Quick Reaction: 6x04 Weekend at Bobby's

[hells_half_acre]

 Home again! Now let's talk about Jensen's DIRECTORIAL DEBUT!

Unfortunately for me, there was something wrong with the feed, and for the whole first 10-20 minutes of the episode, the dialog was at times a whole 6 seconds out of sync with the action. This made it very hard to watch and also EXTREMELY ANNOYING. Ugh! I only hope Jensen's working tonight and didn't try to watch his episode...whenever something in Canada fails, I always feel like I personally let down any foreigner who is disappointed by the failure. I don't know if I should hope it was a problem for the CW or not. I haven't read anyone else's review so I don't know if this happened in America as well.

Anyway, let's talk about the episode...it was so cool to see an episode from Bobby's POV. It was a nice break, and a fresh perspective. Ok, now...let's see...

Crowley! Again, the audio was all out of sync here, so I was spending most of my time going "PIECE OF CRAP WHAT THE HELL AARRRG!" and sadly because of this what was actually happening in the scene was sort of lost on me. That being said, it was a very interesting standoff...and I like Crowley being a scotch snob, and the whole black-lit devil's trap was GENIUS. 

Unfortunately, Crowley's being a demon and not giving Bobby his soul back...and he also brought his pet giant hellhound...so, Bobby has to let him go.

Then Sam and Dean are playing with a corpse by a playground...and wow, that's a really cool juxtaposition. Anyway, using the wonders of modern technology, Dean sends Bobby a picture of a fang, and orders Bobby to find out what it is...and Bobby is like "But...I've got things to do" only he doesn't say that...he says "Balls!" and then he says "Balls!" a lot more, and it's really a funny sequence.

Since when does Sioux Falls have a university? Wait...I just looked it up and Sioux Falls is a whole lot bigger than I thought it was...and does indeed have a university. Ok! Shows what I know.

Ok, so, Bobby says up until 5am and then phones Dean and tells him that he's hunting some Greek monster. He gives Dean ONE of the options for killing it and then Dean hangs up on him! Dean really shouldn't give Cas a hard time about his goodbyes...because really...

Meanwhile, this whole time, there's been a crossroads demon tied up in Bobby's basement! How in the heck did he get her from the crossroads to his basement? That's what I want to know. 

Here the stupid audio problem worked in my favour, because I was so distracted by counting how many seconds the dialog was delayed by (so that I could complain about it properly in this post), I forgot to ask questions like "What is Bobby doing that can hurt a demon? What was in that bag? What kind of voodoo is this?"

By the way, in case there was any doubt, Bobby is a BAMF.

Neighbour lady shows up to hit on Bobby. She is adorable and in way over her head. I loved the "Dragged to Hell line"

Rufus shows up. I absolutely love the way Bobby and Rufus talk to each other. I think it's what I love about this show in general...everyone is so realistic. They feel like actual people. Whoa, deja vu...I may have typed that exact thing more than once.

But I like Rufus telling Bobby that he's not asking for his permission to help him. I also love Rufus describing the scotch and saying "What? I'm not a heathen!" Hahahaha...I love unexpected snobbery.

Also, Asian monsters! Something weird is going on...

A note on Fergus...which is Crowley's real name. I LOVE the fact that they named him Fergus, and I'll tell you why. In Celtic mythology, there's this Queen named Maeve (Medb), and my favorite part of her legend is that "it took seven men to satisfy her, or Fergus once." Very in keeping with what our dear Fergus MacLeod (Crowley) supposedly sold his soul for, no? Haha

Anyway, on with the show...an ACTUAL FBI agent shows up with everyone's favorite Sheriff. I think Bobby and the Sheriff should totally get together...you know, once she's done grieving the death of her husband.

I loved Bobby disguising his monster-killing advice as a recipe. Really nicely done...I also liked the brief shot of Sam being thrown into a post. I like the fact that we never actually SEE the monster that Sam and Dean are fighting.

I loved the lines about how Bobby has a body in the basement and a body outside too...and the Sheriff is just like "ugh, Bobby!" but is so hip to the Hunting stuff now that she doesn't even question it. I wonder how many bodies Bobby has buried around his property...it's probably very serial killer-ish of him.

Luckily, or not, the body has ESCAPED! I love Bobby's septic-explosion cover-up. Hilarious. 

He calls Rufus and Rufus got his 5s and 7s confused. (Happens to me all the time)...so Bobby has to go find the Okami (I'm guessing at the spelling using my wonderous knowledge of Japanese as learnt through anime)...and it turns out the Okami preys on single white neighbour-ladies who bring you peach cobbler...NOOOooooo....

