Review | 8x02 | What's Up, Tiger Mommy

[galathea]

Going into one of Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin’s episodes for Supernatural always feels like a game of chance to me. On the one hand, they have written some great episodes, with layered characters and truly enjoyable humour, but on the other hand they have also delivered some of the worst episodes of the show, with characters that feel incredibly flat and a humour that borders on the tasteless. I think their script for What's Up, Tiger Mommy falls somewhere in the middle of those two categories. It is not horrible, but it is also not exactly a riveting and/or particularly insightful episode. I am sad to say that, so far, S8 fails to truly engage me, emotionally. There are plenty of good moments, but as a whole, I find it somewhat lacking for a start into a new season.



Unfortunately, I have to say that What's Up, Tiger Mommy has the same problems as the last couple of episodes of the previous season – only, you know, without the added bonus of the brothers’ heart-warmingly harmonious relationship of late S7. The episode has an entirely mytharc driven plot that mainly centres around the secondary characters, while Sam and Dean are more or less relegated to the sidelines and have little to do but react to the events unfolding around them. The episode really gives me no reason to care about anything that happens in the present – the hunt for the word of God is no more interesting than the brothers’ hunt for the ingredients of the anti-leviathan weapon last season, and I am simply not invested enough in Kevin and Linda Tran to feel particularly moved by their dilemma – so only Dean’s purgatory flashbacks managed to engage me on some level. Now, this kind of lacklustre storytelling is problematic at the end of a season, where the writers should make an effort to create suspense for the finale, but even more so at the beginning of a season, where they should build momentum and interest for the story to come. As it is, this episode does nothing to fuel my enthusiasm for the mytharc this season. On the contrary, it rather reinforces my fear that the writers’ inability to tie Sam and Dean’s emotional arcs to the mytharc will render it completely uninteresting to me. Admittedly, I find it really odd that the writers would choose to focus on secondary characters this early in the season instead of engaging the audience on a deeper level, either by further addressing the issues between Sam and Dean as laid out in the premiere or by making the brothers more relevant to the plot. That said, at least thematically the episode makes a connection to Sam and Dean, so it is not a total loss.

Sam: "Dean, were you really going to, uh –"
Dean: "What? Slit soccer mom’s throat? Yeah, I was. Wish I had."
Sam: "Dean!"
Dean: "It was Crowley, Sam. No matter what meat suit he is in, I should have knifed him. I mean, yeah, it would have sucked and I would have hated myself, but what’s one more nightmare, right?"

While I do not care much about the plot or the guest characters of What's Up, Tiger Mommy, I think it allows at least for some substantial observations about the brothers, Dean in particular. The episode clearly makes a point of contrasting Sam and Dean’s pragmatic, i.e. less compassionate and empathetic, approach to their situation with Kevin and Linda’s, which is driven by more emotional and somewhat idealistic considerations. Basically, the Trans are now, where Sam and Dean have been several years ago. They find themselves pulled into an unwanted life by forces they cannot control, much like the Winchesters did, and that life confronts them with hard choices and the consequences of those choices will eventually take their toll on them, just like it did with Sam and Dean. Now, it is not exactly news that a life of continuous loss and violence shaped the brothers into the hardened men they are now. After all, we followed that downward spiral over the last couple of seasons. However, seeing Sam and Dean‘s actions through the Trans’ eyes brings that development into sharp focus again, especially since it comes in concentrated form throughout the episode. From Sam summoning a demon back into the body of Linda’s friend so Dean can kill it before it gives away their position to Crowley, to Dean’s statement that Linda’s soul is an acceptable price to pay for Kevin and the tablet, to Dean trying to kill Linda in order to stop Crowley, it is all rather unsettling to watch. I guess it is not surprising that Dean comes off as the aggressor a lot more often than Sam; it just emphasises that purgatory eroded his boundaries even further, and nothing illustrates that more effectively than the brilliant scenic juxtaposition of Dean forcefully interrogating a monster for information on Castiel’s whereabouts in purgatory and Dean interrogating a prisoner for information on the tablet he stole from Kevin. Dean is truly scary in those scenes, and his lack of self-control worries me greatly.

