Quick Reaction: 7x07 The Mentalists
Nov. 5th, 2011 12:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hells_half_acreHello! Here I am home again, mildly intoxicated and a little bit chilly.
So, this is the episode that I saw being filmed, though, they did cut a lot of what I saw - still, FUN TIMES! All the fun stories from my evening of watching them film are in this post, but I'll point out what scenes they were in the review.
Here we go....
We enter with your typical over-the-top seance. I wonder, sometimes, what Pamela's business was like...but that's off topic. I love how the "medium" starts freaking out at the real ghost stuff, and the customers think it's normal.
Dean steals a classic car - as well he should. I like his "have a little pride" when he sees the owner has made a mess of it with take-out wrappers. And the radio tells him about the deaths of two psychics, and off he goes!
And yes, I realize this quick reaction is mostly a recap, but bare with me...
Dean telling a joke and then looking up only to discover that Sam isn't there to roll his eyes - so sad. Dean misses his brudda.
And then Dean goes to that hippie cafe that's all locally sources organic, and me and my friend laughed "It's Vancouver!" Hahahah (seriously, this town is run by hippies - not that that's a bad thing). I love the fact that Sam was already sitting in the cafe.
I also love the way Dean doesn't actually let Sam get a word in - because he knows Sam's going to tell him to go away...so even though he's obnoxious about it, I find it kind of endearing in a "oh, you poor idiot" sort of way. Also, Sam seems to get angry like me - where I just quietly steam until I erupt into violence...well, except Sam doesn't really get all that violent. He just has the steaming part down.
Anyway, I think it's cute the way everyone in the episode can pick up on the fact that Sam is pissed off - whether they were psychic or not.
A LOT of this episode was shot in my neighbourhood. The black girl's house and the Lamaze class are on 6th. The mural behind Sam at the end of the episode is a block away at 5th and Commercial (it's not on google-streetview, because it was just painted last spring.) I'm willing to bet that the "mentalist" girl was also somewhere in the neighbourhood. The "pawnshop" was down on Clark. (And now you know what neighbourhood I live in, please do not stalk me.)
I liked how the non-psychic girl was completely honest about the fact that she wasn't actually psychic.
Anyway, yeah...damn, for the life of me, I can't really remember the order of events anymore, and it's kind of hard to talk about this episode, because I knew it was the pawnshop guy the whole time because I saw them filming. Other than that, it was clear when they went to go salt the bones so early, and the ghost gave that final warning, that they were salting the wrong sister's bones.
OH! That's what I'm forgetting - them going to the museum of oddities!
I liked the hallway of sibling-acts. The "Campbell Brothers" thing was a LITTLE too fanservicey for my tastes...but it was a sweet shout-out to that part of the fandom, and cute.
Also, the line about how "some people are meant to take care of others" was an interesting one...I wonder if they are going to develop that, or if it just is what it is.
The message from Ellen was totally unexpected, AND AWESOME. At first, when the dude said "Do you know an Eleanor..." I thought "Dr. Visyak!?!?!!" and then he said "Elle, or Ellen?" and I was like "No...it can't be..." but then when he said "...or I will kick your ass from beyond." I was like "ELLEN! I LOVE YOU! COME BACK TO US!"
And I LOVE that Ellen is looking after Dean from beyond the grave. That is both adorable and heartwrenching when you think of it. I also liked her message - that he had to tell someone how bad it was. It's what he was nagging Sam about in the very first episode this season - "Really? I have to hear it from Death!?" (one of my favourite lines)...and yet, he's doing it himself...because he's supposed to be the older stoic-brother who has his shit together. I also liked the fact that SOMEBODY brought up the fact that Dean was betrayed by his best friend, and that MIGHT just have an effect on a person. (I know Bobby brought up the fact that his best friend had DIED, but technically the betrayal beforehand was probably the worst part. And before you start defending Cas, go back and read my rewatch posts - Cas DID betray Dean, at the very least, by hurting Sam.)
Also, I like how Sam totally goes "Indian Jones" on the pawnshop guy, and just shoots him dead.
On another note, I love the fact that Supernatural can have lines like "You lied to me and you killed my friend!" and we all know that the real problem is the "you lied to me" part! Hahahaha...Sam and Dean are such weird heroes. We find out though, that just as a lot of people suspected, Dean ISN'T sorry about the "killing Amy part," but rather the "lying to Sam part."
