galathea | Review for 2x19 'Folsom Prison Blues' (Reply)

I was excited about this episode ever since I heard about it: Johnny Cash, the brothers in handcuffs and insane Winchester plans? What's not to like? And the episode didn't disappoint! I loved it to pieces. ♥ Shiban wrote a solid stand-alone with a lot of recurring themes on the side, just as I like it. Inevitably I came to compare Folsom Prison Blues with Hollywood Babylon, as there were a lot of parallels between the two episodes - light-hearted tone, the brothers are forced to integrate themselves in a confined social environment, Dean heavy episode - and yet Folsom Prison Blues managed to avoid all of its predecessor's annoyances, at least for me.

Although Folsom Prison Blues is a mostly stand-alone episode, it still provides plenty of plot continuity, which ties it better into the overall storyline. I appreciate that a lot, since we had more filler episodes in the last quarter of this season (Tall Tales, Roadkill, Hollywood Babylon) than over the course of the whole year! Anyway, the episode taps mainly into two recurring themes, namely the 'Winchesters versus law enforecement' storyline and John’s legacy.

Dean: "We pay our debts and that means something to me and it ought to for you!"

I love how this episode reflects on so many levels on John and his influence on the boys. As Sam so persistently likes to points out during the episode: to go willingly into prison with their FBI record is one of the stupidest plans in a long history of stupid Winchester plans, so to root the motivation for the brothers to pursue that questionable plan in their loyalty to John and his legacy is probably one of the only halfway believable reasons I buy.

While Dean learned to criticize a lot of John’s decisions over the past year and came to grow into a man of his own, he also still values the virtues that John passed on to his sons, like loyalty, responsibility and duty and I love that. It's not the first time that the brothers put personal sacrifices and danger to their own well-being aside in order to help a friend - Skin or Route 666 come to mind - loyalty and the needs of innocent people winning out over personal considerations. This is classic S1 Dean reasoning for a hunt, and I love to see that despite his emotional struggles and his weariness with his job, as displayed earlier in the season, he can focus again on his main motivation to pursue that particular lifestyle in the first place: saving people, hunting things. ♥

Sam, on the other hand, really, really doesn’t want to do this, but he goes along with it, mainly I think because Dean wants it and only secondly because Dean calls him on their responsibility to John’s legacy. That ties back to the fact that ever since John’s death Sam's motivation to hunt usually has self-referential reasons, like coping with his father's demise, gathering positive cosmic 'karma' or distracting himself from Madison’s execution, but not because of the hunt itself. The hunt usually is a means to an end for Sam and to pursue a plan clearly as dangerous and unpredictable as getting themselves locked up in a prison, is visibly distressing for him. However, the fact that he complies with Dean's wishes also shows Sam's need to be near his brother at the moment, after all, he usually has no problems to dig his heels in, if he doesn't concur with Dean's plans.

As a side note: I really love that we finally get to know another one of John’s old acquaintances in this episode, after all, they killed almost everyone we knew of off last season. I think Deacon is an interesting character. It would be fascinating to know how Deacon came to know about what John did, as their connection goes back to the Marines, way before John became involved with hunting. From the cordial parting scene between the brothers and Deacon it's apparent that although Sam claims in the beginning that they don’t know Deacon very well, their relationship is very affectionate. Deacon's amused reaction to Sam and Dean’s bickering reminded me of Bobby in Tall Tales, and his honest gratitude for the brothers' help was very likeable. I really would like to see that character again one time.

In any case, both enemy and friend make a point to emphasize how well John taught his sons, but while Henriksen means it as an insult, Deacon means it as a praise. Just like in The Usual Suspects the differences between outsider (Henriksen) and insider (Deacon) perspective are neatly highlighted in their attitudes. Mara Daniels, the lawyer, takes somewhat of a middle position. I really love that Mara represents a variation of the typical guest character, who is confronted with the world of the Winchesters. While Henriksen is like a bloodhound, obsessed with the brothers and not able - or even willing - to look past his blinders, Mara’s gut-feeling tells her that there is more to the story than she can see from the files. The inconsistencies within the 'facts' motivate her to look further and consider the possibility that something other than the obvious might be going on here, instead of writing the incongruent evidence off as negligible. I like her a lot, and I think it is impressive that she doesn't even allow Henriksen to intimidate her and instead helps the brothers to escape unharmed, although she has no real evidence that they aren't exactly the felons Henriksen thinks them to be.

Last but not least, I am very pleased that Henriksen mentions that Detective Ballard from The Usual Suspects and Sherri from Nightshifter both testified in favour of the boys. That’s nice continuity and it shows us that sometimes the people Sam and Dean save actually come through for them, even if they don’t know what exactly happened - like in Sherris's case.

Dean: "I think I’m adorable!" ♥

Unlike Hollywood Babylon, Folsom Prison Blues shows very clearly that the writers can achieve strong S1 Dean characterisation without letting his character fall flat. They portray Dean in a more light-hearted context here as well, but without reducing him to a carefree and superficial version of himself, instead maintaining the complexity of the character and allowing for continuity of his storyline in S2. There are a lot of nuances in Dean’s characterisation, and the script gives Jensen enough room to subtly let some of Dean's deeper layers show. It's a real joy to watch. ♥

Dean’s usual bravado and cockiness where law enforcement is concerned is a well established character trait, however, it’s apparent that he is nervous about the fact that the FBI manages to catch up with them as fast as they do. Dean's behaviour towards Henriksen is a barely concealed attempt to show no vulnerability and the fact that Henriksen is able to openly call him on it is worrying. On the other hand Dean instantly recognizes Mara Daniels as a possible ally, as someone who can be trusted with an open approach, although she is on the other side of the fence as well. Dean proved time and again that if officials refrain from making instant derogative assumptions about him and treat him with respect, like for example Deputy Hudak from The Benders or Detective Ballard from The Usual Suspects, he reciprocates that respect.

