![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Review | 8x15 | Man's Best Friend with Benefits
Given Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming’s rather uneven track record for Supernatural, I went into Man’s Best Friend with Benefits with very low expectations, and unfortunately the episode did nothing to improve my opinion of the writers. Awkward may be the term that best describes this episode; from the unfortunate implications that come with the animal familiar/human witch storyline, to the cringe-worthy frat boy humour, to parts of the characterisation, the episode commits quite a few blunders. Still, I did not hate the episode. Mainly I was bored, actually, and if it was not for the few, somewhat meaningful Sam and Dean scenes, it would have been an entirely forgettable episode.
Sam: "You know, maybe I actually pull this one off."
Dean: "I’m just saying."
Sam: "I know what you’re saying, Dean. You’ve said it. You know, I’ve been going over this and over this. Asking myself, why doesn’t he trust me. It occurred to me finally. It’s not that you don’t trust me. It’s that you can only trust you."
I guess it was to be expected that Sam’s decision to take the 'hell trials' would disrupt the peace between the brothers to some extent, so their arguments in Man’s Best Friend with Benefits are not all that surprising. Now, I think it is understandable that Sam has some trust issues where Dean’s trust in him is concerned. I mean, as I already pointed out in my review to Citizen Fang, it will be increasingly difficult for Sam to ever trust again that a reconciliation between him and Dean is actually solid. Considering that, just a few weeks ago, Dean threw Sam’s past failures in his face – failures Dean had seemingly forgiven him years ago – and told Sam that he cannot trust him because he let Dean down in the past, it makes perfect sense for Sam to now have doubts that Dean will ever again genuinely trust him with anything, no matter how much Dean may protest to the contrary. So, while I am not overly happy that there are once again trust issues between the brothers, it provides at least some continuity to the first half of the season. Granted, I think there is some truth to Sam’s accusation that Dean only trusts himself. Dean has problems with trust in general, he admitted as much back in The Mentalists, but I think to entrust Sam’s safety to anyone other but himself is particularly difficult for Dean, even if that other person is Sam. After all, experience tells Dean that even though Sam is more than capable as a hunter and a person, terrible things tend to happen to him when he makes choices that serve the greater good, things Dean then has to save Sam from, like his death in Cold Oak, the loss of his soul or the destruction of his sanity, and he has no reason to believe that the trials will be any different, so it is understandable that Dean feels a little anxious to hand over control to Sam.
That is why Dean’s words at the end of the episode about trusting Sam with the deal and supporting him one hundred percent are a big step forward for Dean. As I said before, it is one thing for Dean to acknowledge that he needs to let go of his role as Sam’s protector, but another thing entirely to actually do it, and I only hope that he will be able to keep his word, even when Sam is not okay. By the way, Dean’s statement that he realises for the first time that only by hanging together they were able to get through the years of pain and suffering is rather dubious. I mean, really? He only sees that now? I highly doubt that, dear writers. Anyway, as ill luck would have it, the moment Dean tells Sam that he trusts him to be okay, Sam starts coughing up blood and just like that he finds himself in an impossible dilemma. If he tells Dean, his brother will undoubtedly insist on taking the trials himself, and Sam will not only lose the chance to prove his competence, but he will also have to face yet another situation in which Dean places himself in mortal danger for him – and he simply cannot watch Dean die on him again. If he does not tell Dean, however, he jeopardizes the very trust he is so eager to earn, so he is really stuck between a rock and a hard place. Overall, I am not thrilled about the fact that we are heading towards yet another conflict about lies and secrets between the brothers; I find it really frustrating that they have apparently still not learned that particular lesson. However, at least this is the kind of conflict that comes from a place of love and protection and, unlike the conflict we had in the first half of the season, that is something that makes sense to me.
