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Review | 8x11 | LARP and The Real Girl
Okay, that was fun! LARP and The Real Girl is the first episode this season that I enjoyed from start to finish and that felt like the Supernatural I know and love. Just like other Robbie Thompson episodes, LARP and The Real Girl impresses with a great balance between action, humour and drama and, most importantly, with a natural characterisation for Sam and Dean. The episode not only deals with the aftermath of Sam and Dean’s decisions from last episode and allows them to reconnect with each other, but also returns a beloved character from the brothers’ past to the screen. ♥ I just hope this episode is indicative for the direction S8 will take from here on out.
Okay, let me get one thing out of the way first: LARP and The Real Girl is not perfect. How could it be? I mean, given the sheer number of problems with continuity, consistency and characterisation in the first ten episodes of the season, any episode that builds on those ten episodes will inevitably be affected by the same kind of problems. You just cannot build a solid house on an unreliable foundation. For example, Sam’s grief over giving up his life with Amelia would have a lot more weight, had their storyline been emotionally more consistent these last couple of weeks. Or, just last episode, Sam and Dean both severed ties with an important person in their life because they decided to put the mission ahead of their personal needs, and yet here they are, only a couple of days later, taking a time-out to participate in a live action role playing game. Not that it does not make perfect sense for Sam and Dean to take the time to try and reconnect with each other, but still, enjoying themselves at a role playing game may come off as a tad jarring, continuity-wise. However, I think overall the episode does a pretty good job at incorporating the past events in a meaningful manner; there are only a few, isolated instances where I feel that the weaknesses of the previous episodes create an off-key note in the narrative. And, really, after being dissatisfied with the show for such an extended period of time, I am way too relieved to feel enthusiastic about an episode to really care about comparatively minor narrative problems.
Dean: "Look, we have both had a rough go over these past couple of weeks. And I know what you gave up wasn’t easy. Maybe we gotta take the night off. Go see a flick. Hit a bar or two. Have some fun. You remember fun, don’t you, Sammy?"
Sam and Dean’s characterisation at the beginning at the episode follows well from where we left them off last week, especially for Sam, who is withdrawn and obviously still reeling from his decision to leave Amelia. Now, as I said before, this is one aspect of the episode that is adversely affected by the problems of the previous episodes. The emotions conveyed through the acting and the dialogues simply fall flat due to the consistency and credibility issues in Sam’s storyline with Amelia. For example, the intensity of Sam’s grief would make more sense, had he just separated from Amelia, but his choice last week simply reinforced a decision he already made months ago. And since the past episodes failed to give Sam’s romance with Amelia the necessary depth, his loss is not really tangible for the viewer either. Overall, this aspect of the episode comes off as an attempt to draw a parallel to Sam losing Jessica, but the build-up (or lack thereof) simply does not support it. Since the fault lies with the episodes that preceded LARP and The Real Girl, though, rather than with the episode itself, I do not hold that against it. Anyway, as is characteristic for Sam, he tries to cope with his loss by channeling all his energy into the mission with a single-minded focus. However, I think Sam’s commitment is not only fuelled by the need to make his decision to give up Amelia count, but also by a belated feeling of guilt over withdrawing from the hunt in the first place. I mean, Sam’s urgent insistence that they need all the help they can get because people are dying stands in stark contrast to his statement in the season opener that people are always dying and that the responsibility to save them does not fall on them alone. But now that he recommitted himself to the cause, it would not be surprising if he started to question his past decisions – and overcompensates as a result.
