Supernatural 6.04 Weekend at Bobby’s Review – Who Ya Gonna Call? Bobby Singer!

After last week’s disappointing angel episode, ‘Weekend at Bobby’s’ was back on track with season six’s theme of a different Supernatural. The episode played with expectations. In previous years, the writers usually chose the more direct and non-subtle approach in storytelling.  They would have spoiled Bobby’s plan very early on by not bothering to hide what he was burning when he had his little talk with the female crossroads demon. Fortunately, it’s all about twists and turns this season. I was quite surprised that Bobby would only talk with Crowley’s ghost son since he chose torture to get information previously in the episode. After it was revealed that Crowley was the new boss down stairs, I honestly expected him to be more Mr. Demon Sunshine instead of Mr. I-hate-my-new-job. It’s a nice twist that neither heaven nor hell got their fairy tale happy end after the Winchester pulled the plug on the apocalypse.

If your skin looks like this, you should see a doctor

‘Demons are just ghosts with egos’.  If you think about it that’s a very acurate describition. The same as ghosts, demons are incorporeal; they have no longer a body of their own to wander the earth. The show established that some ghosts can be destroyed by torching the human remains and that demons have been human souls once, so the reveal of so-called ‘demon remains’ makes sense. Although going back to season one’s ‘Devil’s Trap’, Bobby himself also hinted that not all demons need to possess humans, ‘Can’t you tell? That’s a demon possessing a human’, acknowledging the fact that they’re must be demons with their own corporeal form. I wonder if the writers will ever bother to explain this contradiction.

This crossroads obviously loves ‘Basic Instinct’

To my surprise the comedic horror duo, Dabb and Loflin, – I’m afraid when I see their names in an episode description – were able to focus on the drama aspect. If they can control their desire to write one ridiculous scene after another, the episode ends up surprisingly entertaining. See ‘Dark side of the moon’. Unfortunately, they sometimes can’t help it and it’s ‘Yellow Fever’ which has  funny scenes but the story is one giant plot hole. First time director Jensen Ackles also did a wonderful job of finding interesting angles and the right pacing for the episode. The fight scene between Bobby and the okami looks great.  By the look of the scene, you would never guess that the director has completely no experience. I also loved the shot of the monster attack from the ceiling; this could have gone easily wrong. There a similar ceiling shot in the movie ‘Legion’ with the archangel Michael and it looks awful. It’s even more impressive considering that this is a scene of a first time director on a TV budget. Cudos to Jensen Ackles! By the way if you want to see a great angel movie watch ‘Prophecy’ or ‘Gabriel’ and don’t bother with the Gladiator-looking angels of ‘Legion’.

Okamis apparently love ceilings

There are two new monsters in this episode. A lamia which Sam and Dean hunt and an okami running around on Bobby’s salvage yard. The Greek monster – lamia meaning ‘gullet’ or ‘large shark’ – is supposed to be either a child-eating queen or something similar to vampires and succubus living from the blood of young men. There are multiple interpretations and a few mention a serpent-like appearance. Since there is no general idea of what a lamia looks like compared to other monster, it’s frustrating that Supernatural didn’t bother to mention anything about the appearance or show a glimpse of the creature.

It’s either a lamia or a giant tulip!Okami is a Japanese word for ‘wolf’. I’m only familiar with the legend of the Goddess Amaterasu who turns into a big white wolf. You might know the Sony Play station game with the same name. I appreciate that they tied in the origin of the monster by mentioning a Shinto priest but I think more physical characteristics of a wolf would have been better. Although I was disappointed with the look of the okami, the growling sound effects were great. I don’t really understand why they bothered introducing a new monster in the first place if a vampire or werewolf, no description necessary, would have fulfilled the same purpose. More information about the new creatures would have been also helpful. If there is no distinctive monster effect that differentiates the newcomers from other supernatural creatures due to show’s limited budget, a shot where the audience sees pictures in a lore book would have helped to fuel the imagination. The shadow of the lamia and the fancy fangs of the okami alone are harldy impressive, not to mention scary.  E.g. The pictures of hell hounds in ‘Crossroads’ or ‘No Rest for the wicked’ made the invisible creatures a more realistic threat.

Be careful, THIS sleeping beauty has sharp teeth!