And Sam actually agrees with him! I know this will anger a lot of people - but, I'm not angry. It makes sense in a Winchester-twisted way. I know a lot of people have pointed out that they let Lucky go - but we don't actually know that. Lucky may have just gotten away. And a lot of people have pointed out that they've let witches go - but they've NEVER been a match for powerful witches. They've always either needed outside help (Ruby), or only managed to kill them because they wanted to be killed (Samhain dude). And you could accuse me of hand-waving, to me it just makes the Winchesters more realistic. I mean, I don't approve of adultery, but I've totally been the "other woman" before - sometimes we just do things against our morals because it's "just this once." I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's human.
Anyway, I do like that at the end of the episode, Dean follows Ellen's advice. (Dean has ALWAYS been afraid of Ellen, that's not going to change once she's dead.)...and he lets Sam know that he's having trouble trusting people, and that his drinking and not-sleeping was mainly due to lying to Sam (I think it's more than that, it's been building for years...but lying is definitely what escalated it recently.) In any case, hopefully he can continue to be more open and eventually get a little better?
Ok, so, the scenes I saw being filmed were:
Jensen and Jared scenes (these I watched from down the road, and could hardly see anything):
1. Sam and Dean arriving at the black girl's house and the girl running into Dean's arms from the staircase. They only did about two takes of this.
Jared scenes (these I watched from right behind the camera, next to Jim Michaels and Serge's driver (who shares a hometown with my dad):
2. Sam arriving and busting into the Lamaze class.
-They shot all aspects of this scene - Sam arriving in the car, getting out, running up to the door, and kicking in the door. You don't see it in the episode, you only see Sam arrive. This was the scene where Jared couldn't actually open the car door, because he had broken it the day before (then they fixed it, then he broke it again). So, for one take, he pushed himself through the open window of the car to be funny. Instead of him pulling up and getting out, they filmed him pulling up - then he got out the passenger side, walked around to the driver's side - and then they filmed him pretending he had just gotten out of the drivers side. Then he runs up a stair case and kicks in a door all dramatic like.
3. Sam coming out of the Lamaze class and phoning Dean.
-The actually just kept the camera rolling. Jared ran up the stairs, kicked in the door, and disappeared inside. Then waited about five seconds (the first time he stuck his head out the door and said "Ready?" - it was cute) and then came out and did the phone call scene. I don't know what the dialogue ended up being in the episode, but what they filmed were a couple of takes of variations of "Dean, it's the pawnshop guy! He frickin' goose-chased me to some pregnant yoga class! *pause* Okay *hang-up*. Jared did about 3 or 4 takes of the phone call.
4. After Jared left, the crew filmed a "Sam's-feet-view" of running up the staircase and kicking in the door as well.
So, the main spoilers that I couldn't tell you back in September were:
1. The episode was all about psychics.
2. It was the pawnshop guy.
3. Sam busts in on a Lamaze glass.
4. Sam and Dean were NOT driving the Impala.
So, all in all, I think I stood out in the sprinkling-rain for about 2 hours and only about 30 seconds of it made it into the episode - so, there's an insight into the filming process for you! NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING! Because it was super awesome - and Jared launching himself out that car window all ungraceful-like was HILARIOUS. Including when the gun tucked into the back of his pants fell out and hit the pavement and everyone cringed.
Anyway, I think that's it for this week....again, a slightly shorter quick reaction...I'm either forgetting something, or it's because the "meat" of this episode was the brother-relationship, and that's been put on the track to being mended without being overly dramatic...at leat this episode.
I did like Sam cramming his stuff in the trunk, and that's how he's letting Dean know that he's coming back. Also, (I checked twitter and had it confirmed by other fans thinking the same thing) that was totally Cas' trench-coat in the trunk as well.
Though, on Sam's forgiveness note - I also love how you know Sam is starting to forgive Dean (and still totally loves him), because he totally smiles and tries to hide it when Dean threatens the waiter at the hippie cafe to not "affirm" him. Such a cute understated moment.
I also liked the dude's affirmation at the beginning of the episode: "You are a virile manifestation of the divine." Yup, that pretty much sums Dean up.
The last line of the episode was a little bit cheesy and maybe supposed to be funny, but wasn't? I don't know...they could have ended a little stronger. Ok, so apparently the last line was a Chinatown reference! (that I obviously didn't get.) But, they were pulling off of 5th onto Commercial, so I didn't really care. (I walk by there every time I go anywhere by skytrain!)