Dean, on the other hand, is in a more upbeat mood, which is not all that surprising, considering that, ultimately, his heart’s desire, i.e. to drive down crazy street next to his brother, has been granted. Of course, that does not mean that his decision to cut ties with Benny does not still weigh on him – Charlie calls him out on it and Sam does, too, by acknowledging that Dean needs help as well – but it is not unusual for Dean to repress his feelings of loss and rather focus on what is right in front of him, and at the moment that is Sam. Dean’s concern and subtle support for his brother are really heart-warming to watch. I particularly love his efforts to reconnect with Sam by suggesting a visit to the movie theatre or a bar to give them an opportunity to just be brothers for a while. ♥ There is one point in Dean’s characterisation that struck me as rather odd, though. In his conversation with Charlie about their past year, Charlie concludes her short recount of Sam’s story with the statement that it was Dean’s fault that his brother lost his second shot at normalcy, and considering that Dean is the one who told Charlie the story in the first place, it implies that he gave her the impression of guilt. Now, obviously Dean bears no responsibility for Sam breaking it off with Amelia. After all, Sam already separated from her before he even knew that Dean is alive, and Dean’s fake text message may have been a questionable move, but it had no impact on Sam and Amelia’s choices. It may make sense that Dean would feel responsible nonetheless – he pushed for Sam’s recommitment to hunting all season long, so it stands to reason that he would assume responsibility for his brother’s choice, no matter Sam's actual motives – but I still feel that Dean’s sudden implied guilt comes out of nowhere, and I wished the writers would have given it more attention than just one throwaway line.
Dean: "I get it. No amount of fun is gonna help you get over what you gave up. You just – you need time. Right?"
Sam: "Yeah, thanks. And you’re right. Having fun won’t help me. It’ll help both of us. Shall we?"
The final conversation between Sam and Dean, as well as the subsequent 'Braveheart' scene, are without a doubt my favourite moments of the episode, if not the entire season so far. ♥ I love the way the brothers’ conversation circles back to their opening scene in the car, where Dean suggested that they go and see a movie or hit a bar in order to have some fun, and Sam showed no interest in shared activities beyond hunting. This time Dean tries the opposite approach and offers Sam the time and space to deal with his loss in his own way, thus essentially accommodating Sam’s needs by sacrificing his own. However, instead of simply accepting Dean’s well-meaning gesture, Sam unexpectedly returns his efforts with an accommodating gesture of his own and offers to indulge in a little escapism with his brother, not only because it is what Dean wants, but also because it is what they both need to start the healing process between them. Ultimately, Sam puts their needs as brothers first – before their individual needs and before the mission as well – and that is exactly how it should be, because it is crucial to their success as a team. After all, the past couple of years have illustrated time and again that Sam and Dean are at their most vulnerable and least effective when they are out of step with each other and unable to act from a strong position of unity and trust. So, Sam’s gesture is not only an important milestone on the brothers’ road to a genuine reconciliation, but also the first step on their way to successfully complete the mission of closing the gates of heaven and hell.
I also think it is interesting to note that LARP and The Real Girl builds a strong thematic counterpoint to last week’s episode. Sam’s acknowledgement that having fun helps them to deal with the sacrifices that come with their job, effectively counters Kevin's statement from last week that he cannot enjoy a world he needs to save. I think Kevin is wrong, though. Being able to enjoy the rare moments of fun in their lives is not only vital for their mental health (and hence for their ability to save the world), but it also connects them to the world, thus reminding them why they are fighting in the first place. Moreover, while Torn and Frayed puts a strong emphasis on the brothers’ social isolation, LARP and The Real Girl highlights Sam and Dean’s social connections. I mean, Garth has obviously become a fixture in the brothers’ lives, and Sam may complain about Garth tracking them via the GPS in their phones, but I think both brothers appreciate being able to rely on his help. Similarly, Charlie serves as a stand-in for all those people whose lives Sam and Dean touched and who are willing to support them in return. Visually, this particular contrast between the two episodes is poignantly captured in their final camera shots. LARP and The Real Girl’s final shot of Sam and Dean enthusiastically storming into battle with dozens of fellow fighters at their side builds a powerful contrast to Torn and Frayed’s last shot of Sam and Dean miserable and alone, even in their togetherness.
Gilda: "Why would you play such a game?"
Charlie: "This world – not so much with awesome. The game is a way to get away."
