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Grade F
Why did anyone think this was ever a good premise for an episode?
*brought to you by the writers of the Racist Truck!
(place in the never watch again category, here's why:)
(spoilers)
This week Sam and Dean come across an old friend, James, a cop who they interacted with, who decided to become a witch after he was introduced to the world of the supernatural. Now Sam and Dean hate witches, (which is not prejudical or racist, it's based on the fact that in SPN lore to date, one gains the ability to be a witch through demon deals) they have never in their history met a witch that didn't want to harm or kill them, so their first instinct is to gank James, and they dig up a collection of Bobby's (not incidentally information from the Men of Letters bunker) to make a witch-killing bomb.
Sam finds a dog on their doorstep, which morphs into a beautiful woman, Portia is James' familiar, a creature who can take the shape of a dog, or a woman, and she tries to explain to Dean, she is not a pet, but a partner, someone in a 'strong bond' with a human, and they both are willing to die for the other. (as a viewer I was not impressed by this because Dean and Sam, and Dean and Cas have not only died multiple times for the other, but gone to Hell, we are never given cause to believe in a 'unbreakable bond between Portia and James other than this statement)
James has dreams where he is killing people, and it turns out that they are dying. Sam investigates the homicide department where James works, while Dean and Portia investigate the magic community for suspects. (we discover Dean is allergic to cats) In the meantime James is chained to his bed, to make certain he won't go off and kill.
(When Portia is in woman and dog form she wears a collar, the male 'cat' familiar she meets in a witches club only wears a collar in animal form - and believe me, fans have really been dismayed and angered by the imagery of a black woman wearing a collar and calling a white man 'Master')
Portia and James have a sexual encounter (while he's chained up) and through this magical bond, Portia can see that some outside force is manipulating James. Sam informs James that the police have him pegged as the main suspect, and James decides to investigate by using his magic abilities to transport himself, Sam and Dean spirtually to the police station, so they can 'read' the witness report, and the person helping to set up James for a fall is the 'cat' familiar of his mentor in the magic community.
James pushes Portia away from him for her own safety and charges off to confront the cat familiar, only to discover his mentor was behind the conspiracy to set him up for murder - why? Because he was jealous that Portia chose James as her Master and James and Portia broke all the rules of the magic community when they decided to become lovers.
Sam and Dean show up, only to be immobilized when the head wizard freezes them in place, forcing them to relive their moments in Hell, Sam remembers going into the cage with Adam, Dean remembers his mother burning on the ceiling. Portia attacks the wizard, bent on killing James, which distracts him from Sam and Dean, allowing them to use the spell of Bobby's to defeat the wizard.
In the end, James and Portia have to move on, because the community won't accept them, unlike the pairing of Aaron and his Golem (who should have their own show) I'm not in a hurry to see Portia and James again, the character of the Portia may have been intriguing but the policeman who became a witch, (out of curiosity, we are given no better motive than perhaps career advancement) comes off as a cipher.
One of the appealing things about Supernatural is the notion that those who engage in hunting have done so because of a personal tragedy and or a family legacy. Hunting is not taken up as a lifestyle choice, for personal gain or even curiosity and it makes those who hunt monsters heroic.
There have been many shows/books/movies that take on the human with supernatural creature as ally, friend and lover, but as a result, I feel the monsters and the evil they represent become less frightening. And scares and darkness is what I come to Supernatural to see.
If the show is going to retcon their witch lore and make some witches good, they have to do more of a job of convincing me. I for one, have no interest in a show about club-going witches and familiars.
Extra kudos for Jensen Ackles, making Dean's reaction to Portia the highlight of the episode. (Dean here standing in for the audience who are sex with a dog? Really?
Why did anyone think this was ever a good premise for an episode?
*brought to you by the writers of the Racist Truck!
(place in the never watch again category, here's why:)
(spoilers)
This week Sam and Dean come across an old friend, James, a cop who they interacted with, who decided to become a witch after he was introduced to the world of the supernatural. Now Sam and Dean hate witches, (which is not prejudical or racist, it's based on the fact that in SPN lore to date, one gains the ability to be a witch through demon deals) they have never in their history met a witch that didn't want to harm or kill them, so their first instinct is to gank James, and they dig up a collection of Bobby's (not incidentally information from the Men of Letters bunker) to make a witch-killing bomb.
Sam finds a dog on their doorstep, which morphs into a beautiful woman, Portia is James' familiar, a creature who can take the shape of a dog, or a woman, and she tries to explain to Dean, she is not a pet, but a partner, someone in a 'strong bond' with a human, and they both are willing to die for the other. (as a viewer I was not impressed by this because Dean and Sam, and Dean and Cas have not only died multiple times for the other, but gone to Hell, we are never given cause to believe in a 'unbreakable bond between Portia and James other than this statement)
James has dreams where he is killing people, and it turns out that they are dying. Sam investigates the homicide department where James works, while Dean and Portia investigate the magic community for suspects. (we discover Dean is allergic to cats) In the meantime James is chained to his bed, to make certain he won't go off and kill.
(When Portia is in woman and dog form she wears a collar, the male 'cat' familiar she meets in a witches club only wears a collar in animal form - and believe me, fans have really been dismayed and angered by the imagery of a black woman wearing a collar and calling a white man 'Master')
Portia and James have a sexual encounter (while he's chained up) and through this magical bond, Portia can see that some outside force is manipulating James. Sam informs James that the police have him pegged as the main suspect, and James decides to investigate by using his magic abilities to transport himself, Sam and Dean spirtually to the police station, so they can 'read' the witness report, and the person helping to set up James for a fall is the 'cat' familiar of his mentor in the magic community.
James pushes Portia away from him for her own safety and charges off to confront the cat familiar, only to discover his mentor was behind the conspiracy to set him up for murder - why? Because he was jealous that Portia chose James as her Master and James and Portia broke all the rules of the magic community when they decided to become lovers.
Sam and Dean show up, only to be immobilized when the head wizard freezes them in place, forcing them to relive their moments in Hell, Sam remembers going into the cage with Adam, Dean remembers his mother burning on the ceiling. Portia attacks the wizard, bent on killing James, which distracts him from Sam and Dean, allowing them to use the spell of Bobby's to defeat the wizard.
In the end, James and Portia have to move on, because the community won't accept them, unlike the pairing of Aaron and his Golem (who should have their own show) I'm not in a hurry to see Portia and James again, the character of the Portia may have been intriguing but the policeman who became a witch, (out of curiosity, we are given no better motive than perhaps career advancement) comes off as a cipher.
One of the appealing things about Supernatural is the notion that those who engage in hunting have done so because of a personal tragedy and or a family legacy. Hunting is not taken up as a lifestyle choice, for personal gain or even curiosity and it makes those who hunt monsters heroic.
There have been many shows/books/movies that take on the human with supernatural creature as ally, friend and lover, but as a result, I feel the monsters and the evil they represent become less frightening. And scares and darkness is what I come to Supernatural to see.
If the show is going to retcon their witch lore and make some witches good, they have to do more of a job of convincing me. I for one, have no interest in a show about club-going witches and familiars.
Extra kudos for Jensen Ackles, making Dean's reaction to Portia the highlight of the episode. (Dean here standing in for the audience who are sex with a dog? Really?