So Bobby BAMF his way into her house and SAVES her...by throwing the Okami in the woodchipper, and spraying blood all over the play (but really lady, don't stand on the business end of a woodchipper. Then Bobby realizes that neighbour lady wanted to date him, so he agrees, but then she turns him down ("Story of my life") AWwww....I totally think Bobby should have been rewarded for saving her life! Come on...

Dean calls and is all upset that Sam is a robot. Sadly, a call comes in on the other line and Bobby takes it:  Rufus stole Fergus's son Gavin's ring, Crowley's son, but it looks like thievery is not his strong suit, and he's arrested. He ends up swallowing the ring. Ugh.

So, Bobby is all stressed out, and worried about his soul...and Dean is all stressed out because his brother is a robot, and Bobby is his ONLY FRIEND because Castiel is in heaven and HIS BROTHER IS A ROBOT, and he also misses getting his sweet morning sex with Lisa...and so he calls Bobby selfish, because Bobby has ALL KINDS OF FRIENDS that he can call if his brother turns into a robot, but Dean only has ONE. 

And then Bobby LOSES IT and makes Dean get his Robot-brother so that he can yell at the both of them. And, I'm not saying Bobby isn't right to yell at them for being whiny and self-centred...I mean, they ARE. All kids are. But, RoboSam also has a point: All Bobby has to do is ASK for help, and Dean and Sam will drop everything and help him....even if one of them is a robot.

Side note: My mum used to do that to me all the time. Refuse my help for everything and then yell at me for not helping...ugh, parents.

Bobby tries to call in a favour with the Sheriff lady, but she refuses...only to come through anyway! YAY!

So, anyway, I liked the whole ghost summoning...that was really cool. I also like the Scottish boy it summoned...I wish he had more lines.

Bobby moves things to the basement for some reason, and then summons Crowley. We learn that Crowley is the King of Hell - awesome! Also, that the problem with working with demons is that their demons...and Crowley is having such a hard time of it, he has to put antacids in his scotch! Tough times indeed.

Turns out, Fergus sold his soul for an extra three inches. Side note: statistically, men with smaller penises are actually better lovers.

I loved Crowley's fake out for being happy to see his son, and then saying that he hates him. And for a brief second you're like, shit...but then you think "wait...that was Rufus' plan, but Bobby said 'something like that'...and Bobby is more of a BAMF than Rufus..."

No, Bobby's trump card is that demons are actually just a different form of spirit and can be killed the same way - by touching their bones...and the mother fucking WINCHESTERS ARE IN SCOTLAND!!!! Holy crow! INTERNATIONAL BADASSERY!!! AWESOME! 

Crowley gives Bobby his soul back AND he gets to keep his legs! YAY! And then Bobby lets him go and he very pathetically picks up his own bones to store them someplace safer. Poor Fergus...I hope his vessel has a big cock, or else it was all for naught, wasn't it? Haha.

Then we get Dean driving on the other side of the road, and Sam is actually just a little bit like himself when he tells Bobby that Dean used four puke bags and white-knuckled it through their 9 hour flight....and the only weapon Dean had was a plastic fork. Brilliant. That's love right there, isn't it? 

The end.

Ok, a note about JENSEN ACKLES: DIRECTOR - I'm not really that well educated in directing, so I couldn't really critique anything. To me, it looked fantastic. I liked the wider shots around Bobby, and the use of only tight shots of Dean when he's on the phone with Bobby (because the Winchesters aren't the focus here, so their surroundings don't matter.) Except at the end, when you have that nice wide shot of them in Scotland with the CGed highland/castle background...because that's the "DUDE! WINCHESTERS ARE IN SCOTLAND!" moment, so it needs to be grand.  I think the main thing is that it felt like a classic Supernatural episode...like it belonged with all the others. Also, I liked his use of rotating dolly shots...like, around Bobby when he's doing the summoning. That reminded me of the rotating shots that Kim Manners used in In My Time of Dying. But as I was saying, it felt like a Supernatural episode, which means, in my opinion, Jensen did an awesome job! If I hadn't known, I wouldn't have guessed that he was a first time director. 

Awesome job Mr. Ackles!

Comments

[zestyzorra.livejournal.com]

I absolutely agree with you that Jensen did a great job, and if I hadn't know either, I would've thought it was done by a seasoned, veteran director that they've used on the show countless times before. And YES! I thought this episode felt new and fresh, yet just like the old SPN we know and love. It gives me even more confidence in this season, which I always had, just now I have more. ;)

Love your reviews, btw, even the rewatch ones <3 And no, there wasn't a sound problem with the feed, at least in the Seattle area. :(

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you didn't have the same problem with the feed! It was torturous.

And thank you! I'm glad you like my reviews!

Jensen did an amazing job. And given that everyone in the episode gave great performances, I can only guess that he made all his actors very comfortable :)

I hope he directs again someday. :)

[franztastisch]

It has to be said that this is the first of the new season that I actually enjoyed watching. And the Winchesters in Scotland? AWESOME. Though the minute I saw that CGI background I was like "that so doesn't look like Scotland." :P

Oh and Crowley? Fucking amazing.