The central motif of LARP and The Real Girl is escapism and how it affects our grip on reality. In that regard, the episode ties back to Hunteri Heroici, particularly to Sam’s passionate speech about the dangers of retreating into a dream world. In LARP and The Real Girl, Charlie’s friend Gerry escapes into the fantasy world of Moondoor because it provides him with a validation he is unable to find in his real life, and as a result the game becomes his sole reality – with dire consequences for his fellow players. Similarly, in Hunteri Heroici, Sam and Dean’s old friend Fred literally shuts himself away in a cartoon world because dealing with the real world has become too difficult for him, and as a result he falls prey to a perpetrator who uses him as a human weapon. In both cases, escapism obviously proved to be detrimental, not only to Fred and Gerry's mental health, but also to the well-being of others. However, unlike Hunteri Heroici, LARP and The Real Girl also offers a positive perspective on escapism, mainly by presenting Charlie’s character as a positive example of someone who effortlessly combines life competence and playfulness. In Charlie’s case, as well as Sam and Dean’s, escapism and realism are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, escapism proves to be an important coping mechanism that allows them to deal with a life of hardship.
The episode also stresses the overall importance of fun and joy in the brothers’ lives, and I think this focus on positive aspects is long overdue, as the writers have come to overemphasise the misery of Sam and Dean’s existence these past few years. Now, in the earlier seasons, the brothers had little problems to strike a balance between work and play. "We are allowed to have fun once in a while," Dean told Sam back in Dead In The Water and, granted, having fun often translated into hooking-up for Dean, but it was also an integral part of Sam and Dean’s relationship as brothers, of their friendship, which had its roots in their shared childhood and carried over into adulthood. Their prank war in Hell House is an obvious example, of course, but we know from Swan Song that Sam and Dean always took the time to do something fun, like going to a concert or a sports event. However, over the years, as life’s burdens started to take their toll on the brothers, moments of joy became few and far between, and the growing problems in their relationship often undermined their ability to function as friends as well, a point explicitly made by episodes like Sex and Violence or Swap Meat. These past two years, the brothers returned to an amicable relationship, but they still struggled to make time for fun activities, and I would really love for them to find a better balance between work and play again. I think it would not only be beneficial for them, but also for us as viewers.
One last thought: Sam and Dean may have their fair share of personal and ideological differences, but they also have a fundamental understanding of each other’s needs; they just seem to get each other in a way that nobody else does. I honestly do not intend to diminish the other friendships in Sam and Dean’s lives in any way; they all have their specific function in the brothers’ lives. But Bobby would have scoffed at the suggestion of participating in a live action role playing game, Castiel would not even know what to do with the notion and Benny would probably be unable to just enjoy himself in a crowd of humans, as he would constantly have to fight against the temptation they present to him. These kinds of normal friendship activities – going to the movies, concerts or sports events, hanging out in a bar together or, like here, participating in a game – are something we only ever see Sam and Dean share with each other, and that is part of why their relationship always feels so all-encompassing to me.
What else is noteworthy:
(1) I doubt there are many people in fandom who would argue with the fact that Charlie has been one of the most memorable one-off characters in S7, which is mostly due to her vibrant, optimistic personality, as well as her enjoyable interaction with Sam and Dean. When we last saw Charlie, she told Sam and Dean to never contact her again, a clear indication that her encounter with the supernatural had shaken her, and yet she does not hesitate to help the brothers when they show up on her doorstep again. Charlie has every reason to turn Sam and Dean away when they ask for her assistance. After all, she basically lost her entire life last time she got involved with their mission. However, she not only refuses to allow her fear to define her, but is also willing to fight for the life she has built for herself and that makes her all the more admirable. It is refreshing to see a character who takes the existence of the supernatural in stride and neither feels the obligation to arrange her life around the knowledge that monsters exist, nor lets it take away her ability to enjoy her life to the fullest – and that makes her the perfect companion for Sam and Dean, who sometimes forget that duty and sacrifice is not all there is to life.
