In the twelfth episode of the fifth season of Supernatural, I can’t describe this episode without spoiling it. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.
Trigger Warning: For discussion of consent/sexual assault
You know, I actually think that aside from one scene, this is probably one of the best body swap episodes I’ve seen. (I prefer the acting in “Who Are You” in the fourth season of Buffy, though. They actually had the actresses pretend someone else was in their body instead of using the camera POV trick we got here.) But, let’s start off by acknowledging that body swap stories really HAVE to stop featuring a person having sex because holy shit, that’s not okay? And as much as “Swap Meat” analyzes the fucked up things Gary and friends have done, there isn’t a single critical angle in the episode when it comes to the sex scene. If anything, it’s played as a humorous because Gary has sex with a dominatrix. Which??? He’s in Sam’s body, and Sam can’t consent to it. Also, Gary himself is 17, which makes him of the age of consent in Massachusetts, but that doesn’t make this that much less gross. I don’t think that woman would have consented to sex either if she knew who Gary was. Or Sam was. Or… my brain hurts. A lot.
Anyway, there’s a great mystery at the heart of “Swap Meat” that ties in with this season’s larger mythology. Of course, we don’t know that, and the writers lure us into this body swap story through absurdity and humor. (Strangely, while there are a couple more serious moments, this episode did not steamroll me with sadness!) With no clue as to how Gary pulled it off, we have to watch as Gary explores Sam’s world and Sam has to revisit the world of NORMAL HUMAN INTERACTION. We’ve gotten an episode before where Dean entertained the notion of living normally, hunter-free, and there’s an element of that in “Swap Meat” for Sam. The twist, though, is that Sam is stuck in the body of a teenager who is, in turn, stuck in a life planned for him. Gary’s father (OMG IT’S CLANCY LASS) is one of those parents who has a very specific arc for his son’s life, and it’s one that Gary can’t escape.
It’s a direct mirror to Sam’s life, certainly, since Lucifer is currently planning for Sam to become his vessel. But Sam doesn’t waste any time in Gary’s body trying to live Gary’s life, and it’s HILARIOUS. I love it! I love that he doesn’t try to please Gary’s parents, he doesn’t try to pretend to be Gary, he only goes to Gary’s school to get that dangerous book, and even then, he ditches school immediately so that he can try to find a solution to his problem. It’s a glaring contrast to what Gary is doing in Sam’s body, despite that he was supposed to be fulfilling a different goal. Gary, who despises his life, uses the spell he enacted to take advantage of having a better body and what he sees as a better existence. Yes, his plan was to kill Dean to collect a bounty, but it’s clear that he also wanted to escape the studying, his parents, and his job. He’s portrayed as a frustrated nerd, so he has a field day as Dean. Drinking, driving, EATING WHEAT GLUTEN, fighting spirits and having a brother like Dean… it’s all what Gary has never has.
Seriously, though, I found the central mystery of this episode to be one of the better plot twists in Supernatural. It’s worldbuilding! It makes sense that the demons would send out their own version of an APB in order to keep track of Dean Winchester. It’s character development! Gary, Donna, and Trevor are all very different characters once you realize what’s going on. I imagine that Gary did want some sort of reward, but I think it’s easy to postulate that he actually just wanted to live in someone else’s life and body. Given that he later asks to be a warlock, I think Gary just wants to feel like he has power, since he feels powerless in his home life. But Trevor and Gary are quintessential white nerds who believe their lives are horrible, and their behavior is both entitled and unsettling. And then we’ve got Donna, who is actually attracted to Gary, but can only show it by faking an interest in what Gary is interested in.
Frankly put, they’re all in over their heads, and that’s the point. They try to find a shortcut to happiness (and their view of happiness is flawed because they’re immature), and it backfires. Horribly. That’s initially the case for Trevor, who refuses to feel remorse for what’s happened to Sam. He then INSULTS A DEMON AND DEMANDS MORE FROM IT. Whoops, his heart is gone. WHOOPS. Unlike Trevor, though, Gary eventually sees the ramifications of his actions and has no interest in meeting Lucifer or making any sort of deal. I say “eventually” because he does entertain the demon inside Donna’s body for a short while before deciding that this is all way too serious.
I don’t think we’ll see Gary again, so I’m glad that the episode largely held him responsible for what he’d done. Dean does not hold back when threatening him after the exorcism works and Sam is returned to his body! Hopefully, this’ll scare him off that path for the rest of his life. And I liked that Sam told him that he could rebel in a more healthy way that didn’t involve BRINGING HORROR UPON OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES. If there’s anything sad here, it’s the bonding that Dean did with Sam while Gary was inside of him. I never really thought about all the small antagonisms between these two brothers that Dean just accepts. He’s used to having a brother who doesn’t drink, who eats healthy, who listens to different music, and who largely doesn’t enjoy many of the same things as him. For a moment, he enjoys the fact that he and Sam are synced up. Of course, it wasn’t a real bonding session, and Dean has that little moment at the end of “Swap Meat” where he ponders what it would be like if that wasn’t the case.
Still! Not a steamroll of sadness. I EXPECTED IT THIS TIME.
The video for “Swap Meat” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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