I think that, essentially, Dean has become the future!Dean from The End – which, by the way, is somewhat ironic, given that it actually is 2014 in Supernatural’s timeline right now, because the show jumped two years forward in time – a callous leader, who has his eyes firmly on the bigger picture and is willing to make every sacrifice necessary in order to achieve his goals. And, in a way, that makes perfect sense, because effectively Dean’s life in purgatory and the post-apocalyptic world he faced in 2014 have been very alike – a constant fight for survival with little resources and very few remaining allies to turn to for support and, most importantly, in both cases it was a life without his brother. "We keep each other human," Dean told Sam when they reunited back in The End, and that insight is just as accurate now as it was back then. This past year, Dean's 'brother' was a vampire, so I think it is not surprising that he became something less than human as a result. However, I think there is little doubt that, as Dean reconnects with his real brother, he will reconnect with his humanity as well. As for Sam, I find his rather passive reactions to Dean’s behaviour interesting. He is clearly concerned about Dean and he even gently objects at times when his brother seems especially unfeeling or unreasonable, but he never actively intervenes. For example, when Dean attacks the prisoner during the interrogation, Sam does not stop him, he just worriedly calls out to him, and I admit that I find it hard to interpret his restraint. Does Sam go along because he more or less agrees with Dean or is it a deliberate attempt to not alienate his brother further and thus give him a better chance to reconnect with him? I really hope we will get some insight into where Sam’s head is at in the next couple of episodes.

Anyway, having said all that about the Winchesters’ loss of compassion in general and Dean’s scary mindset in particular, I think it is rather unfair of Kevin to accuse Sam and Dean of just using him and his mother without regard for their well-being. I mean, Dean warned Kevin that he would endanger his mom’s life if he takes Crowley's bait and goes to check up on her, just like Sam warned Linda that she would put her soul at risk if she insists on going after Crowley with them instead of staying at a demon-free safe house. However, both Kevin and Linda made the choice to ignore their warnings, so they cannot entirely blame the consequences of that choice on Sam and Dean. Similarly, Crowley’s contemptuous accusation that the Winchesters have a habit of using people up and watching them die bloody is an extremely warped view of the truth. Of course, Crowley is a demon, so one would expect this kind of manipulation from him, but sadly Kevin buys right into it. Yes, people die a lot around the Winchesters, but most of those people made a choice to stand by Sam and Dean when the brothers threw themselves into harm’s way to save the world. Because, whatever their shortcomings, Sam and Dean’s heart is usually in the right place and their causes are worth fighting for – just like it is now. After all, Sam has a point; their current mission of closing the gates of hell is going to ensure that there will be no more victims of demon possession, no more human casualties, no more human souls tortured in hell, and while that is no reason to throw away the rule book and stop acting like humans, as Dean put it so eloquently back in Jus In Bello, it sure is a cause worth taking some risks for.

What else is noteworthy:

(1) I know I am probably in the minority here, but I do not like Kevin’s mother. At all. I guess she is supposed to come off as mixture of feisty, quirky and protective, but mostly it feels like the writers as well as the actress are just trying too hard; the characterisation simply feels forced. It does not help that I am under the impression that Linda Tran’s character is built up at the expense of Sam and Dean’s characterisation, like, for example, when she manages to extract the information about the tablet from the pawn shop clerk, while Sam and Dean fail miserably to get him to talk or at the auction, where she makes the heroic sacrifice, while Sam and Dean stumble around like idiots. Usually, I don’t have a problem with awesomely competent secondary characters, but it simply feels wrong if Sam and Dean have to be dumbed down, just so the guest characters can shine. I mean, if we compare the brothers’ collaboration with Mrs. Tran to their teamwork with Charlie in The Girl With The Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo, the difference is quite apparent. Charlie’s unique set of skills complemented the brothers’ own, while Mrs. Tran seems to outdo Sam and Dean for no discernable reason, and that is just plain annoying. Oh, and one other point: Crowley insinuates that Mrs. Tran did not tell Kevin the truth about his father, and her reaction implies that she keeps some kind of dark secret. But, as much as I like Kevin, I am really not sure why I should care about his lineage. Even if it would turn out that his father was an angel or a demon or any other kind of creature, I do not see the relevance at the moment, other than the emotional impact it might have on Kevin himself.

