29 April 2012

Review: Supernatural 7.20 The Girl With the Dungeon and Dragon Tattoo

Picture.. Scarlett Johansson waiting for you.. or Jensen Ackles.. whoever you fancy, sister.
Robbie Thompson has done it again! I don't know about you but I am really digging his stuff! Robbie joined the writing staff this season and he is becoming one of my favourite writers on Supernatural. He previously penned Slash Fiction and Time After Time, which are two of my favourite episodes this season. Supernatural is definitely making good use of his talent for referencing pop culture materials.

You love when they speak at the same time? What about when they have the same reaction and gesture?
Supernatural has a huge following of audience who are pop culture/ genre shows loving geeks. Fans who watch Supernatural are likely to like shows such as Buffy, Firefly, The X-Files, Chuck, Harry Potter, Veronica Mars, Star Wars, Back to the Future, just to name a few. What makes this episode so enjoyable is Robbie's ability to connect with geeky fandom. Having Felicia Day as a guest star was definitely a bonus. Everyone loves Charlie, who doesn't right? Charlie is the character Becky should've been. Not the crazy creepy stalker fan but the pop culture loving geek who relates to us. It would make more sense for someone like Charlie to be a fan of the Supernatural book series by Carver Edlund. But it is what it is. We love Charlie.

Supernatural has been searching for a new voice, so to speak, since the beginning of season six. It's not wrong for Sera Gamble to put her own stamp on the show she is showrunning for and she's done an awesome job. The writers didn't set out to reinvent the wheels or anything, but the story had to move on from the epic heaven and hell fight and the show needed a new direction, new monsters and new challenge. Only through challenges, we will see what our heroes, Dean and Sam, are made of. The other thing the writers have been building was the supporting cast. The boys have encountered problems and loses of dear friends, and having killed pretty much every other supporting character, it's imperative to come up with a new gang to support Dean and Sam.

Yeah I kick ass bitches!
While Mulder and Scully were the main characters, you still needed Skinner and Lone Gunmen to work alongside with them. Supernatural needed to find the new Ellen, Jo, Ash, Gabriel and Chuck. I think the writers are finding a place for the new recurring characters such as Frank and Garth, and now I believe with Charlie would be a great assistant (although Felicia Day's availability is not guaranteed), she and Garth would make a great fun team!! With that, I think we may have the Avengers assembled.

Crap, I need to book my Convention flight too.
Having only written a few episodes for Supernatural, Robbie is definitely mastering his craft quicker than any other new writers. And we need someone like him on the show. The Girl With the Dungeon and Dragon Tattoo is smooth! I love the amount of pop culture references in this episode. Supernatural is known for its use of pop culture references, but I am geeking out like there is no tomorrow with The Girl With the Dungeon and Dragon Tattoo. The episode title aside, we have Star Wars, the Death Star, Yoda, the iconic "I love you"-"I know", the Princess Leia tattoo and t-shirt; and then we have Harry Potter, What Would Harmione Do, Sirus Black, Voldemont, Hogwarts, Dumbledork, even the name of Charlie's co-worker is Harry, that's just adorable. We also have crack tones if pop culture references -- Veronica Mars; Lord of the Rings; Indiana Jones; Star Trek, the Batman and Wonder Woman coffee mugs; Comic Con; Scarlett Johansson, Google, iPad; plus all the toys in Charlie's office and apartment… Charlie totally made the episode, and before any haters who hate everything said "but because of her, there weren't enough screen time of Dean and Sam.." Two words for you my friends -- shut up! Geeks love to break rules and be the hero, and Charlie is totally that geek in all of us. With her help in breaking in Dick's office, that's totally what we would love to do for the boys too.

The pace of the episode is awesome. I feel like I was watching the Carmichaels and Casey in action. I think it was really really clever for the boys to steal the goods from Dick, the way it was done was so good. I think giving what was there, the boys worked really well with Charlie. She is one smart cookie, she is the reluctant hero, a little clumsy but very smart, she has more to give than she realises. Charlie is the pre I-know-kung-fu Chuck Bertowski for Supernatural.

Nice lighting on Dean!
I love love love LOVE the scene where Dean was giving her instruction to flirt with the guy, and I love how Sam was using Harry Potter to help Charlie to realise that she is here to kick ass, that's what Harmione would do. These are my favourite scenes of the episodes. GOLD!