This episode was all about Bobby. I wish the Castiel episode of season four ‘The rapture’, they made the mistake of showing us not Castiel’s but his vessel’s back story, was only half as good as ‘Weekend at Bobby’s, . Another great season six episode, another great musical montage, luckily this time it’s not about Sam and Dean but about the daily struggles in the life of Bobby Singer set to Kenny Rogers ‘ The Gambler’. The word of the episode is definitely ‘balls’, it’s perfect for a drinking game.

Bobby – the star of the episode!Usually everybody – Rufus, Sam and Dean, sheriff Jody Mills – needs Bobby’s help but this time the situation is reversed, he needs them and he clearly isn’t used or comfortable asking for it. Of course, after Bobby’s track record of helping them, every character follows through and plays their role in Bobby’s plan to successfully outwit Crowley.

The banter between Crowley and Bobby was a definite highlight of the episode. It was like watching a play of chess between two great Con men. The mimicking of their opponent’s accent – first by Bobby, later by Crowley – was hilarious. In addition, the man who must feel naked without his caps had some great scenes with Rufus. Rufus and Bobby – two grumpy old men who would never admit publicly that they’re friends. It reminded me of old Dean and Bobby in ‘The curious case of Dean Winchester’. The neighbor Marcy was adorable, what a pity that Okami fricassee immediately destroyed any chance for a later romantic outcome. Poor Bobby! I really like sheriff Jody Mills, seems like she became friends with the hunter after the zombie town fest in season five. She is a great female character, let’s hope she doesn’t bite the dust too soon, I would love to see more of her and the other townspeople.

Rufus, Marcy and sheriff Jody Mills

‘I am Connor MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod. I was born in 1518 in the village of Glenfinnan on the shores of Loch Shiel. And I am immortal…’ Sorry, wrong MacLeod. The name is Fergus MacLeod, King of the Crossroads and the new boss of hell or for his friends, Crowley the founder of ‘Lovers in League in against Satan’. So after a few appearances, my favorite demon besides Alastair has finally a background story. He’s a Scottish tailor who sold his soul for ‘better equipment’ and who had a lousy relationship with his son. Does everybody on this show have daddy issues? It seems logical that Crowley dropped his Scottish accent to not give away his origin but it’s strange compared to Alastair whose accent stays the same even after he switches meat suits. So what’s the rule for  demon accents on Supernatural? If your human remains haven’t decomposed yet and you know your human name, go to demon school to learn a different accent?

Crowley aka Fergus McLeod

Bobby’s contract appearing and disappearing on his arms was a great special effect, so was the skeleton of the burning crossroad demon. I also liked Sam and Dean’s corpse which looked the right amount of bloody and torn.

‘Supernatural’ meets ‘Ghost rider’

Unfortunately, I got no new Sam theory due to Winchester brother’s lack of appearance. It was fitting for the episode but hopefully next week’s episode will have more material for speculation about Sam, the boy with a ‘cold heart’ who doesn’t seem to know that a giant swapped it for a stone. ‘The cold heart’ is a story by Wilhelm Hauff. Seems like I can’t stop finding new nicknames for ‘new Sam’.

In case you forgot – the main characters of the show

Minus points:

-Floating rings. It was a bit anti-climactic seeing a floating ring and the ghost doesn’t even bother to appear inside the circle. Why waste a special effect on something so unimportant?

- White nightie of terror. Please Supernatural can we stop with the ridiculous looking white night gowns for female characters. It’s getting old! It ruins the surprise factor. You immediately know that the character will either end up on the ceiling or something equally awful will happen to her. I understand that blood looks good on white but seriously how many more women with these old-fashioned things are going to appear on the show?

-Every demon deal should have a thirty day soul-back guarantee. I was disappointed that Bobby got his soul back so quickly; especially since this could mean the end of the awesome banter between Crowley and Bobby. Let’s hope Crowley is busy plotting revenge and we’ll see him soon.

-The look of the Okami. The only difference between an Okami aka wolf and a werewolf in Supernatural seem to be their teeth and their frequency of growling which is honestly a bit lame.

-A deal is a deal. I love Crowley’s character but why Sam chose to save Crowley and prevents Dean from torching his bones, is a mystery to me. Sam is supposed to be tough hunter without emotions why would he care to honor a deal with a demon? Could this be a hint that maybe Crowley has something to do with Sam’s resurrection and that Sam very well knows who brought him back?

All in all a very strong episode, let’s hope Supernatural continues to deliver episodes like ‘Weekend at Bobby’s’ in the following weeks and it’s going to be a very strong season.

Grade: B +

‘Supernatural’ airs Friday, 9/8c pm on the CW.