[FarscapeOne]

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.

[Lord of the Sword]

Yes, we got some rock music....Not much but it's a step back in the right direction.

This episode was pretty good, but more or less a filler. I was wondering if the demons would try and get the kid inside Sam's body to say Yes to Lucifer. Nice way around that whole having to say yes bit.

I also found it amusing that the brothers got beaten, for all intensive purposes, by a 17 year old kid.

It did have it's plot holes though...Like how the other two kids were able to transport Sam, in the kid's body, while he was unconscious, from the school. In today's world...two kid's trying to make off with another who is unconscious would've been noticed.

I'm also a little surprised it took Dean so long to realize it wasn't Sam.

The kid backing the Metallicar into the dumpster....Priceless.

As was Dean's line of If the kid was of voting age they would have killed him.

[FarscapeOne]

YES!!!! We did get some Seger!!!!

[BklnScott]

Again -- fun, funny, and very well arced. This was for all intents and purposes a stand-alone, but the stand-alone plot fed back into the arc in an interesting way that enhanced the suspense.

Were we supposed to know who the demon in the girl's body was?

[cylkoth]

Lord of the Sword, on Jan 28 2010, 10:16 PM, said:

I'm also a little surprised it took Dean so long to realize it wasn't Sam.

I was wondering whether it was fair of me to demand that Dean put things together faster than he did. They've been though so much, that part of me was screaming at him for not being the least bit suspicious over the anti-Sam behavior.

[Lord of the Sword]

cylkoth, on Jan 28 2010, 11:36 PM, said:

I was wondering whether it was fair of me to demand that Dean put things together faster than he did. They've been though so much, that part of me was screaming at him for not being the least bit suspicious over the anti-Sam behavior.

I was thinking the same. Sam and Dean KNOW each other. Dean should've put it together a helluva lot faster then he did.

Also...Since when did Dean get so fluent in Latin? and the exorcism rituals? He usually needed the book with the incantation to do it. Sam was always the one who was fluent and rarely needed the book.

[BklnScott]

I diunno, I thought Dean figured it out pretty quickly -- it was at the bar. What were the clues before that? He didn't turn his nose up at the classic Rock radio station? Seems kinda flimsy, even in the context of this show's world.

Dean wasn't fluent in the Latin, by the way. The kid in Sam's body had to do half of the incantation, and had to correct part of what Dean did do.

[NeuralClone]

BklnScott, on Jan 28 2010, 11:34 PM, said:

Again -- fun, funny, and very well arced. This was for all intents and purposes a stand-alone, but the stand-alone plot fed back into the arc in an interesting way that enhanced the suspense.

Were we supposed to know who the demon in the girl's body was?

No, I'm pretty sure it was just some unnamed demon. The demon was powerful but I didn't get the impression that it was a major player. If it had been someone like Meg, who's really the only major player left after season 4 that we actually know, Sam and Dean would have recognized her. And Meg would have made sure to let them know it was her. On top of that, she would have slaughtered all of them rather quickly (after gloating about catching them of course).

I thought this was pretty good as well. It wasn't one of their strongest episodes but I did like how it played out and how it connected to the main arc. Some really funny stuff. The way someone can push Sam out of his body and then be forced to say yes to Lucifer is definitely noteworthy. It just goes to show how little it would take for Lucifer to obtain his vessel.

Also, Scott, this style of doing somewhat standalone episodes that then tie into the main storyline/character arcs somehow is pretty typical of the show. They started doing a lot of this way back in season 2, and to a lesser extent, season 1. It's rather subtle back then but most episodes in seasons 2, 3, and 4 are important to the overall story. Season 4 is the season that really starts the heavy arc but there's definitely an arc in seasons before that. The buildup and foreshadowing for the current storyline is rather impressive on this show.

Season 1 -- the search for their father and the introduction of Azazel and Meg
Season 2 -- recovering from their father's death, the hunt for Azazel, additional hints about Sam's powers/purpose, as well as more information about the other children like him; death of Azazel
Season 3 -- the race to find a way to save Dean from his fate of going to hell, the introduction of Lilith (the first demon) and Ruby, and foreshadowing the rising of Lucifer; despite everything they try, Dean still ends up in hell
Season 4 -- Dean saved from hell, introduction of the angels, Lilith starts breaking the seals due to what Dean did in hell, and Sam starts the apocalypse

BklnScott, on Jan 29 2010, 08:58 AM, said:

I diunno, I thought Dean figured it out pretty quickly -- it was at the bar. What were the clues before that? He didn't turn his nose up at the classic Rock radio station? Seems kinda flimsy, even in the context of this show's world.

Dean wasn't fluent in the Latin, by the way. The kid in Sam's body had to do half of the incantation, and had to correct part of what Dean did do.

I agree. Dean has always seen Sam as a bit quirky and odd. So a small amount of odd behavior wouldn't really cause Dean to freak out. He'd likely see it as the norm for Sam. I think he was suspicious before the bar but just didn't have enough solid evidence to know for sure. He was waiting to confirm his suspicions. The stuff that happened in the bar did just that.