Even when Frank isn't there, you totally feel his presence. I can totally listen to the audio version of the Carver Edlund Supernatural book series all year long. And, on something completely random, I would totally loose my shit if Joss Whedon directs a Ben Edlund episode featuring Felicia Day on Supernatural. Joss directed Glee before, why the hell not Supernatural?! You know I can't help it!

So, last week I mentioned the Dick's digs arc wasn't moving forward and it's just dragging now. Well, don't we get what we want this week?! Well. sort of.. GhostBobby finally revealed what those numbers are as well as Dick's evil plan in just over a minute. Bottom-line -- Dick is going to eat us all and he won't need Jenny Craig to slim down. Dick is such a d-bag and he is so over the top with his expression, tones and dialogues, but he is like the Luthers in Smallville! Bad guys with matching ties and pocket squares are so enjoyable to watch. It's finally revealed what Dick was looking for…or not.. what's that clay thing? I hope it's not some cliche Indiana Jones-Egyptian thing. I mean, I'll take it but I hope it's something not too Indy-y. I guess we will find out soon!

Nothing is unbreakable.. especially human souls.
GhostBobby is another talking point for the week. How are you liking it? I still dig it. It is what it is, may as well enjoy the ride. We can't change the reality of it. I think he is certainly still valuable to the case, and he did help Dean and Sam to hold off Dick so that the boys and Charlie could escape. But the discussion about GhostBobby becoming an angry ghost is not going away. Dean knows it, Sam knows it, Bobby knows it. It's just not natural for Bobby to be around, it's a fair point -- Dean and Sam don't want this to drag because they know they don't want GhostBobby to reach the point of no return. Turning into an angry spirit is one thing, killing an angry spirit who is a father figure is hard. One problem at a time, I guess. GhostBobby is going to hang out until the end of the season, what's after that? I hope we will see the GhostBobby arc wrapped up the way it deserves. I do think the fact that Bobby is kinda watching over Charlie is cool, in fact, I think Bobby is quite impress with her getting!

Moving forward, Dean and Sam have that clay thing to figure out, GhostBobby to deal with, and locate where Baby is. Not to mention getting Castiel out of the nut house, bracing for Crowley's return and planning Dick's death. There are LOTS to deal with in coming episodes. So let's sit tight and enjoy the ride.

I feel so dirty..
Three more episodes to go!! OMFG! Next week, I am geeking out, loosing my shit again for Ben Edlund's Reading Is Fundamental.

CASTIEL AWAKENS FROM HIS COMATOSE STATE — Meg (guest star Rachel Miner) calls Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) and tells them Castiel (guest star Misha Collins) is awake and talking. Meanwhile, a teenager named Kevin (guest star Osric Chau) gets hit by a bolt of lightening and is turned into a reluctant prophet. Sam and Dean believe Kevin holds the key to defeating the Leviathans but must fight off two Archangels who want him for their own purposes. The episode was written and directed by Ben Edlund.

The promo is very cryptic! I saw angels. 





Guys, also please help me to trend #8SeasonsAndAMovie on Twitter. I want season 8 to be announced NOW!

5 comments:

  1. Deanie_24 -Wonderful review of a wonderful episode!! Loved you little analogy with th X-Files in explaining about the supporting characters! I figure we probably won't see Charlie again, but she was a breath of fresh air in a cool geeky kinda way! Definitely a fav of thiis season!

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  2. Nice one Tiny. I loved it too. All the references were such a joy. The flirting scene was hot...Dean can whisper in my ear any day. I'm super concerned for Bobby and for the boys and how they are dealing with his return. The whole thing is such a mess. I love Dick You heard me. He was awesome in this ep. Very Patrick Bateman. I have no clue what the deal is with the red clay but I'm very interested. I'm super bummed there's only 3 eps in the season already. I reckon they'll announce this week. I can feel it in my waters! :)

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  3. Oh and Robbie Thompson rules! I hope they signed him up for 8. I reckon he'll work well with Carver!

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  4. I cant believe this season is almost finished. GAH! I dont wants it to end. Bring on next week

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  5. it's like we all agree! the episode was just awesome sauce!!!! Loved the writing, loved the referenced, loved the guest spot. loved the Dean. Of course I always love THE DEAN, but , well, you know...great review Tiny! I hope my comments section doesn't eat your comment like it did last time :(

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