photo: cw
Supernatural
Two and a Half Men
Original Air Date: Oct 1, 2010
Alyssa Silva – TwoCents Reviewer
alyssa@thetwocentscorp.com
It’s the one with the baby. Which means it was equal parts funny and kind of messy (emotionally that is). This review is going to be about the plot, and then about the characters themselves. So first up, plot.
Sam’s hunting down a lead solo in Michigan while Gramps is back at the safe house trying to figure out modern technology. Four families have been slaughtered, the babies taken, and Sam discovers that all the houses have had their alarms installed by the same security company. Gramps and him deduce who the next target is and Sam expertly picks the lock to discover that the parents are dead. Someone lunges out at him and he strikes with a silver knife, which causes the intruder’s flesh to sizzle. Shape shifter. Sam lets Shifty get away and discovers a baby in the kitchen.
He calls Dean, who has since moved into a new house so that Lisa and Ben can be “safer”. Dean’s got the posse on lockdown and freaks out when he catches Ben playing with his sawed off. Ben says he wants to be a hunter and Dean states very clearly that Ben is never going to hold a gun as long as he’s alive. In any case Dean agrees to meet Sam after hearing about the baby.
Can I just say the sight of Sam and Dean with a little one is just too hilarious for words? Considering how many times these two have been mistaken for a couple I’m surprised this wasn’t mentioned but oh well. They discover that Shifty has been following them after it tries to snatch young Bobby John (BJ) from them as their buying baby supplies. They escape but Shifty, in the guise of an old lady, catches sight of Sam’s license plate. They end up at a motel where they soon discover that the baby is actually a shape shifter when it…explodes and becomes African-American. They also find out Shifty’s been impersonating the husband’s of each of the slaughtered families and impregnating the wives. So that explains BJ.
After fending off Shifty (now playing a police officer) the Winchesters head over to the safe house to reconvene with Gramps despite Dean’s misgivings. After finding out that two of the third cousins from the first episode are trying for a kid (erm, incest much?) Gramps decides to hand over the baby to Arleen and Christian to raise him like their own.
Dean’s protests are interrupted when Shifty storms into the safe house dressed up as Gramps. Dean, Sam and BJ escape to the panic room. Mark gets his neck snapped (not Samtastic!) before Shifty brushes off everyone to make his way towards Dean, shifting into Dean before grabbing BJ from Dean’s choking arms. Turns out Shifty’s the Alpha, the numero uno shape shifter from which all the others have spawned from. After a noticeable lack of any kind of mourning for poor dead Mark, we see Gramps on the phone with someone mysterious saying how he couldn’t deliver the Alpha. Seems like Gramps is working for someone collecting monsters. Hmm. Intrigue.
Dean returns back to Lisa and Ben and finally realizes that playing Soccer Mum doesn’t really make him all that happy. With Lisa’s blessing, and an open door policy, he uncovers the Impala at the end. Thank God.
Now the characters. This episode focused more on Dean and how he didn’t want to be his father. We saw the more paternal side to Dean and also the evolution of his character. In prior seasons we’ve seen the connection Dean’s made with children and this season we see how Dean relates to a child he considers his son. But John Winchester’s shadow rears its ugly head and it’s Daddy that plays a major part in Dean returning back to his hunting ways. As Sam pointed out Ben moving around, being on lock down, claiming that this would all be temporary – Dean’s become the prison guard John had been, something that Dean desperately wants to avoid. In a way it showcases the struggle that’s always simmered under the surface of Dean trying to be his own man despite the fact that a large part of who he is largely due to John.
We also saw the continuing lack of trust between Dean and Sam. Dean doesn’t know whether the Sam in front of him is really Sam considering that no one knows who brought him back from Hell. It’s striking when you compare the Winchesters when they first started out, and how they are now. In any case Dean doesn’t seem to want to put his faith in any of the Campbells since they remain largely an unknown factor. Despite Sam’s belief in Gramps and the crew, Dean thinks there’s a little too much mystery in this family for him to get comfy.
What did you think about this episode? Do you think Dean should have stayed with Lisa and Ben? Do you think Gramps is up to no good? Will Sam and Dean ever trust each other completely again? And where is Castiel? Give me your TwoCents!
Next Week: The Third Man
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