(2) Because I feel like it, I give you a list of my favourite fun moments in the episode: I love that moment where Dean discusses battle strategies with Charlie and moves the toy army on her strategy map around. Dean may be more of a gut-instinct action type of guy, but that does not mean that he is not a good strategist if need be. ♥ The fact that Dean and Charlie both instantly think of the female porn star when Sam mentions Belladonna amuses me to no end, and Sam’s dead-pan reaction is just hilarious. Jensen, Jared and Felicia have great comedic timing in that scene. ♥ I also love the scene where Gerry takes one look at Sam and Dean’s FBI badges and dismisses them as fake, explaining in detail why they are not convincing. It is not only a great character moment, given that Gerry is later revealed as an authenticity fanatic, but his lecture also comes rather unexpected, since civilians almost never question the brothers’ ID’s. ♥ Last, but not least, the scene where Dean pulls a gun on the players, because he runs out of patience with their antics, made me laugh out loud. Here is Dean, surrounded by people in fake costumes pretending to be orcs and magicians, and yet he is the one looking like he completely lost his mind.
(3) I am not really into live action RPGs, but I am an avid gamer of single player RPGs as well as MMORPGs, so I can very much relate to the story of LARP and The Real Girl and the characters within, and that always adds to my enjoyment of an episode. Now, the writers addressed the phenomenon of LARPing in the show before, namely in The Monster At The End Of This Book, where a bookstore clerk mistakes a confused Sam and Dean for Supernatural LARPers – given that, at the time, Sam and Dean had no clue what LARPing even means, it is all the more amusing that now, a couple of years later, they actually do indulge in some LARPing – and in The Real Ghostbusters, where we meet some actual Supernatural LARPers. However, I always felt that the latter took a somewhat mocking approach to the topic, and I do not have that feeling with LARP and The Real Girl at all. Sure, the episode has its fair share of jokes at the expense of Moondoor players, but it is all good-natured. I also think the fact that Charlie, who is a likeable and, most importantly, life-competent character, acts as a person of reference in the LARP world adds to the more balanced feel of the episode.
In conclusion: LARP and The Real Girl feels like a breeze of fresh air in a season that, up to now, largely stood out as repetitive and stale. The thematic direction of the episode supports Sam and Dean's healing process really well, and after such an extended period of (unnecessary) quarrelling between the brothers, their combined efforts to reconnect with each other are just delightful to watch. Sam and Dean’s characterisation feels more natural here than it has in any of the previous episodes, and for that alone I am immensely grateful. The season may never fully recover from the problems of the first ten episodes, but if the rest of the season could maintain the quality of LARP and The Real Girl, it would go a long way for me to make peace with S8.
Okay, let me get one thing out of the way first: LARP and The Real Girl is not perfect. How could it be? I mean, given the sheer number of problems with continuity, consistency and characterisation in the first ten episodes of the season, any episode that builds on those ten episodes will inevitably be affected by the same kind of problems. You just cannot build a solid house on an unreliable foundation. For example, Sam’s grief over giving up his life with Amelia would have a lot more weight, had their storyline been emotionally more consistent these last couple of weeks. Or, just last episode, Sam and Dean both severed ties with an important person in their life because they decided to put the mission ahead of their personal needs, and yet here they are, only a couple of days later, taking a time-out to participate in a live action role playing game. Not that it does not make perfect sense for Sam and Dean to take the time to try and reconnect with each other, but still, enjoying themselves at a role playing game may come off as a tad jarring, continuity-wise. However, I think overall the episode does a pretty good job at incorporating the past events in a meaningful manner; there are only a few, isolated instances where I feel that the weaknesses of the previous episodes create an off-key note in the narrative. And, really, after being dissatisfied with the show for such an extended period of time, I am way too relieved to feel enthusiastic about an episode to really care about comparatively minor narrative problems.
Dean: "Look, we have both had a rough go over these past couple of weeks. And I know what you gave up wasn’t easy. Maybe we gotta take the night off. Go see a flick. Hit a bar or two. Have some fun. You remember fun, don’t you, Sammy?"