What else is noteworthy:
(1) Sadly, Man’s Best Friend With Benefits is one of those episodes that dumb Dean down for exposition purposes – the notion that Dean would not know what a familiar is seems rather ridiculous – and/or portray him as a sixteen year old, hormonal teenager, who is flustered by all things involving sex, as a (questionable) form of comic relief. I really wished the writers would stop using Dean in this manner whenever it is convenient and stick with an age-appropriate characterisation instead. Dean’s regression is neither funny nor cute at this point in the show. On the other hand, I really like the consistency in Dean’s characterisation where witches are concerned. Dean always had a problem with humans who deliberately turn to the supernatural as a means of empowerment, so his reserved attitude towards their mutual friend James feels very consistent. And while we are talking about Dean, I know some fans think that Dean’s dislike of dogs is somewhat out of character, given that he was rather friendly towards the golden retriever back in Mystery Spot, but I think it is important to remember that that was before he was torn to shreds by hellhounds. I mean, in Yellow Fever Dean was terrified of a Yorkshire terrier, and while his fear may have been amplified to the extreme by the ghost sickness, I think it did reveal a genuine, deep-seated fear of dogs in the aftermath of his hellhound experience.
(2) I am delighted that Bobby keeps getting mentioned this season – I really miss the character’s solid presence in the show – and I love that Sam and Dean still use Bobby’s spells and books, even though they have the Batcave and its endless resources now. I like particularly the shout-out to Shut-Up, Dr. Phil, where Sam and Dean tried to use Bobby’s witch-killing spell as well, but failed because the chicken feet were not properly chilled. Here, Dean not only makes sure that the chicken feet are frozen, but they also change their method of delivery, i.e. preparing a Molotov cocktail instead of lighting the ingredients in a bowl, which renders the spell ineffectual because the 'fumes' never actually reach the witch in question. We do not get to see it often that the brothers learn from past failures in their spell work and modify their methods, so this bit of continuity is especially appreciated.
In conclusion: Man’s Best Friend with Benefits is one of those unfortunate Supernatural episodes where poor writing meets a questionable premise, and the results are predictably eye-roll-worthy. Still, I find it a lot easier to just handwave a badly written episode like this than to get past the problematic characterisation and continuity of the first half of the season. I just hope the show will be back to form next Wednesday - and gives us new Batcave material. It is really funny how much I miss the place already.
I am sorry this review is so short, but my sisters were staying with me last week, so I had no time to write up more extensive thoughts on this episode. I figured that, rather than writing no review at all, it would be best to just focus on the main issue between the brothers and skip the rest. I may come back to it later and expand on some points, though.
Sam: "You know, maybe I actually pull this one off."
Dean: "I’m just saying."
Sam: "I know what you’re saying, Dean. You’ve said it. You know, I’ve been going over this and over this. Asking myself, why doesn’t he trust me. It occurred to me finally. It’s not that you don’t trust me. It’s that you can only trust you."
I guess it was to be expected that Sam’s decision to take the 'hell trials' would disrupt the peace between the brothers to some extent, so their arguments in Man’s Best Friend with Benefits are not all that surprising. Now, I think it is understandable that Sam has some trust issues where Dean’s trust in him is concerned. I mean, as I already pointed out in my review to Citizen Fang, it will be increasingly difficult for Sam to ever trust again that a reconciliation between him and Dean is actually solid. Considering that, just a few weeks ago, Dean threw Sam’s past failures in his face – failures Dean had seemingly forgiven him years ago – and told Sam that he cannot trust him because he let Dean down in the past, it makes perfect sense for Sam to now have doubts that Dean will ever again genuinely trust him with anything, no matter how much Dean may protest to the contrary. So, while I am not overly happy that there are once again trust issues between the brothers, it provides at least some continuity to the first half of the season. Granted, I think there is some truth to Sam’s accusation that Dean only trusts himself. Dean has problems with trust in general, he admitted as much back in The Mentalists, but I think to entrust Sam’s safety to anyone other but himself is particularly difficult for Dean, even if that other person is Sam. After all, experience tells Dean that even though Sam is more than capable as a hunter and a person, terrible things tend to happen to him when he makes choices that serve the greater good, things Dean then has to save Sam from, like his death in Cold Oak, the loss of his soul or the destruction of his sanity, and he has no reason to believe that the trials will be any different, so it is understandable that Dean feels a little anxious to hand over control to Sam.
