Supernatural Review S9E05 Dog Dean Afternoon

November 6, 2013 Princess Audrii
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The happiest we’ve seen him in years

I’ll start by saying that this episode is bad.  It is so bad in fact that it is actually good.  And I mean that in the best way possible.  It is just so corny and ridiculous I laughed while watching it, but I have the sense of humor of a twelve year old so while most of the fandom was groaning at the bad jokes and wondering when the episode would come to its conclusion, I was laughing so hard that I cried.

There are of course the inevitable dog jokes, both verbal and physical comedy, as Dean takes an Inuit potion in order to speak with the only witness of two murders: a German Shepard named The Colonel.

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Dean about to have a showdown with a pigeon

We find out that animals have their own universal language through an epic scene between Dean, a pigeon, and Baby’s windshield; and let me just tell you that when Dean pulls a gun on the pigeon, just oh my god, I nearly died.

Pop culture references are a calling card of Supernatural, so for those of you paying attention, there is a blink and you miss it shout out to Sharktopus, and Breaking Bad and a more obvious Game of Thrones homage in the taxidermist shop.

Dog Dean Afternoon
Dean communing with a pooch

 

Jokes aside, the villain of this story is unique in a way that Supernatural is known for. First, he isn’t supernatural at all, just a man with cancer, but he’s dabbling in Shamanism (which the show made out to be some kind of variation of witchcraft) in that if he eats various parts of animals along with special herbs and chants, he gains the abilities of those animals.  Apparently this practice helped to ‘cure’ his cancer for a short time, but it would always eventually wear off and he’d have to resort to eating more animal viscera.  I love the irony that he’s a chef blending new recipes of animal parts, and that his French restaurant (a perfect cover as no one will question you twice for having owl brains in the freezer) apparently does well enough that it’s closed on Mondays.

But for all this, there are actually a couple of places in the episode where you have serious dialogue and foreshadowing. Let me just remind everyone that Sam is not stupid, so when his throat is mauled and we see Zeke step forward long enough to heal him, you know that Sam has to be wondering what just happened there.  Especially as he has a witness to this miracle healing, which he can’t explain in any way whatsoever.  Dean’s final speech in the episode, “He was possessed by something he couldn’t control. It was inevitable that it would take over,” is either a foreshadowing for how Zeke will eventually take control of Sam, a warning to Zeke that Dean’s watching him and one wrong move and he’ll be out of Sam faster than Dean can eat pie, or it’s a reminder for Dean himself, that there is an uncontrollable force within his brother, and that he needs to be vigilant.

all images copyright the CW

Author: Princess Audrii


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8 thoughts on “Supernatural Review S9E05 Dog Dean Afternoon”

  1. I loved this episode. It was one of the silly ones that they throw at us now and again. The humor is dry and the way Dean just rolls with it is amazing to watch. The pigeon is freakin’ hilarious. My daughter and I had to watch it twice because it was so silly.

    1. One of the main reasons I like the silly episodes so much is because of all the dark depressing angst that happens over and over in this show. You need light-hearted episodes every once in a while to remind you why you love these characters. They need a break too.

      Princess Audrii
      Editor

  2. Dean repeatedly “fetching” the paper Sam balls up and tosses in to the waste can was priceless as was Sam’s confusion, then his realization that Dean was taking on the dog’s behaviors. Jensen Ackles’ facial expressions were great -just enough but never too over the top. And you’re right, his riding in the car with his head out the window is the happiest we’ve seen him in years. Also, loved his insisting the dog not be left in the car. He’s right, dogs always want to be with their pack. Leaving them behind is a form of punishment to them.

    I agree with Jared Padalecki about the animal voices – they were kind of disappointing

    Overall, a fun episode.

    1. I also loved that Dean stood up to Sam in that moment about leaving The Colonel in the car. I absolutely hate it when people leave their animals in their car… its like parents who leave their children in the car. Despicable. If you can’t bring your animal in with you then you don’t need to be bringing them all around town. They’d probably rather stay at home in that case anyway.

      Princess Audrii
      Editor.

  3. I thought it was a cute episode. Would have loved to see Dean talk to and save the cats, but you can’t have everything. The animal stuff was great!

    1. Yes! Dean saving the cats would have been awesome. But I loved the rats and their collapsable spines too.

      Princess Audrii
      Editor

  4. i lke this episode mainly it reminded me of the old episodes when all the episodes were villain/mystery of the week type of show

    1. Agreed. It was very much in that Season 1 vein where we had a monster of the week and sometimes even non-supernatural monsters. ie. The Benders. It was also a perfect counterpoint to this seasons’ main villian (the fallen angels) in that this villain is completely human to begin with and becomes ‘supernatural’ where as the angels have been lessened by their fall, but are not completely human.

      Princess Audrii
      Editor

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