Sam and Dean’s characterisation at the beginning at the episode follows well from where we left them off last week, especially for Sam, who is withdrawn and obviously still reeling from his decision to leave Amelia. Now, as I said before, this is one aspect of the episode that is adversely affected by the problems of the previous episodes. The emotions conveyed through the acting and the dialogues simply fall flat due to the consistency and credibility issues in Sam’s storyline with Amelia. For example, the intensity of Sam’s grief would make more sense, had he just separated from Amelia, but his choice last week simply reinforced a decision he already made months ago. And since the past episodes failed to give Sam’s romance with Amelia the necessary depth, his loss is not really tangible for the viewer either. Overall, this aspect of the episode comes off as an attempt to draw a parallel to Sam losing Jessica, but the build-up (or lack thereof) simply does not support it. Since the fault lies with the episodes that preceded LARP and The Real Girl, though, rather than with the episode itself, I do not hold that against it. Anyway, as is characteristic for Sam, he tries to cope with his loss by channeling all his energy into the mission with a single-minded focus. However, I think Sam’s commitment is not only fuelled by the need to make his decision to give up Amelia count, but also by a belated feeling of guilt over withdrawing from the hunt in the first place. I mean, Sam’s urgent insistence that they need all the help they can get because people are dying stands in stark contrast to his statement in the season opener that people are always dying and that the responsibility to save them does not fall on them alone. But now that he recommitted himself to the cause, it would not be surprising if he started to question his past decisions – and overcompensates as a result.
Dean, on the other hand, is in a more upbeat mood, which is not all that surprising, considering that, ultimately, his heart’s desire, i.e. to drive down crazy street next to his brother, has been granted. Of course, that does not mean that his decision to cut ties with Benny does not still weigh on him – Charlie calls him out on it and Sam does, too, by acknowledging that Dean needs help as well – but it is not unusual for Dean to repress his feelings of loss and rather focus on what is right in front of him, and at the moment that is Sam. Dean’s concern and subtle support for his brother are really heart-warming to watch. I particularly love his efforts to reconnect with Sam by suggesting a visit to the movie theatre or a bar to give them an opportunity to just be brothers for a while. ♥ There is one point in Dean’s characterisation that struck me as rather odd, though. In his conversation with Charlie about their past year, Charlie concludes her short recount of Sam’s story with the statement that it was Dean’s fault that his brother lost his second shot at normalcy, and considering that Dean is the one who told Charlie the story in the first place, it implies that he gave her the impression of guilt. Now, obviously Dean bears no responsibility for Sam breaking it off with Amelia. After all, Sam already separated from her before he even knew that Dean is alive, and Dean’s fake text message may have been a questionable move, but it had no impact on Sam and Amelia’s choices. It may make sense that Dean would feel responsible nonetheless – he pushed for Sam’s recommitment to hunting all season long, so it stands to reason that he would assume responsibility for his brother’s choice, no matter Sam's actual motives – but I still feel that Dean’s sudden implied guilt comes out of nowhere, and I wished the writers would have given it more attention than just one throwaway line.
Dean: "I get it. No amount of fun is gonna help you get over what you gave up. You just – you need time. Right?"
Sam: "Yeah, thanks. And you’re right. Having fun won’t help me. It’ll help both of us. Shall we?"
The final conversation between Sam and Dean, as well as the subsequent 'Braveheart' scene, are without a doubt my favourite moments of the episode, if not the entire season so far. ♥ I love the way the brothers’ conversation circles back to their opening scene in the car, where Dean suggested that they go and see a movie or hit a bar in order to have some fun, and Sam showed no interest in shared activities beyond hunting. This time Dean tries the opposite approach and offers Sam the time and space to deal with his loss in his own way, thus essentially accommodating Sam’s needs by sacrificing his own. However, instead of simply accepting Dean’s well-meaning gesture, Sam unexpectedly returns his efforts with an accommodating gesture of his own and offers to indulge in a little escapism with his brother, not only because it is what Dean wants, but also because it is what they both need to start the healing process between them. Ultimately, Sam puts their needs as brothers first – before their individual needs and before the mission as well – and that is exactly how it should be, because it is crucial to their success as a team. After all, the past couple of years have illustrated time and again that Sam and Dean are at their most vulnerable and least effective when they are out of step with each other and unable to act from a strong position of unity and trust. So, Sam’s gesture is not only an important milestone on the brothers’ road to a genuine reconciliation, but also the first step on their way to successfully complete the mission of closing the gates of heaven and hell.