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

I said the same thing. Surely there was some kind of stock footage of scotland they could have used somehow. Or even just a photo, gussied up a bit. It's not like the background was moving.

But I was enjoying the episode waaay too much to mind at all.

[franztastisch]

Oh good, I'm glad Im not the only one. It was just too... open. If that makes sense.

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the land didn't look right, but It was the castle in the background that made me roll my eyes.

[franztastisch]

Hahaha I'm a geographer, so I noticed the land first. :P The castle was pretty unrealistic though.

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

it's also just such a.... north american perception of Scotland.

[franztastisch]

Well, I can't say much for north American perceptions of places, but it did look a lot like someone had fogotten that, in the grand scheme of things, Scotland is a very very small country. Also, not all of Britian looks like its been pulled straight from the Hound of the Baskervilles. :P

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

I've only seen a limited bit of Scotland. Yes, I saw some wide-open spaces while I traveled through the highlands...but they were at altitudes where one wouldn't build an enormous castle...and they didn't look like the CGI valley in this episode.

It really was the American-perception of Scotland...actually, it reminded me a great deal more of Ireland. Which was pretty funny, given the line earlier in the show where the female-demon confuses the two and Bobby calls her out on it.

The graveyard looked pretty good though! ;)

[franztastisch]

You're right! Much more like Ireland.

The graveyard was good. And I should know seeing as I've lived next to one like that most of my life. :P

[mattheal.livejournal.com]

Bobby and Rufus are my new OTP! Seriously, I was cracking up and trying to be quiet so I could hear what they were saying. (My sound was a little blurry, but I can't imagine having a 6 second time delay, uggh)

Jensen needs to direct more episodes! He did an awesome job.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Agreed! Jensen is awesome.

I'm glad the sound problems seem to have been localized to Vancouver. I'd hate for anyone else to have to enjoy the episode with that horrible a sound delay. Like I said - I only hope Jensen was working and didn't sit down to enjoy his episode only to be royally pissed off!

Bobby and Rufus are GREAT! Haha, I was laughing my head off too. :)

[baruchan.livejournal.com]

Now I know why Crowley seemed so upset that his tailor was killed back in S5 -- he was one himself! That little detail had me laughing so loudly that I wasn't able to hear the next lines.

For some reason, the too-low, growly male voices were especially noticeable for me in this ep. Is there a rule in the SPN set that all the male characters have to growl their lines? I feel so sorry for the poor actors :(

Why did Dean do almost all the talking for the boys? Why is it Sam's role to sit back, get tossed around, and look pretty the entire episode? (Wait, maybe he really DID turn into a robot! DUN DUN DUN.) That's what irked me about the episode. But otherwise, I loved it. Hope this encourages Jensen to expand his directorial skills. :D

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Now I know why Crowley seemed so upset that his tailor was killed back in S5 -- he was one himself!

LMAO! I didn't even put those two things together! THAT'S HILARIOUS! Brilliant! Ahahahahahahaa....

I hardly notice the growly voices anymore...but yeah, poor guys on the show. I know Misha frequently loses his voice doing the show...you can tell by how much he squeaks when he blows a take in the S5 gag reel. :P

I think Dean did most of the talking for a couple of reasons: 1)He usually is the one who talks most with Bobby. 2)Jared only worked for one day in this shoot - Jensen was directing, so he was there every day anyway. 3)Sam is currently a robot who doesn't seem to be able to make emotional/human connections with people...that includes talking to them.

I think Jensen should be totally encouraged to expand his directorial skills...I have heard nothing but good things from his guest actors, and the episode is fantastic...and I'm sure there will be about 500 fangirls at the next convention telling him that he's amazing :)

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

>> because Bobby has ALL KINDS OF FRIENDS that he can call if his brother turns into a robot, but Dean only has ONE.

HEH! You rock! That made me laugh.

>>yell at them for being whiny and self-centred.

Also, correction to Bobby: Sam and Dean ARE, in fact, the center of the universe. I mean, God had this whole apocalypse that killed however many people just for them. (I actually am glad that this episode moved away from that- it's a huge pet peeve of mine when characters act like the center of the universe...and the text backs them up on that.)

>>WINCHESTERS ARE IN SCOTLAND!!!!

I smell a sequel to VVV. ;-D

>>Dean used four puke bags and white-knuckled it through their 9 hour flight....and the only weapon Dean had was a plastic fork

I really want to read the fic about Dean being all stressed and wild-eyed, with a death grip on his fork looking out for terrorists, and Sam getting drunk (perhaps out of sheer frustration) and some tiny business traveler squished between them.

