Supernatural – Dude … that was sweet

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have to say it again. One of the great strengths of the team down at Supernatural HQ is how well they do comedy. Not just how well they do it, but how well they mix it in with the more serious parts of the story. “Meat Swap” was yet another in the ever growing list of episodes that take full advantage of those abilities. We had a very cool story that reminded us of the situation the boys find themselves in, while offering up a whole bag of funny bits. And since I’m already repeating myself, I’ll just add one more time: “Best show on television.”

Starting with the yuks…. The Freaky Friday gag is certainly not new. Lots of shows have done their own take on it, but it still worked amazingly well here. The best part of that was probably the opening scene, where we got to see Jared Padalecki as Gary, in Sam’s body. So excited to be 26 … ordering a banana daiquiri … and best of all … “Crystal, I would love to have the sex with you.” Somewhere out there is a Sam fan named Crystal that is going to have an awesome ringtone very shortly.

That’s not to say that the other bits weren’t good. There were a ton of great ones. Sam laying into Gary’s dad about the plan; one leather jacket, one sasquatch; the return of Busty Asian Beauties; Gary admiring his new muscles and saying “Bring it..”; demon Nora (Sarah Drew, Everwood) recognizing Sam, “Aren’t you just 98 pounds of nothin.” The whole thing was very fun.

On the other side of the coin, we also had a quick reminder of just where things stand for Sam and Dean. Lucifer is upping his game, putting an open bounty on Dean’s head. It reminds me a bit of Smokin’ Aces. Although, it could just be that I can’t get this picture from Smokin’ Aces: Assassin’s Ball out of my head…. Speaking of which, who do we have to talk to to get Autumn Reeser (The O.C.) a guest spot on Supernatural? But I’ve gone off the track there. Apologies. And you’re welcome for the photo.

The point is, tensions are building. The forces working against the boys are only getting bigger, and more powerful. Fortunately, it would seem that they are in a much stronger spot as well. The family dramas seem to have been quelled, putting them in the best position to make a go of this. That part of it led to a couple surprises for me.

I didn’t think Sam would consider just staying in Gary’s (Colton James) body and being done with the whole thing. At this point, there is way too much on the line, and he’s far too committed to seeing it through. However, it wouldn’t have surprised me to see Gary’s tune change completely once he got a look at just what he meat swapped into. He took the change of venue surprisingly well.

The bigger surprise came from Sam’s little pow-wow with Gary at the end. It set the stage for another serious conversation to close the episode where they ponder the could have-beens; how Gary’s life could actually be better. That seemingly building tension was quickly defused when Sam looked to Dean, “I lied. Kid’s life sucks.” That is so not the Sam we used to know, but I do believe it’s the Sam that can stop the apocalypse.

Finally, if all of that wasn’t enough, next week Matt Cohen (South Of Nowhere) and Amy Gumenick (Castle, in March) return as young John and Mary. How cool is that?

Clacked by Brett Love
on Jan 28, 2010 @ 23:20 EST5EDT