Supernatural - Episode 6.09 - Clap Your Hands If You Believe - Recap / Review

Previously - it was all about Sam (Sam's appearance meant Lisa's end, Sam has no soul, Cas can't get Sam's soul back, Sam has no instinct, Sam isn't Dean's brother anymore, Sam doesn't care)

Two kids are making out in a cornfield and you know this ends badly. Haven't they seen Children of the Corn? Go park by an abandoned barn or the creek like everyone else. SuperJock sees something and goes into the corn to "have a quick look". This reminds me of Asylum when Dean said, "You seen a lot of horror movies, yeah?...Do me a favor, next time you see one, pay attention. When someone says a place is haunted, don't go in." Same thing applies to exploring cornfields, SuperJock. I thought Blondie was the smarter of the two, but she follows SuperJock in, because you know that always ends well. In a flash of light, SuperJock is gone, leaving Blondie all alone in a crop circle. Some say SuperJock is an homage to Clark Kent in Smallville, but I'd bet he's in honor of Billy from The X-Files' pilot. Speaking of XF, we get a credit sequence based on theirs, including the slow dancing alien from Tall Tales. You crack me up alien hallucination! Congratulations SPN writers, the Things That Confuse Me list starts now. Why is Misha Collins in the credit sequence and not Jim Beaver or Mark Sheppard? They are more important to this season thus far. Well, definitely Crowley and Bobby should be included every time just because he's awesome! Oh and apparently the truth is in the Impala. Someone alert Chris Carter. It's about time someone found it.

Various people exposit what's going on. The primary theory is aliens, but the sheriff cares more about the missing people and Sookie St. James-Light claims fairies. Dean is puzzled but does his best "back off slowly from the crazy person" routine. RoboSam is fine with her "adding glitter to that glue (she's) sniffing…but don't dump your wackadoo all over us." I like RoboSam; he says wackadoo. Dean makes excuses for RoboSam before realizing that yes he does have to explain appropriateness. "It's not that lady's fault she took the brown acid." RoboSam wants to know why they are there. They don't believe in aliens. Dean cries missing idiots. And today's episode is brought to you by the letter "E" for empathy. Dean wants RoboSam to care and don't we all (eventually), but he doesn't. Dean suggests that he "fake it 'til (he) makes it" and I'm with RoboSam here. You can't have it both ways Dean. Either he's the funny, brutally honest RoboSam or he's the creepy, completely fake RoboSam. I'll stick with the former. RoboSam says faking it is exhausting (It's exhausting to us too) but Dean says "You want to be a real boy, Pinocchio, you gotta act the part." To help Dean will be his conscience. "So you're saying you'll be my Jiminy Cricket." "Shut up, but yeah you freaking puppet, that's exactly what I'm saying." I laugh again and my hopes for this episode continue to rise.

SuperJock's dad is a watchmaker and they question him. Daddy Dearest is acting suspicious and RoboSam calls him on it. Dean makes him drop it and they leave as Daddy talks to the watch. Dean has Sam on surveillance as he checks out the crop circle. Dean: "But do not engage with, maim, or in any way, kill Brennan. In fact, I don't want you making any judgment calls whatsoever. Anything happens, you call me." RoboSam: "You know Jiminy, I was on my own for a year. I did fine without you." Dean: "Yeah. I don't want to know your definition of fine." Point to Dean this time. RoboSam, you admitted you killed innocent people to meet your goals. Not fine. Go with Dean on this.

Either Dean stopped for a latte or the crop circle is forty miles away as he checks out the crop circle in the dark. Probably not the best time to find clues, Dean. Plot contrivance calls using Sam's voice as Dean sees the light. Gun in hand he runs, crying, "UFO. UFO. Close encounter. Close encounter." Sam wants to know what kind of encounter. Bwah! The letter "E" leaves in protest as RoboSam orders another beer. Dean drops the phone and grabs a knife before he's taken by the light. Sam checks out the waitress. My sides are hurting already from laughing so hard.

Back in the crop circle, Sam follows the path to Dean's phone and hightails it to UFO groupie-central. That guy from Star Trek tells RoboSam everything he knows about ET's, but RoboSam is not impressed. "So you've been hunting UFO's for over 3 decades and you basically have no concrete data and zero workable leads…Have you considered the possibility that you suck at hunting UFO's?" Poor Star Trek guy. In all honesty though, put John Winchester on this for 2 months and there would be far better intel. RoboSam states Dean was abducted and hippie UFO chick uses it to show her interest in RoboSam. However, Sam's "had time to adjust." It has been 30 minutes. Hippie chick wants to help…undress RoboSam.