And yeah, Dean definitely wasn't fluent in Latin. The way he kept messing up and how Gary kept having to correct him was hilarious. I especially liked Dean's "adios, bitch" at the end.

This post has been edited by NeuralClone: 29 January 2010 - 09:38 AM

[Cybersnark]

There should totally be an exorcism rite that ends with "adios, bitch."

And we did get a hint of an ongoing arc; there's now a bounty on Dean, which makes for yet another reason to keep his head down.

If Dean really wanted to scare the kids, he should've told them about the apocalypse and the potential need for he and Sam to kill each other.

[Lord of the Sword]

BklnScott, on Jan 29 2010, 08:58 AM, said:

What were the clues before that?

His letting the maid in while their weapons were out. His not being able to drive the impala. His sudden change in the food he was eating. The way he was acting during the ghost hunt at the house. The bar is what sealed his suspicions, but IMO he had more then enough clues well before hand. I mean, given what the brothers deal with on a daily basis...those other clues should've filled dean in a lot quicker then they did.

I didn't realize the kid was correcting Dean. I'll have to watch it again, but I thought what was happening was when one would start to exorcise her, she attacked, causing that one to not be able to continue...so the other continued. She would attack the other, then either Dean or the kid continued, while the other was getting attacked.

[BklnScott]

Lord of the Sword, on Jan 29 2010, 11:37 AM, said:

BklnScott, on Jan 29 2010, 08:58 AM, said:

What were the clues before that?

His letting the maid in while their weapons were out.

= he's possessed? That's kind of a leap. It definitely = raised eyebrows. But he could have been in the shower.

Quote

His not being able to drive the impala. ... The way he was acting during the ghost hunt at the house.

Again -- raised eyebrows? Yes. "OK, something is up with Sam." But *of course* something is up with Sam. He started the apocalypse. He went crazy last week. They ended that ep with a disturbing acknowledgment of his anger. So something was already up with Sam when this episode began. Sam is changing -- and Dean is concerned about it.

Given that, how is Dean supposed to figure out from a couple of slightly off things that "Sam is NOT Sam?"

I snipped one because the food he was eating thing happened at the bar, where a bunch of things one after the other (the drinking, the food, the hooking up with the cougar) caused Dean to turn the corner.

BTW, I haven't seen all that many episodes of the show, but from what I've seen it couldn't be more clear that Dean is a little thick. Cut him some slack.

This post has been edited by BklnScott: 29 January 2010 - 12:50 PM

[NeuralClone]

BklnScott, on Jan 29 2010, 12:41 PM, said:

= he's possessed? That's kind of a leap. It definitely = raised eyebrows. But he could have been in the shower.

Not necessarily possessed but definitely way out of character. Sam and Dean never let in the maid. Ever. They mainly don't let the maid in due to the crazy stash of weapons they have and often bring into their rooms but also because the maid would be an easy way for a demon or something else to get in (e.g., someone could place hex bags somewhere in the room and then kill them remotely). But in this case I can see Dean seeing this mistake as Sam simply being a bit off his game due to everything that's going on.

Quote

BTW, I haven't seen all that many episodes of the show, but from what I've seen it couldn't be more clear that Dean is a little thick. Cut him some slack.

Well, I wouldn't go that far. Dean often puts on a somewhat clueless facade but it's largely an act. He's usually quite perceptive, especially when it comes to all things supernatural.

However, as far as Sam is concerned, Dean has always thought he's a little odd. And while the two of them know each other pretty well, they don't exactly share everything with each other. They're with each other every day but they also give each other a little space. Sam acting a bit odd for a few hours over the course of a day or two may not be enough to tip Dean off. Heck, my own brothers act a bit odd and seem out of character sometimes but I don't get them committed.

But, like I said before, I think Dean suspected something fairly early but wanted to let whatever it was that was controlling Sam mess up a little more before he confronted it. Sam was definitely acting odd but I agree that it wasn't enough for Dean to get on his case about it (more so than usual anyway).

This post has been edited by NeuralClone: 29 January 2010 - 01:36 PM

[Lambsilencer]

From what I read, I seem to be the only one not liking this episode. But to be honest, I thought this was rather stupid.

The reason lies fully in the fact that the actors weren't switched, only their mirror images. That makes it very hard to believe that Dean didn't see that it wasn't Sam, when we (the viewers) were seeing a totally different guy at his side. I think this story only could have worked great if Jared Padalecki would play the Gary in his body, and Colton James would have played the Sam in his body. Sometimes I really got distracted by re-thinking who was really who in this episode. And it would have been much more fun to see Padalecki play Gary, than just himself in a different body which we weren't looking at.

It had that "Ghost Whisperer" vibe from last season when Jim was in Sam's body, yet we were still seeing David Conrad, and Kenneth Mitchell only appeared as the original Sam in mirrors. I had my problems with that scenario back then, but got a bit over it since it was played out over many episodes (I didn't get over the fact that they just abandoned and betrayed that storyline in this season though, that's a whole other deal). But here, it really hindered the flow of the story. I personally think that Dean should have figured out earlier that something was wrong with Sam. But with him looking different to the viewer, it felt even harder to believe it would take him so long. As a viewer, I felt not being taken seriously here. Like I wasn't able to tell that Sam wasn't Sam unless I was looking at a different body.

