In the thirteenth episode of the third season of Supernatural, everything is really funny until it’s suddenly not, and that’s it. That’s the show. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.
Just let the record show: I actually said in the video for this episode that “Ghostfacers” was a nice break after “Jus in Bello,” and literally minutes later, THIS WASN’T FUNNY ANYMORE, AND EVERYTHING WAS SUPER FUCKING SAD, AND I HATE THIS SHOW SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS TO ME. How many times have I fallen for this? Too many to count, let’s be real.
There’s an obvious shock to “Ghostfacers,” much like “A Very Supernatural Christmas,” since the cold open toyed with my expectations. But the meta nature to this episode, as well as some of the more emotional themes brought up later, elevated it from being merely a gimmick. There’s manufactured (or, at the very least, unnecessary) drama; there are all the absurd cut-scenes; there’s the way that Ed and Harry take themselves way too seriously. I’m sure I missed a ton of gags and jokes on my first viewing! (Though I caught that line about the assholes from Texas. GET IT, THAT’S WHERE JARED AND JENSEN ARE FROM. Okay, I’m too pleased with this. I DON’T ALWAYS GET THESE JOKES.)
But this is a neat episode not just because it toys with the idea of reality television. It gives us a heartbreaking story about the one member of the Ghostfacers team who was often taken advantage. Now, I definitely feel weird about this episode’s use of one of the only canon gay characters we’ve had. Hell, once Maggie was in danger, I was ready to side-eye the hell out of this. But even though she survived, I still think it sucks that once again, a gay character is introduced, only to be killed ten minutes later. Granted, he’s in a lot more of this story than I expected, and I actually appreciated that this episode went in the direction that it did.
Let me explain that, actually, because there’s some interesting shit here. There’s that scene later in the episode where Harry realizes how they can help end Corbett’s death echo. My gut reaction to Harry’s ridiculous line about being “gay” for Corbett was that I was going to watch some strangely exploitative nonsense that played Corbett’s crush as a joke and nothing more. Instead, the writers took Ed to this remarkably sad place? I didn’t want to watch Corbett do something like… I don’t know. I thought the show was going to make Ed make out with Corbett, despite that he was clearly straight, and this was supposed to be some revelatory moment? Instead, Ed realizes just how much Corbett meant to him as a person, and he humanizes Corbett. It’s not an exploitation of Corbett’s crush on him at all; no, it’s an honest admission of how much he loved Corbett. It wasn’t played for laughs at all, and as Ed stood there, crying over losing his friend, and Corbett relived his own death, I was genuinely and completely surprised. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t! And look, this is less about be distrusting this show and more having a lack of faith in most things. There just aren’t that many gay characters on television in general, and we don’t often get the best stories when we are in media.
SO YEAH CORBETT’S REPEATED DEATH WAS REALLY SAD AND THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN. GOD.
But I feel like “Ghostfacers” is also one of the most low-key nightmares this show has ever had. I honestly think that is what I’m going to take away from this episode more than anything else. (I lied. Read on for the other thing later in this review.) I’m sorry, but this fucking Norman Bates weirdo was BRINGING DEAD BODIES HOME TO HAVE BIRTHDAY PARTIES WITH. AND THEN HE KIDNAPPED PEOPLE INTO HIS WEIRD BASEMENT DIMENSION SO HE COULD KILL THEM FOR THE PARTY. LIKE, THAT WAS PART OF HIS THING: THEY HAD TO BE DEAD FOR THE PARTY.
THIS IS SERIOUSLY SO MUCH WORSE THAN ANYTHING ELSE THIS SHOW HAS EVER DONE AND I’M GOING TO HAVE NIGHTMARES FOREVER ABOUT THIS.
Finally, I wanted to address the fact that I thought it was pretty bold for the writers to essentially stick Dean and Sam in the background. The Ghostfacers absolutely took the lead here, and they carried the story beautifully. Not that Sam and Dean aren’t pivotal to the episode, of course. But their appearance here was to provide support, to act as a foil to Ed and Harry, and to… get caught? Oh god, Sam had to watch Corbett die in front of him. For real, this episode is so fucked up, y’all! However, I can now call Dean “Chisel Chest,” so all is right with the world. And really, while the Ghostfacers show is exploitative and over-the-top, it really wasn’t half bad. I was genuinely frightened a few times! Not bad, Ed and Harry. Not bad.
The video for “Ghostfacers” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com. All Mark Watches videos for past shows/season are now archived there!
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next four Double Features will be: The Middleman, Band of Brothers, Revolutionary Girl Utena, and then Farscape.
– I will be at quite a few conventions and will be hosting events throughout the US, Canada, and Europe in 2014, so check my Tour Dates / Appearances page often to see if I’m coming to your city!
– Inspired by last year’s impromptu event in London, I am taking Mark in the Park on the road! You can see all currently planned dates and pitch your own city here.