I also think it is interesting to note that LARP and The Real Girl builds a strong thematic counterpoint to last week’s episode. Sam’s acknowledgement that having fun helps them to deal with the sacrifices that come with their job, effectively counters Kevin's statement from last week that he cannot enjoy a world he needs to save. I think Kevin is wrong, though. Being able to enjoy the rare moments of fun in their lives is not only vital for their mental health (and hence for their ability to save the world), but it also connects them to the world, thus reminding them why they are fighting in the first place. Moreover, while Torn and Frayed puts a strong emphasis on the brothers’ social isolation, LARP and The Real Girl highlights Sam and Dean’s social connections. I mean, Garth has obviously become a fixture in the brothers’ lives, and Sam may complain about Garth tracking them via the GPS in their phones, but I think both brothers appreciate being able to rely on his help. Similarly, Charlie serves as a stand-in for all those people whose lives Sam and Dean touched and who are willing to support them in return. Visually, this particular contrast between the two episodes is poignantly captured in their final camera shots. LARP and The Real Girl’s final shot of Sam and Dean enthusiastically storming into battle with dozens of fellow fighters at their side builds a powerful contrast to Torn and Frayed’s last shot of Sam and Dean miserable and alone, even in their togetherness.
Gilda: "Why would you play such a game?"
Charlie: "This world – not so much with awesome. The game is a way to get away."
The central motif of LARP and The Real Girl is escapism and how it affects our grip on reality. In that regard, the episode ties back to Hunteri Heroici, particularly to Sam’s passionate speech about the dangers of retreating into a dream world. In LARP and The Real Girl, Charlie’s friend Gerry escapes into the fantasy world of Moondoor because it provides him with a validation he is unable to find in his real life, and as a result the game becomes his sole reality – with dire consequences for his fellow players. Similarly, in Hunteri Heroici, Sam and Dean’s old friend Fred literally shuts himself away in a cartoon world because dealing with the real world has become too difficult for him, and as a result he falls prey to a perpetrator who uses him as a human weapon. In both cases, escapism obviously proved to be detrimental, not only to Fred and Gerry's mental health, but also to the well-being of others. However, unlike Hunteri Heroici, LARP and The Real Girl also offers a positive perspective on escapism, mainly by presenting Charlie’s character as a positive example of someone who effortlessly combines life competence and playfulness. In Charlie’s case, as well as Sam and Dean’s, escapism and realism are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, escapism proves to be an important coping mechanism that allows them to deal with a life of hardship.
The episode also stresses the overall importance of fun and joy in the brothers’ lives, and I think this focus on positive aspects is long overdue, as the writers have come to overemphasise the misery of Sam and Dean’s existence these past few years. Now, in the earlier seasons, the brothers had little problems to strike a balance between work and play. "We are allowed to have fun once in a while," Dean told Sam back in Dead In The Water and, granted, having fun often translated into hooking-up for Dean, but it was also an integral part of Sam and Dean’s relationship as brothers, of their friendship, which had its roots in their shared childhood and carried over into adulthood. Their prank war in Hell House is an obvious example, of course, but we know from Swan Song that Sam and Dean always took the time to do something fun, like going to a concert or a sports event. However, over the years, as life’s burdens started to take their toll on the brothers, moments of joy became few and far between, and the growing problems in their relationship often undermined their ability to function as friends as well, a point explicitly made by episodes like Sex and Violence or Swap Meat. These past two years, the brothers returned to an amicable relationship, but they still struggled to make time for fun activities, and I would really love for them to find a better balance between work and play again. I think it would not only be beneficial for them, but also for us as viewers.
