It is so much fun. Sam doesn't resort to his copy of The Fountainhead! Not once! He leaves it back at the bunker! There is a strong woman character who doesn't die!
THEN: Montage of witch stuff, and that sorta-crappy episode where Dean's at the boy's home.
NOW: A drunk named JP is thrown out of a bar. He's going to his car, but a huge scar-faced guy intercepts, squeezes a hex bag, huge flash of light. A homeless guy who's seen the whole thing stares up into the sky.
PICSPAM!
Montage of Dean reading tribal tattoo books, looking at tattoo removal websites, generally being bummed about the MOC. Sam comes into Dean's room wearing the Ugly Shirt of Doom (seriously, that thing needs to be burned, and what is it with pearl buttons on almost all of Sam's clothes?) and tells Dean they've got a case.
Don't make me tuck this shirt in, Dean.
The brothers Winchester drive to the town where JP disappeared. A homeless guy is convinced it's aliens (prizes to whichever makeup person made those yellow/bloody teeth). Dean goes into the bar while Sam goes to JP's apartment.
In the bar, Dean has his first strong drink of the post-hiatus. The Mark starts to throb, but a comely blonde, Tina (Kehli O'Byrne), starts talking to him about JP. Soon, they are sitting at a table, a couple of companionable drunks. Dean tells a great story about learning how to make macaroni and cheese dozens of different ways, including Marshmallow Fluff (ack!). "Sam thought it was exotic." AND WE GET THIS GREAT SMILE!
It's like staring into the sun
She leaves, and Scarface gets her in the parking lot. Dean runs after him, bright light, flash...Dean finds himself in the dusty basement of an old house, trapped. In the next room is Tina, also de-aged (Madeleine Arthur, in another marvelous performance). Dean looks at himself in the mirror and does a perfect "sonovabitch!".
Sam comes to the bar, looking for Dean. He hears the phone ring, and sees the bartender turning it off, along with poking into Dean's jacket. When Sam asks him where he got it, the bartender smart-mouths him, and we get THIS
Do NOT piss off protective Sam!
Sam smashes the guy's head into the bar. BAMF Sam!! By the dumpster, he finds Dean's shoe and gun, covered with flower dust.
In the motel, Sam hears a knock, and has to bend nearly double to look through the peephole. He opens the door to find Teen!Dean (Dylan Everett).
Dylan Everett has been widely praised for his portrayal of 36-year-old Jensen Ackles. Brown eyes aside, it's uncanny. His scenes with Jared Padalecki are hilarious. And Padalecki seems invigorated by working with a different actor. Throughout the episode, the brotherly banter is spot-on.
Dean, you've got brown eyes!
Teen!Dean (or Little Dean, as I call him) gets in the drivers seat and adjusts Baby's front seat, smashing Sam's knees into the dashboard. Sam drives.
And you thought the lack of seat belts was a problem.
You've read all of the other review/recaps, so I'm going to make this quick. The scene between Little Dean and Sam is perfect. Dylan Everett is so good as Dean, I forgot at moments it was a different actor. And the dialogue was delicious. Dean confesses, “There was a Taylor Swift song on the bus that I hopped to the motel and I liked it, Sam. I liked it a lot.”
It's no longer like staring into the sun
Litltle Dean: “There’s some good news, though: virgin liver. So what’d you say when we’re done doing our hero thing, we take it for a test drive." Sam:“Yeah, sure. I mean, you can drink again in what, like seven years?" Little Dean: “That’s not funny." Sam: “That’s kind of funny." They get to the house where Little Tina is trapped. Dean slides into the basement window, and tells Sam to follow.
Sam: “Dude, I’m way too big to fit in that." Little Dean: “First time you ever had to say that, huh?" Sam: “Big talk coming from the dude wearing Underoos."
Let's just race through the story. Hansel (Mark Acheson) of Hansel and Gretel fame (boy, did he grow up fugly) works for the witch of the story. He has a hex bag that turns adults into kids when he squeezes it. That last sentence sounds like something out of the kind of fan-fiction I avoid reading.
He grabs Little Dean, who can't break his grip because...well, he's little. Sam clocks Hansel on the back of the head and yells, "DON'T!" when Hansel starts to get up.
Even de-aged, Dean knows how to handle a flashlight!
Witch is de-aging adults because in the USA, people notice when children disappear. Dean and Sam make a deal with Hansel to take down the Witch. They go to her kitchen, mayhem ensues, Sam gets thrown into a wall,
After seeing this, I will never take Downton Abbey seriously.
"Shit, not AGAIN..."
Dean grabs the hex bag, squeezes it, becomes an adult, shoves the hex bag into the Witch's mouth, and shoves her into the huge oven.
Afterward, Little Tina decides she wants to stay an emancipated minor. "A second chance," she calls it. Dean looks like he wants to stab himself in the face.
"You guys know how to make fake IDs, right?"
After seeing off Tina on a bus, the Winchesters get into Baby, Dean turns on the radio. Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" is playing. To Sam's horrified disbelief, Dean listens happily as they drive into the sunset.
Sam is horrified. Twitter has a seizure.
I loved BAMF Sam, although my pleasure was diminished when he was once again thrown into the wall and can't up. I understand why Dean had to kill the Witch, but it was too bad Sam was too busy licking the floor to help.
Random thoughts:
Many Twitter users went batshit over the use of the Taylor Swift song. Guys, it's a JOKE. And a good joke!
Sam leaving The Fountainhead in the bunker makes me ridiculously happy.
It felt like an old-school MOTW episode.
Tonight: I have no idea. I haven't watched the promos. Too busy.