Ok...so, NOW that's it for this week? Yes, I think that's it...
Next week: SHENANIGANS! (Seriously, I don't know what the heck was up with that "next time" - I think I'll continue to avoid spoilers.
So, this is the episode that I saw being filmed, though, they did cut a lot of what I saw - still, FUN TIMES! All the fun stories from my evening of watching them film are in this post, but I'll point out what scenes they were in the review.
Here we go....
We enter with your typical over-the-top seance. I wonder, sometimes, what Pamela's business was like...but that's off topic. I love how the "medium" starts freaking out at the real ghost stuff, and the customers think it's normal.
Dean steals a classic car - as well he should. I like his "have a little pride" when he sees the owner has made a mess of it with take-out wrappers. And the radio tells him about the deaths of two psychics, and off he goes!
And yes, I realize this quick reaction is mostly a recap, but bare with me...
Dean telling a joke and then looking up only to discover that Sam isn't there to roll his eyes - so sad. Dean misses his brudda.
And then Dean goes to that hippie cafe that's all locally sources organic, and me and my friend laughed "It's Vancouver!" Hahahah (seriously, this town is run by hippies - not that that's a bad thing). I love the fact that Sam was already sitting in the cafe.
I also love the way Dean doesn't actually let Sam get a word in - because he knows Sam's going to tell him to go away...so even though he's obnoxious about it, I find it kind of endearing in a "oh, you poor idiot" sort of way. Also, Sam seems to get angry like me - where I just quietly steam until I erupt into violence...well, except Sam doesn't really get all that violent. He just has the steaming part down.
Anyway, I think it's cute the way everyone in the episode can pick up on the fact that Sam is pissed off - whether they were psychic or not.
A LOT of this episode was shot in my neighbourhood. The black girl's house and the Lamaze class are on 6th. The mural behind Sam at the end of the episode is a block away at 5th and Commercial (it's not on google-streetview, because it was just painted last spring.) I'm willing to bet that the "mentalist" girl was also somewhere in the neighbourhood. The "pawnshop" was down on Clark. (And now you know what neighbourhood I live in, please do not stalk me.)
I liked how the non-psychic girl was completely honest about the fact that she wasn't actually psychic.
Anyway, yeah...damn, for the life of me, I can't really remember the order of events anymore, and it's kind of hard to talk about this episode, because I knew it was the pawnshop guy the whole time because I saw them filming. Other than that, it was clear when they went to go salt the bones so early, and the ghost gave that final warning, that they were salting the wrong sister's bones.
OH! That's what I'm forgetting - them going to the museum of oddities!
I liked the hallway of sibling-acts. The "Campbell Brothers" thing was a LITTLE too fanservicey for my tastes...but it was a sweet shout-out to that part of the fandom, and cute.
Also, the line about how "some people are meant to take care of others" was an interesting one...I wonder if they are going to develop that, or if it just is what it is.
The message from Ellen was totally unexpected, AND AWESOME. At first, when the dude said "Do you know an Eleanor..." I thought "Dr. Visyak!?!?!!" and then he said "Elle, or Ellen?" and I was like "No...it can't be..." but then when he said "...or I will kick your ass from beyond." I was like "ELLEN! I LOVE YOU! COME BACK TO US!"
And I LOVE that Ellen is looking after Dean from beyond the grave. That is both adorable and heartwrenching when you think of it. I also liked her message - that he had to tell someone how bad it was. It's what he was nagging Sam about in the very first episode this season - "Really? I have to hear it from Death!?" (one of my favourite lines)...and yet, he's doing it himself...because he's supposed to be the older stoic-brother who has his shit together. I also liked the fact that SOMEBODY brought up the fact that Dean was betrayed by his best friend, and that MIGHT just have an effect on a person. (I know Bobby brought up the fact that his best friend had DIED, but technically the betrayal beforehand was probably the worst part. And before you start defending Cas, go back and read my rewatch posts - Cas DID betray Dean, at the very least, by hurting Sam.)
Also, I like how Sam totally goes "Indian Jones" on the pawnshop guy, and just shoots him dead.
On another note, I love the fact that Supernatural can have lines like "You lied to me and you killed my friend!" and we all know that the real problem is the "you lied to me" part! Hahahaha...Sam and Dean are such weird heroes. We find out though, that just as a lot of people suspected, Dean ISN'T sorry about the "killing Amy part," but rather the "lying to Sam part."