One last thought: Sam and Dean may have their fair share of personal and ideological differences, but they also have a fundamental understanding of each other’s needs; they just seem to get each other in a way that nobody else does. I honestly do not intend to diminish the other friendships in Sam and Dean’s lives in any way; they all have their specific function in the brothers’ lives. But Bobby would have scoffed at the suggestion of participating in a live action role playing game, Castiel would not even know what to do with the notion and Benny would probably be unable to just enjoy himself in a crowd of humans, as he would constantly have to fight against the temptation they present to him. These kinds of normal friendship activities – going to the movies, concerts or sports events, hanging out in a bar together or, like here, participating in a game – are something we only ever see Sam and Dean share with each other, and that is part of why their relationship always feels so all-encompassing to me.
What else is noteworthy:
(1) I doubt there are many people in fandom who would argue with the fact that Charlie has been one of the most memorable one-off characters in S7, which is mostly due to her vibrant, optimistic personality, as well as her enjoyable interaction with Sam and Dean. When we last saw Charlie, she told Sam and Dean to never contact her again, a clear indication that her encounter with the supernatural had shaken her, and yet she does not hesitate to help the brothers when they show up on her doorstep again. Charlie has every reason to turn Sam and Dean away when they ask for her assistance. After all, she basically lost her entire life last time she got involved with their mission. However, she not only refuses to allow her fear to define her, but is also willing to fight for the life she has built for herself and that makes her all the more admirable. It is refreshing to see a character who takes the existence of the supernatural in stride and neither feels the obligation to arrange her life around the knowledge that monsters exist, nor lets it take away her ability to enjoy her life to the fullest – and that makes her the perfect companion for Sam and Dean, who sometimes forget that duty and sacrifice is not all there is to life.
(2) Because I feel like it, I give you a list of my favourite fun moments in the episode: I love that moment where Dean discusses battle strategies with Charlie and moves the toy army on her strategy map around. Dean may be more of a gut-instinct action type of guy, but that does not mean that he is not a good strategist if need be. ♥ The fact that Dean and Charlie both instantly think of the female porn star when Sam mentions Belladonna amuses me to no end, and Sam’s dead-pan reaction is just hilarious. Jensen, Jared and Felicia have great comedic timing in that scene. ♥ I also love the scene where Gerry takes one look at Sam and Dean’s FBI badges and dismisses them as fake, explaining in detail why they are not convincing. It is not only a great character moment, given that Gerry is later revealed as an authenticity fanatic, but his lecture also comes rather unexpected, since civilians almost never question the brothers’ ID’s. ♥ Last, but not least, the scene where Dean pulls a gun on the players, because he runs out of patience with their antics, made me laugh out loud. Here is Dean, surrounded by people in fake costumes pretending to be orcs and magicians, and yet he is the one looking like he completely lost his mind.
(3) I am not really into live action RPGs, but I am an avid gamer of single player RPGs as well as MMORPGs, so I can very much relate to the story of LARP and The Real Girl and the characters within, and that always adds to my enjoyment of an episode. Now, the writers addressed the phenomenon of LARPing in the show before, namely in The Monster At The End Of This Book, where a bookstore clerk mistakes a confused Sam and Dean for Supernatural LARPers – given that, at the time, Sam and Dean had no clue what LARPing even means, it is all the more amusing that now, a couple of years later, they actually do indulge in some LARPing – and in The Real Ghostbusters, where we meet some actual Supernatural LARPers. However, I always felt that the latter took a somewhat mocking approach to the topic, and I do not have that feeling with LARP and The Real Girl at all. Sure, the episode has its fair share of jokes at the expense of Moondoor players, but it is all good-natured. I also think the fact that Charlie, who is a likeable and, most importantly, life-competent character, acts as a person of reference in the LARP world adds to the more balanced feel of the episode.
In conclusion: LARP and The Real Girl feels like a breeze of fresh air in a season that, up to now, largely stood out as repetitive and stale. The thematic direction of the episode supports Sam and Dean's healing process really well, and after such an extended period of (unnecessary) quarrelling between the brothers, their combined efforts to reconnect with each other are just delightful to watch. Sam and Dean’s characterisation feels more natural here than it has in any of the previous episodes, and for that alone I am immensely grateful. The season may never fully recover from the problems of the first ten episodes, but if the rest of the season could maintain the quality of LARP and The Real Girl, it would go a long way for me to make peace with S8.