>>I think Bobby and the Sheriff should totally get together...you know, once she's done grieving the death of her husband.

I want to see more of her, but I don't know if I'd want it in a love interest capacity. She's kind of awesome all by herself, but in a realistic way- and she's not evil, in peril, or a love interest. Ever since they wrote Ellen off, the show's been in dire need of someone like that.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Well, Sam and Dean WERE the centre of the universe...now we'll have to wait and see what the overarching plot is before we decide if they still are ;) But I agree - it was really nice to have an episode where them being the centre of the universe was NOT supported by text...that for once they were just one of many people that Bobby helped out.

And yeah, as soon as I saw the Winchesters in Scotland, I'm like "HOLY SH*T I HAVE TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!" So, we'll see...but it really depends on what the hell is up with Sam. :P

Knowing the fandom, there will be plenty of "Dean on the plane" fics. That's too good to pass up. :P

Hmm...yeah, I wouldn't want the Sheriff REDUCED to a love interest either...but I still think her and Bobby should hook up. I don't know how that's accomplished though. Take all the romance out? It really annoys me that female characters are always diminished as soon as they hook up with male characters...there has to be a way to keep them strong and kickass and independently awesome? AH well...maybe I'll just leave it that (as long as Bobby never dies), he and the Sheriff will hook up after the series is over.

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

But I bet you they'll be angsty plane fics. Or H/C, which will smack a bit too much of fix-it fics in my opinion, because we still have no idea what's going on with Sam.

I want the funny!

It IS possible to do romance without diminishing the female characters (some books manage it! Firefly managed it!), but I don't think Supernatural is going to be the one to break the mold.

Though that said, I could always kind of imagine Ellen and Bobby kind of falling into that kind of easy, friendship-and-shared-history based kind of relationship. The one that's not full of high romance or heady lust, but that's...comfortable.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Yeah...you are probably right about the angsty, H/C, fix-it, plane fics. Sigh... well, in our imaginations we can do the cracky plane fics ;)

That's true! I had forgotten that was yet another reason I loved Firefly! But yeah, I doubt Supernatural could pull that off.

Man, *I* want that kind of relationship...ah well. Mind you, heady lust is a lot of fun too.

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

Yeah, comfortable does have its attractions.


The writers need to start using their deus-ex-machina resurrections for Good and bring back Ellen.

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

I agree! Though...I don't think Ellen would want to come back without Jo.

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

Jo can come too! Then they can ride off into the sunset, kicking ass across the country.

[trystan830.livejournal.com]

as usual, i love your review. i laughed through a LOT of it. hee!

but i totally agree about Jensen and his directing! =)

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Jensen is awesome :)

[trystan830.livejournal.com]

welcome.

*nods* yep.

[lelaro.livejournal.com]

so scotland, sequel to VVV anyone?

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Haha, I have to admit, it was my first thought :P

Sadly, I have to find out what the heck is up with Sam, before I even think of writing so much as a timestamp. ;)

[sinesofinsanity (from livejournal.com)]

LMAO!!! I was giggling though this entire episode and your review made me giggle even more!!!

I loved loved loved that we finally got a Bobby-centered episode. And that they're building up some other characters. Rufus' entrance was kind of fantastic, and the Sherrif was quite a bit of a BAMF herself. (We must see more of her :D. )

I don't care if Sam and Dean once were the center of the universe, I'm glad Bobby called them out. I mean, Bobby could have said to Dean "Rufus is on the other end being chased by the feds because he's helping me get my soul back" instead of "I've got another call" so Dean wouldn't have felt as ignored, but Dean was basically saying "Stop being selfish so I can be selfish. Don't focus on your problems, focus on mine!!" Which is both annoying and childish. Come on Dean, you're thirty-one, grow up a little. (You'd think Sam and Dean would realize that they're not the only people who rely on Bobby... which is something else I loved seeing. The "How are you not dead yet" line nearly killed me!")

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Agreed!

I think what I liked about the Dean-Bobby phone call is that they were BOTH overreacting and a little out of line...I mean, Bobby is anything but selfish, it's not Dean's fault that Sam isn't the centre of everyone else universes :P Meanwhile, Sam had a point that all Bobby had to do was ASK for their help - otherwise they're just going to assume that everything is fine with him.

But yes, I also loved seeing how Bobby helps a LOT of people out. And that "how are you not dead yet?" line really made me laugh too.

[gryphenn.livejournal.com]

Hey, I was re-watching The Third Man at the laundromat this evening and realized Cas pretty much told the boys the same thing Bobby dressed them down for. They are not the center of the universe and get over themselves!!

Could this be the theme of Season 6?

[hells-half-acre.livejournal.com]

Perhaps! Haha...I think after spending the past year (or more) as the centre of the universe, it may have gone to their heads :P