, and it also looks like there's a parking lot right in front of the place. That's my one complaint about this episode is that they should have either chosen a different location or had a FULL parking lot outside of the place so it would make sense for the valet to have to take the car off site.
Also, it's kinda funny for the valet to take the car on a joy-ride, when she knows she only has the length of a meal to have fun with it. It makes more sense for that sort of thing to happen in hotels where the guest is staying overnight and the valet is closed between 11pm and 7am. But WHATEVER.
The valet just takes the car and picks up her friend and then does donuts in an abandoned lot. And it's hardly the worst that's going to happen to the car in this episode... but the car does acquire her friends purse. Which joins Piper's hairpin from eariler - and I love the way the car actually acquires things that they'll need to solve the case and/or survive.
Dean drives the car out to the crime scene, because something isn't sitting right with him, while Sam talks with the victim's family. Cas calls Dean to tell him what he thinks the monster might be - only, while Cas is talking, the deputy attacks Dean. It's a pretty hilarious sequence, and again, I just love it because we see the clumsy bits of it, and the little inbetween bits. It's great.
Dean tries silver, doesn't work, and then beheads the deputy, but he's still alive! So he puts the head in the cooler and takes a picture and sends it to Cas so he can look it up.
Sam calls and he's also gotten jumped. Dean goes to pick him up. He also picks up Mrs. Markham, the victims wife, who Sam rescued from the monsters.
Cas comes through and tells them that it's basically a ghoul-pire. You kill them by shoving a copy coin in their mouth and beheading them, and if you do that with the alpha then it cues all those he's turned.
I can't remember where they were - maybe a motel? But Sam goes inside to talk to the person behind the desk, and it's just Dean and Mrs. Markham in the car... and Dean thinks she's freaked out by the head in the box, so he puts it in the trunk, but then she starts going on about how "you would do anything for your family" and it's like a neon sign saying I AM A MONSTER, but Dean doesn't catch on until she attacks and kicks him until he's unconscious in the back - then she steals the car, and finally that's when Sam notices that something is wrong and comes out and shoots out the back window, but she escapes.
She puts the deputies head back on, and then the deputy is driving the car and monologues to Dean about everything. He's turned 16 people in the past month in anticipation for the coming of The Darkness. Also, he's sent Sam into a trap.
Dean meanwhile, finds Piper's hairpin and picks his cuffs, and then makes the deputy crash ther car, sending the deputy out the windshield and Mrs. Markham into the front wheel well.
Then it's an epic fight in which the drivers side windows get busted out. Dean finds the valet's friends' purse and there are coins inside. He shoves them down the deputy's throat and then uses the car door to behead him. GROSS!
Mrs. Markham is cured and wants to go find her kids (I love how she doesn't seem to care that she killed her husband) and Dean does a really cool reverse 180 on the road.
They go drop off Mrs. Markham and pick up Sam, who certainly looks like he walked into a trap.
I love how Dean rushes out of the car, even though he's also been beaten, and helps Sam to the passenger side. So Dean.
Dean tells Sam about what the deputy said about recruiting to fight the darkness, Sam says he knows - and Dean says not to worry, because they'll "end this thing now" and Sam is like "uh, do you mind if we start tomorrow?" And Dean is like, "right, sure, we'll go get Cas to heal you first." and Sam is like "you too" and Dean is like "OK MOM!" And I love it, because that's the second time this season that Dean's referred to Sam as "mom" and Sam DREAMS about their mom, and it makes me wonder if they're doing this on purpose for some reason.
Dean then says "let's go home" and Sam pats the dash and says "we are home!" and everything is beautiful...
...except for poor Baby, who needs a LOT of TLC now.
Really really great episode. So much to love, that I don't think I did it justice at all.
Tune in next week for an episode related to a promo that I didn't see and will have to go look up on the internet!