Supernatural - Episode 5.05 - Fallen Idols - Recap Posted by Selina at Saturday, October 10, 2009 (Comments: 10) Labels: Recaps, Supernatural

In this week's episode, we went back to the old-school demon hunting days – and to old-school Sam and Dean dynamics, with all it entailed! Finally we are seeing some resolution to the tension, but it would take the brothers a while yet before they got to a better place with each other. By the end of this episode though it looks like we're a big step closer!

These reviews are also featured on Out of the Box, a television blog full of theories, discussion and reviews about your favorite shows! Please check it out if you enjoyed this review and would like to read more.



What's this, the horror version of Herbie?
The episode starts with such a welcome, mundane event as a regular Joe (who I'm pretty sure we've seen before on the show too) meeting a violent, sticky end at the hand of... his new car. Intriguing. Well Dean sure thinks so anyway, as the car apparently belonged to James Dean himself, and is allegedly cursed because anyone who has owned it since has died.

In fact, Dean is more than happy to take the case because he feels – rightly so, I think – that Sam and Dean need to ease back into hunting. Not because of Sam, but because they need to re-learn to work together as a team, and to reconnect. This episode represents the "fresh start" that the brothers are getting, as we are back to basics in terms of hunting. Also in terms of Dean's treatment of Sam of course, which we will get back to later in the review. Something interesting to note before we move on though is that Dean's voice seems finally to be back to normal. Is this directly related to the plot being lighter and the tension between the brothers easing up? I'm guessing that it is, and what a welcome change all around.

Probably the best scene of the episode happened when Dean had to check the number on the engine. Strong, powerful, big-brother Dean is not above showing a little fear now and again, and for someone so passionate about his car, being crushed by one is probably a recurring anxiety for him. It was hilarious to see him sweat and squirm under the car, and Sam being so blasé about the whole thing – this is the Sam/Dean interaction we've been missing! They might not have had a perfect relationship in the past, but these kinds of scenes have always made the show for me.


That should teach us not to spend so much time watching TV! Sam and Dean will come get us!
Dean seems pretty much back to his old self in general, flirting with girls in bars and letting Sam deal with the research. Sam is all grumpy about it – so all's pretty much normal on the Winchester front then! Meanwhile, another murder takes place, this time by someone who looks suspiciously like Abraham Lincoln. Sam and Dean interview the housekeeper; luckily Sam knows a tiny bit of Spanish and is able to make some sense of what she said. I myself was very proud to understand that the killer was tall and dark... or possibly it was the hat which was tall and dark... um, anyway. Seems like idols are killing their super fans, which is just totally unfair, right?! Idols are supposed to bring inspiration and joy, not violent death! Wow, I'm suddenly feeling like I should cut down on the time I spend watching Lost, I don't want John Locke to come after me with his hunting knife...

The brothers go to the Canton wax museum, where they find figures of James Dean, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi and others, all which have some kind of personal artifact belonging to the deceased figure they embody. Can I just say, I think the whole "remains" concept is rather sketchy, I've always found it a bit suspect that leaving a bit of DNA on a glove or in a hat is enough to warrant a ghost being able to exist, because honestly, who doesn't have like, hundreds of hairs or bits of clothing or fingernails that have made their way to the trash or wherever, still existing but just not glorified in any way that they could be tracked down? If a piece of whatever on a hat is enough, then surely there will be more pieces around the world..? I know it's nitpicking, it's just one of those small things that I always wonder about whenever it comes up.


The slate isn't getting any cleaner.
Later when Sam comes back to the hotel, Dean is on the phone with Bobby and makes an off-hand comment about Sam starting the apocalypse. Uh-oh, guess it isn't all roses and man-hugs after all then. Sam confronts Dean, but Dean refuses to discuss it. This is as clean as the slate is gonna get, apparently. Sam is obviously upset about this, and for good reason. Trying to change is hard when people refuse to see past your mistakes, and even though Dean has got to the point where he realizes being apart from Sam is doing neither of them any good, nothing has happened yet which has caused them to resolve their issues. Luckily, after fighting off Gandhi the fruitarian (who of course is Sam's idol, go figure), Sam gets a chance to finally get some of the problems off his chest. Dean is taking charge, deciding what cases they are taking and when they are leaving them behind, but Sam argues that if they’re going to do this together, they will have to trust each other. Sam reveals that he went off with Ruby partially to get away from Dean and the "kid brother" role Dean had him locked in. Now, this is painful to hear as a Supernatural fan, because of course while things weren't perfect before I'm sure we all thought their relationship was pretty special, but Sam does make a really good point here. Dean needs to, at last, let Sam grow up. And I think this is a really positive thing, and might just make all their issues over the past few years worth it if it could bring them to this point. Look at Dean's issues, they all stem from being the one who has to look out for Sam; all the responsibility weighing him down comes from him wanting to protect his little brother. Sam's feelings of inferiority (and subsequent desire to make himself stand out next to his big brother) stem from the same dynamic. As great as Sam and Dean's relationship has always been, them finally being able to work together as equals would surely only make it even greater. They have been moving towards a breaking point for a long time, but now they've had it, and have the possibility to be stronger and better together than before, let's hope they get there.


