Sunday, January 08, 2012
Edohotep
Director: Jeannot Szwarc.
Writer: Adam Glass.
When memories from one particular bad 80's film gets conjured forth with "Adventures in Babysitting" as the title, some viewers may wonder just what writer Adam Glass has planned? Thankfully, the story that he has constructed is nothing like the movie of the same name. Instead, the title is an allusion to the relationship that Bobby had with Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester when they were very young. With this episode, the role of parent and child gets turned around.
Yes, Bobby is dead. And everything he has taught the boys needs to be passed on to another generation. Chrissy (Madison McLaughlin, “The Mentalist”), a 14-year old, has seen her fair share of deaths and has been trained to be a Hunter—these are details that Dean will eventually realize he is very uncomfortable with.
With the last episode detailing how Bobby treated the Winchester boys—to show them how to be like normal kids—now it’s Chrissy’s turn. The bridging theme is very welcome, and it certainly is a perfect way to show what Bobby Singer’s lasting legacy is to the show. He has taught ‘his’ boys well.
And while Sam and Dean are still grieving, they have a mystery to solve. The numbers Bobby passed on are still unidentifiable and they have exhausted the options of what they may be. They passed them on to a relatively new character, a social pariah, Frank Devereaux (Kevin McNally, Pirates of the Caribbean) to solve. He is more paranoid than Singer, and he may be a recurring character for the remainder of the series.
The best part of McNally's performance is that he is playing him up with the charm and comedic panache of Charles Nelson Reilly. For McNally, he is certainly showing off his versatility as an actor and he gives a performance that will remind viewers that the Bobby Singer personality is not totally gone. He might still be around in spirit, but an empty beer bottle does not mean that his ghost is lurking around. The Winchester's life with this Frank will have to start from square one.
As Frank, he explains to Dean what could become of him. Either he can quit now because he has not learned how to cope with Singer being gone, or he can keep up the act—that is, bury yourself in the work. But in doing so, Dean is told he has to maintain appearances, and behave like a professional, not some wuss. Sam seems to be coping fine because he’s experienced more loss in the series. One can almost hear Frank scream, “Don’t be a baby!” to Dean.
And thankfully Dean takes the advice to heart. But when the two figure out what the numbers mean, they soon realize that the Leviathans have massive plans for the good ol’ US of A. The numbers are coordinates to a plot of land in Wisconsin, and their leader, Dick Roman, plans to build something. As for what, no clues are being offered. They try to figure it out, but Sam has not reported in. He’s gone missing.
And Chrissy is the only person who knows where Sam is and she insists on coming along for the ride. Backup is needed and she demonstrates that she is a very capable Hunter. She has a lot of spunk and makes her first kill. The way she coldly inserted the knife to the female Vetala, a blood sucker, and responded was enough to scare Dean.When everyone recovers, life has come full circle for this older Winchester. He may be recalling the incident of how Amy Pond died in his hands, from the episode "The Girl Next Door." He may finally be realizing that the life of a Hunter is not the path for Chrissy to undertake, and he repeats the advice he has received from Frank to Chrissy. But in the end, he also realizes what Bobby had done to keep his teenage life simple. The smile he puts on at the end makes this episode a keeper.
Overall: 8 out of 10.
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