And Sam actually agrees with him! I know this will anger a lot of people - but, I'm not angry. It makes sense in a Winchester-twisted way. I know a lot of people have pointed out that they let Lucky go - but we don't actually know that. Lucky may have just gotten away. And a lot of people have pointed out that they've let witches go - but they've NEVER been a match for powerful witches. They've always either needed outside help (Ruby), or only managed to kill them because they wanted to be killed (Samhain dude). And you could accuse me of hand-waving, to me it just makes the Winchesters more realistic. I mean, I don't approve of adultery, but I've totally been the "other woman" before - sometimes we just do things against our morals because it's "just this once." I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's human.
Anyway, I do like that at the end of the episode, Dean follows Ellen's advice. (Dean has ALWAYS been afraid of Ellen, that's not going to change once she's dead.)...and he lets Sam know that he's having trouble trusting people, and that his drinking and not-sleeping was mainly due to lying to Sam (I think it's more than that, it's been building for years...but lying is definitely what escalated it recently.) In any case, hopefully he can continue to be more open and eventually get a little better?
Ok, so, the scenes I saw being filmed were:
Jensen and Jared scenes (these I watched from down the road, and could hardly see anything):
1. Sam and Dean arriving at the black girl's house and the girl running into Dean's arms from the staircase. They only did about two takes of this.
Jared scenes (these I watched from right behind the camera, next to Jim Michaels and Serge's driver (who shares a hometown with my dad):
2. Sam arriving and busting into the Lamaze class.
-They shot all aspects of this scene - Sam arriving in the car, getting out, running up to the door, and kicking in the door. You don't see it in the episode, you only see Sam arrive. This was the scene where Jared couldn't actually open the car door, because he had broken it the day before (then they fixed it, then he broke it again). So, for one take, he pushed himself through the open window of the car to be funny. Instead of him pulling up and getting out, they filmed him pulling up - then he got out the passenger side, walked around to the driver's side - and then they filmed him pretending he had just gotten out of the drivers side. Then he runs up a stair case and kicks in a door all dramatic like.
3. Sam coming out of the Lamaze class and phoning Dean.
-The actually just kept the camera rolling. Jared ran up the stairs, kicked in the door, and disappeared inside. Then waited about five seconds (the first time he stuck his head out the door and said "Ready?" - it was cute) and then came out and did the phone call scene. I don't know what the dialogue ended up being in the episode, but what they filmed were a couple of takes of variations of "Dean, it's the pawnshop guy! He frickin' goose-chased me to some pregnant yoga class! *pause* Okay *hang-up*. Jared did about 3 or 4 takes of the phone call.
4. After Jared left, the crew filmed a "Sam's-feet-view" of running up the staircase and kicking in the door as well.
So, the main spoilers that I couldn't tell you back in September were:
1. The episode was all about psychics.
2. It was the pawnshop guy.
3. Sam busts in on a Lamaze glass.
4. Sam and Dean were NOT driving the Impala.
So, all in all, I think I stood out in the sprinkling-rain for about 2 hours and only about 30 seconds of it made it into the episode - so, there's an insight into the filming process for you! NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING! Because it was super awesome - and Jared launching himself out that car window all ungraceful-like was HILARIOUS. Including when the gun tucked into the back of his pants fell out and hit the pavement and everyone cringed.
Anyway, I think that's it for this week....again, a slightly shorter quick reaction...I'm either forgetting something, or it's because the "meat" of this episode was the brother-relationship, and that's been put on the track to being mended without being overly dramatic...at leat this episode.
I did like Sam cramming his stuff in the trunk, and that's how he's letting Dean know that he's coming back. Also, (I checked twitter and had it confirmed by other fans thinking the same thing) that was totally Cas' trench-coat in the trunk as well.
Though, on Sam's forgiveness note - I also love how you know Sam is starting to forgive Dean (and still totally loves him), because he totally smiles and tries to hide it when Dean threatens the waiter at the hippie cafe to not "affirm" him. Such a cute understated moment.
I also liked the dude's affirmation at the beginning of the episode: "You are a virile manifestation of the divine." Yup, that pretty much sums Dean up.
Ok...so, NOW that's it for this week? Yes, I think that's it...
Next week: SHENANIGANS! (Seriously, I don't know what the heck was up with that "next time" - I think I'll continue to avoid spoilers.