Concurrently, Dean appears back in the crop circle, gun blasting. I love Dean's freaked face! He hightails it to the hotel where RoboSam is doing the horizontal mambo with hippie chick. I would have turned away in embarrassment but Dean stands there shocked. Awkward! Hippie chick is glad Dean's back and wants to know what they were like. "They were grabby incandescent douche bags. " Dean is irate about RoboSam's pleasure while he was abducted. "You're upset." RoboSam wants to know what the big deal is. "I was abducted by aliens and you were banging patchouli." Bwah - "I didn't think she smelled that bad." Way to miss the point RoboSam. Dean experienced "UFO time slip" and RoboSam wants to talk about it. "It's ok. Safe room." What? It's a good thing I wasn't drinking because this is the funniest thing all night. RoboSam patting Dean's leg and using Sammy's concerned voice and Dean looking at him like he was nuts. Still laughing now. Dean freaks at "probing table". "So what did you do?" "I went crazy. I started hacking and slashing and firing. They actually seemed surprised. I don’t think anybody's ever done that before. I had a close encounter Sam and I won." Now I feel sorry for the aliens. You grabbed the wrong person. Great acting all around. Freaked out Dean is growing on me as much as RoboSam.

Dean's still freaked over coffee. "So if aliens exist, what's next? Hobbits." Nope Dean. I called dancing leprechauns and the Shoemaker's elves back when the promo pix came out. RoboSam hits on the waitress and I remember Dead in the Water when Dean wanted "FUN" but Sam kept dragging him back to topic. Oh have things changed in 6 years. Refocused Sam brings up hypotheticals, basically testing the parameters of when it's socially acceptable to have sex if your brother is missing. "So say you're on a case and your brother is abducted by aliens…" Have to say I never thought I'd hear that one on Supernatural, but it leads to fabulous conversation. Dean: "You sit in the dark and you feel the loss." Sam: "Absolutely, but couldn't I just do all that AND have sex with the hippie chick." Dean: "No." RoboSam: "But it would be in the dark." RoboSam, I adore you! RoboSam: "So you're saying having a soul equals suffering." Dean: "Yes, that's exactly what I am saying." RoboSam: "So you're saying suffering is a good thing." Dean: "I'm saying it's the only game in town." Dean darling, if you keep promoting souls to RoboSam this way, he's not going to go for it. But, you could get a job on the CW marketing team.

Dean sees homeless people, and threatens to hit RoboSam. That was odd and dumb, considering RoboSam's likely to hit back and not stop until you're dead. They research and Dean wishes bloggers would punctuate. Have to agree here! Do people realize how hard it is to read? David Bowie's Space Oddity plays in the background and if that isn't code for acid trip coming I don't know what is. Lights flicker and Dean takes on ..a glowing Kush ball? Now I'm laughing not because of the fight or Dean's weird faces, but because that's one lame special effect. Granted it's no Bugs, but I'm not sure they wanted me to laugh at it. Points for cleverness though as Dean captures it in a microwave and nukes it like a marshmallow. That IS funny. Poor RoboSam can't see nuked fairy innards. "Let's go with you see it and I don't." Dean describes the little glowing hot, naked lady and RoboSam makes the connection - Fairies! Apparently Sookie-light was not sniffing the glue after all. Dean whines, "She hit me." RoboSam: "I'm not supposed to laugh, right?" Don't worry RoboSam. I'm laughing hard enough for both of us. Best line of the night!!! Dean thinks Smurfs (Pfft) but RoboSam sticks with fairies. "Hey, you're the one who Pizza Rolled Tinkerbell. I'm just doing the math." (Bwah!) On second thought, that might be the best line of the episode.

Sookie-light exposits genres of fae, but she gives me the wiggins. Think Harry Potter's Delores Umbridge in a whisper voice. Psycho thinks they want to befriend fairies instead of kill them. I honestly thought she was going to be the bad guy. Still, she is a fount of fairy knowledge, telling the brothers that only people who have been to the fairy world can see them (hello homeless guy) and they take firstborn sons to service Oberon, the fairy king. "Dean, did you service Oberon, king of the fairies?" Now that's definitely the oddest thing ever said on SPN. Methinks it was a good thing Dean started shooting in the fairy realm or who knows where he would be now. Nice job Sera and co. on explaining why Dean was kidnapped instead of RoboSam. Dean wants to forcefully interact with the fae, and Sookie-light inevitably leaks out how they can fight them. She wants them for tea and I thought they were being drugged. I was way off this episode. "I feel like I've got the crazy on me…This makes me want to believe in UFO's again." RoboSam name checks Bobby and how I would love to see his reaction to this case.

