Mark Watches ‘Supernatural’: S04E11 – Family Remains

In the eleventh episode of the fourth season of Supernatural, FUCK NO. NO! NOPE NOPE NOPE. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.

Trigger Warning: For discussion of incest, rape, claustrophobia, and harm/murder of animals (specifically a dog).

I’m fucked up I AM SO FUCKED UP FROM THAT.

I can’t believe that my encyclopedic knowledge of The X-Files came back to bite me in the ass because I WAS EVEN MORE UNPREPARED FOR THIS EPISODE BECAUSE OF IT. This is Supernatural doing pure, primal horror, and it’s disturbing both in its content and in the way that the show executed such a horrific idea. Seriously, in terms of the technical aspects of some of those shots, “Family Remains” is a brilliant episode??? Oh my god, I adored those wide shots with Danny on one side, lit by the solitary lamp, as he stares into the unknown darkness. And the sequences with Dean and Ted? IN THE ACTUAL WALLS? Holy shit, that was some of the scariest shit ever. Lord. Y’all, I said so many unfortunate things in the video for this??????? LIKE:

  • CALLING MYSELF A SHELL OF A HUMAN BECAUSE OF THE WEST WING EPISODES I WATCHED BEFORE THIS. NO, MARK, YOU ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THAT.
  • SAYING THAT THE HOUSE LOOKED LIKE THE ONE IN “HOME,” ONE OF THE MOST INFAMOUS EPISODES OF THE X-FILES AND THEN FUCKING BACKTRACKING FROM IT BECAUSE “IT HAD A FRESH COAT OF PAINT.”
  • MAKING MORE REFERENCES TO “HOME.”
  • REALIZING THAT KARIN KONOVAL WAS IN THAT EPISODE
  • AND THEN REALIZING THAT THIS IS NOT EVEN REMOTELY OKAY

I have absolutely no problem with this show (and others!) borrowing heavily from The X-Files, and I think that this speaks to that show’s importance in Western media. I mean, Fringe is undeniably one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen? And half that show can’t exist without The X-Files. The show’s fandom birthed the term SHIPPER, for Scully’s sake, and fandom as we know it owes so much to The X-Files‘s fandom. You know, it was the first fandom I was ever a part of, too! I lurked the entire time because I was so intimidated, but oh my god, it was my everything!!!

So, you have to understand that going into this, because for me, that show defines how I came to view television. I’ve mentioned it before, but there was a period in my life where I actually avoided watching new television shows because I was so obsessed with The X-Files. I believed nothing could ever top it, and it wasn’t until a close friend of mine convinced me that I was missing out on tons of great television that I was able to finally give LOST and Six Feet Under a chance. AND THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED FOR ME AGAIN. The point is, there’s a standard that’s set in my mind, and even if I’m not referencing it, The X-Files is the bar that every other show has to meet.

Part of the fun of Supernatural is the way that the show openly accepts that it exists in a world post-The X-Files, and watching how this show both subverts tropes in the genre or addresses them head-on is a pleasure. “Family Remains” is almost like a love letter to “Home,” in the sense that it, too, is about the perversion of family. There’s nothing supernatural at the heart of this case, and it’s the pitfalls of human nature that the Winchesters and the Carters have to fight against. Now, I think it’s absolutely understandable that this episode might trigger folks for a number of reasons. (And plenty of folks on Twitter have already told me that they can’t watch “Family Remains” again, and y’all, I GET IT. I REALLY DO.) The show may not spell things out to us, but Rachel was raped by her own father repeatedly, who then hid her children from her and the outside world. The whole episode has a basis in a severe form of abuse. On top of that, it’s relentlessly claustrophobic and terrifying. I have a fairly intense fear of home invasion scenarios (for reasons I won’t get into mostly because they’re not relevant and they’re super upsetting), so I freak out easily when I watch horror movies based around this concept. And so much of “Family Remains” eagerly deconstructs the idea of a family and a home and uses it to frighten us and the Carters!

I really did love how often the episode deliberately bucked expectations, too. After it was revealed that the Carters had lost an older son, it made more sense why Danny would be so open to a mysterious girl in his closet. (TO AN EXTENT, OF COURSE, BECAUSE ALSO WHAT THE FUCK DUDE NO.) I loved that the Winchesters basically busted into the house and told them all to just get the fuck out, and THE PARENTS WERE VERY RECEPTIVE TO THIS IDEA ONCE THEIR DOG WAS KILLED. (Nope, fuck that, DON’T EVER HURT DOGGIES.) They actually tried to get away as soon as possible! And I really expected the father to make some silly attempt to save his son, ignoring Dean’s warning, and that would end with him being killed, but… nope! Didn’t happen!

But y’all. Dean. Dean. Look, this episode was upsetting enough without his subplot, okay? I mean, PEOPLE LIVING IN THE WALLS OF A HOUSE AND LICKING SOMEONE’S FINGERS. (Oh my god, they made that urban legend REAL. REAL. NO. NOOOOOOOOOOOO.) Ted’s death, THE UNREAL FUCKING TWIST THAT THERE WERE TWO CHILDREN LIVING IN THAT PLACE WHAT THE FUCK OH MY GOD, and so on. However, Dean’s struggle with his moral debt just ruined me. I mean, after that whole experience, I’m sitting there, listening to him admit to Sam that he enjoyed torturing souls in Hell. I’m listening to him confess that he is convinced that he won’t ever fill the hole left in him after the experience. And I’m watching Sam look upon him, totally helpless, because he knows there’s nothing he can do to help his brother. AND I WAS SO DONE? Dean’s existential horror is rooted in this sense of futility which manifests throughout “Family Remains” as he tries to do anything to satiate his guilt and shame. It’s why he’s more reckless and determined as usual here. I don’t see that as a flaw, necessarily, but I could tell that he was going to be a mess if he didn’t save these people. But if these good deeds don’t do anything to make him feel better about his time in Hell, then what is he supposed to do?

Supernatural hasn’t given us any easy answers here because there are no easy answers. How can there be? Dean’s experience in Hell is so unique, so incredibly individual to him, that there’s going to be a long struggle for him until he feels better about himself. Of course, we’re talking about a character who’s had longstanding self-esteem issues, so THIS CLEARLY ISN’T HELPING HIM. Just… lord. Too much pain.

The video for “Family Remains” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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