“Call me if you don’t die.” – Frank
All signs initially pointed to “Out with the Old” being a filler episode, but it totally wasn’t. I love when that happens.
Our (not so) friendly neighborhood Leviathan, George and Joyce, were slapstick-y to the point of being difficult to take seriously. They’re Leviathan. There should have been some sense of malevolence toward Sam and Dean that translated to me hiding behind the sofa until it was all over – or at least considering it. I like that overall the Leviathan are a serious enough threat that the thought of the Winchesters running into one is still a Big Deal, and don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind my Big Bad served with a side of comedy relief, but George and Joyce spent so much time making me laugh that when the time came to see them as a threat, it was hard.
But let’s go back to the beginning, because even the token case-that-exists-purely-to-bring-Sam n’ Dean-to-town had its moments. A local antique store owner opened some curse boxes his mom had stashed in a safe and started to unwittingly sell the cursed objects that they contain. This led to a ballerina (literally) dancing her feet off in the opening, a delightfully gory scene that had me exclaim something that I can’t repeat here due to the foulness of the language. Here’s the polite version, “This show is so messed up.”
I know, it doesn’t have the same pop.
The brothers find themselves in Portland to track down the missing objects. Sam chugs coffee like the stuff is about to be rationed. The consequences for interacting with Hallucivision when we last saw him</a> are starting to take effect, worse when he sleeps, or tries to. Sam’s sleep-deprivation runs the gamut of symptoms, including irritability, difficulty concentrating, slowed reflexes, and depression. At one point, he falls asleep while driving and almost bumps noses with a semi-truck, prompting him to stop for a Triple Red Eye at the local coffee shop, where he bumps into George.
That’s right, he runs into one half of the Leviathan comedy hour while waiting in line for coffee.
It turns out that sure, the cursed objects are a homicidal problem, but one that is fairly easily fixed in about twenty minutes. On the way back to the not-Impala after a job well done, Dean notices that every single business on Main Street (Aww, Portland looks like such a cute little small town! Not at all what I imagined a major city on the West Coast to look like!) has been bought by the same realtor. Dean sics Frank on it and they find out Bicklebee Realty is a subsidiary of Dick Roman Enterprises. So that explains George and Joyce.
Joyce decides to eat Sam and Dean because… she’s a bloodthirsty Leviathan. Sick of being abused by his employer, George decides to eat Joyce and helps Dean and Sam chop her head off. They interrogate him, learn that the Leviathan want to cure cancer. No really. “We’re only here to help,” George says.
Between the Leviathan this season and the Pestilence/Croatoan/Swine Flu thing back in season 5, I’m never taking another prescription again. I also wonder if the writing staff has some sort of collective psychosis when it comes to medicine, or maybe they’re just tapping into the general population’s fear of doctors to up the fear ante.
“Bad Moon Rising” starts to play, which for those of you playing at home, means something Bad is about to happen. Sure enough, Paranoid Frank is (probably) dead; if the amount of blood splattered all over his trailer is any indicator.
However, my most pressing question is: Did Sam and Dean let George eat Joyce’s head? I mean, I know they probably killed him before they left Portland. Dean’s been kinda on one of his “KILL ALL THE THINGS” benders since Bobby bit it back in December. He’s not about to let a Leviathan just waltz out the door. I just hope George got to eat Joyce before they cut his head off.
Other Highlights:
- I love that the little girl keeps apologizing for kicking Dean in the face as he and Sam struggle to get the cursed ballet shoes off of her feet.
- “Do you have any idea what it’s like to work with a cranky total paranoid?” Oh, Dean. You act like Frank is the first “cranky total paranoid” that you and Sam have ever interacted with. Also, pot meet kettle?
- Hot tutu on tutu action.” Ladies and Gentlemen, Black Swan according to Dean Winchester.
- I knew about Sam’s coffee consumption prior to this episode because I stalk spoilers like a deranged ex and I have a Friday night tradition that revolves around matching my cocktail to my television, so the natural choice this week was espresso vodka. I love coffee and I love vodka; what can go wrong? The answer is a lot.
Some stats and info about Supernatural, “Out With the Old”
TV SHOW – Supernatural
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 7, Episode 16
AIRED ON – March 16th, 2012
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – CW/Netflix
GENRE – Drama, Teen Dramas, Horror, Fantasy
CREATED BY – Eric Kripke
CAST – Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard, Jim Beaver, Alexander Calvert, Mark Pellegrino, Samantha Smith, Ruth Connell
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.