Paris Hilton's Supernatural Best Friend – would YOU survive?!
Meanwhile, there has been a new development in the murder case. This time, a girl has been kidnapped... by Paris Hilton! Now, I have a confession: when I first heard that Paris Hilton would be in Supernatural, my heart plummeted. Sell-outs, I thought. How could they?! Then of course I remembered that she has actually appeared on Veronica Mars before, a show I really like and respect, so I decided it probably wouldn't be so bad. My real confession though? I LOVED that she was in this episode! Supernatural is such a remarkable show in so many ways, and honestly I never should have doubted that they could pull something like this off. Her role wasn't forced, or self-righteous, but completely appropriate for the story. It had the right level of irony, putting Paris Hilton in league with people like Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln, and it was refreshing to see her kick the boys' asses a little, and be all evil. It was eerily similar to watching an episode of Paris Hilton's Best Friend Forever (umm did I just admit to watching that show??), seeing her sit with her knife like that and stare down the contestants, and I loved how she was commenting on the whole idea of icons. People today read US Weekly and worship normal people with small dogs and fake tans... this is so true, and such a sad aspect of society. Supernatural always manages to go one step above normal television shows, and making such serious and true statements about the world within the show is just one way.

Another way, of course, is the excessive use of postmodernist storytelling techniques. This is one of the reasons I was so attracted to the show to begin with, how perfect an example this show is of postmodern television. There is of course the questioning of grand narratives like religion, the intertextuality like Dean referring to him and Sam as "Mulder and Scully", and most prevalently the self-reflexivity. Moonlighting showed the cameras that were filming the show, Buffy had an episode in which Buffy had dreamed up the whole show, but Supernatural just takes all the cakes in this category, and eats them too. Our most recent example, and a great throwback to 'Hollywood Babylon', was when Dean says in this episode: "I've never even seen House of Wax", and Sam/Jared shoots him a sideways glance: because Jared Padalecki was of course in House of Wax with Paris Hilton. Instead of ignoring this, as any self-respecting TV show would, Supernatural actually draws our attention to it! That's postmodernism guys, and it's what makes Supernatural standout, if horribly underappreciated, television.

Right, I'm off my soapbox now, where was I? Just as Paris is about to transform into John Winchester (and oh am I glad she didn't, that would have been so painful to watch), the boys break free and Sam decapitates her. I know a lot of you were hoping to see her die violently so I'll let you rejoice. I did think she made an excellent supervillain though, I must admit, that was unexpectedly entertaining.


The night you heard a million fans' cries of vindication...
I'm sure everyone let out a sigh of relief as the show finally acknowledged that Dean broke the first seal! "You didn’t know," Sam said. "But neither did you," Dean replied. THANK you for addressing this, show. They must have heard us complain about that all the way in Vancouver! Sam also echoed what I said a few weeks back about them going down fighting: now, I in no way want Sam and Dean to die, but I think when it comes down to it, we would all rather see them die together and as themselves than as vessels for different characters.

The episode ended on a very positive note, and I truly believe that the brothers are back and better than ever. Becoming equals is going to be quite a transition, but hopefully it won't change too much about what we love about Sam and Dean's dynamic. Dean letting Sam drive the Impala was a very big and obvious step in the right direction; unlike last time where it showed how much he cares for Sam, this time it shows that he trusts him. Or is making the effort to begin trusting him again, at least. Dean is letting Sam grow up, and I think this will make them both a lot happier, and make them happier to be a team again, as well. To quote Paris Hilton, it was AWESOME!

Also, the "coming up" bit looked fantastic, I am so excited for the episodes to come!

Thanks for reading my review of 'Fallen Idols', check back next week for more discussion and speculation about Supernatural!