In the fourth episode of the ninth season of Supernatural, I CANNOT DEAL WITH THIS EPISODE. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Supernatural.
Trigger Warning: For discussion of consent.
Is there any more conclusive evidence needed to prove that every Charlie episode is the best thing this show has ever done? It’s… well, it’s goddamn magical, and yet again, we get one of the most satisfying, well-written, and well-acted episodes in Supernatural.
And it’s all about the cost of adventure.
Now, I don’t think this is the first time that the show has addressed the concept of being disillusioned by reality. For all its attempts to give some positivity and optimism to the Winchesters, I think it’s a fairly cynical show. People die, the bad guys sometimes win (viciously so), and the hunter lifestyle SUCKS. Like, all the time. It’s not glamorous; it’s rarely victorious in any pure sense; everyone and everything dies; EVERYTHING IS AWFUL. There aren’t many other ways to say this, and Supernatural has spent over eight seasons showing us just how thankless and brutal this line of work is.
That’s part of the reason why many of the meta episodes over the course of this show felt more than just an extended joke. By drawing a line between reality and fantasy, the show openly engaged with the idea that we perceive fictional worlds in a different way than we would if we actually lived in them. That’s why the Supernatural books are evoked here deliberately. While they do accurately describe the events of the lives of the Winchesters, they’re framed to give the reader a sense of heroism and glamour that is mostly absent from what Sam and Dean actually experience. That’s not because Chuck/God is a terrible person who wants to portray the Winchesters wrongly; the same goes for L. Frank Baum, who wrote the Wizard of Oz books in a way that smudges on what actually happened. There’s a purposeful attempt to inspire and entertain others in both these examples, since they were written down by other people.
But what is that experience like for those who are the center of these stories? Well, look no further than the eight prior seasons of Supernatural for all the tears, manpain, death, destruction, and severe trauma. Is that the same case for Dorothy, whose father continued writing a series of books after her death? The events of her life were sanitized by L. Frank Baum, and it clearly irritates Dorothy. And that’s where Charlie comes in. As a fan of the Wizard of Oz series, she’s been inspired by Dorothy’s adventures, and then Dorothy is RIGHT THERE. IN FRONT OF HER. (And flirting with her, and you cannot fucking take that away from me, y’all. Holy shit, I was not imagining that! THERE WAS SO MUCH UNRESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION.) It’s strange and surreal, but does it mean that Charlie is disillusioned by her vision of Dorothy changing?
Not necessarily. That aspect of this episode reminded me of when Sam met Colt. Sure, Colt was much different than Sam anticipated, but it wasn’t a horrible experience. It was enlightening. In Charlie’s case, she’s felt a little disappointed by the visceral nature of being a hunter. It’s not a picturesque journey to her, and it’s certainly nothing like the fantasy quests she grew up reading. It leaves her feeling lacking, you know? And then she meets Dorothy, who is a lot grittier than she thought, but determined. That determination to save Oz is what grabs Charlie. Even though the rebellion that Dorothy describes sounds horrific, she still keeps fighting it, even when the cost of fighting was once her life. After Charlie dies (I NEARLY GAVE UP ON THIS SHOW, I WOULD HAVE BEEN FURIOUS BEYOND WORDS IF THAT STUCK), she comes to realize that she can still have an adventure on her own terms.
It’s a messy process up to that point, though. As complex as this episode was – there were flashbacks here, too! – it flowed incredibly well. The flashbacks to the Men of Letters’ second case ever were appropriate and illuminating, with clever references to Charlie’s desire for adventure and the use of the chess metaphor, which I find apt to describe the angel/demon/Winchester war. And while Charlie is coming to terms with the cost of this life, Dean is busy witnessing that same cost, and it is HORRIFYING. While I am obviously thankful until the end of time that Ezekiel revived Charlie, it’s also clear that I’m meant to feel increasingly uncomfortable about what’s happening to Sam. More than ever before, Sam is aware that something fucked up is happening. Hell, Charlie even calls Dean on the fact that he did something to resurrect her. How much longer is he going to keep up this facade? With every lie he tells, he digs a deeper hole for himself, and I’m worried that he’s going to get to a point where a lie isn’t going to cover the truth.
Look, if Sam can reject Ezekiel once he’s aware of what’s within him, I think it would have made a lot more sense to tell him immediately and try to convince him it’s a better situation then to basically turn him into a ticking time bomb. This far down the road? Sam is far less likely to accept Ezekiel’s presence after everything that’s been done to him and with his body. When he does learn the truth, won’t he immediately reject Ezekiel???
Obviously, this is all speculation, and I’m actually utterly unprepared here. I really don’t know where this is going! Plus, now I know for certain that every time Dean invokes Ezekiel’s powers, he prolongs the possession of Sam, which clearly isn’t going to make matters better. Crowley is still chained up. Kevin is off on an actual vacation, THANK THE FUCKING GODS. Where’s Castiel? What about the angels? What did Charlie find in the Men of Letters’ computer? What about Bartholomew and Abaddon? THERE ARE TOO MANY VARIABLES, Y’ALL.
I ship Charlie/Dorothy, and you cannot stop me.
The video for “Slumber Party†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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