SUPERNATURAL: Meat Swap

When SUPERNATURAL is firing on all cylinders like it was last night, it almost feels like a really awesome movie instead of a t.v. show. When I originally watched the promo for this episode, I have to admit that I wasn’t entirely feeling it but I didn’t worry too much. I have learned over the years that 99% of the time the forces behind this show don’t cease to amaze, and “Swap Meat” was no different. I said in last week’s post that I would have preferred if Sam and Dean were the ones swapping bodies, but there is no way the story could have been as epic if that had happened (though I do maintain that seeing their versions of each other would be excellent). As it was, there was some hilarious comedy and a healthy dose of really freaking high stakes to go along with it, not to mention a sprinkling of sad emo brother action (from Dean’s perspective, anyway). The only thing missing was Cas (who we haven’t seen by the way since before the holidays – thank god he was in the promo for next week, or I’d be getting very antsy right now).

Dean and Sam, aka Leather Jacket and Sasquatch, initially arrive in town to help their old babysitter with a little poltergeist problem, but this ends up being a minor detail in what becomes a giant fustercluck of a situation. But before things get scary, it’s pretty hilarious. Gary, a local teen who loves Star Wars and excels in school has been boning up on his witchcraft in order to (what else?) thwart his parent’s plan for him to go to M.I.T.. He gets pretty good at it too, and after spotting the Winchesters at the burger place where he works, manages to switch bodies with Sam when Dean’s not around. The scenes of Jared Padalecki as Gary were pretty awesome – especially any scene where he was admiring himself in a mirror. How funny to see the road-weary, seen-everything Sam so excited about ordering alcohol, or being hit on by an older woman at a bar.

I was completely shocked by the reveal that the reason that Gary had taken Sam as a vessel was so that he and his friends could kill Dean and collect the ultimate reward, courtesy of the underworld (“Dollah dollah bills, y’all!”). It seems that there’s a bounty on Dean’s head down there, which shouldn’t surprise me since he’s the vessel for Lucifer’s opponent, but to hear it spoken adds yet another thing that the boys have to worry about going forward. I wonder if there’s a similar situation going on upstairs with respect to Sam? Kripke’s already shown that he’s willing to show both sides doing bad things, so it’s possible. Back to Gary, my jaw completely dropped when his buddy Trevor whipped out a gun and shot Sam outside the school, even after I realized it was yet another tranq. Did anyone else find themselves thinking fondly about Will Ferrell in Old School during the tranqing scenes? I swear I could watch the scene where he falls in the pool on a loop, and I couldn’t help but think of that both times Sam got shot in the neck, hee! The three actors who played Gary, Nora and Trevor were all perfectly cast and so good in their respective roles, weren’t they? I mean was Trev not the biggest preppy spoiled rich kid douche that ever douched? And the actress playing Nora was really good as the chewy moral center of the group, but she was FANTASTIC as possessed Nora (“Yum…tastes like moron.”).

Things were bad enough when I was worrying about Dean’s life being in danger, but once evil Nora caught on to the fact that Sam’s body was out there, inhabited by a “dangerous warlock…named Gary” (like having a hamster as a guard dog) I was freaking. There’s Lucifer’s top two priorities right there – destroying Michael’s vessel and obtaining his own. Luckily Gary wasn’t down with meeting the big guy downstairs, even if it meant giving up his reward of being a witch, so he and Dean exorcized the demon out of Nora before she could do any damage or call for backup.

As for Dean’s reactions to new Sam before he realized what was going on, I found myself sort of bouncing back and forth between laughing hysterically and being kind of sad. It was clear that Dean suspected something was up for a while, but at the same time he kept ignoring his hunch because he was enjoying Sam’s sudden good mood and willingness to have fun. You could really see him struggle with it – there were so many points where he could have pushed and dug deeper but he didn’t – he was just enjoying something as simple as drinking and sharing a few laughs with his brother after a really long time of not doing those things. In the very last scene in the car when Sam claims that he’s glad they don’t have a family to worry about and Dean reminds him that they don’t really know what that would be like, it’s kind of amazing how Sam is clearly now the cynical, hard brother and how much it hurts Dean to see that. Four short years ago, it would have been hard to imagine that shift. Part of me really wants them to get past their differences once and for all right now, but at the same time I think it would make sense that it would take something big, like facing Lucifer, Michael and the end of the world together before they can truly repair the damage that’s been done. It’s driving me nuts in the meantime, but the longer the wait, the sweeter the reward.

Next week, it looks like things are going to be pretty epic. Skip to after the video if you want to stay totally spoiler-free. We’ve got the return of young Mary and John, in what looks like another time-travel episode, and this time Sam gets to go along for the ride too (so does Cas, yay!). It appears that Anna is back with a plan to prevent Sam and Dean from being born by putting an early end to Mary and John’s lives. I’m excited to see this because I’m curious if or why the boys will argue against this plan – if nothing else, we know that these guys carry guilt around like nobody’s business and they are most certainly not above sacrificing themselves for each other – why would they have a problem doing it for the greater good? Of course, I don’t want that to happen, but I’m wondering if they will have a reason for Anna not to go through with it. Here’s the promo:

What were your thoughts on the episode? Any opinions on Sam and Dean’s relationship and how you want to see them finally work through their issues? I can’t wait to discuss the newest ep, so head down to the comments section!