I really don’t understand what The CW was thinking when they decided a two month break in the middle of the season was a good idea. Surely they could have sprinkled a couple new episodes in there somewhere to keep things moving along. Or maybe they are playing the “absence makes the TV viewing mind grow fonder” game. It’s a little harder to argue with that one, because I was positively giddy waiting for a new Supernatural episode to finally be starting. However … if you’re going to go away for two months, you better come back big. And boy did they.
Were you expecting a big mythology episode for the return? Maybe something with Castiel? Lucifer? Truth be told, I was. It seemed like the logical payoff to the long wait. Unfortunately, as we all now know, that wasn’t to be. On the brighter side though, as is so often the case, the (mostly) stand-alone episode that we did get to see was so good that it didn’t really matter. We’ll all wait patiently to get back to the bigger picture later.
There was just so much to like about “Sam, Interrupted.” It had that perfect blend of mystery, action, creepy, and laughs. Seriously, if you didn’t laugh out loud at “Pudding!!!!” (then rewind … and laugh out loud again) well, you’re doing it wrong and should seek professional help. Just not at Glenwood Springs. I was also rather amused to see someone (Dr. Fuller — Malcolm Stewart) finally pondering one of the outlandish names (Babar) the boys use.
On the mystery/action/creepy front, I really liked everything about this particular monster of the week. Although, it did leave me with one odd question. Was it just me, and my particular cable reception, or did Nurse Ratchet (Lara Gilchrist) flash the demon eyes when we first met her? Intentional or not, it had me fumbling through the whole episode. I immediately pegged her for the baddie when I saw it, but was then thrown off the scent when Dean saw Dr. Fuller in the mirror. Then I totally bought into Sam’s Wendy theory. All the while, I was conjuring ideas for just what the demon-nurse was doing there. It all made for quite the mystery.
A mystery that paid off very well. The only thing better than Nurse Ratchet, the brain sucking wraith, was the inclusion of Jon Gries (The Pretender) as Martin. He’s good in everything, but Martin was really just right in his wheelhouse. And if you think about it, it’s not a terribly difficult jump to think that this is what became of Broots. New identity, goes off the grid, gets mixed up in a big bag of trouble. Also worth noting if we are digging into past roles, Lara Gilchrist has been on Supernatural before, playing Holly in season one’s “Scarecrow.”
Of course, the crazy monster was just a start for the show. The real treat was in what we learned about Sam and Dean, thanks to their newfound levels of the crazy. I have to say, it was just a little darker than I expected. That’s not to say it was shocking; this has all been brewing for a very long time. It’s really one of the great strengths of the show, the way they have slowly built to everything we are seeing now. Still, to see both Sam and Dean dealing with their innermost fears in such a dark manner felt a little odd. It’s really not the picture that we’re used to seeing drawn for our heroes on television. And that’s a good thing.
Dean getting the riot act from Dr. Cartwright (Michelle Harrison) was surprising when it happened, and almost tragic when it was revealed that all of that was in his head. Add that to Sam’s admission that it really is him and it’s inside him, and Dean’s solution of burying all that crap, and it’s a very bleak picture indeed. And it gets right back to the conversation between Dean and Cartwright in the hallway. It is a crushing weight to have on their shoulders. But at the end of the day, there’s still a damn biblical apocalypse, and if they don’t stop it, everyone is going to die. It’s that much more momentum added to the ever-building story, and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. It’s great to have Supernatural back.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Jan 22, 2010 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
Glad I’m not the only one that thought they saw the demon eyes. Rewound that scene and watched it about three times to point it out to my wife. Not sure if it was intentional or just poor lighting.
*POST AUTHOR*
I went back and looked at it again too. You could make a pretty good case that it was a combination of dark makeup around her eyes combined with some iffy lighting. Flashing by in real time though, it really looked like the demon eyes.
If she hadn’t ended up being the enemy in the end, I would agree with that suggestion, but it had to be intentional. If we all saw it, that means the editors saw it too, and if it wasn’t supposed to be there, they would have used another shot.
Pudding!!!! LOL