Review for 2x12 'Nightshifter'

[galathea]

We are midseason and after a heavy focus on character driven plotlines so far, Ben Edlund and Phil Sgriccia now hit us with an awesome, light-hearted and entertaining episode like Nightshifter. I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, so here are my thoughts on it :)


Wow! Admittedly I am rarely really gripped by the MotW plotlines itself and am more in it for the brotherly relationship, but Nightshifter had me at the edge of my seat, worried about how our boys make it out of that hostage situation unharmed and without getting busted by the Feds. But first things first!

In the last couple of years I learned to pay close attention to the writers on tv shows. Different writers usually have different strengths and one quickly develops a feeling for which writers have the best grip on the show and the characters and I tend to orientate my expectations towards an episode on that. This episode was written by Ben Edlund and I have to say, I was very wary last year when I read that he joined the Supernatural staff. I have a great dislike for most episodes he ever wrote for Angel and yes, that includes Smile Time, which I don’t hate but for me it’s one of the most overrated AtS episodes ever. So, Edlund wasn’t a writer that I was particularly keen on seeing on my favourite show, but I give it, he pleasantly surprised me with Simon Said earlier this season and now Nightshifter. Of course he didn’t get to write a lot of interpersonal dialogue in this episode, so it needs still to be seen how he handles that, but for now I am relieved.

Although the beginning of the episode had me irritated. After initial squeeing over the fabulous FBI suits and trenchcoats, Dean’s rather open flirt with the jewellery clerk surprised me. That was not how we left the boys at the end of the last episode, driving away in the Impala silent and tense, especially Dean strained by the promise his brother coerced out of him. We don’t know how much time passed between Playthings and Nightshifter so I just assume the brothers went the patented Winchester way of denial and make a break for 'normality', since they can’t do anything about the demon situation and Sam’s destiny anyways at the moment.

Still, I was content as the episode went on and we saw that a slight tension between the brothers lingers right beneath the surface. Sam is visibly strained and kind of grim while working the case. I found it very interesting that Sam of all people voted for the 'keep Ron in the dark to protect him' approach, since he vehemently criticized Dean and John for doing the same with him in regard to the secret and in earlier episodes he was usually the one opting for the truth instead of a coverstory. Seeing how serious Ron was about his mandroid-theory it would have been more successful to affirm him, being upfront with him and ask him to stay out of it, but Sam’s overwhelming urge to not lose any innocent victims while pursuing a case in order to stay on the 'good' side kind of clouds his better judgement.

Dean on the other hand instantly relates to Ron and his problems, written off by the authorities as crazy and yet pursuing what he believes is the truth, putting together a casefile without even knowing what he is up against, which earns him Dean’s respect. I loved Ron from the minute he entered the screen. I find it fascinating how often the show manages to make me care for these small side-characters in just a few scenes. Ron’s messy the truth is out there decorations for his room, his enthusiasm and mandroid-theories, made him come across as a quirky but likeable and truly concerned person, which of course makes the later events all the more tragic for the viewer. :( Unlike Harry and Ed from Hell House they didn’t depict Ron as a pure caricature, which was important for the imapact of the overall story.

Dean: "Look at me man, I believe you. You're not crazy. There really is something inside this bank!"

One of my favourite parts of this episode was competent!Dean. ♥ I always love when they emphasise Dean’s experience and expertise in his field of work. From tracking down the shapeshifter’s pattern to instantly taking over the leadership role when things start to disintegrate, calming down Ron, winning his trust and getting the hostages (and Sam) out of harm’s way. Just like in Croatoan he instinctively takes charge and his authority is acknowledged by those around him. As usual in distressing situations most people are relieved if someone steps up and gives directions and Dean handles this like it's a second nature to him.

Sam’s initial reactions range from annoyed about the interference to tense and nervous and worried for his brother as he is left behind with the other hostages. As a sidenote: Sherry fangirling over Dean to Sam was hilarious! I love these kind of shout-outs to the fandom, because it shows how closely Kripke & Co follow the Supernatural fan-community. So last episode they referenced the slashers out there and this weekend the Dean/Jensen fangirls, which really made me laugh out loud. *g*

I love how Dean manages to be focused on the Shapeshifter situation and yet keeps a liability like Ron in check. Ron’s over-enthusiasm and relief as he finally found someone to believe him as well as his complete amateur status make him a danger to the case and yet Dean doesn’t try to keep him out of the loop or convince him to retreat and let them handle this on their own. Though I usually would think that it is out of character for Dean to allow an amateur to jump in on a case, I feel that Dean thinks he owes Ron at least this kind of respect after they kind of brought him into the game in the first place by lying to him earlier.

Which makes it all the more devastating for him, when Ron is shot by the police, rendering all his attempts to get the situation under control fruitless. A brilliantly shot scene by the way, as everything goes silent apart from the gunshot and Ron’s body slowly hitting the ground. Dean is visibly shaken by Ron’s death, which prompts Sam to take initiative and go after the Shapeshifter to give Dean a moment to recollect. I love the brotherly concern, although Skin should have taught them that it is not a good idea to go after a Shifter alone, as you never know who is coming back.