That is why Dean’s words at the end of the episode about trusting Sam with the deal and supporting him one hundred percent are a big step forward for Dean. As I said before, it is one thing for Dean to acknowledge that he needs to let go of his role as Sam’s protector, but another thing entirely to actually do it, and I only hope that he will be able to keep his word, even when Sam is not okay. By the way, Dean’s statement that he realises for the first time that only by hanging together they were able to get through the years of pain and suffering is rather dubious. I mean, really? He only sees that now? I highly doubt that, dear writers. Anyway, as ill luck would have it, the moment Dean tells Sam that he trusts him to be okay, Sam starts coughing up blood and just like that he finds himself in an impossible dilemma. If he tells Dean, his brother will undoubtedly insist on taking the trials himself, and Sam will not only lose the chance to prove his competence, but he will also have to face yet another situation in which Dean places himself in mortal danger for him – and he simply cannot watch Dean die on him again. If he does not tell Dean, however, he jeopardizes the very trust he is so eager to earn, so he is really stuck between a rock and a hard place. Overall, I am not thrilled about the fact that we are heading towards yet another conflict about lies and secrets between the brothers; I find it really frustrating that they have apparently still not learned that particular lesson. However, at least this is the kind of conflict that comes from a place of love and protection and, unlike the conflict we had in the first half of the season, that is something that makes sense to me.
What else is noteworthy:
(1) Sadly, Man’s Best Friend With Benefits is one of those episodes that dumb Dean down for exposition purposes – the notion that Dean would not know what a familiar is seems rather ridiculous – and/or portray him as a sixteen year old, hormonal teenager, who is flustered by all things involving sex, as a (questionable) form of comic relief. I really wished the writers would stop using Dean in this manner whenever it is convenient and stick with an age-appropriate characterisation instead. Dean’s regression is neither funny nor cute at this point in the show. On the other hand, I really like the consistency in Dean’s characterisation where witches are concerned. Dean always had a problem with humans who deliberately turn to the supernatural as a means of empowerment, so his reserved attitude towards their mutual friend James feels very consistent. And while we are talking about Dean, I know some fans think that Dean’s dislike of dogs is somewhat out of character, given that he was rather friendly towards the golden retriever back in Mystery Spot, but I think it is important to remember that that was before he was torn to shreds by hellhounds. I mean, in Yellow Fever Dean was terrified of a Yorkshire terrier, and while his fear may have been amplified to the extreme by the ghost sickness, I think it did reveal a genuine, deep-seated fear of dogs in the aftermath of his hellhound experience.
(2) I am delighted that Bobby keeps getting mentioned this season – I really miss the character’s solid presence in the show – and I love that Sam and Dean still use Bobby’s spells and books, even though they have the Batcave and its endless resources now. I like particularly the shout-out to Shut-Up, Dr. Phil, where Sam and Dean tried to use Bobby’s witch-killing spell as well, but failed because the chicken feet were not properly chilled. Here, Dean not only makes sure that the chicken feet are frozen, but they also change their method of delivery, i.e. preparing a Molotov cocktail instead of lighting the ingredients in a bowl, which renders the spell ineffectual because the 'fumes' never actually reach the witch in question. We do not get to see it often that the brothers learn from past failures in their spell work and modify their methods, so this bit of continuity is especially appreciated.
In conclusion: Man’s Best Friend with Benefits is one of those unfortunate Supernatural episodes where poor writing meets a questionable premise, and the results are predictably eye-roll-worthy. Still, I find it a lot easier to just handwave a badly written episode like this than to get past the problematic characterisation and continuity of the first half of the season. I just hope the show will be back to form next Wednesday - and gives us new Batcave material. It is really funny how much I miss the place already.
I am sorry this review is so short, but my sisters were staying with me last week, so I had no time to write up more extensive thoughts on this episode. I figured that, rather than writing no review at all, it would be best to just focus on the main issue between the brothers and skip the rest. I may come back to it later and expand on some points, though.