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Overall I liked it, but what a missed opportunity.
I'm so glad this didn't play out as a comedy episode. It was much more layered than I was expecting. I'm glad that the teens didn't cause the body swap by accident ("OMG, we were just reading from this dusty old book at our slumber party. I don't know what happened!"). I loved that they did it deliberately in order to get close enough to Dean to kill him (I guess the demons have heard about him being Michael's vessel by now). And what an interesting idea that it doesn't have to be Sam himself who gives Lucifer permission to enter, just whoever is controlling Sam's body at the time. That opens up all kinds of possibilities for Lucifer to take over Sam's body without Sam saying yes. Also? Jared playing Sam as inhabited by Gary was hilarious. I love that Jared was willing to make fun of his image by checking himself out in the mirror and being thrilled that he was so attractive.
As usual, the MOTW story paralleled what was going on with the Winchesters, specifically Sam. "The Plan" Gary was being forced to follow by his father sounded an awful lot like Sam and his destiny that he hates so much. Gary's feelings of helplessness to fight his future led him to the same place Sam's did: wanting to be so powerful he could do anything he wanted, including rebel against the future he was destined for. It's just kind of sad that Sam can't see himself married with a family anymore, when that used to be what he wanted more than anything. I think that's part of why Dean has been having such a hard time of it lately. The hunting life has always sucked, but Dean used to motivate himself by believing he was fighting for Sam's innocence and the innocence of those like him. Sam was kind of a light in the darkness for Dean, but things have changed, Sam isn't like that anymore, and all that's left is the dark for Dean right now. At least until he finds a new motivation.
My only real disappointment with the episode was that Sam swapped bodies with Gary and not Dean. Years ago, Stargate SG-1 did an episode called "Holiday" in which 3/4 of the main cast got to play musical bodies. Watching the actors play each other's characters right down to speech cadences and body language was great fun. Jensen and Jared are both terrific actors, and they know each other's characters better than probably any other co-stars on the planet. Even if it was only for one scene, watching them play each other's characters would have been a real treat. But body swap episodes are the kind of thing you can pretty much do only once per television series, so this was Supernatural's shot. As much as I liked it, I can't help but feel like the show passed up the opportunity of a lifetime.
I'm so glad this didn't play out as a comedy episode. It was much more layered than I was expecting. I'm glad that the teens didn't cause the body swap by accident ("OMG, we were just reading from this dusty old book at our slumber party. I don't know what happened!"). I loved that they did it deliberately in order to get close enough to Dean to kill him (I guess the demons have heard about him being Michael's vessel by now). And what an interesting idea that it doesn't have to be Sam himself who gives Lucifer permission to enter, just whoever is controlling Sam's body at the time. That opens up all kinds of possibilities for Lucifer to take over Sam's body without Sam saying yes. Also? Jared playing Sam as inhabited by Gary was hilarious. I love that Jared was willing to make fun of his image by checking himself out in the mirror and being thrilled that he was so attractive.
As usual, the MOTW story paralleled what was going on with the Winchesters, specifically Sam. "The Plan" Gary was being forced to follow by his father sounded an awful lot like Sam and his destiny that he hates so much. Gary's feelings of helplessness to fight his future led him to the same place Sam's did: wanting to be so powerful he could do anything he wanted, including rebel against the future he was destined for. It's just kind of sad that Sam can't see himself married with a family anymore, when that used to be what he wanted more than anything. I think that's part of why Dean has been having such a hard time of it lately. The hunting life has always sucked, but Dean used to motivate himself by believing he was fighting for Sam's innocence and the innocence of those like him. Sam was kind of a light in the darkness for Dean, but things have changed, Sam isn't like that anymore, and all that's left is the dark for Dean right now. At least until he finds a new motivation.
My only real disappointment with the episode was that Sam swapped bodies with Gary and not Dean. Years ago, Stargate SG-1 did an episode called "Holiday" in which 3/4 of the main cast got to play musical bodies. Watching the actors play each other's characters right down to speech cadences and body language was great fun. Jensen and Jared are both terrific actors, and they know each other's characters better than probably any other co-stars on the planet. Even if it was only for one scene, watching them play each other's characters would have been a real treat. But body swap episodes are the kind of thing you can pretty much do only once per television series, so this was Supernatural's shot. As much as I liked it, I can't help but feel like the show passed up the opportunity of a lifetime.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-01 07:29 am (UTC)From:Yeah, and I find it kind of bothersome. If Lucifer can get a demon to possess Sam and rot him from the inside out, a) why wouldn't he have tried that first, and b) there's no reason for Sam to give his consent if it can be done for him. So it's just a bit too convenient for me.
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Date: 2010-02-01 10:53 pm (UTC)From:Would the demon possession thing even work though? Sam still has that tattoo that protects him from being possessed. Even if he didn't, if Sam were possessed, he'd still be in his body with the demon. The demon would be in charge, but Sam would still be in there screaming "no" as loud as he could, even if no one could hear him. With the body swap, Gary was the sole occupant of Sam's body, and therefore the only one making decisions in it.
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Date: 2010-02-02 06:28 am (UTC)From:*shrug* He's Lucifer - I'm sure he can be very persuasive. I was going to say the tattoo didn't seem to be helping to keep the demon out, but as you've pointed out, the rules of body swapping and possession are different.
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Date: 2010-02-02 11:03 pm (UTC)From:I'm just saying that I don't think Lucifer could possess Sam by way of a demon possessing Sam and saying yes for Sam if Sam were still in his body and saying no. The reason that Gary could give that permission was because he was the sole occupant of Sam's body at the time.