SUPERNATURAL: Weekend at Bobby’s

This week’s SUPERNATURAL proved that Bobby Singer doesn’t spend his days away from Sam and Dean reading Raymond Chandler novels and making model airplanes, as you might imagine a grumpy older man who lives alone in the middle of nowhere might do. Instead, his house is hopping, with hunters and cops and FBI agents calling at all hours necessitating copious amounts of research and carefully concocted lies from the Winchester’s surrogate dad. While we’ve seen his multi-phone set-up before, we really got a sense of how hectic things can get for him, and in one of my favorite moments, how much work he has to do in order to be the bottomless barrel of information that the brothers rely on so often.

The episode also gave us insight into a couple of other recurring characters that we’ve come to know over the years. First, Bobby’s hunter buddy Rufus Turner, aka Luther Vandross, aka Ruben Studdard. He and Bobby make a wonderfully hilarious duo; one that I would like to see more of in the future if the opportunity presents itself. They had a great exchange after Rufus buried the monster he had killed on Bobby’s property, and Bobby later discovered the hole empty. Note to self: be very careful to follow the stabbing instructions when killing Japanese monsters.

Rufus even proved his loyalty by stealing Crowley’s ring from a museum and then swallowing the evidence to get it back to Bobby, who rightfully boiled it in water before dealing with it.

Speaking of Crowley, one of my favorite SPN baddies ever, we found out some of his history too. You see, Bobby needed his soul back (who doesn’t on this show?), and apparently discovered that burning the bones of the person the demon used to be is a surefire way to kill a demon. We didn’t know this before, right? It is a little strange that this is the first we’re hearing of this trick considering all of the times it could have come in very, very handy. Anyhow, in order to find out who Crowley used to be and where his bones are buried, Bobby needs to conjure Crowley’s son’s ghost and get the info, hence the need for the ring.

Luckily, Crowley’s son hated his father, and readily spills everything to Bobby, including the reason Crowley (originally Fergus MacLeod, a tailor from Scotland) sold his soul in the first place – to gain an extra three inches where it counts. Ha! It totally makes sense that Crowley would be a size queen. Bobby confronts the demon again, this time with Sam and Dean across the pond in Scotland, lighter in hand, ready to destroy Fergus’s bones if Crowley doesn’t honor his original word. Finally, Bobby has his soul back (and gets to keep use of his legs!), and we no longer have to worry about hellhounds chasing him down in his yard.

A few other random notes:

• Kenny Rogers “The Gambler” was a great song choice for a Bobby episode (I can totally see him listening to K-Rog), and a nice parallel to his back and forth with Crowley. B played his cards right, and in the end won his soul back.

• I understood the desire to show the boys taking Bobby for granted and assuming that they’re the only ones he’s helping, but I didn’t think it was necessary to have Dean calling in the middle of the episode to complain about Sam being different. They could have accomplished this simply with the guys calling him constantly for help/infor on the monster they were fighting – it would have been funnier and seemed less forced. I felt like they shoehorned that in to remind us that Sam is still “off”, but, c’mon, have any of us forgotten that fact?

• The look on Sam’s face when Bobby complained that the brothers (Dean) were always calling him to bitch about each other (Sam) was pure gold.

• We got more indication that monsters are behaving more strangely than usual; this time we had creatures normally limited to Greece and Japan in the USA. What does it all mean??

• How can you not love Crowley after this bit:
o Crowley: I’ll save you the recap. In fact, I’ll do the shorthand for you. [As Bobby] I want my soul back, idjit. [As self] Afraid not. [As Bobby] But I’m surly and have a beard; gimme! [As self] Blah blah blah. Homespun cornpone insult. Witty retort from yours truly. The bottom line is, you get bupkes.

• That was Jennifer Aspen playing Bobby’s sweet neighbor with a crush and a penchant for baking. I’ve been a big fan since back in the days of Party of Five (for those too young to remember, it was the show Matthew Fox was on the last time plaid flannel was in style). I loved her in the episode, particularly after she got splattered with monster guts. Hope we see more of her in the future – Bobby could really use some lovin’. Actually, Bobby’s sheriff friend would fill this role nicely too – maybe even better.

• As mentioned last week, this was Jensen Ackles directorial debut, and I think he did a great job. For an episode so outside of the usual formula, it still felt very much like SUPERNATURAL. Now begs the question, will Padalecki be next?

Did you enjoy getting an extended glimpse into the world of Bobby Singer? Are you as big a fan of Crowley as I am? Are you excited for next week’s episode, “Live Free or Twihard”? It looks like they’re following a pattern of episodes with ridiculous names that turn out to be ultra-intense and serious. Check out the promo below and then hit the comments!

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