Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 7, Episode 14 of The CW's "Supernatural," entitled "Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie."
Choosing to follow a mythology-based or emotionally heavy episode with a light, frivolous one is the "Supernatural" way, and your enjoyment of said filler episode is generally dependent on whether you're a fan of the monster-of-the-week format or wish that the show could be all plot, all the time. I typically fall into the latter category, as a rule, although there are obvious exceptions: when the silly episodes are just so well-written or have such great brotherly moments that you can't help but get swept up in them.
I'd say that the alliteratively-titled "Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie" fell comfortably in the middle of the heap. It didn't have the originality of "Frontierland," but it was no "Mannequin 3," either. Writers Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin seem to find their groove in these quirky, Ben Edlund-lite episodes, and it makes sense that "Menagerie" shares a lot of creative DNA with the duo's first "Supernatural" episode, "Yellow Fever" -- both in concept (a preoccupation with "fear") and execution (some familiar set pieces). It also seemed fairly reminiscent of Edlund's "Wishful Thinking," with its propensity for bringing weird, fantastical creatures to life, but after seven seasons of story, it's natural to expect a little creative overlap.
Where the episode really shone was, of course, in the moments between Sam and Dean. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was simply relieved to see Dean actually laughing again, since he's been doing his best to fake his smiles for the past few episodes, and had very little to smile about in the weeks before that. Just the simple act of Sam scoring him the giant slinky he'd always wanted carried as much emotional resonance -- for me, at least -- as the pair exchanging gas station Christmas presents or bombarding each other with pranks back in Season 1. The two have lost so much in the past couple of years, those little moments of respite are even more deserved (and far harder to come by) than ever, and that was certainly the most valuable part of the story this week.
The imaginative nature of the episode also allowed both Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki to showcase their always-excellent physical comedy. Padalecki generally has less opportunity to flex that muscle week-to-week, but he did a great job of simultaneously selling Sam's terror and making it hilarious to watch. His attempts at intimidating the Plucky's staff during his interrogations were also fairly amusing. Ackles is a pro at exaggerating Dean's machismo and showing off his dorky side, and his slinky obsession was certainly a joy to watch.
It's always satisfying when we're given further insight into Sam and Dean's childhood, and though I'm not sure about the believability of Dean dropping Sam off at a Plucky's to go troll for chicks after the events of "Something Wicked," it does sound like something suitably insensitive that a horny teenage boy might do to his irritating younger brother.
Dabb and Loflin once again hit on Dean's characteristic rapport with kids, and his empathy with Tyler seemed painfully reminiscent of his initial interactions with Ben back in "The Kids Are Alright," (you know, before he turned into a bratty teenager). While he appears to have sworn off women in the wake of his Amazon encounter (although apparently not to the degree that he'd avoid ogling a potentially hot nanny) it's nice to see that Dean's care for children wasn't affected by his murderous daughter.
From a technical standpoint, director Mike Rohl experimented with a few interesting framing devices and camera angles -- I particularly liked the POV shot from the inside of Sam's windshield towards the end of the episode -- but he generally played it safe, occasionally using low or high camera positions to emphasize that feeling of fear or intimidation. I also enjoyed the visual nod to "Jaws" in the janitor's ball-pit shark encounter -- I'm not sure whether the moment can eclipse Sheldon Cooper's legendary "bazinga" ball-pit breakdown in "The Big Bang Theory," but it was still a nice touch. The standout death definitely came courtesy of the unicorn -- if only for the rainbows it seemed to be ... expelling as it galloped away.
There's not a lot to critique in the episode if you take it for what it was: a solid, if unremarkable, respite from the unrelenting angst that the Winchesters have to wade through on a day-to-day basis. There were laughs, pop culture shout-outs (Fred Savage is a Leviathan too?) and some genuine brotherly laughs, with quirky supporting characters and a chance for Sam to face his deep-rooted clown phobia (and end the episode covered in glitter, no less).
What was your favorite moment in the episode? Were you relieved to see Sam and Dean given something to laugh about at last? Weigh in below!
"Supernatural" airs Fridays at 9 p.m. EST on The CW.
Follow Laura Prudom on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lauinLA
I have to say, considering how angsty the last few eps have been since Death's Door *sob*, this was a nice, perfectly timed, little filler to cheer us all up & to allow us to forget all the awful heartache of this season even if only for just 42 minutes. Also, LOVED the rainbow title card too!
The only thing I noticed and really didn't like was some of the camera work. A lot of the close up shots of the boys, I found were REALLY shaky (obviously filmed with a hand held cam) and certainly distracted me from the view [seriously people, don't mess with our views of the Winchesters TYVM!]
Otherwise, I think Jared's physical comedy was especially wonderful and Jensen's facial gestures were comedy gold
Loved this review, Laura (love even more that you called Ben a bratty teenager, because well, duh!) - I genuinely look forward to your recaps of Supernatural, you hit the nail right on the head each time and never fail to express pretty much everything I'm thinking too! :-D
I was relieved to find myself laughing out loud at more than a few moments & the fear factor wasn't too high that the ep as a whole couldn't be enjoyed properly. I know a lot of people were worried over this ep! Clown fear is worryingly common among Spn Fandom, it seems!
Highlights?
Well, we have to include that damn unicorn; his rainbow was the PMSL kind of funny.
Dean and Tyler's 'jackass' bonding moment.
Poor Sam's face when his 'if it bleeds you can kill it' theory went out the window.
The ballpit - purely because I'm so glad I'm not the only one who was expecting Sheldon Cooper to pop up, saying 'BAZINGA!
And the 'Aww' moment where Dean called Sam out RE his 'clown thing' with a teasing 'Sammy...', (seriously I loved that. I can't remember the last time Dean said his brother's name so fondly, it was a blink & you'll miss it, sweet moment).
Ooh & not to mention our poor Sammy at the end, covered in glitter, Dean peeing himself laughing at the sight of him & then his face like a kid at Christmas to see Sam got him a slinky. N'aww.
I adore this show. And the actors, directors, writers and producers.
That Sam bought Dean a slinky, without seeing him covet it in Plucky's but just remembering how much he wanted one when they were kids, was a lovely moment. And Dean and Sam laughing together at the end was wonderful.
I may be in the minority but I didn't think it was as funny as it could have been, but it was still enjoyable. Lots of highlights, but it didn't quite gel together I thought.
I also can't believe that Dean would ever leave Sam unattended as a child, not with John breathing down his neck but whatever. Actually, it would be nice to once again have an episode that touches on their childhood through Dean's POV, it's been a while.
Anyway, great review..I always trust your honest opinions, and they're always an enjoyable read.
Loved the gift swapping and the mockery and the clown phobia brought back. Bring on next week show you are back to awesome.
I too noticed the parallels between this episode and Yellow Fever. Right off the bat I noticed the similarity in the set when Sam was running from the clown and the scene in YF when Dean was running from the yorkie. It made me laugh even more because you're right that Jared doesn't get many moments like this. You also have to enjoy that they actually had the unicorn with the rainbows as a shout out to Houses of the Holy.