Anyways, as Dean takes the security officer to safety, the huge contingent of police and press that is assembled outside brings the true scale of the mess they are in this time to his attention. Having no other possibility to stop the Shapeshifter than to secure the building and hence take over the hostage situation by themselves, openly turning them from victims to accomplices, makes a safe escape from the situation a near impossibility.

As a sidenote: I find it very funny about the show that the writers often don’t manage to create a coherent and error-free plotline for single episodes but do such a great job with for example character integrity and development or, like in this case, plotline continuity that spans more than one season. From Skin over The Benders to The Usual Suspects, Crossroad Blues and now Nightshifter they keep coming back to the fact that the authorities are on Sam and Dean’s trail and that their legal status constantly gets more difficult. The magnitude of their troubles with the Feds though is very poignantly pointed out for the first time here.

Henriksen: "You don't know these Winchesters! They are dangerous, smart and expertly trained!"

With the introduction of Agent Henriksen, whom I guess we didn’t see the last time in this episode, we once again get an interesting outsider point of view on the Winchesters. Obviously he dedicated himself to hunt the boys down, making up a serial killer profile from what he thinks are 'facts' about the Winchester family. I appreciate that his short resume of Sam and Dean’s upbringing again, like in The Usual Suspects, highlightens that what we saw about their living conditions in Something Wicked wasn’t an exception but business as usual.

The short confrontation between Henriksen and Dean via phone was brilliant and I won’t get tired to emphasize Jensen terrific acting in scenes like that, a myriad of different emotions crossing his features as he listens to Henriksen summarizing his life and allowing himself a judgment not only on Sam and Dean’s characters but also on John. While Dean might criticize John’s actions based on full understanding of what motivations drove his father, he can’t allow an outsider to do the same.

No matter how angry Dean is with a lot of John’s personal decisions in the last couple of months, it doesn’t devaluate his hero-status in the eyes of his son. Despite the lack of payment, gratitude and acknowledgement from the 'normal' world the Winchesters risk their own lives to secure the lives of others, which makes a verbal attack like Henriksen's all the more hurtful from an insider’s point of view, so it’s no surprise that Dean harshly rejects his words about John, when he himself just stated last episode that John was an ass for laying impossible burdens on his kids.

But this confrontation also shows Dean how screwed they are, Henriksen does make clear that he is willing to take casualties amongst the hostages to bring Sam and Dean down, if that is necessary and they don’t surrender, putting them under even more pressure than before. With the SWAT team on their heels and the Shapeshifter still eluding them and an increasingly distressed crowd of hostages their chances to resolve the situation without further victims got very slim.

The Shapeshifter's little ploy to fake Sherry’s dead body, leading Dean and Sam to believe he changed form once again was great! The brothers perplexity and dumbfound expression as the real Sherry just faints leaving them with two bodies was hilarious. I love how they manage to put in a funny moment like that within a tense situation. The following sequence with Dean fighting off the Shifter while Sam takes out two fully armed SWAT guys was just fabulous. Yep, they are dangerous, smart and expertly trained, our Winchester boys. ♥

The end scene with Sam and Dean fleeing the crime scene in full SWAT clothing and letting the full implication of what just happened to them hit them was just awesome. To choose Styx’s song 'Renegade' for that scene was pure genius, there couldn’t have been a more fitting song for this episode, the lyrics are just spot on!

All in all a fantastic episode! Thrilling and funny and it gave the viewers an urgently needed break from the angst fest of this season so far, a stand-alone that still managed to move one overall plotline forward. Again, I just love this show! ♥

Comments

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Chris, I love you.

I haven't managed coherence yet today...*G*

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

well, not sure if I am overly coherent and deep in this review, I find it more difficult to write about a plot orientated episode than a character orientated one, but I am happy I got it off my 'duty-list' *g*

Supernatural art....

[slaycandy.livejournal.com]

Hey there, I know we don't really know each other very well, I've only just been on the BW forums lately, and I know you're better friends with a lot of the artists that I know, but I'm slaycandy aka. Sayjay, SJ if I'm lazy and Sarah-Jane if I'm feeling formal, :P

Anyway I just wanted to very quickly give you a (slightly informal) invite to be a part of my latest site. I don't know if you've visited my sites Wallflowers or Superfine but they are archives for high quality BtVS/Ats and Veronica Mars art. I have just (literally) opened up a brand new venture called Provenance for Supernatural art and would love it if you joined. You can see the site and more on what it's about at http://left-unspoken.net/provenance. I don't normally hand out invites over LJ, but with BWF being down (I don't know if you can still do PMs or not, I'm not good with forums!) and I couldn't find your email adress anywhere, so decided just to send you, what is turning out to be an extremely long comment!

Anyway if you are at all interested then please email me, (it can be found on the site, I don't really want to leave it here where it can get spammed! sorry!)

I do hope to hear from you soon, thanks for reading this little ramble,
SJ
x

Re: Supernatural art....

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

Hey there Sarah-Jane :) thanks for the invite, I'll look into it :) Btw PM's still work on Buffyworld, plus I have a link to my fanart site 'Salt'n Burn' in my signature where you can find my eMail or just leave a message at my tagboard (just in case you need this again one day *g*)

Btw I love your SN art and know your website 'Radiance' for quite a while !