The Kids Are Alright - A Review
The Kids Are Alright
Supernatural Season 3, episode #2.
Airdate: Thursday, Oct 11, 2007.
Written by Sera Gamble.
Directed by Phil Sgriccia.
In deference to my overseas visitors who wish not to be spoiled, episode review posts and images are no longer being displayed in the blog index. Please click on the post link or go to the “Reviews” category to read a review.
-
Synopsis: Click here to read the episode summary
Hoping to hook up, Dean drops by an old girlfriend's house, only to find himself in the middle of a child's birthday party. His ex has a little boy who is celebrating his 8th birthday, and it's been 8 years since Dean was last with his mother. After meeting Ben and seeing a lot of himself in the child, Dean starts to believe that he is the father. At the party, Dean learns that several fathers in the community have died in freak accidents and that their children are now acting strangely. Further investigation reveals that the real children are being taken and replaced with changelings. When Ben is also switched, the Winchesters find the changeling’s lair, kill the changeling mother(queen?), and free all the children. Dean takes Ben home and is disappointed to learn that he is not Ben’s father. While Dean is occupied, Sam surreptitiously looks into his mother's past only to find out that everyone who knew her is now dead. When he confronts Ruby about her knowledge of his mother, she reveals herself as a demon, then tempts Sam with the possibility of saving Dean.
-
Praises: I am happy to say that Supernatural was back on it's game this week. Dean was his old charming, rascally self. Sam played the geekboy to perfection, complete with his inability to come up with a decent lie quickly. Even the reappearance of Ruby wasn't all bad. But the best part of all, was seeing Dean with mini-Dean. They were absolutely adorable together. I so felt Dean’s disappointment that Ben was not his kid. But hey, the mom could be lying…a blood test works only if you have a sample to compare it to, and Dean wasn't around back then and neither was that other candidate, seems like. Also notable were the beginnings of new and fascinating twists in Sam's story arc. Somehow, I get the feeling that Sam will…[spoilery speculation hidden]. end up in the midst of a demonic power struggle to fill the gap left by the yellow-eyed demon's demise. Ruby is probably planning to use him as her stepping stone to reach the top. Overall, this episode was fun and interesting. The only scary scene was in the beginning with the powersaw and there weren't many brotherly moments to speak of, but the chemistry between Dean and Ben more than made up for the lack.
-
Nags: This episode was, perhaps, a little too cute for Supernatural. Other than that, I don't have too many bad things to say about it. I wish there had been a scene with Sam meeting Ben and noticing his remarkable resemblance to Dean. The not-at-all-scary kids didn't do anything evil other than act brattish, stare balefully and sap their mom's strength…but all kids do that, good or bad.
Even in their changeling form, the children just looked pathetic, not scary. In the scene where the mom tries to drown her changeling child, I actually felt more sympathy for the kid, than that murderer mom. I did think that the changeling mother(queen?) looked an awful lot like the alien creature that feeds on salt in a “Star Trek” episode from the original series (I don’t remember the episode name). As for the new recurring character Ruby, she definitely improved as an evil demon. Still, she's no Meg…(or is she?). -
My Rating: Great episode. 4 out of 5 stars.
Wordpress
Blog (RSS)