(2) Finally, we get a first glimpse of Castiel’s fate in purgatory. I have to admit though that I keep having problems with his characterisation. Firstly, I am very annoyed about the lack of continuity. I mean, when Castiel was sucked into purgatory, he was mentally unstable; he had retreated into escapism, because he was unable to face the consequences of his failures – and purgatory, it seems, cured his 'madness' instantly. How convenient! Then there is Dean, who treats Castiel like nothing ever happened between them. When they fell into purgatory, Dean had not forgiven Castiel for his actions yet, because the angel had not earned it, but apparently all that does not matter anymore. Now, I do get that, after weeks of searching for Castiel, Dean is relieved to find him; the angel is his only connection to his old life, so it is understandable that he holds on to him. However, I cannot avoid the impression that the writers intend to brush their difficult past under the carpet, and that frustrates me greatly. If their past is not addressed in some way further down the road, I will be furious, especially since it is ultimately Castiel’s fault that they are in purgatory at all. Secondly, Castiel’s explanation for his sudden disappearance back when they arrived in purgatory does not really make sense to me. If Castiel truly wanted to protect Dean, why didn’t he just teleport him away from the immediate danger instead of leaving him behind to fend for himself? So far, it is unclear if and how Castiel’s powers are affected by purgatory, but we know for a fact that at least his teleportation powers were still working when they arrived, so using them to get Dean to (temporary) safety and then explain the situation to him would have given Dean a way better start. And if Castiel’s powers are still at full strength, surely Dean would stand a better chance of survival with him than without, especially since the leviathans have just as much reason to hunt Dean down as they have to hunt Castiel down, if not more. After all, it was Dean who killed Dick Roman, and it was Dean (and Sam) who hunted the leviathans topside, while Castiel first lived in blessed ignorance and then refused to join the fight.

(3) And while we are on the topic of angels: The episode sees the introduction of the new angel Alfie, aka Samandriel. I admit, I like Alfie. He is cute and funny and, compared to most of the other angels we have met so far, he seems refreshingly good-natured and benevolent. However, I find it somewhat difficult to buy into his praise of Castiel’s character. I mean, Castiel’s heart may have been in the right place when he fell for the temptation Crowley presented to him, but by the point he started the mass slaughter of his fellow angels, too much heart was surely not the issue, and I simply doubt that any of the angels who survived Castiel’s heavenly purge would judge him kindly. While I have no reason to doubt that Alfie genuinely means his words, I have a hard time to accept the character’s attitude as believable. The anger and disappointment the angel Hesther directed at Castiel in Reading Is Fundamental made much more sense to me than Alfie’s admiration. After all, from the angels’ point of view Castiel is a war criminal. But well, I am sure this is not the last time we met Alfie, and maybe the angel’s attitude will become more understandable once we gain more insight into the character.

(4) To be honest, the entire auction scenario is an utter mess; most of the characters’ actions are incomprehensible or just plain stupid. Sam, Dean, Kevin and Linda walk blindly into a dangerous situation without a backup plan and without even carrying basic protection like holy water or salt on them. And are we really supposed to believe that Sam and Dean are naïve enough to assume that they can walk into a black market auction organised by supernatural creatures and purchase a magical artefact with human money? Also, what is the point of Dean busting into the locked room with the artefacts, if he has no idea how to deal with possible guards? Did he really think the artefacts would just lie around unguarded? I guess some of these scenes are intended as humorous, but overall the characters’ stupidity is just annoying. When the brothers confront Crowley at the end, things get even more confusing. Sam tackles Mrs. Tran, who is possessed by Crowley – and then he just lets go of her and steps back instead of keeping her restrained and chanting an exorcism, as one would expect. Similarly, when Crowley is back in his body, they simply let him walk away instead of making an attempt to stop him, even though he is almost powerless. They tried to detain him when he was in Mrs. Tran’s body, so why give up the chase now? And, by the way, why does Crowley walk away with just the tablet, which, on its own, has no value to him? Why doesn’t he just summon some of his demon minions and takes Kevin with him? It is not like anyone could have stopped him. Yes, the warding spells at the auction house limited Crowley’s powers, but he could have just waited outside. Kevin had to come out at some point. Overall, the whole auction sequence makes little sense and lacks any suspense.

In conclusion: While I like the overarching themes of What's Up, Tiger Mommy that pertain to Sam and Dean, the episode barely managed to hold my interest for forty minutes, mainly because of a rather messy execution and a lack of emotional resonance. Maybe if I had liked Mrs. Tran better, I would have enjoyed the episode more, but as it is, the irritation and annoyance I felt whenever she was on screen further impacted my enjoyment negatively. However, I daresay now that Kevin and his mother will be out of the picture for a while, the brothers will probably turn their attention to normal monster-of-the-week cases, and hopefully that will give us more material on Sam and Dean. After all, standalones are often way more effective at illuminating the brothers’ issues than mytharc heavy episodes.