Unfortunately, Plot Anvil lands on SuperJock's dad as he buys 3+ crates of cream. Shouldn't the grocery people be a little concerned? Aw, Dean trusts RoboSam enough to leave him the Impala while he checks out the watch store. What in the land of Oz is going on in this episode? The shoemaker's elves have turned to watch making, and I'm so beyond astounded that I refuse to say this is the weirdest thing that has ever been on Supernatural…AGAIN. I'm waiting until the end in fear that a herd of unicorns and the Lucky Charms leprechaun will drop by. Dean's face - priceless. Just back away slowly, Dean and never mention it again. RoboSam's on liquor patrol and doesn't beat around the bush. "Hell, if I didn't know better I'd say you have a bunch of elves working for you. Except I do know better and you have a bunch of elves working for you." That's the weirdest…oh forget it! RoboSam assumes Daddy has a soul, but on this show, it's not a given. SuperJock's dad was trying hard to provide for his family with Parkinson's when he got sucked up into a bad deal. Seriously, folks, does no one read the fine print? Just figure that if it involves demons, magic, or even angels, it's going to bite you in the end and not let go. I guess SuperJock is yet another kid screwed over by his parent's lack of foresight. Thanks again Mary! Yep folks, we've got leprechauns. Hmmm! At least RoboSam has a plan, and it might actually work the first time. What a refreshing change.

Meanwhile, Dean sees Homeless and acts like he has Yellow Fever again. Dean, remember that gun you carry. Use it! Why is Dean running from this guy? This doesn't make sense to me. The way Jensen is walking here also emphasizes his bowleggedness. Dean attacks Homeless Guy(?) and forgets that the word fairy has other connotations. Homeless Guy turns into a midget maybe or Dean mistook a midget for Homeless Guy. It's not very clear to me. Either way, it's not pretty and Dean gets arrested again. I have serious reservations about this. Even in podunk Indiana, arrested people get fingerprinted. What happens when Dean's prints go through AFIS and they match a dead serial killer's? Shouldn't that raise flags? One thing that bugs me about Supernatural is how they never wear gloves/defingerprint crime scenes, except in Nightmare and Everybody Loves a Clown. I've seen enough cop shows to realize this doesn't add up. Oh well. I'm guessing it won't be addressed this time either and if that's the only major pet peeve I have with the show, I am really lucky. Like a leprechaun.

RoboSam and Daddy get to Dean as he's being taken away. "Fight the fairies!" The sheriff exposits the hate crime theory, Dean denies, and the midget is the District Attorney. I'm expecting the District Attorney to be the leprechaun. How else does Dean get out? Dean tries to backtrack the situation, "Uh, it's nice to hear he's done so well for himself considering his…uh…considering the tough economic times." The sheriff leaves, Dean plays the hand harmonica, and the lights go out. I'm thinking another glowing Koosh ball and not a microwave in sight. RoboSam is faring better as the cream knocks fairies out like tequila and Daddy gets the book. Unfortunately Daddy gets speared in the chest out of nowhere. Huh, Star Trek (now Lucky) is the sole baddy. I'm not surprised, just sad he didn't join forces with the other 2. RoboSam, remember that gun you're holding. Use it! What is up with the Winchesters today? John would be so disappointed. Lucky exposits; Dean is marked; RoboSam has no soul. Are leprechauns more powerful than angels because Cas should have caught that one earlier? Apparently, Lucky can pull some strings too to release Sam's soul and suddenly I'm wondering if they are stockpiled in a warehouse sale. "There's no freaking way a leprechaun can do what angels cannot." I don't like this. Way too many soul venues and not enough soul getting. Lucky claims he can backdoor Satan but that doesn't work for me either. It lessens the stakes from season 5. RoboSam says no thanks and tries to shoot Lucky. No dice.

In jail, Dean gets his butt kicked by Homeless Guy. RoboSam gets his butt kicked by Lucky. Both brothers need a vacation. Finally, RoboSam uses his big noggin and releases the salt. Glad to see it has more than one use. Lucky counts, RoboSam reads, and Dean makes it out of prison. "Here's to the tiniest DA. Thanks for dropping the charges." I'm going to slowly back away from this one before my head explodes. Over at the Impala bar, Dean drinks a cold one and RoboSam explains why he didn't take Lucky's deal. "Dude, I do still have all my brain cells. If anything, my brain works better now." Um, I beg to differ RoboSam. I remember GeekBoy and he always had the answers. You, not so much. I bet it wouldn't have taken GeekBoy so long to remember the salt. Dean asks if RoboSam still wants his soul back. He says he does but we all know he's going to fight the re-souling thing. If the only benefits he sees is suffering and being a worse hunter, why would he want it back?

My thoughts in a nutshell: This episode provided some much-needed comic relief. It wasn't as powerful to me as Mystery Spot or Changing Channels but I did laugh almost the whole way through. In that aspect, it was everything I hoped for. RoboSam brought the comedy again and until the explaining morals thing gets old, I hope they continue exploring it. On the minus side, it opened up a whole new mythology of old magic. Saying it is more powerful than angels needs to be leprechaun trash-talking or it opens up new possibilities that for me lessen the series as a whole. I'll wait to see where it leads because we are still about 692 twists away from really understanding what is happening. I just hope it doesn't negate season 5's brief intensity or make Crowley less of a threat.

In two weeks, heaven and hell collide in the world's worst Big Brother house. The angst is already seeping out like mold in a basement.

These screencaps and others by rawr_caps at LJ and here.  Read other recaps here.