As for the rest: Filler with some funny moments. And it had a rock music finish, which was nice.

But for this episode: A big, fat fail. Sorry to be blunt. But this really didn't work for me.

Greets
Lambsilencer

This post has been edited by Lambsilencer: 30 January 2010 - 05:22 AM

[Lord of the Sword]

What I found very interesting was that the body switch was even possible. Both Sam and Dean have those tattoos, which prevent them from being possessed. But it didn't work against this particular demonic spell. Which got me to thinking along these lines....If the kid who took over Sam's body could say Yes to Lucifier, and bypass Sam entirely...Then wouldn't a demon, who is possessing someone, be able to perform the very same spell the kid used, take control of Sam and then say Yes to Lucifer?

Also, I didn't pick up on this right away...But I kinda feel sorry for Dean. I mean he has Zachariah's human worshippers out looking for him. And not he has Satanic worshippers out looking for him as well.

[cylkoth]

I thought the tattoos Cas put on them, was to cloak them from being detected by either side, not to prevent possession.

[NeuralClone]

Well, there are the tattoos and then there are the Enochian sigils that Castiel literally carved into their ribcages. The tattoos prevent demon possession (similar to the charms that accomplish the same thing) and the Enochian sigils prevent angels, including Castiel and Lucifer, from being able to find them. The Winchesters got the tattoos on their own. Castiel kind of forced the Enochian sigils on them.

The problem with the tattoos is that a demon could theoretically capture the brothers and rip it off of them. Disgusting, I know, but plausible. Of course, demons would have to know about the tattoos in the first place. Whereas the sigils are completely hidden and are now part of the brothers' ribcages. To remove them you'd have to remove their ribs. And if you want them alive...

Fixed typos.

This post has been edited by NeuralClone: 30 January 2010 - 01:06 PM

[Cybersnark]

No, that was the Enochian runes he engraved on their bones. The tattoos were their own works.

And note that the mechanics of the body swap were different from a possession; in a possession, the original soul is suppressed. In a body swap, Sam is still awake and active, just driving another meatsuit. And we have only that black-eyes' assertion that a "yes" from Garry would've been binding. It's fully possible Lucifer would've rejected it as the technicality it was.

Also worth noting that we don't know how much set-up time that body-swap needed. Those meddling kids had been doing this for at least a week --they weren't actually looking for Dean, he just kinda stumbled into their clutches. It's possible that a "from-scratch" version would take long enough for the boys to get away (or would require extraordinary measures to keep them around).

[FlatlandDan]

I thought this was one of the weakest episodes I've seen of this show in quite some time. I wasn't very keen on the the main guest star and the whole store got old fast. It shouldn't have taken Dean that long to figure out something was wrong with Sam and confront him with it. It shouldn't have taken him that long to check his messages either. I was totally expecting a Bobby phone call or something but we didn't even get that. It really felt like two B stories put together to make an episode

Oh well, roll on next week!

[enTranced]

Add me to the chorus of not being all the crazy with this episode. Yes the adios, b*tch was funny but that line is a gimmie for Supernatural these days.

As well as what Lamb and FlatlandDan pointed out I am not to crazy with the cliched and very old way Supernatural looks at witches. I never have been but they were so very, very lame about it this week. So we should shoot Wiccans in the face now? Swell. I have friends that are Wiccans and all I could do was cringe....

And I marveled as Supernatural hit the pathetic virgin Star Wars fan humor button. *sigh* 1984 called and wants it's jokes back Supernatural. What you couldn't build a basement set fast enough?

I expect better from my TV shows and I expect MUCH better from Supernatural.

2/10. Adios b*tch, WAS funny after all....

Jeez now I feel a little dirty recommending this so much. Trust me, they can do better they HAVE been doing better!

enTranced

This post has been edited by enTranced: 02 February 2010 - 10:25 AM

[NeuralClone]

^ Er, this show got its start with folklore and urban legends. Its portrayal of witches is in line with that. They've also introduced spell books from priests that were into dark magic and has often mocked or made fun of religion in general. That's perfectly fine but it needs to be politically correct when it comes to Wiccans (who weren't even in this episode)? Ok... I really don't see how their portrayal in this episode is somehow worse than, oh I don't know, the witches in season 4, who brutally murdered innocent people to help raise Samhain. Or what about the corrupt witches in season 3 that got their power from a demon and killed in her name?

Seriously. How is this worse or more offensive than that? Some high school students stumbled upon a really dark book, used it for personal gain, and ended up in some deep sh*t. They weren't actual Wiccans and the show never said that they were. They were greedy, high school outcasts that thought they found a way to change their circumstances. Where's the all the offensive content in that?

This show isn't and never has been about the realistic portrayal of, well, much of anything, especially when it comes to the subject matter. It's a show about supernatural folklore, urban legends, and myths. Not all witches in this universe have been stated to be evil. It's just that the Winchesters fight the evil ones. So those are the ones we see and hear about.

This post has been edited by NeuralClone: 02 February 2010 - 10:47 AM