While Dean 'James Garner' Winchester, the classic prison movie geek, obviously enjoys his time behind bars to an extent - after all the imprisonment isn’t real and they are semi-protected, with an easy way out in case things get out of hand - it becomes evident in the more quiet character moments that a lot of his behaviour is an act. His cocky front is clearly a defence mechanism, however, he is also able to use his cockiness to accomplish progress in their investigation, like when he gambles for cigarettes to have a currency in exchange for information or stages fights in order to create distractions for Sam's covert salt & burn.

Dean: "I'm sorry."
Tiny: "It's okay. Truth is, I have low self-esteem issues."

The scene between Dean and Tiny in the infirmary, where Dean earnestly apologises to Tiny for using him to create a diversion for Sam, is one of my favourite moments in the episode. Their short exchange about the root of Tiny's self-esteem issues hits very close home for Dean, and Jensen delivers Dean’s reaction to Tiny’s life story perfectly. I love the parallels and differences between Dean and Tiny's families that are conveyed in this short conversation a lot. While John treated his children like crap from time to time as well and Dean suffers from low self-esteem issues himself, it’s also clear that John laid a strong foundation of love, respect, purpose and loyalty in his family, giving Sam and Dean a more stable basis in their lives than for example Tiny’s father or Max Miller’s father did for their sons.

Similarly, the fact that Tiny’s brother killed their father hits close to home for Dean as well, as it is reminiscent of Sam nearly killing John in Devil’s Trap, where in the end their family bond prevailed over any need for revenge or lingering resentments. However screwed up the Winchester family is, they always come through for each other and that sets them apart from most other dysfunctional families that are depicted in Supernatural. ♥ I also need to mention here that Dean’s ability to relate to complete strangers - feeling genuine compassion at their plight and sorrow at their deaths, even if they are 'only' lowly felons - is one of his most admirable character traits for me, and it’s little moments like these, that make all the difference between a layered character episode and a flat one.

Sam: "Dean, does it bother you at all how easily you seem to fit in here?"
Dean: "No, not really."

The interaction between Sam and Dean is a lot more layered than in Hollywood Babylon as well, although there have been a lot of guest characters in Folsom Prison Blues, too, but the balance between brother plot and the monster-of-the-week plot is simply a lot better. While Sam is still quiet and morose, partly on account of their dangerous situation, partly because of the Madison after-effects, Sam and Dean’s bickering is mostly good-natured and doesn’t only amount to Sam being irritated with Dean and Dean ignoring Sam's moods. I am also happy to see that Dean easily falls back into his protective big brother stance here, like for example when he jumps to Sam’s defence, when his little brother unintentionally draws aggression to himself, or when he demands that they need to have a sure plan for Sam's risky attempt to carry out the salt’n burn of Moody’s blood, although he had no concern for the vagueness of their plans earlier.

I want to point out here that Folsom Prison Blues is a Dean-centric episode again, while Sam is more in the background of the story, not as much as in Hollywood Babylon, but noticeably so. If there is one thing in S2 that I am not quite happy with, it's the writers' neglect to create more meaningful character moments for Sam and deal with the fallout to the more Sam centred plotlines. I think S2 has been an exceptionally strong Dean season - the writing focused strongly on his motivations and emotions - while Sam’s emotional development has been handled less explicitly. There has been some good potential for Sam stories this season - stories distinctly separated from his 'special children' plotline - like for example Sam's confession in Everybody Loves A Clown that he feels guilt-ridden over John's death, his traumatic possession in Born Under A Bad Sign or his emotional tour-de-force in Heart, but the writers have never fully explored those storylines. Those episodes created some excellent material for an internal character conflict, and it would have been easy to fill at least one or two of the more stand-alone episodes with a stronger focus on how Sam dealt with those events, but alas the writers neglected that, and I find that regrettable.

What else was noteworthy?

(1) The ghost of nurse Glockner in Folsom Prison Blues was really creepy. I love the new ghost effects the SFX department creates lately - their eerie appearance, the jerky movements, the cold breath effect. I also think the veins showing in the victim’s faces and the bloodshot eyes of Nurse Glockner were really well done. Additionally, the setting reminded me a bit of Asylum, so all in all this was one of the more spooky episodes for me.

(2) I’m usually not very nitpicky or even interested in flaws of the general set-up of the monster-of-the-week plotline. Still, I think it's amusing how easily Sam is able to seek out the old cellblock by sneaking through a surprisingly empty kitchen. It's during lunchtime, after all. It's also incomprehensible why the brothers would park the not really inconspicuous Impala right in front of the jail. While I think it's improbable that Sam and Dean are able to move within and escape from the prison so effortlessly, I learned that there is a difference between a county jail (where Sam and Dean are held) and an actual prison. Apparently a jail is used for the confinement of those who are awaiting trial or who have been convicted of minor offences (misdemeanours), while people convicted of major crimes (felonies) are likely to be confined in a prison or penitentiary, which would most likely have heavier security systems than the jail Sam and Dean escaped of. So, I was able to suspend my disbelief more easily.

I probably forgot a lot that I wanted to mention here, but somehow my head doesn’t really cooperate well today. All in all this was a highly entertaining episode, with plotline continuity and lovely character and brother moments. So I am a content fan today! :)